Chapter 1019 The British Fleet Has Surrendered

Only one chapter today, sorry!

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At the London War Building, headquarters was busy organizing fleet reinforcements.

"I need the Queen Elizabeth," the Quartermaster said gravely. "Use her as the flagship, along with the Warrior and the Iron Duke, a total of four."

(The picture above shows the battleship "Warrior", the fourth ship of the "Elizabeth" class battleship, completed in 1916)

(The picture above shows the Iron Duke class super-dreadnought battleship, the main force during World War I, a total of four ships.)

The Navy Minister was surprised: "Your Excellency, this is the main force of our defense against the German High Seas Fleet. Isn't it inappropriate to transfer them to the Mediterranean..."

"Don't worry about the Germans." The Minister of Munitions interrupted the Minister of the Navy: "The Germans don't have time to pay attention to us. Even if they intend to launch a challenge, they won't do so quickly. We must defeat the French fleet as quickly as possible. This is the only important thing at the moment!"

Others turned their attention to Prime Minister George; they no longer had much faith in the Minister of Munitions' judgment.

Prime Minister George nodded slightly.

Although the Minister of Munitions made command mistakes again and again, there was nothing wrong with this decision. The most urgent issue was indeed the French Navy. Only by defeating it could the restless colonies, including the German Navy, be suppressed.

But at this moment, the signalman screamed: "Your Excellency, Major General Ives has called and is ready to surrender to the French army. This will be the last time he contacts us!"

The Minister of Munitions stepped forward quickly, roaring:

"No, no, no, he can't do that."

"Tell him we are assembling our most powerful fleet to reinforce them. We are sending the Queen Elizabeth and the Iron Duke, a total of six super-dreadnoughts, and there will be other dreadnoughts!"

"We will defeat the French, there is no doubt about that."

Then the Quartermaster General added, "Or he can choose to break out, break out now, and we will meet them in the Strait of Gibraltar!"

Major General Ives led the main force of the Mediterranean Fleet. Even if they were all wiped out in the breakout battle, it would be much better than surrendering.

This is not just a problem of dozens of warships of varying sizes; it will also severely damage the reputation of the Royal Navy.

The staff officer responded and immediately sent the Quartermaster General's message.

But Major General Ives insisted on his own ideas:

"I'm sorry, sir, but we have no other choice."

"I would like to advise you not to think that you can defeat the French navy by sending out the 'Elizabeth'."

"This is unrealistic. You have no idea what we've been through, or how powerful the French army is. We have no way of fighting back."

"I'm sure the same result would be achieved even if the entire Royal Navy were brought in."

"No one can stand up to France. Consider reconciliation with Charles. That's what you need to do!"

Then there was silence, no matter how much the Quartermaster General sounded his electricity.

Everyone was silent.

The Secretary of the Navy silently looked at the telegram sent by Major General Ives.

If General Winter was defeated because he was a coward and had no combat experience, was General Ives also defeated?

He is a veteran who has fought at sea for thirty years.

What's the problem?

Major General Trenchard seemed to understand a little bit. It was the new equipment such as bombers and torpedo attack aircraft that made the Mediterranean Fleet unable to fight back.

He was even a little excited. Does this mean that the Air Force, which has always been neglected, will become the overlord of the world?

…

Malta main battlefield.

Under the joint attack of the French Navy, bombers and torpedo planes, the "Duncan", which was emitting black smoke and losing speed, slowly raised the white flag.

The bombers that were diving towards it immediately stopped the attack and looked for other targets.

Rear Admiral Ives radioed the fleet:

"To all officers and men of the Mediterranean Fleet, please believe that I do not want to come to this."

"But as you can see, we have no other choice."

"It's not a question of continuing to fight, but of our inability to fight. Our artillery, machine guns, and warships are all unable to attack the enemy."

"We have done our best. We are worthy of our honor, our persistence, and the Royal Navy."

"However, it's pointless to persist. Make the right choice, and God will forgive us!"

This is a cultured person. He never said "surrender" in the whole article, but he talked about surrender. He also made everyone feel that it was reasonable and that they had nothing to regret.

Perhaps influenced by Rear Admiral Ives, or perhaps because of the pressure of war, or intimidated by the powerful equipment the enemy had never seen before, the other warships raised the white flag one after another.

The white flag flutters gracefully on the blue sea against the backdrop of black smoke. The color combination is very harmonious, making it hard to believe that this was a bloody battlefield not long ago.

French destroyers and torpedo boats shuttled between battleships and cruisers. The French sailors were stunned and could not believe that such a large fleet had surrendered to them.

It is no exaggeration to say that they were prepared to make sacrifices before the war, but the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse and there was an incredible reversal.

The whole thing was like a dream. The sailors even forgot to cheer for victory. They just stared blankly at the warships passing by and the British sailors standing on the side of the ships, looking down at them with fear on their faces.

…

Berlin, Imperial Chancellery.

Prime Minister Ebert and "Armistice Committee" Chairman Erzberger are urgently reorganizing the navy.

When William II fell, the German navy launched an uprising. They left their fleet on a large scale and took to the streets to protest against William II and the enemy for deceiving their own soldiers and civilians.

After the establishment of the provisional government, everyone was busy organizing the regime and restoring the army's combat effectiveness to block the British attack from land, and they neglected the reorganization of the navy.

It was not until I needed it that I realized I had made a big mistake.

"Is General Scheer willing to return to his old post?" asked Prime Minister Albert.

"Yes, sir," Erzberger replied, "he is on his way to Wilhelmshaven."

General Scheer was dismissed from his post after being implicated because he was the most trusted general of William II.

Then the provisional government found that no one could unite the chaotic German navy except Admiral Scheer, so they "invited" him back again.

"Order the warships to be ready." Prime Minister Albert was fidgeting:

"We must organize the fleet to sail as soon as possible."

"The English have declared war on France and launched a fierce attack."

"If we don't pin down the British fleet, what will be the consequences? What does knowing mean?!"

Erzberger certainly knew.

If France was defeated, Germany would lose its "absolutely friendly" armistice policy, and would be faced with three sky-high reparations.

There may even be more than three, and other countries may follow suit.

Just when the Prime Minister was extremely anxious, a staff officer came to him with a telegram. The staff officer looked confused and said, "Your Excellency, they said that the French fleet was victorious and the British Mediterranean Fleet has surrendered..."

(End of this chapter)