Chapter 796 Breaking through the blockade

Bizossi training base.

Tijani had dry bread with coffee for breakfast. He was very dedicated to the training of motorized infantry, even more enthusiastic than when he trained mechanized infantry.

Charles was puzzled by this, but Tijani's answer was convincing.

"The motorized infantry is the only unit with long-range artillery, General." Tijani replied: "Look at our armored and mechanized units. They are mostly equipped with 75mm guns. The motorized infantry's artillery has developed into air-to-ground coordination. I believe this kind of artillery can play an unexpected role on the battlefield."

There is nothing wrong with this.

In the future, armored and mechanized forces will also develop long-range artillery, and may even replace them with self-propelled howitzers that are more expensive, better defended, and have a faster rate of fire.

However, during this period, the enemy's infantry-artillery coordination and artillery accuracy had problems, so there was no need to develop to this extent.

If it really doesn't work, it will be enough to borrow the 105MM "truck gun" from the motorized troops.

"Look at this!" Tijani swallowed the bread with difficulty and handed Charles today's newspaper.

"The Germans and the British fought a battle at sea." Tijani took a sip of coffee and finally recovered from the dry throat. "Interestingly, both sides claimed victory."

Charles hummed, took the newspaper and read the battle situation.

"But what they said seems to be correct." Tijani went on to analyze: "The Germans won a tactical victory. They exchanged 4 light cruisers and 5 destroyers for 14 British warships, including 3 battlecruisers."

In the era of big cannons and big ships, what was more important in naval battles was the number and loss of battleships, and other warships were merely supplements to the battleships.

Therefore, Germany won this naval battle with a casualty ratio of 0:3.

Tijani sat back in his seat, with some regret in his voice: "And the British won a strategic victory. They successfully blocked the German fleet's breakout."

Ciel smiled softly: "You think so?"

Tijani, who was preparing to review a stack of documents, paused and looked up at Charles: "Isn't it?"

Charles raised the newspaper in his hand: "The Germans succeeded in bringing torpedoes on board planes, just like us, Rear Admiral, and they were seaplanes. Do you know what this means?"

Tijani looked bewildered: "But there are only about 30 of them, not large enough."

"The point is that these planes can easily sink battleships," Charles replied.

The attack of a torpedo plane is indeed not easy, and it can even be said to be demanding, such as maintaining a steady flight, not being too fast, etc.

If the enemy warships have complete anti-aircraft firepower, the torpedo planes will most likely be shot down during the attack.

However.

It was World War I and the torpedo plane had just been invented. The British Navy had no idea of ​​the importance of air defense for warships and did not have suitable anti-aircraft firepower.

As a result, torpedo planes were almost invincible at sea.

Tijani suddenly realized: "You mean, the Germans can break through the blockade of the British fleet by relying on seaplanes?"

Ciel nodded slightly.

The fundamental reason why he wanted to show the torpedo planes to the Germans was this: to allow the German fleet to break through the blockade of the British Royal Navy and purchase supplies from neutral countries in Northern Europe.

It's just that the Germans haven't discovered this yet.

At this time, the signalman came forward with a telegram and reported: "General, there is a new situation in the naval battle. German seaplanes have sunk three warships again in the waters near Bergen Harbor, Norway, including a battleship."

Tijani looked at Charles with his mouth half open. This guy seemed to have the ability to predict the future.

Charles secretly praised that Admiral Scheer of the German Navy had a good comprehension and grasped the key points in a short time.

…

This was the result of Admiral Scheer's hard thinking all night.

As the German Navy was far more powerful than the British Royal Navy, Admiral Scheer decided to withdraw his forces after his success and immediately transferred the fleet back to the port of Hamburg.

The Port of Hamburg has always been Germany's largest warship repair base, where injured and damaged warships can quickly restore their combat effectiveness. Admiral Scheer did this in preparation for the next attack.

However, Admiral Scheer was not satisfied with this, nor was he satisfied with the originally planned "attrition" strategy.

There is still an element of luck in winning today.

If the British fleet had not retreated but instead launched a desperate "decisive battle" with the German fleet, the German fleet might still have been wiped out due to the number factor.

What Germany wants is supplies and trade with neutral countries in Northern Europe.

A victory without breaking the blockade is not a victory at all.

Is there any way to change all this?

Suddenly, a bold idea formed in Admiral Scheer's mind: seaplane, why not use seaplane to break through the blockade?

Admiral Scheer jumped up from his chair excitedly: "Yes, this is what Charles really wants to tell us. This guy has helped us a lot!"

(The above picture shows the route from Hamburg to Bergen, an important port in Norway. This route is far away from the British mainland and beyond the range of the British "Camel" fighters. Therefore, the German "UWD" is almost invincible with torpedoes and can attack the British fleet appearing in nearby waters at will.)

(The two red circles in the above picture are the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has built ports in these two islands. Its main fleet used the ports of these two islands as bases to implement a blockade on the German Navy. The main blockade target was the Port of Bergen in Norway)

Admiral Scheer excitedly reported his battle plan to William II:

"We are so stupid, Your Majesty. We are like children who have not grown up."

"Char gave us the answer a long time ago, but we didn't know how to use it."

"Breaking the blockade with aircraft does not require us to destroy the British fleet like the navy does. We just need to drive them away."

William II didn't understand: "Drive them away? Even if we want to drive them away, we have to defeat them at sea, right?"

This was the inertial thinking that came from long-term naval warfare without aircraft. William II always felt that only a fleet could "drive away" the enemy fleet.

What can 36 seaplanes do? They can only carry 36 torpedoes at a time.

"No, Your Majesty," Admiral Scheer replied. His voice was trembling even though he was always calm. "We only need planes. Although they can only carry 36 torpedoes, as long as they patrol the air, the British fleet will not dare to approach."

William II suddenly came to his senses. After a moment's pause, he suddenly burst into laughter:

"That's right, General. What a genius idea! As long as the enemy fleet approaches, it will inevitably be attacked by aircraft. Although the number may not be large, it is very dangerous."

"So, they can only avoid us and be driven away by us."

"God, I didn't expect the answer to breaking through the blockade would be so simple!"

(End of this chapter)