The main guns of the battleship "Republic" stopped firing, Shen Honglie gave an order for division reinforcements, and the Chinese destroyer "Hunt 7" was ordered to sail to the battleship "King", which was about to sink, to rescue the Germans. [Literature]

At this time, Betty was about to give the order to continue the search, when the lookout suddenly shouted loudly: "Periscope found on the port side!" ”

The people on the bridge were all taken aback when they heard the shouting, Xu Zhenpeng and Shen Honglie raised their binoculars and looked in the direction pointed by the lookout post, and they only vaguely saw a trace of white spray.

Everyone was staring at the sea, but after a long time, the daunting torpedo track did not appear, and the people on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry about submarines." Betty smiled when she saw the nervous appearance of the two Chinese admirals, and said as if to comfort them, "In the shallow sea area, especially in the sea area with many islands and reefs like Hrigolan, the scope of the submarine can actually be maneuvered is very limited, and it does not pose a threat to us. ”

"Yes, in the waters of this area, the role of torpedo boats and destroyers will be greater." Xu Zhenpeng put down the binoculars and said, "The range of activity of submarines in areas with many islands and reefs is even inferior to that of cruisers. ”

"That's right, the light cruisers and destroyers of the Germans are the real threat to us." A British staff officer then advised, "Our ships are too large to carry out effective formation maneuvering in this area, and we have to consider fuel." Now it is very dangerous to keep these precious battleships here, we have won and it is time to return home. ”

Listening to the subordinate's words, Betty groaned for a moment, a hesitant look on her face.

"Although we didn't find the four German battleships this time, we will have a chance in the future, unless the Germans go back to the old ways and continue to be shrunken birds." Another staff officer also said, "The result of this battle is that we have regained control of the sea, and this fact will not change." Unless our six excellent ships also suffered. ”

Betty pondered for a moment and nodded slowly.

At this point, he had calmed down and decisively decided to withdraw from the battle, no longer putting the six precious new battleships in danger in order to destroy the four "Byrne"-class battleships. Seeing that Betty finally agreed to retreat, Xu Zhenpeng, Shen Honglie and other Chinese naval generals unconsciously showed a relieved look on their faces.

Betty left behind the "King", which had already escaped death, and set out on the return journey, and signaled the retreat of the all-rest Allied ships in the Gulf of Helgoland. Soon, the Japanese fleet, which was the first to receive the news, gathered and left as if it were about to be amnesty.

Looking at the still smoky sea in the North Sea, Betty turned her head and smiled at her Chinese counterparts and said, "From today onwards, the position of the Chinese Navy in the world has been established. ”

"Despite all these problems, the young men of the Chinese Navy today have added honor to their homeland with their actions," Navy Assistant Major Evans also said enthusiastically, "On such a great day today, our blood has been shed together and a brilliant victory has been achieved!" May God bless this friendship cemented with blood! ”

Hearing the beautiful words of the British, Xu Zhenpeng and Shen Honglie stared at the battle flag of the word "human" fluttering high on the mast, and couldn't help but burst into tears for a while.

On the evening of July 30, 1919, when the Chinese battlefleet sailed into Scapa Flow, passing the anchored British and American fleets, the enthusiastic cheers of the British and American naval colleagues persisted. The battleship "Republic" failed to anchor for the first time, so it had to turn around and pass the ship again, and the cheers that resounded were in no way inferior to the one just now. The tribute from the USS Pennsylvania was more tangible, and the American sailors offered to help the triumphantly returning battleship USS Liberty (one of the most chores in the Navy). The Chinese light cruiser "Haizhou", which had recovered part of its power from injury, went up the Knoll River and returned to the British Chata Good Naval Shipyard for overhaul. The British Admiralty Secretary and some Admiralty officials personally boarded the "Haizhou" to express their condolences to the Chinese Navy officers and men, and in the eyes of some British reporters, the British Admiralty's enthusiasm bordered on flattery. Unbeknownst to the Chinese naval officers and men, a poem extolling their bravery in the "Second Battle of Helgoland" has begun to circulate, and portraits of Chinese naval officers and men fighting valiantly will soon be sold in London. ,

For the majority of the British public, who did not understand the process and only cared about the outcome, it was the most glorious victory they had been waiting for since the Battle of Jutland, in which the Allied navies sank four German battleships, two light cruisers, three destroyers, one minesweeper, two light cruisers, and one destroyer. For the British Navy, they were compensated for their crushing defeat at Jutland, but such a victory was not without cost, in this naval battle, the Allied Navy lost a battleship (British), 4 cruisers and 3 destroyers (Japanese).

The victory in this naval battle undoubtedly stimulated the British public, and the British people were able to break free from their despair of war. The outcome of this victory meant that the naval supremacy, which was crucial to the war, was back in the hands of the Allies (not Britain), and the Times, the Daily Telegraph, prominently reported the victory in large letters, and some newspapers even described the naval battle as "Second Trafalgar...".

However, for some military observers, this brilliant victory also exposed many problems in the operation, communications, and coordination of the Allied navy: Although the Chinese naval officers and men led by British and American naval officers had a high will to fight and performed well, because of the lack of sufficient combat experience in formation and the mistakes in communications, the naval battle turned from the expected decisive battle of the main force into a separate melee, and the location of the melee was the reef and the mine-filled Helgoland Bay, which further increased the danger of battle. The stinginess and selfishness of the Japanese fleet made the planned support force useless, and virtually increased the losses of the Allied fleet.

The results of this naval battle also proved that the 406-millimeter naval guns manufactured by the United States for Chinese battleships had the power to make a decisive blow in the decisive battle between battleships, and the overwhelming superiority of China's large and fast battleships was vividly demonstrated in this battle, fully proving the important role of high-speed capital ships in avant-garde warfare. The 150-mm guns of the Chinese light cruisers also had the upper hand in the engagements between the light cruisers, so the British Navy later increased the proportion of 6-inch guns on the light cruisers.

For the "Second Naval Battle of the Gulf of Helgoland." Later historians have seldom commented on the significance of this naval battle, because this naval battle is far from the Battle of Jutland in terms of scale and impact, but there are still many scholars who have conducted in-depth research on the impact of this naval battle on the Eurasian political pattern and have drawn a lot of enlightenment.

Many researchers believe that in World War I, "the main force of the Chinese navy went to Europe to participate in the war, which played a crucial role in China's later becoming one of the "six great powers" at the Paris Peace Conference and as one of the two great powers in Asia along with Japan.

At the outbreak of World War I, Britain had only a few old warships left in the Far East, and in the face of the elusive German attack ships, "the defenders had to have enough patrol ships to defend against them, and at this time, the main forces of the British Imperial Navy were all concentrated on the mainland, and there were very few ships that could be used to intercept German attack ships", resulting in great losses on the sea routes. In an attempt to appease the furious British Chamber of Commerce and the Parliamentary faction, British Admiral Winston Churchill assured the British public that Japan, Britain's ally in the Far East, would fill the strategic gap. However, in the face of Japan's allies seeking to dominate Asia, the British cabinet was divided over whether to invite the Japanese navy to assist in escorting the convoy. Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, once bluntly said: "The Japanese navy cannot be allowed to participate, because Japan has great ambitions, and it not only wants to eat up Germany's sphere of influence in China" but also wants to drive all European countries out of Asia and replace them. …”

The British have been hesitant about whether to invite Japan into the war. But from the end of 1914 onwards, as the German Navy intensified its raids, especially with the gradual introduction of "unrestricted submarine warfare ... Britain, who was in an extremely difficult situation, had to change its original intention and begged Japan to participate in the escort of the Allied navy. Unexpectedly, Japan's cabinet set up a stand and delayed the decision to send troops to Europe. By 1916, the German Navy had adopted a new tactic of secretly laying mines outside a series of Allied ports, resulting in the sinking of a large number of Allied merchant ships.

In February of that year, the British government sent another formal request for help from Japan, and the Japanese sent a destroyer fleet to Singapore to guard the important Strait of Malacca. By the beginning of 1917, Germany had "unrestricted submarine warfare." "Becoming more and more rampant, British merchant ships were not being built faster than they could be sunk. In order to save the situation, Britain bluntly hoped that Japan would send warships to participate in escort missions in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean waters. In the face of Britain's urgent pleas for help, the Japanese raised the price even higher, and the newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Masatsushi Terauchi not only demanded that Britain fully recognize Japan's vested interests in the Pacific islands and its "special interests and status" in China after its future victory over Germany, but also demanded that Britain support Japan's status as a great power in the international relations that Britain would rebuild in the future. ,

The British felt increasingly unbearable for the Japanese lion's wide mouth, and the failure of the Japanese invasion of China made the British doubt the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army. China's successful victory over Japanese aggression caused many in the British government and opposition to change their views on the squadron. In exchange for China sending naval and land forces to support the European theater, the British government privately issued a "diplomatic check" to Yuan Shikai's imperial Chinese government, promising to assist China in abolishing all unequal treaties and recovering all sovereignty after the end of the world war. In fact, Britain's conditions for drawing China into the war were contradictory to the demands of its ally Japan, but after careful weighing of the pros and cons, British Prime Ministers Law and George finally chose to turn to China, which laid the groundwork for Japan's "total diplomatic failure" at the Paris Peace Conference in 1922.

Although it did not receive a satisfactory reply from the British government, the Japanese government decided to enter the war out of consideration for the interests of Japan after the war. In March 1917, Japan officially sent its first fleet to Europe. The modest fleet crossed the Indian Ocean and reached the Gulf of Aden on April 4, where it escorted French merchant ships to land Chinese Army soldiers in Djibouti, Africa, before continuing north. By early May, the Japanese Navy's convoy had arrived in Malta, a fortress in the Mediterranean under British rule, and used it as a base to protect the Entente's lines of communication to the ports of Marseille in France, Taranto in Italy, and Egypt.

When the Japanese fleet arrived in Malta, the Allies' lives in the Mediterranean were at stake, and the losses of Allied merchant ships had reached a record of more than 3 million tons, including 2.18 million tons in April 1917 alone. The British even considered abandoning the Mediterranean route, and the arrival of the Japanese fleet was undoubtedly a relief in the snow.

But the role of the Japanese convoy was soon offset by the Chinese naval battlefleet from the United States.

After the Battle of Jutland, the British, who had suffered heavy losses, urgently needed large warships to defend their homeland, and the British repeatedly appealed to the allies for help, but the British's allies, the Japanese, never sent large warships.

Contrary to the Japanese performance, the U.S. government and the Chinese government were very proactive, and the U.S. Navy sent four battleships to Britain. What makes the British especially grateful is that the Chinese Navy not only sent a few old cruisers to Britain, which is the only little naval foundation in China, but also sent six large new fast battleships ordered by the United States.

The British had always been skeptical about the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Navy, even though the navy from the East suddenly had six more powerful battleships, and the British thought that it would be difficult for Chinese sailors to station this new warship, but after the end of the "Second Battle of the Gulf of Helgoland", the British no longer doubted the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Navy.

After the end of World War I, although Japan still contributed to the war in Europe, because China's contribution to the war was far greater than Japan's, and with the vicious expansion of Japan's aggressive and expansionist ambitions, and the United States, which supported China, surpassed Japan in the field of British diplomacy, Britain finally chose to support China at the Paris Peace Conference. At the subsequent Washington Conference, Britain buried the Anglo-Japanese alliance in accordance with the wishes of the United States, and then snubbed Japan everywhere. Annoyed and angry, Japan brazenly launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, and later fell to Nazi Germany in World War II.

If it had not been for this naval battle on this day in July 1918, perhaps the history of China and the whole world would have taken a different trajectory.

Beijing, Admiralty.

Liu Guanxiong, who received the news of the great victory in the European naval battle, closed the report in his hand, rubbed his temples with his fingers after not closing his eyes all night, took a deep breath and came to the window.

At this time, it was early in the morning, and a round of red sun had risen from the sky, giving a layer of golden glow to the five-color "X" national flag fluttering high on the flagpole of Xinhuamen Square in the distance.

The gust of wind blew, and his excited mind gradually regained its former sobriety.

Ever since he got the news of the battlefleet's exotic land, he had been feeling unspeakable excitement and excitement.

As a veteran naval soldier who participated in the Battle of Dadonggou in the First Sino-Japanese War, he deeply knew that from this day on, the days of "no navy after Beiyang" had come to an end.

At this time, Liu Guanxiong, when he thought of the mysterious young man, he had a feeling of being in a dream.

Liu Guanxiong never imagined that his dream of building a large navy for China would be realized in the hands of today's young people.

Liu Guanxiong turned around and came to the filing cabinet, opened the cabinet door, and took out a thick file bag from inside, the file bag was a little broken, but the large text title on it was still clearly legible. ,

Liu Guanxiong opened the file bag, took out the documents and forms inside, and his eyes couldn't help but moisten.

"The Admiralty presents its first ship placement plan"

"March 21, 2nd year of the Republic of China"

"Appendix: One Copy of the Navy's First Ship-Building Plan"

"First, the defense plan"

"Attached Table: Distribution Table of Battalions, Depots, Yards and Docks of Garrison Ships at Key Ports"

"Schedule of Allocation of Personnel and Annual Fees for Undefended Ships and Barracks"

"Second, the patrol plan"

"The ships allocated to the Bow Patrol Fleet are summarized as follows: the first group includes 2 battle cruisers, 2 armored cruisers of the 1st class, 4 dome cruisers of the 2nd class, 6 dome cruisers of the 3rd class, 2 reconnaissance cruisers, and 2 transport ships: the second group includes 4 armored cruisers of the 1st class, 4 cruisers of the 2nd class, 6 cruisers of the 3rd class, 2 reconnaissance cruisers, and 2 transport ships; The third team is the same as the second team. ”

"Schedule 4 Patrol Fleet Allocation and Annual Fee Schedule"

"Schedule 5: Annual Distribution Table of Fees for the First Naval Vessels"

"Schedule 6 Schedule of rudder power of the garrison ship, the barracks, the warehouse, the dock, the size of the rudder power table"

"Schedule 7: Schedule of Fees for the Size and Capabilities of the Patrol Fleet"

"Battle cruiser specifications: displacement: 26,000 tons, length: 590 feet, width: 90 feet, draft: 28 feet, rate: 28 knots, horsepower: 30,000 horses, armor: 12 inches, main guns: 13.5 inches 10 guns, secondary guns: 14 6-inch guns, 6 3-pounder guns, torpedo tubes: 4, organs: Telbin machines, cost per ship: 2.1 million lists, number: 2, total cost of production: 4.2 million lists."

"Specifications of armored cruisers: displacement of 10,000 tons, 24 knots, 4 7.5-inch guns, 6 6-inch guns, 25 3-pounder guns, and the cost of a single ship is 800,000 yuan." (To be continued.)