On the morning of March 14, Churchill, the British Secretary of the Navy, left home and got into a car to go to the Admiralty to work. He is also very busy in the current tense situation. In many cases, even rest in the office. It is also normal to eat and live in the office.
Last night, it was rare that Churchill had no other business to deal with, so Churchill went home and rested for the night. He has not been with his family for a long time.
"Oh, I don't know how long this kind of life can last. I hope the Germans can launch an attack later." Churchill sighed. As the Minister of the Navy, he knew that if he fought the Germans now, they would have almost no chance of winning. Even, in order to strengthen the strength of the Royal Navy, he planned to send those old former dreadnoughts to fight. Although, the performance of the former dreadnought is far from being comparable to that of the dreadnought. However, if the number is large enough, it may also be able to play a certain role.
However, Churchill has not yet made up his mind. Because if you do that, it will cause huge casualties to the Royal Navy. However, if in the end, there is no way to do it, then it is also a way.
"If the Grand Fleet of the Royal Navy can severely injure the Germans, or in other words, it will hurt both sides. Then, the final decisive battle may be decided by the pre-dreadnought ships. At that time, the dozens of pre-dreadnought ships of the Royal Navy, Maybe it will come in handy," Churchill thought secretly. If that is the case, then the British Navy still has a chance of winning. After all, in terms of dreadnoughts, they cannot compare with the German Navy. However, in terms of former dreadnoughts, the Royal Navy still has an absolute advantage.
Of course, if the battle has really reached that point, then the capital ships of the Grand Fleet may have all been lost. This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Royal Navy. But if the victory can be won in the end, then, no matter how big the loss is, in Churchill's view, it is completely worth it.
"May God bless the British Empire! We must win this battle." Churchill said secretly.
When he came to his office, Churchill found that the secretary was already waiting there. However, the expression on the secretary's face was unnatural, which made Churchill's heart tense. Because he knew that his secretary would usually only have such an expression when there was bad news.
But, what bad news can there be for the Royal Navy now? Their main fleet stayed in Scapa Flow and did not go to sea to fight the Germans. Under such circumstances, even if there is a loss, it should not be too big.
"What happened?" Churchill asked. Since there is bad news, there is no way to hide it. Instead of doing this, it is better to ask actively.
"Your Excellency, a telegram from the Grand Fleet Command." The secretary said to Churchill.
Churchill took the telegram and read it carefully. However, soon his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"Bastard! How is this? Jellicoe and Betty, what are they doing? The heavily fortified Scapa Flow was unexpectedly attacked by a German submarine, and so many capital ships were lost! This made the following How can we continue fighting!" Churchill was furious. It was hard for him not to get angry at such news.
This morning, he also imagined that the Royal Navy might still have a slight chance of winning in future naval battles. As long as the large fleet can cause heavy losses to the German Navy. Even achieve a one-to-one battle loss. In this case, they have the opportunity to rely on the number advantage of the former dreadnoughts to regain victory. But now, a sneak attack by a submarine of the German Navy has caused them to lose so many capital ships. How can we continue this battle? Churchill has completely lost confidence in the Royal Navy.
The secretary lowered his head and said nothing. Obviously, he had already guessed that Churchill would definitely get angry after reading this telegram. This is also impossible. Who made the big fleet lose so much this time?
"Let General Jellicoe and General Betty come to see me immediately!" Churchill ordered angrily.
"Yes, sir." The secretary immediately went to send a telegram.
Admiral John Jellicoe and Lieutenant General David Beatty, who were cleaning up the mess in Scapa Flow, did not dare to neglect after receiving the telegram from the Admiralty, and immediately set off from Scapa Flow by seaplane. Rush to London. They all knew that they would definitely be scolded if they went to London this time. However, there is nothing they can do. Who caused the Royal Navy to lose so much this time?
When John Jellicoe Admiral and David Beatty Lieutenant General arrived in London, it was already afternoon. The news that the Grand Fleet was hit hard again has also been reported to the cabinet. After Prime Minister Asquith learned of the news, he didn't even eat lunch. He directly asked Churchill to wait until General John Jellicoe and Lieutenant General David Beatty arrived and let them go to the Prime Minister's Office. Obviously, Prime Minister Asquith was very dissatisfied with the loss of the Grand Fleet.
"Your Excellency, we are deeply sorry for the loss last night!" Admiral John Jellicoe apologized as soon as he saw Churchill. After all, it was their negligence that caused the German submarine to sneak into Scapa Flow, causing the Grand Fleet to pay a heavy price.
"What about the damaged battleships?" Churchill said coldly. He was very disappointed with the performance of the Grand Fleet.
"Your Excellency, we have urgently arranged for repairs. Among them, the 'Conqueror', 'Giant' and 'Neptune' will take about a month. The 'War Spite' and 'Warrior' are seriously damaged and will take at least three months." It will take a month to repair it." Lieutenant General David Beatty said.
Churchill's face suddenly became even uglier.
"So, 'War Spite' and 'Warrior' will definitely be absent from the next decisive battle between us and the Germans?" Churchill asked.
"Your Excellency, if the Germans fight us within three months, these two battleships will indeed not be able to participate in the battle." Admiral John Jellicoe answered bravely.
"Do you think the Germans will give us more time?" Churchill asked rhetorically.
Suddenly, Admiral John Jellicoe was speechless.
Obviously, the current situation is becoming more and more critical, and the Germans will definitely not give them much more time. If it is not done well, the decisive battle will start within a month. This also means that none of the five battleships that were severely damaged could participate in the decisive battle. This will also make the Royal Navy's chances of winning even smaller.
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