At about 19 o'clock in the afternoon of November 24, 1914, a black Rolls-Royce sedan drove into Buckingham Palace at a high speed, and when it stopped in front of the magnificent castle-like palace, the person sitting in the car did not wait for the adjutant in the front row to come down and open the door for him. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoHe is a burly man, wearing a khaki British field marshal's uniform, and his two extraordinarily thick mustaches give it a sense of stability and majesty. I saw him quickly ascend the steps with very vigorous movements, and walked into this magnificent royal palace under the guidance of a royal attendant.

A few minutes later, King George V received Field Marshal Kitchener, who had arrived in a hurry, in his office. Recruiting large numbers of volunteers without the consent of the Cabinet and placing orders for two million rifles from American arms dealers before the war broke out, Kitchener was repeatedly criticized by his cabinet colleagues and members of Parliament, but as the war progressed, his arbitrary and arbitrary decisions proved wise and even played a crucial role in the country. Kitchener's performance was almost the only bright spot in Asquith's cabinet amid back-to-back defeats in the Royal Navy, and just hours earlier, King George V had approved Prime Minister Asquith's resignation, allowing the poor man to finally leave the position he had been suffering so much about. At this precarious moment, George V decided to put Kitchener in the new wartime cabinet, doing everything he could to save the country from its current predicament.

Before this important news was officially announced, London received information that the German troops had landed in the Faroe Islands, which was like a bolt from the blue. Although preliminary reports show that the Germans have only three or four hundred marines ashore on Vogue Island at the western tip of the Faroe Islands, and there are no German soldiers on Strammer Island, East Island, and Borroy Island, this is enough to show the ambitions of the Germans for the Faroe Islands.

The German Navy wanted to enter the Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea, and the Faroe Islands were an excellent strategic pedal. Ships sailing from Germany could rest and refuel and escape the elements, while German combat ships deployed here were able to control the waters north of Britain and protect their ships from the North Atlantic. As long as the two countries remain at war, Britain's maritime lifeline will in turn be forcefully stifled by the other side, and the will of the British royal family and government to continue the war will not be able to stand!

"It's aggression! Naked aggression! Shame on the undeclared war on a neutral country! George V said angrily.

In fact, only a small part of the anger burning in the king's heart stemmed from the German brazen invasion of Denmark's Faroe Islands, and more because the British main fleet had just been paralyzed by its old opponent in the Battle of the Faroe Islands, and only the "Tiger" and "Collingwood" were able to escape, and the British navy's last home was almost lost in this morning. You don't have to think about it to know that Kaiser Wilhelm II and his supporters are celebrating wantonly, and how can George V, who has no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit of defeat, not be angry?

Field Marshal Kitchener, who had always been short-tempered, was very calm at this time, and he suggested: "Your Majesty, we should immediately announce this to the whole world, so that the Germans will be completely morally isolated, and use this as an opportunity to further persuade the US government to join hands with us against the German-Austrian alliance." ”

George V, though annoyed, did not lose his mind, he thought for a moment and cautiously ordered: "First of all, we must confirm the authenticity of the information, wrong information will only put us in trouble. Secondly, send a note to the Danish ambassador as soon as possible, and have our diplomats in Copenhagen visit the Danish Prime Minister to see what the Danes know and what they are officially about. ”

"This information is very reliable, and the Germans are well placed to send marines to the Faroe Islands. But......," Kitchener paused, "before I came, I received a call from Sir Churchill that one of our light cruisers had run aground near Vogue Island, and that the seas were rough and rough, and that the surviving crew had probably landed on Vogue Island for refuge. ”

George V was silent for a moment, then asked, "So the Germans might have found a justification for their landing?" ”

Kitchener replied simply: "As long as we claim that the crew had abandoned the ship and had been disarmed in accordance with the Hague Convention when they landed, there would be no reason for the Germans to send armed soldiers ashore, let alone to force the British naval personnel who had been seized from the Danes." ”

The back of George V standing by the window is quite lonely.

"Is this advice from Sir Churchill?"

"Yes, we did talk on the phone before we came." Kitchener replied, "And I have sent Sir Gladstone to the Danish Embassy to inquire about the situation." It is believed that it will not be long before we have a complete picture of the scale and tactical intentions of the Germans in the Faroe Islands. ”

Kitchener's "foresight" was not appreciated by George V, and the king quietly watched the circular parterr in front of the palace. It's early winter, and the delicate landscape plants can't hide the gloomy appearance.

"It doesn't really matter if there is an excuse or not, after the complete defeat of our main fleet, the Germans should be bound to the Faroe Islands!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, as long as the Germans are not carried away by the hubris of victory...... The occupation of the Faroe Islands was of great strategic importance to them. Kitchener replied reluctantly.

George V turned his head to the side and said, "In that case, should we be prepared to forcibly seize the Faroe Islands, while passing the moral responsibility on the Germans?" ”

"Because of the rush of time, Sir Churchill and I have not yet spoken about it." Kitchener replied, "With our geographical convenience, it is not difficult to transport several thousand soldiers to land in the Faroe Islands in a short time, but the difficulty is that our fleet has basically lost its combat effectiveness, and the German navy controls the waters around the Faroe Islands, and it is difficult for our army to gain a long-term foothold in the Faroe Islands." ”

"So, we have to give up, right?" George V continued to look out the window in disappointment.

Kitchener thought for a moment, and his tone changed: "That's not necessarily. German ships sailed more than 1,000 kilometers from their ports to the Faroe Islands, and if we were to engage in a tug-of-war with the Germans in the Faroe Islands, the German Navy would have to send at least some of its capital ships to be deployed in the northern waters for a long time, and to maintain a long sea supply line, we could deploy mines and submarines in the areas where German warships were often active, and wait for the opportunity to send light ships to attack the German transport ships, thus constantly depleting the strength of the German Navy. Of course, Your Majesty, this is only my personal preliminary assumption, and a combat operation like this, which involves the lives of thousands of soldiers, must be carefully planned and calculated before the plan can be determined. In view of the fact that the war situation is very unfavorable to us, I will personally coordinate the cooperation of the two branches of the Army and the Navy to come up with an assessment plan in the shortest possible time to finalize it. ”

George V said nothing, and Kitchener retired. Fresh from his office, Sir Gladstone, a long-time foreign minister and former British foreign secretary, drove directly from the Danish Embassy, while Winston Churchill, who wanted to remain Lord of the Admiralty in the new wartime cabinet, and Sir Fisher, a veteran of the British Navy, were also invited.

Although not yet formally appointed, Kitchener had already stepped into the role of wartime prime minister, bringing together Gladstone, Churchill, and Fisher for an overnight discussion of the current existential crisis.

From the Danish ambassador to the UK, Sir Gladstone found out a very important piece of news. In the same afternoon, the German Government sent a note to the Danish Government, stating that Denmark's neutrality had been violated by the British, and that in view of the fact that the landing of British troops on the Faroe Islands had seriously damaged Germany's vital interests, Germany had decided to send troops to the Faroe Islands, and promised to withdraw all its soldiers after the end of the war and to give corresponding economic compensation to the Danish Government.

Denmark, which was weak and weak, did not dare to offend Germany, and since it had become a fact that the British sailors had landed in the Faroe Islands, the Danish Government sent a secret telegram to the British Embassy, asking the British ambassador to Britain to inquire about the British Government's attitude, hoping to save the Faroe Islands from the ravages of war through negotiation and consultation. It is for this reason that the Danish Ambassador to the UK has revealed this important information to Sir Gladstone and hopes to receive a clear answer from the British Government as soon as possible.

The active and belligerent Churchill was evidently not deterred by the successive crushing defeats of the British fleet, and he said in a clear and clear manner: "From the present information of the Admiralty, there are about 200 British sailors who have landed on Vogue Island, the vast majority of whom are from the stranded light cruiser Brisbane, and carry only some light weapons, and the German marines who have landed on the island are ready to be supported by naval guns, so I quite agree with the suggestion made by His Excellency the Field Marshal before His Majesty that our crew should abandon their weapons and accept the seizure of the Danish authorities." According to the Hague Convention, those German soldiers who landed on Vogue Island were either also subject to seizure or were considered aggressors, and they would certainly have chosen the latter and let us occupy the moral high ground. At the same time, we secretly organized our men and ships to prepare for an attack on the Faroe Islands, and used this battlefield to lure the German Navy's combat ships and transports to come and wait for an opportunity to deplete their vital forces. ”

Kitchener asked with concern: "If the main German fleet deploys a naval blockade between Britain and the Faroe Islands, will we have a way to supply the landing force with operational supplies?" ”

Churchill replied: "They were only able to prevent us from sending supplies to the Faroe Islands during the day, and at night we could use destroyers and submarines to cross their blockade." Under normal conditions, fifty tons of combat materials per day can be fully guaranteed. ”

"Combat supplies for almost a division?" Kitchener's tone was flat, and he couldn't tell whether it was too little or worried that it wouldn't actually reach that number.

"Considering that the Germans controlled the sea supremacy, it was necessary for us to launch a surprise attack on Tórshafen, and if the port facilities were successfully destroyed, the German navy would not be able to send supplies to the island much faster than ours, and they could maintain a maximum of two divisions of troops." As he said this, Churchill turned his gaze to Fisher. To be fair, Fisher was a gifted naval theorist, administrator, and competent strategist, who was eager to fight without asking who his opponent was, and who had previously roared that the German fleet should be destroyed by "Copenhagen", but the British navy's poor performance in the war failed to live up to his expectations. He was as heartbroken as a father who had lost his child when he learned that the dreadnoughts and battlecruisers he had built under his leadership had sunk to the bottom of the sea.

"As long as we effectively concentrate the submarines, coupled with the assistance of the French fleet, it is indeed possible to fight a turnaround battle without being favored, so that this war at sea will enter a stalemate stage, and when our Queen Elizabeth-class battleships and admiral-class battlecruisers are in service, the Germans will not want to take advantage of us with despicable tactics!" Fisher said through gritted teeth.

(End of chapter)