Chapter 225 Bad News

London, 10 Downing Street.

Prime Minister's Office.

After reviewing several documents, Churchill put down his pen and looked at Chamberlain. "Your Excellency Chamberlain, have you heard about the German High Seas Fleet going to sea?"

Although he has not yet officially taken office, Churchill has taken over the work of the Prime Minister; and in order to complete the handover work, Chamberlain also stays in the Prime Minister's Office these days.

"I heard it." Chamberlain said absentmindedly. "What will happen to those cowards who went to sea? They just want to intercept the fleet we sent to Iceland. When they see the Warspite in the fleet, they will have to flee back in despair. We have found out the secrets of the Germans Weapons?" Although the Germans trumpeted the great achievements of their U-47 submarine, he did not believe that one submarine could sink so many warships. The Germans must have used some secret weapon.

Churchill shook his head in frustration. "Not yet." Every time he thought of those battleships and sailors lost in vain, he felt his heart bleed. After defeating these damn Germans, we must make them pay ten times and a hundred times the price!

Just then the secretary hurried in. "Your Excellency Prime Minister, the fleet sent a telegram saying that it encountered a group of German aircraft."

"What?!" Chamberlain and Churchill were immediately shocked, Chamberlain murmured with a surprised look on his face. "How is this possible? Why did those cowards suddenly become bolder?"

Churchill waved his hand. "I know, you go to the communications room and guard it. If there is any new information, report it immediately."

"yes."

After the secretary left, Churchill looked at Chamberlain with an ugly expression. "This is not good."

Chamberlain nodded. "Once they succeed this time, even if they sink a destroyer, their morale will be greatly boosted, which is really not good." The German navy had fled in fear the past few times. Unexpectedly, I didn't know what bears they ate today. You were so brave that you actually launched an attack? "Could it be that the Germans didn't know that the Warspite had joined the fleet, so they launched an attack rashly. When they discovered the Warspite, they might have retreated on their own."

"..." Although this idea sounds a bit absurd, people are accustomed to thinking of the best in everything, and Churchill also hoped from the bottom of his heart that just as Chamberlain had guessed, the German fleet would flee again.

Unfortunately, reality just likes to slap people in the face.

A few minutes later the secretary burst in with a panicked look on his face. "Your Excellency Prime Minister, Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Warspite has been hit! Captain Pullman Cook sent a distress telegram and air support is urgently needed!"

Churchill's fat body walked at an incredible speed to the huge map on the wall. His finger traced across the map, looking for the location of the fleet. "Damn, how can this support be possible?" At this time, the fleet is hundreds of kilometers away from the mainland, which is already the limit of the fighter jet's range. If we really send fighter jets there, it will become a one-way mission. Not to mention whether they can catch up, even if they catch up and drive away the German aircraft, those fighter jets will all fall into the sea because they run out of fuel.

After hesitating for a long time, Churchill finally gave the order. "Let them hold on." As for how to hold on, they can only rely on the fleet's own anti-aircraft firepower. I also pray that those German planes will not be stuck in the air for a long time and return early due to fuel problems.

"This is really bad." Chamberlain also realized that he had been completely wishful thinking just now. Maybe the German fleet was heading for the Warspite.

Churchill walked around a little irritably, mentally calculating the extent of the loss this time. If the Warspite was seriously damaged, it would have to be overhauled, and it would be impossible to participate in the war in a short period of time. As a result, they would lose sea power.

"Damn it!" He cursed softly, and his hatred for the Germans increased a lot. He secretly made up his mind to defeat Germany this time and must dismember Germany and completely eradicate the future troubles!

After a while, the secretary ran in again, his face twisted into a mournful expression. "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, a telegram has been sent from the Dunedin. The Warspite has sunk!"

"What?!" Churchill stumbled a little dizzy, holding on to the table in front of him to keep from falling.

"How is this possible?!" Chamberlain also looked in disbelief. Even if the Warspite was an old ship launched before World War I, it was still a 30,000-ton behemoth. How could it sink in just ten minutes? "How did it sink?"

"According to the telegram, the first aerial bomb penetrated Warspite's horizontal armor and damaged its boiler room, causing Warspite to slow down significantly. During the second round of attacks, three torpedoes hit simultaneously Its side caused the ship to capsize."

Chamberlain asked hurriedly. "What about Captain Pullman Cook and the others? How many people escaped?" What he was most worried about now was that Captain Pullman Cook would choose to live or die with the ship.

"The captain and the ship live and die together" is a tradition in the history of Western navigation. According to records, its history can be traced back to the Victorian period. When a British Royal Navy troop transport ran aground and was about to sink, the captain offered to let women and children Go first, stay yourself, this knightly slogan ultimately led to the death of all senior crew members including the captain. From that time on, it became an unwritten rule that the captain and the ship went down together.

As British values ​​spread across the sea, this value choice gradually became a professional ethics tacitly accepted by the world. "Honor before profit", "fight against bullies, protect women and children", "believe in the worst prospects calmly, but never back down", "better die than betray those who trust you", these beliefs constitute the social ethics benchmark of the European "gentleman" values ​​after the Victorian era, and also constitute the social honor benchmark of the "captain and ship coexistence" ethics since then.

In addition, soldiers will regard honor as higher than their own lives. The greatest shame for soldiers is to lose their positions. For captains, warships are positions. Once they choose to leave, they will be labeled as "deserters", so they are unwilling to leave even if they die.

However, the times are progressive. Due to the development of productivity, it is easy to produce warships. If the factory is fully open, they can pour into the sea like dumplings. But training captains is still a difficult thing; let alone training captains, it takes 18 years for a person to grow up to be able to serve in the army.

Especially in wartime like this, experienced soldiers are priceless treasures. For big countries, changing a ship and continuing the battle, for small countries, whether it is preserving the knowledge inheritance of naval captains or teaching the next generation of captains, it is a good way to cause more damage to the enemy and fulfill the responsibilities of a naval commander who has been trained for many years.

Sinking with the ship will not cause any harm to the enemy, and the country will lose a naval talent in vain.

The secretary shook his head with a sad face. "The hull sank too quickly, and few people could escape; and the attack of German aircraft continued, and the fleet has retreated to the mainland."