"Winston, does the Royal Navy have any operational plans?" Asquith looked hopefully at the youngest Admiral in the room and asked.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were all on him, Churchill calmed down slightly and said, "Mr. Prime Minister, three days ago, the commander of the Eighth Submarine Detachment, Roger? Commodore Case proposed to me a plan of action: the tactical core of which was to break into the German Helgoland Bay and sweep away the German patrol fleet entrenched there. At present, this plan of operation has been unanimously agreed by the Royal Navy's top brass, including Marshal Louis, Prince of Batenberg, First Sea Lord. On May 2, that is, tomorrow, the raid on the Gulf of Helgoland will begin. ”

Asquith nodded slightly, indicating that he had understood, but Kitchener next to him looked displeased, and said: "Winston, Britain has invested so much wealth and effort in the Royal Navy, just wait for the second Trafalgar to reappear; And now you're telling me that this world-wide navy, which has three hundred years of maritime supremacy, is only aimed at dealing with the Germans' maritime patrol forces? ”

Hearing Kitchener's words, Churchill's eyes couldn't help but flash a trace of anger: this guy doesn't know anything about naval warfare at all, so what qualifications does he have to blame his actions? However, Kitchener's rank of marshal and count were not something that Churchill could give him a face. Churchill paused, and finally patiently explained: "Dear Sir Horatio, the main task of the Royal Navy at present is to blockade the main force of the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea, not to engage in a decisive confrontation with it. In the comparison of the number of capital ships, we had a slight lead over the Germans by less than a quarter; And in a battle at sea, where the situation is changing rapidly. This advantage in forces simply cannot be translated into victory. The two sides are currently in the camp of war. The only one who can lose the entire war in one afternoon. It's Jericho, the commander of the Royal Navy's home Grand Fleet! Since the Germans had cooperated so well in keeping the main force of their oceanic fleet in Wilhelmshaven, we were glad to maintain the delicate balance of the present situation. ”

Kitchener's brow furrowed, and there was still a grim look on his solemn face.

Churchill paused, and then added: "In fact, even this operation to sweep up the German patrol fleet took considerable risks. In addition to 4 old armored cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 34 destroyers, and 8 submarines, the two battle cruisers HMS Invincible and HMS New Zealand will also participate in the operation as the finale; And in the event of the unfortunate loss of these two battleships, we will no longer have the slightest advantage over the Germans in the number of battlecruisers! And such a catastrophic situation is entirely possible. After all, the small island of Helgoland is on the doorstep of Wilhelmshaven, the old nest of the German Navy, and the majestic array of the German High Seas Fleet may rush out of the harbor at any time and deal a fatal blow to our fleet. ”

"Winston, the glory of Britain is now up to you to defend it." Seeing that the Minister of War was still unwilling, Asquith hurriedly took the lead in the round; He stared into Churchill's eyes and said, "This operation can only succeed, not fail, you understand?" Churchill's face was grim. "The Royal Navy will not let you down. ”

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In the early morning, the sun shines brightly above the North Sea. The entire sea is sparkling and starry. The waves roared, the waves crashed, and they crashed into a 60-meter-high fiery red island and reef, and when they landed, they exploded and scattered thousands of white foam, and the water mist flew.

Located at the southernmost tip of the North Sea, close to Germany's major ports and river estuaries, Helgoland is only 3 square kilometres in size, but its strategic value is incalculable. In July 1890, the German government signed the Treaty of Helgoland with the Marquess of Salisbury, then British Prime Minister, at the cost of a colony of tens of thousands of square kilometers in East Africa in exchange for the "Northern Gibraltar" that had been controlled by the British. After more than 20 years of construction, Helgoland Island has become a key German fortress in the North Sea, with shore artillery, ports, barracks, and fortifications. After the outbreak of the Great War, the German patrol fleet stationed here had to sail every day, ploughing across the vast North Sea, serving as the most loyal and diligent outpost for the German Ocean Fleet.

At this moment, in the turquoise blue ocean, a torpedo boat with a low freeboard and slender body spewed a faint green smoke and carried out the routine open sea cruise of the day at a speed of 12 knots. On the gray bow side, the number of the "V-187" is prominently visible. On a rudimentary flybridge, a young officer was enjoying the morning sea breeze; The blue and white naval captain's uniform clearly demonstrated his unique identity on this ship.

As a force that emerged after the unification of the German Empire, the Imperial Navy did not have as long and deep history as the Prussian Army, so the imprint of the Junkers officers in this branch of the army was obviously not as strong as that of the German Army. With the rapid growth of the German Navy in the last two decades, a large number of young men from civilian backgrounds have joined this army, which symbolizes the future of the Reich, providing a steady stream of fresh blood for the development of the German Navy. At the age of 27, Sim was the epitome of a young naval officer who did not have the word "von" in front of his surname: after graduating from the military academy, he was appointed captain of the V-187 torpedo boat after several years of training, becoming the backbone of the German High Seas Fleet, the second largest in the world.

Although he was not assigned to serve on the battleships of the High Seas Fleet, which made Sim, who had been fascinated by the majestic battleships since he was a child, he did not lose hope for the future. The father of today's ocean fleet, Admiral Alfred? Feng? Tirpitz, who also rose from the captain of a torpedo boat to the supreme position of secretary of state for the navy; And the amount of power he has at his disposal is not just a lineup of one or two battleships?

The sea breeze blows and the waves sway. As the red sun gradually rose, the V-187 torpedo boat soon reached the end of the cruise. Sim stood tall and stared intently, seeing that the water and sky were all around him, and there was nothing unusual. He looked around and was about to give the order to return to the ship, when about two kilometers in front of the side of the battleship, a straight white line suddenly appeared, straight as a flying fish, and shot furiously towards his torpedo boat!

Torpedo!

Seeing this, Sim's hair was cold; If you really want to be hit by this thing, your torpedo boat with a standard displacement of only 580 tons will not have any chance of surviving! In the midst of the lightning, a heart-rending "Left Full Rudder" immediately roared out of Sim's mouth; When the helmsman who was approaching the enemy for the first time heard this, he immediately hurriedly shook the compass and manipulated the torpedo boat to make a quick turn. The slender torpedo boats began to accelerate and cut an abrupt arc across the sea; Due to the high maneuverability of the lightweight torpedo boat and the fact that the torpedo was fired at a distance of more than 400 meters from the ship, the torpedo flew by more than 400 meters away from the starboard side of the V-187, and was far from an effective hit. However, Simon was still in shock, and when he was blown by the sea breeze, he found that his back was full of cold sweat. He turned his head and glared angrily, searching the surface of the sea, and sure enough, he saw an obscene dark black periscope looming in the waves!

There was a loud roar, and the light was blazing; Amid Sim's loud roar of rage, the three 88mm L42 rapid-fire guns placed at the bow and tail of the V-187 quickly turned their muzzles, thundered and roared, and fired rapidly at the periscope. Columns of water several meters high rose in the middle of the sea. In a few seconds, the periscope disappeared into the waves, never to be seen again. Shells sporadically crashed into the sea, and the water column soared, but even Sim himself was not optimistic about how much effect it really achieved.

After being attacked by a British submarine, Sim was determined not to let him escape calmly; What's more, the fact that a British submarine unusually appeared in his patrol area is itself worthy of his continued in-depth study. He immediately sent a telegram to the command in the Gulf of Helgoland, requesting that more warships be sent to search for his area. It was still early in the morning, and Sim had perfect patience to wait for such a British sneak attacker, which could sail at no more than 5 knots underwater, to surface.

After a short time, three shadows approached from the southeast, and it was the same torpedo boat as the V-187 that belonged to the 1st Thunderstrike Fleet. The four ships joined forces and began to search further west. Gradually, the fog came out of the sea, and the visibility was much lower than in the early morning; Of the four German torpedo boats moving side by side, the two ships that were the farthest away could no longer be seen from each other. In order to avoid accidents, Sim and several torpedo boat captains decided to return the same way after radio contact. However, after only ten minutes of turning around, a large group of destroyers suddenly rushed out of the vast fog; Identifying from the outside, it is actually the "Acorn" class and "Akron" class cutting-edge destroyers that have only been commissioned by Britain in recent years!

It turned out that according to the British Navy's operational strategy for raiding the Helgoland Bay, they deliberately used submarines as bait to lure German patrol ships westward; Then the British destroyers that had been ambushed here in advance immediately came out at high speed, giving a big surprise to the German ships that had been slowly searching. Originally, everything was planned seamlessly, but who expected that the unpredictable climate in the North Sea would become foggy at this time, and the formation and timing of a British destroyer outflanking and rushing forward were flawed due to the difficulty of coordination in the fog. The German torpedo boats, which were already at full speed, had broken out of the encirclement of the British destroyers, and were desperately fleeing towards the Helgoland Bay. (To be continued......)

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