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As time entered the summer of 1919, the situation became increasingly unfavorable to Germany! On the east bank of the Volga River, the Chinese Army has assembled heavy troops, and a large number of trains arrive here every day carrying a large number of personnel, weapons and equipment, and other combat supplies. In order to speed up the transportation of personnel, the Chinese Air Force even dispatched hundreds of Y4 transport aircraft. Each Y4 transport aircraft can transport almost a platoon of troops and equipment. Hundreds of Y4 transport aircraft can transport an infantry division's personnel to the front line in one day. Of course, heavy weapons and the like still have to be transported by train!
After resisting the German-Russian Allied Forces' attack on the Volga River defense line, the Chinese Army began to assemble heavy troops east of the Volga River on a large scale! Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Chinese are preparing for a large-scale counterattack! The failure of the last battle greatly affected the German Army. The failure of the attack seriously affected their confidence! This makes them less confident when they defend again!
The new Chief of Staff of the German Army, Field Marshal Carl von B¨¹low, submitted a defense plan to Kaiser Wilhelm II with the Volga River, Kama River, and Ural Mountains as barriers! In the plan, the German Army planned to invest three million troops, plus five million Russian troops, to build a solid line of defense to block the Chinese in the area east of the Volga River. Wilhelm II was noncommittal about the plan proposed by the General Staff. Although in his opinion, offense is the best defense. But for Germany, it is very difficult to continue the attack now! After the Volga River thawed, the German army could no longer cross this wide river! Fortunately, the thawing Volga River will also become an obstacle for the Chinese!
Air supremacy over the Eastern European plains is still in the hands of the Chinese Air Force. This made it impossible for the German Air Force and Army Aviation to rely on bombing to hinder the Chinese Army's build-up! Even if the Hurricane V fighter, which the German Army has high hopes for, enters service, the same will be true! Although the Hurricane V fighter is much more powerful than the Hurricane IV, in terms of speed, ceiling, maneuverability and range. There has been a significant improvement! However, compared with the F11 ¡®Vulture¡¯ fighter jet, the main fighter equipped by the Chinese Air Force, there is still a certain gap! Coupled with the difference in the quality of the pilots on both sides, the combat power is about one to two! Germany had to lose two Hurricane V fighter jets to shoot down a Chinese F11 Vulture fighter jet!
However, the F10 ¡®Lightning¡¯ heavy fighter equipped by the Chinese Air Force has poor maneuverability due to its heavy weight. In aerial combat, there are many opponents of the Hurricane V fighter. It can only rely on its rough skin, thick flesh and powerful firepower to compete with it. This also caused the Chinese Air Force to suffer increasing losses when it carried out strategic bombing against Germany! Of course, the emergence of the Hurricane V fighter cannot change the current situation! As the effectiveness of the Chinese Air Force's strategic bombing of Germany gradually became apparent, Germany has gradually fallen into a disadvantage in this war!
Don¡¯t say anything else. Just the number of fighter planes! At the beginning, if the various aircraft manufacturers in Germany worked overtime, they could produce 500 aircraft per month. However, by June, this number had dropped to 300! And as more and more parts production plants are bombed by the Chinese Air Force, the number of aircraft produced by Germany every month further declines! It's not just aircraft production that's been affected, it's also the Navy's shipyards. The Army's tank factories, automobile factories, and gun factories, etc., have all been affected! Germany's war potential began to decline under China's strategic bombing! On the other hand, China has no such influence at all. After China began to shift to a wartime system, the output of various industries increased sharply, and the continuous victories on the front line further stimulated the domestic people. Everyone's confidence has been greatly improved! Originally, many people were worried that if it went to war with a big country like Germany, even if it won, China would definitely pay a heavy price. But from now on, it seems that Germany is not as powerful as everyone thinks! If the current situation develops, it won't be long before Germany can be defeated!
¡°The real fatal threat to Germany is that China cuts off Germany¡¯s oil supply! Forced by China. The Ottoman Empire stopped exporting oil to Germany! Although Germany seized the oil fields in the Kingdom of Romania, they were destroyed by China. This made Germany's oil supply very tight, even though domestic civilian vehicles had stopped. But it still cannot guarantee the needs of the army! If this continues, Germany's oil reserves will be exhausted within a year at most. By the time,. Germany seemed to have no other choice but to admit defeat!
Although it has cut off Germany's oil supply, China seems to think it is not enough. China¡¯s intelligence agencies began to do everything possible to find Germany¡¯s national stone.The location of the oil reserves. Once the place where Germany's oil is stored is found, the Air Force immediately organizes fighter planes to carry out bombings to further destroy Germany's oil reserves! To minimize Germany's war strength!
Germany suffered huge losses under this attack from China! Throughout Germany, there is a mood of pessimism and despair. Within the German military, many generals have publicly declared that it will be difficult for Germany to win this war. Perhaps the only thing that can be done now is to strive for a decent peace! However, the stubborn Kaiser Wilhelm II did not want to admit defeat just yet, he also wanted to make a good struggle! William II turned his attention to the German Navy, hoping that the German Navy could win a victory for Germany! In this case, Germany can regain its disadvantage! When the time comes, if we take advantage of the situation and ask what to do with China, Germany may be able to end this war with dignity!
At the end of May, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Crown Prince Wilhelm summoned the Minister of the Navy, Marshal Tirpitz, the Chief of Naval Staff, Marshal Bohr, and the Commander of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet, Admiral Franz von Hipper, at Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. .
"Everyone, everyone must be very clear about the current situation! The Chinese have adopted a despicable and shameless method to cut off our oil supply! So far, we have lost allies around the Mediterranean, and the army is unable to operate on the Eastern European plains. Open up the situation! Now the empire has reached its most dangerous situation! We need a victory, a large-scale victory to break the current stalemate! I hope that the navy can bring this victory to the empire!" Kaiser Wilhelm II Looking at the senior officials of the Navy, he said.
However, he did not see confidence in the eyes of Marshal Tirpitz and others, but instead a trace of worry. This made William II a little dissatisfied!
"Your Majesty, after rush work, our 'Hohenzollern-class' aircraft carrier has been completed. Together with the previous five 'Prussian-class' aircraft carriers, the Imperial Navy now has fifteen aircraft carriers and ten advanced battleships! Our opponent, the Chinese Navy's Second Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean, has ten Wuyue-class aircraft carriers and six Hanxin-class battleships. Overall, our strength is about the same as theirs!" Admiral Tirpitz said.
"Marshal's personality, we have five more aircraft carriers than the Chinese, and we also have more new battleships than them. How come our strength is still similar to theirs? I think we have the upper hand!" Crown Prince William said.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince! We have more aircraft carriers and battleships than the Chinese Second Fleet! However, the quality of our officers and soldiers, especially the performance of carrier-based aircraft pilots and fighter planes, cannot be compared with the Chinese! Our ships The aircraft carrier fighter is still the Hurricane IV, and the carrier-based improved version of the Hurricane V fighter has not been completed yet! If we really have a decisive battle with the Chinese, our chances of winning are not good!" Marshal Tirpitz replied!
"Marshal's personality, the empire can't wait any longer! We urgently need the navy to win a victory! I believe you will be able to defeat the Chinese!" William II said stubbornly!
Seeing how determined Kaiser Wilhelm II was, Marshal Tirpitz, Marshal Bohr and General Franz von Hipper knew they could not persuade him! However, in a decisive battle with the Chinese Navy, they really don't have much chance of winning! The North Sea is too small and is completely within the combat radius of the Chinese Navy's carrier-based aircraft. In the previous battle for air supremacy, the German Navy's shore-based aviation also suffered heavy losses, which prevented them from providing much help to the fleet.
Furthermore, the strength gap between the Chinese Navy and the German Navy is too big! Even if the German Navy can luckily defeat the Chinese Navy's Second Fleet, the Chinese Navy still has the First Fleet and the Third Fleet. Can the German Navy win every time?
However, Kaiser Wilhelm II obviously won¡¯t pay attention to this. What he needs is just a victory, a huge victory, to encourage Germany and its allies and let everyone see the hope of victory! As for how to win, that is what the generals below should think about!
Under the order of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the German Navy had no choice but to formulate a combat plan and put it into action!
At 7 pm on May 30, 1919, the main force of the German Navy set off from the Port of Kiel and sailed into the North Sea! Prepare to sail northwest, enter the Atlantic Ocean, and have a decisive battle with the Chinese Navy's Second Fleet in the vast ocean! However, as soon as this huge fleet entered the North Sea, it was discovered by a Chinese Navy submarine conducting combat readiness reconnaissance!