Chapter 193 Disaster

In the future, the main naval bases in the United Kingdom are Portsmouth Base, Plymouth Base, and Faslane Naval Base, with Portsmouth Base being the most significant, housing sixty percent of the country's surface ships.

However, before World War II, the largest port for the British Navy was the Scapa Flow Naval Base in Orkney County. This served as the main anchorage for the Royal Navy's fleet in the British Isles, with over 10 large warships, including aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers.

Looking at the map, for the German navy to venture into the Atlantic, they had two options: either through the English Channel or the North Sea. During wartime, passing through the English Channel was impossible, leaving the North Sea as the only viable route.

Hence, the struggle for control over the North Sea became the primary naval strategy for both Germany and England during this era. The Scapa Flow Naval Base, held by the British, was like a looming mountain over the German navy.

In a timeline where Germany's naval power was at a disadvantage, they decided to make a desperate move and launch a secret raid against the powerful British navy.

However, the frequent reconnaissance by the German forces raised the alertness of the British. To prevent any mishaps, the British immediately ordered the majority of their warships in the harbor to relocate. When U-47 slipped into Scapa Flow, it was astonishingly empty, with only one battleship and one seaplane carrier anchored.

Moreover, this attack happened months ahead of schedule, and the British navy had not had time to relocate the warships within the harbor. Dozens of warships were quietly anchored.

At four fifty in the morning, all members of the third wave returned.

Prien excitedly issued the command to return. "Triumphant! Brothers, when we go back, we are the heroes of the Empire!"

"Triumphant!" Everyone whispered in excitement, their faces filled with joy.

The submarine slowly turned around and headed in the direction it came from.

By the time they sailed out of the Koko Strait, it was already past six in the morning.

The morning sunlight shone on the Scapa Flow Naval Base. With the sound of the wake-up call, sailors on various warships got up, performed morning exercises, washed up, and had breakfast in an orderly manner. The atmosphere was lively and fulfilling.

"For several days, I've been bored to death." In the mess hall of a warship, a sailor complained while eating breakfast. Although the ship was docked, these sailors were not allowed to go ashore; they had been staying on the ship for days. So, there were quite a few people like him who were full of complaints.

"It's all because of those Germans. I heard that the German warships have been acting up recently, and the higher-ups want to find an opportunity to annihilate them." Someone well-informed commented, "So, we can only continue to be on standby."

Another soldier sneered, "Those fools are really idle. They fight their own wars, and we have to get involved. What's the point?" The "fools" he mentioned obviously weren't the Germans; he was referring to the politicians of the British Empire. "They sit up high, moving their mouths, letting us, the little soldiers, go to the front lines and die. It's not right! I think the German Crown Prince is right; these guys are eager to provoke a war..."

Before he could finish his words, the soldier sitting next to him quickly nudged him with his elbow. "Shut up. If Lieutenant John hears this, it's not about you being confined."

The soldier who had just spoken disdainfully shrugged. "Does his family have no casualties? My father also fell on the banks of the Somme River." In fact, he also knew that Lieutenant John had suffered much more. In the Battle of Jutland, Lieutenant John's grandfather, father, and uncle were unfortunate enough to be sunk by the Germans on the same warship. Therefore, Lieutenant John harbored a pathological hatred towards the Germans. "I find it strange. He hates the Germans so much; why doesn't he blame Betty for playing a good hand so poorly?"

In January 1916, Admiral Scheer, who took command of the German High Seas Fleet, decided to take the initiative and challenge British naval supremacy. He ordered Admiral Hipper to lead a decoy battle fleet consisting of 5 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, and 30 destroyers to act as bait, enticing the British fleet to leave the harbor in pursuit.

Admiral Scheer personally led the main force of the High Seas Fleet, concealed 50 nautical miles behind the decoy fleet, ready to annihilate the unsuspecting enemy.

Little did the confident Scheer know that the British Navy had already deciphered the German naval code, accurately tracking their every move. Admiral Jellicoe, the commander of the British Grand Fleet, cleverly devised a plan identical to the German Navy's actions: Admiral Beatty leading a forward fleet, consisting of 4 battleships, 6 battlecruisers, 14 light cruisers, and 27 destroyers, to chase the incoming Hipper fleet. When Scheer's main fleet arrived for the encirclement, they would feign defeat.

On May 31, at 14:00, the British forward fleet, led by Beatty, reached the designated area to rendezvous with the main fleet. However, at this very moment, the light cruiser "Galatea" in Beatty's fleet spotted the German light cruiser "Elbing" from the Hipper fleet. Almost simultaneously, the "Elbing" also identified the enemy. Both fleets sounded the battle alarm, causing a commotion on the decks, cannons glaring at each other. The British forward fleet, outnumbering the German main force 10 to 5, had an absolute advantage. Despite the vast numerical superiority, the German fleet, unwilling to engage, followed Scheer's plan and turned southeast, heading toward the main fleet.

Seeing the potential prey slipping away, the eager Beatty disregarded many considerations, abandoning the prearranged tasks. He neither further investigated the enemy's situation in the surrounding waters nor promptly reported to Jellicoe. Instead, he hastily issued the order, "Adjust course, full speed pursuit!"

Due to the considerable distance, Beatty's four battleships couldn't identify the flagship's signal. When they received the command, the powerful but slow battleships were already 10 miles behind the battlecruisers.

Desperate for battle, Beatty, leading six battlecruisers, chased after the enemy.

This, later termed a "fatal error" by British historians, led to a massive loss for the British fleet.

Due to the advanced unified ship firing control system used by the Germans, their gun accuracy far surpassed that of the British. Coupled with the superior penetrating power of the German armor-piercing shells, despite the numerical ratio being 6 to 5, the British fleet had no advantage.

After a brief running battle, the British proud battlecruisers suffered 2 sunk and 1 damaged.

Among them, the 27,000-ton "HMS Queen Mary" was hit, broke in half, and quickly sank, with only 9 survivors out of 1,275 crew members.

Unfortunately, Lieutenant John's relatives served on the "HMS Queen Mary".

This "fatal error" led to a significant loss for the British fleet.

"Causing so many soldiers to die, how can one still be promoted to Admiral? If it were me, I'd have to find Beatty to settle the score. I think he's just a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong."

Suddenly, with a thunderous explosion, before this British sailor could finish complaining, his mind was pierced by an almost eardrum-shattering blast. He felt the floor beneath him shake violently and, before he could find something to hold onto, stumbled and fell.

"What's going on?!" Like him, many others were in disarray. Everyone looked around in horror, and they suddenly saw the bowls and plates on the table sliding slowly to one side.

All were shocked and couldn't find words; was this ship tilting?!

"Enemy attack!" Someone, who knows who, let out a piercing scream of terror.