Chapter 872: Worries in Victory
"Your Excellency, Commander, we have sunk 5 capital ships, 6 armored cruisers and a large number of mine-striking ships, and we have created a miracle, a miracle that defeated the British Grand Fleet! The British lost 3 super dreadnoughts and 2 dreadnoughts, and even those vicious dogs running around the ocean killed a lot by the way! We have an overwhelming advantage in quality, and at the same time, the gap in quantity has narrowed unprecedentedly! A staff officer said excitedly.
"We did win, but at the same time we lost 2 fast battleships, the Blucher and the Von der Tannen paid with their lives for this victory! We must remember these comrades-in-arms and their exploits. Far God bless them. Scheer nodded solemnly and said. But at this time he not only had pride and pride in his heart, but also a trace of deep worry, because he knew that after this war, the two greatest advantages of the German fleet would be gone, and the rest would be a hard-fought battle!
The most important prerequisite for this battle...... The intelligence advantage will be lost. The British would be aware of their situational system and would not be relying on the seized codebook, which meant that it would be impossible for the Germans to have the British in the prescribed place at the appointed time as they had planned! From then on, the British would either continue to decipher the new German codes, or adopt more cautious measures, which would make it more difficult for the German Navy to capture the ......... of the fighters.
The most important technical advantage in this engagement, Germany's advanced artillery shells and excellent warships, will also be accompanied by the emergence of a large number of British 15-inch artillery warships and the introduction of American armor-piercing shells and completely lose the advantage, the Germans' artillery shells are indeed more advanced than the United States, but the strength is limited. According to the research of the Republic of China, in the case of a small angle of incidence, the German hard cap armor-piercing projectile does not have any advantage over the United States, and in the case of a large angle of incidence. Generally the distance of engagement is relatively long. Anyway, it can't be penetrated, in the face of 14-inch armor thickness, is there a difference between you penetrating 12 inches and penetrating 10 inches?
A good shell is made up of several factors: a cap, a reliable fuse, a stable charge, and a good body shape. It was clear that the German shells had an advantage over the American shells only in terms of caps, and the weight of the shells was inferior to that of their opponents. If this is really fought, it will be at the level of half a catty and eight taels. Moreover, in Hipper's report, it was clearly mentioned that the American 14-inch guns could penetrate the German dreadnought-level defenses, which made Scheer even more worried about the prospects of the six dreadnoughts in his hands.
In this engagement, the performance of the German dreadnought formation was lackluster, except for the final burial of an Indomitable by the absolute superiority of the projection, the 14-inch 45L main gun of the German dreadnought could not fight against the British battleships at all, which means that there are only 12 super dreadnoughts that can really be counted on in the future. At the same time, the British Queen Elizabeth-class and R-class battleships will also be put into service one by one! It's also super dreadnought. The gold content is different! If the cannonballs are okay, the king class will definitely not be able to beat the Queen Elizabeth class! Excellent protection has made the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships invincible. The 4 King-class ships of the German Navy faced 2 Queens, and they didn't do anything to others, but they were also photographed a few times. As for whether the king class can resist the opponent's 15-inch cannon and American armor-piercing shells, it depends on the character ..........
Of course, there was a more important factor, and that was the lack of succession of the German Navy! If Marshal Tirpitz could no longer get a budget from the king. Then 4 Bismarck-class battleships will become the swan song of the German Navy! And what about the British? 5 Queen Elizabeth-class battleships will be commissioned this year, and 5 R-class battleships will be commissioned one after another from next year, even if 4 Bismarck-class battleships are in service, can they still fight 4 against 10? 40 15-inch guns to 80 15-inch guns to find a draw? …。
Moreover, Scheer concluded that in addition to these known 15-inch gun-carrying ships, the British must have new construction plans, and after dealing with the British for so long, Scheer understood very well the British people's dedication and importance to sea power. People can rest assured that they can not get a little advantage, as long as the economic strength allows, the British will not be willing to get an absolute advantage! Especially after this time the battle was stimulated. The British will definitely spend their blood to expand the naval fleet! In the face of the desperate British, the Germans also had to play to catch up.
It was not that Scheer did not want to take advantage of the opportunity to fight the British again, but that the Germans did not have much left after this great battle. Hipper's Moltke and Goeben were badly damaged by various shells and needed to be repaired for a long time, and the three Caesar-class battleships also needed to be overhauled, and their guns almost had to be replaced. It would take at least 2 to 3 months for the King to complete the repair work. The remaining battleships, although not very badly damaged. But this is relative and eye-catching, including dreadnoughts...... The German Navy had to replace at least 80 guns of various kinds! Not to mention the secondary artillery. This is a 12-inch or heavy gun weighing dozens of tons for the Navy, not those gadgets of the Army! The current German High Seas Fleet will not be able to return to its full capacity in five months..........
The British also suffered a lot of losses, but it didn't matter, until the German High Seas Fleet was restored, the British could also get 3 new Queen Elizabeth-class fast battleships, which could prepare at least 2 or more American ammunition for the battleship. And that's enough for Jericho to win himself in a decisive battle! Within 5 months, the British can reassemble a luxurious lineup of 5 Elizabeth Female-class fast battleships, 2 seven-provincial fast battleships, and 8 super dreadnought battleships, in the face of such a fleet, the German high seas fleet will definitely not be able to fight even if it takes all 12 super dreadnoughts, and the queen class is much more powerful than the king after replacing it with a new armor-piercing bullet! If they collide again. The German fleet had to lose!
In addition to the losses of the fleet, Germany lost at least 5,000 excellent officers and men in this engagement, half of which were on the two sunken fast battleships alone. This group of elites, who have been trained by the High Seas Fleet for more than ten years, is difficult to measure in terms of money. It is not an easy task to want to replenish such a large number of personnel in times of war. And Scheer knows that although there is no war in the North Sea for the time being, it does not mean that the task of the High Seas Fleet this year is over, Moltke Jr.'s offensive against Russia is about to begin, and the navy must be responsible for suppressing the Russian fleet in the Baltic Sea, so when most of the capital ships need to enter the dock for repairs, the remaining warships with few problems still have to perform heavy combat missions..........
The good news, however, is that the Allied navies and armies in the Mediterranean and North Africa are closing in on the Nile Delta. It is expected that it will not be long before the Suez Canal falls under the control of the Allies, the withdrawal of Thomas's fleet will be a matter of time, and then the supply and aid from China will continue to reach the Persian Gulf or the Mediterranean Sea by sea. And eventually it becomes the combat power of the League* team! And once there is foreign aid, I'm afraid the German Navy can also get a piece of the pie, right?
Although the situation was still dire, Scheer managed to hold the British back, and before 1917, the Royal Navy did not want to take a step out of the North Sea, in which case Tycho and Earl Spee would have the happiest time in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans!
While the whole country was celebrating the great victory of the High Seas Fleet, an invisible war was going on in the Imperial Palace, with Tirpitz on the offensive side and the Kaiser and the War Office on the defensive side. Tirpitz took a long summary of the campaign and tried to persuade the latter to increase naval spending, hoping that Germany would immediately begin construction of two new Bismarck-class battleships. Originally, Tirpitz wanted to add a fast battleship, but Scheer mentioned that it would be wasteful to continue building gun-carrying ships. …………。
And if you build a fast battleship equipped with 15-inch naval guns, then the cost pressure will be greater, a defense is much worse than Bismarck, and the firepower is also less, and the capital required by 2 15-inch fast battleships is about 2% more expensive than Bismarck! In exchange for the advantage of speed, and this speed is not very useful in the engagement, Hipper's fast fleet now has only 4 capital ships, and the opportunity to fight with the Betty fleet alone is forever, so, if he can, Tirpitz's ultimate goal is to ask for the construction of two Bismarck-class super battleships, preferably three!
"The Imperial Navy has inflicted heavy losses on its opponents in one battle after another...... Let the North Sea no longer be the domain of the British, but this is not enough, the British are trying to expand their fleet, and in order to maintain this situation, we must build new warships! In the Mediterranean, the fleet of the Central Powers has opened up a voyage to the East, and the supplies of the Huaxia Republic will soon arrive in the Middle East and even the shores of the Mediterranean, and the situation of our tight supply of materials will be greatly improved! So we have the ability to accomplish this plan. More importantly, if the High Seas Fleet could not contain the British, then the Allied fleet in the Mediterranean was most likely defeated by the Entente. This would lead to the severance of sea routes, which would not be a disaster for us, so I hope you will consider our proposals! Tirpitz said this in front of the Kaiser and the army..........
Either you give the Navy funds, and we continue to keep the foreign aid channel open, or we will run out of stock, and you can do it yourself! Tirpitz's idea was very simple. And it is true, the battle between the two sides of the war at sea depends on the North Sea. If the German High Seas Fleet was defeated, or if it could not contain the British, then the result would be the collapse of the naval battle! Even without the Americans, the British themselves could clean up the Italians. Don't look at the fact that the British have already lost 8 capital ships this year, but for the deep-pocketed Britain, these are nothing! Because the British Navy is about to reach its peak!
Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward, and the book friend 9527 for the monthly pass support ~~~~. This morning, I woke up from the side and looked at yesterday's subscription, and knelt down directly-! That's two-thirds of the total! Not even a third of the highest subscription of the month-! I haven't recommended it since the side bit recovery update, and the subscription is just like that. Let's help for the sake of seeing that it's not easy to persevere.