In the autumn of 1926, in the cloud-covered Azores, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers of the US and British fleets were waiting for the British local fleet and Gibraltar fleet that could change the situation to come to help earlier. However, to the surprise of most people, these two powerful fleets were always hovering far away from the Azores, and they did not become the key force to make the final decision.

The two British fleets stopped, not because the British government was afraid of fighting and the officers and soldiers were afraid of death. Since the signing of the London Treaty, the whole country of Britain has been looking forward to the day of washing away the shame, but the more they endured humiliation, the more they were worried about gains and losses. After the coup in Portugal, the main ship of the British Gibraltar fleet rushed to the waters of Lisbon, where they encountered the German Atlantic Fleet led by the new war patrol "Tirpitz". The two fleets were equal in strength and fought hard.

The result of a tough battle is unknown, but the German fleet has a slight advantage in overall speed and adopts a close and entangled strategy. After receiving the order to rush to the Azores, the British Gibraltar fleet was on guard against the closely followed German fleet, but on the other hand, the Spanish army gathered troops to Gibraltar. The German army was restless by the news that France entered Spain, and repeatedly watched and waited, missing the best opportunity to rush to the Azores.

Basically at the same time, the British local fleet also encountered similar troubles. Before it sailed out of the English Channel, it was "blocked" by the German and Ireland's allied fleets. The Germans had two newly commissioned super battleships, the "Germany" and the "Prussia", the King-class dreadnoughts that made great achievements during the war, two German aircraft carriers and an Irish aircraft carrier, and could also be supported by land-based aircraft from Ireland and French bases. In addition, the German and Irish submarines everywhere woven a large net for the British local fleet from the sky, the water surface, and underwater. If the British forcibly cross the barrier, they would definitely have a lot of luck and good fortune in fighting.

Under this situation, if the two British fleets sailed to Azores without any consequences, once war broke out during their voyage, their fleets would face the Allied fleets with superior situations far away from their own bases and allied fleets. After a fierce battle, both sides may not be able to decide the male or female, but the injured ships of Germany and Ireland could quickly retreat to the bases along the Atlantic coast. The damaged ships of Britain either chose a safe route with a long range or risked passing through the seas controlled by enemy ships and aircraft. The chance of secondary damage was much greater than that of the opponent, which was obviously a very unfavorable situation, so the commanders of the two British fleets made conservative choices at the same time.

In this way, the 1st and 2nd Special Fleet, which occupied half of the German Navy's forces, glared with the US and British fleets in the Azores for more than a week. In the end, a storm ended the military confrontation that attracted the attention and stunning of the world. In the eyes of most people, the Germans are undoubtedly the winners of this dispute. They pulled Spain and Portugal into their military camps in one fell swoop, and captured the Azores without any danger.

In the pocket, he gained the strategic initiative in the Atlantic Ocean. However, this move also allowed the British to tie up the Americans as they wished. After the Americans forcibly occupying Azores in Germany, the anti-German sentiment of the American people was unprecedentedly high, prompting the US Congress to change its usual non-aligned policy and approve the government to enter a military alliance agreement with the UK. From this time on, the United States and Britain, which had far-reaching roots, officially joined forces, and the American war machine also entered the full-speed forward gear amid the fanatical calls.

The maritime military confrontation in the Azores, Portuguese waters and the English Channel allowed people to appreciate the dominance of the world's top three naval forces. Any squadron participating in the confrontation, alone, is enough to crush the main fleets of second-tier naval powers such as the Soviet Union, Italy, Austro-Hungary, etc. At the same time, the confrontation between top battleships also aroused people's infinite imagination. This time, the German German class and the British class met on a tense occasion. The German Tirpitz class played a prestige in front of the British admiral, and the unique Colorado class of the US Navy was also revealed.

The opportunity for appearance, countless enthusiasts speculated on their performance in actual combat. "If a war breaks out this day" written by a French writer quickly became an article scrambling to be published by newspapers and magazines from various countries. In the Frenchman's vision, the United States, Britain, Germany and others fought an unprecedented fierce battle in the Atlantic waters, and eventually suffered both losses. However, the German camp won the victory due to the late-strikes of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the final fantasy, the French described the scene of the German team landing in Britain and sweeping across Britain, which triggered strong resistance from the British. As a result, the guy who made a fortune in the royalties was murdered at home and died before he could enjoy the benefits of becoming famous.

Putting aside these small episodes, authoritative figures studying the international situation have predicted that although the two camps have avoided a war, the competition for the Azores has just begun, and the fuse for the outbreak of the next war is likely to be this Atlantic Islands with an extremely important geographical location.

The German senior management knew that the United States was very unwilling to accept the fall of the Azores into the Allies' camp, and also knew that the US side had been planning for this situation for many years. Germany's victory was unexpected. If the Americans were prepared in advance, the dispute would never end so easily. Therefore, while the Germans were scrambling for the coup of the Portuguese army and the Spanish army's cross-border operations, the members of the parliament of the Imperial Parliament happily approved 200 million marks of special military expenditure for the expansion of defense facilities in the Azores and the construction of new military airports. All projects were required to be completed within three months. Given that the Irish people had experience and skills in building fortresses and modern airports, nearly half of the projects were handed over to the Irish construction team, and the prices were much higher than the normal market, which made many Irish military and political officials happy.

However, Xia Shu was not so happy about the process and results of this dispute. He originally intended to let the Irish Navy be out of the matter and observe the changes in the situation. However, in order to achieve the final result, the German senior management asked the Irish Navy to do everything possible and show the Irish Navy's mobilization ability and all its assets in advance to the world. That day, the Irish fleet that appeared at the entrance of the English Channel had a modernized and modified battle

The cruiser "Belfast", the 14,000-ton armored cruisers "Celtic" and "Long Live Free", the 15,000-ton standard heavy cruisers "Ruge" and "Dagda", the 20,000-ton standard aircraft carrier "Ulster", and four 6,000-ton standard light cruisers, and fifteen destroyers of one thousand to one thousand and one thousand five hundred tons. The tonnage of these ships alone has reached 150,000 tons.

Compared with the British and German navies, the Irish Navy is much weaker, but it has become a naval force that cannot be underestimated in the European waters. Its total tonnage has quietly risen to eighth in the world, second only to Germany, the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Italy and Russia. It also has two unique "special skills" to surpass Europe: one is weapon technology and the other is talent reserve.

Weapon technology is the top aviation and underwater technology. In recent years, a group of outstanding designers have emerged in Ireland. In addition, the King of Ireland, who is known as the "Talent of Hohenzollern", is a first-class expert in this field. Ireland's aircraft and submarine development have always remained at the forefront of the world. The only active "Ulster" and the trained aircraft carrier "Angus" with a displacement of 17,000 tons are all the latest models in service. Once war needs to be needed, the Irish Aviation Industry can provide Ireland and its allies with a large number of new fighters in a short period of time.

At the same time, Ireland's submarine manufacturing combined with Germany's diesel engine technology has contributed one submarine after another. In the face of recognized technical level and cost-effective advantages, even the German Navy has purchased nearly one-third of its active submarines from Ireland. Small European countries and Latin American countries have also ordered many submarines from Ireland. With this convenience, most of the more than 40 submarines equipped by the Irish Navy are new models built in recent years, and their overall combat effectiveness is not worse than that of the Italian Navy, which has more than 100 submarines.

Talent reserve refers to the reserve of technical talents in the military field based on extraordinary standards. Since the 1920s, Ireland's military education system and military treatment level have gradually improved to the world-class level. The quality of technical officers and non-commissioned officers has been greatly improved compared with the previous period, and their salaries have even exceeded that of the wealthy America, which has enabled the Irish army to successfully acquire and retain a large number of outstanding talents. Taking pilots as an example, the active fighter jets of the front-line troops in Ireland remained at about 200, plus

There are 200 trainers, but they have nearly a thousand active pilots, and all pilots have annual flight time exceeding Britain and Germany. In addition to being assigned to their own active troops, many Irish pilots have been dispatched to allied or neutral countries to serve as flight instructors. Countries with weak economic conditions also welcome such high-level flight instructors that do not require their own investment. In addition, the developed Irish aviation industry has absorbed about 1,200 retired pilots, providing a valuable reserve force for the Irish Air Force.
Chapter completed!