When receiving the battle of Saint-Miguel, Xia Shu was playing Chopin's song for the children in the "Forest Palace" in Limerick. The main fleet of the Allies set off for the Azores for more than a week. During this period, the German General Staff changed its original combat deployment, and the plan to open a landing front in southwestern Scotland and northwestern England was postponed. A large number of German marines ready to go in northern France were transported to the Coen Peninsula. Air offensive became the main theme of this stage.

The hand launched a large bombardment with layers and depth, and most of the UK was thus caught in the scorching flames of war. From a strategic perspective, the new combat strategy promptly corrected the previous mistakes of the German-Iraq coalition, and continued to have a lot of British local aviation forces, creating more ideal conditions for the land operations behind. In order to prevent the coalition from entering the hinterland of Britain, the Commonwealth army hoarded heavy troops in the Cumbria Mountains with complex terrain, defended various passes, and waited for the US and British fleets to win a victory in the Atlantic Ocean that was enough to turn the situation around.

The report transferred by the German General Staff is boring and has a brief description. Readers must rely on their imagination to outline the magnificent scenes of the Battle of San Miguel. In this heavyweight maritime duel, both sides directly invested hundreds of ships, and nearly forty main ships with displacement of more than 30,000 tons. This is undoubtedly the peak battle in the era of giant ships and cannons. Moreover, with the rise of aircraft carriers, it is likely to become the "Twilight of Ragnarok" of giant ships and cannonism!

In Natsuki's eyes, naval battles are like boxing matches. The more the showdown between masters, the more precise, the faster, accurate, and ruthless it is, and the winner is decided within a few moves. In the Battle of Tyran, the Japanese fleet took less than a day to completely kosher the Russian fleet, and the battle to decide the winner was completed within four hours; in the Battle of Jutland in 1914, the British and German fleets fought from dusk to dawn, and the whole journey lasted for only ten hours, while in the Battle of Faroe Islands that winter, the two sides fought fiercely in the early morning to decide the winner; in the Battle of Magellan Strait in 1930, the battle alarm from the Chilean fleet to the ceasefire of German and Argentina warships lasted less than two hours...

The narrow naval battle of San Miguel began in the early morning of June 1 and ended in the evening of the next day, lasting about 35 hours. It can be roughly divided into three stages. The first stage is that the main fleets of both sides launched a long-distance artillery battle in the waters of San Miguel Island. The Allied Fleet once had a slight advantage, but with the US and British mobile fleets encircled, the battle situation suddenly changed, and the Allied Fleet retreated hastily; the second stage is that the Allied Fleet relies on the minefields around San Miguel Island and the land and air ministry on the island.

The team fought with the Allied fleet, and won favorable fighters with more and more fighting, which severely damaged the British battleship group in one fell swoop. The third stage was the ultimate showdown between the two sides. Although the Allied fleet fought with less and more, it could get support from shore defense artillery fire and superior aviation, so it became more and more brave. Although the US and British officers and soldiers fought very tenaciously, they fell into the dilemma of not being able to score. In order to avoid excessive losses, they voluntarily withdrew from the battle before dusk came.

The broad naval battle of San Miguel should start from the launch of air strikes on the main fleets of the United States and Britain at 11 a.m. on May 31, until the last attack on the main fleet of the United States and Britain on the morning of June 2, the Allied carrier-based aircraft attacked the main fleet of the United States and Britain on the morning of June 2. It spans three days and two nights, and the combat range covers more than 200 kilometers of areas around San Miguel Island. The participating forces include both sides' sea, land and air forces in San Miguel Island and surrounding waters.

After reading the battle report several times, Xia Shu said to herself: "It's a pity that this is not a strategic victory."

Not long after, General Sean Purcell, the commander of the Irish Navy, and Major General Eric Baker, were summoned to Xia Shu's office, and Xia Shu said the same words to them again.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being stupid. Why is this just a tactical victory?" General Baker asked in confusion, "Our Allied fleet defeated the Alliance Fleet's nineteen battleships and six battlecruisers with seven battleships. Moreover, we only lost three battleships, one battleship and three aircraft carriers, but the enemy lost nine battleships, three battleships, and five aircraft carriers. Such a record is simply a miracle. Of course, your Majesty, the influence and decisiveness of the Battle of San Miguel cannot be compared with the Jutland Battle you participated in that year..."

Natsuki waved his hand and signaled that Baker didn't have to compliment himself in this way, and then turned his eyes to General Purcell.

After learning about the content of the battle report, Purcell's reaction was completely different from Baker. He had always been thinking about something with a cautious expression.

"Well, I agree very much with His Majesty. It was an amazing tactical victory, but strategically we encountered a great trouble. We lost Texel Island, which was difficult to recapture with existing troops and equipment, and would have to pay a lot of money to defend the remaining islands in the future."

Speaking of this, Purcell paused for a moment, as if he was brewing words, and then he analyzed continuously: "From the moment when the Port of Heroes fell, we had already lost a strategic game. In the Battle of San Miguel, General Bainke performed his duties and won an inspiring victory, but behind this victory, we paid too much. In addition to those ships that had sunk and temporarily lost their combat effectiveness, we also lost more than 400 carrier-based aircraft and more than 600 naval pilots. The enemy successfully achieved the intention of fighting for space and time, and achieved an extremely precious one in the Azores, which was lonely in the ocean.

The foothold of the alliance team cannot regain Tessel within three months, they may have to move into full defense in the Azores. In order to protect the remaining islands, they will have to retain a large amount of naval and air force and beware of the enemy's attacks at any time. In this way, no matter what the outcome of the Battle of Britain ends, the war will turn into a terrible war of attrition. When both sides are exhausted, those powerful countries that have not participated in the war will become the key forces that affect the outcome of the war. Considering that the land resources in Eastern Europe and the oil resources in West Asia are more attractive to Russia and Japan, the probability of these two countries joining the hostile camp is much greater than joining us!"

Eric Baker was young and promising, but after all, he was still very experienced. He was very surprised by the pessimistic prospects portrayed by General Purcell. In his opinion, the British mainland was the key battlefield of this war. The Azores were at best just a remote maritime fortress, and it should be clear at a glance which one is more important.

Purcell's explanation is obviously on the same line as Natsuki's thinking. His Majesty the King said in a calm tone: "Actually, what I worry most is that the Allied troops abandon the Azores within half a year. In that case, the well-equipped American team will cross the Atlantic Ocean and find a suitable landing place in Europe and Africa, and strategically oppress and besiege us. By that time, even if Russia and Japan do not participate in the war, there will be a fatal division within the alliance. The reason why Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire do not participate in the war is on the surface because of the Allied forces' troops.

The agreement is of defensive nature, and Germany does not need to share the benefits of occupying Britain with them. In fact, it is because the ruling classes of Rome and Vienna are prepared. They would rather have their own fleets and army than take advantage of Berlin's strategic risks, and they are even more worried about being exploited by the other side. As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this old country has long been exhausted by various external and internal struggles. Recently, the Sudanese army has suffered heavy losses in the combat operations to suppress the revolutionary party, and the seemingly powerful Ottoman Navy has few warships that can leave the port for a long voyage."

"In this way, only by not losing an island and repelling the US and British fleets can it be considered a strategic victory?" Baker asked.

Natsuki and Purcell's ideas have long gone beyond this question, so Baker's question has not received any response.

"After the Battle of San Miguel, only half of the ships sent to the Azores have combat capabilities. They have lost the dock in the Port of Heroes, and the damaged large ships must return to Europe for maintenance. At that time, the German battleships and battlecruisers in the European waters will have to take turns to the Azores, which is very unfavorable for our attack on the British mainland."

Xia Shu nodded: "Then we have to keep an optimistic attitude and make the worst plans."

At the same time, in the German royal palace in Brandenburg, the Worry-Wedding Palace, William II, who was covered in white hair but still energetic, was dressed in military uniform. Accompanied by veterans such as Moltz, Hellingen, and Muller, waiting for the arrival of the guests. Luxury cars drove into the palace one by one, including King Ruprecht I of Bavaria, King Georg VI of Saxony, Albert I of Wurttemberg, and Duke Lefel, who came from Italy, served as the chief staff of the Italian naval commander, the commander of the navy and the minister of the navy. Although he has stepped down, he still influenced the military and political affairs of the country as the chief military adviser of King Emanuele III of Italy.

In the Battle of San Miguel, the German Navy dispatched only 60% of its troops and joined forces with the Irish Navy to defeat the large-scale main fleet of the United States and Britain. There is no doubt that the entire Germans regarded this as a brilliant victory and the second in Jutland. People only saw the dazzling battle report and imagined the scene of the American and British fleet retreating in a mess. Few people cared about the gains and losses of Texel Island like the Irish King and the Irish Navy Commander. In people's eyes, as long as they won the naval battle, the regret of losing Texel and losing tens of thousands of elite troops was compensated. People even took it for granted that the Allied Team could easily retake the island.

Under the attention of everyone, Duke Lefel walked to William II and bowed deeply: "Congratulations to you, His Majesty the Great German Emperor! Congratulations to your navy for winning a critical victory in the Azores!"

The German emperor looked at the other party with a smile: "To be precise, this is a great victory achieved by Germany and Ireland. From then on, the navy of the Allied Powers will be invincible in the world, and we will usher in one victory after another. Such a great situation, my respected Duke, isn't the Italian Navy willing to share this glory?"
Chapter completed!