Walking on the bridge of the "Catherine", Xia Shu still clearly remembers that the opening ceremony of this new dreadnought in Kiel was unprecedented in the year before the war broke out. From Nassau class to Helgolan class to Caesar class, the tonnage and combat power of the German main battleship continued to increase, and the German nation's ambition for the ocean was also increasing day by day. Almost everyone realized that there would be a war between Britain and Germany. Whether soldiers or the people, the enthusiasm for fighting preparations was almost fanatical. However, few people expected that the war came so quickly, and the German high seas fleet did not face the British local fleet under the ideal of basically equal strength. The number of main ships on both sides and the total tonnage were close to two to three. This was a frustrating ratio.

In the Jutland Sea, flames reflect the sky red, the collision of steel is thrilling, and the showdown of will is heroic. The German navy broke free from the shackles in a battle, and then made rapid progress and no chance to turn the tables. Time flies away quickly. Five years have passed in a blink of an eye. The blue waves of Kuwait Bay lightly wash the waterline of the German warships. The German sailors in white summer uniforms blew the gentle sea breeze with a relaxed attitude. The background of the picture is the ancient Kuwait City...

"Since the overhaul was underway in 1915, the biggest change was the mainmast lookout, which used to accommodate up to three people, now there are five, and a three-meter rangefinder was installed."

After introducing these, Von Hippel paused for a moment, and then said with respect: "It's not that the engineers don't want to attack it, but they find that its design is completely in line with the needs of naval combat. If a sub-cannon is used to break its balance, it shows how perfect the warship designed by His Majesty is!"

This is a sincere praise and something that Xia Shu has always been proud of. Looking at the outer wall of the bridge that has been repaired and painted, but still can see the scars, and stroking the railing as clean as new, he smiled without saying a word.

Hippel seemed to be venting all the feelings over the years. He said: "Because of such a warship, we can win, save many lives, and gain the respect of the world. Every time we think of this, we will think of you, you are the eternal pride of Germany!"

Xia Shu responded solemnly: "It is precisely because of an outstanding commander like you and a brave and fearless navy soldier that a warship can exert its design ability. It is you who won the victory for Germany. No matter where you are, I will always be proud of you!"

After being praised by Xia Shu, Hippel became modest. He felt that his overall view was not as good as that of the commander-in-chief of the High Seas Fleet. Spee and Su Xiong, who were not as capable as meritorious, had tactical strategies that were inferior to those of the commander of the main battle fleet, Beinke and Fonke. The reason why he was able to wear the Blue Max medal was due to the exquisite deployment of the German Navy in the Battle of Jutland. The source of wisdom of this combat plan was precisely the genius standing in front of him.

When Hippel had such a mentality, Xia Shu respected him a little more. Compared with the commanders of the British Royal Navy at the same time, the generals who now assumed great responsibilities in the German Navy performed significantly better on the battlefield, and the victory of the war greatly improved their self-confidence. However, this does not mean that they are perfect soldiers. Some are too brave, some are old-fashioned and unflexible, while others are arrogant and have distant from subordinate officers and sailors. Sometimes, these weaknesses and shortcomings are flaws that do not cover up the merits and have nothing to do with the overall situation, but sometimes they become the key to determining victory or defeat. On the battlefield, whoever makes fewer mistakes is often one step closer to victory!

With the current world pattern, the hidden dangers of war have not been lifted, but have been buried deeper than before. The development of the situation has deviated from the familiar historical trajectory. Xia Shu’s judgment of the general trend will no longer be as accurate as before. To make his country invincible, he has to rely on his own real skills.

With nearly a century ahead of this era, Xia Shu was confident of designing and building a first-class warship that meets the existing technical conditions. As he said just now, whether a warship can perform its design performance lies in the human factor. As for whether a well-equipped and well-manned fleet can win in naval battles, it depends to a large extent on the ability of the commander.

Who will be this key figure in the next war that broke out in unknown time?

In terms of military rank, age and reputation, 56-year-old Reinhard Schell and Franz von Hippel, who are the same age as him, are still the pillars of the German Navy for the next ten years. Several squadron commanders, Maximilian von Spee, 58-year-old William von Lancellenpo, are not old, Felix Fonke, 54-year-old and Paul Bainke, 49-year-old (who was the first commander-in-chief of the Weimar Republic's National Navy in history) are very strong... As people say, today's German Navy is very star-studded in terms of talent, and is definitely in its most prosperous era in history. Perhaps it will be difficult to find so many generals in any period in the future.

But if the war broke out twenty years later, these famous generals with outstanding achievements would have long passed the age of retirement and might even be buried in the cemetery and reunited with nature. The young generation of generals will inevitably be the ones who take charge of the German navy.

Redell?

History has proved his leadership, and surprisingly, in the time of the emperor, he was the young officer favored by William II, and during the Third Reich, he was the darling of the head of state. Now, at the age of 43, he is in a critical period of rise, and he was transferred to the rank of Navy Colonel Reinhard Schell to replace Colonel Trotta as the Minister of Operations of the High Seas Fleet. As long as he can seize the opportunity, his future will inevitably be limitless.

Lütjens?

In this time and space, he may have the opportunity to become a successful naval general. Now that he is less than 30 years old, all he has to do is study steadily, accumulate qualifications, and strive to draw valuable experience from his predecessors.

Natsuki and Hippel, the two people who admire each other, talked about the topic of reality and the future.

Despite the devastating blow in the last war, the British Navy was still the number one opponent of the German Navy. The first ship of the Super Queen-class battleship with a designed displacement of 45,000 tons has been launched. The installation project is expected to be completed by the end of 1920. With this real super battleship as the foundation stone, the strong recovery of the British Navy has begun. Due to the crime of defeat, two outstanding naval commanders, Jelico and Betty.

, completely abandoned, 57-year-old General John De Robbek and 54-year-old General Henry Oliver became the pillars of the Royal Navy. They gathered a group of talented squadron commanders: Daydon Steedy, an independent and brave and irritable general; Levis Berry, an outstanding tactician with extraordinary independence; William Buckingham, Osmod Brock, a brave and fearless brave general...

The cooperation between Britain and the United States in economic, trade and even military fields has tied their interests more and more closely together. The Portuguese crisis caused by the Azores issue made the German rulers realize the true position of the United States. Since then, the German Navy's exercises have one more imaginary enemy. In addition to defeating the corrupt and declining Spanish Navy and organizing the Dabai fleet to carry out a global voyage, the US Navy has not had a record worthy of boasting in modern times. At most, active generals have participated in modern large-scale naval battles as military observers. Ordinary officers and grassroots sailors lack practical experience, and do not have the same sense of urgency as British and German naval officers and soldiers, and are even ridiculed as vulnerable.

"Prince Soldiers". However, most of the British new generation of main warships were designed and built in US shipyards, which brought considerable gains to the US Navy. By early 1919, the most advanced main battleship of the US Navy was the New Mexico class with a displacement of 32,000 tons and equipped with 12 14-inch main guns. The biggest feature was that it had super thick armor like a tortoise shell. Even the German Bavarian class equipped with 15-inch main guns might not be at a disadvantage. The new class main ship under construction, the Tennessee class, clearly absorbed the design experience of the British Navy and made great improvements in power and airworthiness. The displacement of 43,000 tons was also comparable to the new generation of main ships of the British and German Navy.

In contrast, Japan, another naval power in the Pacific region, can be regarded as a powerful force that grew up in the smelting of blood and fire. The Imperial Marshal Togo Hirahachiro, who led the fleet to defeat the Russian Navy, is still alive, but the 71-year-old "Oriental Nelson" has faded out of the naval decision-making circle. The naval head is the "strong general" Tomosaburo Kato during the Russo-Japanese War, and the elderly and steady Shimamura Tomooto served as the Minister of the Navy Command.

The Japanese Navy's fleet and squadron commanders were mostly generals who performed well in the Russo-Japanese War. They were brave and fearless, and their character labels were no less important than those of the British and German navy. The development of main ship technology was closely following the trend. The most advanced Ise-class battleships ranked first in the ranks with a displacement of 31,000 tons and a firepower configuration of 12 14-inch main guns, and are potential opponents that cannot be underestimated.

The topic finally returned to the German Navy. Four new generation main battleships started construction in Kiel, William, Bremen and Hamburg have been named the German class, with a designed displacement of 45,000 tons. They are unimaginable maritime beasts like the British "Super Queen". They use an amazing 50-diameter 16-inch naval gun (46 times the diameter according to the US and UK standards). Although the maximum speed of 25 knots is much slower than that of the "Super Queen", their outstanding protection ability is still the pride of the Germans. Adhering to the consistent comprehensive protection design of German battleships, the front of the turret and the armor thickness of the command tower reaches

The 16-inch caliber of the ship gun has an absolute protection capability second only to the American "Super Turtle". At the same time, the first Markensen-class has been launched at the Naval Shipyard in Keel. Ship 2 and 3 will be launched within the year, and Ship 4 and 5 have improved the changes in the situation. The competitive situation of the British and German navy seems to have returned to around 1909 and 1910, but the positions of the two sides have exchanged, and the British have become ambitious pursuers. No one knows whether the competition will end in diplomatic consultation or drag the world into another disaster-like war.
Chapter completed!