"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, although he had lost almost all his life, and at the beginning he faced better Chinese admirals...... Later, he commanded the weak Russian Baltic Fleet against us, but 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 person like Essen deserves ......... respect from anyone.

"Does it seem that the destruction of the Russian fleet is a foregone conclusion?" Hipper's mind 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. However, since the boss wants to give Essen a wonderful ending, then Hipper must be well arranged, a whole 14 super dreadnoughts and a large number of auxiliary warships have blocked the passage of the Essen fleet to return home, even if God appears and let the Russian fleet rush out, it doesn't matter, German submarines and minelayers have already laid death traps on the way behind. But there was one thing that Hipper couldn't understand. Why did the remaining Russian warships almost ignore the German minelayers and destroyers? That's abnormal, isn't it?

The mystery is soon revealed! On October 10, 1916, demonstrations broke out in St. Petersburg. Demand a stop 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. After that, after the statement of the army. Things spiraled out of control, key sectors were occupied by unknown persons, army armories were opened, the main transportation routes from St. Petersburg to various places 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, and with the support of factory owners and financiers, a provisional government was soon formed. On the third day after the formation of the new government, the principal members of the new government expressed their willingness to negotiate peace with Germany on more than one occasion. Withdrawal from this "damned" war, which was welcomed and supported by the ordinary Russian population, but at the same time angered many nobles and troops 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 two Izmail-class battleships, which are now about to be completed, will continue to be built and then handed over 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. And St. Petersburg was almost under the control of the rebels, and it seemed that there was no force to organize the deal now. But Essen was not reconciled, before the start of the Battle of Tallinn. Essen already knew his end. 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 through. Even though he knew the odds of a breakout were slim, he still had to do it. "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 cannot hold...... In order to stop Napoleon. Russia burned the city directly! 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 combat voyage, and whether we win or lose, we will complete our final 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 final battle order, and according to his plan, the entire fleet was to 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 force will be reduced by at least 4 percent or so. We've lost almost all of our batteries, and the only heavy guns left in the army are 12 6-inch guns, and if your fleet is all transferred, we won't be able to suppress the German army's artillery fire, so I don't think you'll see Tallinn fall like that. "The army commander in charge of the defense of Tallinn refused to evacuate Essen from Tallinn. This is absolutely not just talk, the army has even begun to send some troops to encircle the naval base, and the coal and ammunition that were originally to be transported from other places have been 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 I don't know what's going on in your minds, these cowards, I'm afraid you're all already thinking about surrendering to the rebels in St. Petersburg, right?" Esen couldn't help but sneer as he looked at the army outside the port. The result of the St. Petersburg incident not only meant that Tallinn could no longer receive reinforcements, but also dealt 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.

In history, the Russian * team in the late stage of World War I was definitely not 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 as a result, only the former dreadnought battleships went out, and even filled the hull with water to increase the elevation angle in order to increase the range! 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 were more likely to defect than soldiers, for the simple reason that most of these officers were the descendants of wealthy nobles or wealthy people who had their family assets in the hands of the Provisional Government, and they had to think not only about their own future, but also about their families...... Now that the new government has unleashed its goodwill, why should it use its own mantis arm as a car? 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 soon spread from the army to the navy, and even in Essen's fleet, there were many who advocated giving up resistance, and after a bloody repression and intimidation, Essen temporarily stabilized the situation. After all, Essen is well regarded, and more importantly, many Russians know that they have participated in the shelling of the city of Denzawa, and it is one thing to fight on the battlefield, but it is another thing to clear civilian areas with heavy artillery, will the Germans forgive themselves? They're not 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 rush out by force." Essen finally couldn't wait. I was going to leave on the fourth day, but the time was brought forward to the evening of the third day. 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~~~~