Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 105: Two Nassaus and Twenty Zeppelins
Although the emperor was not a very good general, he was still a qualified soldier.

This can be seen from the expressions of him and Tirpitz after seeing the document.

The two men's attention was almost immediately absorbed by the documents submitted by Ryan, and they behaved in exactly the same way for the next period of time.

But the feedback this amateur emperor gave to Ryan was obviously much better than that given by Tirpitz.

He dove headfirst into the report Ryan had submitted, practically shoving the document in his face.

Tirpitz, standing by, quickly finished reading the document and looked at Ryan: "Lieutenant Colonel Flig, you actually ordered two airships to attack two battlecruisers at ultra-low altitude?"

He asked Ryan with a curious voice, "Your Excellency, you should be aware that the Empire has a small number of aerial combat boats, right?"

"Yes, Your Excellency the Marshal."

Ryan didn't mean to be shy about it. "I do know that the Empire doesn't have many airships, but that doesn't mean we have to conserve all our strength to fight the enemy."

"The main reason I decided to use airships to launch the first wave of attacks is because the United Kingdom currently has only four battlecruisers that can be directly commanded."

"We also considered the fact that the Lion-class battlecruisers' equipment wasn't capable of inflicting significant damage to air units, but the fundamental reason was to pin down the two Lion-class ships, rather than destroying them to the point where they couldn't launch an attack."

Tirpitz wasn't satisfied with this explanation, but he understood why Ryan said so. He simply said, "In other words, your Excellency only intended to use the firepower of the two aerial combat boats to contain the actions of the United Kingdom warships, right?"

"exactly."

Ryan nodded immediately. "The fact that those two Lion-class battlecruisers lost their ability to resist so quickly was completely beyond our expectations."

After saying that, he shut up and stopped talking nonsense.

The Emperor had already put down the document. "In other words, Lieutenant Colonel Flig, you didn't intend to completely destroy the United Kingdom's warships during the operation. If that's the case, why did you just propose the research and development of airships and military aircraft? Common sense would have dictated the correct approach, developing superior warships and naval guns."

This idiot still wants to build a big one!

Ryan's heart sank, but he remained calm. "Your Majesty is absolutely right. However, if the Empire increases its investment in surface fleets, the ultimate result will be to force the United Kingdom to immediately abandon all prejudices, unify national opinion at an unprecedented speed, and declare war on the Empire before it has the strength to confront the United Kingdom."

"The fundamental reason the United Kingdom is still struggling over whether to assist Farlan is that the Empire currently poses no threat to them. Even though the Empire captured two of their battlecruisers and a force of 6,000 men in the previous battle, and forced the United Kingdom's vassal states on the continent to surrender to the Empire, it still poses no threat to the United Kingdom."

"This is because their primary battlefield is the ocean, and their main force is the fleet. Any attempt to infringe upon the security of the United Kingdom's home turf will irritate their sensitive nerves. Therefore, developing the Empire's airship fleet and military aircraft has become the Empire's only option at this time."

During this period, Ryan learned a lot about the Empire's airship technology.

In this world, the main source of lift for an airship is actually a special structure called a buoyancy unit. These structures, which are only eight cubic meters in size, ensure that the airship has an initial buoyancy that is almost equal to its own structural components, while the remaining airship airbags and ballast water are responsible for controlling the airship's rise and fall.

It has the characteristics of another world, but it also indirectly made Ryan understand one thing - in the process of development, the aviation industry in this world may hardly have the situation on Earth where people frantically drill holes in the beams to increase the load-bearing capacity of aircraft.

This also allows the world's air force equipment to develop towards enlargement in a very wild way.

The airships of the Empire and Farlan are so huge that even those 200 meters long can only be called destroyers because they have this buoyancy unit that provides a lot of lift for the airships.

And in Ryan's words, he also hid his own little thoughts.

As someone who has witnessed the development of human aviation over the past century, Ryan knows very well that no matter what helps the airship operate, it will eventually be swept into the dustbin of the times.

Therefore, while he mentioned airships, he also specifically mentioned military aircraft.

One thing that was obvious was that the Air Force Marshal beside him almost immediately noticed Ryan's little idea.

He looked at the young man in front of him with interest, his hand on the document submitted by Ryan, and his mind was thinking about the previous combat report from Colonel Schmidt.

But the emperor of the empire is right next to him, and he is determined to vigorously develop the empire's navy, otherwise he will definitely have a say.

Ryan knew what the other party was thinking, so he did not focus his attention on the Air Marshal, but looked at the Emperor and Tirpitz on the side.

The two of them currently did not have much objection to Ryan's opinions and statements, but the emperor still thought that big ships and big guns were good things, so Ryan decided to fool the emperor first and deal with the rest later.

"His Majesty."

Ryan continued.

"Your current thoughts will directly influence the United Kingdom's decision-making. The Empire is currently engaged in a two-front war, and is at its weakest and most dangerous point. If we take a wrong step, the United Kingdom will blockade the Empire's external shipping routes at all costs, forcing the Empire to rely solely on its domestic resources."

After that, Ryan took out a miniature map of Europe from his briefcase, and after obtaining Tirpitz's consent, he spread it out in front of the emperor.

The map clearly marks the current home ports of warships of all countries in the entire European continent and the British Peninsula, as well as the locations and sizes of the fleets of various countries estimated by imperial intelligence personnel based on intelligence from half a month ago.

This also includes the airship fleet.

And as Ryan and Tirpitz knew, the country with the largest fleet on the European continent must be the Empire and Farland, not the United Kingdom.

Around the small island representing the United Kingdom, there were only a dozen or so warships scattered around, including four battleships and cruisers, eight destroyers, and no more than twenty other small ships.

It can be said that as long as the Empire mobilizes all its naval fleets now, it is likely that the Empire will only need one week to achieve the goal of annihilating the United Kingdom fleet.

This is why the Emperor always believed that the Empire currently possessed the ability to engage in a decisive battle with the United Kingdom at sea.

But for Ryan and Tirpitz, this was precisely the reason why the Empire could not go to war with the United Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, please look at the map."

Ryan flattened the map, held a small wooden stick, and pointed to the corner of the map.

"Although the United Kingdom currently only has two battlecruisers that can be directly mobilized, if they decide to go to war with the Empire, they will be able to mobilize more than 200 warships from the Suez Canal and the Atlantic within a month. The Empire currently has only more than 70 warships in total, and the number of battleships that can guarantee the combat effectiveness of the fleet is only half of that of the United Kingdom..."

"Not to mention that the Farlans possess a navy equal in tonnage to the Imperial Navy."

"Therefore, once war breaks out, the Empire will face a naval fleet with a total tonnage of 2.8 times the Empire's total tonnage, roughly three times its total."

"Unless each of our warships has the ability to fight three at once, what awaits the Empire is only a desperate counterattack from the United Kingdom in a month."

"By that time, the only option left for the Empire will be unconditional surrender."

It can be said that Ryan's words almost put the emperor under maximum pressure.

But Tirpitz was still worried, so he immediately followed behind Ryan and whispered a few words to the emperor: "Your Majesty, we have considered the idea of ​​a large-scale construction, but the empire's current shipbuilding capacity is not yet at the level of producing a battleship every month. Building airships and airplanes is just our helpless choice at the moment..."

"According to the General Staff's assessment, if the Empire can completely defeat the Farlans and reduce the current two-front war to one, then the Empire will have enough time and resources to expand its navy."

"After all, no matter how powerful the United Kingdom is, it is just an island nation. Continental countries naturally have strategic depth and material advantages over it that are difficult to compete with."

"By then, whether the Empire builds warships or not will depend entirely on your opinion."

It has to be said that these words, spoken as a professional, immediately touched the emperor's heart.

Even though the other party still looked like he was crazy about spending money to build a big building, the emperor's expression had become much more restrained.

He seemed to understand the current thoughts of the three armies, and because of the rule established by the founding emperor of the empire since its founding, that "the emperor who has not personally been promoted from a soldier to a general shall not participate in combat command", he chose not to ask for the time being.

"Since Marshal Tirpitz has said so..."

The young emperor took off his hat and rubbed his head, which was slicked with hair oil, fiercely. "Then I won't interfere any further."

As he spoke, he pushed his chair aside and stood up. His gaze paused for a moment between Tirpitz and the Air Marshal before turning to Ryan: "Lieutenant Colonel Flig."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Ryan stood at attention, thinking that this krypton gold idiot was finally leaving.

The Emperor said, "I heard from Duke Draven that your troops will be assisting in the offensive against Palu." "Indeed," Ryan nodded. "Because the exact time of the battle is still confidential, I cannot tell you."

"That's not a problem."

The Emperor shook his head and said calmly, "The point is, the whole world is watching the Empire. If we lose this battle, the international situation the Empire will face may be very serious."

"This..."

Just as Ryan was about to speak, he realized that this might be a trap, so he immediately changed his words: "Yes, I understand."

His action almost immediately made the emperor frown, who wanted to take this opportunity to trick Ryan so that he would tell him that he would definitely support the plan of building the empire.

He had used this trick to trick Tirpitz once before, but the other party was a marshal, and was also the marshal appointed by the previous emperor, so even if the emperor succeeded, he could only look at the other party's face in a good mood.
But Ryan saw through his purpose almost immediately, which made him very unhappy.

But Ryan did not say anything wrong, so the emperor could only frown, pat Ryan on the shoulder, and leave the General Staff building without saying a word.

It took quite some time.

As the guards returned to the main entrance, Ryan, who was still in the conference room, finally breathed a sigh of relief along with Tirpitz and the Air Marshal.

"That guy finally went back."

Tirpitz looked relieved. He leaned back against the curved back of his chair, his expression relaxed. "Lieutenant Colonel Flig, how did you find out he was going to plot against you?"

Then Ryan said, "A guy who is addicted to gambling will not be sincere and say nice things to others. I have seen this scene many times in the army."

"Good boy, you have courage."

The Air Force Marshal on the side almost laughed out loud, and Tirpitz also laughed out loud, obviously amused by Ryan's words just now about [gambling] + [straw boat (Ryan used straw boat to represent Dajian)].

But they were obviously also very clear that what Ryan said was not wrong, and the operation had also been dialectically verified by the naval and air force staffs, so they didn't say anything more at all.

Tirpitz calmed down first. He patted the Air Marshal's thigh and looked at Ryan: "Well, then, let's talk about the operations you will be carrying out next, and the support you will need."

Neither Tirpitz nor the Air Marshal knew what mission Ryan's troops were to carry out, and they were also well aware that it was top secret, and they would not ask any more questions without the unanimous permission of the staff of the Army General Staff.

Ryan handed Tirpitz the remaining document regarding the airship transport of infantry into the battlefield and said, "As you two marshals have just read, in the next operation, my troops will be responsible for carrying out a surprise attack on the Farlan stronghold."

"By order of the Army General Staff, I cannot give details of the content of this operation or the specific location of this operation."

"That's no problem." Tirpitz nodded. "For a secret operation, the fewer people who know about it, the better."

The Air Force Marshal beside him also agreed.

Ryan: "Then I'll be frank."

He took out two pieces of white paper from his briefcase, quickly wrote several lines of text on them, and handed them to the two.

Tirpitz immediately took the white paper away, but then he gasped.

"You actually want so much equipment and supplies?"

The Air Force Marshal beside him immediately shouted, "Twenty Zeppelin-class aerial battleships? Lieutenant Colonel Flig, that's two-thirds of the Empire's air force!"

He slammed the paper in his hand vigorously and shouted in an even more horrified tone, "You even want forty air liaison boats! Plus a squadron of Junkers 52 transport planes?"

"No, no, no, there's no way I'm going to give you this much equipment, Lieutenant Colonel Flig. Your list is too much!"

Marshal Tirpitz was also a little overwhelmed.

But he hid it well, just kept muttering to himself, "Forbid all ships from leaving the port, form a fleet with two Nassau-class ships, and return the Lion-class to the United Kingdom..."

Obviously, this matter has touched the foundation of the Imperial Navy.

They were currently anxiously having their technical team analyze the technical features and performance of the United Kingdom's Lion-class battlecruisers, but they were told to send the ships back immediately...

This is simply ridiculous. According to Tirpitz, there is no reason to return something that was snatched away with one's own ability!

What's more, the emperor had thought so before.

But Ryan didn't say anything at all.

This time he came with the endorsement of the Army General Staff, the commanders-in-chief of all seven army groups on the Western Front, and Field Marshal Schlieffen.

The note was just a notification, not a request.

In other words, when this piece of paper appeared in front of the two marshals, they had to act according to the requirements on it no matter what.

Obviously, Tirpitz and the Air Force Commander also understood this.

Considering the status of the navy and air force in the empire, even if it was not Ryan who came this time, but some non-commissioned officers or other soldiers, they had no choice but to obey.

The reason they are unwilling is that they are the supreme commanders of the troops, and giving priority to their own troops has become their instinct.

After a long silence, the Air Marshal finally couldn't suppress his doubts and spoke, "Lieutenant Colonel Flig, can I ask a question?"

"Please say."

Ryan's voice was steady.

"What exactly do you want to do with so many airships and transport planes?"

The marshal, who was in charge of the empire's 60 airships, had a pained expression on his face. "Counting the four airships I approved earlier, Lieutenant Colonel, you're going to take away half of my airships!"

"That one squadron of transport planes is fine with me. You can even have two or three squadrons. But this airship, really..."

He reached into his arms, took out the cigarette box, put it back, and took it out again, repeating this several times: "These are all my battleships..."

Tirpitz on the other side was obviously not in a much better situation, but the pressure on him was actually still very small.

Because he saw that the essential purpose of the list drawn up by Ryan was to express an attitude to the United Kingdom, indicating that the Empire did not want to go to war with the United Kingdom.

Sending only two main battleships is obviously not enough to pose a threat to the United Kingdom, and returning the battleships will also make the ongoing negotiations much smoother.

After all, it would take at least half a year to repair the two ships before they could be restored to seaworthy condition, and the Farlans obviously couldn't last more than half a year.

For this reason, the problem is basically just with the Air Force.

Tirpitz looked at the Air Marshal, then at Ryan. "Lieutenant Colonel, this matter is indeed serious, so you must at least give us a proper reason."

Then he, along with the Air Marshal, heard Ryan's voice.

"The reason is simple."

Ryan said directly.

"The General Staff hopes to annihilate one of Farlan's armies in one fell swoop in the next battle, thus laying a solid foundation for the subsequent campaigns."

"For this, we need absolutely sufficient forward delivery capabilities."

"Your Excellency, Marshal, the General Staff can assure you that regardless of the success of this battle, the Empire will immediately restart the Zeppelin-class production line."

(End of this chapter)