Chapter 276: Politicians’ Battlefield

In a conference room on the third floor of the Admiralty building in London, England, the Secretary of State for War, the Secretary of State for the Admiralty, and a group of young naval officers including General Winter had a heated discussion on the Battle of the Dardanelles.

"We should stop this combat plan!" General Winter expressed his opinion at the meeting: "This plan may have had a chance of success at the beginning, but now it has failed, and we must admit this result. Trying to invest more troops and materials in a battle that is almost hopeless is more like a gambler than a war!"

The Young Turks supported Charles's point of view. They had always believed that the plan of winning a war and forcing a country to surrender by relying solely on the navy was simply unrealistic and that the era was over.

Even if the powerful Allied fleet could break into the Strait of Marmara, and even if the fleet set up cannons at the gates of Constantinople, would the Ottoman Empire surrender?

The young and vigorous faction said: "They only need to withdraw their troops a dozen kilometers away, and then you can do whatever you want. Why surrender?"

The Navy Minister asked sullenly, "Why isn't war a gamble? Should we sentence it to death just because of a small defeat? No, we shouldn't give up just like that!"

"Sir!" General Winter looked at the Minister of the Navy in disbelief. "We lost three battleships in one day, and another three were seriously damaged and lost their combat capability. And you think this is just a 'small defeat'?"

This is already one-third of the strength, and they can even form a country's navy.

The Navy Minister smiled lightly, stood up calmly and replied: "Gentlemen, first we should look at the casualties of this battle."

The Navy Minister picked up the document in his hand and waved it to everyone, then turned around and said, "You may have received the battle report. There were only 728 casualties in the entire battle!"

The Navy Minister threw the document on the table and tapped it heavily with his finger: "728 casualties, this is insignificant. The casualties of the army can reach thousands or even tens of thousands a day. Will our navy be frightened by such casualties?"

The Minister of the Navy did not analyze it in detail, and the people present at the meeting also tacitly agreed not to discuss it, but they all understood in their hearts:

Most of the 728 casualties were on the Bouvet.

It sank in more than two minutes after a loud bang. Most of the crew members were unable to escape in time, and more than 600 people were taken to the bottom of the sea by the warship.

But the "Bouve" was a French warship, and the casualties were French. The British crew actually suffered only more than 100 casualties.

This is indeed "insignificant".

The words of the Navy Minister were immediately opposed by General Winter: "We are not the army, sir! We lost 6 battleships..."

"Three, Admiral Winter," the Navy Secretary corrected. "The others were only damaged."

Then the Secretary of the Navy added passionately:

"A damaged warship can be roughly repaired in a Malta shipyard in just one month or six weeks and then put back on the battlefield."

"As for those sunken battleships, they are destined to become a pile of scrap metal under any circumstances. Even if they are not sunk, they will be eliminated and sent to the shipyard for dismantling in the near future!"

This statement was strongly opposed by a group of naval officers, who responded angrily:

"Mines can't tell which are old warships and which are new, sir!"

"The reason why the old warships were lost is that they were always in the front, and the new warships followed behind them. If the old warships were blown up, wouldn't it be the turn of the new warships next?"

"If you think so, why don't you go aboard the Queen Elizabeth and fight the battle yourself?"

…

What the Admiralty said was totally illogical. The sunken warship was indeed old for Britain, but it was still quite advanced in the world at that time.

And when it comes to dealing with mines, it really has nothing to do with old or new warships.

General Winter thought that this was an insult to the dignity of the Navy. He stood up and glared at the Navy Minister:

"Your Excellency, I think you must know that these old warships are sacred."

"When many of the crew were young officers, they first stepped onto the deck and the first thing they were trained to say was 'It is a shame to abandon a warship, and they will die with the warship.'"

“Even when they become an old sailor or even a captain, they still keep this sentence in mind and engrave it deep in their thoughts.”

"But you treat them with disdain, even as consumables, as garbage that must be dismantled even if they are not sunk..."

The Lord Admiral interrupted Admiral Winter:

"I understand that, General."

“But for leaders, warships have no sentimental value in times of war.”

"Warships are just tools, machines to be used for risks in war, and if necessary, they can be sacrificed for the common cause and the basic policies of the country! I think it is worth it!"

General Winter and a group of naval officers didn't know how to refute. What the Navy Minister said seemed to be the truth, but it was these naval officers who emotionalized and personified the war machine.

This is the result of politicians commanding the military to fight. They do not consider the troops' feelings, morale and battlefield realities, they only consider their own political interests and reputation.

The point is that politicians are usually better at speaking, and they can wreak havoc in the battlefield of the conference room, leaving the military unable to respond, even though the facts have proven that the politicians are wrong.

In the end, the Royal Navy agreed to continue fighting under the lobbying of the First Lord of the Admiralty, but did not accept the absurd argument that "the navy can win."

This was exactly what the Secretary of the Admiralty wanted, and he had already persuaded the Secretary of War to allow him to participate in the plan.

Their thinking was: "The navy almost won the victory. Now if the army cooperates, it won't take much effort to end the war gloriously."

Then, they would be the architects of a great victory, creating the turning point of the First World War and ending the war, which would bring them unimaginable political benefits.

General Winter sent a pessimistic telegram to Charles:

"I feel like we are sinking deeper and deeper into a quagmire, going from one disaster to another, even more terrible disaster."

"But I am powerless to stop it. I can only place my hope on you."

"If anyone can save them, I believe that person must be you. Please be prepared!"

This reminded Charles.

Before this, Charles had always hoped to stop this battle, or to make it develop in a good direction through intelligence, but it seemed to have no effect.

If it cannot be prevented, is it possible to prepare for it in advance?

(End of this chapter)