Chapter 639 Admiral Scheer's Bomber
Berlin Palace.
William II and Admiral Scheer were talking and laughing in the warm living room. William II seemed very satisfied with the navy's performance during this period.
"It seems that our tactics are indeed feasible." William II looked through the naval battle briefing with great interest.
"I think so, Your Majesty," Admiral Scheer replied, "As long as we are not in a hurry to break out, but aim to kill the British manpower, it will be possible to achieve it over time."
"Very good." William II nodded and couldn't help but sigh: "This is a battle of the century, General. Germany is facing an unprecedented crisis. If the navy can finally break through the British blockade, do you know what this means?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Admiral Scheer replied, "It means we will win this war."
"It's not just this war." William II's voice became increasingly excited: "The German Navy may also blockade Britain in turn and completely drive Britain down from its position as the world's number one power!"
By then, Germany will be the world's most powerful country.
Britain would lose its prestige and its sea power would be damaged, leading to its colonies rising up against the British.
Germany could naturally take these colonies under its control.
At this time, Admiral Scheer changed the subject: "Your Majesty, there are some minor problems. I need the help of the Chief of the General Staff."
William II said, "He's almost here. I'll ask him to fully cooperate with you."
As he was speaking, there were two knocks on the door, and the guard came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the Chief of the General Staff has arrived."
"Let him in." William II crossed his legs, took out a cup from the drawer and placed it in front of the seat on his left.
Falkenhayn pushed the door open, stood in front of William II and saluted.
He glanced at Admiral Scheer, who was sitting on the right hand side of William II, and immediately guessed the purpose of looking for him this time.
If I had known earlier, I should not have taught him how to deal with the Royal Navy, Falkenham thought. Now I'm afraid I'll have to pay a greater price.
William II invited Falkenhayn to sit down and politely poured wine into his glass:
"You are the backbone of the Empire, gentlemen, and we are proud of you."
"The army and navy are both part of the Empire's military. Although you are from different branches of the military, our goals are the same."
William II raised his glass to Falkenhayn and said, "Is that so, Chief of the General Staff?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." Falkenhayn raised his glass in response: "Everything is for defeating the enemy, for victory, and for Germany!"
"Very good!" William II turned his gaze to Admiral Scheer, as if to tell him that he could make his request now.
"That's right, Chief of the General Staff." Admiral Scheer leaned forward and shook hands with Falkenhayn. "First of all, I should thank you. The suggestions you made last time were very useful to us. We took action based on these suggestions and have recently achieved a series of victories..."
"I know all this, General." Falkenhayn interrupted Admiral Scheer and said, "Why don't we get to the point? What do you want?"
There was some tension in Fakinhan's tone, and he seemed a little annoyed that he could not refuse Admiral Scheer's request.
"Okay, Chief of the General Staff." Admiral Scheer needed help, but he remained restrained and graceful: "I need a plane."
Falkenhayn snorted inwardly; he had known it would be this.
It's not hard to guess. What else can the navy ask of the army besides airplanes? Soldiers who can't drive a boat? Or tanks?
But Falkenhayn pretended to be surprised: "Oh? As far as I know, the Navy has its own planes, General. Besides, the Army's planes don't seem to be suitable for flying over the sea."
(The picture above shows the German Navy's seaplane during World War I, the "Friedrichshafen FF33E")
"You are right, Chief of the General Staff," Admiral Scheer replied, "but our seaplanes are already outdated. They only have a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour and a total range of 400 kilometers. These performances are far inferior to those of the British seaplanes."
William II interjected:
"Yes, the British seaplanes could reach a speed of 120 kilometers per hour, which made General Scheer lose air superiority in the naval battle."
"And the result of not having air superiority is that the British can use the Caproni bomber to arbitrarily reconnaissance our sea areas."
"You know where this is going, Chief of Staff."
"The British knew exactly where our troops were going, but we knew nothing about them."
Falkenhayn frowned. "Caproni bomber?"
"Yes." William II nodded, and then seeing that Falkenham looked strange, he asked in confusion, "Is there any problem?"
Falkenhayn thought about it again and felt that this was a good thing, so he raised his eyebrows and said to Admiral Scheer:
"I'm sorry, I probably can't help you, General."
"I know this bomber. It was manufactured by the aircraft factory in Shire."
"At present, we don't have any fighter jets that can catch up with it. Although the latest Fokker E2 is slightly faster than it, the difference is almost negligible."
The speed of 140 kilometers per hour compared to 137 kilometers is only a difference of 3 kilometers per hour.
This advantage is far from enough to catch up and shoot it down in an air battle.
However, Admiral Scheer responded: "I know this, Chief of the General Staff. I learned all this before I came here."
Falkenhayn looked puzzled: "So what you want..."
"I have an idea, Chief of the General Staff," Admiral Scheer replied. "Charles's actions gave me a clue. Since they can use bombers as reconnaissance planes to take off from the shore, does it mean that we can do the same?"
"You mean, we also use bombers for reconnaissance to obtain intelligence on the enemy?" Falkenhayn seemed to understand what Admiral Scheer meant, and also knew which type of aircraft Admiral Scheer wanted.
"Yes." Admiral Scheer nodded. "If both sides have intelligence on each other, we won't fall too far behind. At that time, it will still depend on our own abilities."
But Falkenhayn shook his head: "Your idea may not be feasible. You know, the British are equipped with Camel fighters, which can shoot down our bombers like an eagle catching a chick."
The "Camel" fighter has a speed of 190 kilometers per hour. It is the king of the sky during that period, and no aircraft can escape its pursuit.
"Yes, I know." Admiral Scheer replied calmly: "But I think the General Staff also knows that the maximum range of the Camel fighter is only more than 400 kilometers."
(The exact number is 485 kilometers.)
Falkenhayn was stunned, thinking that the visitor had ill intentions. This guy had done a lot of preparation before coming, and it seemed that he would have to shed some blood today.
Falkenhayn had no idea that Admiral Scheer had discussed with the pilots for several hours before coming here, and even sent people to inquire about intelligence from the air force. He had mastered a lot of data and even air combat knowledge.
(End of this chapter)
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