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Part One Twenty Years Chapter 9 The Decisive Battle of Orkney (4)

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    (I resigned when I was annoyed. I had time to code, but my condition was not good. I will try my best to get it back, so don¡¯t blame me.)

    In the early morning of June 21, 1917, Wilhelmshaven, where the Ocean Fleet and the First Reconnaissance Group were sent away, was empty and silent.

    In the room of the small seaside building, the British intelligence personnel responsible for investigating the enemy situation in Wilhelmshaven fell asleep holding their binoculars. It was not until the telecommunications team reported that the radio signals in Wilhelmshaven suddenly increased that the crowded room suddenly became tense.

    The geometrically increasing number of radio signals meant that the Germans were about to launch a major operation, which, coupled with the Admiralty's almost paranoid attention to every move in Wilhelmshaven, made the members of the intelligence team look grave.

    Ten minutes later, a telegram from the London headquarters confirmed their judgment.

    "The first reconnaissance group is preparing to leave the port?"

    In the telegram sent by the Navy Department, Captain Jackson of the Naval Intelligence Department, who maintained single-line contact with the intelligence team, asked them in an unprecedented serious tone to find out the movements of the First Reconnaissance Group as soon as possible.

    ¡°Find out the trend?¡± The intelligence team leader grabbed the telegraph newspaper and snorted coldly.

    At this moment, the intelligence team leader who has been working on the secret front for a long time has been able to roughly outline the full picture of the space game between Britain and Germany.  It is no secret to the Wilhelmshaven intelligence team that the Second Battle Fleet and the yet-to-be-formed Second Reconnaissance Group went to sea secretly. The British Admiralty will not sit back and watch the Germans repeat their old tricks and successfully replicate the Battle of Dogger Sandbank. They will definitely send a team  The fleet encircled and suppressed the German raiding fleet.

    There are not many forces available to the Admiralty to choose from.

    The Channel Fleet guarding the English Channel was overwhelmed.  Facts have proved that battlecruisers are the best weapon to deal with armored cruisers. Unfortunately, the highly tense confrontation in the North Sea prevented the British Empire's Admiralty from sending a fast fleet to encircle and suppress the rampant Gneisenau, and could only settle for the next best option.  Pre-dreadnoughts in good service condition were drawn from the Channel Fleet to deter opponents.  When the few battle-worthy pre-dreadnoughts were transferred, the Channel Fleet became a paradise for classic ships, and the English Channel became a graveyard of pre-dreadnoughts.

    The Harwich fleet cannot be counted on either.  The Battle of Harwich on the eve of the Battle of Portsmouth completely confirmed the incompetence of the Harwich Fleet. The entire British island knew that the Harwich Fleet was a spineless coward.  Furthermore.  The Harwich fleet only had some dome-armored cruisers and destroyers, which could not prevent the German pre-dreadnoughts from committing crimes.

    Excluding the Channel Fleet and Harwich Fleet, the results are self-evident.  Although the Firth of Forth where the fast fleet is stationed is relatively remote, it is still closer to the German raiding fleet than Scapa Flow. However, after all, the fast fleet has a speed advantage and can quickly join the battlefield.

    Thinking of this, the situation becomes clear.  The Admiralty decided to send ten fast fleet battlecruisers to encircle and suppress the German raiding fleet. The scheduled battlefield was offshore near the British coastline, roughly two hundred to three hundred nautical miles away from the German mainland. The expected battle time was the morning of the 21st.  At that time, the haze in the North Sea cleared and the sky cleared, and the fast fleet could find the Germans calmly and kill them.

    The situation is quite favorable for the Royal Navy.

    First of all, the Firth of Forth is sparsely populated and the utilization rate of the military port is not high.  The Germans will not regard it as the center of their intelligence. The fast fleet can slip out of the Firth of Forth under the noses of the Germans with only simple camouflage.  March into the North Sea.

    Secondly.  ""The Admiralty has the secret code of the German Navy, which can provide a long warning time for the fast fleet, and the scheduled battle location is at least ten hours away from the German mainland, leaving extremely little time for the German Ocean Fleet to react.  limited.

    Finally, the German assault fleet is no match for the fast fleet, and the Ocean Fleet is no match for the large fleet.  A fast fleet could create a cat-and-mouse game off the coast of Britain.  Lure the Ocean Fleet out of the heavily defended Wilhelmshaven.

    The Germans sent out the famous First Reconnaissance Group as they should. The fast fleet with only ten battlecruisers was no match for the German battlecruisers, but it did not have the pre-modified Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, the Invincible-class, and the Indefatigable-class.  The battle patrol is dragging down, as long as the fast fleet is determined to escape.  The Germans may not be able to take advantage.

    On the contrary, once the first reconnaissance group is dispatched, it is impossible for the Germans not to send out the Ocean Fleet to suppress and respond.  At this stage, together with the Tireless-class battle cruiser and the two Invincible-class battle cruisers of the Fourth Battle Patrol Detachment remaining in the Grand Fleet, the number of main battleships in the Grand Fleet can reach 27, including Joe V-class, Iron  The Duke-class and Revenge-class battleships are equipped with 15-inch guns, and the two Canada-class battleships are equipped with 14-inch main guns. As long as the Grand Fleet can bite the Ocean Fleet, the great Japanese Empire is likely to usher in.  The first and last glorious victory.

    Before the sudden increase in radio signals in Wilhelmshaven, the Royal Navy??The calculation is perfect.  Ten minutes later, the deciphered signal from "Room No. 40" and the strongly worded telegram from Captain Jackson made everything shaky and almost turned into a mirage.

    The first reconnaissance group is preparing to leave the port!

    The Royal Navy's retaliatory action against the German navy has been fully launched. The eastern coastline of the British Isles stayed up all night. The naval officers and soldiers were alert to the arrival of the German raid fleet.  Leaving the Firth of Forth and traveling deep into the middle of the North Sea, the large fleet remaining at Scapa Flow was always ready to launch a fatal blow.  At this critical juncture, determining the true intentions of the First Reconnaissance Group is particularly important for the Royal Navy's next work.

    At three o'clock in the morning, the night in Beihai became increasingly weird. The so-called truth had been wrapped up in layers of dark night and light sea fog.

    Is the unusual movement of the First Reconnaissance Group a result of Sealem's usual tactical deception, or was the fast fleet accidentally leaking its whereabouts, forcing the Germans to send their First Reconnaissance Group to meet the assault fleet, or was the German simply targeting the  The fast fleet went there. The so-called raiding fleet was just a decoy fleet, just like the Battle of Dogger Sandbank.

    If it is just pure tactical deception, then the fast fleet can calmly tease the German raid fleet and summon the main fleet to fight the reinforced Ocean Fleet for a decisive battle.

    If the whereabouts of the fast fleet are leaked, the difficulty of intercepting and killing the raid fleet will increase exponentially. However, the Royal Navy can completely give up on encircling and suppressing the raid fleet and focus on the first reconnaissance group that goes to sea to respond, luring the main fleets of both sides into a decisive battle.  The only thing worth worrying about is whether the commanders of the Grand Fleet have such excellent tactical execution capabilities.

    If the Germans¡¯ goal is simply a fast fleet, then everything will be completely different: the fast fleet not only needs to give up its plan to encircle and suppress the German raid fleet and attract the main force of the German fleet for a decisive battle, but it must even turn around and immediately leave the dangerous central North Sea.

    As the most outstanding maritime commander on the planet, Heidi Silem's strategic vision and command ability are beyond doubt. It is impossible for a fast fleet to find the so-called German raid fleet. If it hesitates in the middle of the North Sea, it will be a "fast" power.  "Sea Soul" speeds the beginning of the fleet's destruction.

    The burden of analyzing and confirming intelligence was partly shared by a group of civilian experts with noble patriotic sentiments in "Room 40", and the rest fell on the Wilhelmshaven intelligence team, which was an almost impossible task.

    The cool, magical moonlight in Wilhelmshaven in the middle of the night has disappeared, replaced by a faint sea fog.  The sea fog is still thin, but it is foreseeable that this morning, Jed Bay will be thick with sea fog that cannot be dissolved and cannot be seen through. It is always like this in the North Sea, just like a sentimental girl who just shows a little playful color and can't wait anymore.  Concealing her mood.

    In this case, it is impossible to directly observe the military port area far away from the civilian dock with telescopes alone, and it is even more nonsense to conduct close inspection.

    Perhaps before 1917, the intelligence team leader could send people as close as possible to the military port area to observe the enemy's situation, but since the Schleswig Rebellion in Germany, everything has changed.

    Although the rebels are far away from Wilhelmshaven, and the possibility of chaos in Wilhelmshaven, which relies on the Ocean Fleet, is also very small, Wilhelmshaven, Germany's most important military port, still strengthens security in the port and implements a strict curfew.  The team leader could only rule out this most direct and effective method, and focused all his attention on 3:40 in the morning.

    As long as the German No. 1 reconnaissance group really leaves the port, the intelligence team leader is confident that he can hear some clues from the noisy waves.

    At 3:40 in the morning, in Scapa Flow in northern Scotland, the battleship squadrons of the Grand Fleet gradually completed the coal and water supply work, and the worried commanders and captains turned their sights to Wilhelmshaven in the distance.

    Wilhelmshaven, Navy." Chief of Staff Raeder patted the rusty hull of the Jade and joked to the captain of the transport ship: "Captain Haig, it's time for our flagship 'Bavaria' to attack the assault fleet.  Time to send the telegram!¡±

    "As General Sillem, order the raiding fleet to maneuver to the southern part of the North Sea, taking care to avoid exposing your whereabouts" Captain Haig looked at the old transport ship under his feet that was temporarily requisitioned by the Ocean Fleet Headquarters and pretended to be the flagship Bavaria.  There was a hint of embarrassment on his face.  "Hopefully God will forgive me for my dishonesty."

    The old-fashioned German scratched the back of his head and walked along the port deck of the Jed toward the stern telegraph room with a murmur.  On the starboard side of the Jed, the legendary First Reconnaissance Group was on its way.

    Under the night, five old-fashioned armored cruisers Rune, York, Bismarck, Prinz Heinrich, and Prince AlbertThe armored cruiser and three civilian merchant ships were slowly towed out of the military port area by tugs sent by the Port Authority, and gradually disappeared into the depths of Wilhelmshaven.

    "It's the sound of steam engines running. There are a lot of them. They should be fleets above the size of a squadron!" The intelligence team leader retracted his head from the window. After flipping through the intelligence manual in his hand, the team leader waved his fist and said forcefully  : "It's the first reconnaissance group!"

    At the Naval Headquarters in London, the telegram from the Port William intelligence team had just reached the hands of the intelligence officer Captain Jackson, and new news came from "Room No. 40":

    "More than ten minutes ago, the German flagship Bavaria suddenly ordered their second battle fleet to maneuver southward and pay attention to their whereabouts. Perhaps the Germans were not determined to sneak attack our coastline and arouse Britain's anger for another fight in the future. They  The ultimate goal from beginning to end is a fast fleet! This is a complete conspiracy!" (To be continued.).
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