Chapter 711 British and German Reactions
It's a pity that Sheffield felt so powerful, but he couldn't tell his woman. He could only cheer on the Germans in the name of setting the record straight, and encourage the Germans to confront the British Royal Navy in a decisive battle.
The advantage of doing this, of course, is that the U.S. Navy, which had just recently surpassed the French Navy, has already surpassed the Japanese Navy.
The strength of the British and German navies is now close. If the Germans are inspired by this naval battle and insist on causing trouble for the British Royal Navy, the beneficiary will of course be the United States.
This is also beneficial to the slave owner. No matter what kind of rhetoric he uses, it is an indisputable fact that the Ottoman Eighth Army he has raised is now fighting the British and Indian Corps in Kuwait.
What if the British Royal Navy, as in history, maintained its relative advantage until the end of the war and came to its senses to settle accounts with him? Although Sheffield could take advantage of the Royal Navy's absence in the Indian Ocean and claim to be the best navy in the Indian Ocean, he knew that was not true. Given the tradition of the United States never fighting against strong enemies, it was still unknown whether it could confront the British with an unbending attitude.
But if the British and Germans fought each other at sea, the situation could be saved. Even if the United States had to join the war in the end, the exhausted British would not have the strength to settle accounts with him.
Now that the British Royal Navy has suffered heavy losses, Sheffield believes that once the Germans discover this, naval battles will occur one after another, because the navy is a stock service, destroyers cannot beat cruisers, and cruisers cannot beat battleships. Once this advantage built of steel disappears, will the Germans wait for the British to recover their strength?
As for the warships that are still being built on the British shipyard, in just three months, the situation before this naval battle will return. Don't the Germans understand that if they want to break the British naval blockade, they must launch a second naval battle within half a year?
Once the Germans miss the current window and the warships are launched on the slipways of British shipyards, the truth will be what the New York Daily News says: the German fleet attacked its jailers but remains imprisoned.
Sheffield must immediately refute the New York Times' erroneous conclusion and clearly point out that the Battle of Jutland did indeed result in heavy losses for the Royal Navy, and that it had reached a state of equilibrium with the German Navy. Even if its maritime hegemony was not in jeopardy, obvious cracks had appeared, which encouraged the German Navy to take a second risk and stab the Royal Navy in the back.
The New York Daily News immediately published a rebuttal article. The officers of the Navy Department were inspired by the money-adding doctrine and accepted an interview with the editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News. They wrote an impeccable professional article, at least in front of the citizens. They believed that the British Empire had reached the most dangerous time in three hundred years and its maritime hegemony was in jeopardy.
"We must worry about the fact that Britain is an island country. The ocean is an important part for the Germans, but it is the life of the British. Once the German Navy defeats the Royal Navy, Britain's world hegemony will collapse. The Germans can defeat the Franco-Russian alliance that surrounds them from land."
The New York Times criticized the New York Times' misleading article in increasingly fierce words, listing the existing battleships of the British and German navies, indicating that this is definitely not a relationship between a cell and a cell guard. The Battle of Jutland will have a huge impact on the security of the British mainland for at least half a year.
The two major New York newspapers launched a fierce war of words over the follow-up impact of the Battle of Jutland. The New York Times emphasized, "Don't underestimate the long tradition of the British Royal Navy."
In response to this, the New York Daily's headline was, "Speak nicely and stop citing statistics all the time. You will lose no friends if you do." This is a satire on the New York Times, which has become so subjective that it does not believe in statistics.
"William, Britain is already in this situation, so you should stop stirring up trouble." Morgan Jr. came to explain helplessly, "The British are full of anger now, and there is no need for you to attract fire like this."
"Britain is still besieging my territory. Fortunately, the Indians are not strong enough to fight!" Sheffield said lazily, "Still want to cause trouble for me? It's a joke. Now the British can make the Germans not cause trouble for them, which is a victory. By the way, next month the Minister of War will watch the airship brigade's take-off exercise. Do you want to watch it?"
Sheffield had always had a clear understanding of the value of the Persian Gulf territory, and he had to fight even if he offended the British. Since he had to fight, he would try to cause more trouble for the British, so that even if the Allies won in the end, the British would not be able to cause trouble for him.
At worst, Sheffield could go back to Arlington and hide there for a few years. He was not a curious person, so he didn't believe that the British could do anything to him.
"Okay, let's not talk about this issue for now. I heard that the federal government is preparing to intervene in Mexico for the second time." Morgan Jr. asked. Now that the Democratic Party is in power, Sheffield is obviously more informed.
"Yes, the airship brigade will also be deployed to the Mexican battlefield. I also heard that General Pershing will command the intervention forces!" Sheffield scratched his head and said, "I agree with this. Mexico is too close to Texas, and we should do everything we can to weaken it. If my mercenaries were not unable to return from the Middle East, I would definitely let John and his men kill people in northern Mexico and turn it into a no-man's land. Only when everyone is dead can we feel temporarily safe."
"I'll just pretend I didn't hear it." Little Morgan said without comment. The true nature of a slave owner is not something that ordinary people can see.
Sheffield does not hide this fact. He has no sympathy for any ethnic group in the world today. Those who have survived from thousands of years ago to the present have more or less blood on their hands. Now that the Assyrians are being oppressed in the Middle East, everyone is trying to step on them, but what about when the Assyrian Empire still existed?
Just look at today's slave owners daring to pull the British Empire's beard, and the UK banning the import of agricultural products. Didn't he say anything when he didn't say a word? When the Democratic Party lost three consecutive elections, who thought about his feelings?
While the United States was engaged in a war of words over the gains and losses between Britain and Germany, the two protagonists involved in the naval battle were also in the turmoil of the subsequent impact. Sheffield was helping the Germans across the Atlantic Ocean, but it could only play a supporting role. The key still depended on whether the Germans themselves felt hope of breaking through the maritime blockade through this naval battle.
There was one situation Sheffield had not anticipated, and that was unrestricted submarine warfare! Historically, the German Navy had no hope of breaking through the naval blockade. After the Battle of Jutland, Reinhard Scheer, commander of the German High Seas Fleet, bluntly told Kaiser Wilhelm II that relying solely on the Grand Fleet would not force Britain to withdraw from the war.
It was emphasized that unrestricted submarine warfare was indispensable, and it had to be implemented even if it eventually led to the United States joining the war. Putting the British mainland under blockade like Germany would put the two countries on the same footing and prevent the influx of materials from the outside world.
In the Battle of Jutland, the German High Seas Fleet only sank one battlecruiser, and captured two British battlecruisers and twelve other warships. The 30,000 tons sunk were instantly replenished and gained. On the contrary, only the Invincible battlecruiser escaped from Beatty's fleet, and the British Royal Navy lost nearly 300,000 tons of tonnage.
Naturally, there would no longer be any passage about unrestricted submarine warfare in Reinhard Scheer's report to William II. Since a decisive battle between large fleets was already possible, who would pay attention to submarines?
"Your Majesty, the current window period is only half a year. There are some powerful warships about to be launched on the slipways of major British shipyards. We must seize this opportunity." Reinhard Scheer was not arrogant. He knew that up to now, the strength of the British Royal Navy was still above that of the German Navy.
But this is already good. At least there is hope of breaking the British maritime hegemony. Before, there was no hope at all. Although several battleships of the High Seas Fleet were seriously damaged, they were damaged but not sunk. Now that they have successfully returned to the naval port, there will be a day when they can leave port again.
On the other hand, Britain's Beatty Fleet was completely destroyed and buried at the bottom of the North Sea. This loss could not be made up.
"In the coming year, many generals and citizens are looking forward to the end of the war and the German soldiers winning the final victory." William II was silent for a long time and said these words for Reinhard Scheer to savor carefully.
The war has been going on for more than a year since the Sarajevo incident. Not only the Germans, but also the other belligerent countries are looking forward to the end of the war.
The British were also looking forward to this, but the sudden defeat at the Battle of Jutland stunned everyone who learned about it. They had never thought that the Royal Navy would be defeated.
For a time, angry British citizens hoped that the cabinet could give an explanation for the failure of the Battle of Jutland. Many angry people were directed at John Jellicoe, the commander of the British Grand Fleet.
There was no reason for the impotent rage. As the commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral John Jellicoe instantly felt like the target of public criticism. But in fact, this matter had nothing to do with him. It was the intelligence error from London that led the Royal Navy to failure.
Fortunately, the cabinet members, including the First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill, knew the inside story of the defeat. It was the Germans who discovered the leak of the radio code and in turn planned this carefully prepared ambush, catching the Royal Navy off guard.
This responsibility should not be borne by John Jellicoe himself, so under the public outrage, the Prime Minister and the Navy Minister came forward one after another, saying that it was not the fault of the admirals, but a trap carefully designed by the cunning Germans. Now citizens should believe in the determination of the Royal Navy to defend the homeland, and Admiral John Jellicoe is still a highly respected admiral.
(End of this chapter)
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