Chapter 1029: The Trap of the British

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The active preparation of the German Navy, although carried out very secretively, was almost impossible to achieve complete secrecy. The North Sea was not very wide, and it was not very difficult for the British Navy to find out what was going on in the German Navy. The active preparation of the German Navy also attracted the attention of the British Navy. British Admiralty Chancellor John. Sir Fisher summoned the admirals and the heads of the fleets to come up with a plan for a possible challenge to the German navy.

Overall, in the North Sea Line, the British Navy still has a great advantage. Now the German navy is completely blocked in the port, and once the German navy leaves the port, it will inevitably be surrounded and suppressed by the British navy. However, with the commissioning of the German Navy's 'Bavaria-class' battleships, the British Navy became more and more cautious. Because, as the whole world knows, the British Navy's 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships and subsequent improved 'revenge-class' battleships are still under construction, and the British Navy currently has no battleships capable of dealing with the German Navy's 'Bavaria-class' battleships, which are powerful battleships with 4 twin 381mm guns, enough to sink any British Navy battleship. The British Navy should refrain from a decisive battle with the German Navy until the 'Queen Elizabeth-class' and 'Revenge-class' battleships were commissioned. However, it seems that the German Navy will not give up this opportunity. This can be seen in the increasingly active movement of the German Navy.

The clouds of war over the North Sea seem to be getting thicker, and even ordinary people in Britain and Germany can feel the calm before the war. Neither side wants to lose in this big war, and if it loses, it means that it will be completely defeated in this war. This is absolutely unacceptable for both countries.

On the evening of May 20, British Prime Minister Herbert . Henry. Asquith convened an emergency meeting of the Cabinet. Discuss the increasingly urgent situation. On the battlefield in northern France, the British Army's expeditionary force had already committed hundreds of thousands of troops, and suffered heavy casualties. But even now, there is no hope of victory. Now, the navy will face a challenge from Germany, and if the navy is defeated, it will be a fatal blow to Britain. Therefore, Prime Minister Asquith is desperate to know. Can the British Navy meet the challenge of the German Navy, or can it win this naval battle and defend Britain's maritime supremacy?

At 8 p.m. that night, the British cabinet gathered at the Prime Minister's Office. The meeting was attended by all the principal ministers of the Cabinet, in addition to Prime Minister Asquith, and Foreign Secretary Edward Edward. Sir Grey, Lord of the Admiralty John Grey. Sir Fisher, Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Fisher. Lloyd's. George, Secretary of War Winston. Leonard. Spencer. Winston Churchill and Colonial Secretary George Murphy. Nathaniel. Marquis Curzon. Thereinto. Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for War, was transferred from Secretary of State for Commerce to Secretary of State for War. As the main militant faction in the British cabinet, Churchill has always strongly declared that Britain should completely defeat Germany in the face of Germany's challenge. Completely cut off the ambitions of the Germans and defend the interests of the British.

In the small meeting room of the Prime Minister's Office, the British cabinet members began the meeting because of the confidentiality consideration. Apart from the ministers who attended the meeting, only the secretary to the Prime Minister's Office, who was in charge of the records, remained in the room. Others. All are asked to stay away from the meeting room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this morning I went to Buckingham Palace to meet His Majesty George V, and His Majesty is very concerned about the war that is going on now. The Army fought valiantly in northern France, but when will we be able to defeat the Germans. The Navy is now also facing a challenge from Germany, is the Royal Navy capable of defeating the German Navy and defending the interests of the British Empire? Now, I need you to give me a definitive answer! Prime Minister Asquith glanced at everyone, especially the Lord of the Navy, John A. Sir Fisher and War Secretary Winston. Churchill stayed on him the longest. Compared with other cabinet ministers, the two of them undoubtedly have the most direct relationship with this war.

"Your Excellency, the expeditionary force is fighting a bloody battle against the Germans in northern France. Although, both our and the French Army suffered heavy casualties. On the whole, however, we have withstood the onslaught of the Germans, kept Paris, and strengthened France's resolve to continue fighting. Now, little by little, we are regaining the advantage on the battlefield. I think that soon we will have the complete advantage on the battlefield and completely defeat Germany! "War Secretary Winston. Churchill was the first to say. After he succeeded as Secretary of War, he further expanded the recruitment of the British Army and strengthened ties with the French Army, launching a series of counterattacks on the battlefield. Although in the end, they were all crushed by the German Army, and suffered heavy losses. But on the whole, the shape of the battlefield was developing in favor of the Anglo-French forces.

"Soon? How long is this going on? Your Excellency Churchill, can you give me a definite answer? Prime Minister Asquith frowned. Churchill's answer was too general and not the result he wanted to hear.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this, it's hard to determine. If I had to give a time frame, I would think it would be one to two years! "Winston. Churchill said.

"One to two years, so long?" Prime Minister Asquith frowned. It's been almost a year since the war began. Although the war took place in Belgium and northern France, there were not much losses for the British. However, Britain also spent a huge amount of national strength on this war. In particular, the submarines of the German Navy attacked British merchant ships in the North Sea and the Atlantic, which brought Britain's maritime trade to a near standstill, causing great losses to Britain. If the war had gone on for another year or two, Britain would have been completely dragged down.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, there is no way around it. The German Army was the first to complete the mobilization and inflicted heavy losses on France and Russia in the early stages of the war. When we entered the war, France was already in an extremely disadvantageous position, and almost even Paris was occupied by the Germans. Now, we are trying to push the front north. However, as Germany has acquired a lot of advanced weapons from China, if we cannot come up with the weapons to deal with it in time, I am afraid that we will be at a disadvantage for a long time to come! "Winston. Churchill said with some concern. The British side has been confirmed that China has officially delivered F5 Haidongqing fighter jets to Germany. The fighter jointly developed by Britain, France, and the United States is still in the midst of intense test flights, and it is expected that mass production will begin in June or July. In addition, the tanks and armored vehicles used by China on the battlefields of Mexico would be almost devastating to Europe's predominantly trenched defense system. Once Germany obtained the relevant technology from China, it was very likely that the defense line held by the British and French forces would be broken through by the German army. At that time, it will be even more difficult for the Anglo-French forces to defeat the German army. The only good thing is that the Chinese do not seem to have any intention of exporting such advanced weapons to Germany. This also gave Britain a certain amount of time to step up the development of weapons to deal with it.

Prime Minister Asquith frowned tightly when he heard this. He knew, Winston. Churchill would not have exaggerated. The problems faced by the Anglo-French forces are really very serious, and it seems very difficult to win the victory.

"Okay, let's put aside the problem of the army for now!" Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I believe that the war in Europe can be fought not only by the army itself, but also by external forces. At present, Italy is still vacillating, and the countries of the Balkan Peninsula are still hesitating. If we can convince these countries to join the Entente to fight, the benefits will be obvious for us. Once Italy joined the Entente to fight, it could effectively relieve the pressure on France, and it could also threaten Austria-Hungary from the south, creating conditions for Russia to defeat Austria-Hungary. If the Germans did not want Austria-Hungary to be defeated, they had to send more troops to the Eastern Front. The same is true of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula, where there is an irreconcilable contradiction between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, and we can support Serbia in attacking Austria-Hungary. In addition, it could be used to cut off the Baghdad railway and cut off China's support for Germany. In this case, Germany will collapse even faster! "Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey said.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can contact these countries. If they join the side of the Entente, we can let them reap the benefits after victory! Prime Minister Asquith said. Britain now urgently needs more allies to join in and share the pressure. Otherwise, even with the accumulation of so many years in the UK, it will not last long.

"Yes, Your Excellency, Prime Minister!" Edward. Sir Grey said.

Next, Prime Minister Asquith looked at the Admiralty Chancellor, John Aster. Sir Fisher. In fact, the navy is what he values the most. Geographical factors determined that Britain attached great importance to the navy, as long as Britain had a strong navy, even if it was defeated on the European continent, it could ensure the security of the British mainland. The mighty German Army can't swim across the English Channel, right?

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Ministers, please rest assured. The Admiralty already had a plan in place to deal 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 fall into the trap, we will use this opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the German Navy and eliminate the threat of the Germans for the British Empire! "Lord of the Admiralty, John. Sir Fisher said firmly!