Chapter 1,107 Countermeasures

Chapter 1107 Countermeasures

"Your Highness, due to time constraints, we have not prepared a power handover ceremony for you that is in compliance with the rules and your identity. I hope you can forgive me." Admiral von Bohr said first. According to the Kaiser's order, when Prince Ruprecht arrived in Wilhelmshaven, the command of the High Seas Fleet was directly transferred to the prince. At this time, the German fleet was rapidly gathering, and Admiral von Boll, who had been in charge of the deployment, naturally did not have time to prepare a welcome ceremony for the prince.

"It's nothing. I don't want the British to know that I'm back." The prince said indifferently, and then ordered, "Bring the other three dreadnoughts in the Baltic Sea over."

"Are you planning a decisive battle?" Admiral von Bohr said somewhat unexpectedly.

"We must at least look like we want a decisive battle. Don't worry, the Russian dreadnoughts have not yet been commissioned. The Gulf of Finland will soon freeze, and they will not come out at this time. If I really want a decisive battle , I will also pull 6 Quasi-Dreadnoughts equipped with 12-inch artillery!" the prince said.

This is absolutely true. Currently, the German High Seas Fleet still has 2 squadrons and a total of 6 Kaiser-class battleships in service. These battleships have been equipped with a new fire control system, and the artillery has been replaced from the original 12-inch L40 cannon to the new 12-inch L45 cannon, which is exactly the same as the 6 guns used by the first-generation dreadnoughts like Blücher. The artillery can also be used for long-distance shooting. So apart from having a few main guns, these battleships are really no different from Dreadnoughts. If there is really a battle with the large fleet, then these battleships will still have to be brought. After all, there are 36 12-inch artillery pieces! It can also deal damage, and even if it can't deal damage, it can always be shared, right? !

To put it bluntly, these Dauntless are actually meant to be thrown away. Once things get bad, have a gecko tail docked. But there is no way, war is so cruel, and the prince believes that these former fearless people will definitely play some role in the main decisive battle.

"That will take at least nearly three days." Admiral von Bohr said.

"Then go quickly. Also, how are our camouflaged battleships going? If I remember correctly, there should be at least three of them now, right?" the prince asked. A camouflaged cruiser is a cruiser covered in civilian ship skin, while a so-called camouflaged battleship is a large civilian ship disguised as a battleship. The British did this kind of thing in World War I and World War II. In World War I, they sank because of their boldness. And got a fake "boldness". In World War II, the British used the same method to cause Germany to misjudge the size of the British fleet. So the prince also decided to get a few of these ships. It wouldn't cost a lot of money anyway, so he could get the best ones, but he couldn't be deceived.

"Yes, we do have three ships now." Admiral von Boll said.

"Well, bring them over here, I need to make the British realize,

Our fleet has regrouped in the North Sea. " said the prince.

"Okay, let's start the meeting now. Moltke and the others haven't sent a telegram yet?" the prince asked.

"It's not there yet. Maybe it's sent and we can't receive it, but I can guarantee that they didn't use the emergency frequency band for communication." Hipper said.

"That's good, it means it hasn't reached the point of no return yet." The prince said with a sigh of relief. "Where is the Grand Fleet?"

"The Grand Fleet should still be in the Firth of Forth. We have deployed a submarine cordon on the periphery. If they take action, we will be able to find it soon." Admiral Ball said.

"Well, send a report to the Kaiser and let's go for a walk." The prince thought for a while and said.

"But, we don't even have a plan now, so we just go out for a walk? Isn't that too easy for you to say?" Admiral Boer was completely speechless.

"Because I need to confirm the situation of the large fleet. In fact, if we go around the same circle, we are making a profit. Our fuel reserves are more than 3 months. We have heavy oil previously imported from Romania and transported from the Middle East through the 3B railway. Fuel, our fuel is quite sufficient, but the British are not. Their fuel reserves are far lower than ours, and their consumption is much greater than ours. In this case, if we actually go out for a walk, it is We took advantage!" the prince said with a smile.

Britain does not produce oil, and neither does France. Their nearest source of oil is the United States, but the relationship between the United States and Britain and France is not worth mentioning. Getting oil from the Dutch East Indies? It used to be possible, but now it's not possible because it was just destroyed by the Dutch troops in the Far East, getting oil from the Persian Gulf? The Su Xiong fleet is really a joke, so the fuel supply for the British and French fleets in this plane is very problematic.

The allies are much better, so according to the prince's idea, I have more fuel than you and consume less than you. If you want to play with me, then you must lie down first. Moreover, the current situation is that the overall speed of the German fleet is much faster than that of the British. Historically, Admiral Scheer was able to escape from Jericho at a slower speed and under extremely unfavorable circumstances. The prince believes that in this situation The plane itself can at least escape completely, right?

Of course, more importantly, the prince needs to see the attitude and reaction speed of the British fleet. From what has been collected so far, it seems that the resurgent British fast fleet is encircling the German fleet, so the executor must be that group The Queen and the battlecruisers, the prince knew that they would not be able to deal with the large fleet, but when faced with the British fast fleet, 9 Bavarias alone were enough to teach Thomas a new life.

If the British fleet does not come out, then he will directly lead the team to the exit of the North Sea to see if he can encounter the British siege fleet. If the British fleet comes out, then he will naturally evacuate quickly, hoping to catch the fast warship There are two principles.

First, the speed of the chasing battleship cannot be too slow. For example, it is okay for the Queen to chase the battle cruiser, but what if you use ordinary battleships to chase Bavaria? Then wash up and sleep. Second, containment! This requires you to have an overwhelming advantage in fleet strength. For example, if the 10 battleships of the Thomas Fleet fight two German battle cruisers, that is fine. But the Grand Fleet wants to encircle the High Seas Fleet? This is difficult. If nothing else, do you dare to divide your troops? If you divide your troops, the result is that you will be eaten. And if the troops are not divided, it will be the result of being thrown away. So from this point of view, the safety factor of the German High Seas Fleet is still high enough. In the absence of the Thomas fleet, as long as the prince wants to leave, that is It's definitely no problem.

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