Tovey's lips twitched, as if he still had something to explain to the admiral in front of him, but seeing the other party's determined and persistent look, he finally fell silent, swallowing the words that had already come to his lips back into his stomach.

Since the second half of the 19th century, the role of soldiers' courage in battle has become increasingly diminished; The mechanical weapons bred by the Industrial Revolution began to emerge and became the key factor that really determined the victory or defeat on the battlefield. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was actually a victory of breech-loading guns over breech-loading guns, and the massacre of 5,000 African Noor soldiers by 50 British infantry in 1893 was entirely based on four Maxims fired by automatic fire. The Germans bombarded the Belgian fortress of Liège with their 420-mm guns, and the British could only break through the German positions with machine guns in the Battle of the Somme. (The Italians, of course, are an outlier, and their combat effectiveness has never been directly related to the strength of the weapons in their hands.) ）

On the sea, technical weapons play a decisive role in the victory or defeat of the battle. In the Battle of Dadonggou that broke out in 1894, the Beiyang Naval Division was no less inferior than the Japanese Combined Fleet on the opposite side in terms of fleet size, quality of officers and men, and combat courage, but the final result was one-sided, ending the battle with a miserable figure of 0 to 5. A large number of Japanese battleships equipped with tube-retreat rapid-fire guns + smokeless gunpowder + Shimose explosives formed a generational advantage for the Beiyang naval division in the ironclad era, and this can no longer be compensated by courage alone. Similarly, the naval battles in World War I also used bloody examples to illustrate a truth, that is, the hard strength of the fleet has largely determined the final battle outcome.

Now, Admiral Pound is demanding that all detachments carry forward the traditional spirit of attacking the enemy and leave no room for retreat, which is obviously contrary to the tactical norms of the present era. You must know that when the British Navy put forward the slogan of attacking the enemy, naval warfare had not even entered the age of gunpowder; Even in the early 19th century, when Nelson thwarted Napoleon's ambitions, naval battles continued to involve a large number of ship rammings and close-range firearms. And today, everything is handed over to the fire control system, artillery shells, and mechanical duel with armor steel, even if a soldier is too brave, can he still violate the rules of physics on his own?

In addition to this, the aviation of the German fleet was also a force that made Tovey feel uneasy and afraid. In the Scapa Bay sneak attack on September 3, which was regarded as a great shame by the whole of Britain, the German aircraft carriers attacked in two waves, directly taking away 38 British first-line warships, including 5 capital ships; Even if the British side was caught off guard, so that a large number of warships were neatly parked in berths and named by German planes one by one, the attack efficiency of the opposing planes was really too shocking. If the German carrier-based aircraft could also have a high level of attack efficiency against moving targets on the sea surface, then the British search fleet would definitely be more than lucky: as long as the weather was clear (as a result), the Germans could carry out unequal over-the-horizon strikes against the enemy!

"Our naval aviation is simply too weak." Tovey said to himself in his heart. Just 20 years ago, Britain was a leader in naval aviation, far ahead of Japanese students and American nouveau riche in terms of technology and experience, and the European powers were a bunch of ignorant summer bugs who did not know autumn and winter. However, today, the roles of the two sides have been reversed 180 degrees. The Germans, relying on their sophisticated industry and rigorous tenacity, built up almost the world's most powerful maritime aviation force in just ten years, leaving behind their British counterparts who had been dancing and dancing for twenty years. The British Naval Aviation, like all other British armed forces, was self-deceiving throughout the 30s, and was not at all willing to face up to Hitler's Germany's provocations and expansions. When the other side hit the door, the British Navy found that the big stick in his hand had already been eaten by ants; Just by the steel machete of the Germans, it was shattered into debris all over the ground! If not, how could the North Atlantic now allow the Germans to run rampant?

"If the German fleet has a large number of escort warships, then at least they should also be damaged and slowed down." Just as Tovey was anxious about the fate of the British naval officers and men, he suddenly heard Admiral Pound speak again. Tovey's heart was shocked, and a little relief immediately welled up on his face. Compared with launching a desperate onslaught against the German fleet, Pound's order undoubtedly gave the front-line troops considerable room for manoeuvre, allowing the latter to avoid many unnecessary losses and sacrifices. As for the interception of the German fleet as a result, Tovey was not too worried. Because as long as the speed of the Germans can be slowed down, then with the innate advantage of geography, it will be difficult for them to successfully escape back to their homeland under the encirclement and interception of the British fleet. At present, the British navy of Surian has suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Scarpa Bay, but the scale of the surface ships she has assembled in the North Atlantic is still beyond the reach of the German fleet!

Now one can only hope that German carrier-based aircraft are not good at dealing with high-speed warships. Tovey muttered to himself.

The sun was shining, the waves were undulating, and Commodore Harwood, a British Navy in his fifties, was staring intently at the charts in front of him with his hands propped up on his table. His uniform was clean, and his curly brown hair was combed neatly and neatly; Although his face is not very handsome, his shrewd and capable temperament stands out from the crowd.

"General, can you really conclude that the Germans will sail in this direction?" A few steps away, Lieutenant Commander Haig, the captain of the heavy cruiser Exeter, spoke in confusion. According to the order sent by London, its own G fleet must make every effort to hunt down the German warships that appeared in the northwest of the Azores; However, what Haig did not expect was that the brigadier general in front of him did not have the slightest intention of approaching the target sea area, but set the fleet target in an area a full 400 nautical miles away from there. In Haig's view, this behavior is completely unreasonable: the North Atlantic is so vast that how can you possibly win the jackpot if you put all your bets on this one point?

"Lieutenant Colonel, do you think I'm delirious today and ignore even basic maritime knowledge?" Harwood said, looking up from the table and staring at the faces of the people beside him. Pierced by Harwood's inner thoughts, Hugedon was in a hurry, shaking his head and denying: "I have never doubted your judgment, General. Only this time, I was really puzzled by the target you chose. Now our fleet is less than 500 nautical miles from the place where the German battleships appeared, and it will take only a day to reach it; Why don't we try to search that area, but instead go to the outlying areas to do this kind of lucky thing? ”

Harwood smiled and said, "Don't deny it, Lieutenant Colonel. Whoever it is in change may think that my decision is crazy. This time, however, I was more than half certain that the Germans would go in this direction. ”

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, do you know in what areas the German Navy today is going to be stronger than ours?" Harwood asked Hagrid. Without hesitation, Haig immediately replied: "Of course, it is a new battleship." Our battleships of the George V class not only started construction a year and a half later than their German contemporaries, but they were also armed with guns of several grades smaller in caliber. If it weren't for the Air Force bombers that damaged the Bismarck, it would be hard to imagine the catastrophic consequences of this mighty ship entering the North Atlantic. ”

Harwood froze for a moment, and suddenly realized that Haig's words were too much for him to refute. In the field of traditional capital ships, the British Navy today is also extremely weak. The mighty navy that once led the world with the Dreadnought is no longer in its former glory, and only some rags that should have been thrown into the garbage heap are still struggling to support and survive. As soon as he thought of this, Harwood's heart could not help but feel a deep sadness: Could it be that the era that belonged to Britain was really so completely gone, leaving not even the last trace of afterglow?

"Indeed, the new battleships of the Germans were more powerful than any of the ships of the Royal Navy. But what they really have a clear advantage over us is their carrier-based aircraft forces. Both in terms of overall numbers and individual performance, German carrier-based aircraft have a huge advantage over us. And these aircraft, in addition to being able to conduct reconnaissance, can also carry bombs and torpedoes to strike at our warships! Harwood tried to suppress the pessimism in his heart, and said unhurriedly, "Well, if you were the commander of the German fleet, would you put this force capable of both reconnaissance and attack into the scabbard, and simply pin your hope that we would not be able to discover their luck?" ”

"Of course not!" Haig shook his head flatly.

A confident smile appeared on Hawood's lips and said, "That's right. The Germans certainly did not want to waste their air forces, so they chose a route that avoided storm zones and rough sea conditions. And according to the report sent by our submarine the next day, they had already taught the Germans a hard lesson with torpedoes; If the German fleet were to prepare for their return voyage, then this sea would almost become a must for them. With that, Harwood drew a conspicuous circle with a pencil on the chart in front of him.

Hearing this analysis, Haig only felt a sense of comfort and clarity in a sudden epiphany, and when he took a deep breath, his eyes were already full of admiration and admiration when he looked at Harwood. However, after a while, Haig's heart suddenly moved, and he couldn't help but say: "General, even if your judgment of the actions of the German fleet is completely accurate, as you just said, there are carrier-based aviation units in the German fleet with amazing combat effectiveness!" If we rush over like this, it will be easy to be spotted by the plane. By that time, not only would the German warships have long since fled, but we would also face a threat from the air. ”

Harwood slowly turned his head, and there was a look of determination on his ordinary face, and said, "The soldiers of the Royal Navy are fearless of any challenge, how can they be timid before the battle has even begun?" In any case, we need to do our duty as members of the Royal Navy! (To be continued.) )