I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 1028 Germany's Opportunity Has Arrived!
War House, London.

One telegram after another plea for help was sent to Prime Minister George, and everyone frowned at the current situation.

"This is almost the most ships we can send," said Navy Secretary Balfour with difficulty.

"Five dreadnoughts are in the Brest direction, four are in the Gibraltar direction, leaving only 24 in the North Sea."

"But Germany's High Seas Fleet has 22 dreadnoughts."

"If we send reinforcements again, Beihai will face the risk of being breached by the Germans!"

The command center fell silent.

Having previously fought a battle against the German fleet at Jutland, British naval commanders had a general understanding of the characteristics of German warships:
German warships generally had thicker main armor, which made their battleships more durable and survivable, often managing to escape the battlefield even after being hit by multiple shells.

In comparison, British battleships were inferior to German ones in both protection and gun accuracy; the British strengths lay in speed and range.

More importantly, the British army had an overwhelming numerical advantage.

But now, the Royal Navy has divided itself into three: North Sea, Brest, and Gibraltar.

Without its numerical advantage, can the First Fleet stationed in the North Sea still hold off the German High Seas Fleet?

However, ignoring the crisis in Brest and the Strait of Gibraltar is clearly not a wise choice.

Britain's objectives in this war were twofold: first, to blockade the main French fleet in the Strait of Gibraltar; and second, to capture Brest and demonstrate its military might to the world.

If you can't do any of them, it means complete failure!

Prime Minister George turned his attention to the Minister of Munitions, implying, "How are you going to handle this now? Is it still necessary to continue fighting?"
"Gentlemen," the Quartermaster said calmly.

"Think about what the situation is like for Germans right now?"

"Their sailors had just mutinied and were in disarray, with some commanders defecting and others disobeying orders."

"Do you think they can muster all their forces to attack us? Even if they send all their warships, will they have half their previous fighting strength?"

The others remained unmoved and all expressed their opposition with silence.

Prime Minister George expressed their sentiments:

"Although your guess has some merit."

"However, it is common sense that we cannot rely on the weakness and mistakes of the enemy to achieve victory."

"This is dangerous and speculative, tantamount to leaving your fate in the hands of God!"

The Minister of Munitions raised an eyebrow: "You're right, Your Excellency, but do we have any other choice?"

One sentence left Prime Minister George speechless.

Prime Minister George frowned in displeasure. He found that the Minister of Munitions' plans always seemed to follow the same pattern: they would plunge headlong into a beautiful vision and then be dragged along against their will.

“Furthermore,” the Minister of Munitions added, “we can look at it from a different perspective.”

He pointed to the location of Brest Port:

"The French laid mines around the port of Brest, which means that their warships are on the defensive and not prepared to counterattack."

"Then, what if the German High Seas Fleet launches an attack on us in the North Sea?"

"We can immediately recall the Second Fleet to the North Sea for reinforcement."

First Lord of the Navy Balfour offered his support:
"Yes, the English Channel is only 560 kilometers long, and our fleet can return to the North Sea in just over ten hours."

"Moreover, these recalled fleets will appear behind the German High Seas Fleet at that time."

"This is our advantage; the English Channel is in our hands!"

Trenchard asked:
"But have you considered this: the French army may have laid a safe passage through the mines in the port of Brest?"

"If necessary, their fleet can set sail and launch an attack against us."

"At that time, we will be in an awkward situation where we are caught between two difficult choices!"

The Navy Minister immediately refuted his statement:
“There won’t be any problem. All we have to do is lay a batch of mines before we leave.” “Then the French’s safe passage will be unsafe.”

"Before they launch a counterattack, they first need to spend time clearing these mines."

This is standard practice in naval warfare, and the First Minister of the Navy is well aware of it.

The last few people exchanged glances and then gave the order for reinforcements.

……

The reinforcement fleet included two Queen Elizabeth-class ships, with only HMS Barham remaining in the North Sea.

In addition, there are 3 dreadnoughts, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, and 30 destroyers.

Only 19 dreadnoughts remained in the North Sea.

……

Charles was relieved to receive intelligence from Pontyssee, Belgium, that the British Royal Navy was sending reinforcements toward the Atlantic.

Gibraltar, Brest, and the North Sea.

If any of these three directions is a feint, it is undoubtedly the Gibraltar direction, which has the most momentum.

The French Mediterranean Fleet was unable to assemble more than a hundred ships and make them combat-ready.

A navy is not simply a fleet of captured ships that can be put into operation. To form combat capability and ensure that all parts work closely together and synchronize in combat, at least several months of training are required.

Therefore, the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers captured from the British were actually just for show; they were used to intimidate the enemy.

On those warships, a large group of French infantrymen were holding guns to the heads of British prisoners and ordering them to operate the ships.

This only gets the warship moving; it doesn't actually have any combat capability.

In a real fight, even if they outnumber the Iron Dukes by a great deal, they still wouldn't be able to break through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Their purpose is to divert more British warships away from the North Sea.

Charles looked up at the staff officer and gave the order:
"Order General Pierre to prepare all aircraft carriers."

"Once British reinforcements pass through the English Channel, the carrier-based aircraft will immediately be redeployed!"

In order to better confuse the British military, the aircraft carrier's aircraft were constantly taking off and landing on the deck.

There's no rush for Shire; carrier-based aircraft are fast and can reach the target airport and complete deployment in just a few hours.

The only problem is that pilots have to perform long hours of high-intensity flight operations and then immediately enter combat mode.

Fortunately, Charles has always focused on pilot training, and there are now some surplus pilots waiting for rotation at the target airport.

Charles then added an order: "Contact Etzberger and tell them the British have been tricked. Tell them to prepare!"

The German provisional government was still in a state of semi-chaos, and its intelligence system had not been fully restored, making it unable to keep track of the movements of the British fleet.

"Yes, General," the staff officer replied, and relayed the intelligence as instructed.

……

Etzberger was waiting anxiously in Liège.

"This is the moment that will decide Germany's fate." He murmured to himself, "Victory or defeat hinges on this battle! We cannot lose, we absolutely cannot lose..."

When Charles's telegram arrived in his hands, he jumped up abruptly:

"Great, they've transferred five more ships."

"Inform Scheer immediately; his chance has come."

"No, this is Germany's chance!"

(End of this chapter)