The autumn rain was like smoke and fog, and from the balcony of the Admiralty building, the Nelson Column on Trafalgar Square seemed to be shrouded in a curtain of mist. The British people with oil-paper umbrellas gathered in front of the statue under the memorial column, and fell silent in the sound of the rain: since Britain's maritime supremacy was ended in the last war, and overseas markets and colonial interests suffered a heavy setback, the British people, whose lives had become increasingly depressed, have become more and more nostalgic for the glory of their time when they dominated the world. And Nelson, who won a naval battle to build a century-old empire, has become a national martyr deeply remembered in their hearts. On the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, a large number of Londoners spontaneously come to the central square to commemorate the event, and they are extremely eager for Britain to have another Nelson-like savior, to turn the tide and restore the supreme glory that once belonged to the British Empire.

"Congratulations, Lord Churchill, on your return to the leadership of the Royal Navy." On the balcony of the towering Admiralty Building, the commander of the British Home Fleet, John Brown, in military uniform, was in good uniform. Admiral Tovey said to the generous figure standing in front of him, "The British people today understand the situation of the Royal Navy, and will fully support your plans for the revival of the Navy; The scene of the protest crowd that filled the entire Whitehall in the last war will not be repeated today. If the people had been aware of the severity of the Royal Navy's struggle against Germany, and had been more understanding of your decision, we would not be in such a dire position as we are today. ”

The broad figure moved slightly, and turned around from the balcony, and the chubby face no longer had the youth and sharpness of the European war. Instead, in the grinding of the years, they quietly climbed up to clearly recognizable wrinkles and spots. Count the days. Winston Churchill, a rising political star who once became Lord of the Navy at the age of 37. Now he has also entered the twilight autumn of the sixtieth year, but what has always remained the same is the undiminished and determined look in his eyes.

"The Germans had begun a massive build-up of their fleet since the end of the treaty, which had disrupted the balance of power on a European scale; In the last year, they have been extensively involved in the Spanish Civil War, intending to turn the country into another bulwark in the southwest of France and in the Atlantic. In the face of their undisguised expansionist ambitions, the British people finally woke up from their dream of living together with the Germans and were determined to defend glory and civilization at any cost. See Britain united today. My writing career over the past 20 years has not been in vain. ”

Hearing Tovey's words, Churchill couldn't help but evoke a trace of memories of the past years, and spoke softly. After a brief silence in the late summer of 1913, Churchill began to speak frequently in the Times as a right-wing writer, publishing several books to promote his ideas of resistance to Germany. The British public, who had suffered a disastrous defeat in the Great War, had been extremely unreceptive to Churchill's cries to renew tensions, but the financial crisis that swept through the United States fundamentally changed the situation.

"The present situation had become quite serious, and it was clear that the Germans were on the same side as Italy in the intervention of the Spanish Civil War, and that their armies were beginning to expand in great numbers. It is highly likely that the Germans will start another war in the near future. I have just returned to the Navy and do not yet have a deep understanding of the situation in the fleet. If the Germans had gone to war in recent years, would Britain have the confidence to defend themselves against the attack? Churchill's face turned to contemplation and asked.

Tovey smiled slightly, and his face under the pure white military hat showed a bit of confidence: "Your Excellency Churchill, today's Royal Navy is no longer the navy that was above the top but in fact is full of flaws. Since the day of the defeat in the decisive battle in the North Sea, we have been constantly learning from the cause of defeat, and when the Washington Treaty stipulated that we could only keep 12 capital ships, the Navy tried every means to improve the combat effectiveness of the fleet with a limited lineup. Today, the main fleet of the Royal Navy has been completely transformed, its combat capability has made a qualitative leap, and even if the Germans still have a numerical advantage, we are fully confident that we will fight each other! He immediately explained the specific factors to Churchill in detail.

In 1932, Germany successively started construction of five 38,000-ton Bismarck-class battleships in the name of building replacement ships for old ships, while Britain had only 18 years old because the oldest Brave (Queen Elizabeth) class ships were only 18 years old. However, this does not mean that the British have not taken any countermeasures against this. While the German shipyards were in full swing to build new ships, the British Navy was also in full swing to promote the work of strengthening the combat effectiveness of the existing fleet: two Nelson-class battleships and prestige, and two Tiger battle cruisers were the first to dock and start large-scale renovations, including many upgrade projects such as replacing power, thickening armor, and upgrading fire control. After that, the remaining 2 Retribution and 6 Brave class ships also began to undergo full refits. Compared with the different minor repairs and repairs in history, the British Navy in this plane can be said to have spared no effort in the modification of the old ship: after all, the German Navy, which has a better lineup, is eyeing the door of its own home, and the British can't afford to be half lax!

Of the various systems that were carried out on the capital ship, the most proud of the British were the shells. Following the 1918 Greenboy, which was fully equipped with a 4crh shell, the British military industry developed a revolutionary 6crh shell: compared with its predecessors, the weight and charge of this shell have not changed, but there has been a revolutionary increase in the vertical penetration depth. According to tests conducted by the British Navy, the new 381-mm shell with a strong charge penetrated 403 mm of case-hardened armor from 20,000 yards away, which was the result of the British armor being the best in quality. And because the cooperation between the United States and Britain on the plane was far closer than in history, the British were able to test it with the Class A armor that was widely used on the broadside armor of American battleships; This time, the result was even more terrifying, and the armor it penetrated was as thick as 450 mm! Even the Americans' two 406-mm L45 naval guns did not have such a terrible vertical armor-piercing ability, which undoubtedly gave the British Navy a strong confidence in a war with the German fleet.

(The powerful penetration depth of the British 6CRH shell is not a fabrication of the author, it is certainly the case in history.) After the bloody lessons of Jutland, the British Navy, which had learned from shame, invested great energy in artillery shells, and finally reached the pinnacle of this field. Compared with Colorado and Nagato, which are equipped with 16-inch guns, the queen after reloading is even better in firepower, and even the damage of a single shot is the queen's great advantage. ）

Although the British were confident that Germany on the other side of the river could hardly have the same artifact as themselves, they also significantly strengthened their armor protection in the modification of old ships as a precaution. The 10 15-inch guns carried the ship's gun outline and upper armor belt, and the weight saved was used to greatly thicken the dome and horizontal armor, ensuring the safety of the ship's core compartment. Due to the difficulty of the project, the armor of the main armor belt, gun mounts, and turret remained the same, but these were almost all sacrificeable areas that had nothing to do with the survival of the battleship.

After some magical changes, the combat effectiveness of the British main fleet was already what it used to be, and what made Tovey even more overjoyed was that the Germans did not send the old 350 mm gun carrying ships to the shipyard for overhaul, but continued to use them. You must know that even the two Revengeance-class ships with the smallest boiler room space in the British main fleet can have a speed of 24 knots after a full change of power, which means that the engagement rights of the British main fleet will be greatly improved, and it is not difficult to avoid these old ships at all.

"By next year, we will be able to get five more cutting-edge capital ships, bringing the lineup back to 15 battleships and two battle cruisers; The United States has also given a clear answer to our request, and will send the main force of the Atlantic Fleet to the sea to help us in the first day of the war. This is a formidable fleet of 10 battleships, four of which are new-style capital ships, and we are no less powerful than the German High Seas Fleet with 25 capital ships in terms of core combat power. As for the auxiliary ships, we alone were enough to match the Germans, and the addition of the Americans would ensure the acquisition of advantages. Speaking of this, Tovey's eyes couldn't help but bloom with a hint of expectation, "If Lady Luck favors our side, it is entirely possible to fight a decisive battle to bring the Germans back into the North Sea!" ”

Churchill exhaled a long breath, and his chubby face had a complicated expression, joy, excitement, desolation, and sadness...... All kinds of expressions overlapped and changed, and I couldn't calm down for a long time. Twenty-five years ago, he had a golden opportunity to make history, but fate played a joke on him in the Battle of the North Sea, causing him to plummet from the peak of his life to the bottom. After twenty years of dormancy and submersion, he finally gained the power to turn things around again; In addition to the economic crisis, which is a God-given opportunity for the United States to get rid of isolation, its unremitting efforts to woo and lobby Roosevelt and other high-level American leaders are also the decisive key!

"Then let's prepare for war." Churchill looked at the Nelson Memorial in the distance, which was shrouded in rain and mist, and said softly. (To be continued......)

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