In the evening of the same day, Vice Admiral Spee led the German-Italian-Austrian Combined Pacific Fleet to attack Sydney Harbour.

The Sydney Coastal Defense Force, which had already received the news, cooperated with the Royal Australian Navy to resist the attack of Spee's fleet. In the end, at the cost of losing four gunboats, three torpedo boats, and more than a dozen shore defense guns, the Spee fleet was driven out of Sydney Bay. and damaged a number of opposing warships, achieving a strategic victory.

Although this led to the sinking of 14 transport ships in the harbor and the destruction of two shipyards, it broke Spee's fleet's determination to destroy Sydney. (Spee: I need an ammo supply fleet)

And the news of the attack on Sydney soon spread throughout the world.

The Southeast Asian Fleet, which had been searching for the whereabouts of Spee's fleet in the Maluku Islands, set sail from the islands as soon as it received the news. They rushed to the east coast of Australia. In the words of the commander of the fleet, Rear Admiral Craddock, since Spee dared to show his head, the British Empire had to let him know the consequences. So the mighty Southeast Asian fleet immediately turned around and headed straight for the east coast of Australia.

Moreover, in order to prevent the Spee fleet from continuing to escape, Rear Admiral Craddock also sent a formation led by the reconnaissance cruiser Debock to the South Pacific islands such as Samoa and Fiji Islands to conduct reconnaissance. This was to prevent Spee's fleet from evading its search by borrowing the South Pacific Islands.

In addition to sending warships to guard and search, he also sent telegrams to British and French strongholds in the South Pacific islands, asking them to be aware of foreign ships, especially warships.

He also sent a telegram to the Royal Australian Navy, asking them to look to the presence of suspicious vessels in the Bass Strait and the Gulf of Australia. Although the southern Indian Ocean is windy and rough and the sea conditions are bad, it is not excluded that the other side may venture through this sea area (the southern Indian Ocean is not currently navigable).

Moreover, by crossing the southern Indian Ocean, the other side would be able to obtain supplies and repairs in the Italian colonies in East Africa, and Major General Craddock thought that if the other side wanted to slip away, they would definitely pass through here. So he also paid great attention to the southern waters of Australia.

But it's a pity that now the elite warships of the Australian Navy have been withdrawn, otherwise how dare the Spee's fleet be so presumptuous.

Although Craddock had many arrangements, the most important thing was to take the fleet to the east coast of Australia, and only then could the unscrupulous Spee fleet be stopped.

However, after the attack on Sydney, whether it was Melbourne and Brisbane, which are important ports in Australia, or the reconnaissance ships scurrying around the sea, there was no need to see Spee's fleet again.

If it weren't for the attacked port of Sydney, as if the Spee fleet had never appeared, then where was the Spey fleet?

The Cook Strait, named after the famous Captain Cook, separates the northern and southern islands of New Zealand, and the strong westerly winds make the Cook Strait turbulent and changeable, which is not too friendly to ships.

And at this time, a fleet was sailing through the strait under the gaze of the moonlight.

That's right, this is the Spey fleet that many people are concerned about.

As the target of the most concerned east of the Indian Ocean, Spee's fleet after the attack on Sydney did not continue to attack other Australian seaports as the British thought.

According to Vice Admiral Spee, the most important thing in this attack was not to allow the enemy to find out the trajectory of the fleet. Because the disparity between the strength of the enemy and the enemy is too great, if the enemy masters the trajectory of his movements, then the consequences will be unimaginable. So in order to ensure the safety of the fleet, Spey preferred to reduce the number of attacks to ensure the safety of his own fleet.

And his idea was also supported by the captains. After all, everyone is not stupid, who wants to be caught by the British fleet in the case of a disparity in strength.

Although they are also willing to make sacrifices for the motherland, they do not have to make fearless sacrifices, and it is not good to keep their names to make greater contributions to the country?

That's why Spee and his fleet crossed the vast Tasman Sea and rushed to the Cook Strait. The view of the Cook Strait in the moonlight is nice and very pleasant.

However, Vice Admiral Spee, who was on the flagship Scharnhorst, did not feel comfortable at all, and he was very upset at this time. The reason for his upset was Lieutenant Colonel Greillat, the chief of staff of the fleet operations in front of him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Guerrat, you tell me why there is a low-level mistake in the miscalculation. This is a battlefield and we are still on a dangerous mission, and I am disappointed that there is such a serious error as a mistake in the calculation of speed. ”

At this moment, in the command tower, Lieutenant General Spee looked at Lieutenant Colonel Greirat in front of him with an angry expression.

"Your Excellency, the failure to take into account the impact of attachments on the speed of the ship this time has led to a calculation error, which is a mistake on the part of our Operations Staff Office, and we are willing to accept any punishment."

Lieutenant Colonel Greerat, who was staring at him, bowed his head in shame to express his confession.

The reason for Spee's anger was simple, that the operational staff had made a low-level mistake in making plans for an operational attack on Wellington, not taking into account the reduction in the speed of the ships.

Due to the fact that the battleship was not maintained for a long time, the bottom of the battleship was overgrown with attachments, which led to a general reduction of one or two knots in the top speed of the battleship.

The plan drawn up by the Operations Staff was originally for the fleet to attack Wellington at dawn on 16 February at maximum speed. However, based on the current speed, it is only possible to reach Wellington in the early morning. The gap is not small, one is defenseless, and the other is defenseless.

Although Wellington's coastal defense facilities were not good, they could cause some damage to the fleet's warships, especially small cruisers. Therefore, this kind of mistake in the combat staff room, Lieutenant General Spee is furious. This is to make the fleet suffer more unwarranted losses, and it is strange not to get angry.

As for why it has only now been discovered that the maximum speed of the battleship has been reduced, because the warship travels at maximum speed and consumes more than twice its economic speed. And the fleet has a limited amount to carry, even with supply ships, it is impossible to consume fuel for no reason.

"Commander, are we going to Wellington now?"

At this point, an officer asked, but then he immediately knew the consequences of the question.

"If we don't go to Wellington, will we just go back in vain?"

It was clear that this was a fire-splitting affair that had succeeded in directing Lieutenant General Spee's anger on himself.

…………

The morning sun leaps out of the water and shines into the windy city of Wellington.

As the capital of New Zealand, Wellington is doing well, with a population of more than 60,000, and it is also the second largest city in New Zealand. The hustle and bustle of Wellington is also starting to ring in the early morning sun, and the residents are busy.

The gunboat Cole was patrolling the waters off Wellington, a consequence of Spee's fleet attack on Sydney. At this time, the crew of the Cole was tired of farting and chatting.

"It's been another night, and the stubborn stone that I took over hasn't come yet."

"Who knows, maybe the crew on the Boulder overslept or the ship broke down."

"Don't break down, the last time the Rock broke down and we stayed for three more hours."

"I hope so. The Germans attacked Sydney, and at the first order, our lords, we were condemned. I don't know where the Germans' fleet went, there has been no sign for a week, has it run away? ”

"Who knows, but it's running, right?"

Just as the crew of the Cole was bragging, the lookout shouted as they stared at the distant shoreline. "Notice, there's a ship coming from the west, it seems to be a fleet."

The lookout's words drew the crew to look in the direction he was pointing.

"This ship is so fast."

"It looks like a warship, is it the Australian Navy sending a fleet over?"

"I don't think so, it should be sent by the Southeast Ocean Fleet."

At this time, the crew of the Cole was not aware of the danger, and after many years of comfortable life without war, the New Zealand fleet of the British Royal Navy had little vigilance. After all, there are not even pirates on the New Zealand side, and since the formation of the fleet, there has been no danger to the fleet except for accidents.

So the reaction of the crew of the Cole at this time was not unexpected.

But soon, as the battleship approached in the distance, a sharp-eyed crew finally noticed that something was wrong.

"Why does this ship look so wrong, it's not good that this is a German warship."

This sentence immediately kept the crew of the Cole busy.

"Quick, send a telegram to the Germans coming."

"It's too busy to send a telegram, just fire the cannon and alert the defenders."

Although the Cole made the most correct decision, since Vice Admiral Spee dared to attack Wellington with the fleet. Naturally, he figured out his strength.

Soon after, the residents of Wellington watched as menacing warships rushed into the harbor, and disaster befell Wellington.

The news of Wellington's attack soon reached Rear Admiral Craddock, who was leading the Southeast Asian fleet, through the airwaves.

At this time, he was still halfway with the fleet, and his current location was still in the eastern part of the Coral Sea, more than 2,000 nautical miles from New Zealand.

At this time, after Rear Admiral Craddock put down the telegram, he gave an order that he would regret for the rest of his life. "Immediately send a telegram to the Australian Navy asking them to search the Tasman Sea and keep an eye out for suspicious vessels. Send a telegram to our warships in the South Pacific, ordering them to keep an eye out for incoming ships at all times. In addition, let the first cruiser formation immediately go to the Palau Islands, and then search all the way south. I went to New Zealand with the fleet. ”