The British close in for the kill, and the Bismarck fights his last battle as two battleships and two heavy cruisers engage the crippled flagship.

Bismarck continues toward the French coast, but is spotted again by British aircraft. An attack by swordfish torpedo planes scores a lucky hit, destroying the battleship’s steering gear. With the Bismarck trapped in a wide port turn, the British close in for the kill.

The British lose contact with Bismarck as the German battleship moves to the French coast. The redeploy their forces in an effort to block his routes of escape back to Germany and France, but it is not until late afternoon that the British learn with certainty that Bismarck is steaming for St. Nazaire.

Bismarck and Prince Eugen engage the Battlecruiser Squadron in the Denmark Straight. Hood goes down with all but three of her crew after twenty minutes, and the damaged Bismarck begins to make for port in occupied France. They Royal Navy orders the bulk of the fleet to abandon other duties and destroy Bismarck.

The Germans enter the Denmark Straight, and are sighted by Admiral Wake-Walker’s cruisers, who begin to tail them. Meanwhile, the Hood and Prince of Wales head for the Germans at best speed.

The British become aware that the Germans have sortied out of Bergen, and the Home Fleet weighs anchor. Despite this, the Germans remain as unaware of the British’ knowledge of their mission as the British do of the actual position of the task force.

Bismarck puts into a fjord near Bergen in occupied Norway, as Prinz Eugen bunkers fuel oil. While there, an RAF spotter confirms the presence and composition of the German task force.

The German task forces makes for the North Sea, but is spotted by a neutral Swedish ship, whose report is intercepted by the British. As Bismarck moves toward Norway under escort, further confirmation comes from local resistance fighters who report the movement of the battleship.

Bismarck sets sail, meeting Prinz Eugen off Cape Arkona and turning to the Great Belt and the North Sea beyond.

Exercise Rhine commences as Prinz Eugen casts off from Gotenhafen and sails for Cape Arkona. Bismarck is to join her tomorrow morning.

The Royal Navy commanded the largest fleet in the world, vastly outnumbering the German Kriegsmarine. Despite this, the bulk of the fleet was old, and with the globe-spanning nature of the British Empire was widely dispersed. Despite all this, they retained powerful forces in the Atlantic to protect the convoys that were the lifeblood of the British war effort.

The German Kriegsmarine boasted several modern warships, but was badly outnumbered by the Royal Navy. This led to a strategy based around fast, long ranged surface ships being used as raiders on the open Atlantic, and Exercise Rhine in 1941 was to be the most significant to date.