Chapter 489: The Battle of Heligoland Bight
The helicopter landed on the lawn behind the villa. Fabian got off the plane excitedly and said, "Xiao, we know the approximate area of the shipwreck! We can set out to investigate!"
Their investigation into the Battle of Heligoland Bight encountered numerous setbacks. Despite its fame, especially the series of military operations in the North Sea during the early stages of the war, which set a precedent for both ambushes and counter-ambushes at sea, and the subsequent tactical operations in the North Sea that bore the tactical characteristics of the Battle of Heligoland Bight, this battle was rarely mentioned.
Because this was a naval battle that was shameful for both sides.
When talking about this naval battle, we have to mention Roger Keyes (full name Roger John Brownlow Keyes), a naval general of World War I. From a historical perspective, this man was indeed a talent, although many of the things he did were not well-received by the Chinese people. For example, he was involved in the suppression of the New Territories Uprising in Hong Kong Island and the bombardment of Dagukou by the Eight-Nation Alliance. The Russians also suffered losses from him. In 1904, the Russian Baltic Fleet accidentally injured a British fishing boat at Dogger Shoal during its eastward expedition. It was he who was responsible, and Russia paid a lot of compensation that time.
This guy fits the Chinese commander's thinking of "the art of war is all about deception", but does not fit the British aesthetic of "gentleman". So even though he is an old sailor, he was made the commander of the submarine force during World War I.
Anyone familiar with the British Navy knows that the British are particularly averse to submarines, which is also related to the purpose of the British navy's development.
The prerequisite for a country to develop a navy is that the navy can make profits for the country. In the eyes of the Chinese, this "profit" is "protecting territorial integrity", while in the eyes of the British, this "profit" is really economic profit.
Before the end of World War II, Britain undoubtedly possessed the world's most powerful navy. They expended considerable resources to maintain this formidable navy, primarily to protect the British mainland and to maintain the economic functioning of the British Empire. Before the war, British colonies comprised approximately a quarter of the world's total land area! These colonies were the foundation of Great Britain's prosperity. Such a vast colony necessitated a massive fleet to protect it.
France also had a large number of colonies in the past, but because it did not have enough navy to protect its colonies, it lost a large number of colonies in the Seven Years' War.
However, after World War II, Britain lost its former colonies, and it was no longer practical to maintain a large navy, so they sold a large number of ships, and many aircraft carriers were simply given away to the colonies for free.
There is a famous passage that puts it very vividly:
A spy during World War I stood in a British port and counted the British warships leaving the port: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... Something bad happened, the Royal Navy's most powerful fleet left the port!
During World War II, spies also stood in British ports and counted the British warships leaving the port: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,... Something bad happened, the main fleet of the British Royal Navy left the port!
And now? A spy stands at a British harbor and counts the British warships leaving: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… Something terrible is happening! The Royal Navy is out in full force!
In fact, it is difficult for the UK to find six warships to leave the port at the same time. Although they have six Type 45 destroyers, four of them are already grounded, right?
But no matter how large their navy became, submarines were always considered second-class personnel in the British Navy, and they were never given much attention. Even during World War II, British submarines played a significant role in the conflict. Roger Case's appointment as submarine commander was essentially a demotion.
At that time, Roger Case's submarine force discovered that the German fleet was conducting reconnaissance activities near the Heligoland Bight. Every evening, the Germans would use light cruisers to escort destroyers to the sea for night patrols. At dawn, the light cruisers would meet with the destroyers 20 nautical miles northwest of the Heligoland Bight and then escort each other back to the port.
Roger Case discovered this pattern and formulated a military plan to surprise the Germans. The plan was very bold: use your own submarines as bait to lure German warships to the sea west of Heligoland Island, and then ambush British surface ships there. If successful, you can also capture German cruisers.
In order to keep this military plan top secret, Roger Case personally returned to London to hand over his plan to the then Secretary of the Navy and various senior officials. The British Navy also agreed to the plan, and Commodore Richard Tillett commanded two light cruisers and 33 destroyers to carry out this plan!
When Roger Case and Richard Tillett went to implement this plan, the British Navy felt uneasy and sent Commodore Goodenough to command six light cruisers and Vice Admiral Lord Beatty to command five battle cruisers as reinforcements.
The following plot develops in a direction that even the screenwriter dared not write: the Germans actually knew about such a top-secret matter at the first time, and prepared an anti-ambush circle there to ambush the British Navy; and what is even more amazing is that: whether it is the British or the Germans, they did not know that the British had reinforcements behind them - at that time, the British naval command made a major mistake and forgot to inform Roger Case that they had reinforcements.
So the situation of this naval battle was so funny: first, Roger Case used submarines as bait to attract German destroyers. After the German light cruisers appeared, Tillett's navy surrounded the German light cruisers, damaging one cruiser and sinking one destroyer.
Just when things were going extremely smoothly, they suddenly found six light cruisers appeared in front of them. Roger Case and his men were so scared that they even sent a distress telegram. When the two sides were about to have a fierce battle, they found that the cruisers opposite them were from Commodore Goodenough's fleet. It turned out that they were their own people!
Didn't the Germans have an anti-ambush perimeter? Where were their ships?
It turned out they'd forgotten the tides! Their main battlecruisers were trapped in the Ayd Bay! They couldn't leave until the afternoon tide rose! The ships that could have rushed to the scene were caught and beaten by the British fleet. By the time the battlecruisers in the Ayd Bay finally arrived at the scene of the battle, the British warships had already withdrawn.
This battle was essentially a competition of which side made the fewest mistakes: the British, having changed their plans at the last minute and not notifying their naval commanders, nearly led to a fratricidal war between their warships. The Germans, however, suffered even worse. Knowing the British were about to set an ambush, they had the opportunity to completely annihilate the British navy on their doorstep, but instead their warships were trapped and unable to escape! Had it not happened, world history would have been rewritten.
So the Germans really didn't want to mention the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and it was indeed not easy for Fabian and his team to find out the news.
--
The author has something to say:
I owe you an update today, I'll make it up later.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
