Chapter 645 Worrying about the German Navy
In the end, the German First Fast Fleet was defeated with one battlecruiser, two cruisers, and four destroyers sunk.
The battleship "Lützow" returned safely.
The reason it was able to survive was that a cruiser came up at high speed at the last moment and blocked the torpedo for it.
After this, Major General Cavis had to order the fleet to retreat, as he knew there was no point in continuing.
There were only 20 ships when they came, full of murderous intent to give the French Navy a warning, but when they returned, there were only 13 ships left, and the only damage they caused to the enemy was two destroyers and one cruiser.
This made Major General Cavis indignant.
Worst of all, the Germans lost a valuable battlecruiser.
The Moltke-class "Sedliffie", a fairly advanced battlecruiser, was only commissioned in May 1913, less than three years ago.
…
Antwerp, Charles' headquarters.
When the news of victory came, cheers instantly broke out in the headquarters. The staff officers excitedly ran to Charles and surrounded him, vying to hug and shake hands with him:
"Great, General, we defeated the German Navy."
"It's hard to imagine that we had almost no losses, but we sank a battlecruiser, the most advanced battlecruiser of the Germans."
"The German fleet is the second largest in the world. If we defeat them, does that mean our navy will be the second largest in the world?"
The speaker was Wei Gang, who was always with Charles as his combat staff officer.
The staff officers all turned their gazes to Wei Gang with some mockery in their eyes.
Second in the world?
Does this guy think that at this point in time, the French Navy will be content with being second in the world?
However, everyone understood it tacitly and didn't say it out loud, they just smiled with different meanings.
At this time, Lieutenant General Geprat walked into Charles' office.
His headquarters was located downstairs in the Charles Building, which made it easier for the Air Force and Navy to coordinate, otherwise this battle would not have been fought so beautifully.
Vice Admiral Geprat's cheeks flushed with excitement. He stepped forward, grasped Charles' hand, and said tremblingly, "We won, we really won, Vice Admiral. You are right, these torpedo attack planes are really useful!"
"Of course, General." Charles replied calmly, "In fact, without torpedo planes, the Germans will not be able to win this battle."
Lieutenant General Geprat nodded heavily.
Although the escort fleet was inferior to the German fleet in both tonnage and firepower, the French fleet used merchant ships as bait to occupy a favorable "T"-shaped position, and could open fire on the German fleet from the beginning.
More importantly, the French fleet took advantage of the fog to close in on the German fleet and was within the 3-kilometer range of torpedoes when the battle began.
At this distance, the French fleet, equipped with new wire-guided torpedoes, can fight even against powerful battlecruisers.
"I have something I need to discuss with you." Lieutenant General Geprat glanced towards the conference room.
Charles understood, stood up, walked into the conference room with Lieutenant General Geprat and closed the door.
Cheers from officers and soldiers could be heard again outside the door. Some of them were madly throwing documents and papers into the air. They fluttered in the air like petals falling to welcome heroes.
Lieutenant General Geprat sat in the chair and nodded with satisfaction, his eyes full of emotion, and soon some tears appeared in his eyes.
He recalled the French Navy's struggle over the past hundred years. They had always worked very hard, but had always been suppressed by the British Royal Navy. Now they had even fallen to the point of withdrawing from the Atlantic and defending the Mediterranean alone.
Now, everything seems different...
"General?" Charles called.
Lieutenant General Geprat suddenly woke up. He smiled awkwardly, sniffed and wiped his eyes secretly: "Sorry, Lieutenant General, I just... you know, this is a special victory, very special."
"Yes, I understand." Charles nodded to show his understanding.
This is of great significance to the navy, especially for veterans like Gueprat, who can hope to see the French navy return to its peak in their lifetime. This alone will give them no regrets, not to mention that it will bring huge benefits to France in the future.
After taking some time to calm down, Lieutenant General Geprat said slowly, "Although we have achieved a remarkable victory this time, it seems to be disadvantageous to the strategy. Am I right?"
Charles nodded, knowing what Vice Admiral Geprat was referring to.
France's ultimate goal is to surpass the British Royal Navy. Even if there is no direct combat, it wants to let the British and the whole world know that the world's number one navy is France, not Britain.
From this strategic perspective, France should join forces with the German Navy to contain the British Royal Navy.
Therefore, it was not in the interests of the French Navy to inflict heavy damage on the German Navy.
"I know." Charles said, "That's why we didn't go after him with all our strength."
At this time, the French Navy was equipped with 1,000-ton Adventurer-class destroyers, which had a maximum speed of 31 knots and had no problem catching up with the German fleet.
Only one squadron of bombers was dispatched, and the other squadron circled nearby and did not engage in combat.
"But we still sank seven German warships, including a battlecruiser." Vice Admiral Geprat said with worry: "I am worried that the German fleet will never dare to leave the Heligoland Bight again."
Ciel shook his head and replied, his eyes full of confidence:
"No, General, they will come out."
"They will soon learn that the British have neither our new torpedoes nor torpedo-attack aircraft, even if they have the Caproni."
"The purpose of our battle is to tell the Germans not to mess with the French Navy in the future."
Geplat nodded slightly.
France had bombers capable of carrying torpedoes in the sky, new wire-guided torpedoes in the sea, and "echo sounders" that could find submarines. The Germans knew how to make the choices.
Then Charles added: "If the Germans are smart enough, they should figure out the key to breaking the British Royal Navy blockade. This will be a blessing for them, not a curse."
"What?" Lieutenant General Geprat was stunned. "You mean, the Germans can break the blockade of the British fleet?"
"Of course." Charles reminded, "The Germans have more advanced aircraft engines, but they mistakenly used the most advanced engines on airships."
Vice Admiral Geprat was confused and thought for a while before saying "Oh": "They can improve the performance of bombers and let them carry torpedoes?"
"Yes, General," Charles replied, "The Germans cannot surpass the British in battleships. I can only help them take the war to another level."
Lieutenant General Geprat stared at Charles for a long time without being able to utter a word.
It turns out that this is Charles' real purpose. It can be said that he is worried about the German Navy!
(End of this chapter)
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