Chapter 857: Battle of Airships
Germany itself has a very rigid personality. The Admiralty is a sophisticated machine. When it runs from top to bottom, the powerful radio waves contact the German counterattack fleet. After informing the current situation, a series of orders were issued, spreading throughout the entire far-sea fleet. (.)
They were rushing forward to the counterattack fleet quickly according to the established route, and were shocked. After a simple adjustment, they immediately turned and headed towards a large-scale turning point in the south. They were extremely decisive. At this time, they knew very well that any little hesitation would cause them to suffer a catastrophe.
Later generations of naval experts commented that this pursuit battle was more about Germany's side. Reliable radios easily changed the situation. If both sides stood at the same radio level, the German counterattack fleet would definitely not be able to escape, because from the beginning of the war, the radio of the anti-submarine fleet would be transmitted to the surrounding fleets, and the siege would be earlier and faster, and there would be more ships rushing up, so that the loophole would not appear.
However, there is no history that the British radio technology and the German radio technology, to be more precise, are completely different concepts. When the UK was just trying to use radio as a military purpose, the Northwest had already become practical. The radio was arranged from the legion to the downward level, and the smallest had been configured to the company level. It can be said that the command level was decentralized and the positions were moved forward. This difference, even if the Northwest gave Germany not the latest product, it was still based on electronic tubes, but the reliability and stability of the complete military standard completely outperformed the British radio.
At night, it may be the last chance to be found by the German fleet. At this time, the British fleet sailed for ten hours in a row and arrived at the sea area where something happened. Although the sea was boundless, it was impossible to offset the traces of war for more than 10 hours. Countless oil, blood, and broken fragments all proved that a fierce battle occurred here, and the entire British army of the entire fleet was wiped out, and even a ship did not run away.
All the British sailors looked angrily at everything in front of them, their robes, their comrades. It was here that they were attacked by the abominable Germans, which was absolutely unforgivable, especially when the speedboat sent out did not find a survivor, this anger rose.
This cannot be said to be the worst loss in Britain since the beginning of the European war. In terms of tonnage, the losses of two old battleships were already greater than this one. But that was completely different. The 10 ships were all new warships, and even among the auxiliary ships, they were still strong in combat power. Ten ships, hundreds of naval officers and soldiers, especially Jesse, as the best among the listeners, his status is irreplaceable to others, and there is one missing. Even if the fleet is supplemented, the anti-submarine fleet will always be missing.
Since searching for survivors, the search fleet began to contact the Navy, and for a long time. Finally, after 40 minutes, the Navy was contacted. The fleet reported the situation he saw. The entire Navy was stagnant. The British Empire Navy had been the master of the ocean for hundreds of years, but at this time, it was attacked by the German Navy. This was absolutely not allowed. They had to take revenge and they had to keep the German Navy attacking. Otherwise, who would dare to continue to cruise? If the Germans had to come a few more times, the navy's spirit would probably be lost.
Churchill was indeed tough and immediately mobilized all the warships he could mobilize. If it were not for the local fleet and was responsible for defending the local area, he even wanted to use them. The huge British war machine began to move, with more than 200 different warships surrounding the places where the German fleet might have appeared from several directions. At the same time, Churchill contacted the airships assigned to the navy, and all the airships took off and searched for the airspace on a large scale, and did not let go of any incoming warships. In Churchill's view, if he drove out and showed up, he would have to be annihilated.
In terms of combat, the fleet plays a huge role, but in reconnaissance and search, airships have unique advantages. Not to mention at night, airships that can be seen in a large area through telescopes, and the speed of 60 kilometers is much faster than that of ordinary warships.
A large number of airships take off at night and venture into the North Atlantic Ocean. If you count on time, you can walk 400 nautical miles in one night. By day, they can reach the predetermined sea area and conduct large-scale searches on the surface to find the German fleet.
At least 60 airships took off at night. Such a big move could not be hidden from the residents near the harbor. Of course, among these residents, some spies arranged by German intelligence agencies lurked. They didn't know what happened, but their professional sensitivity still asked them to send the news back. A large number of airships took off urgently, and their whereabouts were unknown.
After several twists and turns, thanks to the role of the high-power radio station, the English Channel was only more than 30 kilometers. The radio waves crossed the Strait, connected to the French side, and uploaded them step by step. The army was very surprised. Why did the airship set off at night and investigated it, but nothing was discovered. From the English Channel to France, it was only a few dozen kilometers away. No other discoveries were found. By the way, the news was forwarded again and finally reached the Admiralty.
A fleet of 20 warships, more than 80,000 tons, with more than 2,000 sailors, was in charge of the safety of the Navy. Throughout the evening, the chief of staff was on duty. When he received the news of the airship departure, the staff member felt the problem sensitively and immediately recruited everyone, including Tirpitz. Because he was concerned about the safety of the fleet, Tirpitz also asked before going to bed that he had to notify him of any news.
When Tirpitz arrived, the entire command room had already started to argue endlessly, but the core of the debate was these airships. It was obvious that these airships took off near the port, and it was very likely that the airships belonged to the British Navy. So Britain used the fleet on a large scale and used the airships, and their purpose and result could only be one.
Germany was the first to use airships in this war. The huge role of airships directly gave the German army an absolute advantage in the early stages of the war, blitzing Belgium and defeating France. Because of this, Germany has the most in-depth research on airships throughout Europe, not only studying the role of airships in the tough battles, but also the role of transportation and reconnaissance.
The Navy is also one of them, especially before, the Navy had a history of using airships. Now it has only expanded this history. In the airplane's 5,000-meter airplane, the observation range of telescopes is at least more than tens of nautical miles, mainly depending on the weather conditions. In this case, one or two ships may not be missed, let alone a fleet. During the naval battle, there have been many passing by dozens of nautical miles recently. This is the reason for the detection methods.
The British side sent airships to appear. If this fleet did not enter the Baltic Sea, it would be almost impossible for him to escape the pursuit of the fast fleet. As long as the fast fleet, any main battleship was encircled, the result would be almost destined.
What to do? The staff members are already sure that in the daytime tomorrow, the German fleet that attacked would be almost impossible to enter the Baltic Sea. The vast ocean itself is very low in the chance of being caught by a fast fleet and a warship that is enough to entangle the German fleet. However, the emergence of the airship greatly reduced the chance of such escape.
"Or, we will also send airships!" A young staff officer said tentatively when he saw the entire scene in a deadlock.
An equally young staff officer next to him said disdainfully: "Do we also need to investigate? How do we let the fleet run away at this time?"
"It can be seen that it is impossible to fly. Just entangle the other party's airship and don't give them a chance to detect!"
The young staff's simple answer made the Chief of Staff and Tirpitz frown at the eyes of the Chief of Staff and Tyrpitz. Yes, since this airship is a huge threat to them, then entangle them. The airship is flying in the air. The only one that can deal with them is the airship. When Germany and France were fighting, there was an air battle, which ended with a great victory from Germany. Germany has an advantage in this.
Tirpitz immediately contacted the airship unit. The current airship unit is mainly affiliated with the army. Fortunately, it is not the time of war. The army has few battles throughout the winter. When they heard about the situation of the navy, the army was also very moved. They also saw the small actions of Britain and France in Paris during this period, but unfortunately they could not stop it. They could not attack the city of Paris when the severe winter came. If they were not careful, it would be a result of the loss for Germany.
The World War in Paris will inevitably take place after the beginning of spring. The war with Britain and France must have started the airship war. The previous battle with France was asymmetrical. The French side was still a hydrogen airship, while Germany was already helium. Now the British airship must also be helium, and the main airship will definitely be dispatched. In this case, it can be considered as a preheating for the war.
In the winter, Germany imported a large number of airships from the northwest. The total number of airships was about 300. It was impossible to put them all on the navy. After carefully investigating the naval intelligence, it finally approved 120 airships, all of which were newly-sold. They were fully armed, and even equipped with machine cannons. Their armed ended up being not reconnaissance, but targeting the other party's airships.
No one expected that the largest air battle in the history of World War I was born under an attack, and the cumulative number of airships participating in air battles exceeded 200. Under fully armed conditions, blood was sprinkled in the sky. The result of this battle also made countless countries realize the huge role of airships, and also caused the sharp expansion of airships from the side. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!