Chapter 437 Naval Decisive Battle

Under the premise that drinking water was blocked, the fate of the officers and soldiers who held on in Fergus Battery can be imagined.

Before his death, the battery commander Major Runard left the following words to the soldiers: "Comrades, our blood is about to dry up. Life is given to each of us by God. It is the hateful war that has taken away our only life. In order to eliminate this war, we have failed our lives. Long live peace!"

The final fate of Fergus Battery was that it was occupied by the Germans, but the firm will of the battery commander Major Runard and all the French soldiers guarding the battery not only impressed the British media who came to report the latest news, but also impressed the French soldiers and people who learned the news.

After the Fergus Battery was captured, the German army encountered unprecedented resistance in the subsequent offensive. Not only could it not push the front line further, but even the occupied areas were at risk of being lost at any time.

The French army attacked the captured fortresses including Fergus Battery like crazy, as if they were not willing to die.

In just three days, France suffered up to 40,000 casualties, but in return, a large number of fortresses and artillery batteries, including the Fergus Battery, pushed the front line forward by several kilometers.

On April 15, 1916, the German army not only failed to complete the order issued by William II, but also lost a lot of previously occupied positions under the premise of paying a large number of casualties.

It is obvious that the German military has objections to launching the Battle of Verdun. Even many German troops, whether middle- and upper-level officers or middle- and lower-level soldiers, are dissatisfied with the orders of the German Chief of Staff Falkenhayn.

It was Falkenhayn's will to launch the Battle of Verdun that caused the Germans to suffer hundreds of thousands of casualties, but almost lost everything in the Verdun area.

Seeing that the British and French coalition forces were about to launch a new campaign in the Somme River area, a large number of German troops were tied down in the Verdun area and could not be mobilized, which made the German Western Front precarious.

Finally, around April 16, there was a major shock in the German top leadership.

Falkenhayn, the German Chief of Staff who launched the Battle of Verdun against all odds, was impeached by senior German military officials including Hindenburg and Ludendorff, and was eventually dismissed from the position of Chief of Staff on April 20.

The new Chief of Staff was replaced by Hindenburg, a Junker nobleman and former German Eastern Front Commander-in-Chief.

This was not over yet. On the second day after Falkenhayn was dismissed, German Prime Minister Hollweg, Minister of Finance, Minister of Logistics, Minister of the Interior and other senior government officials resigned to William II, and many senior military officials suddenly became important government officials.

This was not good news for Germany. A large-scale political struggle broke out between the government and the military, but the outcome ended with a comprehensive victory for the military.

Although William II remained neutral in this dispute, the military did not mean to respect William II.

As early as half a year ago, Hindenburg blatantly violated the plans of William II and Chief of Staff Falkenhayn, which led to Germany experiencing an incomplete victory on the Eastern Front.

The current Junker nobles are headed by Hindenburg. Facing this extremely large military group, even William II cannot suppress it at all.

Obviously, William II has missed the opportunity to suppress the Junker nobles. He has been sidelined by the military government dominated by Hindenburg and has become a veritable rubber stamp emperor.

Speaking of the Junker nobles in Germany, we have to admit that a large part of the credit for the strength of the German Army is due to the Junker nobles.

The Junker nobles in Germany originally referred to the sons of nobles without the title of knights, and now generally refer to the large landowners and nobles in Germany.

These people have controlled the military and political affairs of Germany (Prussia) for hundreds of years, and it was they who single-handedly contributed to the powerful German Army.

But everything has two sides. The Junker nobles who are too powerful are a huge threat to the German government and the imperial power.

William II originally thought that promoting Hindenburg, who was born in the Junker nobility, as chief of staff would satisfy the Junker nobles, but unexpectedly, after Hindenburg became chief of staff, he immediately united the entire Junker noble class, overthrew the German government, and sidelined William II.

The military's coming to power has brought about a huge change in German policy. The German army has become more radical and more warlike.

It is worth mentioning that the German High Seas Fleet, which had been hiding for a long time, is now ready to go out of the port to find the British for a decisive battle.

However, it is inevitable that Germany will dispatch the navy. After the offensive on the east and west lines suffered setbacks, Germany fell into a huge material crisis.

Because the shipping routes and logistics supply lines were blocked, Germany had no other way except to break the blockade with the navy.

It is impossible to let these fleets that have been built with great effort hide in the port throughout the war. In that case, building a navy would be meaningless.

If the previous German government and William II were somewhat indecisive, then the newly-elected German military government was very firm in the war.

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The Junker nobles need new land, and the military needs more credit. The two major forces have united with each other, resulting in the German government's firm attitude towards the war. At least under the current circumstances, Germany does not agree to end the war.

Due to the dual pressure from the military government and the Junker nobles, the German High Command had to change its original intention and shift the current strategic focus to the sea.

Firstly, a decisive battle at sea would have the opportunity to break through the British naval blockade of Germany and give the German fleet a chance to go to sea.

Secondly, if Germany could gain an advantage or even win in the naval battle, it would open up trade routes with the outside world and even blockade France and Britain in turn.

In this way, it could reverse the current passive situation and even turn it into an active one, and kill Britain and France.

In view of these two important factors, after careful research, the German high-level officials finally decided to find an opportunity at sea and fight a decisive battle with the British fleet.

The Germans acted quickly. On May 17, 1916, the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet met in the Atlantic Ocean, and then a great naval battle broke out, which was the largest naval battle in history.

When the news of the outbreak of the Atlantic Battle reached Australasia, it was already several hours later.

But there was no way, Arthur could not get the results of the battle at all. But it must be admitted that Arthur was shocked by the courage of the Germans.

The decisive battle of the navy is not like the army. Even if it cannot win, it can organize a retreat in an orderly manner. The decisive battle of the navy is basically a life-and-death battle, and there are definitely not many warships that can escape.

Moreover, once the naval battle fails, the German High Seas Fleet will never have a chance to come forward again. It is not an exaggeration to say that after the naval battle, the German High Seas Fleet will no longer have any influence or help on the war.

This also means that Germany has really decided to go all out. Either severely damage the Royal Navy and change the current decline from the ocean. Or be severely damaged by the Royal Navy and the entire country will suffer a tragic defeat.

However, no matter what, the possibility of the German High Seas Fleet winning is very small. The navy is different from the army, and it is unlikely to win with fewer troops.

Unless there is an overwhelming advantage in the performance of warships, the combat effectiveness of the warships of the German Navy and the British Navy is not so huge.

So far, the British Empire Royal Navy Home Fleet has 37 battleships, including 29 dreadnoughts and 8 super dreadnoughts.

The German High Seas Fleet has a total of 24 battleships, including 17 dreadnoughts and 7 super dreadnoughts.

In terms of main battleships, there is a huge gap in the number of High Seas Fleet and Royal Navy Home Fleet. This number gap is impossible to make up for by small and medium-sized warships, and it is also a fatal disadvantage of the High Seas Fleet compared to the Royal Navy's Home Fleet.

You should know that the naval positioning of Britain and Germany in this time and space is more intense. Under the stimulation of Australasia, the British built more dreadnoughts.

In addition, Australasia has undertaken a considerable part of the defense of the Indian Ocean, allowing the British to mobilize part of the fleet in the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, join the Home Fleet, and increase their advantage over the High Seas Fleet.

What's more fatal is that if you look at the number of main warships alone, the gap is large, but not that large.

But if you calculate the total number of warships of the fleets of both sides, the German High Seas Fleet has only more than 400 large and small warships, but the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet has more than 700 large and small warships, and the total tonnage of warships is much larger than that of the German High Seas Fleet.

This makes it unlikely that the High Seas Fleet wants to defeat the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. There is a clear gap in the number of large, medium and small warships, which is impossible to make up for by tactics.

At present, there are only two choices for Admiral Reinhard, the commander of the High Seas Fleet. Either he will fight to the death to replace the main warships of the Royal Fleet, or he will hide in the port and do nothing.

Either of these two options is tragic. If he chooses the first one, the best case is to replace the same number of British main warships, but the High Seas Fleet will definitely suffer heavy losses.

Although this situation can avoid casualties in the High Seas Fleet, it violates the orders of the military government and the Supreme Command, and Reinhard will also face accountability from three aspects.

In fact, after receiving the order from the country to conduct a naval decisive battle, Admiral Reinhard has never been in a good mood.

As the commander-in-chief of the only fleet in Germany, Admiral Reinhard is very clear about the gap between the German Navy and the British Navy.

You know, the British fleet faced by the German High Seas Fleet is the home fleet of the Royal Navy.

The British Empire has squadrons in various oceans. If the number is added together, this is a huge fleet that neither of the two German Empires can match.

Now the enemy of the German High Seas Fleet is the Royal Navy. Even a small home fleet is enough to give Admiral Reinhard a headache.

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