"Half a year?"

Lloyd's. George frowned.

"4 to 6 months, to be exact."

Kitchener clenched his fists.

"It seems that we have no choice, we must launch a battle for the Strait in the next 3 months."

Churchill looked expectant.

"To put it mildly, where do you want me to draw troops from?" Kitchener dissatisfied.

Churchill shook the cigar in his hand: "Pumping out 300,000 to 500,000 people now is equivalent to saving 3 million to 5 million people in the future - we are well aware of the serious consequences of the Sino-German meeting." ”

Kitchener snorted and grabbed the crystal wine glass on the table, swallowed half a sip of whiskey, and said angrily: "Of course I know the consequences, but the problem is that there are no troops to adjust now, and I warned you when I discussed the budget for the Irish-class battleships two years ago - don't complain that there are not enough army divisions available, you see, it has come true." ”

Churchill disagreed: "Say hello to the French, anyway, the US army is coming up soon, and the 2nd Army will be used in the Battle of the Strait first, and by the way, we will borrow two or three divisions from them, haven't they been talking about Syria?" If you want a piece of the pie, you can't do it without making a little effort. ”

Kitchener was a little embarrassed: "This is not easy, in these offensives this year, Daddy Xia Fei has complained every time that we have not kept our promises and delayed the transport of the 2nd Army, and if we don't say anything next year, the French will doubt our will to continue fighting......"

Churchill said dismissively: "Complain? What day are they not complaining? Tell them clearly that once China and Germany meet, they will shed ten times more blood than they do now, and then there may not be even a single rooster left in the whole of France! ”

Seeing that the atmosphere is a bit white-hot, Lloyd's prefers calm discussion. George hurriedly changed the subject: "Winston, first tell me how many ships you plan to prepare for the Battle of the Straits?" ”

Churchill glanced at Jackson, who quickly flipped through the folders.

“…… There is definite information that the Turkish Navy had damaged their battlecruiser Selim, the Goeben, operated by German officers and men, in an engagement with the Russian Black Sea Fleet earlier this year, and the battleship Resadi, which had been purchased from China before the war, and that there was no suitable dockyard for them to repair, leaving only the Resadi equivalent, the Sultan Osman I, still functional. After the loss of the obsolete battleship Yestafi, the Russian Black Sea Fleet still retained the relative superiority of 3 Dreadnought battleships and 4 former Dreadnought battleships, and had perfect facilities to ensure that they could be used normally. ”

"However, once we launch a battle in the strait, the Turkish Navy will inevitably launch a counterattack with all its might, regardless of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's containment, and in order to ensure that our army can suppress this counterattack, it is necessary to put in at least 1 new battle cruiser, as well as 2 high-speed battleships equipped with 15-inch guns......"

Lloyd's. George interjected uneasily, "It seems that these forces can only be drawn from the Grand Fleet. ”

Churchill took over the conversation deftly: "So it is necessary to compensate the Grand Fleet accordingly...... The idea is that the battleships currently deployed in the Indian Ocean are neither strong enough to confront the East Asian Combined Fleet head-on, nor do they lack the support of well-equipped bases, so it is better to bring them all back. ”

"Four British dreadnoughts, including the Canada, Aquaman, and two Giant-class, returned to the Grand Fleet, and four French dreadnoughts and seven British ex-dreadnoughts entered the Mediterranean Sea as the backbone of the Channel operation."

"In this way, even if one Prestige-class battlecruiser and two Queen Elizabeth-class or Revenge-class high-speed battleships are transferred, by the middle of next year, when the eight battleships of the United States are withdrawn, the Grand Fleet will still have 21 battleships and 4 battlecruisers, including 10 super-dreadnoughts equipped with 13-point 5-inch and 14-inch guns, 2 high-speed battleships with 15-inch guns, and 1 battlecruiser with 15-inch guns, and the overall quality has decreased...... In conjunction with the naval aviation, which the enemy lacked, it was still enough to maintain a clear superiority over the German high seas fleet. ”

Lloyd's. George nodded reluctantly, "I hope so...... But if the Indian Ocean is evacuated like that......"

"In the face of an overwhelmingly superior enemy, these heavy forces will not only fail to play a role, but will themselves encounter unnecessary dangers. Until we have the ability to counterattack, the Indian Ocean side will still focus on the task of breaking diplomatic relations carried out by cruisers and submarines for the time being, supported by shore-based aviation, in order to slow down the opponent's advance as much as possible. ”

Churchill explained.

Lloyd's. George took a long puff of his cigarette, the folds between his brows loosening in circles, evidently convinced—or unable to think of anything more feasible for a while. He held up a cigar to Churchill and motioned for "continue".

"We will also need to commit at least 1 fleet aircraft carrier, supplemented by 3 to 5 seaplane carriers, and build seaplane bases on islands close to the entrance to the strait, and if time permits, build airfields capable of taking off and landing four-engine heavy bombers, and transfer the United Air Force currently deployed in Aden to this ......"

"In addition, Marshal Fisher's previous preparations for the Baltic breakthrough operation will be diverted to the Battle of the Straits, including two large Valiante-class light cruisers equipped with 15-inch guns, four shallow-water heavy gunboats equipped with 12-inch and 14-inch guns, two shallow-water heavy gunboats equipped with 15-inch guns, and a number of specially developed landing ships, minesweepers, armored gunboats, amphibious vehicles......"

"I can't throw the 2nd Army over there."

Kitchener, who had been sullen for a while, bowed his head and burst out coldly.

"For what?"

Churchill's temples bulged with a few veins.

Kitchener rubbed his hands together and shook his head, "The Americans are watching us, we can't just let them in and fill the trenches, but run to the other side of the battle line to make a ...... It looks like a battle for the expansion of the colony after the war......"

"This is stupid political cleanliness!" Churchill was as agitated as a bulldog with hair*.

"And!" Kitchener did not show weakness, "In recent months, German submarines have become more and more rampant, and the Mediterranean, especially the hard-hit areas of merchant ship losses, can't your navy come up with some solutions?" If this continues, how can I be sure that my 2nd Army is going to Constantinople, or to meet Poseidon, the king of the sea? ”

"Enough, leave the Americans alone, submarines are indeed a big problem, I was trying to delve into this today, Henry, what about the materials I asked you to find?"

Lloyd's inserted into the fire. George turned to his best topic.

"It's all here."

Jackson smiled and patted the folder in his hand, clearly prepared better than anyone else.