Chapter 92: Preparing for War in Winter (5)

  In late December, Scotland was hit by heavy snowstorms, with hundreds of miles of highlands stretching out in a vast expanse of white, not a speck of fresh color to be seen.

  "Is the Navy going to build an unprecedented super battleship?!" In a dimly lit tavern in a small town, several regular customers were laughing and scolding about the German Saxon-class battleships. The stout landlady was counting money on the table, making the few pence clink, occasionally looking up to glance at the newspaper on the counter, chattering incessantly to the retired military officer opposite her: "Oh, thank God, the Admiralty has finally done something they should have done! God save the King, God save Britain!"

  This is already outdated news, as the heavy snow blocked the road, and the follow-up report of the British super battleship could not be transmitted into this small town. As a result, the townspeople who were concerned about the war situation had to become naval commentators and made unnecessary inferences about the old news that "the parliament has allocated additional funds for shipbuilding, and the Royal Navy is about to start building a new type of super battleship that surpasses Germany's Sachsen class".

  "It must exceed 40,000 tons, with a main gun caliber of over 16 inches, a speed of over 32 knots, and endurance sufficient to travel from the home islands to Cape Town in Africa, with armor stronger than that of Germany's Bayern class!"

  Idle drinkers gathered around, indulging in flights of fancy. John Arbuthnot Fisher, the former First Sea Lord, clad in thick winter clothing, stared silently at the lines of a stale newspaper.

  The door of the tavern with a bell above it was pushed open, and a pleasant tinkling sound filled the air, followed by a blast of cold wind and a boisterous customer. Fischer couldn't help but shiver, and only then came to his senses, addressing the stout landlady who was concerned about the navy with an incoherent sentence:

  "Faced with Westheim's conspiracy, perhaps... I should believe in young and vigorous David-Betty!"

  ****

  In mid-November, American cowboy Ros Gateiner exposed the lie that the Invincible had sunk after hitting a mine, leaving the British Admiralty's solemn vows in tatters. The Royal Navy remained silent for several days before finally trotting out the "tactical defeat but strategic victory" theory and sacrificing Rear Admiral Arthur Lavenham as a scapegoat to quell the incident.

  Unfortunately, 1914 was destined to be a disastrous year for the Royal Navy! Two German King-class battleships equipped with 350mm main guns and 350mm waterline belts would join the High Seas Fleet in January 1915; after repairs, the unsinkable Moltke would soon return to the High Seas; the third battlecruiser of the Derfflinger class, Hindenburg, had been launched, and the recommissioned former Salamis had also mocked the British for their despicable behavior of detaining and appropriating foreign-built capital ships; intelligence that two Bayern-class battleships and one Mackensen-class battlecruiser would be laid down in 1914 pushed the Royal Navy to the brink.

  In 1912, the German-British naval arms race entered a new phase. The financially strained Grand Fleet opted for quality, while the Royal Navy was determined to exploit its numerical superiority to the utmost and declared that for every additional battleship built by Germany, Britain would build two in response.

  However, the disastrous Dogger Bank Sea Battle turned British arrogance into despair. David Beatty's First Battle Cruiser Squadron was severely damaged in the battle, leaving only two Lion-class battlecruisers and one Tiger-class battlecruiser; The three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers of the Second Battle Cruiser Squadron were on their way to South America, intending to annihilate the East Asian Fleet; Two Invincible-class battlecruisers were still executing blockade tasks in the Aegean Sea, strictly defending against the breakout of Goeben's sister ship. Faced with Germany's scouting fleet with three Derfflinger-class battlecruisers, the Grand Fleet completely lost its scouting power and became utterly blind.

  By the first half of 1915, the High Seas Fleet would have 17 dreadnoughts and 5 battlecruisers. The German scouting forces were already numerically superior to those of the Royal Navy, not to mention the qualitative superiority that the Germans prided themselves on!

  Under the circumstances, the British could only dismantle the east wall to make up for the west wall, and recall two Invincible-class battlecruisers from the Mediterranean Fleet back to their homeland. The three Revenge-class battleship construction plans that had already started were cancelled, a 15-inch main gun turret was dismantled and oil-fired boilers were installed instead, and it was converted into a new-style battlecruiser with a standard displacement of 28,700 tons, equipped with three twin-mounted 15-inch main guns, having a 9-inch waterline belt armour, a top speed of 28 knots, and codenamed the Renown-class.

  Since the naval arms race, the British have been striving to maintain their advantage in the number of main battleships and main guns over the Germans, adhering to the idea that "speed is the best advantage". However, under the pressure of the German battlecruiser fleet, the Royal Navy's 092 chapter speed, 13-inch waterline belt armor, and 8000-mile endurance! The temporary chief of naval staff, Sturdee, asked for an increase in shipbuilding funds to increase speed. Our main battleships have long neglected defensive armor, even though our super-dreadnoughts are equipped with 13-inch main armor similar to that of the Germans, but everyone knows that's just a paper number, just a narrow waterline belt. Our side protection is still those less than 9-inch upper armors. This means that any German warship can penetrate our warships, while we only have those new battleships equipped with 15-inch main guns that can bite the Germans!

  "This is a war that concerns the fate of our nation for centuries to come! If Britain wins, we will still be the masters of the world. If we lose, Britain will be nothing!" David Beatty's eyes gleamed with a fierce light as he swept his gaze over the dimly lit and smoke-filled room, his voice forceful: "Gentlemen, before defeating the Germans, an 8,000-mile voyage and speeds of up to 30 knots are of no use. We might as well add those tons to the survivability of our main fleet!"

  Davydov-Berti's cry was sensational, but enough to make the naval top brass who considered their personal careers more than the fate of the country shudder. The young man was right, and most importantly, he had already given a perfect compromise!

  "That makes one super-battleship and three Mackensen-class fast battleships of equal performance!" Winston Churchill brought the chaotic scene to a close with a single bang of his gavel: "Next item on the agenda, the Dardanelles Campaign!"