Under the scorching sun, a twin-engine transport plane landed steadily on the German-French joint military airfield in the southern suburbs of Paris, and Field Marshal Reinhardt-Schell, the supreme commander of the German Admiralty, wearing blue clothes and white pants and carrying a marshal's sword at his waist, walked out of the cabin with a solemn face, and the honor guards waiting by the gangway raised their rifles and saluted with their heads held high. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Marshal Scheer, who was over seventy years old, walked down the gangway briskly, and after hurriedly shaking hands with the officers who had come to greet him, he got into the black Mercedes-Benz car without saying a word, and quietly closed his eyes, but his resolute face showed a complicated expression of confusion and hesitation. The slight physical weariness did not make the timid general, whom his colleagues called "the old sailor", so silent, but anyone with a little discernment could see that his worries lay in the terrible situation of the Allied navy in the Atlantic theater, and in the remnants of the army trapped in the Azores who did not know the fate of the remnants......

Despite the repeated reaffirmation of the neutrality of the French government, France was inevitably drawn into the war because the German occupation forces had not withdrawn and had used French ports and airports as a stepping stone for attacking Britain. On the way from the airport to the wartime location of the German General Staff, there were German soldiers with loaded guns along the way, and it was rare to see one or two French civilians, who also cowered like quails drenched in rain, and the magnificent baroque castle seemed to have become gloomy because of the German entrenchment.

Upon arrival, Schell exchanged a few pleasantries with Admiral Hans Zenkel, Admiral of the Admiralty, who had just arrived from Berlin, and Admiral Erich Raeder, Chief of Staff of the Navy, before heading out to meet Crown Prince Wilhelm Jr.

In the Atlantic, the Allied fleet came in and suffered successive defeats, while in the British Isles, the Allied forces were winning victory after victory, the right wing corps led by the German Royal Guards 1st Panzer Division had advanced to a front less than 50 kilometers from London, and the left flank corps, mainly mountain soldiers, had approached the military powerhouse of Edinburgh in Scotland, and even if the British were determined to resist to the end, it seemed only a matter of time before Allied troops took over the entire territory of LinkedIn. As a result, the German prince could still sit firmly in Paris and continue to dominate the war as chief of the German General Staff and chairman of the Allied Joint Operations Committee.

The three heads of the German Navy gathered here for the purpose of not simply discussing the situation of the war, and the reason why William Jr. summoned them together was because Reinhardt-Schell had previously asked for approval from the top to succeed Bernke as commander of the Allied fleet.

The German crown prince did not refuse or accept Schell's request for war, but instead talked about the arduous journey at sea and the exhaustion of naval strategy -- without a strong physique and abundant energy, it would be difficult for him to be qualified for the role of commander of the fleet.

"Is there a more suitable candidate for Your Highness than for Your Highness?" Scheer asked rhetorically.

The German crown prince's hesitation looks like a final trade-off.

From his unusual expression, Scheer saw a clue, which he was both surprised and a little delighted.

"How is His Majesty Joachim?" William Jr. looked up at Scheer.

At the Battle of Jutland in 1914, the veteran von Ingnoll was the commander of the High Seas Fleet, and Scheer was one of the commanders of the detachment under his command. There is much controversy among historians and military scientists about the formation and preparedness of the belligerents in this naval battle, but almost everyone agrees that the greatest contributor to the victory of the German Navy was Prince Joachim, chief of staff of the German High Seas Fleet.

In the case of the naval battles of Flanders and the Faroe Islands, which completely crushed the British navy, a detailed study of the historical sources of the war concluded that the brilliant Prince Joachim was still the "key gentleman" who dominated the battle. As for von Ingnoll and Schell, who later succeeded him as commander of the High Seas Fleet, the wisest thing was that they trusted and supported the Fleet Chief's plan of operation, and showed the firmness and calmness of a commander in battle, and they deserved the title of "excellent fleet commander", but if they were truly in charge, no one was sure whether they would be able to win such a decisive naval battle.

"Oh?" Scheer raised an eyebrow, "Your Highness wants to ask His Majesty the King of Ireland to command the Confederate fleet?" ”

William Jr. was noncommittal: "How? ”

"But for nearly half a century, I don't seem to have heard of a monarch who went to war in person. ”

The marshal's doubts were clumsy and unconvincing, and William Jr. chuckled: "Go back a few decades, the French Emperor Napoleon I and the Russian Emperor Alexander I were great commanders, but then again, there really is no monarch who personally led the fleet into battle. Therefore, if His Majesty Joachim refuses this invitation, I will never have any disrespectful thoughts towards him. ”

At this time, Raeder offered his opinion: "Since 1916, His Majesty Joachim has been separated from the life of the army, and has been on the sea for much less time than before, although his military talent is beyond doubt, and in the present situation we need a commander who can get into the state immediately and without much psychological burden, and in this respect I think Marshal Schell should be the more desirable person." ”

Little William thought carefully for a while: "In this case, let's make two preparations, if Jochen rejects my suggestion, then Marshal Scheer will be the commander of the Allied fleet, and if Jochen accepts the suggestion, I will have a face-to-face detailed discussion with him to see if he can cope with the current situation, and then make a final decision." ”

As one of the parties involved, Reinhardt-Schell immediately stated: "This is very good. ”

Reddell sat still, noncommittal.

As for Admiral Zenkel, who was in charge of the personnel of the German Navy, he did not say anything from beginning to end.

At noon that day, a coded telegram sent in William's personal name was presented to Natsuki. He was not at all surprised by the idea of his eldest brother, the first heir to the House of Hohenzollern. After a peaceful nap, he summoned Prime Minister Rohr Maclean's and the commander-in-chief of the three armed services in his office to consult with these important ministers.

From a political standpoint, the Prime Minister believed that the King of Ireland could consider taking over the post of Commander of the Allied Fleet in the Line of Fire, but only if he would not be on board under any circumstances to direct the battle, but would operate in relative safety at the Land Command, and if this premise could not be guaranteed, it should be rejected unequivocally - the King's safety was directly related to the stability of Ireland and the fate of the six million Irishmen, and could not be compromised.

From a military point of view, the generals felt that it was good and bad for the King of Ireland to take command of the Confederate fleet, and that the advantage was that it was conducive to improving Ireland's military status in the Allied camp, and that it was possible to give priority to the Irish ships in battle, so that the officers and men of the Irish Navy would gain more experience and suffer less losses, and the disadvantage was that once the war situation was unfavorable, not only the prestige of the king himself would be affected, but also Ireland's interests would be easily damaged.

Since the thoughts of the prime minister and the commanders of the three armed forces are basically the same as his own considerations, Xia Shu said decisively: "After careful consideration, I have decided to decline the invitation of His Royal Highness the German Crown Prince. ”

The current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who had served as the Foreign Secretary of Ireland for a long time, immediately agreed, and the commander of the Army, Admiral William Brandt, and the commander of the Air Force, Admiral Robert de Bloney, were slightly surprised, but both felt that the decision was rational and steady, except for Admiral Sean Purcell, the commander of the Navy, who showed mixed expressions.

Natsuki did not reveal his true thoughts to them, and when the Prime Minister and Admirals left the palace, the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Rear Admiral Baker, was on the orders of the King to use the intelligence and staff resources of the Irish Navy to sort out and analyze the current naval situation.

That night, Natsuki came to the Irish Navy Staff to play a war game with the staff officers in the role of commander of the Allied fleet, and after more than three hours of confrontation, he struggled to turn the tide of the battle and won the mock naval battle.

However, on the way back to the palace from the naval staff, Xia Shu did not have the joy of the victor on his face, because he clearly knew that Baker and the staff officers did not do their best in the wargame deduction, and the officer in charge of technical judgment also favored himself intentionally or unintentionally, which allowed the Allied fleet in the wargame deduction to defeat the powerful American and British fleets, and the time span of this war-style wargame simulation is about two years, and the number of ships supplemented by the warring sides is assumed to be one to one, and the industrial scale of the United States and Germany is not much different today. However, the efficiency of democracies and free markets is obviously higher than that of dictatorships and bureaucratic economies, not to mention that the United States is geographically advantageous to build ships with all its might, and even if the same resources are invested, the United States can explode more warships at a faster rate.

Recalling the thrilling scenes of the last battle, Natsuki couldn't help but sigh on his back: The battle of the Azores failed to seize the opportunity, and there are really endless troubles!

Receiving a telegram from the King of Ireland declining the invitation, William Jr. summoned Scher, Zenkel, and Raeder to his office that night and told the truth about the situation.

Although this meant that he was likely to get back into battle, Schell did not look excited at all, but rather a little lost and regretful, and Erich Raeder, who had served as Chief of Staff of the German Reconnaissance Fleet, Chief of Staff of the High Seas Fleet, Quartermaster of the Navy, and finally the head of the Imperial Naval Staff Headquarters, did not speak for Scheer at this time, he sat quietly and waited quietly for the final result.

At the last moment, Admiral Zenkel spoke: "From Prussia to the German Empire, the demotion of the Supreme Admiralty to the post of Commander of the Fleet has never happened, and I have no doubt about the command ability of Field Marshal Schell, but from a strategic point of view, this move is not appropriate, so I implore the Marshal to think carefully and make a careful decision." ”

"Is there a better candidate for your excellency than here?" Schell responded to Zenkel's objection with the same rhetorical question.

Zenkel looked at Crown Prince Wilhelm: "Admiral von Daldwig and Admiral von Reuth are not as qualified and capable as Marshal Schell, but with Marshal in the rear, it may be possible to give it a try." ”

Scheer said bluntly: "Dalvig hesitates in case of trouble, it is easy to delay the fighter, Reutt is too strong and lacks strategy, these two are acceptable as commanders of the detachment, and the command of the Allied fleet is not as good as Beenke." ”

"Tomorrow I will discuss this matter with my father by telephone, and if His Majesty approves of it, then ......," said William Jr. to Scher, "I hope that the marshal will soon bring us the good news of victory." ”

(End of chapter)