Chapter Thirteen: Those Fake Nobles (Three)

  After careful consideration, I have to admit that I underestimated the distance from Orlanth to Skagerrak Strait. After calculating on the sea chart for half a day, I can only modify the previous chapters. After General Scher, Queen Heid also received news of Beiti's departure at dawn.

  When the Germans received news from their agents in the Orkney Islands that the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron had left port secretly on the morning of 2 March, Admiral David Beatty's five battlecruisers of the 1st BCS joined forces with Rear-Admiral Henry Oliver's two fast battleships and three battlecruisers of the temporarily formed 2nd BCS in the remote Outer Hebrides islands off the north coast of Lewis.

  This was the most powerful fast squadron in history, consisting of two Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, one Tiger-class, two Lion-class, three Indefatigable-class and two Invincible-class battlecruisers, a total of ten capital ships. The speed of these capital ships exceeded 25 knots, with the Tiger- and Lion-class battlecruisers reaching speeds of up to 28 knots. They were equipped with 40 x 12-inch/45-calibre guns, 16 x 13.5-inch/45-calibre guns and 24 x 15-inch/45-calibre guns. This was a naval force capable of destroying nations, commanded by the most brilliant young officer in the Royal Navy, David Beatty.

  The desolate sea outside Lewis Head was windy and wavy, with several old D-type destroyers tossing about in the stormy tides of the North Atlantic. Thick fog, icebergs, and stormy tides made it unsuitable for light vessels to appear in the high-latitude areas of the North Atlantic in early spring. However, the Royal Navy's West Coast Defense Command still dispatched several old destroyers and torpedo boats to provide warnings for this mysterious giant, detaining any ships that accidentally entered this sea area, so that the steel fleet could give the vast ocean fleet a lesson that would be etched in their memory at some point in the future.

  The command tower of the flagship Lion was packed with fleet staff and captains of the main warships, as Vice Admiral Betty, responsible for commanding the Fast Fleet, stood in front of the conference table, closing her eyes and pondering for a long time before uttering a terrible fact.

  "I have some unfortunate news to share with you all, but before I do, I must reiterate the importance of discipline. Any intelligence gathered around this table is not to be leaked outside, or you will face a court-martial!" At 45 years old, David Beatty was still considered one of the most outstanding young commanders in front of Admiral Jellicoe, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet. In fact, the "young" naval officer had already gone grey and was showing signs of aging. Beatty stood at the head of the table, his usual gentlemanly demeanor and radicalism from suppressing the Egyptian uprising nowhere to be seen, only a cold gaze sweeping across the room.

  "On the morning of March 2, Turkish forces launched a surprise attack on the Allied fleet in Moudros Bay. The battleship Irresistible, the pre-dreadnoughts Ocean and Albion were sunk along with three destroyers. The pre-dreadnoughts Lord Nelson and Russell were badly damaged as well as four other destroyers. Casualties among the British and French fleets reached 2,730 men."

  Everyone was shocked and couldn't understand why the situation had changed so quickly. Just a few days ago, the British and French joint fleet had loudly announced that they would land on the northern part of the Gallipoli Peninsula, but in an instant, they suffered heavy losses. One battleship and three pre-dreadnoughts sank, and the Royal Navy had never been humiliated like this before! The Battle of Heligoland Bight was also a loss for the British, with three battleships sunk at a higher cost, but after all, it was the Germans, after all, it was the fleet of the genius Heidekamp, while the Turks were just the "Sick Man of Western Asia" that they looked down on!

  A naval man with strategic vision can see that the British Empire's refusal to accept the Ottoman Empire's offer of a truce is not just about the Turkish Straits, but also about blocking Russia from entering the Mediterranean. However, those who are shortsighted and credulous believe that the British Empire rejected the Ottoman Empire's offer simply because they coveted Turkey's two main battleships. This has led to the Turks' blood being shed in vain, the Europeans' faces turning red with shame, the Germans' curses ringing out loud, and Admiral Berkeley Milne's blood pressure rising. On March 2nd, the legendary seven-turreted warship finally sank, and the Turks defended their honor with their blood. At this moment, both the naval men with strategic vision and those who are blind to reality are filled with sorrow, unable to understand whether their choices were right or wrong.

  "What about the outcome of the Anglo-French joint fleet...?" Lamperd asked with a hint of luck, his eyes reddening.

  "Sunk one German submarine, five German destroyers and two French destroyers, as well as a British-made... armored cruiser!" David Beatty ground out the icy figures, shattering everyone's illusions.

  "There was no 'unsinkable' sister ship Goeben, no cutting-edge light cruiser Breslau, just an old-fashioned armoured cruiser that couldn't show its face... The command tower fell into a deathly silence, everyone anticipating the political storm brewing like a bullet on the British Isles. Just the other day they were rejoicing at the infighting of the Germans, but in an instant, both sides became sworn enemies across the sea."

  An intangible, almost palpable sense of despair and desperation is spreading, which can be summed up as a pessimism that has never been seen in the centuries-long history of the Royal Navy. Everyone is uncertain about what will happen to the Royal Navy next, and no one knows where the way out is.

  "General, do you have a countermeasure?" David Beatty cleared his throat to bring everyone's attention back to the conference table, and it was only then that the captain of the Indomitable remembered that their commander, David Beatty, was being hailed as the most outstanding figure closest to Nelson in over a hundred years. The extinguished hope reignited, and the captain asked in a trembling voice.

  "To be frank, there is only one way!" Betty's gaze swept over the crowd in front of the conference table, casting a glance at the dark corner of the command tower before perking up again: "The Mudros Bay disaster must be accounted for, but we can wash away the defeat in the Mediterranean with a resounding victory!"

  Betty spread out a sea chart on the long conference table, and the staff officers and captains of the main force ships all stood up and crowded around.

  "The North Sea system of the German Navy is centered on the Heligoland Bight defense circle, supplemented by outer layers of submarines and seaplane units." David Beatty's hand, clutching a pencil, moved to the gray area representing the German Navy's control over the Heligoland Bight. "Because the Heligoland Bight defense circle was created by my old friend Heide Sielem, I have conducted in-depth research on it. The so-called Heligoland Bight defense circle is composed of three invisible defense circles formed by light cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, seaplanes, and minefields. Except for the outermost defense circle, the middle and inner defense circles each have a certain number of troops assigned to them, with multiple patrol routes that are irregular and can reinforce each other within half an hour to an hour. The outermost defense circle of Heligoland Bight has already approached our coastline, composed of seaplanes and submarines, so we will focus on breaking through the second layer of defense and the German Third Reconnaissance Fleet stationed on this line!"

  When Betty gets serious, he is not the gentle gentleman in front of his lover and friends, but a synonym for confidence. After a few words, David-Betty, who had been gathering those elegant words, entered a state of war, fiercely revealing the ultimate goal of the so-called North Sea combat patrol.

  "Sweep Heligoland Bight?!"

  Because of mental preparation, Vice Admiral Limpard's face was calm and composed, but Rear Admiral Muir was startled and asked a question. The Battle of Heligoland Bight, the Harwich Force that swept through Heligoland Bight was counter-swept by the German High Seas Fleet, if not for Beatty's timely reinforcement with his battlecruisers, perhaps the three British fleets would have been reduced to two; The Dogger Bank Battle, the pinnacle of the battlecruiser era, took place near Heligoland Bight, and the result was another defeat for the British, Heligoland Bight seemed to be a graveyard for the Royal Navy, leaving no room for any pride.

  "Commander, my Indomitable's port armor was hit during the Falklands battle. Although emergency repairs have minimized the impact on navigation, there is still a safety risk in high-intensity raids. The Elizabeth and Vanguard have just been refitted, and simple sailing combat patrols are fine, but if it's a raid, I'm afraid the Queen-class, which has not yet entered service, may not be up to the task... after all, we may encounter the Grand Fleet at any time..."

  The white-haired old Muir searched for not a few grandiose reasons and excuses to try to persuade what he saw as David Beatty's personal heroism and temper tantrums, but everyone knew that the German fleet's combat power in the Battle of the Falkland Islands had given this old man a "fright", so much so that in his summary report after the battle, he gave the East Asian Fleet the evaluation of "first-rate officers, first-rate sailors, first-rate warships, and the worst emperor". Perhaps it was also an important reason that he did not want to add a tail to the snake for his military career which was about to end.

  "In the face of a surprise attack by light cruisers, the Heligoland Bight defensive circle designed by Scheer was indeed impenetrable, but it could not withstand the desperate blow of the battlecruiser squadron." David Beatty marked out two German Derfflinger-class battlecruisers in the Gulf of Finland and three more off southwestern Norway, saying lightly: "Although my battlecruiser squadron is in poor condition, the Germans are worse off than us. Their naval high command is infighting, Wilhelmshaven has only seventeen dreadnoughts but not a single battlecruiser, and our old friend Scheer is under attack by conservatives. Even if he can lead his battlecruiser squadron out of the Kattegat and Skagerrak to intercept me, we have no need to be afraid. First, there have only been two instances of battlecruisers conducting combat patrols deep in the North Sea; even if Scheer discovers something, I am confident that I can retreat from Heligoland Bight with my entire fleet intact. Second, although Scheer's scouting squadron is powerful, five battlecruisers with 42 main guns cannot take on ten fast capital ships with 80 guns. Finally, if Scheer really dares to intercept us and the distance from Jutland is sufficient, then let him eat it!"

  Orders were given, and the massive battlecruiser fleet got underway from Lewis Head. After completing their first replenishment, at 0545 on March 2, the five capital ships of the First Battlecruiser Squadron led by Beatty were the first to leave Lewis Head, with the Second Battlecruiser Squadron under Rear Admiral Mullen keeping a half-hour distance behind Beatty.