Chapter 3: Naval Battle in the Fog (Part 2)

  All writing skills are on display, and the Battle of Heligoland Bight is a feast; let's start with a montage to test the waters...

  "After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, everyone realized that war was inevitable. The German Navy's high command was at odds over its maritime strategy: most people were deceived by Britain's ambiguous diplomatic language and believed that the army could quickly defeat France, so the navy only needed to preserve its strength to deter Britain from continuing its "glorious isolation". Even after Britain entered the war, we still believed that the army could solve everything, and a complete fleet would be an important bargaining chip in negotiations with Britain. However, Tirpitz, known as the "naval genius", held a different view: he believed that Britain would enter the war without hesitation, and the navy could not put all its hopes on the army's quick victory. The High Seas Fleet should take the initiative to counter Britain's possible long-range blockade, and some powerful raiders should be kept on the main routes of the Entente, but this did not include the East Asia Squadron and the Mediterranean Squadron, because he insisted that a raider should be a lone hero rather than a fleet-scale operation. Tirpitz was not alone in his views within the Navy: General Reinhard von Scheer, commander of the Second Battle Squadron, Admiral Franz von Hipper, commander of the First Scouting Group, Count Maximilian von Spee, commander of the East Asia Squadron, Colonel Erich Raeder, chief of operations at the Naval Staff, and many mid- and lower-ranking naval officers shared this view."

  The pointless debate continued until July 23, when the Navy Department finally settled on a plan under the rough intervention of an impatient Emperor and a hesitant Ingenohl: before the outbreak of war, we had recalled almost all ships abroad, except for Admiral Spee's Scharnhorst and Gneisenau armored cruisers, Emden and Nurnberg light cruisers; Goeben battlecruiser and Breslau large cruiser in the Mediterranean; Leipzig and Karlsruhe light cruisers patrolling the Caribbean; Dresden and Konigsberg light cruisers raiding off Mexico's west coast and East Africa. Their mission was to disrupt Entente's sea transportation lines. Once war broke out, the High Seas Fleet would take advantage of Heligoland Bay's favorable terrain, actively deploying submarines and torpedo boats, using these cheap weapons to severely damage the British fleet that advocated for offensive warfare, until both fleets' strength were close or even slightly advantageous to Germany, at which point the High Seas Fleet would deliver the fatal blow.

  "It has proven that the strategic genius, Admiral Heidekamp's view was correct. Germany fell into a terrible stalemate war, and the British participated in the war as scheduled and implemented a long-range blockade on Germany. However, when criticizing the conservatism and short-sightedness of the Navy Department, one should also consider our difficulties. Before World War I, the strength of the High Seas Fleet was only 2/3 of that of the Royal Navy, and its shipbuilding capacity was only half that of Britain's. Moreover, the young German navy lacked sufficient combat experience, which led to low morale among our soldiers at the beginning of the war. Various factors disrupted our judgment. The Navy Department's work during this period was not without highlights. In order to achieve the strategic goal of depleting the strength of the main fleet in the early stages of the war, under the suggestion of a certain radical and belligerent old antique, we brought Admiral Heidekamp, known as the "naval genius", and General Franz von Hipper, Germany's most outstanding tactical commander, to the forefront. The former took command of the Heligoland Bight defensive circle, while the latter led his First Scouting Group in support. This appointment was widely regarded as correct in a series of subsequent naval battles, marking not only the starting point for the glory of the German Navy but also one of the most glorious and honorable decisions of my life."

  The above is excerpted from the memoirs of Admiral Georg von Müller, Secretary of the German Imperial Naval Cabinet, published in 1934. The book has been widely criticized by later generations, not because it contains many errors and loopholes, but because the author's attitude towards creation is not objective. In the book, Müller only briefly mentions the strategic mistakes made by the German Navy Department before the war, trying to confuse the audience with various objective factors. However, this book is not entirely useless. At least Müller said one thing that was very correct: under the shadow of the German Navy's strategic mistakes in the early days of the war, promoting Heidekamp to become the commander-in-chief of the Heligoland Bight defensive circle was indeed the starting point for the glory and honor of the High Seas Fleet.

  August 20, 1914, Jade River estuary, Germany.

  "Hey, Seydlitz, what brings you here?!" Hiyori couldn't help but feel overjoyed upon learning that the recently popular Heidi-Lily Seydlitz had come to visit, and he welcomed her from the command tower of the Sedritz.

  Before Otaku could salute, Hiper's fist landed on his shoulder. Hiper applauded and exclaimed: "Sylarim, well done!"

  On August 6, the newly appointed Wang Haitian, ignoring General Ingénue's ban, ordered three U-boats belonging to the Defense Circle Command to launch a counterattack. Just as General Ingénue was furious at Wang Haitian's bold and undisciplined behavior, the three westward-bound submarines returned with the impressive achievement of sinking three British warships and severely damaging one.

  The news of the victory spread like wildfire from Heligoland in the North Sea to the High Seas Fleet at Jade Bay, Ems and Elbe estuaries, to the Baltic Sea Fleet Command in Kiel, from the defensive fortifications in Wilhelmshaven to the Imperial Naval Headquarters in Berlin. In less than a day, the news of the victory that young German Navy had longed for but did not dare to hope for spread throughout Germany's streets and alleys, and the Navy was jubilant from top to bottom, and the inexplicable fear of the self-proclaimed great British Empire Royal Navy collapsed instantly.

  On August 12, the news of victory came again. Under the planning of Wang Haitie, the submarine squadron under the command of the defensive circle headquarters launched a cover-up to escort the lightly armed mine-laying boats disguised as trawlers in laying mines in the dangerous northern waters of the Dover Strait. The U-9 submarine, which was on patrol 50 nautical miles off the British coast, encountered three British Royal Navy warships sailing in column formation, and within the next 75 minutes, Weddigen sank these old-fashioned armored cruisers - Aboukir, Hogue, and Cressy, one after another. Emperor Wilhelm was overjoyed, newspapers were filled with long articles, Haitie-Silem appeared on the front page of the newspaper again since his speech in Congress in 1898, while Otto-Weddigen became a national hero of the German people overnight, receiving hundreds of passionate love letters within a day, so much so that his childhood sweetheart Miss Lin was filled with jealousy.

  "Commander, don't be in a hurry to praise me, I'm here to ask you for reinforcements……" Wang Haitian gave Hipper a wink, and Hipper understood, pulling the hastily departing Wang Haitian into his cabin.

  According to the plan of the German Navy General Staff, the Heligoland Bight defense circle was only 100 nautical miles. After Heiti-Westheim took command of the newly formed Defense Circle Command, he expanded the patrol range to 200 nautical miles at once. The German naval genius is not in vain, according to the reconnaissance efforts of the young men, the German defense circle consists of three patrol lines and aircraft carriers, with a light cruiser fleet on standby for support at any time. Westheim's deployment was quite ingenious, with German warning submarines advancing to Dogger Bank and Dover Strait, and a three-layer warning circle composed of destroyers and old-fashioned torpedo boats patrolling along routes that were not fixed, and the three lines could watch each other and assist each other in case of attack on any point, and the remaining two patrol lines could arrive within an hour.

  Rear Admiral Kais roughly drew the German naval defense line on a map of Heligoland Bight, and with a confident smile, he put down his pen, crossed his arms, and said:

  "Xilem has played the cards in his hand to the extreme, but unfortunately, his aggressive defensive circle has a fatal flaw..."

  "Ah?" The gloomy face of Rear Admiral Reginald Tyrrell, commander of the Harry Chichester fleet, which had become a laughing stock in the Royal Navy, relaxed slightly, staring at the center of Heligoland Bay - Heligoland Island, his bloodthirsty gaze burning hotter.

  "The British have already lost six warships, with one heavily damaged. Our destroyers and submarines are recklessly driving away the British merchant ships and fishing boats. Just yesterday, Weddigen was almost sunk by the British coastal artillery while he was cruising around the Holli Island waters.

  King Haitei put down her pencil and pointed at the rough sketch she had hastily drawn, saying seriously: 'The First Lord of the Admiralty Fisher and Commander-in-Chief Jellicoe are both seasoned veterans who know that a distant blockade can defeat the High Seas Fleet without a fight. Unfortunately, the British Empire, which advocates for offensive tactics, will not agree to this. Winston Churchill, the civilian-born First Lord of the Admiralty, will also not agree to such a conservative plan in order to secure his position.

  General Hipper, the British retaliation is imminent, and my Heligoland Bight defense circle has a fatal flaw..."

  "Oh?" Hilda's eyebrows were furrowed, her sharp eyes staring at the rough sketch hastily drawn by Wang Haitian. After a moment of contemplation, she took the pen from Wang Haitian and heavily crossed out the location of the Jiede River estuary.

  "Westholm has made the Heligoland Bight defense circle seamless, but unfortunately he only writes about light warships, not worthy of the Royal Navy's thunderous blow!" General Jed-Kaes drew a heavy cross on the map at the position of Jed Point, coldly saying: "Although Hipper's First Reconnaissance Squadron bears the heavy responsibility of supporting, this squadron is usually stationed in the Jade River. You know that Hipper's fleet has a deeper draft and is affected by the tides... The Jade River only allows for emergency sorties for about 6 hours..."

  "Just us two?" General Kinnard-Tirit replied evasively.

  "Honour to the Eighth Submarine Squadron and Harwich Force!" Jubilant Commodore Tyrwhitt beamed: "Add to that Commodore William Goodenough's First Light Cruiser Squadron."

  "Surprise attack on Heligoland Bight?" A row of Cuban Havana cigars lay on the desk, with scissors placed beside Winston Churchill's right hand. Despite his nicotine addiction, the plan submitted by General Kitchener had indeed attracted Churchill, and the study was quiet, with only the rustling sound of Churchill flipping through the plan book.

  "It's a simple yet bold plan, however..." Churchill picked up the phone and dialed an internal line: "Notify First Lord of the Admiralty Fisher, Second Sea Lord Frederick Hamilton, Chief of the War Staff at the Admiralty Frederick Sturdee, and Commander of the Eighth Submarine Squadron Jedd-Kaye!"

  The leadership of the Royal Navy is composed of the First Lord of the Admiralty and four Sea Lords, with the First Lord exercising overall responsibility, the First Sea Lord being responsible for training, logistics and shipbuilding in peacetime, and serving as Chief of Naval Staff during wartime. However, during World War I, Admiral Jellicoe, a key member of the Fisher group, became Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, while the post of Chief of Naval Staff, which should have belonged to Admiral Fisher, was taken over by General Studholme, a trusted subordinate of Churchill.

  "What... about General Jellico?" the aide asked cautiously, after all John Jellico was the commander-in-chief of the Grand Fleet.

  Tirpitz had just left the office of the Minister of the Navy and bumped into Franz von Hipper, whom he had promoted with one hand. After listening to Hipper's prediction about the war situation, Tirpitz, who had been in politics for decades and was old and sophisticated, not only did not show the demeanor that a Minister of the Navy should have, but also sank his face and warned deeply: "Hipper, at this time you should be in Jade Bay, not the Berlin Naval Headquarters!"

  "Admiral, as Minister of the Imperial Navy, you have a responsibility to tens of thousands of sailors. You cannot let personal prejudices cloud your judgment." Hipper, usually calm and composed, was rarely seen to lose his temper, but now he turned red with excitement, his eyes blazing with fervor, as he appealed to Tirpitz: "I can't find any supporters; General Ingenohl won't allow the First Scouting Group to advance into the Jade Bay, and Admiral Müller's attitude is even worse. Admiral, the low morale of the High Seas Fleet has finally reached its peak after these few successful U-boat battles - you don't want one defeat to send us back to square one, do you?"

  As the Navy Minister, Tirpitz's strategic qualities were not bad, but the British who had been spoiled by countless victories for hundreds of years would never allow the Royal Navy's prestige to be insulted, and their revenge would be as fierce and bloody as thunder.

  Perhaps Tirpitz was unwilling to contradict the Emperor's new favorite, General von Einem, or perhaps the name Heide-Sylt caused Tirpitz to hesitate; the quiet corridors fell into a long and uncomfortable silence.

  "The world's second-largest fleet, cowering in the depths of Jeddah Bay, unable to last for a day, yet a 36-year-old young man and several dilapidated cruisers are at the forefront...". Commander Limpard, deputy commander of the First Battlecruiser Squadron, stood on the main deck of the Lion battlecruiser, facing the faintly visible Orkney Islands and Scapa Flow, clutching his hair and wailing: "Can't we use battleships and battlecruisers to hunt down those annoying submarines and light cruisers? The heroes of the Grand Fleet are useless!"

  "Not necessarily!" David-Betty leaned against the armor turret of the formidable 343mm main gun on the bow, mumbling unclearly with a famous 555 cigarette in his mouth.