On the bridge of the "Elector", Hipperr carefully observed the situation in the port of Seysfjörður. The naval fortress guarding the port was not grandiose, but consisted of 5 small batteries, and the British Navy's idea of relying on surface ships to defend the coastline and harbor made them relatively little invested in various naval fortresses, especially after the emergence of new battleships represented by dreadnoughts, their fortress guns did not keep up with the pace of the times.

Despite this, Hipper did not plan to use his two battleships to shoot at the opponent's fortress, although the battleship's firepower had some advantages, but the British fortress could be subjected to dozens of large-caliber naval guns, and the battleship could be repaired for a long time after a few shells from the fortress guns.

Before nightfall, the Hipper's formation launched a wave of artillery bombardment on the port of Seysfjörður, knocking some buildings and facilities near the port into smoke. Due to the distance between the Hipper's formation and the fortress, there was no exchange of fire between them, and the German fleet then turned away from the harbor.

After dark, a group of British torpedo boats quietly slipped out of the harbor, only to find that the Hippert formation that had appeared outside the harbor had disappeared.

However, the night was not quiet without the Germans.

The British garrison and the small defense fleet were on guard all night, searchlights tirelessly scanning the sea outside the harbor. Inside the harbor, the fishermen and sailors were in a state of panic, and the two British freighters who had escaped into the harbor were still in fear of the afternoon's scene.

At midnight, the 2nd Atlantic Raid Formation, consisting of the Caesar-class battleship "Catherin", the Ostfriland-class battleship "Helgoland" and the cruiser "Wiesbaden", quietly entered the Atlantic Ocean under the leadership of German Vice Admiral Lawx.

Plymouth Harbour, England, Headquarters of the Combined Anglo-French Fleet.

In a hall with a vaulted ceiling, the opulence of the décor does not hide the restless atmosphere in the air.

On one side of the long table sat a group of British admirals, led by the new British Admiralty, Lord Fisher, whose face was full of sorrow and anger.

"It can't go on like this! The German fleet turned the Atlantic upside down in a single day, and we not only lost the large fleet that transported valuable mineral resources, but also made other neutral ship owners who had been secretly transporting military supplies to us hesitate. As far as I know, yesterday a dozen munitions ships had left port and returned shortly after their departure, and those hateful Americans declared that if we could not guarantee the safety of the Atlantic route, they would no longer risk sending us supplies outside the scope of the Neutrality Act! The Lord's speech caused a commotion in the hall, and many British generals expressed their contempt and indignation at the German Navy, and the shouts of "shamelessness" were incessant.

The memory of the British was always as bad as ever, and they forgot the scene at the beginning of the war when their fleet was blocked at the door of the Germans.

Compared to the British generals opposite, the French at the long table were much quieter. Since the Battle of Trafalgar, the French navy has been in a supporting role as a European maritime power, maintaining only a fleet of decent size and combat effectiveness in the Mediterranean, and they have been asking questions north of the English Channel and in the Atlantic for many years. If it weren't for the destruction of the main British fleet by the Germans, they would not have come here at the request of the British.

In this hall, the French generals numbered a little less than the British, but they were not inferior in momentum. Although they were now allies of the British, the French still upheld the hatred and disdain for the British Navy that the French Navy had retained from the Napoleonic era. Moreover, if the British Navy is no longer what it used to be, the French will not be willing to be subordinate to the Combined Fleet.

Seeing these British shamelessly belittled the German Navy, the commander of the French fleet, Admiral Lame, smiled coldly, in his opinion the British were always so arrogant, and the German and French navies would always be second-rate in their eyes. Now that the second-rate navy has climbed on their heads, the British are naturally very unbalanced in their hearts, and their tone has become bitter and mean.

Disdain, Lamet knew very well that now the fate of the two countries was closely linked, and if the British lost the transportation lines in the Atlantic, then the whole of Britain would soon collapse, which would not be beneficial to the French army that was still struggling to support the French mainland, and once Britain withdrew from the war, then France would not only have to face the wolf-like German army alone, but also face the surprise attack of the German navy from behind at any time.

"Dear British allies, we cannot go on like this! The threat posed by the German raiding fleet was simply too great, even more than those hateful German submarines! They intercepted the ships of our allies and neutral countries, not only forcibly inspecting them, but also sinking those ships carrying a little military supplies. I even suspect that the Germans will sink all ships sailing to and from the Atlantic in order to cut off all the British Isles from the outside world. I have decided to send the main force of our fleet out of port to fight in the waters where the German fleet has appeared, and we will sink all German surface warships that dare to enter the Atlantic! ”

The hall fell into a terrible silence, and Admiral Lame's words echoed through the air for a long time. The British generals all stopped arguing, for the French's words had irritated their nerves even more than the German raid fleet.

Lord Fisher's face suddenly became ugly, and the fact that the French actually used the word "I decide" in front of him was a great irony for the British Navy, which had been dominant since the beginning of the war, and at the same time a true reflection of the strength of the two countries in the combined fleet.

The combined Anglo-French fleet currently anchored in Plymouth Harbour consisted of 19 battleships, 10 of which were French, 17 cruisers, 7 of which were French, and 26 destroyers, 12 of which were French. The advantage of the French was not only the number of their ships, the British flag was flown by some old ships, but the French had 3 newly commissioned Dreadnought battleships, 12 305 mm guns and a speed of 20 knots, making them the only ships in the combined Anglo-French fleet that could compete with the German battleships.

Lord Fisher was the titular commander of the combined Anglo-French fleet, but he was a very poor commander.

"Thank you to our loyal French allies for their support, but we British can take matters into our own hands, not to mention that there are only two battleships and one cruiser in that German fleet!"

The British were still trying to save face, and Admiral Lame felt even more contempt for them.

"Oh well! Just leave these Germans to your fleet! I hope that the Lord will return victoriously, and that we will surely welcome the triumphant British fleet with champagne! ”

With that, Lame got up and walked out of the hall, and the French admirals followed his admiral and left.

After the French left, the whole hall exploded.

"How can the French do this! It's too much! ”

"Have they forgotten who they are? Without our protection, they could have defeated the Germans! ”

"We are going to annihilate that German fleet and let the French have a good look at our strength!"

The Lord sat in his seat in frustration and listened to the generals express their dissatisfaction, and he suddenly felt that he should not have died like that just now, after all, the French had the dreadnoughts they needed most now.

"This has come to this, Your Excellency, I think we should send all the ships that can be mobilized to deal with that German fleet, and by virtue of our numerical superiority, even if we cannot destroy them all, we must let them retreat out of the Atlantic!" Rear Admiral Keyes, who had led the fleet in a raid on Hurgoland Bay, suggested that the successful raid made him a hero, especially after the death of the main British admiral and the capture of the prisoners. Many Britons even hope that he will be able to lead the LinkedIn fleet to create another glory in Helgoland Bay.

"Major General, I understand your feelings very well! But we now only have 9 armored battleships, two of which are still being overhauled in the dockyard, and the remaining 7 battleships barely surpass those two German battleships in firepower, but the other side can completely defeat us one by one with the advantage of speed, armor and firepower density! What's more, they also have reconnaissance school shooters! The Lord's tone was the same as he had just judged in front of the French, and the other British generals had calmed down.

"Perhaps, it was a trap on the part of the Germans! According to our spy reports, the German fleet has been moving frequently lately, and there are not many warships stationed in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel harbors, and most of the German warships are adrift at sea, perhaps they are waiting for us to attack in that dark corner at this time! ”

Major General Case sat back in his seat and thought silently for a while, and then made a new opinion:

"Lord...... Our seaplane carrier 'Egadin' has been completed, and it should have no problem helping us fight the Germans! ”

The Lord's vicissitudes of life showed a helpless firmness, "The German submarines in the Atlantic are elusive, and perhaps our fleet has already lost its troops before it meets that German fleet!" I always believed that the German fleet appeared in front of us on purpose, and the main German fleet must be waiting for us to leave the port, and we should calm down! ”

"But our Atlantic route ......," said the other general, puzzled.

"Sir, His Majesty will certainly not sit idly by and watch our course be completely strangled by the Germans, perhaps tomorrow he will order us to deal with that German fleet with all our might, and then we will still have to leave the port!" Case's words made everyone frown, and the intervention of the royal family was what they were most worried about.

"If that is the case, the British Navy will also be pushed into the abyss by His Majesty the King himself!"

The eyes widened in the crowd, they couldn't believe that the Lord would say such a disrespectful thing, but when they thought about it, it was true.

"Then let the Germans run rampant across the Atlantic?" Some people are still not reconciled.

"Send our last few submarines there! Perhaps, that's the only thing we can do! ”

The Lord then called the meeting to end, and the crowd left the hall dejectedly.

Fisher was a calm man, but the Germans persecuted him and probably didn't have it long before he was calm.

The next day, before the sun had risen, Lord Fisher was woken up by a panicked officer.

"Oh no, Lord! In the middle of the night, Admiral Lamet left the port with 3 French battleships and 5 French cruisers! ”

"What? Which battleships did the French take away? Fisher's words felt redundant, and the officer's answer confirmed his suspicions:

"The Guba-class battleships 'Guba', 'Ocean', 'Paris', the heavy cruisers 'Battleflag' and 'Bronze', the light cruisers 'Crystal', 'Barth' and 'Corsica'. These are the most powerful battleships in the French fleet! ”

"Oh God! These French were so reckless, did they think that these few battleships would be able to defeat the Germans? When Fisher felt helpless and disappointed, the guards told him that a French admiral was coming.

"Please!" The Lord hurriedly dressed and went out.

"Your Excellency, good morning!" The French stood in front of Fisher in military uniforms, and their current naval uniforms still had many traces of the Napoleonic era.

"Admiral Lame asked me to convey his apologies on his behalf, he can't bear to see your navy unable to protect even its own routes! As a loyal ally of your country, he will lead the French fleet to destroy the German fleet to prove that the French Navy is as good as the French Army, and he is fully qualified to be the commander of this combined fleet! He also said that he would not return until he won anyway, so there was no need for you to force him to cancel the operation by telegram or by protest to the French Admiralty! ”

The Lord was stunned for a moment, and then realized that he was no longer able to persuade the French to return.

"Your Excellency, when did Admiral Lame and the French fleet leave port?"

"Your Excellency, it's three o'clock in the morning!"

Fisher pulled out his pocket watch, and the hour hand was just pointing to 6 o'clock.

"Quick! Order the fleet to prepare to set sail! And the seaplane carrier 'Egadin', ready to sail together! ”

An hour later, the boilers of a large number of British and French warships in Plymouth Harbour had been lit, and the whole harbor was shrouded in a faint layer of smoke, but this smoke could not stop the sun from shining on the deck of the battleship and could not obstruct the view of the German airships.

Looking at the airship painted with a huge iron cross in the sky, Lord Fisher shook again.

"Damn German airships! Damn the French! Don't act rashly for the time being! ”

Eventually, after asking King George for instructions, Fisher sent only eight cruisers to meet Lame's French fleet. By the time the cruisers left port, the French fleet had sailed hundreds of nautical miles away.

Soon after, the German submarine U-022, lurking in the waters west of Ireland, spotted a black cloud of smoke to the south, and sent this information back to the High Seas Fleet.

"It's finally here!" Vice Admiral Hipper stood on the bridge, but the cool sea breeze could not cool his excitement.

After the sun rose, the Hipper's formation, which had made a great circle at sea, returned to the port of Seysfjörður and continued to put pressure on the British in the harbor with shells. A steady stream of radio signals calling for help flew from here to the British mainland, and Lame's French fleet shared this information.