Chapter 5 The British Two-Front War (I)

  On November 1, 1914, the continental seasonal winds had begun to shift, and the relentless approach of a Siberian cold front made the North Sea increasingly turbulent.

  At one o'clock in the morning, the night was deep and the chill of late autumn and the lonely roar of the sea against the shore of Heligoland Island lingered on. Under the faint moonlight, Franz von Hipper, commander of the First Scouting Group, and his deputy, Admiral Heidekamp, as well as Leberecht Maass, commander of the Second Scouting Group and the Jade River Patrol Boat Squadron, wrapped in thin cloaks, stood on the breakwater of the dock to see off the attacking fleet consisting of Mainz light cruiser, twelve destroyers and nine converted mine-laying submarines heading towards the dangerous English Channel.

  As November approached, the war in Europe was getting more and more brutal. After the Battle of Heligoland Bight on August 23rd, the German Emperor, who was still shaken by the event, ignored the strong emotions of his naval officers and insisted on keeping his prized High Seas Fleet locked up. However, there were ways to circumvent this policy, and under the subtle hints of Admiral Ingenohl, the bold cover-up of the Naval Staff's Operations Division, and the unique planning of Kapit?n zur See Hebbinghaus, the support squadrons assigned to the High Seas Fleet frequently sailed out into the North Sea and the English Channel on the pretext of routine patrols and mine-laying operations, causing trouble and stirring up incidents. Large numbers of German torpedo boats and mine layers disguised as British merchant ships infiltrated the British coastline, laying mines, while German cruisers, submarines, and destroyers roamed freely in the southern part of the North Sea, intercepting and detaining Allied merchant ships, to the point where the British exclaimed that "the North Sea is no longer a sea of the British Empire!"

  At the same time, the war on the European continent was in full swing. On August 21, German troops began to attack mainland France, benefiting from an efficient mobilization system and good troop quality, the German army's offensive on the French border was swift and decisive, quickly approaching Paris and drinking at the Marne River. However, British aid was swift and powerful, despite the brave German Navy sinking three British transport ships and several escort warships, easily causing 5,000 casualties among the British Expeditionary Force and delaying the reinforcement of the British army in France, but the British navy still transported 60,000 troops to the left wing of the French army before the Battle of the Marne. In September's Battle of the Marne, the German army even briefly broke into the outskirts of Paris, but under the desperate resistance of the Anglo-French coalition forces, both sides were severely damaged and had to switch to trench warfare. The Chief of the General Staff, Moltke, realized that his plan for a quick victory might be foiled, in order to regain the initiative in the war, cut off the transportation lines between Britain and France, and achieve tactical encirclement, the army launched a mobile warfare campaign towards the coast, under the request of the Army General Staff, the Navy also joined in.

  The signal flags on the Mainz cruiser's mast flashed as the small fleet slipped out of Heligoland Island under the cover of a hazy night, heading towards the black-as-ink English Channel. The next morning, light cruisers and destroyers would launch a surprise attack on the southern coast of Britain to cover the minelayer submarines crossing the British naval blockade line composed of old dreadnoughts, destroyers, and torpedo boats in the busy shipping lanes of the English Channel.

  "Westphal, I fear that these petty skirmishes will not change the stalemate of the army in northern France..."

  The young emperor would not permit the High Seas Fleet to venture out into the Heligoland Bight, and so the Navy had to settle for sending out some light vessels to conduct hit-and-run raids against British shipping in the English Channel. To Hipper, this sort of harassment tactic was not going to stop Britain from reinforcing French lines, and Germany seemed to be getting bogged down in a terrible war of attrition, which filled Admiral Hipper with worry.

  "Commander, don't be fooled by the British now rushing to reinforce France like madmen, rejoicing at their own reinforcement strength and gloating over holding Paris." The fleet set sail after a surprise attack. The young man was somewhat sleepy-eyed. He casually let out a haha, stretched out his hands and muttered: "In another month, when danger approaches the British coastline, the subjects of the Great Empire will miss their tiny army stuck in northern France more than ever. They will embarrassingly discover that the Three Kingdoms are completely defenseless!"

  ****

  After Germany and Britain declared war on each other on August 4th, the flames of war spread globally.

  In Africa, the British and French colonial armies attacked German colonies but were not a match for the German colonial defense forces made up of small numbers of battle-hardened professional soldiers and poorly trained native troops. The commander of the German East African colonial forces, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, led his defense force and naval infantry in a highly effective guerrilla war campaign in the East African bush lasting several years, forcing the British to divert large numbers of troops from Egypt and India. At one point the Entente forces outnumbered the Germans by 45,000 to 3,000 but were still unable to capture German East Africa, with fighting becoming bogged down.

  In the Indian Ocean, von Müller's "Swan of the East" - the light cruiser Emden began its romantic legend. From early September to late October 1914, the Emden traversed the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, sinking a British old unprotected cruiser, a Russian auxiliary cruiser, a French destroyer and other merchant ships totaling 22 vessels with a total tonnage of over 120,000 tons. The Emden's raids caused great panic among the Allies, with the British Mediterranean Fleet, the Far Eastern Fleet stationed in India and Singapore, colonial warships from Australia and New Zealand, and auxiliary warships from France and Russia gathering in the Indian Ocean to stage a life-and-death pursuit of the "Swan of the East".

  At the same time, the journey of the K?nigsberg light cruiser led by Marx-von-L?w was no less brilliant than that of Emden. At the beginning of August, K?nigsberg sank a 2,000-ton British reconnaissance cruiser in the face of three British cruisers and escaped into Lake Tanganyika via the Rufiji River. In the following days, Captain Marx-von-L?w and Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck joined forces to stage a passionate drama in the East African jungle.

  In East Asia, Japan enthusiastically mobilized for war. The Combined Fleet assembled at Sasebo, and the regular divisions were eager to board ships. Their haste was so great that even their ally Britain was amazed. King George V had written to the Imperial Foreign Office before the war, suggesting that the Empire abandon Tsingtao and return it to China. However, there was no Chinese hero like Li Zicheng who could change the course of events. Yuan Shikai, the usurper, declared China's neutrality without hesitation. Germany wanted to return its colonies but was unable to do so. The Governor of Qingdao had to rely on the fortifications in Tsingtao to desperately hold out. Meanwhile, German colonies such as the Caroline Islands, New Guinea, and Samoa had already fallen.

  In the Pacific, Count Spee's East Asian Squadron returned from New Guinea on August 7, made a feint at the Caroline Islands on August 9, and on September 22, in Papeete harbor, sank a French gunboat. The mysterious movements of Count Spee successfully confused the Allies' vision, and Britain, France, and Japan, which had been slow to respond, deployed troops to set up a layered defense network on the surface of East Asia, allowing Count Spee and his two large armored ships and three light cruisers to embark on their homeward journey with ease.

  On 1 November 1914, at dawn, a fresh south-westerly breeze in the South Pacific whipped the naval ensign on the foremast of Scharnhorst into a frenzy.

  "Auden, how much farther to Coronel?" Maximilian von Spee stood on the bridge of the Scharnhorst, savoring coffee and enjoying the rare tranquility before the war as he gazed out at the beautiful sunrise and cool sea breeze of the South Pacific.

  On October 29, Spee received intelligence from the Leipzig that the British light cruiser HMS Glasgow was patrolling off Coronel, Chile. The solitary Glasgow seemed a gift, and Spee decided to accept it; his East Asia Squadron began steaming towards Coronel.

  What Schepke did not know was that at almost the same time he received his intelligence, the only British force in South America - the South American Division - also received a signal from HMS Glasgow: "Intercepted German naval signal, believed to be Leipzig!"

  The isolated Redoutable was clearly a tempting prize, and the eager Rear-Admiral Christopher Cradock abandoned the slow and obsolete Good Hope and Monmouth to lead HMS Glasgow, Otranto and the armoured cruisers Defence and Cornwall in a headlong charge towards Coronel.

  "You will hear the news of Glasgow's sinking by 4 o'clock at the latest!" Bernhard von Oden said with a slight lift of his head, proudly.

  ****

  November 1, 1914, Black Sea, strong winds and high waves.

  A motley fleet consisting of the Yavuz Sultan Selim, formerly the German Goeben, the Midilli, formerly the German Breslau, the Hamidiye, a British-built armored cruiser, the Mecidiye, an American-built armored cruiser, and four German torpedo boats cruised in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea looking for prey.

  Since the outbreak of World War I, the situation in the Mediterranean region has been complex and intriguing. Italy, a member of the Triple Alliance, remained neutral at the beginning of the war, despite being wooed by both the Allies and the Central Powers with various inducements. There was a joke circulating for a long time that an American journalist asked a German general why Germany ignored Italy's neutrality, to which the general replied that if Italy remained neutral, they could accept it calmly, although they would have to leave three divisions to guard against an Italian surprise attack; if Italy declared war on Germany, they would be overjoyed, because two German divisions could destroy Italy; but if Italy joined the Triple Alliance, that would be terrible, as they would have to send at least eight divisions to defend Italy, just like what they did with Austria-Hungary.

  The change in the Balkan situation was also quite dramatic. The weak Ottoman Empire did not want to join the war, and it strictly maintained its neutrality. Unfortunately, the proud British pushed Turkey into the arms of the Allied Powers with a sneer. After the war, Churchill made excuses for Britain's behavior in his memoirs of World War I, slandering the helpless Turks in every possible way. But who among Europeans did not know that Mr. Churchill was capable of turning black into white and vice versa?

  On August 2, 1914, the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard incident, the Turkish crowd was excited and empty-handed, and Enver Pasha, the head of the three giants of the Ottoman Empire's pro-German faction, bluntly declared that he would join the Allied Powers. Even the Turkish Navy, which had been trained by the British with one hand, turned against Britain's betrayal. At the same time, the German Foreign Ministry and the Naval Department announced the sale of the Goeben and Breslau to Turkey, a move that was considered a masterstroke. By October, it was clear that the Ottoman Empire would enter the war.

  On October 29, Admiral Wilhelm Souchon, who had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman Navy, led a force of one battlecruiser, three light cruisers and four destroyers to attack the Russian Black Sea ports of Sevastopol and Odessa, marking the Ottoman entry into the war.

  On October 30, Russia, which had been attacked, declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Admiral Andrei Augustovich Eberhardt led five pre-dreadnoughts, two cruisers and twelve destroyers south to annihilate the Turkish fleet at ?anakkale (Dardanelles).

  "When the British Army drove me and my sailors out of the Tyne River with rifle butts, I vowed to take revenge on Britain!" Captain Rauf of the Hamidiye turned his head to look at Lieutenant Gülcemal, saying solemnly. "I know it's hard to achieve, but I will never give up lightly!"

  Günsel - Lieutenant Commander of the Hamidiye, smiled slightly and extended a friendly hand to Rauf, who looked serious.

  "Captain, trust me, Germany will be your and the Ottoman Empire's closest and most reliable ally!"

  Haha, messing with the fate of "New Era 1912" in a joking manner. Don't tell anyone about this, fellow book lovers! Keep it on the down low, don't spread it around! Also, is this **three-line advance feasible...?