Chapter 306: Declare war

"The Portuguese government's brazen detention of our normal trade ships in the previous period has severely affected the trade of the empire, and was regarded as a serious provocation by the German Empire. The empire gave them time, and they supported some external forces. He chose to confront. So far, in order to safeguard the dignity and economic interests of the empire, the German Empire declared a state of war with the Kingdom of Portugal!"

On June 22, 1899, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the German Reich officially issued a declaration of war, which even saved the ultimatum. When the German ambassador to Portugal sent the relevant documents to Frank, the latter was so scared that he almost sat on the ground. !

At this time, in the coastal waters of Angola, thousands of miles away, the squadron commanded by Hipper is heading towards Luanda, the largest seaport city in Angola! Behind the flagship armored cruiser of the Marquis of Bismarck are two transport ships carrying 1,000 German army officers and soldiers and their equipment, as well as an additional heavy ship, and finally the armored cruiser Hamburg, and four minesweepers cleared the way. The entire fleet sailed at a speed of 15 knots or more.

"If nothing else, the imperial government has sent the declaration of war documents to the Portuguese. Three hours later, we will arrive at the sea off Luanda and launch an offensive." The staff officer sent a document to Hipe on the bridge. In your hands.

"The information sent by the radio relay ship shows that the fleet a, commanded by Earl Spey, will arrive in Luanda in 3 days. Should we wait for the Earl’s main fleet after occupying Luanda?" The staff considered and continued Said.

; "Is there any situation in the French fleet now?" Hipper asked after turning his words.

"The specific situation is not clear, but according to the intelligence transmitted by the country, the French seem to have an attempt to interfere with the pull. Charlemagne, who was cruising in the open sea, returned to Dakar Port and carried out maintenance and coal filling operations. The five battleships of the French fleet are now in Dakar." The staff officer replied.

"Do we have enough supplies?" Hipper said after a moment of thought.

"Uh, according to the pre-agreed plan, an American fast supply ship will arrive in Luanda in half a day. The coal, heavy oil and food carried on it will be enough to support two armored cruisers in combat and sailing for two months."

"Well, we will wait for the American supply ship, and then quickly lead the Marines to Cabinda." Hipper made the decision in just two minutes. There are two reasons for his decision. First, if you wait for the Spey fleet, then the French are likely to seize the northern part of Angola, which is not good for the overall situation. Secondly, he did not recognize that France would fire on the German fleet first, and the Germans also avoided first starting with the French. In this case, whoever can occupy important ports first has the advantage.

; As for what if the two sides wiping the guns and getting into fire? Hipper's idea is very bachelor, so naturally you can fight and run away! The speed of their two warships is above 21 knots. If they want to run, can the French catch up?

"There are mines ahead!" Just after Hipper gave the order, the signal from the minesweeper ahead made Hipper feel a little nervous. The Portuguese navy is not to be afraid of, and those small boats are all tied together. It’s not enough for Hipper to fight, but those deadly anchor mines are hard to deal with, but fortunately, the Portuguese don’t have many mines in Angola.

After the minesweeper used the minesweeping lock to cut off the fixed lock of the anchor mine, it was subsequently destroyed by the small artillery on the ship. The water column produced by the detonation of mines appeared on the sea from time to time, and the huge explosion could even be heard in Luanda. The Portuguese had already known the arrival of the enemy, but it was of no use, because at this time, Luanda’s military The strength is not even 200 people...

"Our fleet does not have any battles except for a mine-clearing operation and a landing exercise." Hipper wrote in a telegram to the German Admiralty. As a naval officer, he expects a real battle!

; And just when Hipper was expecting a real naval battle, the French fleet had also left the port of Dakar. Under the leadership of the flagship battleship Charlemagne, it was composed of 1 battleship and 2 protective cruisers. The formed fleet began to sail towards the Cabinda area. The two protective cruisers were the nearly 4,000-ton Descartes protective cruiser launched in 1894 and the 8,000-ton-class battleship De Endre Castioux protective cruiser (hereinafter referred to as the De Endle), which had just entered service in 1899. The other battleship and cruiser remained in the harbor because the coal loading operation had not yet been completed.

; Just as the two fleets were approaching quickly, the Spey fleet on the Atlantic was heading towards Angola at 20 knots. It was originally said that it was a virtue to act together, but Earl Spey believed that the US fleet was too slow and went first. One step later, Earl Spey, who was on the bridge at this time, finally received a telegram forwarded from China.

; "All landing operations must be carried out ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ In the face of French ships breaking into the warfare area, the German African fleet can seize or drive away. When it encounters the French fleet, it fires a warning. As the French fleet After making any hostile actions, the German African Fleet can take any measures to counterattack!" At 9 am on June 23, 1899. Count Spey finally got the authorization from the country. One hour later, through the radio relay ship provided by the Americans, Hipper also received the telegram!

For Earl Spey and Hipper, this is just an authorization. They are soldiers and they only need to execute orders. But for Prince Ruprecht who is far away in Berlin, he can give this order. But took a considerable risk!

; Just after the Germans issued a declaration of war, the Portuguese government announced the hope that France would enter Angola to maintain regional stability. Although the French government did not respond positively, it still asked Germany to exercise restraint and announced that it had ordered the fleet in Dakar to proceed to Angola! And this action undoubtedly escalated the confrontation between Germany and Portugal to a confrontation between Germany and France! The relationship between the two parties immediately became tense!

;If it is just a confrontation between Germany and France, the prince should not worry too much. Anyway, Germany and France are feuds, and it is very common to do nothing. Germany is now far stronger than France. Russia is focusing on the Far East and has no time to pay attention. Things in Europe. As long as the German army does not reach Paris, it is estimated that Russia will not take any real action. The prince’s attitude is, simply facing a France, if you say fight, let’s fight! **** afraid of ho!

; The second chapter is here~~ The recent subscription is very sad, the author asks for comfort--!

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