In London, the smog-filled meeting room of Whitehall was filled with smoke and the United Kingdom's cabinet members were smoky and depressed. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"This is the biggest defeat of the Royal Navy in a century." Prime Minister Asquith's voice was not high, but it smashed into everyone's heart like a sledgehammer: "The Royal Navy can bear losses and encounter setbacks, but I never thought that the Royal Navy would suffer such a fiasco, and the people would lose confidence in the Royal Navy and lose confidence in this war." ”

Whether it was the ambush of the German submarines on the Dogger Sandbank or the active sneak attack on the Helgoland Bay but it was beaten out, whether it was the attack on the Far Eastern shipping by the Spey fleet or the sneak attack on Alexandria that has not yet been figured out, it can only be regarded as a setback for the Royal Navy, but the defeat of the battlefleet in a decisive battle at sea is something that every British person dare not imagine and cannot imagine!

"I was deceived by the Germans, who created a trap into which I sent our fleet, and I will take full responsibility." Fisher said with a grim face.

For Fisher, this defeat was not only a huge loss on the ships of the Royal Navy and a shameful stain on its reputation, but more importantly, the consequent loss of sea supremacy in the Eastern Mediterranean, which was a great shame for Fisher, who had been the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet and understood the significance of the Mediterranean route.

"We have all been deceived by the Germans, and it is not your responsibility alone, John, the most important thing now is how we should deal with this defeat." Asquith said in a deep voice.

The battle plan was drawn up by Fisher, but it was not proposed by him, and the entire cabinet adopted it. And it was precisely because of Fisher's boundless enthusiasm for his work that the affairs within the Royal Navy, which had just entered the war, could continue smoothly, and the shipyards were able to carry out orders to build ships for the Royal Navy before the funds were available.

Asquith knew very well that a dishonorable defeat on the back, who had served the Royal Navy for almost all of his life, would not only serve no purpose, but would further demoralize the Royal Navy.

"The first thing we need to think about now is how to stabilize the mood in society." Winston Churchill said: "Your Excellency the Prime Minister is right, we cannot let the people lose faith in the Royal Navy, lose faith in the war. ”

"We can't have blocked the news from such a fiasco." Asquith shook his head. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Gulf of Helgoland, the government was overwhelmed by the surging public opinion, and if it was known that the Royal Navy had suffered an even more disastrous defeat, the attitude of the people would be a headache for Asquith just thinking about it.

"No, there is no need to block the news, all we have to do is to guide the direction of public opinion." Winston Churchill put it bluntly: "We need to convince the people that it is not the incompetence of the Royal Navy that has led to the defeat, but that the Royal Navy can still bring victory to the Kingdom!" ”

"What should we do?" Asquith asked.

"First of all, we must admit that the cunning Germans did cleverly set a trap to lure us into falling for it, but even so, the Royal Navy had a chance to crush the German trap. Then it was the escape of the French that deprived the Royal Navy of the opportunity to fight the Germans again, which ultimately led to a complete defeat! And the Royal Navy still showed valor and fearlessness in the face of such adversity! The defeat was only temporary, and with the support of such a spirit, the Royal Navy was bound to win the final victory! ”

"To do so would undermine mutual trust between us and France!" Field Marshal Kitchener immediately objected. The British Expeditionary Force was on its way to France to fight alongside the French Army, and now the Navy wanted to shirk its responsibilities, and it was the Army that was ultimately affected.

"Your Excellency Marshal, was it not the withdrawal of the French fleet that led to the complete defeat of the Combined Fleet? Wasn't it because the French dropped the ships of the Royal Navy that we suffered so much damage? Now it should be the French who are worried about losing our trust, not us who are worried about losing the trust of the French! Churchill replied unceremoniously: "Now it is the first thing to keep the people confident in this war, otherwise the French will not be able to afford the consequences!" ”

Kitchener would be tempted to refute that as the one who came up with this battle plan to drag the French into the water, are you Churchill not responsible? However, when the plan was approved by the Cabinet, he voted in favor of it. It is also true that the withdrawal of the French fleet led to the dispersal of the fleet and eventually caused tragic consequences, and if Britain withdrew from the war, the consequences would indeed be unbearable for the French, and for a time Kitchener was speechless by Churchill.

"We must now give the people an account." Asquith pinched the bridge of his nose helplessly: "And the Germans must take the initiative to admit defeat before they hype up their victory." Although the words were not explained, everyone understood the attitude of the prime minister.

The result of failure cannot be changed, but it is possible to admitting failure first. If the German fleet had returned to the Adriatic and had produced a detailed report of the battle, any further explanation by the British government would have created the impression of shirking responsibility. Only by taking the initiative to report before the Germans can the preconceived notion among the population that the Royal Navy fought valiantly, but was dragged down and finally defeated.

Asquith didn't want to use this method either, he didn't have the courage to take responsibility, but now it is clear that he will not be able to undo the effects of this fiasco by resigning. At this point, as the prime minister, you must put domestic sentiment stability first before you can think about anything else.

"Your Excellency, if we mobilize the dreadnoughts of the Grand Fleet......," said Jericho, the commander of the Grand Fleet, unwillingly.

"You know that's impossible, John." Asquith interrupted Jericho, and the Grand Fleet Commander sat back in his chair.

After this battle, the French Navy suffered heavy losses, 2 dreadnoughts were sunk, and 6 Danton-class pre-dreadnoughts sank and were wounded. Although the French Navy still has 15 former dreadnoughts, most of the old ships are useless, and only 2 Republic-class and 3 Liberty-class ships in the entire French Navy are still ready to fight before the damaged Danton-class is repaired.

The loss of armored cruisers was even more painful, unlike Britain and Germany, the French Navy did not have light cruisers in the real sense at all, and after the loss of the cutting-edge armored cruisers, the cruiser fleet in the hands of the French had no possessions at this time.

At best, the old armored cruisers could compete with the German Elizabeth-class heavy cruisers, and the protective cruisers were not qualified to compete with the German light cruisers.

Under these circumstances, the French navy did not even have the confidence to confront the Italian navy, and it was impossible to continue to throw all the last possessions into the desperate battle to accompany the British in another decisive naval battle.

The Royal Navy is also difficult if it wants to fight alone, the strongest former dreadnought Lord Nelson class sank and seriously damaged, the cutting-edge King Edward VII class 1 sank, 5 ships fell behind and did not return to Malta, although the specific losses are not clear, but presumably the bad luck is less.

Although the Royal Navy has the most powerful dreadnought fleet in the world, the situation of these dreadnoughts is very embarrassing at this time, and there are only 4 King Edward VII-class and 6 Duncan-class dreadnoughts. As long as the Allied Combined Fleet has 3 dreadnoughts still in combat effectiveness, and half of the former dreadnoughts are slightly damaged, then with the return of 9 old ships equipped with 260 mm naval guns, the Royal Navy has no chance of turning the tables.

And if you want to use the numerical superiority of the Royal Navy's former dreadnoughts to completely crush the Germans, then not only should you put nine old Majesty-class ships into battle, but also send six old men from the Indian fleet and the Chinese fleet back to the Mediterranean to join Vice Admiral Carden's fleet.

However, this plan to assemble almost all of the Royal Navy's former dreadnoughts to fight the Germans was also unrealistic. It would take a lot of time to summon the old man to return from the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which in turn would defeat the original purpose of quickly regaining control of the sea in the Eastern Mediterranean and deterring Italy and Greece from falling to the Allies. The only solution to this awkward situation is to mobilize the dreadnoughts of Jellico's Grand Fleet.

Asquith understood Jericho's intentions, and under his long-range blockade theory, even if he didn't have to fight the Germans in the North Sea, he could slowly trap the Germans through a long-range blockade, so sending some dreadnoughts to the Mediterranean would not affect the Royal Navy's strategy.

Although he understood, Asquith could not agree. The Royal Navy's successive setbacks since the start of the war have been questioned by the public, and if this fiasco is not handled properly and the people lose confidence in the Royal Navy, then the next cabinet's war policy will be affected.

And although the German Navy's Ocean Fleet is now unable to break through the long-range blockade, their navy is still actively moving. After the Battle of Helgoland, in retaliation, the large cruisers of the German Navy's 1st Reconnaissance Fleet also began shelling British coastal cities, while light ships attacked British fishing boats near their fishing grounds in the North Sea.

Under these circumstances, the voices of condemning the Royal Navy for passively avoiding war and failing to protect the British people are becoming louder, and if the dreadnoughts in the Grand Fleet are removed, then even if Germany only makes a slight offensive gesture, those ignorant people may spread rumors that the Germans want to land in Britain and cause social panic. If you look at a rumor in the Spanish-American War that caused the American people to almost move inland on a large scale, we know that this kind of thing is not impossible.

Jericho also understood the Prime Minister's concerns, so Asquith made him lose the idea of continuing.

"So be it." Asquith said helplessly: "I have to go to Buckingham Palace to tell His Majesty this unfortunate news." ”

In the study of Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, the German Kaiser and the Italian Foreign Minister are chatting and laughing.

"Your Majesty, allow me to pay my most sincere respect for the glorious victory of the Imperial German Navy." Sannino said with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Sannino is very well informed, and we have not yet announced it. And you are one thing wrong, this brilliant victory was achieved by the Imperial Navy together with the Navy of the Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom. Jochen corrected with a smile.

"What Your Majesty said is that this is a victory achieved by working together, and it is a victory for the entire alliance." Sonino replied with a chuckle.

Jochen's small stab at Croatia was more active than Italy's, while Sannino deliberately ignored Croatia's role, emphasizing that Italy could share in the glory and fruits of victory as part of the alliance. In just 3 sentences, the two completed a small confrontation.

"I believe that after this victory, Mr. Sannino, there will be a lot less resistance for you to advance your policies."

Although the foreign minister of the Kingdom of Italy did not suffer a loss in words, he could not only move his mouth if he wanted to really share the fruits of victory, and Jochen stopped there.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Italy will certainly act more aggressively to help the entire Alliance preserve this hard-won victory." Sannino replied with a smile.

Sanino's answer made Jochen smile slightly, not afraid of Italy's greed, but afraid that he was not greedy. If Italy really took the advantage by himself, then he would not be able to get off the ship of the alliance completely.

"I am very confident that the Kingdom of Italy will play a very positive role in the final victory of the League."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for having such a high opinion of our country." Sonino bowed slightly to show his gratitude, and then said with some embarrassment: "Although I know that your navy has won a great victory, I don't know the specific situation, I don't know if Your Majesty can tell me?" If there's something that involves confidentiality and it's inconvenient, forget it. ”

It seems that there are still worries about the outcome of the victory. Although the victory was won, if the combined fleet of Dirk also suffered heavy losses, the Italians would still be able to wait and see whether the Allies would be able to hold on to the victory.

Glancing at Tirpitz, Tirpitz shook his head imperceptibly. Jochen also hooked a sarcastic smile on the corner of his mouth: "The fleet has not returned to port yet, so the specific battle report cannot be sorted out yet, but the general situation of the Navy General Staff has been sorted out, let Alfred introduce it to Mr. Sunino." ”

"On the morning of the 12th, the Croatian Navy cruiser and the British Navy armored cruiser came into contact, and the battle lasted until the afternoon, the two sides suffered mutual damage, and the main battleships of the Dirk Combined Fleet arrived and annihilated the British fleet, and then encountered the main force of the battleships of the British and French Combined Fleet, and the two sides fought until nightfall, sinking 1 French Navy dreadnought and 2 British Navy front dreadnoughts.

During the night pursuit, 5 British ex-dreadnoughts were left behind and 2 were sunk. From midnight on the 12th to the early morning of the 13th, our Mediterranean cruiser fleet encountered the armored cruisers of the French Navy and completely annihilated them, only a few destroyers escaped, but our cruisers were also heavily damaged and had to retreat to join the Croatian cruiser fleet.

Before dawn on the 13th, the battleship formation of the British and French combined fleet was ambushed by our submarines and sank 2-3 large ships. After daybreak, one of the British ex-dreadnoughts that had previously encountered at night met the combined fleet of cruisers after the convergence and was sunk. As for whether there are other results, we need to wait for a more detailed battle report.

However, now it is certain that we sank at least 6 more battleships and 8 armored cruisers of the combined Anglo-French fleet, while we only lost some cruisers and destroyers. ”

"None of your country's battleships have been lost?" Sonnino shouted in surprise, although he could feel that it might be a big victory from the attitude of the Germans, but Sonino did not expect that there would be no loss of battleships!

"Although each ship was damaged to varying degrees, it was true that there was no loss." Tirpitz's smug words could not be concealed, and the furious beard kept shaking, showing that he could not control the smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty, allow me once again to pay my most sincere respect for the glorious victory of the German Imperial Navy." This time, Sannino's expression was more formal and serious.

Jochen didn't bother to correct his mistake anymore: "It's a victory for the whole League, and it will take the efforts of the whole League to hold this victory, and Italy will play a crucial role in the coming period." ”

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"Although it is not yet clear the specific damage to our battleships, it is undeniable that the repair of these ships will take a lot of time, and the most powerful maritime force in the Eastern Mediterranean during this period will be the Royal Italian Navy, and with the successive commissioning of your dreadnoughts, the Royal Italian Navy will be one of the most important maritime forces in the Eastern Mediterranean, and even in the entire Mediterranean, so I hope that the Royal Italian Navy can assume more important responsibilities."

Jochen smiled and continued to bewitch: "The Entente has lost the sea control in the Eastern Mediterranean, as long as the navy of the Kingdom of Italy cooperates, we can completely cut off the Mediterranean route, which will greatly weaken the strength of the Entente." In order to achieve this goal, I believe that it is the duty of the Royal Italian Navy to hold the Strait of Tunis, and I believe that the Entente will not be able to stop the actions of the Kingdom of Italy in a short time. Of course, I think it is reasonable if the Kingdom of Italy thinks that the French threat to Sardinia should be lifted first, but it is more important to ask the Kingdom of Italy to shoulder the burden of holding the Strait of Tunis, with the victory of the League as a whole.

After the ships of the Mediterranean Fleet were repaired and their combat effectiveness was restored, Germany was willing to cooperate with the further actions taken by the Kingdom of Italy to better hold the Tunis Strait. This, of course, requires the Royal Italian Navy to allow our fleet to use your country's ports. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for having such high expectations of the Kingdom of Italy, and I will do my best to make this matter happen!" Sonino said excitedly.

If the Germans were just empty promises when they said they supported Italy in seizing the French colonies, now the German Kaiser is explicitly supporting Italy in the occupation of Corsica and Tunisia! And to encourage the Kingdom of Italy to further seize Algeria!

And now that the strength of Britain and France in the Mediterranean has been severely damaged, no one can threaten the landing route through the Tyrrhenian Sea to North Africa, and in the event of a confrontation between the French Army and the Germans, the Italian Army will not be resisted at all!

"I am going to leave for Pula to-morrow to meet the returning admirals, and I wonder if Mr. Sannino would like to go with me? In this way, you can feel the joy of victory more closely, and it will surely add more convincing power to your future work, right? ”

"As gladly as you please, Your Majesty."