"The French Far East Fleet was attacked, but we didn't even see the shadow of the attackers, who can tell me where the Germans are now? Where are you going?! Churchill's tone was full of irritation, Prince Battenberg's warning came true, and the German Far East Fleet did not appear, and as soon as it appeared, it made big news for itself.

And judging from the reports from the Far East, the battle was simply one-sided, and the French Far East Fleet was no different from paper under the attack of the German fleet, and more importantly, the Germans disappeared after easily defeating the French, which made Churchill not pay attention to Prince Battenberg's opinion: although the strength of the Royal Navy in the Far East was strong, it was unable to capture the Spee's fleet.

"Your Excellency, the movement of Spee's fleet is very strange." Vice Admiral Stedey, Chief of Staff of the Admiralty, said: "The attack on the French Far East Fleet by the Spee fleet is very unreasonable from a strategic point of view. The Strait of Malacca was blocked by us, and the Germans needed to go south through Indonesia even if they wanted to enter the Indian Ocean. In this case, it would be a safer option for Spee's fleet to depart from Subic and enter the Sulawesi Sea, then cross the Timor Sea from the eastern side of New Guinea and then move east into the Indian Ocean.

New Guinea was under German control, and there were many islands and waterways, but the ships passing by were so scarce that the Germans' whereabouts were largely unrevealed. The Germans, having entered the Indian Ocean, could have done much more damage, but they attacked the French Far Eastern Fleet in a place where they should not have been at all, and such actions are difficult to explain. ”

"Maybe they're going to go through the Sunda Strait? Sumatra and Java are under the control of the Dutch, and with the current attitude of the Netherlands, it is not possible to provide convenience to the Germans. Churchill snorted a little and said: "The actions of the Germans are easy to explain, they are there to create panic, and they have done it!" ”

The Netherlands had been moving closer to Germany since the beginning of the Boer War, and the declining sea coachmen had strengthened technical exchanges between the two sides after the German navy began to rise, and the Dutch navy's coastal defense battleships were also helped by the German side in the construction. Before the outbreak of the war, the Netherlands also reached an order with the German shipyard in Germania to provide the design, technical support, materials and core components of the German side, and the Dutch shipyard to build two light cruisers. The Dutch side of the Royal Navy's blockade and inspection operations in the North Sea is also very loud. Therefore, in Churchill's view, Dutch neutrality was, and secretly he must have worn the same pants as the Germans.

The almost total annihilation of the French Far East Fleet by Spee's fleet so close to the Strait of Malacca did cause great panic, and the British and French merchant ships sailing on this route were full of fear of the unknown whereabouts of the powerful German fleet, for fear that the Germans would appear in front of them coldly and tear themselves to pieces.

In particular, the encounter with French merchant ships proves that these Germans have no mercy even in the face of merchant ships. Opening fire without warning, tearing civilians to shreds with artillery fire led British merchant shipowners to ask the Royal Navy to protect them. It was for this reason that Churchill realized that the situation in the Far East was far more serious than he had imagined.

"The Defense has departed from Alexandria, and the Shannon will soon be on its way. The French will send 2 armored cruisers from mainland China to the Indian Ocean, and 1 French armored cruiser in the West Indies will join our search operation. In addition, we had the 4th and 5th cruiser detachments in the south-western Atlantic to defend against the German East African Fleet. If the Spee fleet appears in the Indian Ocean, they are also a force that can be mobilized immediately. Still, Stedi was skeptical about the movement of Spee's fleet, but the Indian Ocean direction did need to be strengthened, so he did not argue again.

"I wish we had caught the Germans sooner." Churchill was somewhat unpleasant. All the bad news has been heard lately, German submarines have entered the eastern Mediterranean, and two merchant ships have recently been sunk near Crete. The 10th Cruiser, which was patrolling and blockading Shetland, was also attacked by German submarines, but fortunately the torpedoes fired by the Germans did not hit, otherwise the Royal Navy would have been demarcated from the Theseus 1st Class Protection Cruiser.

The Royal Navy's result was only a German camouflaged minelayer caught by the Third Destroyer, and the four destroyers of the Third Destroyer Fleet, whose flagship had been "sneak attacked" by German submarines, mercilessly beat the ship to scrap metal. But this was not a much-hyped victory, as the captured German sailors learned that the ship was a ferry on the Hamburg-Rotterdam route, requisitioned by the German Navy and converted into a camouflaged minelayer.

Churchill is now in desperate need of a victory that can sweep away the oppressive atmosphere of the moment, but how can it be so easy to catch Spee's fleet in the middle of nowhere? But there were still people who came to deliver pillows when they were sleepy, and no sooner had Sterdy left than an old friend of Churchill walked into the Admiralty's office.

"Roger? What are you doing here? Churchill greeted his old friend with some surprise who might not have been in his office at this time.

"I'm not here to play polo with you, Winston." Brigadier General Case said with a smile, but with a hint of embarrassment in his smile: "I'm here to ask for your help. ”

Despite the disparity in status, the two had the same hobby that kept Keith and Churchill known each other for many years as old friends on the polo field. But as a brigadier general, Keith never appeared in the office of the Lord of the Admiralty, at the highest level of the Royal Navy. And this time, having to use personal connections to carry out his plan made Keith a little embarrassed.

"Sit, what would you like to drink?" Churchill was pleased with the arrival of his old friend, and greeted him very warmly: "I have a good cigar, do you want one?" ”

"Thanks, no need." Keith nodded in gratitude, but declined.

"What's going on?" Churchill was not polite either, and asked directly: "Is there anything you need my help with?" ”

Churchill didn't worry about the bad news of what kind of loss his old friend brings, after all, this kind of bad news will definitely reach his hands much faster than an old friend running from Harwich to London, but the commander of the submarine force needs to come in person and come to the Secretary of the Admiralty, then it will definitely not be a trivial matter.

"I worked out an active battle plan with Commodore Territt, the commander of the Harwich fleet, and after sending it to the Admiralty, I didn't get any response, and I went to the Admiralty to ask and got no answer, so I hope I can give this plan directly to you." Keith said.

The reality was worse than what Keys had said, and the Admiralty bureaucrats were so busy with all sorts of things that a mere brigadier general had no time to deal with him. Keith spent two full days in Whitehall without even a single person willing to talk to him about his plans, so he was left to hang there, and after sitting on the bench for two days, Keith had to knock directly on the door of the Admiralty's office.

"Take the initiative?" This word immediately made Churchill interested, the bad news continued, and the British people who kept seeking war had made Churchill anxious, and the annihilation of Spee's fleet did not know that it would be the year of the monkey, and now he really needed an active battle plan: "Hurry up and show me!" ”

"Sneak attack on the Gulf of Helgoland?" The title of the battle plan stopped Churchill's hand from reaching for the cigar on the table, even though the scissors and matches were at hand, even though he had the habit of smoking a cigar while reading the documents to make his mind more active, but at this time Churchill's hand could not put the plan down.

Keith was also a little apprehensive, if even the Admiralty Secretary rejected this plan, then he really couldn't do anything. So with a kind of uneasiness and anxiety about waiting for the verdict, Keith sat there without saying a word, waiting for his old friend to read his plan, and for a moment the whole office was only the sound of paper rubbing.

After a long time, Churchill slowly put down the paper in his hand and softly summarized the core of the plan: "Use submarines as bait to lure the German patrol fleet in Helgoland Bay to advance westward, and the Harwich fleet will break into Helgoland Bay from the north, cut off the retreat of the German patrol fleet, and then annihilate it." ”

Keith looked at Churchill, who had no expression on his face, and was even more nervous as he muttered about the core of the battle plan, and he couldn't judge the attitude of the Admiralty Chancellor at this time.

But soon the smile on Churchill's face put Keith at ease, Churchill picked up the cigar at hand, repaired the cigar head with scissors, and then threw it directly to Keith, lit another one himself, took a deep puff, spit it out heavily, and then excitedly shouted: "Great!" Roger! This is the best news I've gotten in a while! It's the greatest good luck I've ever enjoyed! ”

"You agree with the plan?" Case, who had heard the answer he had dreamed of from Churchill, asked excitedly, excitedly, and a little incredulously.

"Of course! Simple and bold! This plan of yours is the most timely glorious fragment! Churchill made no secret of his praise for this plan, and then directly picked up the phone on his desk: "Immediately notify the First Sea Minister, Field Marshal Fisher, the Second Sea Minister, Vice Admiral Hamilton, and the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Steddy, to have a meeting!" In addition, the commander of the Harwich fleet, Commodore Tyrit, was informed to immediately go to London for a meeting! ”

Putting down the microphone, Churchill looked at Keith and said with a smile: "We're going to give the Germans an iron fist!" (To be continued.) )