Regarding the port raid plan fabricated by Natsuki, a considerable number of German naval officials and senior generals felt that this plan was a bit bold and unreasonable. If the naval meeting decided its fate, a fierce debate would inevitably occur, and the final result would be a stranded, and the Hohenzollern genius once again took advantage of William II's arbitrary behavior in naval affairs.

The navy had to do its best to fight the combat plan admired by the German Emperor.

Despite mixed reviews from his colleagues, Natsuki was full of confidence in the operation. Because in the history of old time and space, the battle of raiding Zebrugge and Ostend had indeed happened, but the offense and defense were completely opposite. It was in April 1918, at the end of World War I, the British Navy dispatched light ships and marines to attack the two Belgian ports occupied by the German army. The attempt to block Ostend ended in failure because the Germans moved the buoy lights that guided the two sunken barrier ships, causing the British to sink the two blocking ships far away from the canal estuary. However, in Zebrugge, the great success of the British Navy was enough to make up for the regret of blocking Ostend. For a long time since then, German lightning strike ships and submarines deployed here were trapped in the port and could not continue to attack the sea routes of the Allied countries.

Nowadays, Xia Shu launched a night attack with the same method, which is also destined to be a positive combat operation: this is the first time that the German Marine Force launched an amphibious landing operation under actual combat conditions, which can inspire the morale of its own troops and suppress the morale of its opponents. It is also the first time that the four dreadnoughtsman, Nassau, Rhineland, Helgoland, and Thuringian, have returned to the battlefield after maintenance and technical modification. Some of the crew members who were previously drawn returned to their posts and have added some reserve personnel. Before attacking the northern waters, they happened to carry out restorative practical exercises.

After the battle started, four German dreadnoughts, which had devastating power to ordinary ports, were just watching from a distance. Zebrugge's breakwater alternately covered, and the rapidly advancing German landing forces continued to approach the defending positions. There were not many Belgian troops stationed here. From the gunfire, there was only one company at most, equipped with two or three machine guns, and those shore defense artillery that had no effect in close combat.

Since the outbreak of the war, although the Belgian army failed to stop the powerful German team, their tenacious resistance in Liege, Lies, Ronson, Latan and other places still won them respect from the world. The Belgian king and his army were hailed as heroic models for defending justice. To a large extent, this made people ignore what kind of army the Belgians had. In the case of large areas of land in the south and the war on the Western Front being defeated, how much courage and determination does the Belgian soldiers still have to continue to fight against the powerful enemy?

The answer may disappoint those who support and sympathize with the Allied Front.

Under the continuous artillery of large German torpedo boats, the firepower of the Bijun position at the northern end of the breakwater was sharply reduced, and the German naval infantry that landed on the shore had only a few casualties during the offensive stage.

"Raise your hands!"

Corporal Hank Lorfle rushed into the bunker with several naval infantry and shouted in German. The Belgian soldiers wearing high-tube caps obviously understood. They stared at the murderous Germans and the bayonets in their hands. When Lorfleb shouted out the high pitch for the second time, they all honestly put down their weapons and raised their hands high like stretching exercises.

More than 200 German naval infantry who boarded the breakwater not only had engineers who were proficient in blasting, but also professional gunners. These people were drawn from the German coastal defense fortress and were familiar with the operation of various types of artillery.

Belgium's military industry was very developed, but their advantage lies in the manufacturing of firearms. In the fort at the northern end of the breakwater, the German army seized a total of 4 cannons, all of which were built by Krupp, which brought great convenience to the invaders. The German gunners quickly turned two of the 6-inch cannons toward the inner harbor, and the ones they loaded into the cannon bore were neither ordinary bullets nor armor-piercing bombs, but gun-fired flares.

After a moment, with two dazzling lights flares shining brightly on the night sky, the inner harbor of Zebrugge was bright. Seeing the scene in the harbor, the German soldiers occupying the seawall instantly understood what tactical value this operation had: twenty or thirty small ships without masts and chimneys were neatly docked on the berth on the north side. From the outline and size, they were considered high-speed torpedo boats with sharp attacks but short range; to the east were three single-masts and single-chimney ships. Generally, warships above large torpedo boats are equipped with at least double-masts and double-chimneys, and they should be small patrol ships moving offshore. Although such a small fleet cannot be compared with the main formation of the British Navy, it can provide cover for Allies sailing in the waters of Belgium and launch a sharp blow to German ships trying to approach the Belgian coast.

The primary factor of the raid is its suddenness. At this time, the British ships anchored by the port are like fish in a net pocket, and even struggle instinctively is useless. However, in the waters of the canal to the south, a moving black shadow attracted the attention of German gunners. Its lines are not as long as destroyers and its posture is a bit clumsy. However, judging from the flames flashing when the naval guns are fired, the caliber of the guns it carries must be more than 4 inches, and on its mast, a Belgian military flag is floating.

Since the Navy landing forces sent a signal of a smooth landing, four large German torpedo boats and the light cruiser "Mainz" outside the port have been constantly firing into the port. The water columns of shells have turned upside down the quiet harbor, but their shootings obviously lack sight through the breakwater.

Although Zebrugge is not a super-large port like Liverpool, Hamburg, the harbor behind the breakwater is not small, and there is a ten-kilometer canal leading to Bruges in the port. If artillery fire is launched without artillery correction, even if all the German main ships are present, they may not be able to sink all the British ships anchored in the port. Blocking the port is certainly not a one-time and for all, but considering that the German ground forces have advanced to the front more than 20 kilometers away from Bruges, if Bilo's army's army can occupy Bruges in a short time, the British navy stationed in Zebrugge could only sink the ships to avoid being captured by the German army.

The German gunners did not want to use the military shore artillery in their hands to kill all the Allied ships here. The reason is very simple. The turret on the breakwater is not a solid fortress poured by reinforced concrete. It is only built with old-fashioned stone chest walls toward the sea. It is still possible to use these shore artillery to attack ships that are not capable of fighting back. If you want to fight against gunboats that are in combat, you have no chance of winning.

In the unknown situation, the gunboat did not directly fire at the German army occupying the breakwater, but instead launched a fire with German ships outside the port through the breakwater.

In the case where no one can see anyone, the effect of this shelling can be imagined.

At the same time, two old German warships carrying out blocking missions have bypassed the breakwater, but they still have to sail forward more than a thousand meters to reach the ideal blocking position with a narrower channel. A large German torpedo boat followed them to the outer port channel to provide more effective fire cover.

After seeing the position of the British ships, the German gunners occupying the Bijie artillery no longer fired flares to avoid exposing their blocked ships. In the darkness, they desperately opened fire at the Belgian gunboat, which began to fight back with a small caliber speed-fired gun. After a long time of fire, several British ships in the port suddenly turned on the searchlights. The beam of the searchlight swept across the water, and the defenders immediately discovered the two uninvited guests entering the inner harbor.

No matter whether they are attacking ships or blocking the waterway, gunfire from all directions is bombarding them.

The two old ships carrying out the blocking mission are not ordinary auxiliary ships, but retired notification ships. Before the emergence of destroyers, they played the role of a fleet of sentry-seeking, with weak firepower and fast speed, and a certain amount of light armor protection. Before the damage of the hull could not support them to continue sailing, the two ships finally arrived at the narrow entrance of the channel, crossing the hull with difficulty, connecting head and tail, and the crew lowered the traffic boat and ignited the explosive fuse placed at the bottom of the ship.

When three green flares representing successful operation appeared in the noisy night sky, on the Hulgoland, Lieutenant General William von Lance turned to Natsuki and said, "Congratulations to Your Highness, we won again!"

Xia Shu raised the corner of her mouth slightly: "Our naval career is gradually getting on the right track. Victory will be accustomed to it, but it cannot be taken lightly at any time. Maybe a British fleet that is not inferior to ours is rushing here?"

This made General Lance a little nervous. Although the High Seas Fleet defeated the British Navy in the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of Flanders in succession, this military force that had been rampant at sea for hundreds of years was not completely defeated. At the recent naval combat meeting, the generals heard a surprise from intelligence officials: the number of ships that the British local fleet can currently dispatch is no less than the German High Seas Fleet, and its main battleships still have as many as 10, including the new battlecruiser equipped with triple 13-point 5-inch main gun!

After losing to opponents one after another, the British tried their best to repair the damaged warships and tried every means to speed up the construction of those ships under construction. Although the Germans took similar measures, their rigorous and realistic and refined national character made them slightly delayed in this regard. All damaged warships were fully repaired in accordance with the tedious processes of evaluation, maintenance, testing and adjustment to ensure that they could restore combat power to the greatest extent. The confident German engineers also proposed technical modification and upgrade suggestions for these ships, and received active support from senior naval leaders.
Chapter completed!