On the afternoon of June 24, 1914, the port of Kiel. Amid the stirring military music, the gate of Holtenau, decorated with ribbons of flowers and flags on the left bank of the port, slowly opened, and a large three-masted yacht with a white body, bow statue, anchor chain holes and two golden chimneys slowly sailed out, and the German Emperor's flag with a golden and black cross fluttered on the highest central mast of the yacht.www.biquge.info

In an instant, a cannon salute rang out in a dense array of large battleships in the harbor, and white smoke wafted over their high broadside decks. Over the harbor, a formation of three zeppelins fluttered slowly like floating clouds, and the lower part of the hull was hung with black, white and red ribbons that symbolized Germany, forming a magnificent man-made spectacle.

At the same time, more than a dozen seaplanes formed two formations and flew around the port at low altitude.

On the top platform of the "Hohenzollern", the German Emperor Wilhelm II, dressed in a clean white marshal's dress, stood proudly, constantly waving his right hand to greet the people. The royal yacht first sailed between the flag-decorated ships and yachts, then adjusted its course and made steady progress along the course parallel to the battlefleet line.

This imposing battlefleet consisted of 18 dreadnoughts - 14 from the German Navy and 4 from the British Navy. They are the essence of the human shipbuilding industry in this era, and they are also the product of the fierce naval competition between Britain and Germany, each of them has a strong body of steel, and is the most powerful weapon of war so far.

The grand celebration was a ceremony to mark the completion of the eight-year widening and expansion of the Kiel Canal (then known as the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal). With the revolutionary development of warship technology, the tonnage of newly designed and built warships is getting larger and larger, the width and depth of the original canal can no longer meet the navigation requirements of the German main fleet, and the German coastline is divided into two by Jutland, and the fleet is time-consuming and easy to be intercepted by the enemy through the Skagerrak Strait, so when the first dreadnought of the German Navy was finalized, the German top management decided to expand the canal, widening the bottom of the channel to 44 meters, and increasing the water depth to 11 meters. The cross-section area of the water crossing reached 828 square meters. Two locks were added at each end of the canal, with a length of 330 meters and a width of 45 meters. In this way, even dreadnoughts and battle cruisers of great tonnage could pass through the canal, and the main German naval force could move freely between the Baltic and North Seas.

The widening and deepening of a canal with a total length of nearly 100 kilometers, and the fact that the banks are not wastelands but towns and villages, and there are many bridges across the canal, is a very huge project under the technical conditions of the early 20th century, which requires not only huge capital investment, but also a long construction period. After the expansion of the canal in 1907, Germany suffered greatly in the Moroccan crisis, faced the strategic encirclement of the British, French and Russian Triple Entente, and the increasing tension in the Balkans, and a strong sense of crisis drove the Germans to overcome many difficulties and try to shorten the construction period.

By June 1914, the canal widening and expansion project had finally been completed, and this strategically important event was regarded as an important political weight by the German high-level. With the efforts of the Asquith cabinet, this summer, Britain and Germany reached an agreement on the protracted Baghdad railway dispute, and the two sides initialed the Gree-Rikhnovsky agreement, Britain no longer obstructed the construction of this road, and Germany also promised that the railway would end in Basra and no longer extend to the Persian Gulf, basically dividing the sphere of influence of the two countries in West Asia. As a result, relations between the two countries have shown signs of easing. Under these circumstances, for the first time, the British Navy sent its main fleet to participate in the Kiel Military Harbour Festival, with four newly commissioned George V-class battleships, two Birmingham-class light cruisers less than a year old, and a Chatham-class light cruiser less than two years old.

In the port of Kiel, the battleships waiting to be reviewed by Kaiser Wilhelm II were lined up in a neat column of 18 dreadnoughts. All 14 German Navy's dreadnoughts, including the newly commissioned King-class battleship "King", were assembled in Kiel, their hulls cleaned and freshly painted, and the four British dreadnoughts belonging to the 2nd Battleship Squadron of the British Home Fleet were also in the best possible position.

Among this battleship column, Frederick the Great, the flagship of the German High Seas Fleet, was undeservedly at the top of the list. The commander-in-chief of the fleet, Admiral von Ingnoor, and the main generals of the fleet lined up on the deck respectfully, looking at the Supreme Emperor on the yacht with great reverence. While Tirpitz is celebrated for his achievements in building the German High Seas Fleet, the crucial role played by the Reich's ruler should not be overlooked. You must know that the Second German Reich adopted a federal system, except for a few states in the north, the rest were landlocked, and because of their vital interests and vision, the imperial parliamentarians from each state had different views on the extremely costly naval construction, and it was even more difficult to agree with Tirpitz's repeated amendments to the expanded naval law. The Austro-Hungarian Empire of the same period is a striking example. Although the two successive naval chiefs and the current prince tried their best to develop the navy, the resistance of parliament and public opinion made them only ambitious.

The adjacent berth of the "Frederick the Great" is the flagship of the British Navy's visiting formation, the "George V", which was designed and built against the illusion that the German Navy's Caesar-class battleships were precisely the target. This ship 2. The rear deck of the 60,000-ton British battleship was covered with a white sunshade curtain, under which a whole column of Royal Marines dressed in bright red uniforms stared ahead. In front of the soldiers stood a soldier in his 50s full of aristocratic temperament, his gray hair, blue eyes, very neat face, dressed in a snow-white dress, this is the commander of the Second Battleship Squadron of the British Royal Navy, Vice Admiral Sir Wallend. When Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht "Hohenzollern" passed in front of "George V", Sir Wallend stood still and watched the high-spirited German ruler, while the sailors on board waved their military caps and shouted "Long live" loudly. The ship's salutes roared at rhythmic intervals.

After the two flagships, every time the "Hohenzollern" passed by a ship, whether it belonged to the German or British Navy, the cheers from that warship were endless......

This is the first time since the birth of the dreadnought that the most advanced ships of the British and German navies have been anchored side by side in Kiel, and the officers and sailors of both sides have had an opportunity to exchange views extensively. As a result of the deliberate political relaxation, both sides approached each other with the utmost enthusiasm, despite the fact that each of them was suspicious of the other's sincerity. According to the plan agreed by the two sides, after the opening ceremony of the Kiel Canal, the British naval formation will stay in Kiel for another week. As a result, officers and men of the two sides exchanged visits to their ships and, in accordance with the agreement, were not allowed to inquire about inappropriate technical issues. After some exchange with their peers, the officers and men of both ships quickly established a friendship that was cemented through various competitions and banquets.

On these rare days, the harbor is filled with flag-flapping transport boats, the neat teak decks of warships are covered with red carpets, and the gangway railings are polished to a dazzling degree. With the orders and military music, the honor guard greeted groups of visitors. The battleship resembles a luxury passenger liner, full of polished brass appliances, white railings, snow-white uniforms, and golden ribbons. In the dining room, the tables are covered with crisp, crisp white linen tablecloths and decorated with flowers, and the armchairs with mercerized calico covers are set by the tables, and the glassware on the tables is glittering. Accompanied by a string quartet played by a small band, those in evening dresses were savoring the feast. At the banquet, the guests and hosts gave warm speeches, and in the laughter and the interplay of cups, the atmosphere was so harmonious that people felt as if they were in a dream.

In the regatta and rowing competition in Kiel Bay, sailors from both sides are alive and well; On the green field on the shore, the football match between the sailors is in full swing. After the games, the soldiers of the two countries walked together in the hospitable city, gathering in the base restaurant or entertaining each other on the ship. The inhibitions of the first meeting seem to be gradually beginning to dissolve, and the friendship between each other has quietly taken root in the bottom of my heart......

When the dream finally awoke, on Sunday, June 28, just after noon, while the banquet was still going on, the telephone rang, and an adjutant became nervous when he received the call, and he immediately told the people that the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Ferdinand had been assassinated in Sarajevo.

The cheerful music came to an abrupt end, and everyone was stunned by the sudden news.

After a while, the order came out on the radio of the warship: "Flag at half-mast, flag and aft flag at half-mast, Austro-Hungarian flag on mainmast!" ”

It has been understood that this is not a nightmare, but a harsh reality.

On this day, Wilhelm II hastily left the Hohenzollern to go ashore, and he was so emotional that he canceled all other arrangements that night and left Kiel for Vienna. It was also inconvenient for the British visiting fleet to stay for a long time, so they had to hastily cancel other plans and prepare to return home early.

After the departure of the British fleet from the port of Keel, Sir Wallend sent a telegram to the German fleet:

"Those who have been friends will always be friends!"

(End of chapter)