Chapter 415: last resort

  Downing Street, Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Asquith's office.

   After serving the coffee, the secretary withdrew. Only Prime Minister Asquith, Secretary of the Navy Churchill, Grand Fleet Commander Admiral John Jellicoe and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General David Beatty remained in the office.

   "What the **** happened last night?" Prime Minister Asquith asked. Although, his voice was still calm. However, anyone who is familiar with him can feel that this is the reason why he tried hard to suppress his anger. Originally, Prime Minister Asquith was very pessimistic about the future situation of the war, but at this juncture, the Royal Navy actually suffered heavy losses, and this naturally made him unacceptable.

"General, this was caused by our negligence. We never expected that the Germans would send submarines to sneak into Scapa Flow for a sneak attack. We have already begun to install anti-submarine equipment in important waterways of Scapa Flow It is absolutely impossible for the German submarines to enter Scapa Flow again." Admiral John Jellicoe said.

   However, such an answer obviously cannot satisfy Prime Minister Asquith. After all, they had already paid an extremely heavy price under the sneak attack of the German submarine.

   "Can the five damaged battleships catch up with our decisive battle with the Germans?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.

"Your Excellency, if the decisive battle is held in three months, all five battleships can catch up. If it is held in one month, neither the 'Warspite' nor the 'Warrior' will be able to participate. If the decisive battle is held in the near future, then I'm afraid the five battleships won't be able to keep up." Admiral John Jellicoe replied bravely.

  Suddenly, Prime Minister Asquith's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. Originally, the Royal Navy's chances of winning were very small. This time, it lost five battleships, which will undoubtedly make the Royal Navy's chances of winning even smaller. It can even be said that there is no chance of winning. Such a result naturally made Prime Minister Asquith unacceptable. Although, when the Germans offered harsh conditions and refused to enter into peace talks with the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Asquith guessed that this would be the result. However, there is still a trace of luck in his heart. That is, the Royal Navy can perform extraordinary in naval battles and help the British Empire win a brilliant victory, just like the Trafalgar naval battle commanded by Marshal Nelson.

  But now, the German navy has shattered his little hope with practical actions. Such a contrast naturally made Prime Minister Asquith somewhat unacceptable.

   "If we have a decisive battle with the Germans in the near future, how likely is the Royal Navy to win?" Prime Minister Asquith asked.

"Your Excellency, the chances of winning are very, very small. Right now, the Germans have too much of an advantage. If it is a decisive battle in the near future, we can even add the 'Agincourt', 'Canada' and 'Ireland' There are only 24 battleships. In terms of number, it is the same as the number of German battleships. However, in terms of combat power, it is much worse. The performance of German battleships has been learned through previous battles. We have arrived. We have to admit that their single-ship performance is far stronger than ours. Therefore, our chances of winning are very small." Admiral John Jellicoe said.

   "Your Excellency Churchill, what do you think?" Prime Minister Asquith looked at Churchill.

   "Your Excellency Prime Minister, judging from the current situation, the possibility of the Germans fighting us in the near future is very high. They will not let go of such a good opportunity." Churchill said.

   "That is to say, are we doomed this time?" Prime Minister Asquith couldn't help closing his eyes in pain.

   All the people were silent. Obviously, they also thought that this time there was probably no chance of winning.

   "Your Excellency, I have a method that may turn our defeat into victory." Churchill said suddenly.

   "Oh? What can I do?" Prime Minister Asquith hurriedly asked, his expression seemed to be the last straw.

"Since the decisive battle between us and the Germans is inevitable. Then, I ask the Grand Fleet to destroy the German battleships as much as possible when they are in the decisive battle with the Germans. The more they are sunk, the better. All the battleships of the Grand Fleet will be sunk, and more than 80% of the German capital ships will be sunk." Churchill said.

  General John Jellicoe and Lieutenant General David Beatty shuddered. From Churchill's words, they heard how cruel the future naval battle would be. If the combat mission given by Churchill is to be completed, then in future naval battles, the Grand Fleet is very likely to be wiped out in a decisive battle with the Germans. Of course, there is no guarantee that Admiral John Jellicoe and Lieutenant General David Beatty will be able to cause greater losses to the Germans.

   "Churchill, why?" Prime Minister Asquith asked. He couldn't understand why Churchill would say that.

"Your Excellency, if the Grand Fleet can sink the German capital ships as much as possible, then our pre-dreadnought ships will be able to come in handy in the next battle. Even if all our capital ships are lost, we will There are still dozens of pre-dreadnought ships, which still have enough strength to fight the Germans again. Moreover, we will still have the advantage.

   No matter how bad it is, the German navy, which suffered heavy losses, cannot continue to block us. We can obtain the resources we urgently need from North America and India, so that our follow-up capital ship construction plan can be carried out smoothly. In another two years, we will have enough capital ships to compete with the Germans for sea power. I believe that the sea power in the future will still belong to us. said Churchill.

   After hearing the plan, Prime Minister Asquith couldn't help but nodded. Although, this plan is very cruel, and all the warships of the Grand Fleet are going to fight the Germans desperately. However, listening to Churchill's introduction, it seems that there is also a good chance of winning! If you can win, it is naturally the best. Even if it will cost a lot of money, in the eyes of Prime Minister Asquith, it is totally worth it.

  General John Jellicoe and Lieutenant General David Beatty were pale. Obviously, they were also shocked by Churchill's crazy battle plan. This is clearly to let them sacrifice themselves and strive for favorable conditions for the follow-up battle! However, at this time, can they still refuse?

  Admiral John Jellicoe took a deep breath, and then said: "Your Excellency Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Secretary of the Navy, the Grand Fleet will do its best to achieve this strategic goal!"