As soon as they saw the German battle cruisers appear majestically on the sea, the British naval officers and men were clouded with a haze of defeat. For some, the old Harwich fleet was brutalized by the German fleet at the Battle www.biquge.info of Flanders, and the German "De Fllinger" was in the middle of the battle and wounded many British ships with heavy and precise artillery fire.

The German fleet in front of us, composed of two battle cruisers, one light cruiser, and six large torpedo boats, had fierce combat effectiveness and powerful mobility, and was a force that was quite difficult to deal with.

After the flag signal was properly deployed, the two Lin Xian-class light cruisers each led a group of destroyers, one to kill the right flank of the German fleet, and the other to the left flank of the German fleet. The reason for avoiding the front was obviously because the German fleet had used a pre-laid mine array in the middle of the North Sea to severely repair the British light ship group, and this unconventional tactic taught the British a good lesson for hundreds of years of sea frontiers, and also made the situation of the British navy worse. Although the warring sea area is very close to the British coast, it is difficult to guarantee that the Germans do not use fast minelaying ships or minelaying submarines to preset minefields here, after all, there have long been rumors in the British Navy that the Germans have built submarines that can carry hundreds of mines, and can go to the sea area with British ships patrolling and guarding without knowing it. A series of ship-strikes at the mouth of the Thames have ladded credibility to this rumour.

The New Harwich fleet bravely attacked, and the main force of the British Grand Fleet, which was truly capable of dealing with the enemy, was still concealed in the waters of Great Yarmouth in the northeast of England.

On the temporary flagship "St. Vincent", Jericho is gathering all the detachment and detachment commanders for operational deployment.

Due to the heavy losses of the British Grand Fleet in the early stage, many major ships were still absent due to injuries, and some ships were added accordingly, and the original establishment was greatly adjusted:

The ultra-dreadnoughts "Daring" and "Ajax" were grouped into the 1st Battleship Detachment;

The super-dreadnoughts "Conqueror" and "Thunderbolt" were numbered as the 2nd Battleship Detachment;

The dreadnoughts "St. Vincent" and "Collingwood" were formed as the 3rd Battleship Detachment;

The battle cruisers "Indomitable", "Indomitable" and "Indomitable" were numbered as the 1st Rapid Detachment;

The super-dreadnought "Ireland" carried two armored cruisers and was formed into the 2nd Rapid Detachment;

Five light cruisers were organized into the 1st cruiser detachment, and thirty destroyers were organized into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd destroyer detachments.

This is the card that Jericho drew in his hand.

This is an enviable card for any country other than Britain and Germany.

During this operation, the British Naval Staff will also give Jericho maximum support, and the Channel Fleet, the various lightning fleets, and submarine forces will be on call at any time. Despite the unprecedented trust, Jellico's brow never lifted when he learned that the four German Navy battle cruisers had been unveiled one after another.

Half a month ago, at the Battle of Flanders, the German fleet had only two battle cruisers, and now there are at least four, and since they dared to appear in the British coastal waters and engage in an exchange of fire with British light ships, it means that they have been relatively thoroughly repaired.

Now that the two German war cruisers that had "suffered heavy losses" in the Battle of Jutland have returned, have all the German dreadnoughts, which were more capable of protection and perhaps less seriously injured than expected, returned to the ranks of the combat ranks?

This was a huge question mark in the minds of Jericho and the admirals who were about to go into battle.

"We may have to deal with 8 or 10 German dreadnoughts."

As soon as Jericho said this, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became extremely solemn.

The officers were grim and silent.

At this time, Jericho was not surprised at all, his gaze swept over the crowd, and he said in a sonorous tone: "We now have two choices: first, prevent the German fleet from entering the English Channel; Second, to prevent the German fleet from sailing out of the English Channel. ”

Most of the officers were surprised, and Vice Admiral Wallend, commander of the 1st Battleship Detachment, was even more immediately dissenting: "The order given to us by the Admiralty is to prevent the German fleet from entering the English Channel and attacking our troop carriers. Thousands of officers and men of the expedition were sailing to France, and if even a single German capital ship slipped into the strait, the consequences would be catastrophic, let alone their entire fleet. ”

Jericho replied unhurriedly: "If we lose the battle with the German fleet, the Germans will still break through the last line of defense formed by the Channel Fleet and enter the Strait." On the other hand, before defeating us, the German fleet, even if it sailed into the strait, would have many scruples and would not dare to go as deep as it pleased. ”

"Your Excellency Commander is very correct in his thinking." Vice Admiral Charles Madden, Chief of Staff of the Fleet, said in a flat voice, "In my personal inference, the Germans will not have entered the Strait before finding and defeating us." They sent four battle cruisers with such fanfare in order to induce us to attack, so that the decisive battle between the two sides would unfold according to their plan. ”

I saw Vice Admiral Wallend stand up and clasp his hands in front of his chest: "Now suppose I am Reinhardt-Scher, the commander of the German fleet, and my avant-garde fleet is running over the British Navy's maritime defenses. With the exception of the immovable mines, the road to the mouth of the Thames was clear, and a little south was Dover, where hundreds of ships sailed through the strait, carrying elite British troops to mainland France to throw this important ancestral Korean force into the scorching war...... If the main British fleet remains hidden, then I will send the avant-garde fleet close to the mouth of the Thames, shell the south-east coast of England, and create great panic in London, and force the British fleet to come. ”

"Knowing that we had laid a mine array in the waters of the Thames estuary, the Germans dared to approach with great fanfare?" Vice Admiral Madden retorted, "Even if the German fleet shelled the British coast again, the majority of the British would not only not give in, but would be enraged by the atrocities of the Germans, fearless and sworn to fight to the death." Ladies and gentlemen, am I right? ”

The officers did not respond, but quite a few nodded in agreement.

Wallend continued to maintain a slightly contrived and arrogant posture: "After the bombardment of the British coast, if the main British fleet still does not appear, then I will send the avant-garde troops into the strait, and the main fleet will meet outside the strait." ”

Vice Admiral Madden rehearsed-for-tat: "Well, if the German fleet enters the strait without knowing whether it is alive or dead, the British navy will attack it with the strength of the strait fleet and the lightning ships, and if they only damage one or two German battle cruisers, they will be afraid of damaging the capital ships, and they will definitely retreat." At the same time, our main fleet waited for an opportunity to move south and attack the main German fleet, which had no battle cruisers, and won the victory in one fell swoop. ”

"Uh-huh!" Jericho began, "This is exactly what I meant by 'Prevent the German fleet from sailing out of the English Channel.'" ”

Wallend, who was obviously refuted, put down his arrogant posture, propped his hands on the table, frowned and thought for a moment: "Then what if I lead the whole fleet into the strait, crush the resistance of the strait fleet and torpedo boat forces, sink every troop carrier on the sea, and then turn back to meet the main British fleet?" ”

In the British Navy, Charles Madden was known for his quick wit, and he quickly analyzed: "This is not the time of sail ships and breech guns, the width of the Channel is not conducive to the operation of large fleets, and even if Scheer is really that reckless, do not forget that they also have a very shrewd chief of staff of the fleet, and his royal status gives him at least half of the command of the fleet, and even the whole fleet under his actual command." ”

"I agree with Your Excellency Sir and Your Excellency the Commander."

Sitting at the conference table, Betty had always been a lord who was not willing to be silent, and only in the two weeks immediately after the Battle of Jutland had fallen into an unprecedented slump, his gloomy eyes had regained their former light, and his tone was as firm and calm as ever.

"Ladies and gentlemen, von Ingnoor, the former commander of the German High Seas Fleet, was a steady and cautious man, and as a result he was replaced. As far as I know, both Schell and Hipperre were fierce and aggressive commanders, and the German fleet included aircraft-carrying carriers, torpedo boat carriers, and submarines in addition to first-class dreadnoughts and battlecruisers. If nothing else, before noon, the German fleet would have killed Dover, with the cruiser fleet led by Hipper entering the strait, and the rest of the main force led by Schell responding to the attack, shelling the British coast. Personally, however, I don't think the main German fleet would be easy to deal with without the battlecruisers - if we don't find a way to take out the German carrier-carrying aircraft and torpedo boat carriers, our chances of victory are still very low. ”

Valente had nothing to say, and Lieutenant General Madden thought about it and chose to remain silent for the time being.

Jericho looked straight at Betty, pondering the meaning of his words.

Betty sold a pass here, and he carefully analyzed: "According to reliable intelligence, the German Navy's aircraft-carrying carrier is called 'Bismarck', and the 10,000-ton armored cruiser completed in 1900 is also named this, this ship has been in service in Germany's overseas colonies all year round, and the aging and wear of the hull and mechanical equipment are much faster than those of ships in service at home, and it is difficult to be competent for front-line combat missions, but it is very suitable for conversion into auxiliary ships, and its maximum speed should not exceed 17 knots." The situation was similar with the torpedo boat carriers of the Germans, which were supposed to belong to the large protective cruisers built earlier, with a maximum speed of certainly less than 20 knots, and which, as auxiliary ships, would not have too strong combat effectiveness in themselves. ”

"What do you mean......" Jellico thought that Betty was going to command the 2nd Rapid Detachment to attack the support ships of the German fleet, but when he saw the unwillingness to be ordinary sharpness in Betty's eyes, he suddenly understood, and then was surprised and entangled: Do you really want to gamble the most important trump card in your hand?

(End of chapter)