Chapter 2 The Sound of Guns in Helgoland Bay (5)

  "Even the British allies cannot be certain whether Britain will go to war, Commander, how dare you be so sure that Britain will join the war?!" Admiral Georg von Müller, Minister of the Naval Cabinet, asked indignantly.

  There is no doubt that the advance convening of the Navy Department's regular intelligence briefing and analysis meeting in early July turned into a complete farce. The three-hour meeting, except for reaching a resolution to start regular summer and autumn cruise training in mid-July and fooling the diplomatic mediocrity Wilhelm II who attended the meeting, was left with endless disputes between the old guard and young faction of the Navy.

  The Kaiser's "gift" for diplomacy was well known to the senior naval officers attending the meeting. On March 31, 1905, Wilhelm visited Tangier, Morocco, where he made a speech supporting Moroccan independence, which caused an international uproar and led France, Morocco's protector, to mobilize troops on the border with Germany, putting the two countries on high alert; in 1911, when France invaded Morocco, Kaiser Wilhelm again delivered a strongly worded speech, declaring that the French had infringed upon German interests in Morocco.

  When the Emperor is present, all matters relating to foreign affairs will take a turn for the worse. This was not only the conviction of the German Foreign Office but also that of the heads of the Navy Department. Accordingly, the officials of the Navy Department endeavored to keep calm in the presence of the Emperor and tried to divert his attention from the Balkans to the summer maneuvers of the fleet which were to begin in mid-July. The Navy succeeded, and Emperor William announced with great enthusiasm that he would go to Kiel on the day when the High Seas Fleet sailed out to participate in the annual naval maneuvers and then proceed to hunt in the forests of northern Germany.

  After the Emperor left, the harmony in the conference room vanished instantly. The generals began to argue over whether the British would take a neutral stance in the conflict. The army-born naval minister and the veteran who had been away from the front line for a long time insisted that the army should end everything quickly, while the navy would only send light vessels to harass the French and Belgian coasts, pinning down and threatening the flank of the Allied Western Front, and the British would remain neutral in the conflict. Admiral George von Müller, the Naval Minister of the Cabinet, firmly believed this.

  "In the face of the German army's crushing offensive, what can Britain's outdated and conservative 'pocket-sized army' accomplish? The British Empire's navy is indeed formidable, but with the protection of mines and ocean fleets, can the British really sail their great fleet into the Elbe River? If the British do not remain neutral, are they going to let the German army occupy the Scottish Highlands?!

  The grey-haired old general Müller looked at Major Heidt-Westlem and said with a sly tone: 'Young man, it's good that you have ideas, but using alarmist talk to gain fame is not acceptable...'"

  "What if the army can't win a quick victory?" Wang Haitie, known as a genius, slightly raised his head and loudly questioned General Muller's point of view.

  Before the meeting, Erich Raeder, a 20-year acquaintance of Admiral Wang, invited him and Weigand to have a few drinks at a tavern near the Navy Headquarters. After downing a few beers, the usually reserved Wang became tipsy and began to speak freely, slamming his fist on the table as he spoke. He talked about the unclear naval strategy since Tirpitz's time, the war plan locked in the cabinet of the Navy Ministry, the Italians' double-dealing, and the Japanese brutality, laughing and scolding with abandon.

  It turned out that Wang Haitao, the son of an official, would never become a first-rate politician. After being advised by Redel and Weizs?cker to be cautious in his words at the meeting after having had some wine, Wang Haitao agreed, but when Admiral Georg von Müller, the Minister of the Navy, repeated old clichés in the meeting room, emphasizing that the British would remain neutral, Wang Haitao lost his composure.

  As the chief of staff of the First Scouting Fleet, Wang Haitie could only sit on the edge of the conference room. In front of him were all the shining generals and senior officials, but the young Redel was fearless. He deliberately ignored the most important hierarchy of German military personnel, and the old man's youthful recklessness seemed to have returned, as if the 1898 quarrel with Admiral Tirpitz had rekindled his spirit, speaking freely:

  "If Japan joins the Allies according to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and Tsingtao, the Caroline Islands, and German New Guinea fall one after another, how can the East Asian Squadron continue its raiding operations? If the Italian two-faced treachery maintains neutrality, where will the Mediterranean squadron in the Adriatic go? If the army gets bogged down in a protracted war, the British join the fray and blockade our sea transportation lines, how will the High Seas Fleet counterattack?"

  Tirpitz's hand, holding the teacup, paused for a moment like an old monk sitting in meditation. His suspicious gaze swept over R?der, who was still in shock and at a loss, then glanced at the slightly intoxicated otaku, his face growing increasingly gloomy.

  ****

  After a heated debate, the Navy still could not confirm whether Britain would go to war. This was nothing to be ashamed of, as not only did the German Foreign Office misjudge Britain's attitude, but even the British Foreign Secretary dared not vouch for the terrified and helpless French, and could only repeatedly emphasize that the King, Prime Minister, and Foreign Secretary had no right to declare war, with the decision in the hands of Parliament.

  Although the Admiralty could not confirm whether the British would enter the war, it had a clear plan for pre-war naval preparations.

  The Grand Fleet's summer and autumn cruise and manoeuvres would begin around 14 July, and in view of the tense situation in Europe, the location was changed to the Norwegian fjords.

  To threaten the Entente's sea transportation lines, raiders and colliers on the oceans should act according to plan. Meanwhile, the Mediterranean Squadron in the Adriatic Sea should leave Italy as soon as possible after the outbreak of war and get as close as possible to Ottoman Turkey, luring and intimidating the Turkish government; As for the isolated East Asian Squadron, the Navy Department allowed Count Spee to act freely on the premise of holding back the Anglo-French Far Eastern Fleet and the Japanese Combined Fleet.

  The establishment of the Naval General Staff was also put on the agenda, and Erich Raeder, the First Deputy Chief of the Navy Intelligence Division, was promoted to Captain at Sea and transferred to the newly established Naval General Staff as a combat advisor. The functions and defense zones of Admiral Ingenohl's High Seas Fleet Command and Prince Heinrich's Baltic Fleet Command were re-divided. In the event of war, the High Seas Fleet would quickly assemble in the area of the Ems, Jade Bay, Weser and Elbe estuaries to defend against the powerful British Grand Fleet; Prince Heinrich's Baltic Fleet would consist of some older ships, their task was to defend against the Russian Baltic Fleet, which had only a few old ships left after the Russo-Japanese War, threatening the flank of the High Seas Fleet.

  The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Reserve Fleets composed of old-fashioned warships began to mobilize locally. The reserve ships sealed in the dock began to be overhauled, and all ships assigned to training tasks should prepare for conversion into auxiliary ships. Reserve naval officers and men must report to the military mobilization department in their location as soon as possible, waiting for the mobilization order from the Navy Department. The formation of the reserve fleet and the pre-war training of reserve sailors, as well as the crash training of reserve officers, are all major projects. Fortunately, the empire has a good mobilization system, and with the efforts of the mobilization staff of the reserve fleet, it is only a matter of time before the reserve fleet regains its combat effectiveness.

  The construction of the minefields in the English Channel and the North Sea should be accelerated. Given the importance of the Heligoland Bight, a defense circle command was formed, consisting of several cruiser squadrons and destroyer squadrons, coastal artillery on the island of Heligoland, submarines, and airship units. The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron served as a reserve unit. Admiral Franz von Hipper would take over as commander-in-chief. Kapit?n zur See Heidebrandt was forced to submit a deep self-criticism after publicly contradicting his superior, and the promotion to Oberst and deputy command of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron were cancelled. Admiral Tirpitz took advantage of the opportunity to settle personal scores and sent him to the isolated island of Heligoland in the North Sea.

  "Deputy Commander of the Heligoland Bight Defence Circle?!"

  Wang Haitian's face was filled with the joy of a small man who had achieved his goal. From light cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats and coastal artillery to submarines, airships, aircraft and other new weapons, all were within the jurisdiction of this newly established command, and on both sides there was also the favoritism of General Franz-Hipple, which undoubtedly gave the otaku's imagination a lot of room to play.

  "You've miscalculated, old chap!" The otaku exclaimed triumphantly.

  ****

  Before the establishment of the German Naval General Staff, the Navy Department had never been so efficient as it is today. In just a few hours, the naval action plan for the next few months was roughly outlined. After the meeting, the frontline commanders and department heads who were entrusted with the mission hastily dispersed like a tide, while Tirpitz slowly finished his tea and called out to the new commander of the High Seas Fleet, Ingenohl.

  "Admiral, I would like to know what the naval reserve plan locked in the Navy Department's cabinet is." asked Tirpitz, his temples streaked with white.

  After the collapse of his risk theory, Wilhelm II's favor towards Tirpitz began to wane day by day. The emperor's new favorite, General Eduard von Capelle, was eyeing his position as Navy Minister (he successfully took over this position in 1916). In 1913, Friedrich von Ingenohl replaced Wolfgang von Wiegner's distant uncle Henning von Holtzendorff as Commander of the High Seas Fleet. Tirpitz's last bit of actual control over the navy was also stripped away. Before World War I, Tirpitz had only some personnel rights left in addition to his high prestige. The naval strategic plan drafted by Admiral Heeringen, which was said to be improved every year, did not even give Tirpitz, as the creator of the High Seas Fleet, the right to inquire about it.

  Friedrich von Ingenohl, nicknamed "the Emperor's yes-man" by the naval officers, let out a mirthless laugh. The tone was low but carried several million volts of electricity, stunning even Tirpitz who had seen it all, and immediately sparked a fire.

  "Marshal, I won't deceive you, in fact there is no naval plan at all... even if there was, it would only exist in the Emperor's mind!"

  Note

  1. Naval Cabinet Minister: The political structure of the Second German Empire was somewhat similar to that of Red China, with two administrative teams; the Naval Cabinet Minister was a position in the Imperial Court of Germany, equivalent to the Emperor's naval advisor.

  2. In Reinhard Scheer's post-war memoirs, "Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War", it is incorrectly stated that Ingenohl became commander of the High Seas Fleet on the eve of the war.

  PS: Can everyone see something now? There's a pit...