On November 13, 1915, it was dawn, and a white traffic boat carried several naval officers away from the Trieste Navy Pier and sailed towards the cruiser "Emperor Maximilian" moored in the anchorage. The rising sun shone on the ship of the Imperial Navy Second Fleet moored in the anchorage, leaving long black shadows on the sea.

On the eye-catching orange water drum in the anchorage, the flagship of Lieutenant General Wokovic, the commander of the Second Fleet, was equipped with a displacement of 33,000 tons, and its other two sister ships. The cruiser "Emperor Maximilian" was next to the flagship. In contrast, this old armored cruiser, which was in service in 1903 and had a displacement of 13,000 tons, looked even more slim.

The traffic boat docked next to the gangway on the side of the "Emperor Maximilian". The hull kept hitting the steel plates of the warship's gangway under the waves, making a clanging sound. The short-strait Colonel Yankel, wearing a dark blue winter naval officer uniform, jumped from the bow to the gangway.

The warship was shaking gently with the surging sea water in the harbor, and the surface of the dark gray hull was shining with a purple-red halo under the rising sun. Several officers followed Colonel Yankel and climbed up the deck from the steep gangway, and saluted the officer standing at the entrance of the gangway.

"I request permission to board the ship."

"Authorize boarding the ship, sir." said the officer on duty.

"I'm Wilmots Yankel."

The officer on duty opened his eyes widened and stood up straighter, "Oh, yes, sir. I'll inform Colonel Kasich now, sir--the messenger!"

Under the guidance of the officer on duty, Yankell and his party walked along the deck towards the bridge in front. The wooden deck under their feet was very comfortable to step on, making a light sound. The gentle wind in the harbor had a salty smell and the unique smell of coal smoke on the warship, which smelled so good.

This is exactly what Yankel expected to do. Commanding a warship composed of steel fortresses, machinery and giant cannons, leading a group of young and vibrant waters to gallop on the sea, was always his dream. He had only had the experience of being a captain on destroyers and serving on cruisers, but he had never commanded a large warship.

Now that this dream has come true, a reward for his unremitting efforts to travel between those automobile and tractor factories and the Naval Command for the past 18 months, Grand Duke Istria finally approved his request to serve on a warship.

Of course, the "Emperor Maximilian" cannot be compared with a new battleship like the "Istria Grand Duke". It is just a somewhat outdated armored cruiser with a tonnage of only one-third of its tonnage, a smaller main gun, a thinner armor, and much worse resistance to torpedoes.

However, after Colonel Yankel worked on the shore for a long time, the warship seemed very big to him. He stood near the flying blue ship head flag and anchor chain, looking back at the turret, the main mast and the tall bridge towers bulging in the sun, and couldn't believe himself. This warship was many times bigger than the destroyer he had last served as the captain. Being the captain of the main ship has always been his dream, but he still couldn't suppress his excitement when he received the notice of becoming the captain of the "Emperor Maximilian".

Yankel met his friend, Colonel Kasich, in the spacious and beautiful captain's room. The Croatian hurried out from the inner cabin, clasped with a straight light blue shirt. His curly black hair looked a little wet. Maybe he had just returned from a shower. "Hi, I wish you a dream come true!" They shook hands. "Do you eat something?"

The orderly placed breakfast with shiny knife and fork on a snow-white linen tablecloth, and the food on the warship was much better than the rationed land: half a fresh pineapple, hot bread, steaming milk coffee and a plate of salad made with ham, spinach, fruit and melted cheese.

Yankel was a little jealous of his classmates. Colonel Kasich would be transferred to the newly-engaged battleship Austria to be the captain. It was the empire or the most powerful battleship in the world. It was majestic and arrogant. The two of them were having breakfast while chatting.

"I'm sorry, in order to enable the new battleship to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, two-thirds of the crew members on the 'Emperor Maximilian' will be transferred to the 'Austria', leaving you with a large group of newcomers who have not received much training." Kasich said to his old classmate apologetically.

"Well, I will get them familiar with the operation on the ship as soon as possible," said Yankel. "I'm very satisfied to be able to return to the warship."

"That's great. We'll hold a handover ceremony in the afternoon. I have to go to the Austria quickly." Kasich said.

"Just just a simple ceremony, I don't want to make a big fuss," said Yankel.

"The thing you made for the Army is good. I heard that you might get a medal," Kasich said.

"Where, that's all the credit for the engineers. I'm only responsible for coordinating the personnel and the distribution of materials." Yankel said, "I heard that there might be any actions recently?"

"With this plan, the Crown Prince Istria has been in the Navy Headquarters recently," said Kasich. "Now we finally have a lot of room for activities and no longer have to stay in the Adriatic Sea. You are here at the right time."

At this time, the phone rang, and Kasich picked up the ringing phone from the telephone rack in the bulkhead. "Are you going to the Navy Command for a meeting? Okay, I'll go with Colonel Yankel right away." He drank the coffee in the cup, stood up and started wearing his coat, and said to Yankel, "The above orders us to go to the Navy Command, and go now!"

...

Crown Prince Lee Haydn is now in the Navy Command's combat room.

There are now growing differences between the Austro-Hungarian General Staff in Vienna and the German General Staff in Berlin. Lee Haydn's goal is the Mediterranean and North Africa, while Falkenhein stubbornly wants to put the main force of the German army on the front line of France.

The two started arguing again at a military coordination meeting held in Berlin.

"After the border line in August 1914, the occupation of French territory was the main reason for arousing the French's determination to resist, which allowed them to tolerate huge casualties. If the German army retreated to the border line, the French lost the determination and desire to continue fighting, and the war on the Western Front would evolve into a "sitting war". Two hostile armies stood firm on both sides of the border line, but would not easily launch an attack on the other side. In this way, we can withdraw at least one million troops to use them in places where they need it more." Lee Haydn had been accusing the Germans of launching the Western Front as a great mistake, and putting millions of elite German troops into the quagmire of France rather than investing in the Eastern Front and the Near East. This is the direction that Lee Haydn strongly advocated.

General Falkenhein was preparing to launch a major offensive in Verdun, but was strongly criticized by Lee Hayden. He always believed that Germany and Austria should first concentrate their strength in 1916 and completely defeat Russia, rather than vaining their limited troops in the trenches of France. However, the Chief of Staff of the German Army was stubborn and did not listen to any dissuasion.

Now the Austrians and the Germans have parted ways and decided to do their own things.

Lee Haydn also wanted to have a maritime raid on France, but it was obvious that the time was not ripe.
Chapter completed!