Since the outbreak of the war, the home port of the German high seas fleet, Kiel, has become a heavily guarded fortress. Entering and leaving the place requires strict scrutiny. Any surrounding locations that may peek at the port area have been set up as a military restricted area. The German Navy has also set up several radio monitoring and interference stations here to prevent enemy spies from spying on military intelligence in the port and quickly sending it to its own naval command.

On the autumn day, nearly a hundred ships of all sizes were moored in Kiel Harbor. Looking around, the masts were like forests and were spectacular. On the dock, thousands of naval soldiers were lined up to board the ship, and they were accepted by six light battleships with basically the same appearance. They docked at the dock head and tail, and the German naval battle flags on the masts fluttered in the wind. Compared with the new cruisers that always accompany the main ships, their hulls looked old and thin, the bridge was very simple, and the bow was actually quite ancient. All the naval guns were single-equipped. The characteristics and uses of different ship types were analogous to cavalry. The main battleships were heavy lances covered with thick armor and charged into battle, while the battleships were gamblers holding shields and swords, and the wind was like the wind.

Soldiers and cruisers are light cavalry that are reconnaissance, patrol, cover, and charge. The difference between the Korborg class, Magdeburg class, and Karlsruhe class that shines in Jutland and Flanders is distinctive in armor and is extremely sharp. These old "gazels" in front of them are simple and rough, dull, and the gap in strength is obvious. Therefore, whether in three crucial naval battles or performing wartime patrol guard missions, gazelle, Bremen and even the Konisburg class built at the beginning of the century only play a secondary auxiliary role. Head-on confrontation, these old cruisers are indeed useless, but compared to ordinary transport ships, they have unparalleled advantages in speed, protection and flexibility.

Among the crowd lined up to board the ship, Navy's top corps Dimir Hook looked unique because of his burly physique and firm expression. The rifleman who fought from Amiens to the banks of the Oates and then returned to Amiens quickly matured in the tempering of the war. The Iron Cross on his chest was the best reward for his bravery, tenacious and calm performance. In the team, this strong man held his Madson light aircraft in one hand.

The gun is in front of it. It contains a special ammunition bag for light machine gunners with 4 30 round magazines. Behind it is a square cowhide backpack and a tight single tent. A black metal lunch box is hung on the waist, a field kettle wrapped in a yellow leather case, a cotton dry food bag and a light and durable m98 short shovel. Generally speaking, the more complete the equipment you carry, the more complex the combat environment, and the combat operation cannot be ended in a short period of time.

"Hey, you guys say, are we going to the coast of Flanders or Russia?"

As the boarding ship was about to arrive, the rifleman behind Hook, carrying Mauser G98a short rifle, once again expressed the doubts in his companions. As soon as the officers and soldiers of the 1st Naval Infantry Brigade returned to the country from the Western Front battlefield to gather and rest, they were told that the troops were about to re-enter the battle, but the destination of the battle was strictly kept confidential, and only a few senior officers knew the real answer, and this situation was exactly the same as before the Marines attacked Amiens.

"The coast of Flanders, no doubt," replied another rifleman who followed behind. "If you were to go to Russia, we would have to be given winter clothes and non-slip boots this season, otherwise we would have been defeated by the bad weather before we even fought with the Russians."

The non-commissioned officer in front turned around and said, "Maybe the cold-proof equipment is waiting for us in the cabin. The fleet will have to walk to the Russian coast for at least two days and two nights. We have enough time to change into winter clothes... Who knows? In a few hours, "When the ship leaves the dock, the answer will naturally be revealed."

"Maybe this answer will be beyond our expectations." Hook said in a low voice, looking over the crowd on the dock and looking at the main battleship group on the other side of the port. The "Frederick the Great" who had just finished his overhaul and returned to the fleet sequence was moving towards the Kiel Canal surrounded by tugboats, and it seemed that he was going to cross the canal to Wilhelmshaven. If this general flagship was preparing to leave from Wilhelmshaven to the Flanders waters, then the 1st Naval Infantry Brigade was most likely to launch on the Belgian coast.

The landing attack on Zebrugge and Ostend was the basis for success. However, the landing forces were only 200 nautical miles from northern Germany to the Belgian coast. The landing forces could be delivered in standard landing ships, and there seemed to be no need to transport them by cruisers. Moreover, the landing drills carried out by the troops recently were also somewhat formal and in a manner. All signs indicate that the Staff of the High Seas Fleet led by Prince Joachim is preparing to present another unique and exciting performance to the world.

In full view of everyone, the "Frederick the Great" flying the flagship of the admiral slowly sailed into the Kiel Canal, followed by the powerful "Catherine". They only carried ordinary standard combat supplies. Unless they were supplemented in Wilhelmshaven, they did not have the conditions for long-distance combat. This seemed to prove people's speculation that the German Navy was about to launch a landing battle on the Belgian coast. However, Reinhard Schell, who had just been officially appointed as the commander of the High Seas Fleet, was not on the "Frederick the Great". He and his fleet command team quietly boarded the newly returned battleship of the "King". After nightfall, the shadow flagship will assemble the landing fleet in Kil Bay, then cross the Skagerak Strait and enter the North Sea, and go to the real landing location Ireland.

In the combat conference room of the "King", Xia Shu stood quietly in front of the porthole, watching the ready-to-go naval infantry boarding the four gazelle-class old cruisers one by one. Considering that ordinary cargo ships and passenger ships are slow and have poor survivability, the landing fleet will bypass the northern waters of Britain and head to southwest Ireland after departing from Germany. The entire range is more than 1,800 nautical miles, and there are no ports available for docking and resting in the middle. It is difficult to tow the landing ships or use their own power to travel, so he borrowed the history of

The German army's battle experience in attacking Norway was used as fast-driving ships with 8 gazelle-class and 4 Bremen-class as fast-driving ships, each carrying 300 people, and two old-style battleships each carrying 200 people, which could transport 4,000 naval infantry scheduled to land in Ireland. After arriving on the coast of Ireland, this unit did not need to launch a landing operation, and they would land on theshore with the Irish independence movement. If the Irish Volunteers could control the port smoothly, the German cruisers could even send the naval infantry directly to the dock.

In order to confuse the intelligence personnel of the Allied Powers, German ships heading to Ireland set off from Kiel, Lübeck, Rostock and other ports in batches. The reconnaissance fleet commanded by Hippel entered the North Sea early. The second battleship detachment composed of "Nassau", "Rhineland", "Hergoland" and "Thuringian" was on standby in Kil Bay. The two medical ships accompanied, ten medium-sized cargo ships carrying combat materials and twelve coal ships were all set out first, and the strongest first battleship fleet and the troops transporting landed soldiers finally set off.

"From the 4th to the 6th century AD, the Germans conquered Britain for the first time. More than a thousand years later, we embarked on this great and magical journey again. Just a few months ago, who believed that the German navy could defeat the arrogant British navy and transport German soldiers to the land of Britain?"

At the conference table, Colonel Von Trotta, the Minister of Fleet Operations, expressed his feelings with pride. His words were immediately praised by many staff officers. However, to Natsuki, this idea was not only arrogant, but also made a directional mistake. Landing in Ireland was not to conquer Britain, but to weaken the war potential of the British Empire, attack their national prestige, and force London to transfer a considerable portion of its energy from naval construction to local defense.

Xia Shu had previously reached a consensus with Tirpitz and won the recognition and support of German Emperor William II. However, even so, he did not correct Colonel Trotta in person. After all, everyone here has the limitations of the times and cannot have a long-term strategic vision like a successful decision-maker. Even with hard-working teaching, it is difficult to change people's way of thinking. As long as the leader continues to play a role, the entire flock will not deviate from the direction.

As usual, Lieutenant Colonel Lefsov, who was accustomed to "singing the opposite tune", said without any worries: "When the German tribe attacked Britain, there was no strong resistance we faced. To be honest, I didn't trust the Irish people very much. I was worried that they had already leaked their words and let the British Navy know the time of our operation, and then deployed fleets in the northern waters to wait for us. With these cruisers loaded with soldiers, it would be difficult for us to let go of our hands and feet to fight a battle for the British fleet."

Colonel Trotta retorted as usual: "Jetland, we use 19 main battleships to 25 of the British Navy; Flanders, we use 10 of the main battleships to 10 of their 10. Gentlemen, the enemy's strength is constantly declining, and we are turning from disadvantages to advantage. This trend is very obvious. What is absolutely certain now is that the main battleship of the French Navy is still in the Mediterranean, and the British Navy can invest in combat must be fewer than us."

It has been one and a half months since the Second Battle of Flanders ended. At the cost of slowing down the construction progress of the Bavarian-class dreadnoughts, major German shipyards concentrated their manpower and resources to repair damaged ships. The group of main ships that were most severely damaged in the Jutland Naval Battle have all returned. The structural damage of the hulls of "Frederick the Great", "Catherine", "Osterfreyland", and "Posen" can no longer be reversed and it is not suitable to continue fighting on the front line of naval battles, so they play the strongest supporting role together. The landing fleet that went to Ireland included "King", "Election Emperor", and "Caesar
Chapter completed!