"Two destroyers were sunk, 116 were killed and wounded, 32 were captured, and all this happened before the eyes of our fishermen! And we don't even see the shadow of the enemy! Or did the fishermen see what the hell was attacking us! In the end, it was the Germans who asked the fishermen to save people! Centuries of prestige of the Royal Navy have been ruined! Damn the Germans, they are deliberately humiliating the Royal Navy, and the entire Harwich fleet will be nailed to the pillar of shame! ”

Harwich Fleet Commander Reginald? York? Brigadier General Tirit gritted his teeth and cursed that the political significance of this German operation was clearly greater than the military significance. The loss of just 2 Class I destroyers was nothing to mention to the Royal Navy, but the Germans were clearly slapping them in the face.

Britain had just declared war, and the whole country was in a frenzy, and there were many voices in the country clamoring for revenge for the Amphion and teaching the Germans a lesson. However, before the Royal Navy could do anything, the Germans slapped him with a backhand. At a distance of 100 kilometers from the coastline of the British Empire, in front of the citizens of the British Empire, attacking the Harwich fleet with submarines, who could not see the pertinence of this? Especially as the commander of the Harwich fleet, Tirit, of course, knew that the Amphion incident had nothing to do with the Germans, so the Germans' actions were obviously full of revenge.

But the British public did not care, and they only saw their fleet being taken by the Germans again with the same means of attack, this time closer to the British coastline. In particular, the fishermen who were pointed at the guns of the floating submarines would surely spread unfavorable remarks against the Royal Navy in their panic when they thought that the German submarines had been lurking around them for an unknown amount of time and could tear themselves to pieces at any time, and the accusations from all walks of life would put Tyrit under unspoken pressure.

"So we need to do something to wash away this shame, Reggie." The command is also based in Harwich, and the commander of the Royal Navy's submarine force, Roger? Brigadier General Case said to Tierit.

"We?" Tyrit looked at Keith with some confusion.

"That's right, us." Keith laughed confidently, "Although it may not be embarrassing for you to say so. However, the two attacks of the Germans were very perfect from a tactical point of view, especially the second one, which perfectly demonstrated the ability of the submarine as an offensive weapon as a technical weapon, and it has to be said that the Germans were indeed much bolder than us in the use of submarines. ”

Tyrit nodded, there has always been a big disagreement within the Royal Navy about the understanding and use of submarines. A considerable number of people believed that this was a weapon used by cowards, and after the Amphion incident, they even rebuked the submarine officers and men of the German Navy for "being no different from pirates except for wearing uniforms". On the other hand, most of those who recognize the value of submarines believe that submarines are a coastal defensive weapon, as is the case with His Excellency Fisher.

Keys in front of him didn't think so, although he was born in the cruiser, served as a cruiser captain, and was once considered very likely to serve in the battle cruiser, but after being unexpectedly transferred to the submarine force, he was bent on promoting the status of submarines in the Royal Navy. This successful attack by the Germans did coincide with the idea that submarines could take on offensive missions, which he had always advocated.

"On the day of the declaration of war. Whitehall gave orders to all fleets of the Royal Navy, with no instructions for the submarine forces. Keith was somewhat dissatisfied: "Now they should be able to recognize the huge role of submarines." And what the Germans can do, we can do. ”

"So you also want to use submarines to sneak up on the German ships?" "The surface ships of the German Navy did not dare to confront the Royal Navy at all, and now they dare to enter the North Sea with some camouflaged minelayers, and once such a target is discovered, two destroyers can solve it," Tirit asked. Tyrit said bitterly that his fleet had received eyewitnesses from fishing boats returning to port, saying that strange cargo ships were "dropping cargo overboard from the ship." However, due to the fact that at this time the fleet became overwhelmed by two losses. Therefore, it was too late for the report to be taken seriously by Tirit and a destroyer was sent to track it down. However, Tyrit has already made this area a key patrol area, if it is really a camouflaged minelayer of the Germans. As long as she dares to show up next time, then she will definitely be caught by herself.

"Of course not, and even sinking such a target is not worth mentioning, if we want to wash away the shame that the Germans have brought to the Royal Navy, then we have to do a big vote to boost morale." Keith tapped his finger on the chart in front of Tyrit: "Like here." ”

"Helgoland?" Tyrit's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at where Keith was pointing: "You want your submarine to go deep into the German defensive circle?" It's too risky! And what can I do? Your submarine has been discovered by the Germans, and I can't rush in to save people. ”

"Of course I know that Helgoland Bay is not easy to enter. On the day of the declaration of war, Whitehall didn't give any assignment to the submarine force, so I found something to do for my boys. Keith said with some smugness: "I sent 2 E-class ships of the 1st detachment to the Helgoland Bay for patrol reconnaissance. ”

"The result?" Tyrit hurriedly asked.

"As a result, Helgoland Bay is really not easy to enter." Keith spread his hands: "The Germans have done a fairly tight defense of the Helgoland Bay, the outermost patrol line of the Germans was 25 nautical miles west of the Helgoland Bay, but now the Germans have expanded the defense area, and now they are supported by light cruisers. Therefore, it is unlikely that you want to sneak deeper. ”

Saying this, Tirit frowned as he watched Keith mark the symbol on the chart, representing the German patrol route.

"However, although it is not possible to go deeper, it is not a big problem to touch the first patrol line of the Germans." Keith nodded again with his finger on the chart: "If we can lure out the outermost patrol of the Germans, then it will be too late for the support fleet behind to come to support, we can concentrate our superior forces and eat the outermost patrol in one bite, and if we have enough troops, we can even kill the light cruisers they rushed to support!" Keith confidently spoke out about his plans.

"I now have 1 light cruiser and 30 destroyers in my hands, and it is not a big problem to eat the outer patrols, but I am afraid that I will not be able to deal with the light cruisers of the Germans." Territ said he had agreed to the plan in his heart.

"I'll ask Commodore Goodenough's First Light Cruiser to help with the Grand Fleet, but if I don't get it......" Keith paused for a moment, then said with some discouragement, "Then I'll have to pack up the outer patrols and evacuate immediately." ”

"Well, we need to continue to refine the plan now." Tyrit stared at the German naval patrol line marked on the nautical chart, and said with some impatience.

While Keith and Tyritt were plotting how to lure the German fleet out, a German fleet was about to set sail in the distant Philippines.

"Your Excellency, the supply work will take another hour to complete." Captain Felix of the heavy cruiser Scharnhorst? Colonel Schultz to Maximilian, the commander of the Far Eastern Fleet, who was standing on the dock and watching the scene of the tense replenishment operation. Feng? Lieutenant General Spee reported.

"Hmm" Spee nodded, but didn't say much, her eyes still staring at the behemoth docked on the dock.

Schultz followed the eyes of the vice admiral, and the battleship, which was already more familiar to him than his home in Germany, showed an orange color in the sunset, looking a little solemn and a little desolate.

On the dock, huge booms swing back and forth, hoisting heavy shells onto the deck, and with the efforts of sailors, slowly sent to the ammunition depot protected by heavy armor. Through the pressure pumps on the dock, the heavy oil in the underground oil depot is continuously injected into the hull of the ship through a thicker oil pipe, and on the other side, the sailors who help deliver coal to the ship are now covered in soot and have become black. Everything indicates that this battleship is about to go to the battlefield.

"It's a life-or-death journey." Spee suddenly spoke: "We will not sail much closer than the Russian sea expedition at the beginning. ”

Schultz knew what His Excellency Vice Admiral's words meant, and how could his fleet break through the encirclement and interception of the British Royal Navy's fleets all over the world? Where is the various material supplies of the fleet solved? How can the condition of a ship sailing tens of thousands of miles be guaranteed? The Russians' naval expedition has only been 10 years ago, and the outcome of this expedition is a painful lesson that every naval officer will never forget even to his death.

"But we're not Russians." Schultz raised his head and replied with pride: "We are fully prepared, the entire fleet is in the best condition for both personnel and ships, and we will surely triumph." ”

Both Scharnhorst-class armoured cruisers underwent a maintenance in the dockyard in Subic Harbour, where the adsorbent on the bottom of the ship was thoroughly cleaned and repainted with a thick layer of paint. The powertrain underwent a full inspection to ensure good operation. During this time, the officers and men on the ship were fully relaxed and recuperated, and the fleet in the hands of Spee was in the best condition at this time.

"Yes, we have everything in place." Spee said lightly: "The Far East Fleet of the Royal German Navy is not the Second Pacific Fleet of Tsarist Russia, and I am not Rozhest Stevensky. ”

After a few more careful observations at the battleship, which was closely related to his fate and the fate of the entire fleet in the next voyage, Spey took a step towards the gangway: "Once the supply is complete, sail immediately, the Ron and the Emden are still waiting to meet us, let's go and have some fun with the British!" ”

"Yes! Your Excellency, Lieutenant General! (To be continued.) )

PS: In the previous chapter about the torpedo launch of submarines, a well-meaning book friend reminded me that the early torpedoes were fired using a wrench instead of a button, and strong evidence was provided, thanks here, and the content of the previous chapter has been modified.

By the way, I strongly condemn the article describing the sinking of 3 armored cruisers by the U-9 of Verdigan, saying that the torpedo chief pressed the button!