"Stoddat's 5th Cruiser Squadron is currently in Port Stanley, with the armored cruisers Carnarphon, Kent, and Donegal, and the light cruiser Bristol. The armored cruiser USS Suffolk in Halifax, the four armored cruisers USS Berwick, HMS Lancaster, HMS Essex and the Frenchman Concode were in the West Indies, and the protective cruiser USS Punishment was temporarily anchored at Ascension Island. That's all the cruisers we can currently move in the Atlantic. ”

Fisher paused slightly, then continued: "Due to the possibility of an attack on Port Stanley, the 5th cruiser squadron will go to South Africa as planned. ”

"8 armored cruisers still can't beat the Spey fleet?" Lloyd George looked incredulous.

At first, Lloyd George thought that the Royal Navy was capable of dealing with the present dire situation, but as Fisher said that the 5th Cruiser Squadron must avoid battle and leave Port Stanley, he could no longer sit still.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer of the British Empire, he could not accept that the Empire's sea lines were constantly threatened by the Germans!

"It's seven, Your Excellency." Fisher corrected: "If Spee had not deliberately wasted time at sea, the Suffolk would not have arrived at Port Stanley before the Germans." ”

"The Royal Navy judged that such a force would not be able to prevent Spee's fleet from attacking Port Stanley?" Asquith asked.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister." Fisher replied decisively, but his words were devoid of the confidence and toughness of the past: "Although it is impossible to know the specific situation of the engagement, the Germans only took one hour to deal with all the escort ships, including the Japanese armored cruiser Ibuki, which was equipped with 12-inch guns and 7-inch armor.

That is, none of our armored cruisers could stop the shells fired by the Germans' 9.4-inch naval guns. And referring to the performance of the Croats' light cruisers in long-range artillery battles in the Battle of the Ionian Sea, if the Spee fleet had the same level of gunnery, the Spee fleet, which had the advantage in speed, would have sunk our warships one by one in a long-range artillery battle, and the numerical superiority would be meaningless. ”

"That sounds like ......," Edward Gray asked, somewhat uncertain, "the same thing you praised the Invincible?" ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Fisher's voice was filled with bitterness: "The Scharnhorst class can indeed be called a quasi-battle cruiser, a veritable cruiser killer. ”

Admitting that the Scharnhorst class is a quasi-war patrol is very tough for Fisher.

Although the creator of the Dreadnought, which ushered in a new era of naval battleships, Fisher was a pioneer in advocating that the Royal Navy did not need battleships.

Fisher, who firmly believes in his formula of battle cruiser + detachment defense = global sea power, has always believed that as the promoter of naval technological progress, the Invincible class is his most outstanding contribution to the Royal Navy's technological leadership.

Especially in the presence of German-class battleships and the brilliance of the Dreadnought was not as dazzling as in history, Fisher always believed that the battlecruiser was the ship of the Royal Navy to establish absolute superiority over the Germans!

To admit that the Scharnhorst-class was a quasi-combat cruiser would be to show that the Germans were ahead of the Royal Navy, and that what they thought was the advantage they had established for the Royal Navy did not actually exist, which was a denial of the achievements of the naval technological revolution that Fisher was proud of.

But if this is not recognized, then the cabinet will not understand what a tricky situation the Royal Navy is facing, and an optimistic assessment of the enemy's strength will only invite painful consequences, and the lessons of the naval battle in the Sea of Ionia are deep enough.

"If this is the case, then what is the purpose of the continuation of the 5th cruiser detachment to South Africa?" Gray asked, puzzled.

The Spee fleet had already appeared on the eastern coast of the South Pacific, and the order of the 5th Cruiser Squadron to go to South Africa to join the Shannon in the search for the Indian Ocean no longer made sense.

If the Spee fleet successfully reached Walvis Bay, then the greatly strengthened German African Fleet would not be able to deal with the Royal Navy's forces in the Indian Ocean at this time, and what difference would it make if there was a 5th cruiser squadron?

"At the outbreak of the war, the Stralsund of the German African Fleet was anchored in the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanganyika, and has now entered the Indian Ocean. In addition, the Kolburg in the German Far Eastern Fleet broke away from the Spee fleet and also entered the Indian Ocean. We need more high-speed ships to hunt down these two light cruisers. ”

"2 light cruisers only, and now the forces in the Indian Ocean are not enough?"

"The two light cruisers are both high-speed ships with a speed of more than 27 knots, and there are currently more than 70 large and small ships in the Indian Ocean, plus France, Japan, and Russia, which are involved in the search, but it is still difficult to catch the traces of these two ships."

"So the Royal Navy can't do anything about the Spee fleet now?" Lloyd George angrily interrupted the conversation between Gray and Fisher: "Then what will happen to the West African route when Spee arrives at Walvis Bay?" We have lost the Mediterranean route and cannot afford to lose the West African route again! ”

If the forces of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are not enough to deal with Spee, draw from the Grand Fleet! And what about the battlecruisers you admire? Aren't they there to deal with that?

"If the battlecruisers of the Ocean Fleet could be drawn......" Fisher replied embarrassed.

As the attack in the South Pacific was too sudden and the damage was too severe, the Prime Minister rushed to Whitehall to attend a meeting of the Admiralty as soon as he received the news. However, in the absence of agreement with the commander of the Grand Fleet, the Admiralty could not come up with a plan to deal with the current situation at this time.

But the cabinet members don't care about that, they just want the Royal Navy's battle plan!

"Then draw!" Lloyd George interrupted Fisher again and shouted.

"I don't agree with the transfer of battlecruisers." Jericho, who was sitting on the side, spoke.

"You have to agree!"

"What are the reasons for disagreeing?" Asquith stopped the somewhat distraught Chancellor of the Exchequer, frightened by the dire prospect that the British Empire might lose another shipping line: "We need a plausible explanation. ”

"Because the Royal Navy's long-range blockade strategy could not be changed, and our battle cruisers had to prevent German attacks on the blockade line. If the battlecruisers were drawn, then our numerical superiority over the Germans would no longer exist. ”

"We have 10 battlecruisers, 3 of which are the latest Lion class, and the transfer of 2 Invincible class should not affect our advantage over the Germans, right?"

"The two Invincibles are not guaranteed to wipe out the Spee, and they don't have the latest fire control equipment, so there's no advantage to fighting the Scharnhorst."

Jericho's words were very straightforward, which was nothing short of torment for Fisher.

When the Scharnhorst was first commissioned, Fisher did lament that the Germans had built the most powerful armored cruisers in the world, and although the Germans had always had a habit of using smaller caliber naval guns to achieve a balance of various performance indicators of battleships, Fisher would never associate the Scharnhorst-class with the 9.4-inch guns with the battlecruisers.

So this exclamation contained mockery and self-satisfaction for the Germans, because a few months later three Invincible-class ships were commissioned one after another, completely announcing the end of the era of armored cruisers. However, now he has to admit that the invincible class does not have any advantage against the Scharnhorst class.

"What is the Royal Navy going to do when the Naspey fleet arrives at Walvis Bay?" Asquith could accept Jericho's judgment, but he could not accept the reckless attack of the German fleet on the West African route.

"The best thing to do is to get them to send the battlecruiser Kongo with the Japanese." Jericho had always thought about the most powerful battleship in the Pacific: "The Japanese Ibuki armored cruiser was also sunk, and they should also hope to destroy the Spee fleet. And now that they are sending old armored cruisers and ex-dreadnoughts to the Indian Ocean, they should be told not to spend all their energy on seizing the German colonies in the Pacific. ”

"Diplomacy takes time." Gray looked embarrassed: "And on the issue of leasing the Kongo, we have made many requests, but the Japanese side has not relented. ”

"The Japanese are worried about the loss of the Kongo in a head-on battle with the German Ocean Fleet, but now they are only letting them deal with the Scharnhorst class, what reason do they have to refuse?" Jericho responded: "Time is not an issue, we need time too.

After the Battle of the Ionian Sea, we increased the number of Dreyer fire consoles, but it took time for the equipment to be in place and installed and commissioned. After the Japanese agreed to send the Kongo, the Grand Fleet would also draw 2 Invincible-class ships, which would be enough to deal with the threat of the Spee's fleet. ”

"And what about until the Japanese agree?"

"If the Germans' ships are scattered, then we will concentrate all the ships in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic for a search."

Jericho's answer was naturally unsatisfactory, the German African fleet had already attacked the routes off the coast of West Africa more than once, and the fleet in Cape Town, South Africa, had not once caught the tail of the Germans. Two German light cruisers in the Indian Ocean can make more than 70 large and small ships helpless. If the German Far East Fleet joined the raid routes, how could the Royal Navy have enough ships to hunt it down?

Moreover, how stupid are the Germans?

"What if the Germans don't disperse?" Asquith asked unwillingly.

"Then the Royal Navy can only avoid the edge for the time being." Jericho gave a disappointing answer with the same expression.

"Aren't so many of our dreadnoughts in the Indian Ocean useless?" Lloyd George slammed his fist on the table.

"Walvis Bay was a key German naval base, and the defenses there prevented us from getting close to the coastline for a blockade. If we are far from the coastline, it is impossible for the blockade line to be too long without loopholes, and we cannot keep a large number of ships blocked off the coast of Walvis Bay. And even if Walvis Bay is blocked, the Germans can go to Cameroon, and the Germans in the port of Douala are building well. ”

"So if the Japanese had not agreed to send the Kongo, then the Grand Fleet would not have sent battle cruisers even if the Germans were allowed to threaten the West African routes?"

"Yes." Jericho responded bluntly.

Jericho's straightforward and calm attitude only made everyone realize that anger could not change the determination of the commander of the Grand Fleet. Even Lloyd George, who was extremely angry, didn't know how to express his displeasure to Jericho for a while.

In the conference room in Whitehall, the cabinet members attending the Admiralty meeting fell silent for a moment.

Asquith knew he couldn't interfere with the Navy's strategy, and the Royal Navy's previous defeat had proved that long-range blockade was the right strategy to win at the highest cost. What's more, His Majesty the King would support the Navy, then no one would be able to force a change in Jericho's mind.

Fisher was indeed the one who could convince Jericho, but the defeat of Ionia did not give him the confidence to be such a lobbyist.

I didn't see the Admiralty, who had been shouting that he was going to take the initiative, and now he didn't use his loud voice to shout anything: "I'm going to give the Germans an iron fist." ”

In fact, it was not that Churchill did not want to shout, in fact, his eagerness at this time was not much worse than that of Lloyd George.

As a politician, while being good at playing with public opinion, it is also easy to be coerced by public opinion.

The Dogger Sandbank ambush, the Helgoland Bay scuffle, the Alexandria Raid, the Ionian Sea Trap, the Royal Navy tasted the bitter fruit of defeat again and again, and the German despicable and shameless shelling of Hartlepool and the successive submarine attacks made the British people question the ability of the Royal Navy to protect the British mainland.

In the aftermath of the shelling of Hartlepool, the communiqué issued by Whitehall caused an uproar in all walks of life, and Churchill, the Admiralty-Chancellor, was naturally unanimously condemned by the public.

Although this is because Jericho adheres to a long-range blockade strategy, the populace will not care about it, and they will only blame it all on the incompetence and inaction of the Admiralty.

Of course, as a good political hooligan, as long as he can achieve his goal, public opinion cannot influence Churchill's attitude. But public opinion will affect the attitude of the Parliament, and if the Parliament attacks the Royal Navy, then himself, the Minister of the Navy, will bear the brunt.

If he can suppress the parliament, it will not be a problem, but he is only the Minister of the Navy and not the Prime Minister.

The bad news from the South Pacific made Churchill realize that this was a major crisis in his political career! If the Royal Navy does not respond to Spee's fleet, then he, the Admiralty, may face impeachment by parliament and then step down.

But at this time, Churchill could not help it, and after the two defeats in the Gulf of Helgoland and the Ionian Sea, he also did not have the confidence to oppose the views of the commander of the Grand Fleet.

So he needs the attitude of the cabinet now, but it's clear that Asquith is not the kind of lord who likes to do micro-manipulation.

If His Excellency the Prime Minister does not exert political pressure on Jericho, then he will not be able to jump up and shout anything: "The Royal Navy will annihilate the Spee fleet at all costs!" So I can only sit on the sidelines and do it in a hurry.

Fortunately for Churchill, however, Jericho had to face more than just internal political pressures.

"Lord Jericho." Gray broke the silence in the conference room with his mouth: "Please don't forget that Australia was the one who suffered the most in this attack.

If the culprits responsible for the deaths of 20,000 Anzac officers and 900 Royal Australian Navy officers and men arrived safely at Walvis Bay because of the Royal Navy's inaction, then we will certainly face diplomatic pressure from Australia.

No! I'm already under diplomatic pressure from Australia!

The Australian ambassador has expressed to me strongly that he wants the Royal Navy to respond!

Moreover, the Australian Navy's battlecruiser USS Australia is now under the command of the Grand Fleet, and the light cruiser HMS Sydney was sunk in the Battle of Helgoland Bay.

Although I believe that the Australian Navy is not yet disobedient to the orders of the Grand Fleet, it is impossible for the Australians to be indifferent to the indifference of the Royal Navy!

If the Australian government refuses to continue sending soldiers to the European theater because of this, this is unacceptable to us! ”

"Even if it could lead to a German threat to the North Sea blockade, the Australians will be guaranteed to send more troops to Europe?" Jericho asked, frowning, that wasn't a reasonable reason.

"The Germans launched a massive offensive against the Russians on the Eastern Front." Asquith answered Jericho's doubts: "It is not clear what the specific situation will be, but judging by the reaction of the Russians, I am afraid that it is not optimistic." The Russian side has been asking us to launch an offensive on the Western Front to relieve his pressure. ”

"And the arrival of Spee's fleet in Walvis Bay will affect more than just the troops of the Australian mainland! The 30,000 Anzac troops and 50,000 Anglo-Indian troops in Egypt may not be able to take the West African route, and the 80,000 troops will have to pass through the South Pacific, detour through the Americas, and then cross the North Atlantic to reach Europe, such a time-wasting route is unacceptable to us! We need more soldiers now! ”

"I think the North Sea blockade is more important for this war than 80,000 soldiers." Jericho's words were still the same straightforward: "I can't risk the North Sea blockade being broken by the Germans." ”

Just when Jericho's attitude made everyone present angry but unable to vent, the chief of staff of the Royal Navy on the side spoke.

"We can try an air raid on Wilhelmshaven, and if Hipper's fleet can be wounded, even if it is only for a while, then the Grand Fleet should be able to draw battle cruisers against Spee."

Lieutenant General Stedi's voice was like heaven at this time.

Asquith glanced at Jericho, who was lost in thought but did not immediately object, and said his request with an eager attitude that he was afraid that Jericho would regret it: "I need to see this plan!" As soon as possible! ”