1855 United States Tycoon

Time flies quickly, several months have passed in a blink of an eye, the cold winter has quietly passed away, and the spring of 1916 has come. The weather was very good and the sun was shining on this day, and all kinds of flowers in the garden of Duck Castle were in full bloom. Scrooge walked slowly along the path full of poppies, while listening to Grey Stone introducing him some recent situations.

"It is basically certain now that the Germans can't take Verdun. Although they have recently regained air superiority by using the propeller-coordinated machine guns provided by us, the French have now gained a firm foothold in Verdun. Dad, you know that in the current war, the defensive side always has some advantages. Now, the French have no less troops in Verdun than the Germans. So the Germans are still going on Their offense, but both Donald and I believe that the danger of Verdun has passed."

"How is the situation on the shipbuilding side recently?" Scrooge asked.

"Because of the recent ascending war intensity, the British and French demand for various materials have been ascending significantly, so the shipbuilding business is still ascending, but dad, even with the background of the Verdun battle, shipbuilding orders. The trend of ascending has also started to slow down. Saturation may be coming soon, damn Germans, their efficiency in sinking ships at sea is too low. Dad, since the last Anne incident, their efficiency has become more and more effective. It’s inferior. So that the British no longer use escort formations in order to improve port efficiency, but their efficiency is still not very good." Greystone said, it sounds like he seems to be better than the generals of the German Navy. The inefficiency of the German Navy is even more dissatisfied.

"How is the propaganda going in Germany?" Scrooge asked.

"Recently, the attention of the Germans has been completely focused on Verdun, and now is not the time to launch such a propaganda." Greystone replied, "However, if the Germans feel that the Army cannot break through Verdun anymore. Yes, that might be able to shift their focus to the Navy." Grey Stone replied.

"The British and French radio stations have been doing this. They seem to have been broadcasting to Germany, claiming that they have repeatedly defeated the Germans in Verdun. However, the Germans don't seem to believe it."

"That's because the German Army is still on the offensive, and they have not given up their attempt to take Verdun." Greystone replied, "When the German Army believes that taking Verdun has become an impossible task, and Stop the offensive and our propaganda plan can begin."

"Then how long do you think the German Army can continue to attack?" Scrooge asked.

"Of course I hope the longer the better, but the recent losses of the German Army are too great. Such an offensive lasts at most for another month or two, and it is estimated that it will have to stop." Greystone replied.

In history, the Battle of Verdun has been fought for almost a whole year, but in this time and space, the situation has changed. Because of some technological advances, both the French and German troops have more firepower than the original. Historical level. For example, in the original history, the offensive German army used 1,400 cannons, but in this time and space, the German army invested 2,000 cannons at the beginning of the battle. It also includes many large-caliber railway guns. The French are also unambiguous. Although the number of artillery is only half that of the Germans, most of their artillery has been fortified, and the firepower is not known how much stronger than the original French army in history. At the same time, in terms of light weapons, due to the influence of the Macdonald Infantry Weapons Company, in this time and space, the level of light weapons in World War I is almost catching up with World War II. There are everything from heavy machine guns, light machine guns, submachine guns, etc. And the result of all this is naturally that the killing efficiency of both sides has been greatly improved. In the current few months of battle, the losses of both sides have been close to the level of the entire battle in the original history.

"You're right, the Germans may find it difficult to carry on with such a high loss," Scrooge said. "At that time, they probably have to move their navy."

At this moment, Scrooge saw Grey Stone’s secretary running over, and when he saw Grey Stone talking to Scrooge, he stopped in the distance.

"Maybe there is something, you go and see." Scrooge said.

"Good dad." Greystone waved to the secretary, and the secretary stepped forward.

"Is there any news?" Grey Stone asked.

"Mr. MacDonald, the news just got that the Germans replaced their chief of staff yesterday, and now General Hindenburg has become the new German chief of staff." The secretary replied.

"It seems that the Germans can no longer hold on to the Battle of Verdun." Scrooge said with a smile, "Relevant propaganda can begin."

...

"Marshal, do you also think the navy must be dispatched?" William II asked a general holding a marshal's scepter.

"Yes, your Majesty, although the article in the Bavarian newspaper is out of date, there is no big mistake in what he said. Now it is indeed impossible for Germany to achieve a full victory. We should indeed seek peace. But your Majesty. We also know that if we ask for peace now, the French and the British will put forward humiliating conditions that are totally unacceptable to us. So if we need to get a decent peace, we must devote all our forces to Going in the war... the High Seas Fleet should not be an exception."

"But I asked Admiral Scheer and he told me that although our fleet is no less than the British in terms of single-ship performance, and may even have certain advantages, our number of battleships is much smaller than the British. , We only have 21 new battleships (3 more than in history), while the British fleet has 36 (3 more than in history). With this number advantage, our fleet cannot beat the British fleet. "Yes." said Emperor William II.

"Your Majesty, the weaker side is not incapable of doing anything. For example, in the Second Anglo-American War, the United States fleet was almost insignificant compared to the British fleet. The strength of their fleet was different from that of the British fleet. Bigger. But the United States Navy’s performance in that war was pretty good. Your Majesty, now, a large number of materials are sent to Britain and France from all over the world every day. It is with the support of these materials that the French can Continue to fight with us. And your Majesty, you should also know that if we let them get these supplies, we will eventually be overwhelmed by the enemy’s unparalleled material power. Therefore, even at the risk of the entire army being destroyed, the navy must Go out to change this situation. Your Majesty, actually think about it..." The field marshal smiled, "If the navy finds those warships and stops at Kiel Harbour and waits until we are defeated, they will be defeated by the British. How big a difference is there when it is sunk? It is even better to be sunk by the British, at least in the process, they also killed and wounded the British."

Emperor Wilhelm II was silent for a while, and then said: "Marshal Hindenburg, I agree with you that our fleet cannot stay in the military port forever."

...

On April 22, 1916, a British spy ventured to send out such a piece of information via the radio: "The German fleet in the Port of Kiel was dispatched collectively." After the news was sent, the British espionage department lost sight of the spy. connection. But this is enough to attract the attention of the British. If the battleships and battlecruisers in the German High Seas Fleet are allowed to penetrate into the Atlantic Ocean, even if in the end, the British can find and annihilate them one by one, they will at least be able to let them go to Britain for several months. The routes have become extremely dangerous, and before they are mostly wiped out, the maritime transport at sea may even be completely cut off. Therefore, the British Admiralty immediately issued a warning to the local fleet: "The German High Seas Fleet has been dispatched and is ready for battle."

The Admiralty’s warning was issued to the fleet at 12 noon, and the commander of the fleet, Marshal Jericho, immediately ordered the fleet to prepare for an attack before dawn.

It is not an easy task for the 36 battleships of the entire fleet to prepare for the attack in just a few hours. The entire Scarpa Bay is immediately busy, and all the sailors who are not on the warship are urgently taken. Recall, the materials needed for navigation and combat are constantly being sent to battleships. The staff members are busy forming a group, and the mechanics are also rushing to conduct a final inspection of the warship.

In Roses, the resident of the British battlecruiser squadron, Marshal Betty's battlecruisers are also preparing for the upcoming collision. Because recently his battlecruisers had already set sail, so Betty's fleet was basically ready for sailing. At 9 o'clock that evening, Marshal Betty left the port with the battlecruiser squadron.

Although battlecruisers have the same firepower as battleships, their armor is too weak. Therefore, the British do not believe that such warships can be incorporated into the battle line as real battleships. But their high speed makes them very suitable for the avant-garde of the main fleet, to perform maritime reconnaissance, and to disperse the enemy's avant-garde fleet and other tasks. I believe that the Germans will also send the own battlecruiser as the avant-garde of the main fleet. So Betty's fleet must set off early. His mission is twofold: destroy the German avant-garde fleet and find the German main fleet.

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