Chapter Fourteen: Variations (Two)

  "The Third Scouting Group of the Germans is finished!" Three Bremens and one K?nigsberg were within range of the main body of fast battleships, and although the first salvo from the five battlecruisers achieved nothing, Rear-Admiral Lütjens still gave the poor Third Scouting Group its death certificate. "This is a magnificent victory!"

  "A glorious victory?" Commander David Beatty lowered his binoculars, turned to gaze at the excited General Lampaert with a hint of astonishment, and raised an eyebrow in doubt as he repeated the question.

  The mighty dispatched ten fast battleships to sweep south, sinking four German dreadnought cruisers is just a brilliant feat? One must know that pride is the tradition of the Royal Navy, and attacking is the creed of the British Navy. The song "Rule Britannia" has never been extinguished on the high seas! One must know that countless warships and famous generals have been sacrificed in front of the British Empire! One must know that in 1901, Lampard, who participated in the relief war in the Far East, also dared to shout out "but seek one battle, alone and defeated", recklessly boasting about the British people's pride! And now, with the European war having lasted less than a year, the laughing stock of the Harwich fleet has already shouted out that they will shell Germany's homeland - Heligoland Bay will be their final swan song. Lampard, the major general, unknowingly lowered the victory standard of the Royal Navy again and again!

  "The Third Reconnaissance Fleet should have sent out the intelligence by now..." Commodore Lampedusa, with a poet's romantic and petty tone, was completely unaware of the worry between Captain David Beatty's eyebrows, and continued to say: "Even if Sealyham's First Reconnaissance Fleet can't stop us immediately, at least we'll be making a profit!"

  "Commodore, I fear we're seeing the worst of it, some precious quality of the Royal Navy is being lost in this war..." Davy-Betty tried to tactfully criticize Commodore Lampedusa's hesitation, but was abruptly cut off by a remark from his trusted subordinate.

  "What if the first scouting fleet of Xeridia can't even stop us?" Betty threw down the lamp and rushed a few steps, leaning over to press herself against the long table in the command tower where the North Sea map was spread out. A moment later she couldn't help but burst out with an oath: "God! Maybe we've all underestimated their tactical acumen!"

  "Gentlemen, I think I owe an apology to those who trusted me!" Wang Haiting's face was deathly pale, her body swaying back and forth, barely holding on with the help of the telegraph room's radio equipment.

  Several of the most capable German fleet commanders were suffering from nervous breakdowns or depression to a greater or lesser extent. Since Admiral Hipper took over as commander of the Third Squadron, the decrease in workload had greatly alleviated his symptoms, but Heidekamp's condition was getting worse and worse. The double trauma of spirit and flesh after the Dogger Bank battle had not been healed, and the summary meeting after the shallow water horror, the mobilization work in 1915, the Baltic Sea blockade mission, the normal training of the First Reconnaissance Fleet, the Mudsros Bay raid, and the North Sea showdown plan had undoubtedly overdrawn his energy.

  An unprecedented sense of fatigue swept over him, and the dizziness made Wang Haitie have to hold onto the corner of the radio console tightly, to avoid causing irreparable losses in front of his subordinates. As the commander of a fleet with more than 10,000 officers and soldiers who had gone to war, Wang Haitie bore an unshirkable responsibility for his men, he could not fall!

  "We can't stay in Dogger Bank any longer. The First Scouting Fleet is to proceed at once to the coast of Jutland!"

  Deputy Commander Leventz and Chief of Staff Ingraham were first bewildered by King Haider's inexplicable apology, just as they were about to ask questions, and then shocked by the Navy General's reckless words. After countless days and nights of planning and deployment, tens of hours of navigation and waiting, at the moment when the Third Reconnaissance Fleet was attacked, the German fleet was bursting with confidence, while the initiator of the battle suddenly changed plans at this critical juncture.

  "Admiral, you have commanded two successful naval battles and planned countless surface actions. You should know the negative impact that changing plans will have on yourself and on the Ocean Fleet!" Ingel had served in the First Reconnaissance Fleet for a long time, he understood Wang Haitao's cautious and deliberate command style, and he couldn't understand why the navy's most outstanding strategist was so flustered and reckless.

  Changing a plan that has been finalized and set in motion not only means astronomical waste, negligence, risk, and unpredictability, but also a devastating blow to the image of the naval war god and the morale of the fleet officers and soldiers. As an old general who has served in the navy for 20 years, Wang Haitian clearly knows the consequences of changing orders frequently, but he has no choice, he is no longer a 90s otaku who dares not to face his pregnant girlfriend in the 21st century!

  "Betti's third North Sea battle cruise chose to change tactics, adopting a route opposite to the usual North Sea cruise route. The reconnaissance report of the Jutland coast, the trajectory of the Grand Fleet's southward movement, all seemed so seamless that even I was fooled!"

  "In other words, the Germans mistakenly thought we would head home via the North Sea, so the main force of the Grand Fleet and the main force of the First Scouting Force were both lying in wait near Dogger Bank?" The disjointed sea battle continued, and within less than fifteen minutes, two German cruisers from the Third Scouting Force had been sunk. One was motionless with flames shooting into the sky, leaving only one, the Schleswig-Holstein, still standing defiantly. Rear Admiral Osmond Brock, chief of staff of the First Battle Cruiser Squadron, listened to Commander David Beatty's analysis, his pale face showing a mixture of regret and relief that was hard to believe.

  Betty was still calculating something on the sea chart, occasionally marking out a few key points and ambush points, and a dry throat barely made a sound of confirmation. Lieutenant General Lampard looked up at the flames that were shaking the sky and asked Betty in a low voice: "Commander, are we still going to take the Jutland route back home?"

  "Why not?" Betty retorted, straightening up.

  "Commander, are you planning to abandon Operation Lure and Kill First Reconnaissance Fleet?" asked Lieutenant General Lampard.

  "Lampard, do you think I can see through the misty veil of Xilem that you can't guess?" Betty threw down the pencil in her hand, crossed her arms over her chest, and glanced sideways towards the Doggerland continent.

  "I've been wondering..." Wang Haitian strained to support his own body, gritting his teeth and saying: "If the disguised intelligence ship deployed in the Norwegian Sea can escape the sight of the light warships of the Beiti fleet's vanguard and openly send us intelligence, then why would it lose contact with us after discovering the Beiti fleet's rear? There is only one reason..."

  "Betty never thought of hiding his course, he just wanted to keep the two Queen Elizabeths' mysterious veil until the last moment!" Colonel Singlerail, who came from Kiel Naval Academy, pondered for a moment and shook his head, saying: "However, this can only prove that the British goal is indeed the First Scouting Fleet, but it cannot explain why the British would take the Jutland route."

  "No, Captain, this means that Beatty has realized his change of course might be anticipated by us in advance, so the opposite of any intuitive imagination is Beatty's true route!" Wang Haitian smiled wryly and pointed out another weakness of the British: "In fact, the southward deployment of the Grand Fleet has already exposed the fact that both Germany and Britain have planted spies in each other's main fleet anchorages, which is an open secret. Even if the Grand Fleet is overconfident or careless, it is impossible for them to reveal their route clearly to us, unless..."

  "Unless the southern advance of the main fleet is just a feint!" Colonel Singlaire was finally convinced this time, but there were still complaints and regrets: "General, we've made a wrong move. It seems that our plan to intercept the Beatty's First Battle Cruiser Squadron can only be abandoned!"

  "Command, dispatch to all ships of the fleet: The main force of the First Reconnaissance Squadron sets sail, heading northeast at a speed of 25 knots; The First and Second Destroyer Squadrons will rendezvous with the Second Reconnaissance Squadron and reinforce in a northeasterly direction; The Zeppelin will remain on Dogger Bank to recall seaplanes; Notify the North Sea Command, requesting deployment of no less than ten aircraft and airships to scout the Jutland coast for Beatty's First Reconnaissance Squadron; Cable General Scheer: On the 3rd, the situation in the North Sea developed completely contrary to expectations, and the reconnaissance squadron had to intercept Beatty's squadron off the Jutland coast. Requesting support from the High Seas Fleet."

  The intelligence aide quickly recorded King Haite's order, and King Haite picked up the pen, hesitated for a moment, and then solemnly signed "Haite-Xilem".

  The first reconnaissance fleet of the ambush set sail again, speeding along the coast of Adriatic Sea.

  Confusion was almost inevitable, as when the order to turn about was given, the First and Second Destroyer Squadrons were still steaming east-west and south on the land, reassembling would take at least half an hour; The Zeppelin airship carrier was even more miserable, constrained by the load of seaplanes, it was obvious that equipping wireless telegraph machines was a joke, so the Zeppelin had to wait for more than an hour after dispatching the seaplane to return. Whether the First Reconnaissance Squadron could intercept Beatty's squadron or not, this converted airship carrier was doomed to be unable to participate in the battle on time. The officers and men of the Grand Fleet, about two hours' sailing distance from the First Reconnaissance Squadron, fell silent again as they set off on their journey, but the high-pitched enthusiasm when they set out from Jutland Bay inevitably subsided, "The British can actually interfere with the judgment of the naval god of war, this battle is worth fighting!"

  "When did I become so arrogant and self-indulgent?"

  As time passed, his weak nerves were in severe pain, and the darkness swallowed his pupils like a tide. Wang Haitian almost fled back to the commander's room, opened the iron cabinet, took out a bottle of medicine and swallowed a lot of sedatives, and after a long time, his pale face gradually had a hint of redness.

  Innumerable victories and glories, the adoration of sailors and junior officers, lengthy articles in German newspapers, beautification by the Imperial Propaganda Department, and the tolerance of a group of naval bigwigs all propelled Heidkamp onto the altar. A 37-year-old rear admiral, the cream of the High Seas Fleet - commander of the First Reconnaissance Group, able to influence the situation and direction of the North Sea, for a well-established naval power, the glory achieved by young people is enough to make old men over fifty who are only nominal lieutenant generals feel ashamed.

  Long before this naval battle, Wang Haitian had already found clues from the unusual movements of the British Navy and hit the nail on the head. With his understanding of Beatty, the confident strategist made the most daring speculation about Beatty's rapid fleet action: The old friend's navigation training in Portland Bay on the west side of the Orkney Islands was just a disguise, and the ambitious North Sea cruise route was not simply a copy of the previous two times. Instead, it would sneak into the Heligoland Bight from the Jutland coast, sweep away and lure out the First Scouting Fleet as much as possible in the Heligoland Bight, and engage in a decisive battle with the main force of the Grand Fleet in the central North Sea.

  The Germans had no reason to doubt their naval genius. Hardly had the telegram with Wang Haitao's prediction been received, and General Scher and Admiral Hipper led the main force of the ocean fleet to attack without a naval order, although they did not agree with Wang Haitao's solo action, but Colonel Bihanic still took political risks to take Lusov and Defflinger out of the Baltic Sea blockade fleet formation; The staff's order was late in coming, but the combat core Redel had done his best.

  The previous actions of the Royal Navy also proved Wang Haitian's prediction, and the energetic Earl of Lukanal and his Sea Hawk destroyer proved that the so-called Portland Bay Battle Cruise was just a cold joke in the aristocratic salon; The disguised intelligence ship deployed in the Norwegian sea area confirmed Beiti's variation, and the intelligence from Casper showed that the fleet was heading due south. The attack on the Third Reconnaissance Fleet was also the horn of the 1915 North Sea Decisive Battle, everything seemed to be within the expectation of naval strategists, and everyone felt that victory was within reach!

  However, the smooth coordination between the large fleet and Beatty's fleet revealed a weakness to him. Wang Haitian was surprised to find that both he and Beatty had underestimated each other's tactical skills and misjudged the direction of attack.

  "Perhaps I have lost my way in the flattery of the world, but it's not too late now!" The solo action was destined to end with victory, and it could not afford any defeat or rout. Otherwise, it would be a temporary advantage for the conservative naval department and Emperor William's fierce counterattack! Thinking of the fleet officers and soldiers who were loyal to him, General Scheer and Admiral Hipper, who tolerated him, and his old friend Erich Raeder, who had pinned his hopes on him, Tirpitz clenched his fists and said firmly: "This battle must be fought!"

  "In fact, I'll just create the conditions for the Silem fleet to intercept me..." Betty smiled wryly and said with self-mockery: "Although my old friend is skilled at strategic deception and feints, it's actually straightforward schemes that he's most adept at!"

  Lampard couldn't understand this abstruse and Schopenhauerian pessimistic Zen for the time being. Betty, holding the belated naval minister and first lord of the admiralty's intelligence, raised her head as if sensing the low hum of old friends tens of miles away, and chimed in: "This war, we have to fight it!"