"These Norwegians actually lent the port to the Germans? This is an act of hostilities! We must fight it resolutely! The vast majority of Norwegian ports are outside our North Sea blockade, and if the Germans are allowed to attack from bases in Norway, it will be very difficult for us to limit the movement of German submarines! And this will be very dangerous for the Atlantic transport line! "Churchill's roar echoed through the Admiralty conference room, and the anger overflowed." The Navy must come up with a concrete and workable plan of action, and we must act against the collusion between the Germans and the Norwegians! This, by the way, is also what the government meant. Finally, Churchill emphasized.

Although the Norwegian and German governments kept this matter secret, the pervasive British spies still discovered German submarines in some Norwegian ports, and at first, the matter did not attract the attention of the British, but then the British Royal Air Force, which was in charge of anti-submarine operations in the North Sea, said that the number of German submarines in the North Sea had plummeted. But at the same time, the rate of losses on the Atlantic transport line increased, and German submarines appeared a little more often than they originally seemed to be. This made the Allied navy very puzzled.

Finally, intelligence on the discovery of German submarines in Norway was retrieved from the scrap paper by British naval intelligence officers. It is no wonder that there are more German submarines, the route is hundreds of nautical miles closer, and it is outside the strike range of the British Air Force and Navy, which is much safer, and the attendance rate is naturally much higher without a detour! (Of course, supplies in Norway are mainly fuel, weapons and food, and the overhaul will have to go back home.) And this made the British decisively feel unbearable! The pressure from the government was eventually transferred to the Admiralty. And Churchill, as the Lord of the Navy, became the target of public criticism. Almost once a day, representatives of the government asked Churchill to come up with a plan. And Churchill, who was finally pressed, finally gave Jericho an ultimatum.

The protests of the Foreign Office were no longer useful, and the threat from the Germans was clearly greater than that of the British. Therefore, in the face of the British's cannons, Norway said that it did not know about the relevant matters, and said that it would investigate it and give Britain a satisfactory answer, and then the investigation took three weeks, and there was no answer. So in the case that the mouth cannon does not work, then it can only be solved by artillery. You must know that Churchill in history was known for his toughness, whether it was the battleship that captured the originally neutral Turks during World War I. Or the insistence on resistance in World War II and at the same time ordering the British Mediterranean Fleet to attack the French fleet, which had already surrendered to Germany, all illustrate Churchill's toughness and iron will. And this plane is still seen in this way, Churchill can attack the Turkish and French fleets, which are not a danger to Britain. Not to mention dealing with the Norwegians, who were facilitating Germany!

(Although France surrendered to Germany, the government of Visey also controlled the former French navy, and these warships would not be used in the war against the British, even after Ballista operations.) Bullet when the Germans wanted to snatch the French battleship. The French also chose to sink themselves. So Churchill's worries were unnecessary. As for the seizure of Turkish warships in World War I, it allowed Turkey to join the Central Powers, and then completely blockaded Russia, it can be said that Churchill's behavior is to blame for the collapse of Tsarist Russia in World War I. ）

"Your Excellency means that we are going to send the Grand Fleet to deter Norway or simply destroy the ports that supply the Germans?" Jericho said with a blank face. "That means we're going to be out of ground aircraft and we're going to have a showdown at sea with the High Seas Fleet. We only had a draw with our opponent in the last engagement, with the support of the Air Force, let alone now? ”

"Do you think that the Restricted Grand Fleet is no match for the High Seas Fleet?" Churchill though was the Lord of the Admiralty. But after all, he is a civilian official, and he has to look at the strength of the fleet more than anything else. He didn't know exactly what kind of level these warships could play in naval battles. "Although our fast fleet was transferred to the Atlantic, the Americans replenished us with seven capital ships, which were more than enough to make up for our lack of combat power with 12 14-inch guns." Churchill said with some displeasure.

"If these battleships were operated by the British, they would indeed be able to compensate for the loss of our combat power, but these battleships are in the hands of the Americans, and their performance is terrible, whether it is at the shooting range or in actual combat, their combat power can only be described as low!" Jericho paused and continued: "If our fast fleet is still there, we can still use the speed advantage to fight guerrillas, but now, we don't have a single fast warship in our fleet, and once we meet the German navy, the result will inevitably turn into a hard battle." In my opinion, our current surface ships are weak, and it is possible to defend the mainland with the support of land-based aviation, but it is quite risky to engage in open seas. ”

"We can't just sit idly by, can we? If this continues, it will increase the arrogance of the Germans, and even make Norway completely fall to the Allies, we must tell Norway that the Royal Navy has the strength to resist the actions of a person who dares to challenge the dignity of the British Empire, and the Royal Navy must act, and force Norway to stop this wrong decision with practical actions, even if it is directly destroyed by force! This is the decision of the government, we cannot change it, we can only implement it! "Eventually, already impatient, Churchill gave Jericho a death order that action must be taken, whether you agree with it or not. Let's just say that if Jericho doesn't agree, he's ready to go home to retire!

"If the glory of the British Empire falls one day, I hope it doesn't end at my hands." In the middle of the ring, Jericho uttered the words that made people feel confused. He then left the Admiralty's office after a courtesy farewell to Churchill. If there's one word to describe Jericho's mood at this time, it's despair. Because even he couldn't think of a solution to this situation. Because the British Empire's Grand Fleet at this time had declined unprecedentedly, and in the case of insufficient hard power, the situation of the host and guest was displaced, and he really couldn't play any tricks in this narrow pond in the North Sea.

Now the entire Entente Navy is left without troops. The battleship formation under Majifen was being repaired in the French dockyard, and Thomas's battleship also needed maintenance and upkeep. At the same time, it is necessary to resist Count Spee. All the remaining fleets are in their own hands, and this little bit of money in their own hands is really a little weak in the face of the German high seas fleet, if they really lose, then what will the British Empire do? It's just the middle of the year, and the admiral-level service will take at least nearly 1 year. Who will fill this gap?

But Jericho is also aware that Norway's problem must be addressed. If the Germans were to take control of Norway, they would even just use a few ports in Norway. Then the effectiveness of the naval blockade of the British Empire will be greatly reduced. German submarines moved in and out of the oceans more smoothly, and even the high seas fleet entered and exited the Atlantic. The mighty High Seas Fleet was like a sharp sword against the throat of the British Empire. Although Jericho knew that the best thing to do was to delay and wait until the Grand Fleet had acquired the Admiral-class battleships, time could not wait, and the British could not let the German submarines go unwanted for a year.

"Fortunately, the German planes have not been stationed in Norway so far, and we do not have to worry about a double blow from German warships and planes at the moment. If you have to do it, then you have to be clean and clean, without the slightest hesitation. Although it is not possible to completely destroy all the coastal ports of Norway, several key ports that may be used for the future of the Grand Fleet must be destroyed! After much deliberation, Jericho finally decided to do it. Although the British Grand Fleet did not have an advantage in terms of strength, and at the same time politically it was possible to completely push Norway to the side of the Allies, but it would certainly not work to let it go.

Jericho's decisiveness was on full display at this moment, and after deciding to make a move, he immediately ordered the fleet to prepare. At the same time, naval aviation directly under the Admiralty was ordered to move to Shetland Islands in large numbers. At least he needs to give the fleet as much as possible an umbrella. All auxiliary warships scattered throughout the UK, even pre-dreadnought outfitters, were to be moved north as much as possible. Since the British Imperial fleet has no advantage in the main battleships, and at the same time there are no fast ships, so let's concentrate as many warships as possible to increase the combat power! As many as 12 10,000-ton armored cruisers were included in the fleet, and these battleships were actually cannon fodder. But when it comes to life and death, I can't care so much. After some rectification, the Grand Fleet overtook its German counterparts in total tonnage, but at this time the Grand Fleet was no longer majestic, even in Jericho's own opinion, this fleet can only be described as fat.

It was impossible to conceal the Germans from such a large-scale fleet movement, and at this time the British Grand Fleet could only have one purpose of action, that is, to develop around Norway, and the British could not be stupid enough to approach the German mainland to challenge the High Seas Fleet and German naval aviation. A large number of warships and aircraft began to assemble towards the Shetland Islands. And the German Navy, after receiving this intelligence, the entire Admiralty boiled! The British are moving! The four-year-long battle at sea is about to come to an end! The 4-year efforts of the Allied Navy will lead to a final victory in the near future. In the course of these years, even though the French fleet was initially crippled, the mighty Grand Fleet still exerted tremendous pressure on the Central Powers on both the North Sea and the Mediterranean at the same time.

If it had not been for the events in Norway, the British would have waited even until the Admiral-class battleships were put into service, at which point the efforts of the Allied Navy would have come to naught. But history is not accidental, the Germans seized the weakest moment of the Grand Fleet! If you can get the final victory, you will be able to see a shocking blow!

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