Churchill was silent, even though he had long thought that this time the plan might not go so well and might fail. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info However, when the news of the failure came, it still made him a little unacceptable. Of course, Churchill was not a man who could not accept reality. As Lord of the Admiralty, he must be responsible for the British Empire, and even if he encounters great difficulties, he must lead the Royal Navy to win this war.

"David? How did General Betty fail? Is the loss big? Churchill asked.

"Your Excellency, the Germans have been prepared for a long time. In addition to the six battlecruisers of their broken fleet, they dispatched three more powerful battlecruisers. "John? Admiral Jericho said.

Churchill frowned: "We have sent seventeen warships. Even if the Germans added three more battlecruisers, they wouldn't be defeated! ”

"Your Excellency, those three battle cruisers of the Germans were all formidable battle cruisers armed with 380 mm guns. What a surprise to us! The Germans turned out to be ahead of our battleships, armed with 380 mm guns. And this time, it gave us a hard blow. "John? Admiral Jericho said through gritted teeth.

"Those guys from the intelligence department, I'll settle accounts with them." Churchill scolded.

Subsequently, John? Admiral Jericho gave an account of the naval battle to Churchill. When it was learned that the British Navy had lost seven battleships and three battlecruisers, another battleship and one battlecruiser had been heavily damaged, and that only five battlecruisers were still strong, Churchill did not know what to say.

David? Lieutenant General Betty, this time is not just a failure, it can be described as a fiasco. So many capital ships have been lost, especially since all of them are cutting-edge capital ships. Even if the Royal Navy has a big business, it can't afford such a loss! It can be said that this has already broken the bones of the Royal Navy.

"Damn, how could there be such a big loss? This will seriously damage the strength of the Royal Navy! If the Germans launch a decisive battle with us at this time, we will not be able to resist it at all! "Churchill was a little panicked. He even believes that if only the number and combat effectiveness of new warships are counted, I am afraid that the German Navy has surpassed the British Navy and become the world's first in the name. This result made him panic.

"Your Excellency, the fighting power of the Germans has indeed exceeded our expectations. David? In his telegram, Vice Admiral Betty mentioned more than once that the German Navy's warships were very well defended, and they had been hit by us several times, but they had not penetrated their armor. And our warships, because of their weak armor, are often seriously injured or even sunk once they are hit. Under such circumstances, we suffered a great loss in naval warfare. "John? Admiral Jericho explained.

In fact, by the time the battlecruiser "Lion" was sunk, this problem was already exposed. It's just that it's not taken seriously. However, in this naval battle, this problem was once again exposed, and it was difficult not to be taken seriously.

But the embarrassing thing is that these warships have already been built, and they can't go back to the shipyard for refit and increase the thickness of the armor, right? In that case, it is completely unfeasible, and it will cause problems in the balance of all aspects of the battleship, which will affect the combat effectiveness and even directly overturn.

"I'm afraid this problem is difficult to solve. At most, in the subsequent construction of warships, attention is paid to this issue. Churchill said.

John? Admiral Jericho nodded.

"Well, General Jericho, we have lost so many capital ships. So, will the Royal Navy still be able to confront the Germans? Will we still be able to defeat the Germans in the decisive battles ahead? Churchill asked.

"Your Excellency, the Germans are clearly hiding their strength. Now it seems that they should have a battleship equipped with 380 mm guns in service, which is far faster than ours. However, if the decisive battle takes place after our 'Queen Elizabeth-class' and 'Vengeance-class' battleships are commissioned, we may not be without a chance of victory. Of course, given the fact that now our lead ships have suffered heavy losses. I hope that the Navy will immediately start building newer ships. And it is to start construction as quickly as possible, and strive to enter service within a year and a half. "John? Admiral Jericho said.

Churchill nodded, he also knew that the main force of the Royal Navy was badly damaged and needed to be replenished urgently. Otherwise, the Royal Navy may not be able to win the decisive battle in the future.

"I will report back to His Excellency the Prime Minister. However, the navy's future warships must avoid the problem of weak armor. These are the painful lessons that the Royal Navy has learned with blood and lives! Churchill sighed.

If the Royal Navy could be given another chance, they would never have established a shipbuilding mentality that valued firepower and speed over defense. Unfortunately, God would not have given them such a chance.

"General Jericho, you go and prepare the design materials of the new warship, I have gone to see His Excellency the Prime Minister." Churchill said. The Royal Navy suffered such a heavy defeat that it was impossible to hide it. What's more, the Navy needs to build more capital ships, and it needs to get the support of the Cabinet, otherwise, where to get the grants?

"Yes, Your Excellency." John? Admiral Jericho replied, and then gave a salute before preparing to leave.

At this time, a staff officer anxiously broke in again.

Churchill and John? Admiral Jericho couldn't help but frown, and at the same time, they also had a bad premonition in their hearts. Could it be that there is any bad news coming?

Report. The flotilla sent a telegram that they had been attacked by the submarine forces of the Germans, and more than ten submarines were involved in the sneak attack on our convoy. The flotilla suffered heavy losses. So far, fourteen merchant ships have been silenced. The staff officer reported.

Churchill and John? Admiral Jericho's face is pale, what to do is a house leak that happens to rain overnight, this is it! With so many capital ships lost to the Royal Navy, it was time when they needed to build battleships like crazy to make up for the losses. The merchant ships suffered serious losses, which would make them even more scarce in terms of war materials, and even limit their shipbuilding plans.

"Damn the Germans, they're trying to kill us! No matter what, I will not let the Germans' conspiracy succeed. Churchill gritted his teeth and said.

It's just that although he looks fierce, he is already very panicked in his heart.