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Part One Twenty Years Chapter 9 The Decisive Battle of Orkney (5)

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    (Brothers, don¡¯t worry about my job. I still have the last spare tire. If this is gone, then I can devote myself to writing full-time. There is a minimum limit for various shows Also, the naval battle starts tomorrow!)

    "It does feel good to stand in the same trench as Silem. Brits on the other side, you should be in chaos now"

    In Wilhelmshaven, Raeder, who personally sent off the "First Reconnaissance Group" and ordered the turn of the Second Battle Fleet, stood on the transport ship Jed, using up his high spirits that he had not experienced in many years, expressing his last wantonness to the desolate North Sea.  :

    "London should have ordered the fast fleet to return, right? I don't mind adding fuel to your fire!"

    London, the British naval headquarters is brightly lit, and the elegant naval officers have been awake all night and are extremely busy.

    "This is a complete conspiracy!"

    Captain Jackson immediately received intelligence from Wilhelmshaven about the secret departure of the German First Reconnaissance Group to sea.

    Jackson's face instantly darkened. When the Navy Captain withdrew his gaze from the intelligence paper decoded by "Room 40" that was placed on the desk, he felt dizzy as never before.

    The navy captain swayed, and the sediment of bad memories emerged, coming like water, easily destroying the dam of Jackson's reason.

    Jackson clearly remembers that it was 1915, on the eve of the Battle of Skagerrak, in the dark and humid London Naval Headquarters. Captain Jackson first received the news that the Ocean Fleet was going to sea, and then received the news of the Allied Powers' fiasco at Mudros Bay in the Mediterranean Sea.  Battle report.

    At that time, the news of the fiasco at Mudros Bay was like a heavy stone weighing on everyone in the Admiralty, forcing General Jellicoe and General Beatty to temporarily change their operational objectives in order to restore the honor of the Royal Navy and launch a surprise attack on Hull.  The tactical operation in the Golan Gulf escalated into a decisive battle at the pinnacle of the dreadnought era, full of deception and counter-deception.

    In a decisive battle, the Royal Navy, which temporarily changed its combat intentions, suffered a complete defeat due to lack of preparation. "Chapter".  This time, the Royal Navy seems to be changing its combat objectives again. Will the results be different?

    Strong panic occupied Jackson's mind. It wasn't until the captain accidentally knocked over the water glass, and a crisp, long-lasting breaking sound came from the silent office, that Jackson remembered that he should report to his superiors.

    "The intelligence team in Wilhelmshaven confirmed that the Germans left the port at about 3:40 in the morning. The flagship of the Ocean Fleet Bavaria also ordered the raiding fleet to maneuver south to avoid exposing their whereabouts."

    An emergency meeting was held in the office of Lord of the Navy Arthur Balfour. In order to avoid panic in the Admiralty and to keep the results of "Room 40" confidential, only a few senior naval officials attended the meeting.  There were only four Sea Lords, Chief of the Naval Staff Jellicoe and Secretary of Intelligence William R. Hall.

    As the Minister of Intelligence, Hall was the first to speak, and the bloody history will prove that his views are just a businessman who has never experienced any maritime war:

    "Mr. Balfour, General Calthorpe, General Jellicoe, based on intelligence from 'Room 40' and the Wilhelmshaven Intelligence Group. We have reason to believe that the ultimate goal of the Germans is to destroy General Beatty's fast fleet, the Intelligence Department advises."  The fast fleet immediately gave up the encirclement and suppression plan and chose to return."

    The Lord of the Admiralty, Arthur Balfour, who presided over the meeting, was non-committal about Hall's suggestion.  The sharp eyes of the Lord of the Admiralty, who had become a monk on the way, passed over the faces of the senior naval officials in the office one by one, and finally fell on the face of First Sea Lord Gough Calthorpe, urging this man who was more like a civil servant than a general.  The First Sea Lord spoke.

    "Generals, as a civilian who has never had contact with the navy for half my life, I have done everything I can. Now is the time for you, as professional soldiers, to show your abilities. I need you to give me some professional advice."

    First Sea Lord Gough Calthorpe's Adam's apple twitched, but he didn't say anything for a long time. He just took the two letters of information from Hall's hand and locked his head and pretended to consider each word.  The other three sea ministers were also silent.

    Seeing the scene in front of him, Admiral Jellicoe, Chief of Naval Staff, couldn't help but sigh. He felt that David Beattie's radical proposition was not unreasonable. The Royal Navy did need a little bit of strength and stubbornness.

    Indeed, the Grand Fleet has been rebuilt at the weapons level and is even stronger than ever before, but at the spiritual level, this fleet no longer has the Nelson spirit that it took hundreds of years to temper. In the German Navy, it is indeed  It is said that he has become more conservative under the influence of Xi Lime.

    On the other hand, Jellicoe, who once served as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet and suffered countless infamy, can understand the caution of the Sea Lords

    Making the decision to use the fleet built by the British people at the expense of billions of pounds to enter the decisive battle was originally a very difficult thing. What's more, the British are the most picky race in the world about naval victory, not to mention that now the Grand Fleet is slapping them in the face.  After reconstruction, the whole country was filled with the mentality of being unable to lose. In 1917, the pressure of decision-making was much greater than in 1915. Once the Battle of Skagerrak was repeated, the outcome would definitely not be the result of a fierce battle across the sea to the French front.

    Before the angry King Arthur of the Navy could get angry, Admiral Jellicoe spoke like mud, and the content of his speech did not surprise everyone present:

    "Heligoland Bay is three hundred nautical miles away from the Scarborough area, which translates into a voyage of about fifteen hours for the German First Reconnaissance Group. It is only two hundred nautical miles from the southern part of Dogger Sandbank, which translates into a voyage of only ten  Hour."

    Admiral Jellicoe dug out a map from the old paper pile on his desk, flattened it and laid it on his desk. He also took out a ruler, compass and pencil from the pen holder, and started doing simple drawing work and drawings in the Admiralty of the Navy's office.  calculate.

    "The fast fleet left Foss Bay at 21:11 and sailed roughly to the waters north of Newcastle. It is still four to five hours away from Scarborough, the possible German assault point. If we continue the encirclement and suppression plan, we must give up  The follow-up plan to attract the decisive battle of the Ocean Fleet, because the battle location is closer to Germany, we will not get the support of the Grand Fleet itself; in addition, the fast fleet needs to move south for two to three hours, find the German raid fleet within two hours, and  Pay attention to avoid the German No. 1 Reconnaissance Group that is rushing towards you. On the other hand, if we give up the encirclement and suppression plan, then the world will be peaceful" The Great Power of the Sea Chapter 9 The Decisive Battle of Orkney (5)""

    Jellicoe made a gesture of embracing the world, and the senior British naval officials present laughed out loud because of Jellicoe's playful words.

    Jellicoe was Jellicoe, so to speak, and he opposed every naval battle of the Royal Navy.

    In order to facilitate the return of the fast fleet, Jellicoe deliberately ignored the third situation: if Silem discovered that the fast fleet was returning, he would not hesitate to let the southward maneuvering raiding fleet fake it.  It is for this reason that the Sea Lords are unwilling to assume certain responsibilities by easily revealing their personal views.

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    The fast fleet can indeed get away. No matter how powerful the first reconnaissance group is, it cannot cross the North Sea instantly like a Saiyan, but once the fast fleet leaves.  The German raiding fleet lurking in the southern North Sea could leisurely attack Britain's eastern coastline.

    Going south is an even more dangerous road. If the dagger hidden by the Germans in the North Sea is not discovered and killed in time, the fast fleet is likely to be counterattacked by the surging German No. 1 reconnaissance group.  Once the fast fleet suffers heavy losses or even is completely wiped out, not to mention who will be the scapegoat in this battle, how can the Royal Navy, which has just taken off, stand on its own in this sea of ??stars?  !

    Staying near Scarborough to scare Xiaoxiao is not a good choice.  The fast fleet's Reputation class and Queen Elizabeth class battle cruisers both have a displacement of over 30,000 tons, and the coastline of this section of the British Isles is relatively flat.  There are few good deep harbors in the entire Scarborough area.  Even if there is, it lacks complete military port protection firepower.

    Although the senior Navy officials present were aware of the bias in Jellicoe's words, they invariably remained silent.

    Yes, Jellicoe is a complete conservative, but you must not underestimate him because of this. Perhaps Jellicoe is the only wise man in the empire in this protracted war.  The Admiralty Ministers are in a position of being in a high position, and with great power come great responsibilities.  In addition to admiring Jellicoe's arrogance in standing up and taking the blame but also stifling any risk-taking and failure factors, he was determined to carry out this tacit understanding to the end.

    "Great Power Sea Soul" Let the young boys below and that ignorant and fearless guy like David Beattie go and dream of war. Britain does not need war for the time being!

    The professional officers quickly and quietly unified their opinions. Balfour, who lacked some military literacy, vaguely felt that something was wrong.  However, he still chose to trust the judgment of professional soldiers.

    "Then let the fast fleet return! Also, let the grand fleet join the American squadron and go south together to meet the fast fleet!"

    "London should have ordered the fast fleet to return, right? I don't mind adding fuel to your fire!"

    The confrontation under the dark night continued, and Jellicoe tried every means to persuade the Admiralty to abandon the operation. On this side, the German Chief of Naval Staff Raeder could no longer hold back and couldn't wait to launch a new tactical deception operation.  He summoned Haig, the unhappy captain of the transport ship Jed, and asked the old captain to continue spreading false news without conscience:

    "With the flagship BavariaSent a message in the name of Leah, reminding the southward mobile assault fleet not to leave too far from the British coastline!  "

    Not surprisingly, the telegram appeared in the hands of Captain Jackson. Only then did Intelligence Minister Hall know that the value of the German raid fleet's southward maneuver was not just a tactical maneuver. It was a weapon that temporarily concealed the bloodthirsty aura.  As long as Britain relaxes its vigilance, it will dare to show its sharp dagger!

    The debate broke out again. Intelligence Minister Hall insisted on keeping the fast fleet near Scarborough area. The representative of the Navy on the Defense Committee was his most favorable supporter. As long as the Germans bombarded Britain itself, Britain could not directly deal with the incompetent Admiralty.  The people will definitely choose to destroy the National Defense Commission, which has complex members and low authority.

    Representatives of the Defense Committee declared that they would take the matter to parliament, and the conservative alliance formed by the Sea Secretary and the Chief of Naval Staff was shaky. At this time, David Beatty, who was far away in Scapa Flow, put forward a compromise opinion,  Let the fast fleet be stationed temporarily at the mouth of the River Tees.

    This is obviously a clever move. Although the mouth of the Tees River cannot accommodate ten battlecruisers of the fast fleet and does not have complete fortifications, its geographical location is too advantageous:

    ""The mouth of the Tees River is only a two-hour voyage from the Scarborough area. If the German raiding fleet dares to commit crimes against the wind, the fast fleet is fully capable of rushing over to teach those faltering German classic ships.  If the First Reconnaissance Group insists on dealing with the fast fleet, the fast fleet with intelligence superiority can also rush to Newcastle with its life. There is no doubt about the strength of the capitalists in protecting private industry, and the defense measures of the Tyne River are still trustworthy.

    The Admiralty adopted Betty's opinion. At 4:30 in the morning, Fast Fleet Commander Lampard received the final telegram from the Admiralty. Although those optimism had cooled down a lot, he still ordered the fleet to turn to Betty in accordance with the order of the Naval Headquarters.  Si River mouth.

    "After a confrontation, most of the good cards in hand were destroyed by Heidi Silem alone"

    In the distant Scapa Flow, approaching the time when the summer sky should have brightened, the main ships of the Grand Fleet sailed out of the military port one after another and headed towards the North Atlantic side.  Betty looked at the lingering fog and dark sky in the bay, and couldn't help but stretch out four fingers:

    "But the sky in the North Sea is about to clear up. Sillem, you only have so many trump cards, and I still have four extra battleships!"

    David Beatty of the Orkney Islands was so proud that he led his fleet to slip out of Scapa Flow and took advantage of the common sea fog in the North Sea to go to sea to meet four American battleships coming from afar. At the other end of the North Sea, William Port, England  The intelligence team's hands and feet are already cold.

    Germany is one time zone ahead of the UK. Scapa Flow is still foggy and confusing, while the sea fog over Jed Bay has dissipated a lot. Through the thin sea fog, the British intelligence team leader found that Wilhelmshaven was empty.

    Yes, Wilhelmshaven, the home port of the Ocean Fleet, which is supposed to be densely covered with warships and masts, is empty. There is no 12-inch main gun, no long forecastle ship, no tripod mainmast, no gun, no king, and no Bavaria, 19  A battleship disappeared.

    ¡°Damn it, where did Silem change his toys?!¡± The intelligence team leader looked at the silent military port and let out a desperate cry.

    In the gradually brightening depths of the North Sea, the nineteen battleships of Sealem's Toy Ocean Fleet and the eight battlecruisers of the First Reconnaissance Group cut a sharp straight line and pounced resolutely in a certain direction!  (To be continued.).
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