If you open the world map, you will find that the Dardanelles Strait is important because it is located between the Asian Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula, and has always been regarded as the dividing line between Europe and Asia. (―)

This strait is not well known to the Chinese, but it is famous in Europe. Because in Greek mythology, there is a famous tragedy about the Dardanelles: the very emotional Leander fell in love with the girl Helo, she was a priestess of Venus, and the unchanging Leander always swam across the Dardanelles at night to meet Helo, and she lit a torch on the corner tower as his guide. But one night there was a storm, and the tide was raging, and Leander swam and swam with great strength, and drowned in the sea. When Helo saw that he was dead, he was discouraged and committed suicide by jumping into the sea from the corner tower. Therefore, one of the most important things that the English Romantic poet Byron wanted to do was to swim across the Dardanelles, and he did it.

The geography of the Dardanelles Strait is also very peculiar, with the Sea of Marmara in the east and the Gallipoli Peninsula in the west, which is about 61 kilometers long and only 1.-7.5 kilometers wide, and the middle is narrow and long. If it is not possible to break through the narrow Dardanelles strait, in the years when there are no bombers, in order to win, then it is only possible to seize the commanding heights of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

The British, who had a strong navy, chose to attack the Dadar Strait directly and take Constantinople by water. Acting Fleet Commander of the British Eastern Mediterranean Fleet Sackville. Carden led a powerful fleet into the Dardanelles, and the key to victory was a swift attack. Clearing the mines left by the Turks, destroying the artillery positions on the high ground on both sides of the strait with artillery, and entering the open waters of the Turkish inland sea, the Sea of Marmara. Finally arrive in Constantinople.

British Admiral Winston Churchill was confident in the battle. At the meeting of the British War Council, British Prime Minister Asquith, British Field Marshal Kitchener, British Foreign Secretary Gray, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd's Brown. George was present. Prime Minister Asquith and others also have confidence in the navy, after all, as long as Britain has a strong navy, even if it is defeated on the European continent, it can ensure the security of the British mainland, and no matter how strong the German army is, it will not be able to swim through the English Channel, right?

Only the British Generalissimo Kitchener doubted that the navy could take Constantinople. He asked Churchill three times: "Is it true that you navy can take Constantinople without army support?" ”

Churchill replied firmly: "Yes, gentlemen." We'll see. We, the Royal Navy, already have a plan for dealing with the German Navy. This time, we have already laid the trap and waited for the Germans to take the initiative to get in! Once the Germans get into the trap, we will take advantage of this big battle. Inflicted heavy damage and even completely wiped out the German high seas fleet. Erase the German Navy from the map of Europe! ”

When Prime Minister Asquith heard Churchill's words, his spirits lifted and a smile immediately appeared on his face. British Field Marshal Kitchener still hesitated a little and asked: "

"Churchill, I know you have always thought that arrogance is your forte, but is the Navy so sure this time? You're not bragging, are you?? ”

British Prime Minister Asquith, Foreign Secretary Gray, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd. George listened to Churchill's words, and looked at Churchill in surprise, not knowing where he got such confidence. Although the strength of the British Royal Navy was slightly superior to that of the German Navy. But to talk about the destruction of the German Navy is a bit too arrogant! To know. Germany's most advanced Bavaria-class battleships were also very powerful, with four twin 80 mm turrets as the main armament, 16 150 mm guns in the secondary guns arranged in the gun frames on both sides, and 10 88 mm guns mounted on deck to defend against light ships. Only the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships of the British fleet were armed with 81-mm guns.

"Don't worry, I'm not kidding. We have basically mastered the code of the German Navy, and after testing, the correctness of the code book has been basically verified. Churchill said confidently, and took out a code book and handed it to the committee members present.

British Field Marshal Kitchener took it and saw that it was indeed in German, and he asked, "Where did this codebook come from?" ”

Churchill smiled and greeted Generalissimo Kitchener, Prime Minister Asquith, Foreign Secretary Gray, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd. George: They told me where the codebook came from.

When Britain declared war on Germany in August 1908, Graff. Maximilian. Feng. Admiral Spee's East Asian Fleet, the Pacific Fleet, was Germany's most powerful naval force outside its own waters, with the battle cruisers Gneizenau and Scharnhorst with a displacement of 12,000 tons, and two light cruisers, the Emden and Nienberg, anchored near the Mariana Islands.

After the start of the Spanish-Chinese war in 1898, Spain, anticipating its defeat, sold all the islands to Germany except Guam (which was already occupied by China), except for the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands.

The fleet hanging overseas is very likely to be killed by the British Navy. General Spee wanted to return to Germany as soon as possible. But if you choose the shortest voyage back home, you need to go through the Suez Canal, Egypt was under the control of Britain at the time, which was tantamount to a sheep in the mouth of a tiger. General Spee decided to direct the fleet to the east along the Pacific and South Atlantic.

Feng. As a Junker nobleman, a battle-hardened admiral, General Speeze did not want to be seen by his German colleagues as fleeing home for fear of death, and he wanted to call this escape a "long march at sea", so he went all the way to attack enemy merchant ships and harass the coasts of hostile forces. At the captain's request, he even sent the Emden as a lone raiding warship to destroy maritime commerce in the Indian Ocean.

With a total length of 118 meters, a total width of 1.5 meters, a draft of 5.5 meters, a full load displacement of 470 tons, and a boiler, the Emden was built at a time when the German Navy was transitioning from reciprocating steam engines to steam turbines. So instead of using a new steam turbine as planned, the "Emden" installed a three-stage expansion reciprocating steam engine with a main engine output of 1500 shaft horsepower. The speed can reach .5 knots, the ship's side is equipped with 80-100 mm thick armor in some important parts, the deck thickness is about 18 mm, but some positions are reinforced to 78 mm, the bow angle bulkhead is about 40 mm thick, and the conning tower is surrounded by 100 mm thick steel plates. The main guns are 10 Krupp 40 times diameter 105 mm rapid-fire naval guns, two in the bow and two in the stern. They were arranged on single gun mounts on both sides and protected by light gun shields, while the other six guns were placed on two gun mounts and protected by gun profiles or shields. A number of 7 mm guns and a number of machine guns were also used as auxiliary fire. Under the waterline were two 450-mm torpedo tubes.

Such an inconspicuous light cruiser, no one at that time could have imagined that this cruiser, shrouded in the shadow of the British and French dreadnoughts, would shine in the coming war. Its light overshadowed many dreadnoughts that were far more powerful than it. Even won a reputation with the British and French navies, known as the "Swan of the East", its elusive attacks once terrified the Indian Ocean shipping of the Allied countries, and never killed a single captured ship's crew in his life, and even won the respect of his opponents, which also shows that the actual combat ability of the German Navy is not weak.

In addition to the "Emden", von . General Spee's fleet began the "Long March at Sea". Stopping at Christmas Island and the Marquesas Islands, cutting the British cable across the ocean at Fanning Island. The French overseas territory of Tahiti was also attacked by von Aht. Heavy shelling of General Spee's fleet. Afterwards. Feng. General Spee's fleet was ready to sail for the German possessions of Samoa, but later received information that it was occupied by New Zealand troops.

Feng. Admiral Spee's fleet had no choice but to leave, and on 1 October it reached Easter Island, where it joined the cruisers Dresden and Leipzig, which were now strong enough to rival any British fleet.

A week later, the fleet joined up with coal carriers in the Juan Fernandez Islands, about 500 miles west of Chile, and after refueling the coal, it maintained its momentum and continued its voyage to the South Atlantic.

By this time, the British had already discovered von. The whereabouts of Admiral Spee's fleet was sent by Vice Admiral Christopher. Sir Craddock took the former Indian fleet to the Atlantic to intercept von Murphy. General Spee's fleet.

In order to protect the homeland and monitor the German High Seas Fleet, the British Royal Navy deployed most of its forces along the North Sea-Dover to the Britterian line. In the Atlantic, only a few cruisers remained.

Sir Craddock and several cruisers tracked south from the Caribbean, and when he learned that the Dresden had sailed into the Pacific Ocean, Craddock realized that he might be able to join forces with von Cradock. As soon as General Speeze fought, he asked for support from the British Admiralty!

Craddock originally asked for the armored battle cruiser "Defense", but the British Admiralty sent the decrepit former Wuxi-class battleship "Canopus". Moreover, when Craddock's fleet was stationed at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, the engine of the "Canopas" was also out of order, unable to operate at full power, and the maximum speed was reduced from 17 knots to 1 knot. What made Kraddock even more desperate was that most of the officers and men on the "Canopas" were reservists, and the gunners had never fired the ship's cannons!

Fearing that German ships would harass the British maritime trade lines off the coast of Chile, Craddock left Falkland on 1 January, leaving behind the incapacitated Canopas and leading the flagship of the Cape of Good Hope, the armored cruiser Monmouth, the light cruiser Glasgow, and the auxiliary cruiser Otranto through the Strait of Magellan, and then searched north along the Chilean coast.

On October 9, 1908, the "Glasgow", the fastest of the British ships, was ordered to go south of the Chilean port of Cronel to search. On 1 October, the "Glasgow" intercepted a telegram between a German ship and a supply ship, and Craddock believed that this warship was the German ship "Dresden" that had escaped from the Atlantic, and concluded that it was operating alone, and he immediately ordered the "Glasgow" to sail north with the fleet naturally.

On the 11st, four British ships fanned north with a gap of 0 kilometers and advanced at 4 p.m. The forward "Glasgow" spotted a plume of black smoke in front of starboard. Captain of the "Glasgow" John Murphy. Luce was excited, decided that this was the German "Dresden", and immediately reported it to the flagship.

Craddock was reported. Overjoyed, he was not sure about dealing with the 1,000-ton "Gneizenau" and "Scharnhorst", but he was still sure of such a light cruiser as the "Dresden", so he ordered the fleet to move forward at full speed and kill it at full speed.

But 0 minutes later. Captain of the British HMS Glasgow, John Murphy. Luce again came shocking news: at least two large battle cruisers were with the light cruiser.

Craddock broke out in a cold sweat, and he compared the strength of the two sides in his heart: von. General Spee's "Gneizenau" and "Scharnhorst" were both new battle cruisers built in 1907 with a displacement of 12,000 tons. Equipped with 8 10mm and 6 150mm guns, the excellent manufacturing technology allows these guns to fire quickly and accurately in wind and waves. General Spee's sailors were also known for their superb gunnery; And the best warship in his fleet, the flagship "Cape of Good Hope", was built in l9o. Armed with 4 4-mm guns and 16 15-mm guns. Although the caliber of the gun was large, the range, rate of fire and aiming performance were far inferior to those of German ships. The Monmouth was built in 190 with only 14 15mm guns, and to make matters worse, most of the crews on both ships were unskilled and inexperienced conscripts and non-commissioned officers. The "Otranto" was a regular liner converted battleship, which was relatively fast, but had only 15 mm guns and no armor protection, which was acceptable against German light cruisers, but could not compete with its capital ships. It is likely that the German fleet will not be able to be defeated.

At this time, the "Canopas" had 4 05-mm cannons, and at this time it was staggering at a speed of 1 knots at a distance of 00 km. Craddock could have retreated south, and would have waited for a meeting with the Canopus before meeting with von Murphy. Admiral Spee's fleet gave it a go. However, Sir Craddock did not want to insult the reputation of the British Royal Navy by being charged with desertion, and was more worried that once he lost his target, it would be difficult to find von Murphy again. With Admiral Spee's fleet, Craddock was determined to fight, even if he had only one obsolete battleship, two armored cruisers and a light cruiser.

On the morning of November 1, off the coast of Chile, Coronel, Sir Craddock's fleet met with Von Craddock's fleet. General Spee's fleet met in a fog.

At 5:47, the British ships formed a column, led by the "Cape of Good Hope", behind the "Otranto", and "Monmouth" and "Glasgow" in the center, and then the British ships turned south and parallel to the German ship's course.

But the German "Leipzig" discovered the "Glasgow" first. Feng. Admiral Speeze was not surprised to encounter a British fleet here and now, but he was in a better position, and had a battle column lined up, from front to back, the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Leipzig, and Dresden, while the Nuremberg, more than 50 kilometres to the north, was hurrying home from its supply depot Valparaiso.

At 6:18, Craddock raised the speed to 17 knots and sent a telegram to the distant "Canopus": "I will attack the enemy ships. ”

At this time, the sun was still above sea level, and the sun dazzled the German gunners, and the light was favorable to the British ships, but unfortunately the two sides were 15ooo meters apart, and they were out of each other's range.

At 6:55, the situation reversed, the sun set over the sea, and the afterglow clearly reflected the figure of the British ship on the horizon, while the German ship disappeared into the growing night. At 7 o'clock, Craddock led his team to the southeast in an attempt to quickly shorten the distance between the two sides and use melee combat with Von . General Spee's fleet fights.

At 7 o'clock, the two sides were 110o meters apart, and Feng. General Spee ordered the British ships to be fired with 10-mm guns, and the "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" were dealt with the "Cape of Good Hope" and "Monmouth" respectively, and the British ships returned fire five minutes later.

At this time, the wind and waves hit from the bow of the ship. General Spee's observation and ranging were severely hampered. Because the waves hit the bridge straight up, the 150 mm on the middle deck could barely be aimed at the target.

This was true of the 12,000-ton German ships, and the situation was even worse on the side of the British Craddock fleet, which had only 4 4-mm guns to get the German ships. British artillery aimed to the east. And the strong southeast wind made the waves crash into the muzzle, and the gunners were obscured by the splashing waves, and the orientation of the German ships in the eastern night could only be judged by the flash of the gun. Not to mention ranging. From the very beginning of the war, the British army was in a situation where they were helpless to fight back.

It was a one-sided battle, the first salvo of the German ships hit the British ships, and the third salvo of the "Scharnhorst" knocked out the front turret of the "Cape of Good Hope". At 7:45 a.m., the Cape Lookout, which had been hit by a bullet, burst into flames from bow to stern. Press Feng. According to General Spee's calculations, the "Scharnhorst" hit it about 5 times. But within 15 minutes of the engagement.

In the hopeless situation, Craddock still tried to get closer to the German ship, perhaps hoping to use the power of his 15-mm guns and torpedoes. Before being beaten to immobility. He has shortened the distance to 5o0 meters. Forcing von, who had already guessed his intentions. General Spee ordered to distance the two sides. At 7:50, a large explosion occurred in the amidship of the Cape of Good Hope, and the flames soared to a height of 60o meters.

After 7 minutes. The unlucky flagship sank to the bottom of the sea with a rear admiral and more than 900 officers and men. No one was spared. The other side. The third salvo of the "Gneisenau" eliminated the part of the forward turret of the "Monmouth" and caused a fire. Captain Luce, who was following behind, saw that the bow of the ship was low, and at the same time it was tilted to starboard, and all the guns were dumbfounded.

The battle continued until the evening, at 0:15. The "Monmouth" turned 180o and headed slowly northward. It's probably going in the wrong direction. Because to the north were three German light cruisers. At 0:00, "Glasgow" was to send a message to the "Monmouth": "The enemy is pursuing us. But there was no response, and no one knew what happened to it. Feng. Admiral Spee ordered the light cruisers to search for the remnants of the enemy, and at 58 hours the northernmost "Nuremberg", which had not yet participated in the battle, spotted the dying "Monmouth", with the white naval flag of the Royal Navy flying on its mainmast.

Feng. Captain Schrongberg immediately drove forward to attack, and after a fierce bombardment, the "Monmouth" sank at 1:18. None of the nearly 700 officers and men on the ship were spared.

At the beginning of the naval battle. The "Glasgow" was dueling one-on-one with the "Leipzig", while the "Dresden" was beating the "Otranto". The latter was clearly not an opponent, and Craddock ordered it to quickly break away from the formation and retreat in the southwestern direction.

"Glasgow" was forced into a fierce battle with two German light cruisers, and gradually became exhausted. After witnessing the destruction of the flagship and the cripplement of the "Monmouth", Luce, who was aware of the current affairs, ordered the "Glasgow" to flee northwest at full speed until it was out of the battlefield, and then approached the "Canopas" 00 kilometers away and sent a funeral telegram to it: the flagship has been sunk and our formation has been dispersed. Captain Grant, knowing that his speed was slow and his guns were inferior to those of the Germans, withdrew to the Falkland Islands after taking in the "Otranto" and "Glasgow". Feng. Fearing the 05-mm guns of the Canopas, and pleased with the results of the battle, General Spee sent only the faster "Leipzig" and "Dresden" to search for Cape Horn, while he himself led the other three warships to return to the neutral Chilean port of Valparaiso for coal and other supplies. During the battle, the Scharnhorst was hit twice, with no casualties, and the Gneisenau was hit four times, three were wounded, and the rest of the ship was unscathed.

The only German fleet on the ocean to challenge the Royal Navy's supremacy at sea achieved initial success. This time, the defeat in a head-to-head engagement between surface ships greatly shocked the British Admiralty. As a result of Kraddock's attack, he and more than 1,600 of his men were killed. Only the light cruiser "Glasgow" escaped.

Craddock's defeat provoked the revenge of the British Royal Navy**. When von. While General Spee was intoxicated with the joy of victory, a powerful British fleet was gathering in the South Atlantic and began to dig a grave for him.

British Admiral Winston Churchill was greatly alarmed and mobilized thirty warships, including nine French ones, to cruise von Churchill. The oceanic route that General Spee might enter. The deployment of these forces would make it impossible for the German naval squadron to parry any group of warships. Admiral Stedy, heading for the east coast of South America. At the same time, the battle cruiser "Australia", armed with a twelve-inch cannon, went at full speed from its patrols in the South China Sea. Combined, its equipment and speed alone can destroy Von. General Spee's naval squadron.

At the same time, during the German victory celebration in the Valparaiso colony, von Paliso. General Spee and his men were distinguished guests, as were Chilean officials. Feng. The remaining three ships of General Spee, then rounded Cape Horn into the South Atlantic, and sailed to Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, where he intended to seize supplies and destroy the radio towers.

By coincidence, Stedy's squadron was in harbor on 8 January, when the deck officer of the "Nienberg" peeked through the binoculars and saw the unmistakable triangular masts of the battle cruisers.

The German navy immediately turned and fled, while the faster British ships pursued behind, and good visibility and calm sea conditions provided excellent combat conditions. To sink the "Scharnhorst", it was only after three hours of heavy attack with twelve-inch shells that it succeeded, and after two hours, the "Gneizenau" followed in its footsteps.

The faster "Nienberg" and "Leipzig" were later caught up during the night and capsized under repeated salvos. The Imperial German Navy lost four warships, two coal carriers, and 2,300 crew members - including von Murphy. Admiral Spee and his two sons. Only the fast "Dresden" escaped under the cover of darkness and heavy rain. But four months later, it was tracked to the Juan Fernandez Islands, a favorite of German ships, and was shipwrecked.

The sunken German light cruiser "Magdeburg" made a windfall for the British. While surveying the interior of the ship at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, Russian divers happened to come across a lead box containing German telegraph codes and charts of the square area of the North Sea. A copy of the code was given to the British Navy, so they were able to decipher the classified radio communications of the German Navy. Later, the Germans changed the code, but they still could not hide it from the British Royal Navy, and they also developed a directional radio receiver to determine the location of the German ship.

The codebook shown by British Admiralty Winston Churchill to his colleagues in the British War Council was derived from the Magdeburg. (To be continued......)