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On 14 April, the German-Austrian fleet began its voyage south in Norwegian waters, preparing to enter the North Atlantic between Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

It was a rare good day, and at dusk, Admiral Willenic stood on the bridge of the "Archduke Friedrich", quietly watching the sunset. Comparatively, the waves in the North Atlantic, even in normal weather, are much larger than in the Baltic Sea. The waters of the Atlantic Ocean are dark and heavy, and huge waves are tumbling on the surface. In the western sky, the sunset is dazzling and dappled, and a round of red sun is sinking to the sea.

"Guess how many warships the British have sent to search for and intercept us now?" The admiral suddenly turned his head and said to Rear Admiral Schwarzenberg, the chief of staff of the fleet, who was standing beside him.

"Are you worried that the British will send their entire home fleet?" Schwarzenberg said.

"Not really, Admiral Sorochin wished the British could hit him quickly." "I'm just wondering, why does the Empire of the Sun Never Set look like the sun on the sea, and it's about to fall into the sea?" ”

"Maybe it's because they're living too comfortably and have lost their entrepreneurial spirit." "They have a huge colonial market, but they only think about plundering, but they don't think about building them, and if they build Canada, Australia, and Southern Africa as strong as their homeland, no country in the world will dare to challenge them." It's a pity they didn't,"

"Perhaps, at least now we are no longer afraid of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, which was once invincible in the world." Willenic smiled, "Once the fear is gone, I realize that they really look like 'paper tigers'. The "paper tiger" was a metaphor used by the Emperor to describe the British Royal Navy, and it seems appropriate now.

"You're right, the average sailor now wants to take a chance at the sight of the British." "Especially in the Mediterranean, our navy is so big that the British don't dare to show their heads." ”

Although the main warships in Britain were concentrated in Scapa Bay to guard against the Germans, the Austro-Hungarian Navy did make the British Royal Navy lose face, "The staff of the sea god has been lost, who will get it again?" Unfortunately, the emperor positioned the future strategic focus of the empire in the East and North Africa. ”

In his mind, the future maritime hegemon must first and foremost be the hegemon of the Atlantic, but the emperor never turned his attention to the Atlantic, and the Atlantic Fleet was only established to achieve victory in this war and fulfill the war promise to the Germans. In essence, the existence of the Atlantic Fleet had little to do with the interests of the Empire.

It had never occurred to the Emperor to fight for domination of the Atlantic, otherwise it would not have been possible to repeatedly veto the naval plan to storm Gibraltar. Now, it seems, the Emperor's goal has been focused on the Indian Ocean.

After the Battle of Skagerrak, Willenic was transferred to the Admiralty as Chief of the General Staff, where he was more exposed to the military strategy of the Empire. Military purposes have always served political interests, and it is clear that the empire has placed its future economic interests in the East, and even in the Far East. The Navy had already received about two hundred students from the Navy's schools in the East, a clear sign that the Empire was ready to become more involved in the affairs of the Far East after the war.

During the time of Emperor Franz, the empire had no overseas colonies and no desire to expand overseas. However, Emperor Friedrich was completely different, and expressed a strong desire to expand the power of the empire to Africa, the Middle East and even the Far East, and even set up a so-called Imperial Overseas Development Committee in the government.

The constitutional systems of the Second German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were similar in that the emperor had the possibility of direct interference in government decisions, which was slightly different from the British constitutional system.

However, for the time being, if the British were to be forced to withdraw from the war, more efforts would be needed from the German-Austrian navy. It is no exaggeration to say that the outcome of the Atlantic theater will have a direct impact on the outcome of the entire war, although the current hegemon, the Royal Navy, is already a little old and inadequate.

But the transfer of power to the Lion King was never a peaceful concession, but the result of bloody biting and fighting, and in this process, there was never mercy at all. The painful consequences of the war fell either on the British, or on the Germans and Austrians.

"General, this is the German Admiralty telegram that I just received!"

The voice of Colonel Heidler, the communications officer, interrupted Willennik's musings, and it was not surprising that the telegram sent by the German Admiralty merely confirmed the judgment of Sorochin and Willennik. The entire fast fleet of the British had already left port, and there were signs of movement in the home fleet. However, in order to contain the actions of the British Home Fleet, Admiral Hipper had already led the entire Ocean Fleet out of port and prepared to attack the British coast. It is quite possible that Jericho will have to return to the North Sea line.

After a casual glance at the telegram, Willenic returned it to Heidler, "Is there any news about the British convoy?" ”

Heideler shook his head: "The German submarines monitoring the North American route have reported that the British fleet has stayed in port, and since we went to sea, the fleet that has left the port has also returned to port, and this time I am afraid we will not find the prey." ”

Willenic smiled, "No matter how much, now that we stay at sea for a day, won't the British have their shipping interrupted for a day, and how long can they hold out?" Ask General Sorochin, are we wandering on the sea for a little longer? ”

The "Archduke Friedrich" sent a short-range long-wave telegram to the "Count Spee", and after a while Admiral Sorochin telegraphed back that he was going to escort the supply fleet to the Bay of Biscay before returning to the ocean for a combat cruise. It seems that he is not very comfortable with the "drag oil bottle" he carries.

The sun had sunk below the surface of the sea, and in the dim sky the whole fleet continued southward in the ocean slightly closer to Iceland, and was already about to enter the North Atlantic.

Suddenly, the A71 destroyer sounded the battle alarm, and the destroyer made a small bend in the sea, and then accelerated forward. Sirens sounded across the sea, and the entire fleet became nervous.

"Enemy submarines spotted!" The Communications Officer interprets the flashing light signal on V71. Willennik held up his binoculars and looked at the sea in front of the German destroyer, where there was nothing but the raging waves. The destroyers V72 and Sagittarius, which were nearby, also surrounded them.

Tong! Tom!

The destroyer circled around the sea, constantly dropping depth charges into the water, and raising columns of water. (The novel "Under the Double Eagles" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lottery gift for everyone!) Open WeChat now, click on the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "add friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up! )

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