"The Russian fleet is cowered in the harbor, protected by mines and shore guns, and it is difficult for us to strike effectively, and their 14-inch naval guns pose a great threat to the Army, which the Army guys have asked for many times. If we had to destroy these ships, the only way would be to follow the example of the Chinese and use a covering strike, but the amount of ammunition consumed would be staggering. Hipper said, holding the telegram he had just delivered.

"Let the Russian fleet live two more days, and the Battle of Tallinn will have a result in a few days. We don't need to storm the fortress with 4 super dreadnought guards, Essen will come out in a few days. Then we'll design a trap for him! And finally wipe out the Russian fleet! There was a sense of relief in Scheer's tone. Hipper was a little confused, but as a subordinate, he should obey the commander if his opinion was not adopted.

"Essen was a famous general, and although he had lost almost all his life, at first against the better Chinese admirals, and later against us in command of the weak Russian Baltic Fleet, the defeat did not hide his talent. For such a general we should respect, and then prepare for him a final battle worthy of his status! Scheer then said. There was a solemnity and respect in the tone, and regardless of position and nationality, a man like Essen deserved the respect of anyone.

"Does it seem that the destruction of the Russian fleet is a foregone conclusion?" Hipper's heart was a little confused, but he knew that Scheer would never say something that he was not sure of. Especially now this is the case. Maybe my boss has some information that I can't easily tell you below. But since the boss wants to give Essen a wonderful ending, Hippel has to set it up well. A full 14 super-dreadnoughts and a large number of auxiliary warships have blocked the passage of the Essen fleet to return home, even if God has appeared and let the Russian fleet rush out. It doesn't matter, German submarines and minelayers have already laid death traps on the way behind. However, there is one point that Hipper does not understand, why the remaining Russian warships can almost be described as indifferent to German minelayers and destroyers. That's abnormal, isn't it?

The mystery is soon revealed! On October 10, 1916, mass demonstrations broke out in St. Petersburg demanding an end to the war. Nicholas II then ordered a crackdown on the demonstrators, but the army and police, who were responsible for the security of the St. Petersburg region, mostly refused to accept the government's orders and demanded that the government accept the voices of the people. Thereafter. After the army's statement, things went further out of control, and various key sectors were occupied by unknown people. Army armories were opened, the main transport arteries from St. Petersburg were controlled, and the entire Russian government was isolated.

Two days later, Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. At the same time, the entire branch of government power was taken over. With the support of factory owners and financiers, a provisional government was soon formed. And on the third day after the formation of the new government, the main members of the new government more than once expressed their willingness to negotiate peace with Germany and withdraw from this "damned" war, and this move was welcomed and supported by the ordinary Russian people, but at the same time angered many nobles and soldiers loyal to the tsar! However, due to the pinning down of the German forces on the front, these troops were still unable to have any substantial impact on the distant St. Petersburg region!

"Damn it, these traitors. These rats! They are going to trade the pride of the Russian Navy for a humiliating peace! Soon after the news of St. Petersburg broke, Essen quickly figured out why his orders were not carried out! I'm afraid that the construction of the two Izmail-class battleships, which are now nearing completion, will continue. And then give it to the German Navy as reparations, right? The new government wants peace? Will the Germans and Austrians, who are already overwhelmingly dominant, agree? Will they stop without paying a staggering price to satisfy the appetites of these two countries? These two battleships and some accessories will eventually fall into the hands of the Germans, and this is absolutely not allowed in Essen!

Kolchak's troops had been nailed to death by the Germans in the Riga area. St. Petersburg was almost under the control of the rebels, and it seemed that there was no power to organize the deal. But Essen was not reconciled, and before the Battle of Tallinn began, Essen already knew his fate. That is, with the fleet finally sinking in the Gulf of Finland, but now, he wants to change, not to change his mortal fate, but to return to St. Petersburg before that, and completely destroy the two Izmail-class battleships and the shipyard! He will never allow the most powerful warship of the Russian Navy to be absorbed by the enemy like this!

Essen, who had planned to defend Tallinn with the army, decided to break out, and even though he knew that the probability of a breakthrough was very slim, he still had to do so. "Even if there is only a one percent chance, I will command my fleet back to St. Petersburg and destroy these soon-to-be-completed battleships and the factories where they were built with my own hands! The Russians will never be soft in the face of these things that they can't hold, just like when Russia burned the city directly in order to block Napoleon! Essen even fantasized about whether he would be able to retake the capital with the support of his own artillery if there were still troops loyal to the Tsar in the city.

Essen began to prepare for his actions. "This will be our last battle voyage, and whether we win or lose, we will complete our mission after this operation. Everything that has nothing to do with the war will be discarded, and only three things will be left on the battleship, personnel, shells and fuel! "The day after the incident, Essen gave the order for the last battle, and according to his plan, the entire fleet would depart on the fourth day. But this plan has been hampered in many ways.

"Admiral Essen, if you transfer all the capital ships, then Tallinn's defense will be reduced by at least about 4 percent, we have lost almost all the batteries, the army's remaining heavy artillery is only 12 6-inch guns, and if your fleet is transferred, we can't even suppress the German army's artillery fire, I don't think you will see Tallinn fall like this." The army commander, who was in charge of the defense of Tallinn, refused to evacuate Essen from Tallinn. This is definitely not just talking, the army even began to send some troops to encircle the naval base, and the coal and ammunition that were originally to be transported from other places were directly detained, if it were not for Essen's resolute attitude and the powerful deterrent effect of the large-caliber artillery on the battleship, I am afraid that the army would have rushed in and taken over the base!

"Don't think that I don't know what you're thinking, these cowards, I'm afraid you're all thinking about surrendering to the rebels in St. Petersburg, right?" Essen looked at the army outside the port and couldn't help sneering, the result of the St. Petersburg incident not only meant that Tallinn could no longer get reinforcements, but also caused a devastating blow to the morale of the army! Almost everyone was thinking about the way out of the future, the tsar's government had fallen, and even the tsar himself was put under house arrest. All key departments and leaders of the government were either killed or arrested, and some of the soft-boned ones surrendered outright. The new government seems to have taken control of the heart of the country, with a general war-weariness of the army and the population. The call for an end to the war put forward by the new government was accepted by the majority of the people. In the eyes of ordinary people, perhaps those who were loyal to the old government were rebels.

The Russian army in the late stage of World War I in history can definitely not be called strong-willed, especially after the outbreak of the revolution, in the face of the German fleet, the vast majority of the officers and men of the Russian Navy refused to fight, and 4 powerful dreadnoughts stayed in the harbor to play soy sauce, and only the former dreadnought battleships went out, and even in order to increase the range, the hull was injected with water to increase the elevation angle! As a result, he was beaten to death by German dreadnoughts! And in this historical plane, after St. Petersburg changed hands, the vast majority of Russia was also faced with a new choice, whether to continue fighting or to join the new master?

The Germans also duly halted their offensive, expecting the fortress to collapse from within. After temporarily losing external pressure, various ideas began to ferment in this war-torn city. When the German airships dropped bundles of leaflets, the demoralization collapsed even more out of control. Surprisingly, officers in the army are more likely to defect than soldiers, for the simple reason that most of these officers are the descendants of nobles or wealthy people with a lot of money, and their family property is in the hands of the provisional government, and they have to think not only about their own future, but also about their families. The war has reached this point, and there is no longer much suspense about the result. "We are following the will of the people, we are following the orders of the new government, to hell with Nicholas II and the Normanov dynasty!" Quite a few officers have abandoned their former insistence and have begun to plot to surrender!

This situation quickly spread from the army to the navy, even in the fleet to which Essen belonged, there were many people who advocated giving up resistance, and after a bloody repression and intimidation, Essen temporarily stabilized the situation, after all, Essen was well received, and more importantly, many Russians knew that they had participated in the shelling of the city of Danze, and it was one thing to fight on the battlefield, but it was another thing to clean up civilian areas with heavy artillery, and the Germans would forgive themselves? They can't be sure!

"We must not wait any longer, if we wait any longer, Tallinn will surrender, and then we may not even have a chance to leave, we must hurry up and prepare to leave, even if we use force to rush out of the city." Essen finally couldn't wait, and was originally going to leave on the fourth day, but the time was brought forward to the third night. The two dreadnoughts can't be taken away, one of them has been seriously damaged in previous battles, the power system and armament have been seriously damaged, and then it has not been repaired, and it can only drag down the fleet with it, and the other has become a waste because the personnel refused to break through, in the face of those subordinates who picked up swords and guns to resist, Essen can fight back with blood and fire, but in the face of these people who refuse to cooperate, he is still a little unable to do it! There are too many people! "Maybe you're right." Essen lamented in his heart.

Thanks to the book friends hukaikaka and zhouyu1976 for their tips~~~, as well as the book friends Huazi Xiaofeng and Zhan Zhonghua for their monthly pass support~~~~. (To be continued......)