In Kiel, Lee Hayden met with the German Navy Chief of Staff General Bohr and the new commander of the High Seas of the Second Empire Navy, General Spey, and Lieutenant General Hippel, who was the commander of the cruiser fleet, also participated in the meeting.

Lee Haydn plans to take a major military action in the Mediterranean, hoping to get the cooperation of the German Navy to restrain the main force of the British Ocean Fleet.

Several people conducted an in-depth discussion on the maritime tactics that they had to adopt for the British maritime blockade. General Speer and General Hippel were both offensive generals, which was completely different from the conservative Tirpitz.

Although Boer was very conservative, he was supportive of the action of the battlecruiser formation. His purpose was to protect the high seas fleet as much as possible, but the navy did not move at all but also under great pressure.

In fact, Lee Haydn had talked about the issue of maritime attacks with General Tirpitz more than once before, but this conservative naval bureaucrat who had always been holding on to the theory of fleet decisive victory and the "existence fleet" was not interested in Lee Haydn's proposal.

Admiral Spe has been summarizing his experience and lessons in fighting with the British: The battle of the saber is a kind of sea power, but it does not mean that it has the sea power. It aims to destroy the enemy's maritime rights and interests, that is, to weaken the enemy's maritime rights. Ships that can carry out the battle of the saber must have the following elements: First, the so-called battle of the saber must have sufficient maritime support to be carried out. Today, when radio is already widely used, it is impossible for a battle of the saber cruiser to not be discovered for a long time. Most of the battle of the saber will definitely be discovered within a few weeks after departure, unless it does nothing.

Secondly, as a ship breaking ship, it needs to have a fast enough speed and extremely strong endurance. A fast enough speed can allow it to calmly get rid of the enemy's tracking, and a large endurance can make it last long enough at sea. This is very important. Without sufficient endurance, it is difficult to cause enough trouble for the enemy's routes and transportation.

Third, the battle between the war requires sufficient fire support, which is particularly important when attacked by the enemy. Any single ship's battle operation will obviously encounter enough trouble. Its firepower is not strong enough. Even a powerful armored cruiser like the "Shankhorst" will be troubled by an enemy's fast cruiser. The enemy will stick to you like a fly, unable to drive it away, but cannot eliminate it. However, a formation that is too large is not easy to achieve results. Their targets are too large and can easily be discovered and detected. It is generally believed that a two-ship formation is the most reasonable configuration, so that it has mutual fire support and is easy to deal with some sudden events and failures.

Later, Earl Spey quoted some recent battle examples to confirm his views.

"Very insightful!" Li Haidn couldn't help but exclaimed. He was worthy of being a naval commander who had achieved practical combat. He had enough insight into the views on the issue, had unique views, and was thoughtful.

"This is just some immature experience, and it will take a lot of practice in the future to prove its correctness." General Spee looked calm. For those who have experienced a life-and-death battle like them, winning and living are the first things to think of, and the rest is not important.

"Can we try this effect?" Li Haidon asked.

"The problem is that we lack a suitable warship." Spee said helplessly. The warship that performs the best mission to break the task is a battle cruiser, but the problem is that under the influence of Tirpitz's wrong naval strategy, almost all German war patrols have the fatal flaw of "short legs". Although it has improved a little under the influence of Lee Haydn, the changes have not been greatly changed.

The battle patrols built by the Germans were actually weakened fast battleships, which were relatively strong, but their attack power and range were not as good as cruisers.

Needless to mention the "Blüchel" and "Von der Tann", the speed and endurance of these two early experimental war cruisers were far from meeting the requirements of breaking ships. According to General Spe's estimate, a breaking ship must have a speed of at least 26 knots and a range of 9,000 nautical miles, so that it can have enough fuel to run back and forth between Europe and the Americas.

The only battle patrol with sufficient speed is the latest "Sedlitz" and three "Deferringer" class ships. Of course, the two "Radezky" class stranded in Germany by the Austro-Hungarian Empire also have this ability.

The problem is that they do not have enough battery life, so the effect of breaking the war will be greatly reduced.

The "Sedlitz" only has a range of 5,800 nautical miles/15 knots. The latest "Deflinger" class in service is better. Its endurance is 7,200 nautical miles/16 knots. The "Radezky" class of the Austro-Hungarian Navy is similar to the "Deflinger" class. The German combat patrols have such a range because of Lee Haydn's active intervention. Otherwise, their endurance would be much smaller.

"The effect is almost worse. We have to do something, right?" said Lee Haydn.

"The problem is that the British's 'Lion' level can reach a high speed of 29.5 knots." Lieutenant General Hippel said. This is what he is most worried about. The British's battle patrol is stronger than Germany, and at least it looks like this on paper.

"Don't listen to Betty and the others bragging. It is because they are afraid that we will send attack ships. According to reliable information, their speed is only 27 knots at most." Lee Hayden said, in fact, it is 27.5 knots. He needs to encourage the Germans' enthusiasm. "And they only have four such battle patrols, and they cannot act together. What I said makes sense?"

"That's right, they're better than us after all," Hippel said.

"Just some." Lee Hayden smiled slightly, "In fact, there are many luck in a naval battle, and our battle tour is not much weaker than theirs."

"Well, I have fought with their "Fearless" and "Unforgivable" in the Falkland Islands. Even the "Scharnhorst" equipped with a 240mm main gun can fight them. Although it is a little worse, I escaped their pursuit and ran to Argentina." Spee said slowly, as if recalling and thinking, "They are indeed not as strong as they seem on paper."

"So, did you agree to take action?"

"That's right, we will make a detailed plan soon." General Spee nodded affirmatively.

A week later, Lee Haydn personally went to the dock of the Lübeck Shipyard to see off the upcoming "Radetsky" and "Grand Duke of Franz". One day, these Austro-Hungarian navy soldiers were about to embark on their journey.

"This attack is not a real long voyage. We are experimenting with this new tactic. If successful, it will be enough to cause enough trouble for the British." After reviewing their own sailors, Lee Haydn talked about the details of the operation with Major General Verennik, the commander of the fleet, and a naval general from Croatia.

This time, I did not plan to stay at sea for a long time. According to the plan, the Austro-Hungarian fleet led by Major General Verenick would go to the North Atlantic Ocean south of Iceland and return. There was no need for results. The purpose of this operation was to verify the feasibility of tactics.

In addition, the test of seaplanes is also an important project for this trip.

The Austro-Hungarian warships were not idle during their stay in Germany. According to Lee Hayden's request, the two warships carried out some modifications: several secondary guns at the back of the rear chimney were removed, a hangar that could accommodate two seaplanes was rebuilt, and a crane was installed to recycle the seaplanes. The German-built "Deflinger" class made these changes during outfitting.

"I hope to cause some trouble for the British." Cromwellpei replied confidently. To be honest, the Croats are more adventurous than the Germans, at least that's what Lee Haydn thinks. The Germans are rigorous, rigid, obedient, but not very adventurous.

This is a common problem in mainland countries, and they always want to minimize risks.

The military band played the "Prince Eugen March" on the dock, and Lee Haydn gave a brief inspiring speech to the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Navy on the deck: "Warriors of the Imperial Navy, you are about to face the most powerful maritime power in the world. For the sake of the Imperial Navy, we will face the challenges bravely. You are about to write history and sincerely wish you a great victory that can be recorded in history! The Empire will be proud of you, and our people will be proud of you!"

Lee Haydn left the warship on a traffic boat, and two Austro-Hungarian warships quietly sailed away from Lübeck, and they would pass through the Kiel Canal and then enter the North Sea.

According to the plan, the "Sedlitz" and "Deferringer" form a formation, while the "Luzzo" and "Hindenburg" form a formation. The three formations will enter the North Sea one after another with a half-day voyage, and then break out of the blockade circle built by the British in the Norwegian waters.
Chapter completed!