"The blatant seizure of our country's normal trade ships by the government of the Kingdom of Portugal some time ago has seriously affected the trade of the Reich, and is regarded as a serious provocation by the German Empire, the Reich has given them time, and they have chosen confrontation with the support of certain external forces, so far, in order to preserve the dignity and economic interests of the Reich, the German Reich has declared a state of war with the Kingdom of Portugal!"

On June 22, 1899, the Federal Foreign Office of the German Reich officially issued a declaration of war, omitting even the ultimatum steps, and when the German ambassador to Portugal delivered the relevant documents to Frank, who was so frightened that he almost sat on the ground!

At this time, thousands of miles away in the coastal waters of Angola, the detachment commanded by Hipper was heading towards Luanda, the largest seaport city in Angola! Behind the flagship Marquis Bismarck, the armored cruiser, were two transports carrying 1,000 German Army officers and their equipment, as well as an additional baggage ship, and finally the armored cruiser Hamburg and four minesweepers. The entire fleet sailed at a speed of more than 15 knots.

"If nothing else, the Imperial Government has sent the declaration of war to the Portuguese, and in three hours we will arrive off the coast of Luanda and attack." The staff officer delivered a document to Hipper, who was on the bridge.

"The intelligence sent by the radio relay ship indicates that the A fleet under the command of Count Spee will arrive in Luanda in 3 days, shall we wait for the Count's main fleet after we have captured Luanda?" The staff officer pondered for a moment and continued.

"Is there a situation with the fleet of the French now?" Hipper asked.

"The details are not clear, but according to the information transmitted from the country, it seems that the French are trying to interfere with the press, and Charlemagne, who was cruising the open sea, returned to the port of Dakar and carried out maintenance and coaling operations. 5 battleships of the French fleet are now in Dakar. The staff officer replied.

"Do we have enough supplies?" Hipper said after a moment of contemplation.

"Well, according to the pre-agreed plan, an American rapid supply ship will arrive in Luanda in half a day, carrying enough coal, heavy oil and food to support the two armored cruisers for two months."

"Okay, let's wait for the Americans' supply ships, and then quickly march to Cabinda with the Marines." It took only two minutes for Hipper to decide. He made this decision for two reasons: first, if he waited for the Spee fleet, then the French would most likely seize the northern part of Angola, which would be detrimental to the overall situation. Second, he did not believe that the French would open fire on the German fleet first, and the Germans would likewise avoid engaging the French first, in which case whoever could capture the important port first would have the advantage.

As for what if the two sides get into a fight? Hipper's idea is very single, so naturally he can fight and run if he can't! The speed of their own 2 battleships is more than 21 knots, and if they want to run, can the French catch up?

"There's a mine ahead!" Just after Hipper gave the order, the signal from the minesweeper in front made Hipper feel a little nervous, the Portuguese Navy is not afraid, those small boats are all tied together is not enough for Hipper to fight in a wave, but those deadly anchor mines are difficult to deal with, but fortunately, the Portuguese have not stored many mines in Angola.

After the minesweeper used a minesweeper to cut off the anchor mine's fixed lock, it was then eliminated one by one by the ship's small guns. From time to time, the water column generated by the detonation of the mine appeared on the surface of the sea, and the huge explosion could be heard even in Luanda, and the Portuguese already knew about the arrival of the enemy, but it was of no avail, because at this time, Luanda's military strength did not even have 200 men.

"Our fleet did not fight any battles except for a mine-clearing operation and a landing warfare exercise." Hipper wrote this in a telegram sent to the German Admiralty. As a naval officer, he expected a real battle!

And just when Hipper was expecting a real naval battle, the French fleet had already left the port of Dakar, and the fleet of 1 battleship and 2 protective cruisers, led by the flagship battleship Charlemagne, began to sail towards the Cabinda area. The two protective cruisers were the nearly 4,000-ton Descartes protective cruiser, launched in 1894, and the 8,000-ton battleship Dendlecastiaux, which had just been commissioned in 1899. Another battleship and a cruiser remained in the harbor because the coal loading operation had not yet been completed.

Just as the fleets of the two countries were approaching rapidly, the Spee fleet in the Atlantic Ocean was heading towards Angola at a speed of 20 knots, and it was originally said that virtue would act together, but Count Spee thought that the American fleet was too slow and took the first step, and at this time, Count Spee, who was on the bridge, finally received a telegram from home.

"All landing operations must be carried out, and the German African Fleet may seize or drive away French ships that have intruded into the belligerent waters. And when it came into contact with the French fleet, it fired a warning shot. When the French fleet made any hostile moves, the German African fleet could take any measures to counterattack! "June 23, 1899, 9 a.m. The Count of Spee finally got the authorization from home, and an hour later, through the radio relay ship provided by the Americans, Hippert also received this telegram!

For Count Spee and Hipper, this was just an authorization, they were soldiers, and they only had to carry out orders, but for Prince Ruprecht, who was far away in Berlin, it seemed to him that he could give this order quite a risk!

Just after the Germans issued a declaration of war, the Portuguese government immediately announced that it wanted France to enter Angola to maintain regional stability. Although the French government did not respond positively, it still demanded that Germany exercise restraint, and at the same time announced that it would order the fleet in Dakar to march towards Angola! And this action undoubtedly escalated the original confrontation between Germany and Portugal into a confrontation between Germany and France! Relations between the two sides immediately became tense!

If it was just a confrontation between Germany and France, the prince would not be too worried, anyway, Germany and France are feuding, and it is very common to have nothing to do, and Germany is now much stronger than France, and Russia is focusing on the Far East, and has no time to pay attention to European affairs. As long as the German army does not reach Paris, it is estimated that Russia will not make any substantive action. The prince's attitude is that in the face of a France, if you say fight, we will fight! Who is afraid of who!

The second chapter is presented on ~~ The recent subscription is very sad, and the author asks for comfort-! (To be continued.) )