As soon as the German battle parade appeared majestic on the sea, the British naval officers and soldiers were covered with a haze of failure. For some people, the tragic phenomenon of the old Harric fleet being abused by the German fleet in the Battle of Flanders is still vivid in my mind, and the German "De Fringer" was in the formation at that time and traumatized many British ships with fierce and precise artillery fire.

The German fleet in front of us is composed of two battle cruisers, a light cruiser and six large torpedo boats. It has both fierce combat power and powerful maneuverability. It can attack and retreat and avoid. It is a very difficult force to deal with.

After the flag-tongued signal was deployed, two Linxian-class light patrols each led a team of destroyers, one team rushed to the right wing of the German fleet, and the other team rushed to the left wing of the German fleet. The reason for avoiding the front was obviously because the German fleet had used pre-arranged mine formations in the central North Sea to repair the British light ship group. This extraordinary tactic taught the British who had been traversing the sea for hundreds of years, and also made the situation of the British Navy worse. Although the current combat waters are very close to the British coast, it is difficult to guarantee that the Germans do not use rapid mine-burning ships or mine-burning submarines to pre-set the mine-burning array here. After all, there have been rumors in the British Navy that the Germans built submarines that can carry hundreds of mines and can go to the seas with British ship patrol and alert without their knowledge. The successive ship-burning incidents at the mouth of the Thames have increased the credibility of this rumor.

The new Harrich fleet launched a brave attack, and the main force of the British Fleet, which was truly capable of dealing with the enemy, was still hidden in the Great Yarmouth waters in northeast England.

On the temporary flagship "St. Vincent", Jelico is convening all the squadrons and the commanders of the team are conducting combat deployment.

Due to heavy losses in the early stage of the British fleet, many major ships were still absent due to injuries, and some ships were added accordingly, and the original organization has been greatly adjusted:

The super-dreadnoughts "Bold" and "Ajax" were formed into the 1st battleship detachment;

The super-dreadnought "Conqueror" and "Thunder" were designated as the 2nd battleship team;

The dreadnoughts "St. Vincent" and "Colinwood" were formed into the 3rd battleship detachment;

The battlecruisers "Dear" and "Unforcing" are organized into the 1st rapid detachment;

The super-dreadnought "Ireland" carries two armored cruisers into the 2nd Rapid Detachment;

Five light cruisers were organized into the 1st cruiser squad, and thirty destroyers were organized into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd destroyers.

This is the card that Jelico grabbed in his hand.

This is an enviable good card for any country other than England and Germany.

During this battle, the British Navy Staff will also give Jelico the maximum support, the Strait Fleet, various lightning strike fleets and submarine units will attack at any time. Although they have gained unprecedented trust, they learned that four German Navy battle patrols have appeared one after another, so Jelico's brow has never let go.

During the Battle of Flanders half a month ago, the German fleet had only two battle patrols, and now at least four of them dared to appear near the British coast and exchange fire with British light ships, it means that they have been repaired more thoroughly.

Since the two German battle patrols that "suffered severely" in the Battle of Jutland have recovered, those protection capabilities are even better, and their injuries may not be as serious as imagined have returned to the ranks of combat?

This was a huge question mark in Jelico and the naval generals who were about to enter the battle.

"We may have to face 8 to 10 German dreadnoughts."

As soon as Jelico said this, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly seemed particularly solemn.

The officers all looked grim and silent.

At this time, a cold incident occurred, and Jelico did not feel strange at all. He glanced over everyone and said in a strong tone: "We have two choices now: first, to prevent the German fleet from entering the English Channel; second, to prevent the German fleet from sailing out of the English Channel."

Most officers showed surprise, and Lieutenant General Valende, who was the commander of the 1st Battleship Detachment, immediately raised an objection: "The order given to us by the Admiralty is to prevent the German fleet from entering the English Channel and attacking our troop transport ships. Thousands of expeditionary soldiers were heading to France on boats. Even if a German main battleship slipped into the strait, the consequences would be disastrous, let alone their entire fleet?"

Jelico answered slowly: "If we lose in the battle with the German fleet, the Germans will still break through the last line of defense composed of the strait fleet and enter the strait. On the other hand, before defeating us, even if the German fleet sails into the strait, they will have many concerns and dare not go deeper as they please."

"The Commander's idea is very correct," said Lieutenant General Charles Maden, chief of staff of the fleet. "In my personal inference, the Germans would not enter the strait before finding and defeating us. They sent out four battlecruisers with such great fanfare to lure us into the attack and let the decisive battle between the two sides take place according to their plan."

Lieutenant General Valend stood up and held his hands in front of his chest: "Now suppose I am Reinhard Schell, the commander of the German fleet, and my vanguard fleet is unstoppable over the maritime defense line of the British Navy. Apart from those fixed mines, the road to the Thames estuary is unobstructed. Going south is Dover, and hundreds of ships travel through the Strait, carrying elite British troops to the French mainland, and put this important ancestor Korean force into the war in a state of anxiety... If the British main fleet has been hiding and not showing up, then I will send the vanguard fleet to approach the Thames estuary, shelling the southeast coast of England, creating great panic in London, and forcing the British fleet to come."

"Knowing that we have set up mine formations in the waters of the Thames estuary, the Germans dare to approach with great fanfare?" Lieutenant General Maden retorted, "Let's take a step back and say that even if the German fleet bombards the British coast again, most British people will not only not surrender, but will be angry by the German atrocities, fearless and vow to fight to the death. Everyone here, are I right?"

The officers did not respond, but many nodded in agreement.

Valend continued to maintain a slightly artificial and arrogant attitude: "After the shelling of the British coast, if the British main fleet still does not appear, then I will send avant-garde troops into the strait, and use the main fleet to respond outside the strait."

Lieutenant General Maden rehearsed tit-for-tat: "Well, if the German fleet enters the strait without knowing how to live or die, the British Navy will sway the strait fleet and lightning strike ships to attack it. As long as one or two German battlecruisers are injured, they are afraid that they will lose their main ships and will retreat. At the same time, our main fleet is waiting for an opportunity to go south and attack the German main fleet without battlecruisers, winning in one fell swoop."

"Hmm!" Jelico said, "this is exactly what I mean by 'stop the German fleet from sailing out of the English Channel'."

Valend was obviously dismissed. He put down his arrogant attitude, supported the table with both hands, frowned and thought: "What if I led the entire fleet into the strait, crushed the resistance of the strait fleet and torpedo boat troops, sank every transport ship on the sea, and then turned around to face the British main fleet?"

In the British Navy, Charles Maden was famous for his quick thinking. He quickly analyzed: "It is not the era of sailing warships and boreforward guns. The width of the strait is not conducive to large fleet operations. Even if Schell is really reckless, don't forget that they have a very smart chief of staff. The royal status gives him at least half of the fleet commander's voice, and even the entire fleet is under his actual command."

"I agree with the views of His Excellency the Lord and His Commander."

Betty, sitting at the conference table, has always been a reluctant Lord. Only in the two weeks after the Battle of Jutland, he fell into an unprecedented downturn. Now his dim eyes have the light of the past, and his tone is firm and calm as usual.

"Everyone, the former commander of the German High Seas Fleet, Von Ingnor, has a steady personality and a cautious style, but was replaced. In my understanding, Scher and Hippel are both strong and brave commanders with strong style and courage to attack. In addition to first-class dreadnoughts and battlecruisers, the German fleet also has aircraft carriers, torpedo boats and submarines. If nothing unexpected happens, before noon, the German fleet will definitely run to Dover before noon. Hippel leads the cruiser into the strait, and Scher leads the other main forces to respond outside and bombard the British coast. However, I personally don't think that the German main fleet without battle cruisers is easy to deal with. If we cannot find a way to kill the German aircraft carriers and torpedo boats, our probability of victory is still very low."

Valend had nothing to say, Lieutenant General Maden thought about it and chose to remain silent for the time being.

Jeliko looked straight at Betty, thinking about the meaning of his words.

Betty kept a secret here. He analyzed carefully: "According to reliable information, the German Navy's carrier carrier is called the Bismarck, and the 10,000-ton armored cruiser completed in 1900 is also the name. This ship has been in overseas colonies in Germany for many years. The aging and wear of the hull and machinery are much faster than that of the ships served in the local service. It is difficult to compete with the front-line combat mission, but it is very suitable for conversion into auxiliary ships, and its maximum speed should not exceed 17 knots. The German torpedo boat carriers are similar. They should be large protective cruisers built in the early days, with a maximum speed of less than 20 knots, and as auxiliary ships, they will not have too strong combat power."
Chapter completed!