Chapter 1,157 The Confused British
Chapter 1157 The Confused British
"Colonel Benyanke, please objectively describe the situation of the entire fleet when Rear Admiral Moore made the decision to withdraw. Especially the situation of the three Queen Elizabeth-class battleships under your command." At the British Admiralty, after learning about the recent After the British Navy lost another battlecruiser inexplicably in a naval battle, Sir Fisher, who could not bear the anger of MAX, personally took charge, summoned some senior officials of the Royal Navy, and summoned some personnel to investigate the reasons for the defeat. The first one to bear the brunt was A fast fleet under the temporary command of Major General Moore.
"The situation was very bad. Warspite was hit by at least a dozen main gun shells, and our main armor was even penetrated. The battleship lost half of its firepower at the time. The situation of the Reputation was also very bad, and it was destroyed. A turret. The bow of the Counterattack was hit by two large-caliber artillery shells, and about 1,300 tons of water was taken in. One of the barrels of the No. 4 turret at the rear of the battleship was broken. I don’t know what will happen to other battleships, if it persists for 20 more minutes. , then it’s hard to say anything else. It is estimated that Warspite will definitely not be able to return, it will fall behind and be killed by the swarming German destroyers." Colonel Benyanke said.
"But there will be sacrifices in the battle. If Moore can persist, we can definitely get it back even if we pay some price, can't we?" Churchill signaled the angry Sir Fisher next to him not to speak for the time being, and then said a He asked in a calm but dignified tone.
"I don't think so. I'm not just talking about the Grand Fleet's Invincible, Neptune, Iron Duke, Prince of Wales, and even the Queen Elizabeth and Revenge-class battleships. None of these battleships are easy to use! Really, believe me. I once participated in the siege of the Blücher. It took our four Queen-class battleships plus a large number of light cruisers and destroyers at least three hours to kill one of Germany's original battlecruisers! We interrogated After passing the captured personnel, the guy said with certainty that none of our shells penetrated its main armor belt. He even said provocatively that if the Royal Navy only used torpedoes, the effect would be better! This bastard." Colonel. The unexpected toughness and resentful attitude shocked everyone present.
"When did the naval officers and soldiers of the British Empire degenerate to this level?! These cowards! Cowards! Shameful scum!" After the soldiers took the colonel down, Sir Fisher, who was finally on the verge of an explosion, roared angrily. The sound echoed throughout the house.
"Of the 7 battlecruisers that originally belonged to the First Battlecruiser Squadron, 5 have been sunk so far. If the battle loss rate of personnel is calculated, it is at least over 60%. There are no surviving personnel on the battleships that were instantly killed. 1. Major General Moore’s behavior is indeed inappropriate. If Major General Moore is to be dealt with, Admiral Jericho agrees, but the scope of the strike should not be expanded.” Lieutenant General Charles Madden thought for a while and said.
Although the Chief of Staff of the Royal Navy was also very angry about Rear Admiral Moore's early evacuation, after calming down and thinking about it, he had to say that this was excusable. Because some things that happened subsequently made the British realize that even if Major General Moore persisted for half an hour, there might not be any results after the large fleet was in place.
The Germans can fight for another ten minutes and then choose to retreat, and as the fleet of the world's second largest naval power, although its size cannot be compared with the British fleet, it still has everything it should have!
During the evacuation, the seaplanes behind the fleet carried smoke canisters and released smoke screens to cover the fleet's retreat. As long as the Germans left early, under the cover of the smoke screen, they could gain at least about 20 minutes, and 20 Minutes later, the German fleet may have relied on high speed to get rid of the large fleet, and by then it would still have turned in successfully. The fast fleet may suffer new losses during this period. Let’s not talk about anything else, let’s just talk about the Tiger and Australia at the back. These fragile ships are almost undefended by the German 15-inch naval guns. As long as a suitable shot hits, they may be directly hit. An extra-large firecracker….
"I hope Vice Admiral Betty can replace this coward and revitalize the fast fleet! His high morale and unyielding spirit will definitely lead the fast fleet out of the trough!" Sir Fisher took the opportunity to say.
"I need to communicate with Admiral Jericho about this. However, Vice Admiral Thomas will recover and be discharged soon. After he has achieved an exciting victory and made no mistakes, the fast fleet should still hand over Thomas." Lieutenant General in command." Churchill thought for a moment and said. Then he turned around and asked Lieutenant General Madden instead of giving Fisher a chance to continue bargaining. "In your opinion, apart from equipment problems, what is the most serious problem for the Royal Navy now? Is it lack of courage or confidence?"
There are many problems with equipment, such as shells that explode early, the Queen's overweight, and the problem of insufficient armor protection that exists in almost all British battleships. The British have discovered these problems, but alas, they do not have the ability, who say it will take a long time to solve them…. Churchill knew that the Royal Navy was full of complaints about its equipment. If he raised it, the rest of the time would probably be spent criticizing someone and complaining about the Imperial Shipyard. This will do no good except increase the antagonism and mutual resentment within the navy.
"I think it is due to confidence and low morale. The officers and soldiers of the Royal Navy are still fearless and brave. However, repeated defeats have left them with no hope of defeating their opponents. Our fleet is like a powerful force. Infinite but unable to hit the opponent's wild boar, and the opponent can easily play with us. Although the fast fleet has been greatly improved, the number of queens is still not enough, and we cannot even guarantee that we can last long enough in front of the German High Seas Fleet. .”
"Of course, our officers and soldiers also believe that our fleet does not have the ability to destroy Germany's excellent battleships. They are like an unbeatable hydra, suffering repeated heavy losses but still surviving to the end. The more troops participate in the battle, the more powerless they feel. The more serious the situation is, there is even a saying among General Thomas' fleet that their fleet needs at least 2 base shells to kill a German battleship." Vice Admiral Madden responded.
"The shipyards of the British Empire are building new warships day and night. We are even considering producing warships equipped with 16-inch artillery! As for the problem of artillery shells, I am sorry that so far, almost all suppliers have no solution." Fisher Er said with some embarrassment.
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