1890 King of Southeast Asia

"John, what happened?" When Winston came to the office, John had already drunk black tea and seemed to have been here for a while.

"Minister, the intelligence system has recently detected that the Germans are carrying out large-scale warship maintenance. Wilhelmshaven is bustling with people, and the radio signals in Bremen have also increased a lot." Jellicoe stood up and said.

"Are you saying that the Germans are preparing for a big battle? What are they doing recently? Is there anything unusual?" Winston frowned and walked to the side to pour two glasses of whiskey and handed one to Jellicoe.

"It is still sending out destroyers from time to time to harass and look for opportunities. This situation has never stopped. Generally speaking, everything is normal." This is what Jellicoe is worried about.

Since the war began, the German Navy has pursued a guerrilla strategy due to the gap in strength. It usually sends destroyers into the North Sea at night to look for British ships that are alone.

If there is a chance, the German Navy will go up and eat a bite of meat. Even if it is not found, the German Navy will send cruisers to meet before dawn.

Because of the cost and danger of dispatching, both sides generally will not dispatch a single large warship without intelligence support to avoid danger.

In the early stage, the Germans took advantage of this tactic, and it was not until the British strengthened the patrol fleet that the Germans restrained themselves.

However, the Germans then ushered in the British retaliation. The British launched the Battle of Heligoland Bight and used fast warships to break into the Heligoland Bight.

Five of them were main battlecruisers, and the German main battleships were trapped in another port due to water level problems and could not quickly enter the battlefield.

In this battle, the Germans lost 4 torpedo boats and 4 cruisers, and the British lost two cruisers, one of which was sunk by a mine.

If it weren't for the warships hitting the mines that made Beatty feel the danger, the battle would definitely continue for a while. The large-caliber main guns of 305 mm and 343 mm were fatal to these small and medium-sized warships.

After this battle, the Germans were more determined not to rush to a decisive battle in the ocean. William II even ordered the main force of the Grand Fleet not to sail in the ocean.

William II wanted to use the Grand Fleet as a bargaining chip. After the Sixth Army defeated the French, he negotiated with the British with the Grand Fleet and forced the British to make concessions.

If the Germans on the Sixth Army really won a decisive victory, the British might really decide to make concessions and then reorganize the anti-German alliance-just like the anti-French alliance.

However, shortly after the Battle of the Heligoland Bight, the German Schlieffen-Moltke Offensive failed, and the subsequent series of battles did not achieve a strategic victory, and the attempt to pursue a quick victory failed.

It was not until this time that William II relaxed the constraints on the Grand Fleet and agreed to the battlecruisers to join the guerrilla warfare.

The main force of the British Navy's Home Fleet launched a large net in the North Sea, locking the Germans' passage to the Atlantic Ocean through the North Sea.

And the British also insisted on conducting large-scale sea sweeps twice a week, gradually compressing the Germans' movement space.

If this continues, the German Navy will become a real fleet - an ocean fleet that cannot go to sea.

It happened that William II gave in, and the strength of the German Navy guerrillas suddenly increased by several orders of magnitude, and the Germans began to enter the North Sea in a fast fleet mode.

After entering the North Sea, because the strength of the fast fleet was very weak compared to the British Empire Royal Navy's home fleet, the target of the German fast fleet was not the British main fleet, but the lone warships and British civilian ports.

Yes, the Germans used battlecruisers to attack British civilian ports and civilian ships, even if the military ports and ships were not far from the Germans' targets.

Germany was also the first country to use submarines to attack civilian merchant ships. Well, the Chinese Empire was the first here, attacking Japanese merchant ships.

Due to the various practices of the Germans, the British public opinion pressure was very strong. The last time the British mainland was bombarded by warships from other countries, it was traced back to the Anglo-Dutch War.

Jellicoe has been looking for an opportunity for revenge, and the recent abnormal behavior of the German army has given him hope.

"We need more intelligence support, otherwise the home fleet cannot be dispatched rashly." Winston smoked a cigar and thought for a long time.

"The Russians gave us a lot of intelligence, including the recent slowdown of German actions in the Baltic Sea." Jellicoe said.

"John, you are a naval officer, you should know that this intelligence alone is not enough. We must ensure that the Germans are locked down, and secondly, the safety of the homeland."

Winston finished speaking and raised his mouth again.

"How is the construction progress of the remaining three Sovereign-class battleships?"

"The Resolution is ready for sea trials, and the Ramillies battleship may not be able to serve until the middle of next year." Jellicoe saw hope when he heard Winston ask this.

"John, you know, my position as the Minister of the Navy is just a transition. After the failure of the Dardanelles Battle, I am counting down to leave."

"I have received news that after sending off the officers from the Huaxia Empire who came to observe, I will be transferred to other departments."

"Tell me about your plan."

Winston smoked a cigar, and the smoke made it difficult to see his expression.

"I plan to mobilize all large warships above 207 knots to form a fast fleet, and cooperate with fast cruisers and ocean-going destroyers to form an anti-guerrilla fleet."

"Although the Germans attack at irregular intervals, their congenital defects determine that they must take several routes to leave the port. We can deploy submarines on the routes."

"The Chinese used airships as signal relays in this war. I think we can learn from them. The weather over the North Sea is unpredictable, so we use submarines as relays."

"Deploy submarines on the routes that the Germans must take, and deploy a submarine at the longest communication distance of each submarine radio station to form a surveillance network and report dynamics at any time."

"In this way, as long as the Germans come out, we can know clearly which route they took and where they are. "

"The Germans' mobility is not as good as ours. In terms of the number of battlecruisers, our ratio to the Germans is 10:5 to 9, and we have the advantage."

"In terms of the caliber of battlecruisers, we There are 3+2 305mm caliber main guns and 16 343mm main guns, as well as 6+4 356mm main guns. "

"The Germans have 2+4 305mm main guns and 4+8 350mm main guns."

"In terms of firepower, we also have an absolute advantage. Moreover, the speed of the two first-generation battlecruisers of the German Navy is not fast. As long as they enter a fleet decisive battle, they can't escape."

"We can send a strike fleet composed of fast cruisers and destroyers to attack the Heligoland Bight from time to time. The Germans will definitely be unable to bear it."

"As long as we can grasp the position of the Germans, we will definitely achieve certain results, at least leaving behind the von der Tann-class battlecruisers and the Moltke-class battlecruisers."

John didn't know when the Germans would set off, but he was sure that the Germans would take action. At this time, sending a unit to poke them would definitely result in good results.

Because the war had changed his original appearance, the British and German navies were unprecedentedly strengthened, so the Russians did not pick up the code book, and the British did not decipher the German code through the code book.

However, war is the best catalyst. With the investment in radio technology in the war, radio tracking technology and even radio positioning technology have entered the practical stage.

The sudden appearance of a large number of radio signals at the German naval base exposed their recent actions.

"It sounds like we can try it." Winston exhaled a puff of smoke, his eyes deep.

After the failure of the Dardanelles Battle, he was originally going to be removed, but as the attitude of the Huaxia Empire became clearer, this cabinet minister who had personally set foot on the Huaxia territory stayed temporarily (if he was in South Arabia, he would have communicated with the South China Navy stationed in Arabia).

Then, he was promoted to do the reception. He knew that after the reception, he would go to other departments, perhaps a department outside the power circle, or another core department, to see how he operated.

What Jellicoe said gave him an opportunity, not only in terms of military merit, but also in terms of politics, to let the Chinese see the strength of the British Empire and the possibility of quickly joining the battle.

"Next month, the representative of the Chinese Officers' Corps will come. He will stay in the Home Fleet for a month and then go to the Mediterranean." Winston sat up and put out his cigar.

"The Germans will definitely not wait for two months. The battle on the ground is crucial to them. They must maintain a tough attitude of the navy to prevent further actions by the Royal Navy." Jellicoe nodded heavily.

Winston meant that he could support Jellicoe conditionally and give him all the battlecruisers, on the condition that Jellicoe fights a beautiful battle within two months.

Show the Chinese, the Prime Minister, and the people of the British Empire that their Admiral is not a waste!

Jellicoe also agreed that the Germans would definitely take action within two months. Even if they did not, the fast fleet would have formed a regular combat readiness after two months. Could the new minister still dismantle it without any reason?

Jellicoe didn't believe that the newly appointed Navy Minister could forcefully split the fast fleet to deal with the German guerrilla fleet when the homeland was bombarded and civilians were constantly dying.

In that case, as long as one shell fell on the British mainland, the Navy Minister would have to be replaced again.

"The design drawings of the new class 1 battlecruiser are about to be completed. I need to find Sir Fisher to discuss the number and construction plan of the latest battleships." Winston stood up and ordered him to leave.

"I'm going to arrange the attack fleet." Jellicoe stood up and said tactfully.

"The battle on the 6th has been lost. Now it's time for the Royal Navy to play its glorious tradition." Winston smiled.

"Yes!"

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