Chapter 418: Decisive Battle Plan
March 16, 1915, Berlin, Admiralty. Imperial Crown Prince Qin Tian, Minister of the Navy Marshal Count Tirpitz, Chief of Naval Staff Marshal von Pohl, Commander of the High Seas Fleet Admiral Reinhard Scheer, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Franz von Hipper , Lieutenant General Maximilian von Spee, Commander of the Breakthrough Fleet, all gathered in the Admiralty.
Today, their mission is to choose an effective battle plan from among the many battle plans.
"Everyone, the next battle will be a decisive battle between us and the British Royal Navy. This is directly related to whether we can defeat the British Navy and become the supremacy of the sea. For decades, the Imperial Navy has been preparing for this decisive battle .Now, the time is finally ripe." Qin Tian said looking at a group of senior navy generals.
Indeed, in order to bring down the British Navy, the German Navy has been preparing for a long time. Especially after William II came to power, he unreservedly provided support to Marshal Earl Tirpitz, which made the German navy begin to catch up with the British navy. The emergence of Qin Tian made up for the shortcomings of the German navy, allowing them to surpass the British navy in just over ten years.
"Through one naval battle after another, we have successfully gained an absolute advantage. Then, it is time for us to turn our advantage into victory. In this battle, the Empire will win. I hope everyone can understand this Be confident." Qin Tian continued.
"Your Highness, everyone has been looking forward to such a day. I think, with such a big advantage, if we both lose the war, it would be too unreasonable. Of course, I also think that, It is impossible for us to lose." Marshal Earl Tirpitz said.
Others also expressed their views that the German Navy will definitely win this time. Everyone is full of confidence in this battle.
"General Scheer, has the High Seas Fleet's specific battle plan been finalized this time?" Qin Tian asked.
"His Royal Highness, after discussion, we have finalized the battle plan. Three days later, that is, on March 19, the main force of the Imperial Navy's High Seas Fleet will leave Wilhelmshaven and head straight for Scapa Flow. If the British If people are brave enough to go to sea and fight us, it would be great. If the British dare not go to sea to fight, then we will force them to go to sea to fight. All capital ships of the broken fleet will return to cooperate with the High Seas Fleet In this battle, General Spee and General Hipper will each lead six battlecruisers. Among them, General Spee will lead the battlecruisers to attack the coastal cities in northern England, forcing the British Navy to go to sea for a decisive battle. General Hipper will lead the The remaining six battlecruisers are closely monitoring the movements of the British. After discovering the formation of the British battlecruisers, they will immediately attack and disable them. After the main force of the British navy goes to sea to fight us, the High Seas Fleet will be in the North Sea. The final decisive battle with the British Navy. The battlecruiser formation will participate at the right time to attack the rear of the British Navy to ensure that the Imperial Navy can win this battle. In addition, the aircraft carrier of the Imperial Navy will also Will go to war, attack the British capital ship, and further weaken the strength of the British navy." Admiral Reinhardt Scheer said.
The battle plan chosen by the German Navy's High Seas Fleet was unremarkable. To put it bluntly, it is to use its powerful strength to directly crush the British navy. There is no use of tricks or anything like that.
In this regard, Qin Tian is very approving. After all, why is it necessary for the German navy to use tactics when it has such a big advantage? With direct and strong strength, it can crush the British navy.
"What if the British insist on avoiding war? Then we can't just wait like this?" Marshal von Pohl, chief of naval staff, asked.
"If the British still avoid war, then we will destroy all the coastal cities of the British from north to south. Even London will be bombarded. I believe that by then the British will never be able to shrink their heads again. Even if they want to continue shrinking, the British people will not allow it. Besides, if the coastal cities of Britain are destroyed by us, will the British still have the strength to continue this war?" Reinhardt ? Admiral Scheer said.
Most of Britain's most important cities are also in the coastal areas. Even London is at the mouth of the Thames. As long as the main fleet of the German Navy knows the forts along the coast, it can directly bombard London with naval guns. Even its own capital was shelled, how can the British navy shrink back? Besides, destroying all the shipyards along the coast can further weaken the war potential of the British Navy.
Although, it seems too bloody to destroy all the coastal cities in Britain. However, each of these generals knew that in order to win, no matter how high the price was, it was worth it. Let alone just turning enemy cities into ruins.
"Do you have any questions about this?" Qin Tian asked.
"Your Highness, if too many civilians die, I'm afraid it won't be good." Marshal von Pohl said.
"It is true that if too many civilians die, it will have a certain impact on the reputation of the empire. However, compared to winning the war, even the damage to the reputation is worth it." Qin Tian said.
Marshal von Bohr nodded and said no more. He can also understand that, after all, Germany has made a lot of efforts for this victory. Now, it's finally time to win, so naturally they don't care so much.
"Everyone, in this battle, we must not only defeat the British, but also win the victory at the lowest possible cost. After all, our enemies are not only the British. The Americans on the other side of the ocean, although they are forced by us We retreated. However, that was only a temporary retreat. If we lose too much in the decisive battle with the British, they will definitely show up immediately." Qin Tian emphasized.
"Yes, Your Highness." Everyone nodded repeatedly.
The strength of the German navy is stronger than that of the British navy. However, the number of capital ships did not form an overwhelming advantage. Therefore, in this battle, the German Navy had better lose some capital ships. Otherwise, it will not be conducive to the consolidation of the German Navy's subsequent sea power.
Defeating the British Navy was only the first step for the German Navy to seize sea power. Next, you have to subdue the navies of other countries. If there is a little carelessness, the sea power in hand may change unexpectedly.
