Chapter 388 Inspection (seeking a monthly ticket)

"Your Highness, the western seas of England are too vast. It is almost impossible for us to completely form a tight blockade in this sea area. Especially at night, the sight is affected, which is not conducive to our blockade." Imperial Navy Minister Marshal Earl Tirpitz said to Qin Tian.

Qin Tian nodded, there is no radar in this era. When warships search for sea targets, they can only rely more on sight. A battleship can monitor the sea area with a radius of tens of kilometers at most. To ensure that the no-navigation zone is not in name only, this requires the German Navy to invest a lot of power. Otherwise, no-fly zones would be useless.

"What about the High Seas Fleet's opinion?" Qin Tian asked.

"The opinion of the High Seas Fleet is that the break-off fleet is the main one, and then a large number of destroyers and light cruisers are dispatched to monitor that sea area. The destroyers and light cruisers are fast and can search large areas of the sea. Those battleships of the break-off fleet Cruisers are used to deal with enemy warships. If the Americans are not so bold as to dispatch warships, destroyers and light cruisers are enough to deal with all problems. Of course, we also need to guard against the British. Their 'Queen Elizabeth The "Revenge-class" battleships and the "Revenge-class" battleships are both powerful battleships equipped with 381mm main guns, and they pose a great threat to our breaching fleet." Marshal Count Tirpitz said.

"Just follow the advice of the High Seas Fleet! However, remind the submarine force that they only need to provide information to the Breaking Fleet, and don't need to intercept those merchant ships." Qin Tian said.

Last time, the trap set by the British against German submarines caused them heavy losses. Qin Tian didn't want such an accident to happen again. The submarine force is undoubtedly very precious, and Qin Tian absolutely does not allow it to be wasted on these aspects.

Although, the major shipyards in Germany have received orders from the Ministry of the Navy and have begun to build more submarines. However, those submarine soldiers are undoubtedly the most precious. Especially experienced submariners who have participated in actual combat are precious assets. Qin Tian didn't want these precious treasures to be lost like this.

"Yes, Your Highness." Marshal Earl Tirpitz nodded.

The German Navy's breaking fleet originally had nine battlecruisers. After the "Mackenson-class" battlecruisers entered service, they were also strengthened to the breaching fleet, so that the number of battlecruisers owned by the breaching fleet reached 12. Among them, six are powerful battleships equipped with 380mm main guns. The strength of the German Navy's break-through fleet alone is estimated to be second only to Britain and Germany. Even the U.S. Navy must concentrate its main force in order to be able to confront it. It can be seen that the German Navy is strong.

In addition to these battlecruisers, the Breaking Fleet also has a number of cruisers and destroyers. The total number of warships has reached more than fifty. Although there are a lot of them, it is undoubtedly very difficult to completely block the western waters of Britain. Therefore, the High Seas Fleet deployed more than 20 light cruisers and destroyers to strengthen the destroyer fleet. Make sure that after the no-sail zone is established, it is not empty, but it can really intercept merchant ships from other countries going to Britain, France and other countries. In particular, U.S. merchant ships will be their key targets for interception. For other countries, Qin Tian did not believe that they really had the guts to confront the German Empire.

Lieutenant General Maximilian von Spee was appointed as the commander in charge of intercepting merchant ships from various countries in the no-sail zone. Lieutenant General Franz von Hipper was transferred back to the High Seas Fleet Headquarters. After all, the decisive battle between the German Navy and the British Navy is about to begin. Admiral Reinhard Scheer is also very busy. Lieutenant General Hipper, as the assistant of Admiral Reinhardt Scheer, formulated various combat plans to ensure that the German Navy can win this decisive battle.

A large number of German warships gathered in the western waters of the United Kingdom, forming an impenetrable blockade. It was impossible for ships from other countries to enter the United Kingdom.

However, the British were not intimidated by the no-fly zone set by the German army. The British government placed a large number of orders to the United States, from food to oil, to minerals, weapons and equipment, etc., which made the American industry begin to develop rapidly. At the same time, the British government also hired American merchant ships to transport these materials.

Although, many American merchant ship owners were frightened by the no-sail zone set by Germany and dared not take any more risks. But there are still many people who would risk their lives for money, not to mention just breaking into the no-fly zone designated by the Germans. Besides, they are all Americans, and the United States is a neutral country. These merchant ship owners are not worried about what the Germans will do to them. In other words, what did the Germans dare to do to them. Big deal, after being intercepted by the Germans, it turned around and returned. In that case, it's just a loss of some gas money. For these merchant ship owners, the gas money is nothing at all. If you can break out a safe route, that is a way of making money!

The "Statue of Liberty" is a large cruise ship. If the entire cruise ship is fully loaded, it can carry 12,000 tons of crude oil. After the war broke out, Britain's consumption of oil began to soar. Although Britain has oil fields in the Middle East, many warships of the Royal Navy have been replaced with oil-fired boilers, which makes Britain consume a lot of oil.

The largest oil producing country in the world is undoubtedly the United States. American oil has also become the key oil imported by the United Kingdom. Almost all tankers plying the Atlantic are American tankers.

It's just that after Germany designated a no-voyage zone, there were not many tankers who dared to continue transporting oil to the UK.

"Captain, tomorrow we will enter the no-sail zone designated by the Germans. What should we do if we are intercepted by the Germans?" A sailor asked.

"Stupid! We are all Americans, what can the Germans do to us? The boss has already said that if our tanker of oil can be safely sent to England, everyone will get an extra bonus." The captain had a smile on his face.

"Don't worry, God will bless us, the Germans won't find us. Even if they find us, we will return at most. We will be very safe." The captain said with confidence.

However, this statement is too absolute.

The next day, the oil tanker "Statue of Liberty" sailed into the no-sail zone designated by Germany. However, in less than two hours, they were discovered by a destroyer of the German Navy.

"Stop the ship and accept inspection!" The German destroyer immediately notified the oil tanker "Statue of Liberty" by radio.