At the request of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the German Navy's High Seas Fleet began to make pre-war preparations. The current High Seas Fleet, although not as good as the British Royal Navy, can be regarded as strong. Four 'Nassau-class' battleships, four 'Helgoland-class' battleships, five 'Caesar-class' battleships, four 'King-class' battleships and four 'Bavaria-class' battleships.

It can be said that the current German High Seas Fleet is more powerful than the High Seas Fleet in the history that Wu Haoxuan is familiar with. On the one hand, the 'Nassau-class' battleships were more powerful in tonnage, and the main guns used were no longer 280 mm guns, but 305 mm guns of fifty times the caliber. At the same time, the defense is also stronger. The subsequent 'Helgoland-class' battleships also used 305-mm guns of fifty times the caliber. The later 'Caesar-class' battleships and 'King-class' battleships used 343 mm guns of fifty times the caliber. On the other hand, in another time and space, when the British and German navies fought a decisive battle, the German Navy's 'Bavaria-class' battleships were only two completed. But now the four battleships of the 'Bavaria class' of the German Navy have been fully completed.

The main warships of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet in this time and space have not only improved their performance, but also increased their numbers, which makes their chances of victory undoubtedly greater. Of course, the German Navy was still at a disadvantage compared to the British Navy.

In addition to these battleships, the German Navy's High Seas Fleet also had battle cruisers, including the battlecruiser von der Tann, two battlecruisers of the Moltke class, the battlecruiser Seydlitz and three battlecruisers of the Dwringer class, for a total of seven.

This brings the German Navy's high seas fleet to 24 capital ships, second only to the British Navy and second in the world. Of course. After the rapid development of the Chinese Navy, it already threatened the second position of the German Navy.

However, compared with the British Navy, the German Navy still has a somewhat large gap in strength. Now the capital ships of the British Navy include one battleship 'Dreadnought' and three 'Bellerophon-class' battleships. Three 'St. Vincent-class' battleships, one 'Neptune' battleship, two 'Giant-class' battleships, four 'Orion-class' battleships, four 'King George V-class' battleships, four 'Iron Duke-class' battleships, five 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships. In addition, there were the battleships "Agincourt", the battleship "Irene". Battleship 'Canada'. These three battleships were originally built by Britain for other countries, but after the outbreak of war, Britain detained these battleships and put them into service with the British Navy. Among them, the battleship "Agincourt" was originally built for Brazil, the battleship "Irene" was originally built for Turkey, and the battleship "Canada" was originally built for Argentina.

Taken together, the total number of battleships in the British Navy reached thirty. Other than that. The British Navy also has five 'revenge-class' battleships, which are expected to enter service by the middle of this year. That's the case. The total number of battleships in the British Navy would reach thirty-five, which was twice the size of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet. Even though the British Navy had to deploy a large number of warships overseas in order to protect the interests of the colonies. But the remaining main forces were enough to deal with the German Navy.

In addition to battleships, the British Navy also led the way in the number of battlecruisers. There are three 'Invincible-class' battlecruisers, three 'Indefatigable' battlecruisers, and three 'Lion-class' battlecruisers, of which the third ship, the 'Queen Mary' battlecruiser, belongs to the improved type. A battlecruiser 'Tiger'. The total number was ten, three more than the battle cruisers of the German Navy. In addition, two Prestige-class battlecruisers and three Valiant-class battlecruisers of the British Navy are also expected to be commissioned by the end of this year. This allowed the battle cruisers of the British Navy to have an absolute advantage.

Of course, the battlecruisers of the British Navy belonged to the battleships with thin skins and big stuffing. Defense is extremely low. Once hit, it often pays a heavy price. On the other hand, the battle cruisers of the German Navy, even if they were inferior to the battleships, were much stronger than the battle cruisers of the British Navy. So much so that as soon as the battle patrol formations of both sides began, the battle patrol formations of the German Navy achieved a near-overwhelming victory.

It can be said that the British Navy, whether it is a battleship or a battlecruiser, has a great advantage, and it is very difficult for the German Navy to defeat the British Navy. However, there are often many uncertainties in naval warfare. Therefore, there is still hope that Germany will win. It is precisely because of this that Wilhelm II pinned his hopes on the navy.

The German Navy was developed almost single-handedly with the support of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Germany's geographical location determined that Germany could not invest too much in the navy. After all, Germany came out of central Europe, was the land of the Fourth World War, and was surrounded by German enemies. In order to ensure the security of its homeland, Germany must maintain a strong army. Only in this way can we ensure our national security. It was precisely because of this that the German Army became the first army in the world.

However, as Germany's industrial power grew, it had to expand abroad. However, the world had already been carved up, and Germany had no valuable colonies at all. As a result, Germany had to challenge Britain's world hegemony in order to expand its living space. It is precisely because of this that Germany has stepped up its investment in the navy.

However, although Wilhelm II supported the development of the navy, he did not believe that Germany needed to defeat Britain by means of war. Initially, he thought that Germany's build-up of a powerful navy would serve as a deterrent to Britain. At that time, Britain would have to give up confrontation with Germany and choose to compromise. Germany would be able to easily win world hegemony. But, in the end, it turned out that Wilhelm II was too naïve. As soon as Germany revealed its ambitions for world hegemony, the British launched a counterattack. They could never have allowed Germany to win hegemony so easily.

Now that the Germans had been cornered, they had to defeat Britain and break the British naval blockade if they wanted to win the war. And this important task can only be completed by the German Navy. There is no other way for Germany to do so.

While the German Navy was preparing for a decisive battle, Falkingham, chief of the German General Staff, also forcibly launched the Battle of Verdun. Originally, he hoped to rely on the strong strength of the German Army to achieve a one-to-two battle loss, so as to exhaust France's strength and force France to withdraw from the war. This made Verdun the place of fierce fighting between Germany and France. Both sides have paid heavy losses here. But even though the German Army's casualties reached 250,000, the French Army's casualties rose to nearly 500,000. But the French Army still did not collapse.

Under such circumstances, the Germans had no choice but to pin their hopes on the navy. If the German Navy can win, then the crisis facing Germany can be lifted. On the other hand, if the German navy loses, then it is almost a foregone conclusion that Germany will lose the war.

German Admiral Tirpitz summoned Admiral Reinhardt Schell, commander of the High Seas Fleet, and Vice Admiral Franz Hipper, commander of the battle patrol formation.

"Two, the empire has now reached the point of life and death. It can be said that the fate of the empire is all maintained on the navy. As long as the Imperial Navy can win, then we still have the possibility of winning the war. If it fails, the empire loses completely. I hope that the High Seas Fleet, which we have painstakingly built, will be able to turn the tide for the Empire and win the final victory. Marshal Tirpitz said solemnly.

"Your Excellency, please rest assured. The High Seas Fleet has been preparing for such a long time, and we will definitely be able to win the final victory. Admiral Reinhardt Schell looked firm.

"The size of the British Navy is much larger than ours though. However, our warships are better performed. What's more, the British Navy is scattered all over the world, and it is not as good as ours to concentrate all our strength. As long as we can defeat the British Navy in this decisive battle, we will win. Admiral Franz Hipperer is also confident about the decisive battle ahead.

"Good, I'm looking forward to hearing the news of your victory." Marshal Tirpitz said.

The German Navy carried out large-scale combat readiness, which, of course, could not be concealed from the British Navy. The British Navy, which received the information, was also nervous.

British Admiral Sir John Fisher, Lord of the Admiralty, sent a telegram to Admiral John Jericht, commander of the British Navy's Home Fleet, asking the Royal Navy to be ready for battle. If the German Navy dared to go to sea to fight, it must defeat the German Navy and completely defeat them.

The main forces of the British Navy at this moment are all gathered in Scarpa Bay. From the very beginning of the war, they had been waiting for this opportunity for a decisive battle with the German navy. For hundreds of years, the British Navy has been the world's maritime hegemon, controlling the world's oceans. The sudden rise of the German Navy made the British Navy very vigilant. They had long wanted to defeat the German navy in order to defend their position as the supremacy of the seas. However, after the start of the war, the German Navy has been huddled in the harbor and only sent some light warships to the sea to fight, which made the British Navy have no chance of a decisive battle with the German Navy. Now, it seems, the opportunity has finally arrived. (To be continued.) )

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