"Can I choose one of the two?"

Wilhelm II moved his curled left hand, apparently dissatisfied with Tirpitz's unilateral multiple-choice question, he looked down for a moment, and then asked: "How many capital ships do we still have on the slipway?" ”

Tirpitz had already prepared and replied without hesitation: "4 battleships and 6 battle cruisers, plus 2 battle cruisers that were scheduled to start construction early next year." ”

"Be clear." The emperor was still not satisfied.

Tirpitz straightened his neck: "Specifically, it includes 4 Brandenburg-class battleships equipped with 380 mm guns, 30 ship No. 3 - which has been named Hindenburg, 4 Mackensen-class battle cruisers equipped with 350 mm guns, the Yorke battlecruiser with 380 mm guns, and 2 380 mm battle cruisers with 380 mm guns. ”

The outfitting capital ships include two King-class battleships armed with 350-millimeter guns, and the second ship of the D'Fllinger-class battlecruisers, the Luzo, which is expected to join the fleet between March and May next year. In addition, the battlecruiser De Fleet, which was damaged during the Gulf of Riga Breakthrough, is expected to be repaired in February or March next year, which means that by June next year, the high seas fleet will be restored to the size of 15 dreadnought battleships and 2 battlecruisers. ”

Wilhelm II raised his hand and stroked the mustache on his left, quite tempting: "This is indeed an opportunity...... What happens if the original plan continues? ”

Tirpitz replied, somewhat reluctantly, "With the assurance of materials and manpower, the first two Brandenburg-class battleships will probably be completed by 1917, and the last two will be commissioned by 1918." The Hindenburg battlecruiser was to be commissioned in 1917, all four Mackensen-class battlecruisers were expected to be completed in 1918, and the three York-class battlecruisers were to be completed in 1919......"

"Had we not suffered permanent losses on any of our capital ships during this period, we would probably have 17 dreadnought battleships and 3 battlecruisers by the end of 1917; By the end of 1918, it could have 19 dreadnought battleships and 7 battle cruisers; By the end of 1919, it had 19 battleships and 10 battlecruisers – eight of which were super-dreadnoughts armed with 350 mm and 380 mm guns, and four of which were armed with 350 mm guns and three with 380 mm guns......

The Emperor squinted and pondered as he listened, and when Tirpitz finished speaking, he followed up and asked, "What is the plan for no aircraft carrier?" I've heard that you've asked the Chinese for drawings. ”

Tirpitz puffed out his cheeks slightly, impatiently and had to continue to answer: "We got the drawings not long after the Kiel incident, but at that time we lacked both usable aircraft and no experience in taking off and landing from the deck of a warship, so we had to first modify a coal carrier as a training ship, starting with the trial production of carrier-based aircraft and the training of pilots...... However, with all due respect, His Excellency the Chief of the General Staff strongly opposes the inclusion of aircraft other than seaplanes and airships in the naval establishment on the grounds that it would adversely affect air support on land battlefields. ”

"This is a fact, you ask for 300 planes when you open your mouth, half of which is in the establishment and half of it is prepared, and 50 planes must be replenished every month, you know, the number of planes we could keep at any time on the Western Front last year never exceeded 30 Jin Han busily argued.

Tirpitz glared and almost pounded the table: "Pearl Harbor, Lingayen, Kiel, and the recent Bay of Bengal, these decisive naval battles have proved how vulnerable the capital ships without air cover are under the concentrated attack of the opponent's aviation, and the fleet that lacks aerial reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance capabilities is no different from a blind man, and a sortie without aviation support can only be sent to death!" ”

Fakingham also puffed up his chest and did not give an inch: "Even if you say so, the army does not have extra planes for you to play with." Since the beginning of this year, the troops on the Western Front have suffered from a lack of air support, and the reconnaissance planes we sent have often been shot down because of insufficient cover strength, while the enemy's reconnaissance planes have been able to come and go freely under the protection of the fighters of the group, which has made it difficult for us to detect the activities of the enemy's rear, while our own movements are easily discovered by the other side......

"When the weather is nice, they also send out bomber groups to attack key targets in our rear, and the soldiers often see enemy planes flying overhead but rarely see our own planes – which can be a serious demoral break! In any case, the land battlefield is the main battlefield, keep that in mind. ”

Tirpitz spread his hands to the emperor with a rogue expression of "Look, I can't help it."

"Weren't all the British aircraft carriers that attacked Kiel sunk by the Chinese? Plus a newest, biggest ......"

Wilhelm II was not reconciled.

"According to reliable information, the British have recently added two larger and newer fleet aircraft carriers to the fleet, and many more are under construction, and most importantly, they have established a system for selecting and training carrier-based aircraft pilots, and they also have valuable application and combat experience, and we have to start everything from scratch."

Tirpitz continued to frustrate.

"Besides, even if we do finish those capital ships, we still won't be able to confront the British Home Fleet head-on. The Americans are engaged in a ship-building program on an astonishing scale, and they will soon be able to deal with the East Asian Combined Fleet alone, and Britain has every reason to concentrate most of its forces on its own soil and continue to wage a severe blockade against us. ”

It is reported that after the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, the British Navy still has 22 dreadnought battleships and 3 battle cruisers, and is directly supported by 8 American dreadnoughts, while there are also 8 to 9 fast battleships equipped with 380 mm to 420 mm guns and 6 to 8 new battle cruisers with 380 mm guns under construction.

"Assuming that the British Navy also loses no capital ships after this, by 1918 or 1919 they will have 30 to 31 dreadnought battleships and 9 to 11 battlecruisers—10 of them armed with 343 or 356 mm guns, and 10 or 11 with 380 mm to 420 mm guns; Most of the battle cruisers were armed with 380 mm guns. At that time, even if there is no longer direct support from the US capital ships, the other side will still be able to overwhelm us in terms of quantity and quality compared to the capital ships alone, not to mention that they will inevitably have a much more powerful naval aviation ...... than they are now."

At this point, Tirpitz glanced at Holzendorf, who had already unfurled his folders on standby, and the admiral, who had put forward the theory of submarine victory in full before the battle, immediately took over and began to pour more intense fire on His Majesty.

"In the last 11 months, we have sunk about 2.5 million tons of ships from various countries, most of them British merchant ships, at the cost of losing 49 submarines, with an average exchange ratio of about 1 to 50,000 tons."

"Britain's current merchant fleet holdings are estimated at about 20 million tons, of which at least 8.6 million tons have been requisitioned by the army, 500,000 tons are used for coastal communications, 1 million tons are repaired or lost, and another 2 million tons are in the service of allies, so only about 8 million tons are used to transport goods for survival and production, and about 2 million tons of American and neutral merchant ships carry goods for Britain. It is estimated that the tonnage of new merchant ships built in the United Kingdom and the United States is around 2 million tons per year. ”

"If we do away with all the capital ship construction plans that are still on the slipway, and use the steel saved and the freed slipway for the construction of submarines, then for every capital ship that is removed, we can build 10 to 15 more medium submarines or 30 to 40 inshore submarines per year. If we make up our minds now to abolish the plan to build all capital ships, next year we will be able to build an additional 100 to 150 medium-sized submarines, or 300 to 400 inshore submarines, and the number of them in the middle will be 250, plus the actual number we will build this year, that is, in addition to the 83 submarines currently in service, we will be able to put more than 350 new submarines into service next year. ”

"If we can afford to lose 200 to 250 submarines, we will be able to sink all the merchant ships that transported basic supplies for Britain back then!"

Despite Khorzendorf's words, the emperor was unmoved, shaking his head and saying: "War is not just a mathematical calculation. ”

Holzendorf refused to admit defeat either, and continued to say: "Then let's calculate it in another way." In the second half of this year, we sank an average of 300,000 tons of enemy ships per month with an average of 70 submarines. Assuming that we still maintain this achievement in the first half of next year, and by the second half of next year, as the new submarines are put into service one after another, the average number of submarines in our possession will double to 150, and the average number of sunk submarines per month will also increase to 600,000 tons, then within next year we will be able to sink 4.5 million tons of enemy ships, and reduce Britain's shipping volume by at least 37.5 percent, which will be enough to force Britain to withdraw from the war! If we build submarines fast enough, it is even expected to force Britain to its knees within 9 months. ”

Wilhelm II subconsciously clenched the white glove used to hide the disability of his left arm: "Sounds like a good idea, but didn't you report earlier that the British had begun to use air patrols and other more threatening means against our U-boats?" ”

"As long as their merchant ships continue to act alone, no matter how much they intensify their patrols, they will only slightly increase our losses, but it will never be possible to completely curb the offensive momentum of the U-boat troops, and history will prove that the victory belongs to the German U-boats!" Holzendorf makes no secret of his passion for patriotism and fetishism.

"What if the merchant ships bound for Britain no longer acted alone, but collectively under the protection of warships and aviation?" The emperor is really on the bar, and he will not stop if he does not break the casserole and ask in the end.

Holzendorf paused for a moment, then smiled lightly: "That way, the U-boat will be able to spot them more easily, track them, and deal a more lethal blow to these gathered prey—just like His Majesty chased a flock of tied hares in the hunting grounds." ”

Such an apt metaphor seemed to impress His Majesty the Emperor, who was fond of hunting and pastime, and he squinted, tilted half of his face, stared at the floor and said slowly: "Let me think again." ”

……