There were no flat beaches, no soft fine sand, and most of the coastline of the main islands of the Faroe Islands was like the outer walls of castles, with high cliffs and rocky reefs, but this did not prevent the British and German naval personnel from landing one after another, the British officers and men were involuntarily stranded on Vogue Island, where they landed in lifeboats and sampans, climbed the walls like goats, and ended up in German prisoner of war camps; Although the German marines and sailors were not fully mentally prepared in the early stage, their landing operation was carried out in an orderly rhythm, the landing personnel approached the coast in light ships, and then changed to small boats and sampans to the shore and beach with gentle terrain and no need to climb. By the afternoon of November 25, 1914, www.biquge.info the island of Stramer, Vogue, East Island, Borroy, Mulberry and Sood had all fallen under German control, except for a few smaller islands.

Before dusk, Natsuki, who appeared as a member of the German Imperial family and chief of staff of the High Seas Fleet, landed with his lieutenants and guards in Tórshafen, the capital of the Faroe Islands, and by this time, Reinhardt-Schell had already led the main force of the High Seas Fleet on the return voyage. In the just-concluded Battle of the Faroe Islands, the German fleet finally won a brilliant victory of annihilation against the British Navy, and among the British ships participating in the battle, only two active capital ships, four old battleships, and more than a dozen light ships were able to escape, including the fleet's flagship "Iron Duke", nearly 40 warships were sunk or abandoned. After this war, the British Navy no longer had the strength to compete head-on with the German Navy, at least in the short term, and the possibility of the French main fleet deployed in the Bay of Biscay entering the Northern Sea to fight was very small, and the German Navy could confidently and boldly transfer the damaged capital ships back to the mainland for repairs. After all, for this significant victory, the German fleet also paid a great price: the flagship "King" almost sank; "Nassau" and "Rhineland" were beaten to the ground; The "Elector" and the "Frontier Governor" suffered a lot of large-caliber shells, and their combat effectiveness was reduced by more than half; Two of the main turrets of the "Caesar" and "Helgoland" were completely destroyed, the hull showed moderate leakage, and the ability to sail at high speed was temporarily lost; The battle cruisers "Goeben" and "Blucher" suffered heavy losses one after another in the battle against Betty's detachment and urgently needed to return to the port for overhaul......

The main force of the High Seas Fleet was withdrawn, and the more than 3,000 German naval officers and men who had landed in the Faroe Islands were not alone, the four capital ships "Regent Louisport", "Westphalia", "Thuringia" and "Moltke", which were lightly wounded, and some light ships were organized as support fleets to remain nearby on standby, and the landing fleet that had previously carried marines to Ireland had once again departed from the German mainland, because of the addition of three transoceanic cruise ships and ten fast cargo ships, the capacity of the landing fleet was greatly increased, More than 7,000 marines and more than 30,000 tons of combat materiel will arrive in the Faroe Islands and will be used as a shipping transit point to transport combat personnel and equipment to Ireland.

With the victory of the Battle of the Faroe Islands, the prestige of the German High Seas Fleet reached its highest heights, and many officers and sailors would become household heroes for their outstanding performance, and the commanders of the battle, the aspiring admirals, had a bright future ahead of them, and they were bound to be crowned with great honor and unprecedented prestige. At this time, Natsuki could have followed the main force of the High Seas Fleet back to Germany, enjoyed the glory he deserved in flowers and applause, and then calmly coordinated the overall situation, waiting for the German Navy to digest the fruits of victory step by step, and replace Britain as the new empire on which the sun never sets. However, the lingering sense of urgency in his heart made him choose to stay, and personally sent a long telegram to Kaiser Wilhelm II, explaining the reason and purpose of his move.

Soon after, Natsuki received a telegram from the Kaiser aboard the "Regent Louispoel", followed by a telegram from the Admiralty that he had been appointed interim supreme commander of the Faroe Islands Theater of Operations with full authority over naval ships and marines operating in the area.

In the face of strong German military pressure, the Danish government chose to compromise, and the German officers and soldiers did not encounter any resistance in the process of landing and taking over several major islands of the Faroe Islands. Accusing this tyrant of not only putting his personal will above the state, but also trampling on all the rules of the civilized age, if Germany and its allies win this war, it is conceivable that the whole of human society will fall back into the dark age of arrogance and ignorance.

The new British Prime Minister Kitchener's radio speech was impassioned and upright, destined to be a classic that will still be remembered by people many years later, but Natsuki was not among the listeners, but he knew through the information provided by the German Navy that the British government would continue to resist stubbornly, so he deduced that Britain and Germany would start a new battle around the Faroe Islands, and it was urgent to consolidate the defense, so he quickly deployed according to his previous plan: the battle fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Felix Funk stepped up the defense of Tórshafen, The focus was on the establishment of two anti-submarine mine nets outside the harbor channel in case of a possible attack by the British Navy at any time; The German troops that landed on Strammer Island concentrated on Tórshavn, where they defended this important stronghold with the fleet; The troops landing on the islands of Vogue Island, East Island, and Boroy Island were stationed at the harbor with about half of their combat personnel, and the rest of the officers and men were concealed as tactical reserves in the ridges or valleys near the harbors, and guards were arranged at various commanding heights along the coast to prevent British ships from covering the landing of troops with artillery fire.

Although Natsuki's agile and flexible thinking anticipates all the combat strategies that the opponent may adopt, there is never a complete plan on the battlefield, and all deployments change with the change of the situation. If the British fleet did not go north to the Faroe Islands and engage the German fleet head-on, the German Navy would not have a good reason to occupy the Faroe Islands, and there would be no defense of the islands behind, so Natsuki would call ordinary crews to land in the Faroe Islands, the greatest value of these people is to control the ships, if they are sacrificed in ground battles, it is definitely a waste of luxury, but before the arrival of the real marines, in order to keep this hard-won strategic pedal, they can only be used as ordinary combatants.

After the formation of the Marine Brigade, the large and medium-sized ships of the German Navy still retained the configuration of the Marine Corps, but the most experienced Marine personnel have long become the cornerstone of the Marine Brigade, and most of the battleship marines today are recruits who have served for less than a year, and although the ordinary officers have received formal shooting training on weekdays, the quality of the land combat is far from that of the Marine Corps and even the army soldiers, and it is unrealistic to expect these improvised naval combatants to fight against the British Army on the shore. Knowing that Kitchener had become Britain's new Prime Minister and Secretary of War, and that the belligerent Winston Churchill would continue to serve as Secretary of the Admiralty, Natsuki knew that the British army would seize the Faroe Islands sooner than previously expected, and that perhaps the heavily armed British soldiers had already boarded the port in northern Britain. To this end, Natsuki sent a telegram to the German Navy Staff, asking the troop carriers converted from protective cruisers to take advantage of their speed to arrive first, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral von Bohr, telegraphed back that the move was too risky and could even lead to a catastrophic tragedy, and that Natsuki would reluctantly give orders if he was willing to take full responsibility for it.

The pre-war shipbuilding competition caused the German Navy to devote most of its energy and funds to the construction of capital ships, and the shortcomings of the insufficient number of light ships have not been improved, and most of the light ships with better performance have already fought with the main force of the High Seas Fleet, and after more than half a month of long-distance travel, their self-sustaining ability is close to the limit, and after the wear and tear of the naval battle of the Faroe Islands, they urgently need to return to port for repairs like the capital ships, and the number of combat ships escorting the landing fleet is limited. If the troop carriers converted from protective cruisers were separated from those mail ships and freighters that had no combat effectiveness, the already overstretched escort force would not be able to take care of both ends, and those old protective cruisers were actually only slightly faster, and without the escort of battleships, they might not be able to deal with even one or two British light cruisers.

After much deliberation and careful consideration, Natsuki sent a telegram to Pol, suggesting that the landing fleet should be on increased alert and that radio silence should be maintained for the rest of the voyage, given that the British might learn of the departure time of the German landing fleet through certain channels and launch an attack on the route through which the fleet might pass. Until they arrive, the naval officers and men stationed in the Faroe Islands will defend their homeland against any possible enemy attack.

After nightfall, Natsuki ordered Funk's battle fleet to send six large torpedo boats to the southwest waters of the Faroe Islands to carry out combat alert, so that the battle cruiser "Moltke" and the light cruiser "Rostock" sailed away from Tórshavn and went to the open sea area in the northeast to stand by, and ordered the remaining battleships to remain on **** combat alert, the crew was on duty in shifts, half of the boilers burned enough steam, and once the battle order was received, they must be able to leave the berth within half an hour.

Natsuki did not doubt the British determination to seize the Faroe Islands, but he was not sure that the British army would be able to move quickly in the event of a new defeat of the main fleet and a change of cabinet during the war. As things stand, fast is the British's only chance to win.

(End of chapter)