Chapter 2108: The Naval Fleet’s Big Bottom One
Therefore, most of the personnel did not board the ship, and the evacuation tonight became a joke because of the existence of the German navy. After the battle report from the front line came, the evacuation work was decisively stopped tonight. In the end, there were only 2,400 British troops Boarded the transport ship, and 1,000 of these people were buried forever in the rolling waves of the Strait of Dover!
That's right, you read that right, 1,000 army troops died, and one of the ships responsible for transporting personnel was attacked by a German submarine shortly after leaving Dunkirk! The Germans fired 4 torpedoes in succession at a distance of less than 600 meters, and hit 3 directly! Then, this poor transport ship was blown to pieces! No more than 100 of the more than 700 army officers, soldiers and crew members ran out, while another transport ship hit a mine that the Germans had just deployed! But the British on this ship had better luck, and about half of them escaped.
After the British stopped evacuating at night, Earl Spey had no intention of continuing to fight. After all, the fleet consumed a lot of ammunition, and if they got closer, they might be attacked by the army's long-range cannons. Outside of surveillance, the entire fleet began to return.
Overall, the German Navy lost 1 light cruiser, 1 frigate and 6 other destroyers and submarines during the night's fighting. The loss of the British fleet was much greater. Two 12,000-ton armored cruisers and three light cruisers were sunk, and the total number of various destroyers and torpedo boats was no less than 15! Of course, these losses are not the most fatal. The most fatal thing is that the Germans told the British with their actions that they wanted to leave all, more than 1.5 million British expeditionary forces on the European continent, and they had the ability to do so. , This is an uncompromising attitude, ready to crush the other party to death! Sometimes this kind of killing intent is more terrifying than fighting on the battlefield!
After receiving the information from the front line, Prime Minister Asquith personally went to the current location of the Grand Fleet—the Firth of Forth. Duty, then I can only trouble the Prime Minister to make a trip!
"Our evacuation operation was forced to be suspended, and the entire British Empire expressed disappointment with the navy's actions." After seeing Jericho, Prime Minister Asquith said straight to the point.
"We are trying to figure out a way to deal with this matter. However, I hope that the Prime Minister will pay attention. If there is a problem with the Grand Fleet, then the entire empire will not be disappointed but desperate." Jericho's answer was very calm, as if It's just stating a fact. In fact, he was right!
"The Germans want to destroy us in the first World War. They not only aimed at our army, but also our navy! The Germans are a continental country, and they dare to fight us to lose both sides. Therefore, I am not afraid of war, just because the empire survives Tie to the Navy," Jericho said.
"But we can't give up millions of troops. They have died for the empire. They are the most dedicated and sacrificed people in the empire. We can't give up on them." Prime Minister Asquith said.
"Well, this is our final plan. I will put all the chips I can put on the table to ensure the normal progress of the retreat." Jericho said, and then he brought Prime Minister Asquith In front of a huge sand table. A battleship model was then placed on the Strait of Dover.
"We can send no more than four dreadnought ships into the Strait of Dover to cover the night evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. This is the best effort the British Empire fleet can make. If we lose these warships, then we will It can only be said that the large fleet is powerless,
Because we must ensure that we can face the full blow of the German High Seas Fleet! Jericho said resolutely, without any hint of compromise in his words.
There is a reason why Jericho drew this bottom line, because the number of capital ships in the current large fleet is really not too many! How many warships of the dreadnought level and above have the British built? And now, after more than 2 years of fighting, how much is left?
Let’s talk about dreadnoughts first. Dreadnoughts are naturally divided into battleships and battlecruisers. A total of 10 ships of 5 levels were built for the former. There are 6 battlecruisers at tier 2, and a total of 16 dreadnought battleships.
Then the British Navy entered the era of super dreadnoughts. During this period, the British first built a class 3 super dreadnought ship equipped with 10 13.5-inch guns. There were 4 ships in each class, and a total of 12 ships. After completing these three levels, it entered the Queen's Era. A total of 9 Queen Elizabeth-class battleships and 4 Vengeance-class battleships were built, plus 3 Fury-class fast battleships that are under construction and are about to be completed. This class of battleships can be regarded as It is an enhanced version of the Queen Elizabeth class. This is 25 ships. If you count the 4 super dreadnought battlecruisers, then there are 32 ships in total.
And so far, how many warships has the Grand Fleet lost in total? In the Battle of Dogal Sandbar, the British Grand Fleet lost 4 battlecruisers, namely Lion, Queen Mary, Grand Princess, and Indomitable, as well as two super dreadnoughts equipped with 13.5-inch guns. Aspen (also called Ajax) and Erin (replacing the historic George V-class battleship Centurion).
In the ensuing Battle of Prometheus Fire Pirates, the German High Seas Fleet once again severely damaged the British Fast Fleet. In this battle, three Queen Elizabeth-class battleships: HMS Barrem, HMS Renown and HMS Retaliation were on the spot. The battlecruiser New Zealand was also destroyed, and this is another 4 ships! Coupled with the loss of Australia in a confrontation before the Battle of the Fire Pirates, this is 5 searches
So, how many capital ships of the Grand Fleet are left in total? There are only 4 pure-blood battlecruisers left, and only one of them, the Tiger, is considered super fearless. The fast battleships were left with 6 Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. The battleship detachment has a total of 10 dreadnoughts and 10 super dreadnoughts equipped with 13.5-inch guns. There are a total of 20 ships, which is 34 ships.
As for the remaining three Fury-class fast battleships, there is no way. Although they have been launched, they are being outfitted. As for when the outfitting will be completed and whether they can catch up with the final battle, it is really uncertain. There is no way. Warship construction takes time. Although the British shipyards have been working overtime, they have received some production delays in key components and insufficient manpower. As a result, the three latest fast battleships are still unable to serve. But think about it, although a lot of mature technology was used in the construction. , but now there is only more than 1 year of construction time, this speed is already very good!
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