Chapter 1808 The Royal Navy Was Shot 1
There is no doubt that the British aviation industry is indeed strong. In terms of overall size, the British aviation force is also strong. This is true, but how do you say it? The aviation force that was supposed to have the upper hand actually allocated a large part to the navy! You know, there are currently about 2,600 aircraft under the Navy's name, and most of them are twin-engine aircraft. They are used for anti-submarine, patrol, blockade, and sea attacks. (Here, give a thumbs up to the German submarine force. They have also made a huge contribution to the issue of diluting British aviation power. Now there are at least 200 seaplanes flying in the waters near Britain every day.)
So, in this case, General Haig turned to the Royal Navy... It just so happened that at this time, because of the intervention of the Americans, the British Navy's North Sea blockade was greatly compromised. Although this matter had nothing to do with the navy, in the eyes of those who value the results, since the usefulness of the blockade has been greatly weakened, then the reduction Investment is also normal…. Therefore, due to a strange combination of circumstances, it has become inevitable to reduce the number of naval aviation units!
However, this time, by coincidence, Chamberlain, as the special envoy, also experienced such an incident of a German bomber flying above his head. Let Chamberlain "empathize" with the current situation on the Western Front! Human beings are all somewhat subjective. And when he looked at the bombers painted with Iron Crosses flying above his head and the warehouses in flames in the distance, Chamberlain really believed the conclusion that "the air power on the Western Front is now out of balance." And his tendentious report will naturally have an impact on British senior officials.
"Okay, General Haig, I will objectively report the situation of you and the Western Front Army to the higher-ups. I hope that the next time we meet, the sky will be peaceful and quiet." Looking at the still burning warehouse in the distance, and the sounds of gunfire and plane engines in the air, Chamberlain said.
"Please, Mr. Chamberlain, all officers and soldiers on the entire Western Front, whether they are British, French, Belgian or Portuguese, will thank you for your righteous speech." General Haig said.
However, for Chamberlain, when he accepted the gratitude of the British Army on the Western Front, it also meant that he had to accept the hatred and anger of the British Royal Navy! Of course, as a politician, Chamberlain still had a clear understanding that his report might cause dissatisfaction with the Navy, but he was convinced by what he saw and heard, and was even ready to face this. Everything, but unfortunately, he is only a politician after all, not a strategist, let alone a military strategist. He doesn't know how big a deal his decision will cause in the future!
But at least everything is going according to Chamberlain's plan now. After returning to London, Prime Minister Asquith gave him three hours to report on the situation on the Western Front. At the end of the meeting, Chamberlain submitted a report on the supplementary plan for the Western Front Air Force. Of course, this guy had absolutely no ability to write such a thing. It was drafted by Marshal Trenchard himself and deleted by General Haig. Submitted several times later, this report is exemplary in terms of format, wording and arguments. Chamberlain's role was just to hand him over and then add his own attitude behind it.
The efficiency of the War Cabinet was very high. In just one day, the British top brass decided to adopt most of the opinions on this supplementary plan for the Western Front Air Force. However, the rest is easy to handle. It was up to Prime Minister Asquith to take action in person, to state to Admiralty Churchill the high-level decisions of the empire regarding this air force mobilization, and to solicit their opinions! Yes, this time it was a solicitation of opinions, not a formality. After all, there are many senior officials who understand military affairs. Even the most arbitrary and arrogant Secretary of War, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, believed that this matter was "out of respect" for the Navy. Views.
"Just today, Sir Jericho has returned to the Grand Fleet station. Now the only person in the Admiralty's fleet is General Betty." An attendant said to Asquith.
"Very good, then go see Mr. Churchill today." Prime Minister Asquith nodded with satisfaction. Asquith is not afraid of Churchill, because Churchill is a civil servant, not a soldier. Churchill knows how to compromise. If it were Jericho, this stubborn bull could really do something like throwing his hat away! During the war, a civilian officer can be replaced as soon as possible, but it is difficult to get a commander of the Grand Fleet who can fight. If Jericho quits, who will you look for? ! So, the clever Asquith directly found a time when Jericho was no longer around to discuss the matter with Churchill... The first aircraft to be cut will also start from the land-based aviation force affiliated to the navy, and will not directly cause trouble to the large fleet!
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, with all due respect, the Navy cannot accept this new allocation plan. The number of aircraft we will receive in the next quarter is not even 60% of the previous one! And the total tonnage has dropped to less than half! And it is even more unbearable for us. Yes, you actually want to reduce the number of our land-based aircraft now! You have almost drained about half of our bombers and personnel!" Even though Churchill did not understand military affairs, he expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the contents of the entire report.
(In this article, the author uses tonnage to describe the number of aircraft. This is not the author's carelessness. In fact, when describing a country's aviation production capacity in World War II, the number of aircraft is not suitable to truly describe the production capacity of a country's air force. Strength and weakness. For example, during World War II, Britain's highest annual aircraft production was 26,000 aircraft, Germany's was 39,000 aircraft, and Russia's was 40,000 aircraft. But in fact, because Britain's production capacity included a large number of four-engine bombers, More than 90% of the Soviet aircraft are single-engine aircraft, so the actual production capacity is not as reflected by the quantity. Generally speaking, Britain and Germany should be on the same level. It depends on who is higher. The Soviet Union's highest aircraft production capacity in one year is actually It is not as good as the Germans, because more than half of German aircraft are twin-engine aircraft.)
"The Army lost nearly 500 aircraft in four days." Prime Minister Asquith raised his head and continued: "Do you want the British Air Force on the Western Front to disappear from our establishment in a month? ?" Asquith's rhetorical question was so sharp! Churchill was almost speechless.
"The Navy, which occupies a large number of twin-engine aircraft resources, has undertaken the least attack missions. Whether it is the blockade fleet in the Shetland Islands or the patrol fleet used for escort, their number of attacks is only a handful. And their record is even more Horribly low. Of course, the most critical thing is that now there is a breach in the blockade, and the attempt to use the blockade to strangle the Germans is no longer possible."
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