After receiving information about the German fleet leaving Wilhelmshaven, John Jericho and his staff were not surprised at all, but everyone's face was as gloomy as the sea was about to storm.

In the Battle of Jutland, the British saw the tide of anger caused by the new competitors, and were frightened and anxious. In the battle of the Orkney Islands, the British Navy was slapped with mines and submarines by the Germans, and they were still scared and panicked. Less than a month later, the fleet once again set off with a remnant formation. Even if the officers and soldiers had a sacred and glorious sense of mission as their spiritual support, they could not get rid of the pessimistic loss brought by worries and fear.

As the experience of Lieutenant General Sir Levis Bailey acting as the fleet commander was even more failed, Jelico was re-engaged by the British royal family and the Admiralty. In fact, the British general who was qualified to serve as the commander of the large fleet was either old and difficult to be competent, or had a high position and was not suitable for appointment. At this moment when it was at the fate of the country, Jelico was probably the only one who could be calm and steady in the face of unprecedented pressure.

The original flagship of the Fleet, the Iron Duke, is still overhauling in the dock. This time, Jelico chose the "St. Vincent" as his temporary flagship. This is an ordinary dreadnought that was completed in 1909. Experience in the Battle of Jutland shows that the comprehensive performance of the British dreadnought is in line with the standards of modern naval warfare, and its combat effectiveness is basically the same as that of the construction of the same period. However, taking into account the fire control sighting equipment and shell fuse technology, the same number of British dreadnoughts have a high chance of losing to the German dreadnought group. The British Navy's super dreadnoughts defeated the German dreadnoughts with powerful large caliber guns. Therefore, instead of occupying a super dreadnought with a new age, large tonnage and full facilities, looking forward and afraid in battle, it is better to choose a dreadnought with no advantage in firepower but good protection ability.

It was one month since the UK declared war on Germany. Among the active battleships of the British Navy, the battleships "Iron Duke", "George V", "Emperor", "Princess Royal", and "Australia" were all in serious injuries and repairs, while "Colinwood", "Bold", and "Ajax" had just been restored to the battle sequence. In other words, there are three super-dreadnoughts that can be fought, namely "Bold", "Ajax", and "Ireland"; five ordinary dreadnoughts, namely "Colinwood", "St. Vincent", "Conqueror", "Thunderbolt", and "Aqincout". In addition, the three battlecruisers "Undevour" secretly selected by the British Navy from the Mediterranean Fleet, "Undevour" and "Indomitable" have returned to their homeland.

Judging from the number of main battleships alone, the British fleet not only did not fall behind, but instead formed a relatively obvious advantage over the German high seas fleet. However, the intelligence obtained by the British Navy was different from the actual situation of the German Navy. Moreover, neither Churchill nor Jelico could recklessly relate the fate of the country to a difficult-to-verify information. Moreover, the painful encounters of the British fleet in the Jutland Sea and the Orkney Islands clearly revealed a fact: the German Navy has not only a powerful fearless fleet, but also a killer weapon like an aircraft and mothership, but also cunningly uses submarines and mines. It is difficult for the British Navy to turn defeat into victory with conventional tactics!

Although it was unable to find a way to defeat the enemy, the British Army's cross-sea troop transport was of great significance. Jelico knew that this was related to the overall situation and the main fleet had no choice but to send out the strongest lineup at present. "Bold", "Ajax", "Ireland", "Colinwood", "St. Vincent", "Conqueror", "Thunder" formation attacked, "deadly", "indomitable" and "indomitable" support from the side. Only the "Agincote", which was originally designed and built for the Brazilian Navy, remained in Scapa Bay due to mechanical failures that could not be eliminated for the time being.

In order to avoid the surveillance of German airships and submarines, the powerful British fleet sailed at night and chose to sail far away from the main channel. After dawn, every lookout in the Jelico fleet was nervous and nervously paying attention to the surrounding sky and sea surface. Fortunately, the journey was safe and sound. They successfully arrived in the southwestern waters of the North Sea and would guard against the German fleet here, preventing it from breaking into the English Channel and threatening the British Expeditionary Forces that cross-sea transportation.

Jelico got the opportunity to prove himself again, and David Betty, another "victim" of the Battle of Jutland, also wanted to avenge his previous shame. When the war broke out, he was the commander of the battle cruiser squadron appointed by the senior management, commanding the most important mobile force of the local fleet. However, in Jutland, he lost four of the six battle patrols, and the remaining two were also bleak. Although David Betty's name was linked to Brave and Tenacious, within the Navy, the doubts and criticisms of him were unprecedentedly strong. Some people proposed to investigate and hold him accountable for military responsibility, and it was necessary to give corresponding punishment.

Therefore, Betty was not less psychological pressure than Jellico. Now Jellico's Admiral Flag is still flying on the mast of the flagship of the large fleet, but Betty can only serve as the commander of the squadron composed of two extra-staff ships "Ireland" and "Akincote". Now the mechanical failure of "Akincote" is even worse. Under his command, only the lonely "Ireland" was placed under his command. Although this is a super-dreadnought with a displacement of 25,000 tons and equipped with 10 13.5-inch warships, the British Navy hurriedly took over before the outbreak of the war. In just over a month, the officers and crew were not able to master it and exert all combat effectiveness.

If he could command the three battlecruisers secretly transferred back from the Mediterranean, Betty would feel better, but they were placed under the command of Rear Admiral William Christoph Pakenhan. Regardless of his rank or ability, this General Pakenhan was not as good as Betty, and he had only had the experience of commanding armored cruisers. In the past, the role of armored cruisers in naval battles was similar to that of today's battlecruisers, but that was a matter of the previous era.

At the same time, the main force of the German High Seas Fleet attacking from Wilhelmshaven was sailing from west to east across the West Friesia Islands. This sea area is located in the northern Netherlands. Going further forward, you will reach the place where the battleship "Louisport Regent" was attacked by British submarines during its last combat operation.

Now, if the Jelico fleet and the Schell fleet are heading towards each other at their highest speeds, they can meet in just one and a half hours.

But neither side knew the exact whereabouts of the opponent.

With the absence of "Frederick the Great", the German High Seas Fleet still used "King" as the temporary flagship. For more than half a month, the officers and crew have worked diligently to make the combat team's shooting, maneuvering and damage levels reach an ideal level.

In the combat conference room, Admiral Reinhardt Schell, Admiral William von Lance, Admiral Franz von Hippel, Rear Admiral Prince Joachim and several university-level officers sat around a square long table, discussing a bold and meaningful plan if the British main fleet can be successfully defeated this time, the German fleet will break into the English Channel in one fell swoop, attack the British troops transport ships, and cover the "Moltch", "Gobon" and the two sister ships crossed the strait and entered the Atlantic Ocean, intercepted and killed the Allied ships, and strangled the British maritime shipping route!

Because of the power design that combines coal-fired boilers and oil-fired boilers, the maximum speed and maximum range of Moltch-class battlecruisers have significant advantages over the dreadnoughts that simply use coal-fired boilers. With a cruise speed of 14 knots, they can continue to sail 5,200 nautical miles, which is enough to gallop across the Atlantic Ocean. The triple-mounted 11-inch main guns they equipped make old battleships, armored cruisers and other non-core battleships are overshadowed, and they can run at full speed and slip away quickly when they encounter strong enemies.

Since the German Navy severely damaged the British main fleet in the Battle of Jutland at the beginning of the war, the British Navy urgently pulled back a large number of ships from outside the country, and the German auxiliary cruisers and military supply ships deployed overseas benefited from this. Only a few were discovered and sunk by the British Navy. In this way, the two Moltke-class combat patrols could easily obtain fuel supplies, thereby increasing the time and space for activities in the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, with the support of the main fleet, the North Atlantic returned to the North Sea.

The combat plan proposed by Natsuki seems to draw on the idea of ​​the German navy breaking the war in the early days of World War II. In fact, during the Second Empire, the German Navy Staff began to study and formulate a similar combat strategy, but the mainstream idea at that time was to seize sea control from the British through a decisive battle in the fleet.

In comparison, the British Navy was at its heyday in 1914, and its ship count and total tonnage were beyond the reach of any powerful country. New dreadnoughts, super dreadnoughts and battlecruisers were used to defend the local area. A large number of old battleships and various cruisers protected the vast colonies and maritime routes all over the world. The dominance of the ocean was not comparable to that of 1939, which was declining. However, if you want to keep a close eye on two extremely fast German battle patrols in the vast Atlantic Ocean, it is far from enough to rely on ships alone. You must supplement with a considerable number of airships and aircraft, and try every means to decipher the other's radio communications.
Chapter completed!