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Text Chapter 625, Big Sea Battle (1)

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    Time flies so fast, several months have passed in the blink of an eye, the cold winter has passed quietly, and the spring of 1916 has arrived.  The weather was very good on this day, the sun was shining brightly, and all kinds of flowers in the garden of Duck Castle were in full bloom.  Scrooge walked slowly along the path full of poppies while listening to Graystone introducing him to some recent developments.  "It is now basically certain that the Germans will not be able to take Verdun. Although they have recently regained air superiority with fighter jets using propeller-coordinated machine guns provided by us, the French have now established a foothold in Verdun.  Dad, you know that in today's war, the defensive side always has some advantages, and now, the French have invested no less troops than the Germans, so although the Germans are still going.  They attack, but Donald and I both believe that the danger at Verdun is over. "How is the situation at the shipbuilding side these days?" Scrooge asked.  "Because the intensity of the war has continued to rise recently, the demand for various supplies in Britain and France has increased significantly, so the shipbuilding business is still rising. But Dad, even with a background like the Battle of Verdun, shipbuilding orders have increased.  The trend is also starting to slow down. Saturation may be coming soon. Damn the Germans, they are too inefficient at sinking ships at sea. Dad, their efficiency has become even more inefficient since the last Anne incident.  . So much so that the British no longer use escort formations in order to improve port efficiency, but their efficiency is still not very good," Graystone said, sounding like he was more interested in the German Navy than the generals of the German Navy.  The inefficiency is even more dissatisfying.  "How is the propaganda going in Germany?" Scrooge asked.  "Recently, the attention of the Germans has been completely focused on Verdun. Now is not the time to use such propaganda." Graystone replied, "However, if the Germans can be made to feel that it is impossible for the Sixth Army to break through Verdun,  If they do, that might shift their focus to the navy," Graystone replied.  "British and French radio stations have been doing this all the time. They seem to have been broadcasting to Germany, claiming that they have continuously defeated the Germans at Verdun. However, the Germans don't seem to believe it." "That's because  The German Army is still continuing to attack, and they have not given up their attempt to capture Verdun. "Gladstone replied, "When the German Army believes that capturing Verdun has become an impossible task, they will stop the offensive.  , then our propaganda plan can begin." "Then how long do you think the German Army can continue to attack?" Scrooge asked.  "Of course I hope it will last as long as possible, but the recent losses of the German Army have been too great. If this offensive continues for another month or two at most, it will probably have to stop." Graystone replied.  Historically, the Battle of Verdun was fought for almost a whole year, but in this time and space, the situation has changed somewhat. Due to some technological advancements, both the French and German teams had greater firepower than before.  historical level.  For example, in the original history, the attacking German team used 1,400 cannons, but in this time and space, the German team invested 2,000 cannons at the beginning of the battle.  These also include many large-caliber railway guns.  The French are not ambiguous either. Although the number of artillery is only half that of the Germans, most of their artillery has been fortified, and their firepower is much stronger than the French army in history.  At the same time, in terms of light weapons, due to the influence of the McDonald Infantry Weapons Company, in this time and space, the level of light weapons in World War I almost caught up with World War II.  Heavy machine guns, light machine guns, submachine guns, everything.  The result of all this is naturally that the killing efficiency of both sides has been greatly improved. In the past few months of fighting, the losses of both sides have been close to the level of the entire battle in history.  "You are right, with such high losses, it may be difficult for the Germans to continue to hold on." Scrooge said, "By then, they will probably have to use their navy." At this time, Shi  Gao Zhi saw Gray Stone's secretary running over, and when he saw Gray Stone talking to Scrooge, he stopped in the distance. "Maybe there is something, go and have a look." Scrooge said.  "Okay dad." Graystone waved to the secretary, and the secretary came forward.  "Any news?" Graystone asked.  "Mr. MacDonald, I just got the news that the Germans replaced their chief of general staff yesterday, and now General Hindenburg has become the new chief of staff of the German army." The secretary replied.  "It seems that the Germans can no longer hold on to the Battle of Verdun." Scrooge said with a smile, "Relevant propaganda can begin."   "Marshal, do you also think the navy must be dispatched?" William II asked a general holding the marshal's scepter.  "Yes, Your Majesty, although the article in the Bavarians is out of date, there is actually nothing wrong with what he said. Now it is indeed impossible for Germany to achieve a comprehensive victory, and we should indeed seek peace. But Your Majesty, you  We also know that if we sue for peace now, the French and British will put forward humiliating conditions that are completely unacceptable to us. So if we want to get a decent peace, we must devote all our efforts to it.  In the war the High Seas Fleet should not be an exception. " "But I asked Admiral Scheer, and he told me that although our fleet is no worse than the British in terms of single-ship performance, it may even have certain advantages.  , but the number of our battleships is much smaller than that of the British. We only have 21 new battleships (3 more than in history), while the British have 36 in their large fleet (3 more than in history). Such a number  Given the superiority, our fleet cannot defeat the British fleet," Emperor William II said.  "Your Majesty, it is not that the weaker side cannot make a difference. For example, in the second Anglo-American War, the American fleet was almost worth mentioning compared to the British fleet. The difference in strength between their fleet and the British fleet was even greater.  Big. But the performance of the U.S. Navy in that war was quite good. Your Majesty, now, large quantities of supplies are sent to Britain and France from all over the world. It is with the support of these supplies that the French can fight with us.  Keep fighting. And your Majesty, you should also know that if we let them get these supplies, we will eventually be overwhelmed by the enemy's unparalleled material power. Therefore, even at the risk of the entire army being destroyed, the navy must attack.  To change this situation. Your Majesty, think about it" The marshal of the Army smiled, "If the navy finds those warships and waits until we are defeated, they will be attacked by the British.  If it sank, what difference would it make? It might as well have been sunk by the British. At least in the process, they also killed the British. " Emperor Wilhelm II was silent for a while, and then said: "Hindenburg.  Marshal, I agree with your point of view. Our fleet cannot stay in the military port forever. " On April 22, 1916, a British spy took the risk and sent out this piece of information over the radio: "The German fleet in Kiel Port.  Move out collectively." After this news was released, the British intelligence service lost contact with the spy.  But it was enough to attract the attention of the British.  If the battleships and battlecruisers in the German High Seas Fleet are allowed to break into the Atlantic Ocean, even if the British can find and destroy them one by one in the end, they will at least be able to block the passage to Britain for several months.  The shipping lanes became extremely dangerous, and shipping at sea might even be cut off completely before they were mostly wiped out.  Therefore, the British Admiralty immediately issued a warning to the Home Fleet: "The German High Seas Fleet has been dispatched and is ready for battle." The warning from the Admiralty was given to the fleet at 12 noon, and the fleet commander, Marshal Jericho, immediately issued an order requiring  The fleet will be ready to attack before dawn tomorrow.  It was not an easy task for the entire 36 battleships of the Grand Fleet to prepare for attack in just a few hours. The entire Scapa Flow immediately became busy, and all sailors who were not on the warships were rushed to the scene.  Supplies needed for recall, navigation and combat were constantly being sent to the warships.  The staff members were busy, and the mechanics were also seizing the time to conduct final inspections on the battleship.  And in Rosyth, where the British battlecruiser squadron is based, Marshal Betty's battlecruisers are also preparing for the imminent collision.  Because his battlecruisers had been on a voyage recently, Betty's fleet was basically ready to sail.  At 9 o'clock that night, Marshal Betty left the port with the battlecruiser squadron.  Although battlecruisers have the same firepower as battleships, their armor is too weak. Therefore, the British do not believe that such warships can be incorporated into the battle line and used as real battleships.  But their high speed makes them very suitable for being used as the vanguard of the main fleet, performing maritime reconnaissance, and dispersing the enemy's vanguard fleet.  I believe that the Germans will definitely send their battlecruisers as the vanguard of the main fleet.  So Betty's fleet must go out early.  He has two tasks: to destroy the German vanguard fleet and to find the German main fleet.  
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