For the next few days, there was an eerie calm over the North Sea. The main fleets of Britain and Germany were only a few hours apart, and a battle of thunder and fire could break out at any time; However, both sides have their own heavy concerns and do not dare to launch an all-out attack on the other. The British were more afraid of the German High Seas Fleet than their strong line-up, while Ingnorr was so apprehensive of the Pomerania that she was struck by lightning off the Thames that she did not dare to lead the team to the British fleet's lair for a fight.

Seeing that the British fleet could not bear to build its own defense towers on its doorstep, Ingnorr had already completely surrendered to his opponent's dormant skills. This time, however, he was no longer as helpless against the British as he had done in the waters off the Thames. After the capture of Fair Island, the German armed forces were like a tenacious bone, stuck in the throat of the British control of the North Sea. The army transports brought in a large amount of building materials, and the German soldiers began to work day and night on the desert island, and within two days they had set up a fishing village dock in a deep water area with explosives and timber for submarines, torpedo boats, fuel, food, and fresh water. When a German submarine returning from a safari in the North Atlantic docked here under the guidance of its own torpedo boat, the German soldiers on the shore were filled with joy and pride from the bottom of their hearts when they saw the shocked eyes of the submarine officers and men.

At the same time, other work is also in full swing. A group of coal carriers from the Norwegian waterways were ordered to rush to the waters of Fair Island, and more than 130 German warships immediately carried out a large-scale refueling at sea. From Wilhelmshaven to this place via the River Thames, although the coal bunkers of the capital ships were still abundant. But fuel for torpedo boats was already quite scarce. Only these black creatures can bring them back to life. A German officer who had been on an expedition to East Asia with the Russian Second Pacific Fleet as a foreign observer nine years earlier. In his diary for the day, he said that the offshore coaling brought back "unpleasant memories of those days." In the end, however, he turned his pen on the line, emphasizing that the German Navy was making history and would not repeat the tragedy of the Russians.

The arrival of the coal ship gave Ingnoll a boost of confidence. Although the range and seafaring performance of the German warships were not excellent, the number of days of self-sustainment was not much discounted; If the situation continues to stalemate like this, then he can stay in this sea for a month or two. By that time, Fair Island would not only have well-equipped submarine caverns, but also large-caliber shore guns and dense mine arrays as shields. And this will undoubtedly become a hard-to-pull nail fortress on the doorstep of the British fleet. Ingnorl had sent a message to Berlin to send another army to land on the Shetland Islands north-east of Fell Island. If this 14,600 square kilometer area could be controlled by Germany, the geographical disadvantage of the German navy would be completely eliminated.

As for the imminent return of Betty's fleet from the Mediterranean, Ingnoll had some worries in his heart, but he did not have too many worries. Due to the presence of armored cruisers of the decisive battle type of the fleet, the High Seas Fleet was in no way inferior to the British Grand Fleet in terms of the number of capital ships; As long as God does not favor these old robbers who have been robbing their homes at sea for thousands of years, even if the lineup of the British fleet returns to its peak, this high seas fleet, which has forged the wisdom and hard work of a whole generation of Germans, is fully capable of fighting the British! Three and a half months before the outbreak of the war, Ingnorl was ready to fight the British to the death. It was only because of the Kaiser's constraints that it could not be realized. Now there are 3 more super dreadnoughts in his fleet, and the British cutting-edge Queen-class battleships are far from forming combat effectiveness. Ingnoel's confidence in the decisive battle was even more exploding.

If the parity in numbers alone was not enough for Ingnoll to ignore the difference in the caliber of artillery and firepower projection between the two sides, then the defects of the British in shells directly reversed the relationship between the advantages and disadvantages of the firepower of the two sides. The Prince Heinrich, who is still in the fleet, is excellent evidence of the deep underbelly of British shells and the early explosion of a large number of them. According to the information from the German intelligence services, and the judgment of Ingnorl's cognitive world, the British did not and could not completely replace their shells in these two months. The hard cap armor-piercing projectile inherited from the German division of Austria-Hungary Koda has a strong penetration depth and a stable time-delay fuse; In the decisive battle in the Mediterranean a week earlier, Austro-Hungarian shells of the same technology inflicted decisive damage on French battleships!

In addition, Ingnorr did not believe that this fleet expedition to the Mediterranean could return to the battlefield in a short period of time. For more than half a month, the British fleet had been running back and forth between Scotland and the Eastern Mediterranean at an average speed of more than 18 knots, and the mechanical equipment was so depleted that it chose to be maintained and repaired, which was obviously the first priority for a qualified commander.

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Leather boots stomped, crackling softly, accompanied by the creaking sound of the cedar door being pushed open. Betty walked slowly into a simple room. The bay window is clear and the map hangs. Next to the main seat in the center, the commander of the Grand Fleet, John? Jericho was standing quietly; In those blue-brown eyes, there is always a calm and deep peace glow.

"This trip to the Mediterranean, whether it is a quick and concealed march in the early stage, or a command of the enemy in the battle, your appearance is perfect. The capital ships of the German client states were either sunk or heavily damaged, giving us at least a three-month buffer in the Mediterranean. Jericho spoke, and the praise for the person in front of him was evident in his words. He paused, a smile of satisfaction on his face, and then added: "Especially during the last 48 hours of my return to Scapaflo, I was extremely worried that the Germans would set up an ambush on the way and annihilate your fleet in one fell swoop; However, you took a different path, took a detour to the windy and rough waters of Morento, and then took advantage of the night to move eastward at full speed, passing through the dangerous area where the Germans might intercept it, and bringing the two battleship detachments back to Britain in one fell swoop. This whole action is enough as a textbook teaching! ”

Betty twitched the corners of her mouth slightly, but she didn't take Jellico's words. Due to the fact that the span of time and space was too large, his trip to the Mediterranean still had many flaws: the planned total annihilation of the fleets of Austria, Italy and Turkey did not appear, and the Austrian Admiral Haus escaped the mortal situation with his excellent navigational skills. What Jericho was really satisfied with was not how much the British Navy had achieved in the battle, but that he had brought back a lot of the 8 "heart and liver treasures" of the Grand Fleet!

"But my friend, now is not the time for us to slack off. Taking advantage of the absence of the main force of the Grand Fleet, the Germans brazenly captured the island of Fair, which was less than 80 nautical miles from Scapa, and built the walls and gun holes directly in front of our doorstep. Orders from both the Admiralty and London indicated that we needed to engage the German fleet remaining there in a decisive battle to eliminate the scourge at the Grand Fleet anchorage. Jericho spoke slowly, a cloud of melancholy creeping up his face, "Although I personally strongly disagree with this battle, I can only choose to follow it when Sir Fisher is excluded. ”

The two looked at each other and looked at each other without saying a word. A strange aura crept through the room. Although they have only been separated for 20 days, the situation they are facing has changed colors, as if they are separated from each other.

"Your Excellency, please give the order. What do you need me to do? After a few moments, Betty broke the silence in the room and spoke in his trademark energetic voice.

Jericho took a deep look at the vigorous general, and for the first time, the expression in his eyes fluctuated indescribably, as if admiring, admiring, apprehensive, and worried. He forced himself to suppress the change in his heart, and said softly: "To the west and north of Fell Island are steep cliff-walled mountains, more than three times higher than the 60-meter reef of Helgoland, so the Germans will only entrench themselves in the gentle south. At the moment, we do not have the exact position of the German High Seas Fleet, and it will be a consequence that we cannot afford to grab. Therefore, I need you to obtain enough battlefield information so that the Grand Fleet can always stand in a calm and superior position on the battlefield. ”

"Are you going to reinstate my original position as commander of the Fast Fleet?" Betty keenly caught the message in Jericho's words and asked.

A faintly complicated look flashed in Jericho's eyes, and he nodded, "There is no one other than you who can command this fleet more effectively." In addition, the top speed of the eight battleships that had gone on long voyages had dropped below 19 knots, and the worn machinery also determined that they were no longer capable of reconnaissance tasks. It should be noted that in order to ensure that these 8 super-dreadnought power auxiliary engines can survive this decisive battle, the main team of the Grand Fleet will hardly make more than 16 knots of tactical maneuvers except for the battle line. Therefore, you need to be careful not to launch an overly ferocious attack on the enemy army with the pressure of a large fleet in the rear! ”

"Then, I'll fly to Rosyth Military Harbor." Betty suppressed the excitement in her heart and said to Jericho. In the previous battle, he had had enough of the slow Super Dreadnought with a limit speed of only 21 knots; Only the original fast fleet is where his real stage is. (To be continued......)

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