The British Admiralty Department, located in a bustling neighborhood, was an important member of the wartime cabinet, Navy Secretary Winston Churchill was shaving in the bathroom. The phone ringing sound suddenly rang on the desk. He saw himself frowning in the mirror, and felt a vague feeling in his heart, so he hurriedly put down his shaver and walked into the office with his pajamas.

"I'm Winston...what? Are you sure? The Norwegian Sea...well, wait for me for five minutes!"

Putting down the earpiece, Churchill was stunned for a few seconds, and then turned his eyes out the window. In the early morning, London, rivers, streets, buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, everything was hidden in the gray fog, but the city felt that it was not lifeless, the sound of horse hooves, speeches, car horns, and the roar of ships on the Thames, which were ubiquitous vitality.

"The current German navy is as powerful as the Spanish Invincible Armada 326 years ago. We can still win and we will definitely win. This is God's test of the British Empire. If we win this great naval battle, Britain will surely usher in a new era of gloriousness! Yes, a new era of gloriousness!"

Churchill murmured to himself, while quickly putting on his clothes and pants. He took a few seconds to combed his black hair neatly, took off his military cap and coat from the hanger, and hurried out of the room.

When Churchill came to the combat command room of the Navy Staff, several senior generals including Navy Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Stedy and other senior generals were already standing in front of the chart with serious expressions, while the First Minister of Maritime Affairs Lord Fisher arrived one step later than Churchill. At this moment, even those who were unaware of the inside could perceive unusual aspects from the scene and atmosphere here.

The British Navy cannot be defeated again! The British Navy cannot be defeated again!

"Let me talk about the specific situation first!" General Stedi said in a calm tone as possible. "At 6:12 am, we received a telegram from the Hawak cruiser escorted the No. 5 Reindeer Sledge Team. It encountered and fought with the German fleet in the southern waters of Norway. The enemy had at least one battleship and seven large torpedo boats equivalent to a destroyer. Commander Lieutenant Colonel Langman has ordered the cargo ship to return to Narvik at full speed. There is no other news so far."

Several naval generals looked at the time at the same time. It was already 7 a.m. The officers present knew the strength of an old-fashioned protective cruiser like the Hawak. If they could not beat or escape, they would have a chance to survive unless the sea was filled with fog. However, it was hard to say that those British cargo ships that could only drive until the 12th and 3rd quarters when they were loaded with cargo.

Stedi then analyzed: "Before this, the German Navy's light ships except submarines had never sailed to the Norwegian Sea thousands of miles away from its homeland. This abnormal behavior definitely means that they are launching an important maritime operation. Our spymen also noticed that all the main warships of the German Navy were not at the base, and only part of them appeared on the Belgian coast. Where can the rest be?

"What is their intention to go north to the Norwegian Sea? It is impossible to target our northern routes only?" Lord Fisher stared at the chart table. The staff officers had moved the German dreadnoughts that were originally placed in Kiel, William, Bremen, Hamburg and other locations to the Norwegian Sea offshore in Belgium and the edge of the chart.

Sir Gamble, who was originally the commander of the battleship detachment in the local fleet and was transferred to the commander of the Operations Department of the British Naval Staff after the Second Battle of Flanders, analyzed incisively: "To deal with our reindeer sled team, a cruiser team is enough. There is no need to use the main ship, and it is the same to cut off our North Atlantic route. The reason why they used the main fleet was that no matter what the tactical intention was, there was only one strategic goal, that was, to defeat our main fleet."

Churchill's gaze swept around the chart table, and the focus of his eyes finally fell on Ireland.

"Just yesterday, our army raided a farm near Watford, a southern Ireland city, and found 850 Mauser g1898 rifles and 110,000 rounds of bullets in the cellar. These weapons are enough to equip two battalions. I guess it won't take long before Ireland will have an independence uprising, which is definitely what the Germans want to see."

Although he did not bluntly say that the Germans supported and manipulated the Irish independence movement behind the scenes, Churchill pointed out the models of those guns, which was very obvious.

After a pause, Churchill continued: "From the beginning, landing in Britain was a smoke screen deliberately released by the Germans. Their real goal was Ireland. It would be easier to reach an agreement with the stubborn Irish people there than to be anywhere on the British Isle."

Navy Chief of Studdy took the conversation: "It seems that the German main fleet will pass through the British northern waterway to the Irish waters to escort their landings."

"How many Germans will land in Ireland?" Sir Gamble said with his eyes widened. "We have only a few thousand regular soldiers in Ireland. If the Germans really have no intention of invading Britain, we might as well send left-behind troops to Ireland."

Steedi shook his head: "It's a pity that the brave Hawak did not provide us with this critical information, so I am ready to issue instructions to submarines deployed in the northern waters and air forces stationed in the Orkney Islands to conduct reconnaissance as soon as possible, hoping to grasp the situation before the German fleet breaks into the Atlantic Ocean."

"What should I do with the fleet?" Lord Fisher asked, "Will you go north to fight or wait for the opportunity?"

Study immediately turned his attention to Churchill. The Navy was the highest commanding body of the British Navy and the Navy's Secretary was the highest commander of the Navy. Although he was a civilian official, he still had a very high voice and decision-making power in the navy's military strategy and tactical deployment, which was exactly what Marshal Tirpitz, known as the father of the German Navy, did not have.

Churchill stood on the chart table with his hands, raised his head and said, "If the German Navy adopted a steady and steady tactic, we would have a hard time getting the opportunity to turn the situation around in one fell swoop, and this is likely the last adventure of the German Navy before the end of the war. In 1588, the Spanish Invincible Fleet came to the English Channel; in 1805, the French and Spanish fleets gathered in Trafalgar. A great victory requires an opportunity for destiny, and I believe that this is our opportunity, and we will definitely be able to seize it."

Chief of Studdy responded: "This time our combat power is weaker than our opponents, and the German fleet is running for more than a thousand nautical miles, and the ship's condition is definitely not at the best level. The combat situation of the Battle of Jutland is just reversed. As long as the tactics are right, we will definitely be able to make a big comeback."

"The truth is indeed the case, but don't ignore the tactical ability of this German fleet, especially the genius of the Hohenzollern family. His strategy is cunning and bold. If we play according to common sense, the Cross will fall into his trap again." Sir Gamble's words meant to strengthen others' ambitions and destroy his own majesty, but it was a fact that the British navy generals were ashamed and angry. The performance advantages of the ships were only one of the key factors. If the skillful and unique tactical use was lacking, a victory alone would be enough to greatly damage the vitality of the German main fleet. How could they have the strength to advance step by step in just three months, putting the British navy in an unprecedented embarrassment.

"Yes, we can no longer be careless about underestimating the enemy. Every deployment needs to be carefully considered and repeated weighed in a way that is thoughtful." Chief of Study said, scanning everyone, and the following words showed his agile thinking ability: "The more we feel that the German main fleet will pass through the northern waterway and enter the Atlantic Ocean, their real action plan may be to ambush our main fleet in the northern waterway... They may use battlecruiser formations to escort the transport ships to the

Ireland, and then use the high speed of the battlecruisers to rush back to the scheduled battlefield... The two German armored cruisers that appeared in the Cape Verde Islands and the Azores may just be the guise that attracted our attention. The real deadly dagger is the pair of "uncle and nephew" who disappeared for many days... So, my initial consideration is to gather our main fleet to Scapa Bay, where we wait for the reconnaissance information of the auxiliary ships and aviation forces. This time we must find out the real movements of the German main fleet at any cost!"

Once the inherent thinking pattern is broken, its divergence may bring new troubles to people. Churchill suddenly asked: "All of us think that the German main fleet has gone to the north. The reason is that one of our cruisers found a German battleship and a team of German torpedo ships in the waters of the southern Norwegian Sea. Who knows whether they are lurking somewhere in the North Sea now, waiting for us to transfer the main fleet to the north, transfer the coastal defense forces to Ireland to suppress the independence uprisingers, and stab the sword while our troops in southeastern and southern Britain are empty? Everyone, how far is the Belgian coast from us? It is only 65 nautical miles from Herbrüzer to Dover!"

Hearing this, almost everyone present took a breath. They just felt that Chief of Study's countermeasures were very accurate. Now we should transfer the main fleet to Scarpa Bay and send additional marine troops to Ireland. If we really fall into the trap of the Germans and let the German naval infantry climb the British coast, what will be waiting for the British Empire will be a disaster that is more terrible than the Black Death!

After a silence, Stedi said in clear and fluent language: "We cannot be sure of the current location of the German fleet, but one thing is certain that it will return to its local base sooner or later. As long as the royal family and the cabinet have enough courage, we might as well be patient hunters and let the cunning fox go to the chicken cage for a meal. We ambush the entrance of its cave and give it a fatal blow when it comes back."

After the words fell, the combat command room fell into silence again. The generals' expressions and reactions were mixed. Navy Minister Churchill also frowned at first. After a moment, a sudden expression of enlightenment suddenly appeared on his face. Then he turned his head and stared at Stedee, making the chief of staff feel uncomfortable. He said confidently: "The whole world thinks that the British Navy is an unbending cavalry sword, and he is brave in defending the honor of the kingdom.
Chapter completed!