Chapter 7: The Horror of Dogger Bank (Part 1)
The previous chapter had a bug, I got the relationship between William I and William II mixed up, sweating. It will be changed back at midnight, don't worry; well, this is the first update, the second update doesn't know what time, I'll try to finish it before 12 o'clock.
November 14, 1914, Heligoland Bight, Germany.
Germany's Cuxhaven northwest sea area, because of the proximity to the military restricted zone Heligoland Island, is far from the ocean navigation route, and there are few people and ships. At noon, a reckless American fast freighter accidentally broke into this sea area, and the Americans were surprised to find that this quiet sea area was actually hiding a main fleet consisting of two battle cruisers, seven battleships, and four light cruisers. As the descendant of Western cowboys, the adventurous captain of the Hadley freighter ordered to approach for observation, and after being forcibly expelled, the captain wrote in his personal diary:
At 12:23, the Hadley deviated from its course and accidentally encountered the German main fleet resting near Cuxhaven. The German main fleet, consisting of nine giant warships and four light cruisers, seemed to be waiting for something, forming a column formation with a length of several kilometers. I ordered the Hadley to approach and observe, but a German light cruiser broke away from the formation and came over, bidding us farewell with cold gun barrels and stiff German language. Afterward, I was shocked and thought that if it weren't for the American flag hanging on the mast, I and my Hadley would have been buried in the fish belly long ago. Ah, long live the United States of America! And, cowboys, don't get involved in the war!
At 12:41, the Hadley was steaming up the Kiel Canal when my second lieutenant told me that a large German warship was coming from the direction of the canal. I ran out of the captain's quarters and saw a beautifully formed battleship approaching from the west. I didn't dare get close to the German warship, but through binoculars and the ship's plaque, I knew that the battleship was called Lützow, a Derfflinger-class battlecruiser. I'm familiar with German warships, such as the two King-class battleships, five Kaiser-class battleships, one Derfflinger-class battlecruiser, and one Seydlitz-class battlecruiser that I saw before, but I had never heard of Lützow. It seems that the whole world has underestimated the shipbuilding capabilities of the Germans - German shipbuilders are not inferior to their British counterparts! By the way, Germany and Britain are both first-rate military powers, and although we Americans are strong, as outcasts banished by Europe, it's best for us not to get involved in the Europeans' internal conflicts!
After the Battle of Dogger Bank, diplomats from Germany and Britain immediately announced their victory in the battle, claiming that their fleet had thwarted an enemy ambush. Foreigners were confused by the contradictory statements of the two countries' diplomats, each with a different account of what happened between 2 pm on November 14th and midnight. Neutral media and intelligence officials wanted to know what really happened at Dogger Bank during this period and why German and British diplomats accused each other of shamelessly ambushing their fleets.
The road to truth was unusually bumpy, and both countries kept the Dogger Bank incident under wraps until November 19, 1914, when Hadley, the boastful captain of the Western cowboy, a fast cargo ship, publicly revealed his private logbook in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and the Dogger Bank conspiracy began to emerge.
Jade Bay is only about 100 nautical miles from the Kiel Canal, a five or six hour voyage, yet after the Third Battle Squadron and First Scouting Group set sail at 9:21, the fleet lingered off Cuxhaven for some time. The Emperor's orders came one after another, but the two commanders responded negatively with slow deliberation.
Just as the young German officers were discussing heatedly, at 12:55, the German battlecruiser Lützow suddenly appeared in their line of sight.
Seydlitz ran up the signal "Welcome to the fleet" while Lützow responded with "Long live Germany", but the harmony between Seydlitz and Lützow could not dispel the doubts of the officers and men of the Third Battle Squadron and the First Scouting Group.
Before the fleet set sail, the "returned to the factory for renovation" Derfflinger-class battlecruiser appeared in Heligoland Bay with a big fanfare, which had already shocked the sailors and junior officers. The sudden appearance of Lützow was even more stunning. Everyone thought that Lützow was still on the slipway at Danzig's Schichau shipyard, no one realized that Lützow had been commissioned ahead of schedule, and no one expected that Lützow, which belonged to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, would take a detour via the Kiel Canal for an embarrassing return run.
Some quick-witted staff officers had already seen through the little tricks being played by Major General Reinhard Scheer and Major General Franz von Hipper, and the gaze of clever people gradually focused on the Westfalen fleet, which was said to be chasing British minesweepers near Dogger Bank, they had already faintly smelled the taste and rhythm that only belonged to war!
"Adjutant!" General von Rheinbaben tossed the series of telegrams from the Emperor to one side and said vaguely to his adjutant: "Send a telegram to the Imperial Chamberlain's office at Sch?nbrunn, saying that the Third Squadron and First Scouting Group are proceeding into the Baltic in accordance with His Majesty's orders. In order to carry out His Majesty's original intention of exercising the fleet, my squadron has decided to enter the Baltic through the Skagerrak and Kattegat!"
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November 14, 1914, Lowestoft Harbour, England.
Lowestoft Harbour is in Suffolk, the easternmost point of mainland Britain. On 13 June 1665 a brilliant naval battle was fought off Lowestoft, when the Dutch fleet under De Ruyter failed to defeat the British under the Duke of York, and the myth of invincibility of the British mainland continued. However, over three hundred years later, war came again to this lovely stretch of sea, and the civilian port, frequently visited by German U-boats and disguised minelayers, could no longer be defended against a determined attack by German battlecruisers.
At 12:23, the thunderous cannon fire finally stopped. Merchant ships and fishing boats were sunk or stranded at piers and anchorages. Port cranes lay scattered on the ground. Buildings on shore were riddled with holes and teetered precariously. Debris and dust swirled in the air above the port. Body parts were buried under rubble, and the hit oil depot and coal station erupted into raging infernos. The towering smoke columns, reaching several thousand meters high, could be seen from several kilometers away at Great Yarmouth Port.
Wang Haitie had the heart to continue north, raiding Britain's Plymouth Harbour, but his decoy fleet had little ammunition left. Wang Haitie could only scold and recall the red-faced Major Laurence and the excited Marine Corps, preparing to return voyage.
At 12:55, Major Loring and his militia returned to their ships with the glory of having killed seven British militiamen and three quasi-armed personnel, blown up three coastal lookout towers and three military warehouses. Queen Hattie looked at the time, guessing what actions the British Grand Fleet might take, waved her hand and ordered the fleet to return.
The Dogger Bank ambush plan devised by Wang Haitie was a massive undertaking, requiring not only General Ingénue's surprise attack on the Emperor, but also Admiral Hertzen's green light and the powerful support of the Third Battle Squadron and the First Reconnaissance Fleet. It also required the tacit cooperation of the British. To know that in the vast ocean, without sufficient accurate intelligence, the possibility of two main fleets colliding head-on is almost negligible, so Wang Haitie had to lead his decoy fleet to repeatedly raid the British mainland, leaving Dogger Bank as a weakness for the British Grand Fleet.
The signal flag for retreat was hoisted on the mainmast of the Moltke, and the three battleships made a handsome turn along the British coast line, forming in column ahead and proceeding towards Heligoland Bight, while Dogger Bank would be the natural route for the decoy squadron.
"Deputy Commander, today is the most glorious day of the Ocean Fleet!" The captain of the Moltke-class battlecruiser looked back at the sobbing Britain and England, a hint of pride and self-satisfaction on his dark face: "Bombarding British ports, landing on British soil, the invincible Spanish Armada, De Ruyter's Dutch fleet, Napoleon's Franco-Spanish fleet, none of them could do it, but now history is being created by the Ocean Fleet!"
Captain Mao Qi, this habitually stern and serious iron-blooded man seemed to be overly excited, rarely revealing his true emotions, shouting that he wanted to write these glorious five hours into his captain's navigation log. Wang Haitian sighed a few times, although there was a reserved smile on her face, but the worry between her eyebrows couldn't be shaken off.
Calculating the time, General Ingénue's Operation Grasshopper should have succeeded. The banned water beast - the Third Battle Squadron and the First Reconnaissance Fleet should be on their way to the Baltic Sea. Held by Heinz Guderian and Erich Raeder, the Naval General Staff will not hinder the Dogger Bank battle, while facing the humiliation of shelling British ports and landing on British soil, the Grand Fleet must take the initiative to attack!
The otaku was not afraid of the British discovering his ambush plan, as this was a thorough and open conspiracy! If the British only dispatched Beatty's First Battlecruiser Squadron, the otaku had confidence to dance with old friends until the main force of the Grand Fleet arrived; if the entire fleet came out in full force, he would fight to the death and let the Jutland-style giant cannon battle begin ahead of schedule. Compared to the bloody Jutland in 1916, the British Royal Navy was at its weakest point in November 1914, and the High Seas Fleet had no numerical disadvantage, with superior quality as a prerequisite, the High Seas Fleet had a great advantage.
"Everything is designed to be seamless, but why do I always feel like there's still a flaw?" Wang Haitian muttered to himself as he walked towards the officer's dining hall on the warship.
