Otto von Bismarck, born on April 1, 1815, died in 1898, Prussian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, was an outstanding statesman and diplomat in modern German history , known as the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister".
Otto von Bismarck is a pivotal figure in the modern history of Germany. As the most famous politician and diplomat of the Prussian-German Juncker bourgeoisie, he was a representative figure in the top-down unification of Germany (kicking out Austria).
Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815, in the Altmark Scheinhausen Manor in Brandenburg, Prussia, to a large Junker aristocratic family. He was well educated as a child and studied law, history and foreign languages ??at the University of G?ttingen and the University of Berlin. During college, he fought 27 duels with his classmates. After graduation, he served in the military. Bismarck had a strong physique and a rough personality. He would do whatever it took to pursue his goals and had a realistic attitude. After 1839, he returned to his own territory to run the estate economy, adopting new farming methods, improving farm tools, rotating crops, and producing commodities. In 1847, Bismarck became a member of the Prussian Parliament; from 1851 to 1858, he was appointed as the Prussian representative to the German Federation. In 1859, he was appointed Minister to Russia, and in 1861 he was appointed Minister to France. In 1862, he served as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Prussia. He vigorously promoted the "iron-blood policy" and advocated the unification of Germany by Prussia through war. He successively launched wars against Denmark, Austria and France, and gradually realized the unification of Germany. In 1871, Bismarck became Chancellor of the newly established German Empire and was granted the title of Duke. Over the next 20 years, he dominated the government and the public. Internally, he strengthened the power of Prussia and the imperial government, promoted the alliance and economic gains of the Junkers and the bourgeoisie, and suppressed the labor movement; externally, he adopted a realist attitude, strived for hegemony in Europe, and actively expanded overseas. He himself became the European political stage in the second half of the 19th century. The man of the hour. In 1890, he was ordered by the new Emperor Wilhelm II to resign and return to the manor. Died in 1898.
Otto von Bismarck (April 1, 1815 - July 30, 1898), Duke of Lauenburg, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia (1862-1890), Germany The first Chancellor of the Reich, he was known as the "Iron Chancellor" (German: Eiserner Kanzler), "Germany's Architect" and "Germany's Navigator".
Bismarck was one of the most outstanding politicians of the 19th century. During his tenure as Prime Minister of Prussia, he unified Germany through a series of successful wars and became the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
Initially, as a conservative authoritarian, Bismarck suppressed the socialist movement in the 1880s. He passed legislation establishing the world's earliest workers' pension, health and medical insurance system, or social insurance.
[Edit this paragraph] Boyhood
Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815, in a small town called Hingossen in Prussia. His family is a traditional Junker and owns a lot of land and manors. Bismarck is a young man. Bismarck's father, Ferdinand von Bismarck, was a landowner and retired army officer who mainly hunted with friends. At the age of 35, he married his 17-year-old wife, Bismarck's mother. Bismarck's parents had different birth backgrounds. His mother was born in a middle-class family and lived in the city for a long time. Therefore, she had a more open and advanced mind, unlike his father who was conservative and old-fashioned. Bismarck had a brother and a sister who were 5 years older than him. Bismarck's father hoped that he would become an outstanding soldier and be loyal to his country. But his mother hoped that he would become a politician and shine in the political world. Although his parents' expectations were very different, Bismarck finally achieved both.
When Bismarck was 8 years old, he was sent to Berlin primary school. Since most of his classmates grew up in bourgeois families, most of them excluded him, a son of a Junker, which made his childhood endure great pain and pressure.
When he was 12 years old, he entered middle school, but was still ostracized by his classmates. But he did not feel discouraged. Instead, he worked diligently and learned English, French, Russian, Polish, and Dutch, making him a multilingual genius and laying the foundation for his future career as a diplomat.
When Bismarck was under 17, he enrolled at the University of G?ttingen. However, Bismarck was not satisfied with university life. During his college years, he often carried a sword at his waist and a large wolfdog on a leash. But he had no intention of studying and contracted many bad habits. He had 27 duels with his classmates. Although he later transferred to the University of Berlin to study law, he was still not satisfied. Although he became a lawyer after graduation, he was not content with it, so he applied for a government official position and became a clerk.
At this time, he met an aristocratic woman and got engaged, but he had no money. He wanted to make money through gambling but instead lost all his money and owed a lot of debt. So the engagement was cancelled. Later, he met a pastor's daughter and got engaged. Unfortunately, the woman also left with a wealthy soldier. As a result, Bismarck had to return to his hometown with debts.
After returning to his hometown, he separated from his brother and became the owner of the manor. However, he was not satisfied with this life, so he soon entered politics again.
[Edit this paragraph] The origin of the Iron Chancellor
In June 1862, Bismarck became Prussia’s prime minister and foreign minister. In September of the same year, in his first speech to the Prussian Parliament, he declared loudly: "What Germany pays attention to is not Prussian liberalism, but power. Prussia must accumulate its own strength and wait for favorable opportunities. We have missed such opportunities several times." Times. The major contemporary issues cannot be solved through speeches and majority decisions, but with iron and blood." Bismarck's "iron and blood" was his program and creed for unifying Germany, and his "iron-blooded prime minister. "The nickname is also derived from this. It was by relying on this kind of violence that Bismarck boldly and cunningly took advantage of international disputes and favorable opportunities to decisively unify Germany through the "top-down" road.
Middle-aged Bismarck, before he entered politics, was born on April 1, 1815, in a large Junker aristocratic family in Scheinhausen, Prussia. His childhood was spent in his father's manor. During college, he fought 27 duels with his classmates. After graduating from the University of Berlin in 1835, Bismarck returned to his hometown to manage his two territories. His strong physique, rough personality, cruelty to farmers, perseverance and unscrupulousness in pursuing goals, and realist attitude constitute Bismarck's distinctive character traits.
Member’s career
This time he entered the political arena, which changed Bismarck’s life destiny. He first became the supervisor of the river embankment. This job was very suitable for Bismarck's competitive character, so he was very competent in the job and quickly established a positive image. He took the opportunity to contest the parliamentary elections. Although he was only elected as an alternate member, he succeeded in forcing a member to withdraw due to illness. As a result, he was successfully elected as a formal member of the Berlin state. The year was May 1847, and Bismarck was only 33 years old.
In the same year, he entered into an engagement with a woman named Joanna and got married that year.
But the next year, the famous revolution of 1848 broke out and King Pu was captured. Bismarck decided to go to Berlin in person to find out the truth. On the way, he met Prince William's wife and asked him to help her husband become king, but Bismarck refused this request. Later Frederick William IV successfully suppressed the revolution.
Diplomatic career
In 1851, Bismarck served as the Prussian representative to the Confederation Conference in Frankfurt, and was promoted to ambassador soon after, a job he held for eight years. .
In 1857, Frederick William IV suffered from mental disorder, so his brother Prince William was regent. After Prince William became regent, he immediately summoned Bismarck and appointed him ambassador to Russia.
In 1861, Prince William ascended the throne as William I, but he immediately clashed with Parliament over the expansion of armaments. In desperation, Bismarck had no choice but to appoint Bismarck as internal minister, but Bismarck was not willing to be just internal minister, so he did not fulfill it.
In the spring of 1862, Bismarck returned to Berlin. The King of Prussia could not promote him to prime minister due to internal pressure. As a result, Bismarck resigned and was reassigned as ambassador to France. In the same year, the liberals won an absolute victory in a new round of elections for the Prussian Parliament and immediately vetoed all the Prussian government's funding for military reforms. The government and parliament reached a deadlock. In the face of major contradictions, Bismarck became the only possible candidate for prime minister. On September 23, 1862, William I recalled Bismarck and appointed him Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
Prime Minister's Career
Bismarck, who became Prime Minister, firmly told the Parliament in his first speech in the House of Commons on September 26, "The major problems of our time cannot be solved through speeches and majority resolutions. It must be solved with iron and blood." From then on, Bismarck was nicknamed the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister". Then the king said to Bismarck: "I know the outcome very well. They will chop off your head in front of my window at the Opera Square, and they will chop off my head later." Bismarck responded: "Since you will die sooner or later, why A less dignified death? ... It makes no difference whether you die on the gallows or on the battlefield... You must fight to the end!" From this time on, a very special and strong relationship formed between the king and his prime minister.
After Bismarck became prime minister, he failed to resolve the conflict with parliament. For this reason, he wanted to use the great cause of German unification to divert the attention of parliamentarians and win the support of the working class to counteract bourgeois freedom. group. Soon, he began planning three unification wars.
[Edit this paragraph] Diplomat Bismarck
In 1851, he was the representative of Prussia to the German Federation
In 1859, he was appointed minister to Russia
Served as Minister to France in 1861
[Edit this paragraph] Three Dynasty Wars (Unification War Period)
The first step was to provoke a war against Denmark in early 1864.
Incorporate the Danish duchies of Schleswig-Holstein (most of the inhabitants are Germans) into Germany
The Prussian-Danish War
As Germany's northern neighbor, Denmark often interfered in German affairs, so Bismarck was the first to deal with Denmark. In 1861, the Danish king wanted to take over Schleswig and Holstein on the Prudential border. Bismarck immediately used this to create a dispute. He first ensured that if Prudential went to war, other powers would not interfere, and allied with Austria to attack Denmark together, and finally forced Denmark to abandon these two states.
In the Treaty of Vienna signed on October 30, 1864, Denmark stipulated that it would give up two places. On August 14, 1865, Prussia and Austria reached the Treaty of Gastein, which placed Schleswig under Prussian rule and Holstein under Austrian rule.
But this was actually a deliberate conspiracy by Bismarck, because the Holstein obtained by Austria was not only small in area, but also surrounded by Prussia. This would easily put Austria into conflict with Prussia, so this was a fuse that pushed Austria into war with Prussia.
The second step was to provoke the Austro-Prussian War against Austria in 1866.
In the Battle of Sadowa on July 3, 1866, Prussia won a decisive victory. According to the Treaty of Prague in August 1866, Austria withdrew from the German Confederation. Prussia annexed Holstein and several German Confederation princely states that stood on the Austrian side during the war, unified the northern and central parts of Germany, and established a new state under the leadership of Prussia. of the North German Federation.
Austro-Prussian War
After the Prussian-Danish War, Bismarck decided to expel Austria from the German Confederation to facilitate the future unification of Germany. Therefore, he set out to isolate Austria. First, Bismarck agreed to help Russia cancel the "Black Sea Neutrality Clause." He also met with French Emperor Napoleon III and expressed that Prussia had no objection to ceding Luxembourg and the Rhine River area to France to ensure that France remained neutral in the Austro-Prussian War. At that time, Britain continued to implement a policy of glorious isolation, so it would remain neutral in the event of a conflict between Prussia and Austria.
Finally, on April 8, 1866, he signed an offensive and defensive alliance treaty with Italy, which stipulated that if Prussia went to war with Austria within three months, Italy must declare war on Austria at the same time. This could only be done if Austria returned Venice to Italy. You can make peace with Ao.
Finally, because the Austrian Emperor was dissatisfied with the terms of the Treaty of Gastein, he demanded that Silesia, Prussia's richest industrial area, be exchanged for Holstein. Bismarck therefore used this excuse to accuse Austria Breach of contract. As a result, in May 1866, William I ordered a nationwide mobilization and declared war on Austria in June of the same year. Italy also declared war on Austria in accordance with the Treaty of the Offensive and Defensive Alliance.
Soon, Prussia conquered the small pro-Austrian states in North Germany, and on July 3, 1866, a battle of 291,000 troops and 238,000 Austrian troops took place in Sadowa, known as the Battle of Sadowa. In the end the Austrian army was defeated.
At this time, Bismarck decided to make peace with Austria instead of pursuing the victory, because he understood that the elimination of Austria was not his primary goal, and the most important thing was to unify Germany. Therefore, he gave Austria extremely tolerant peace conditions in the "Treaty of Prague" signed on August 23 of that year in order to maintain good relations with Austria.
After the Austro-Prussian War, the only obstacle to German reunification was France, which controlled the southern German states behind the scenes.
The third step between Bismarck and Li Hongzhang was the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.
On September 17, 1870, at the instigation of Bismarck, France declared war on Germany. Napoleon III boasted that it was just a "military walk to Berlin." But what he encountered was no longer the Prussia of the past, but a relatively powerful German nation that firmly opposed secession. On September 2, 1870, the German army won a decisive victory over France at the Battle of Sedan and captured Napoleon III alive. At this point, the obstacles to the unification of South Germany have been removed, and the task of Germany's national war has been completed. Bismarck drove his troops straight into Paris. On January 18, 1871, the unification of Germany was announced at the Palace of Versailles and the German Empire was established. Bismarck also served as chancellor of the German Empire.
Franco-Prussian War
Because France still controls the various states in the South German region behind the scenes, it hinders the unification of Germany. Therefore, Bismarck used the Spanish throne succession issue to create a dispute, forcing French Emperor Napoleon III to declare war on Prussia, and Prussia used this to unite the German nation and attack France.
Prussia quickly repelled the invading French army and launched a counterattack against France. In the Battle of Alsace, the Prussian army defeated the French army and Napoleon III surrendered. The Prussian army then marched to Paris to assist the newly established defense government in Paris to eliminate the Paris Commune in order to obtain a large amount of reparations.
Finally, King William I of Prussia ascended the throne in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, France, announcing the establishment of the German Empire and receiving war reparations of Alsace and Lorraine and 5 billion francs from France.
[Edit this paragraph] Road to hegemony
After Bismarck unified Germany, he implemented policies that served the interests of the big bourgeoisie and aristocratic landowners and promoted the development of the German economy. But his "iron and blood" did not stop. In 1871 he participated in the suppression of the Paris Commune. Domestically, in order to step up the suppression of the German workers' movement, he promulgated the so-called "Decree on Suppressing the Social Democratic Party's Attempts to Endanger Social Security" in 1878. He organized military groups externally and tried his best to consolidate Germany's hegemony on the European continent. At the same time, it competed with Britain for world hegemony by plundering colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
[Edit this paragraph] Disheartened
In 1888, William II succeeded to the throne and had differences with Bismarck on many issues. In the subsequent brutal power struggle, Bismarck gradually Feeling disheartened. In 1890, at the age of 75, Bismarck submitted his resignation to Wilhelm II and officially stepped down.
In 1898, 83-year-old Otto von Bismarck passed away in the manor in his hometown. During his leisure time, he completed his memoirs "Thoughts and Memories".
Later political career Although Germany was unified, Bismarck, the Blood and Iron prime minister, still had to face many domestic and foreign problems.
Domestic Issues
In terms of domestic issues, first of all, in the "Cultural Struggle" from 1871 to 1877, the Holy See and the Holy See attacked each other, and finally ended with mutual compromise between the two sides. In 1878, he immediately began to "encircle and suppress the leftists" and enacted the "Extraordinary Law" to suppress the Social Democratic Party. But at the same time, he also formulated many measures to protect workers to win over. Although many of them were only superficial in nature, they still made Germany the first country in the world to have labor legislation.
Foreign Issues
In terms of foreign issues, since the reunification of Germany, Bismarck did not want any more foreign wars so that Germany could recuperate and develop its national strength. Therefore, he did not plunder a large number of colonies like other European countries. But he was worried about French retaliation, so he adopted an alliance policy to isolate France. First, in 1873, he concluded the "Three Emperors Alliance" with Austria-Hungary and Russia. However, in 1879, Russia withdrew due to conflicts of interest with Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. Bismarck immediately renewed the alliance with Austria, which was called the "German-Austrian Alliance." However, Bismarck was worried that Russia would defect to France, so he signed a "reinsurance treaty" with Russia in 1887.
In 1882, he signed the "Triple Alliance" with Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In 1877, the Russo-Turkish War broke out. Russia defeated Turkey and signed the Treaty of San Stefano. However, this harmed the interests of Great Britain, France and other powers, so the powers requested Bismarck, who was not involved, intervened. As a result, in 1878, the Berlin Congress was held in Berlin. In the conference, he favored Austria but remained neutral on the surface, but this made Russia the big loser. As a result, relations between Germany and Russia deteriorated, and Russia withdrew from the Alliance of Three Emperors.
These problems have been bothering Bismarck in his later years in power, and even made him feel restless.
[Edit this paragraph] Retired from politics
On March 9, 1888, William I passed away, and his son Frederick William succeeded to the throne, known as Frederick III. But he died of illness 99 days after taking the throne. As a result, his son William II succeeded to the throne at the age of 29. This young and energetic young emperor was unwilling to be controlled by Bismarck, so he and Bismarck had differences on many issues. At that time, Bismarck was already 73 years old and had been in power for 26 years. As a result, in a series of power struggles, Bismarck gradually understood the principle of killing a rabbit and burning a dog, and he felt disheartened. On March 18, 1890, he submitted his resignation to Wilhelm II and officially stepped down.
The death of Otto von Bismarck
After Bismarck left power, he lived at Friedrichslu Manor near Hamburg and wrote his memoirs "Thoughts and Memories". Finally, on July 30, 1898, Bismarck, the world-famous iron-blooded prime minister, quietly passed away at the age of 83
[Edit this paragraph] Historical impact
Bismarck is a significant figure in the modern history of Germany A man of great importance. As the most famous politician and diplomat of the Prussian-German Junker bourgeoisie, he was a representative figure in the unification of Germany "from top to bottom". His life was the transition of Germany from feudal autocratic society to capitalism, and then to the capitalist powers. important historical period. Although Bismarck himself withdrew from the stage of history, his "iron-blooded" policy profoundly affected subsequent German history.
[Edit this paragraph] American city Bismarck
The capital of North Dakota, United States. In the south-central part of the state, on the east bank of the Missouri River. Population 44,000 (1980). The settlement was built in 1872 as a base for the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway. Because Germany funded the construction of the railway, it was named after the then German Prime Minister Bismarck. It was established as a city in 1875 and became the capital when statehood was established in 1889. A distribution center for agricultural and livestock products in the spring wheat belt. The main industries include agricultural machinery manufacturing, petroleum refining, food processing, etc.
[Edit this paragraph] The German battleship "Bismarck" during World War II
The "Bismarck" battleship photographed on the "Prinz Eugen" was the second One of the most powerful battleships used by the German Navy in World War I.
The "Bismarck" was named after Germany's "Iron-Blooded Chancellor" Bismarck. Construction started in 1935 and was completed and put into service in 1940. It has a maximum speed of 29 knots, a displacement of 42,000 tons, and a crew of 1,600 on board. The ship's weapons include 4 (8) 380 mm caliber main guns, 6 (12) 150 mm caliber auxiliary guns, 8 (16) 104 mm caliber anti-aircraft guns, and is equipped with 4 seaplanes and 6 533 mm The torpedo tubes have extremely powerful firepower, and the thickest part of its side armor is 320 mm. It surpassed similar British warships at that time in terms of performance and combat capabilities. It was called the "Devil Bismarck" by the British. In World War II, Germany used this ship to attack the Atlantic transportation line. At 8:00 on May 27, 1941 47 minutes and was sunk by the fleet led by the British "Rodney" and "King George V". The wreckage of the Bismarck battleship after the sinking
Construction overview
After World War I, Germany was prohibited from building battleships under the strict supervision of the Treaty of Versailles. When the Nazi dictatorship came to power in 1933, the German Navy began secretly developing new battleships. In March 1935, Hitler announced the abolition of the Treaty of Versailles and the restoration of the conscription system, and Germany's rearmament officially began. In June of the same year, in order to show that it had no intention of challenging the United Kingdom, Germany took the initiative to propose to the United Kingdom that the tonnage of the German Navy be limited to 35 of the British Navy. Britain immediately agreed and signed the Anglo-German Naval Treaty, which lifted the last shackles of the German Navy. The German Navy began to expand its forces. While building replacements for five old battleships, it began building the "F" battleship in 1936. Only a real battleship, this first battleship code-named "F" in the German Navy's large-scale expansion plan was the later famous battleship "Bismarck". It was the first real battleship built by the German Navy since 1918. The Anglo-German naval agreement allowed Germany's new warships to be equipped with 16-inch main guns, but Germany had no experience in manufacturing naval guns of this caliber. The largest caliber naval gun developed by the Germans before was the 380-inch gun during World War I. mm caliber naval gun. In order to avoid risks and design difficulties that delay progress, it was decided to develop a new 380 mm caliber main gun to equip the Bismarck battleship.
The Bismarck-class hull is limited by the water depth of the Kiel Canal. The hull is moderately widened to reduce the draft. The length-to-width ratio is 6.67:1. The superstructure is relatively compact, which improves the stability of the hull. Since this is the first time that Germany has built a pure battleship since its defeat in World War I in 1918, in order to reduce risks and ensure development progress, it was decided to use ready-made technology as much as possible. It was decided to use twin-mounted 380 mm caliber naval guns. The main turret adopts a symmetrical layout from front to back. The backpack layout has two seats each. The theoretical rate of fire of its main gun is very high, reaching the highest level among battleships of the same period. The main gun's armor-piercing projectiles use "high muzzle velocity light projectiles", which have good power at medium and short combat distances, but the long-distance target velocity performance is correspondingly reduced. Its armor protection follows the design model of the "Incremental Armor Scheme" (called "comprehensive protection"), and has the largest protection scale among battleships of the same period. The side walls of its main armored fort cover 70% of the waterline length and 56% of the sides. height, while the total armor weight reached the largest proportion among battleships of the same period, accounting for 41.85% of the standard displacement. In addition, while achieving a large protection scale, the ship relies on the space compensation provided by the large protection scale. The main horizontal armor is arranged on the third deck, allowing it to overlap with the main side armor on the ballistic trajectory, so as to protect key parts of the hull. It has also been strengthened and surpassed the battleships built during the same period.
On July 1, 1936, the battleship Bismarck was officially built at the Bronn-Fuss Shipyard (B&V) in the Port of Hamburg. The Bismarck was known as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Prime Minister of the German Empire. Named after Margrave Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), the "Iron Chancellor", the Bismarck's launching ceremony was held on February 14, 1939. Ms. Dorothea von Loewenfeld, the granddaughter of Margrave Bismarck, was invited to attend the launching ceremony.
On September 15, 1940, the Bismarck completed the installation project and went to the Baltic Sea for sea trials through the Kiel Canal. On August 24, 1940, the battleship Bismarck was officially commissioned.
Combat Experience
In March 1941 during World War II, in order to destroy the Atlantic route, the British maritime lifeline, the German Navy planned a large-scale plan named "Rhineland" "Exercise" maritime attack war. The German navy originally planned to attack in two lines. The battlecruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" stationed in the port of Brest, France, would initially set sail to disrupt British Atlantic maritime shipping, and at the same time attract the mobilization of British troops. The main force of the Royal Navy fleet, and later the most cutting-edge battleship Bismarck will also be put into combat, and will take advantage of the opportunity to break into the Atlantic to carry out diplomatic-breaking operations. However, "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" were unable to sortie due to malfunctions and injuries. On May 19, 1941, the battleship "Bismarck" and the heavy cruiser "Prince Eugen" set sail alone to carry out the "Rhine" mission. exercise".
The British Navy quickly obtained the information about the voyage of the "Bismarck" and strengthened its alert. On May 24, it was intercepted by the battlecruiser HMS Hood and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales of the British Navy in the Denmark Strait. In the Battle of Denmark Strait, six minutes after the two sides exchanged fire, the "Bismarck" hit the "Hood" at a distance of 15,000 meters. The "Hood" ammunition depot exploded and sank. In the next five minutes, the "Prince of Wales" was injured and withdrawn from the battle, and the "Bismarck" was damaged by the "Prince of Wales", causing water in a boiler room and the speed dropped to 28 knots, the fuel tank leaked, and the seaplane ejection device was damaged, and she was forced to Terminate combat operations and sail to France. The British Navy mobilized its main force and decided to sink the "Bismarck" at all costs. That night, a torpedo bomber launched from the aircraft carrier "Victory" attacked the "Bismarck". A torpedo hit the "Bismarck" amidships, but the blasting power was completely absorbed by its TDS (torpedo defense system), causing no damage to the inner cabin. . The "Bismarck" once escaped the tracking of the British Navy, but was rediscovered on the 26th and was attacked by "Swordfish" torpedo bombers launched from the British Navy's "Ark Royal" aircraft carrier. A torpedo hit the stern of the "Bismarck" and the rudder was jammed, forcing the "Bismarck" to use propeller speed difference to maintain its course. The speed dropped to 7 knots, buying valuable time for the British fleet to pursue. On May 27, the British fleet headed by the "King George V" and the "Rodney" caught up with the "Bismarck" which had lost its ability to control. After several hours of fierce fighting, at 10:40, the "Bismarck" sank in the waters 400 nautical miles west of the French port of Brest. Before sinking, the "Bismarck" withstood about 90 British battleship main gun shells and about 310 direct hits from other shells (only four penetrated its main armor belt), and at the same time withstood 6-8 torpedoes of various types. of blow. In addition, it sank two hours after opening the sea valve on its own. Its powerful power and protective performance left a deep impression on the British, and was hailed by Churchill as "a masterpiece in the history of shipbuilding."
Basic data
Standard displacement: Bismarck 41,700 tons/Tirpitz 42,300 tons; full load displacement: design 49,400 tons/maximum 52,900 tons.
Scale: 251 meters long/36 meters wide/15 meters deep/designed full load draft 10.2 meters/actual maximum draft 10.7 meters.
Power: 12 high-pressure boilers, 3 steam turbines, with a designed maximum power of 138,000 horsepower, an actual stable maximum power of 150,170 horsepower, and an actual top speed maximum power of 163,026 horsepower.
Speed: 30.8 knots; fuel capacity: 7,400 tons, endurance: 8,525 nautical miles/19 knots, 9,500 nautical miles/16 knots.
Armament: 8 4-seat twin-mounted 380 mm/52 caliber (48 times the caliber according to British standards) main guns; 12 6-seat twin-mounted 150 mm/55 caliber secondary guns; 16 8-seat twin-mounted 105mm anti-aircraft guns; 8 twin-mounted 37mm anti-aircraft guns; 2 quadruple-mounted, 12 single-barreled 20mm anti-aircraft guns (Tirpitz has 18 quadruple-mounted, 6-mounted anti-aircraft guns) 1 single-tube 20mm anti-aircraft gun, 2 quadruple 533mm torpedo tubes).
Armor: Main side armor 320 mm; double armor deck, upper armor deck 50-80 mm, main armor deck 80-120 mm (arranged on the third deck, together with the main side armor Overlapping on the ballistic trajectory); main gun turret 130-360 mm, gun mount 340 mm; command tower 350 mm; mine protection armor 45 mm. The lightning protection system is designed to withstand 250 kilograms of TNT explosives, but can actually withstand 300 kilograms of German hexanite high explosives. The total weight of the armor is 17,450 tons (excluding the rotating turret part), and the total weight of the hull structure is 11,691 tons.
Construction materials: hull structure, St52 shipbuilding steel; vertical armor, KCn/A surface carburized hardened steel; horizontal armor, Wsh high-strength homogeneous steel; mine protection armor, Ww high elasticity homogeneous steel steel.
Carrier-based aircraft: 4 Arado-196 seaplanes (used for reconnaissance, calibration and liaison)
Crew: 1,927 people. The entire crew is organized into 12 teams, each with 180-220 people.