Henry sat down in front of his desk, and was about to work when the secretary's notice came from outside the door, and Navy Minister Churchill asked for a visit.

Henry frowned slightly when he heard this name. Churchill was the representative of the young naval faction. He was only 39 years old and became the Minister of Navy. However, his attitude towards Germany was the most radical among the entire Navy. He advocated the use of the toughest methods to force the German navy to fight and completely destroy the German navy, thus allowing Germany to withdraw from the battle.

His insights were highly recognized by young and strong people in the navy, but were opposed by conservatives and some mature and persistent naval officers. Britain had a considerable advantage over the German high seas fleet, and the main battleship was more than a dozen larger than the opponent. If both sides showed their chariots and horses and fought head-on, Britain would definitely be able to gain an advantage and even win the naval battle.

Churchill was not wrong from this point of view, but if you really want to fight, let alone some accidents that may happen, just say that the British Navy's high seas fleet reached 70% of the British Navy's high seas fleet. Even if you win, what else can Britain be left? If the battle won is based on the heavy damage of the high seas fleet and even losing most of its main battleships, this may not be a good thing for Britain.

Unlike Germany, Britain has many colonies overseas. The high seas fleet is an important part of deterring them. If it is damaged, the result will be unimaginable. Therefore, Churchill's radical plan was rejected and replaced by the local fleet, which maintains a relatively high pressure for Germany. The fast fleet will cruise in the North Sea, striving to find some of the German fleets or squadrons, gather and annihilate them, and win at the lowest cost.

Since the war started, land warfare has become the dominant one, and the generator program participated by a large number of naval forces has only played a slight escort role. Is Churchill unable to help it? He wants to join the war, but the German navy cannot come out. It is steadily in the Baltic Sea, even if the British local fleet directly provokes it.

Henry was confused, but he still let Churchill come in. The young Churchill looked unusually energetic and handed over a report after saluting Henry.

"What is this?" Henry asked slightly stunned.

"It's a combat plan!" Churchill said respectfully.

Henry nodded. Thinking of the previous discussion with Raymond France, he opened the document casually. The eye-catching title said that it was the Mediterranean Fleet, but he didn't expect that it was about the Middle East.

Isn't this a joke? The most important thing in Britain now is the Mediterranean and France. There is no interest in the Far East, so why do you go to the desert area? Is it still a pity that the UK is not in too much and not in chaos? Besides, Iraq is on the land, so why is the navy causing chaos?

He glanced at Churchill coldly. Henry did not throw the documents aside. After all, Churchill was still the Minister of the Navy. He found the flaws in the middle and scolded him. It could be regarded as a wake-up call for him to wake him up. Don’t be so ambitious and honestly give full play to Britain’s maritime advantages.

Open the document and the thick plan is very detailed, saying it is for Iraq. But the focus is on raiding Basra. In the plan, Basra's military port and Newport were built by the Chinese, and sovereignty belongs to the Chinese, but Basra and Baghdad still belong to Germany as war zones.

In the combat plan, Churchill emphasized the important role of the navy in this plan, and was preparing to draw a special fleet including 4 main battleships and 42 combat ships to directly attack the Port of Basra. In the plan, the navy went further and used Singapore's Asian Navy to block the fleet leading to Malacca and completely cut off Germany's foreign supplies.

Attacking Basra and completely cut off Germany's supply sources. This idea flashed through Henry's heart. The navy indeed seized the weakest link of Germany. Although Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Turkey were divided into three sections and perfectly combined with the 3b railway. Before completely defeating these three countries, the Allies could not threaten the 3b railway. Especially the addition of Italy added a heavy weight to this protection. In this case, jumped away from the attack on the railway itself and directly attacked the harbor. In the Suez Canal, Egypt, North Africa, and even Iraq, there were British troops, supported by the Asian fleet and some Mediterranean fleets, and some British and French forces should be able to pose a threat to him.

I have to say that this approach is very feasible, but Henry's view of Churchill has also changed slightly. Just as he was about to praise him, he suddenly thought of something and asked: "Churchill, are you sure you can use ships including 4 main battleships to capture Basra Port?"

"Of course, but I need the help of the Army, which is in my plan!"

"I saw an army with at least 5 divisions!" Henry nodded and said, "But do you know, there are almost 2 elite Northwest Army stationed in Basra!"

Churchill said proudly: "What's there? I believe in the combat effectiveness of the Royal Navy of the British Empire!"

Churchill's arrogant manner made Henry laugh and cry. The British Empire's navy seemed to be like this. He felt that I was the best in the world. If it were anything else, he would agree that the navy must have such a spirit and such a passion. However, under the premise that the navy was strongly challenged by the Germans, he proposed a plan that might shake the naval status. This was not arrogance, but suicide. He shook his head slightly and asked the secretary to send a document. Churchill was unclear. So until the secretary sent the document, Henry handed the document to Churchill and said, "Look carefully!"

This is a war report. Britain obtained some information from Japan, and some observations from Britain and France themselves, and together formed a general description of the naval battle of Qingdao, which particularly emphasized the land-based turret of the Northwest Army. It was precisely because of this land-based turret that the Northwest Army unexpectedly defeated the Japanese Combined Fleet. Five main battleships, including the King Kong, made in the UK, did not even have the ability to counterattack, and were sent to the bottom of the sea.

Churchill was indeed extremely keen. After reading it, he asked directly: "Is the Prime Minister worried that the land-based fortress will be built in Basra in the northwest?"

Henry nodded: "No, Northwest has this ability!"

The construction capacity of the northwest has been recognized, and even the United Kingdom knows that whether it is the Baghdad Railway or most projects in Germany, including the Kiel Canal, the Chinese have built these projects with an unimaginable speed and strength. Churchill agreed with this, but said: "But the Port of Basra was built several years ago!"

"Yes, the Port of Basra was built several years ago, but when did Qingdao give it to the Chinese? Although Germany and the Northwest had close exchanges before, according to our estimates, the exchange of Qingdao will not last more than half a year, that is to say, in half a year, such a powerful fort was built!"

Churchill was silent. Henry's meaning was very obvious. Northwest had the ability to produce large-scale artillery. Although it was not certain whether the large-caliber was 14 inches or 15 inches, such artillery was an absolute threat to any battleship. In the report, there was another number. The number of large-caliber artillery on the turret was more than 50, which means that the Northwest had the ability to arrange a large number of artillery. Churchill wanted to say that the Northwest was unlikely to have a comprehensive arrangement because Qingdao was too important, so he chose this because the Northwest was too important. However, the Northwest would not predict the future. How could he know that Japan would attack Qingdao?

Besides, Qingdao was taken back from Germany. From this point of view, the northwest has a natural mission to protect Qingdao. However, on the long China coastline, there are many people comparing with Qingdao. Basra is the declining Eastern Empire, the first port overseas, and it has spent a huge amount of money to build the carefully built Shanggang and military port. In just a few years, the investment in the northwest is definitely more than hundreds of millions of dollars. The forts that Qingdao has, are not there in the northwest?

Churchill opened his mouth and wanted to continue saying that if the number of main battleships is increased and the attack is increased, even if there is a turret, he flashed through his mind the location of the Port of Basra. Whether it is Newport or Oldport, their locations are within the river channel. It is the channel injected into the Persian Gulf after the intersection of the Tigris and the Youfarates River. The river channel is extremely long, which is also the fundamental reason why the Newport can establish its location. It is far away from the coast and cannot threaten the new and old ports unless it enters the river channel.

Attacking the harbor city at sea, facing the threat of the opponent's land-based turret is a huge problem. Unless it is a madman, not many commanders will do this. Now, even though they know that the opponent has a large-caliber naval gun, they still want to attack the opponent's harbor. This is irresponsible to the warships.

Churchill was silent. His silence made Henry nod. Although Churchill was more radical, he was not unhelpful to others' persuasion. He looked down at the plan and continued: "The plan is good, but there is no basis for realization!"

"Or the better, strengthen the Army, we will create an excellent environment for the Army landing!"

"No, you can't choose Basra!"

"But!" Churchill was a little panicked. After the outbreak of the European war, he wanted to get the navy to participate in the war several times, but he had no chance. He finally came up with a plan, a plan that could severely damage the Germans, but was rejected by Henry without mercy. The next plan he knew was to form a Mediterranean fleet. The British Royal Navy was facing the ocean. He was not interested in the bathtub in the Mediterranean and the weak Italians. He hoped to expand his territory outside.

"I didn't completely reject your plan, but attacking Basra is not suitable, you can choose here!" Henry knocked his hand heavily on the map in the report. It was another Iraqi city several hundred kilometers away from Basra, and Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!