Chapter 698: Exploratory Battle
The long-lost battlecruiser Goeben reappeared, leaving the British fleet feeling uneasy. No one knew where the German battlecruiser would go next, but for Churchill, this was just a small problem.
The two-power standard of the British Royal Navy is not just talk. Churchill believed that even if the Allies achieved some tactical victories, it would not undermine Britain's ability to dominate the oceans. What's more, the Austro-Italian navies in the Mediterranean were far inferior to the German High Seas Fleet.
The Mediterranean Sea is neither big nor small. In fact, for the warring parties, it can be said to be a semi-open competition between them. The Austro-Italian fleet knew that the British and French fleets were coming for them, and Britain and France also knew that the other side was prepared. However, no one had the answer to when, where and in what weather the two sides would meet.
But there is no doubt that the initiative is still in the hands of the Allies. The stronger side will formulate more aggressive plans, especially in the navy. The strong is strong and the weak is weak, otherwise how could the scattered soldiers in the hands of the slave owners dare to ridicule the British Empire, the overlord of the ocean, and let the other side drive the armored cruiser to sink their battleships under the inspiration of the century-old naval tradition.
This is because there are currently no British dreadnoughts in the Indian Ocean. If there are none, there is nothing to be afraid of.
As for the Allies, there was not much time left for them to respond. The navy had already entered the Steel Age, and it was extremely difficult for the weaker side to turn the tables. Before Tirpitz discovered the change in the direction of the Mediterranean, he had given up the idea of challenging the British Royal Navy for a long time.
And now he fell into a long period of thinking because of a sudden factor. It was the news sent back by Grete Tissen, revealing that the German Navy code book might have been leaked.
Tirpitz first confirmed the authenticity of the information again and again, and even informed the Chief of the General Staff, Moltke the Younger. After learning the source of the information, Moltke the Younger replied very firmly, "This information is very valuable. We should believe it without reservation. Before making new plans, we should use the existing code to conduct several tests, so that we can estimate whether the code has really been leaked."
"I'm just afraid that we won't have enough time." Tirpitz hesitated. He knew very well that the strength of the British Royal Navy was increasing with every day that passed. The war was going on, but the speed of shipbuilding in Britain had not stopped.
"Let our Mediterranean allies preserve their strength as much as possible and adopt a posture of breaking commerce to avoid a decisive battle with the British and French fleets. I think two months is enough for us to test whether the code book is lost." Moltke thought for a while and said, "Breaking commerce is an area we are very familiar with. After a few experiments, we can judge from the movements of the British mainland fleet. Of course, the battle plan still needs to be formulated immediately, and we can't miss the window period that has finally appeared."
Moltke the Younger was not from the navy, but as the Chief of the General Staff for many years, his understanding of grand strategy was still far superior to Tirpitz. The reason why he supported Tirpitz's idea of taking the initiative to attack was, as mentioned before, the navy was an important force for Germany, but this was the fate of the British.
"But now that the Austrian and Italian fleets have gathered together, will there be any problems if we ask them to change their earlier ideas?" Tirpitz said hesitantly.
"My Admiral, we are German soldiers and must serve the interests of Germany. Do you know why? In this unprecedented war, the Allied victory depends on our strength. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, as well as Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, must cooperate with Germany's military operations as a whole." Moltke the Younger said bluntly, "Just like the Austro-Hungarian army, all ethnic groups in the country may gather in one division. But at our request, the Austro-Hungarian Corps sent to the Western Front was separated into ethnic-based corps, which improved its combat effectiveness, and since it is far away from the mainland, there will be no friction with our German army watching."
Moltke the Younger used the example of the Austro-Hungarian Corps on the Western Front to tell Tirpitz that the initiative of all military operations must be in the hands of Germany. Only in this way can some battlefield advantages be gained when facing the Allied Powers that were not submissive to each other.
When seeking the support of William II, the military opinion represented by Moltke the Younger was the biggest help in Tirpitz's success in going to sea. However, Moltke the Younger's support was not in vain. The Chief of the General Staff made no secret of the fact that Germany's victory still had to rely mainly on the army. If the High Seas Fleet could be annihilated at the cost of preventing Britain from continuing the war, Moltke the Younger believed it was worth it.
"Then I will convey this message to the Austrian and Italian fleets!" Tirpitz nodded. Although from the overall standpoint of the Allies, it was a bit disrespectful to always ask the Allies to cooperate with Germany's actions, what Moltke the Younger said was correct. The hope of the Allies' victory did lie in Germany, and all strategies should be based on this goal.
Tirpitz thought that Moltke the Younger's idea of asking the Austro-Italian navy to make changes and change the large fleet to disrupt commerce was disrespectful to his allies, but to his surprise, the Italians gave a positive response almost immediately.
Because in the decisive battle of the Grand Fleet, the Italian Navy Commander, the Duke of Abruzzi, was not at all sure. If it were not for the attack of the British and French fleets, he would not have thought of a decisive battle at sea.
In fact, even if there was preparation for a naval decisive battle, the Duke of Abruzzi did not want to anticipate that the decisive battle would actually happen. Tirpitz hoped that the Austrian and Italian fleets would preserve their strength, and the move to delay the British and French fleets was exactly what he wanted.
For example, the battlecruiser Goeben, which had disappeared for a long time yesterday, sank the British armored cruiser and then ran away immediately. Doesn't this style of play appear very smart?
The Mediterranean is still the same Mediterranean, but Italy is no longer the original Roman Empire. The Roman legions that once dominated the Mediterranean have long been wiped out. Facing the British Royal Navy that has dominated the oceans for three hundred years, the Italian Navy is still in shock and fear?
This was not what Churchill wanted to see. He wanted to fully control the Mediterranean as soon as possible. It was not that he felt that the remaining strength of the Grand Fleet was not enough to deter the Germans. Instead, he wanted to complete the plan of forcing the Ottoman Empire to withdraw from the war, and complete control of the Mediterranean was the basis for all this.
Starting from July, the calm Mediterranean suddenly became boiling. The Austro-Italian fleets split into various small fleets and launched intensive and annoying commerce-breaking wars on the shipping routes between the British and French colonies and the mainland.
When facing the overwhelming force of the British and French combined fleets, most of the dreadnoughts of the Austro-Italian Navy hid in the naval ports and instead sent out armored cruisers and destroyers to loot passing merchant ships.
The whole of North Africa was a colony of Britain and France. Italy had originally wanted to establish a foothold in North Africa, but lost this opportunity after being humiliated by France. Now the British and French navies are attacking without scruples, and the tonnage of merchant ships sunk in a few days has increased steadily as they have tried their best to protect the transport lines.
Churchill's blood pressure also rose. The sea routes were like blood vessels to the British Empire. Maritime security was not an issue at all for Britain and Germany. Moltke the Younger knew this, as did the British Navy Minister. His desire to find the Austrian and Italian fleets for a decisive battle became stronger and stronger.
At this time, some individual German naval ships began to frequently and secretly appear in ports on the east coast of Britain and launch attacks on the British mainland, which Churchill had not expected.
"There is no doubt that this attack, which started with the battlecruiser Goeben, is a signal for the Allies to attack our sea transport lines." Churchill said like an angry bull at the cabinet meeting, "Fortunately, we understand the movements of the German Navy. This time, the Allied navies are working together. Because of the disadvantage of the German coastline, although the High Seas Fleet is closer, it is not a big threat. The most important thing now is to calm the boiling Mediterranean."
Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, still believed that the Mediterranean strategy was more important. Britain had the geographical advantage over Germany, and the Royal Navy was much stronger than the German Navy.
In the next two months, in addition to the war on land, the Allied naval attacks became more and more frequent. From destroyers to armored cruisers, and finally to fleets led by dreadnoughts, the Allied ocean transport was in chaos.
It seemed that there was no difference between the harassment of Britain by German warships and the attack of the Austro-Italian fleet in the Mediterranean. However, Tirpitz carefully observed the reaction of the British mainland to the German attack and judged the value of the earlier intelligence. The German Navy's code book had indeed been leaked.
On the one hand, Tirpitz was secretly working on replacing the code book, and on the other hand, Tirpitz was trying to lure part of the British Royal Navy. If the balance of power at sea could be achieved, it would greatly shake Britain's determination to continue the war.
While Tirpitz was making final preparations, a naval battle of pursuit and counter-pursuit took place in the Mediterranean. The British and French combined fleets caught the fleet with the battleship Count Cavour as its flagship and launched a pursuit battle in the Mediterranean.
The Italian fleet was heading north at full speed, with the British fleet chasing closely behind them. At the same time, the British fleet in the nearby waters was contacting the French fleet in the same waters and joining in the rowing race.
The Italian cruiser entered the range of the British battleships, and the British battleships fired several salvos, but none of them hit. Another battleship was still some distance ahead and did not engage in the battle.
At a distance of 20,000 meters, the battleship Count Cavour fired its first main gun salvo, and huge splashes exploded next to the British fleet, while the Italian fleet continued to flee northward.
(End of this chapter)
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