Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 141 Piecing it together, frantically plugging the leaks

1915, April 8.

The air raids and artillery bombardments that had lasted for several days on both the eastern and western fronts have finally come to an end.

On the western front, the joy of victory was palpable. Promotion and commendation documents, as well as Iron Cross medals, were being transported to the front by military trains carrying supplies, and then distributed in batches.

"Congratulations, Colonel Mark Immelmann. The Imperial General Staff has approved your promotion to Brigadier General and the conferment of the Blue Mark Medal once again. This is in recognition of your glorious victory in the Calais Air Battle, where you shot down a total of 200 enemy aircraft and successfully covered our airships."

"Colonel William Keitel, with the approval of the General Staff, is hereby promoted to Brigadier General of Artillery. Lieutenant Colonel William Loeb is promoted to Colonel. Both are awarded the Blue Mark Medal... in recognition of their achievements in the Battle of Dover, including sinking two battleships and three pre-dreadnoughts."

"Lieutenant Manfred von Richthofen, promoted to major, and awarded the Blue Mark..."

The person in charge of all these awarding and promotion ceremonies was none other than the Archduke of Württemberg, commander of the German 4th Army. At least several dozen pilots and artillery officers were promoted on the spot because of the artillery and air battle between Calais and Dover.

As for the non-commissioned officers and soldiers who were promoted, there were even more. More than a hundred were promoted to non-commissioned officers, and nearly a thousand to soldiers.

Nine Blue Mark medals were awarded, 85 Iron Cross First Class medals were awarded, and a whopping 330 Iron Cross Second Class medals were awarded. To put this in perspective, in the original history of Earth, the total number of Blue Mark medals awarded during the entire World War was 687.

Therefore, awarding nine Blue Mark medals in a single battle was already a remarkable achievement. It had to be an extremely significant victory to warrant such a large number of medals, accounting for approximately 1.5% of the total medals awarded during the entire four-year World War II.

The Blue Mark could be awarded to the same person multiple times. At the time, the clearest standard for awarding medals to various branches of the military was for fighter pilots. As long as they shot down 8 enemy aircraft, they could be awarded a Blue Mark for the first time. It was fair and just.

However, if the achievement is repeated, the difficulty of receiving the medal will increase. Therefore, it is not possible to award one more Blue Mark for every eight kills. Brigadier General Mark Immelmann received the Blue Mark for the second time, after he had already shot down 32 aircraft. The last 24 kills earned him his second medal.

Additionally, when the Blue Mark is awarded repeatedly, the blue cross itself will not be awarded again; instead, a silver laurel wreath will be added as a substitute, marked with a number. The second award will have a silver "2" under the silver laurel wreath, and the third award will have a "3" added.

What Mark Immelmann actually received in this award was a silver laurel wreath with the number "2" on it.

The blue mark medal that is now at the top of the list of recipients was awarded by the Emperor to the Grand Duke of Württemberg himself.

Since the Archduke is now the Commander-in-Chief of the Belighin and Calais-Dunkirk theaters, all these victories, whether the Calais artillery battle or the airship raids from Zeebrugge, first and foremost required the Archduke of Württemberg's overall planning and coordination to be successfully executed.

When the Archduke of Württemberg returned to Berlin to receive his medal, he knew perfectly well that the credit for this achievement was actually orchestrated by the Duke of Rupprecht, the sixth commander who had already left the Western Front. And behind the Duke of Rupprecht, of course, was his brilliant and resourceful advisor, Colonel Lelouch.

The weapons used in the battle, including the railway artillery, were originally ordered by the 6th Army during its operations on the western front. He was simply reusing them. If the 6th Army were still on the western front, this battle would definitely have been fought by its own troops.

So strictly speaking, the Archduke of Württemberg also owed Lelouch a favor.

Although Lelouch didn't receive a direct promotion or medal from this battle, he gained a wider network of support—after all, he couldn't openly intervene, as that would be overstepping his authority and a serious taboo. Just like Vice Admiral Hipper's repeated meritorious deeds in the past, those achievements couldn't be attributed to Lelouch's strategic planning. However, these admirals, like Hipper and Spee, would naturally feel indebted to him personally, and would be more willing to cooperate with the Navy in the future if Lelouch needed their assistance.

By this point, three of the leaders of the four southern German states had already owed him a great favor.

The Crown Prince of Baria, the Grand Duke of Württemberg, the Grand Duke of Baden. If Lelouch wanted, he could certainly use these connections to do much more.

Although Lelouch himself cannot be promoted to commodore for the time being, his old friends Immelmann and Keitel, who have both been promoted to commodore, still have to follow Lelouch's lead.

Furthermore, Immelmann is only two years older than Lelouch, and he was also born in the 1990s. Lelouch's exaggerated age was actually the same as Immelmann's, only a few months apart. Immelmann was able to rise to brigadier general faster than him because the air force track is a completely untapped market, with no older players competing for positions.

Regardless, Immelmann's promotion to brigadier general serves as a good example for Lelouch. If Lelouch performs another great service in the future, and Duke Rupprecht applies for brigadier generalship for him, the General Staff and the Emperor will likely be less inclined to use age as a reason to deny him the promotion.

For his great achievement in annihilating the Southwestern Army of Lusa last time, Lelouch was rewarded with a promotion to a civil post and a noble title. With this latest covert scheme and the groundwork laid, it's time for him to be promoted in military rank next time.

……

While the airship and artillery units received numerous honors and promotions, Kaiser Wilhelm in Berlin had recently become somewhat arrogant.

After issuing a large number of medal orders, that afternoon he summoned Admiral Tirpitz, the Minister of the Navy, to discuss a topic he had never dared to consider before.

Marshal Tirpitz arrived at Potsdam Palace, first performing the courtesies, and then the Emperor went straight to the point and asked:
"Recently, the Britannian fleet has been repeatedly ravaged by Imperial air raids and artillery bombardments. I heard that three dreadnoughts sank in three days? In addition, I remember that Hipper sank several big ships during the Dunkirk siege in February. To what extent has the gap between the number of dreadnoughts and battlecruisers between the enemy and our side narrowed now?"

Marshal Tirpitz, who always kept these accounts in mind, immediately answered fluently: "The Britannians also have 22 battleships and 7 battlecruisers. The Imperial Navy has 17 battleships and 6 battlecruisers."

However, we still have two battlecruisers, the 'Von der Tann' and the 'Seydlitz', under repair. Both were damaged in the Battle of Dunkirk at the end of February and were hit by 15-inch guns. They have only been under repair for five months. The 'Seydlitz' can be repaired in September, while the 'Von der Tann' may be delayed until winter, but all ships are guaranteed to be repaired this year.

Meanwhile, the Britannians are still undergoing major repairs on HMS Queen Elizabeth, which won't be completed until at least early next year. However, according to intelligence, the third ship of the Queen Elizabeth-class will be completed and commissioned this winter, while the fourth and fifth ships will be completed next spring.

The Empire's 'Balya' will also be completed early next year. The 'Baden' may be delayed until the end of the first quarter of next year, entering service concurrently with the enemy's 'Queen's-class' fourth and fifth ships.

As the emperor listened, he pondered in his mind, and then came up with an idea that he had never dared to consider before:
"So, the Britannians won't have any battleships with 15-inch main guns until the end of the year? Could the Empire take advantage of these last three months to force a portion of the Britannian navy's main force into battle against us and seize the opportunity to severely damage a part of the enemy's forces!"
If we miss this opportunity, and the enemy has 15-inch gunboats, the battle will be much more difficult. This is a rare window of opportunity! We've already weakened the enemy navy considerably; we can't let them rebuild it.”

Marshal Tirpitz was alarmed and quickly advised, "Your Majesty, you must not be rash! I believe that now is not the best time. Although the enemy will be the first to commission a 15-inch gun capital ship by the end of the year, we will be able to commission two 15-inch gun battleships by the end of the first quarter of next year."

Even if the enemy manages to build and repair one more ship, the ratio will only be 2 to 3, not a significant difference. If the 'Queen's Ship' fails to be repaired on schedule, the ratio will become 2 to 2. The Empire's new warships may have lower speeds than the enemy ships, but in a fleet battle, all other metrics will be superior. Therefore, even if Your Majesty truly seeks a fleet annihilation battle, it should at least be delayed until the second quarter of next year. I believe those three months are the optimal time.

According to intelligence, if the project is delayed until the third quarter of next year, the enemy's two Renown-class battlecruisers may be completed and commissioned, and their Avenger-class battleships may also enter service in large numbers. Even if our third or fourth Baria-class battleships were to enter service, it wouldn't be as advantageous as the enemy's three to five Renown-class and Avenger-class battleships entering service.

The emperor, initially slightly intoxicated by the great victory, was somewhat impulsive. Marshal Tirpitz's provision of a timetable finally gave him some patience.

In any case, the Marshal has promised that before the second quarter of next year, he will find a suitable time to launch a large-scale naval operation to try to weaken a part of the Burkina Faso navy.

But the emperor was still somewhat unwilling, so he pressed for an answer as to why they couldn't act immediately.

"The second quarter of next year is indeed a good time, but in the near future, our army doesn't have a 'Baria-class' aircraft carrier, but the enemy doesn't have a 'Queen-class' aircraft carrier either. Isn't the situation quite fair?"

Tirpitz: "Your Majesty, the remaining time in the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter are theoretically good opportunities. But you may not remember that the Navy and Army have jointly planned Operation Two-Way Offensive against the Lussa."

The Empire's battlecruiser fleet appears large on paper, but two ships are stuck in the Black Sea theater and cannot be recalled to participate in the final battle. Even if the Black Sea straits are in the hands of allies, the Suez Canal and Gibraltar are in the hands of Burkina Faso. The warships the Empire sent to the Black Sea/Mediterranean theater will not be able to return to the North Sea battlefield before the war ends.

Meanwhile, the Empire's main high seas fleet will also be coordinating with the army's operations in the Baltic Sea throughout the third quarter, leaving us stretched thin. Now is the best time to deal with the Lusha navy and completely blockade the Lusha's sea supply lines. The sooner this task is completed, the sooner the Lusha's economy will collapse, and there is even a possibility of famine.

In contrast, dealing with the Royal Britannian Navy is not as urgent; it doesn't matter whether we fight now or in the second quarter of next year. The Lussars have two dreadnoughts in the Black Sea and four in the Baltic Sea. To annihilate them in one fell swoop, the Imperial High Seas Fleet must exert its full strength in the third quarter of this year to achieve a decisive victory!

After hearing such a detailed analysis, the emperor finally calmed down completely.

The end of this year and the first quarter of next year are periods when the enemy Royal Navy suddenly becomes stronger, so it's not advisable to engage in combat. The third quarter of this year and the second quarter of next year present roughly the same opportunities for operations against Burkina Faso.

Since that's the case, and there are still 6 Rusa battleships available for attack, let's focus on the Rusa people for now!

Historically, the Demacian High Seas Fleet also attempted to storm the Gulf of Riga in July 1915, forcing the Russa Baltic Fleet into a decisive battle. However, due to the poor quality of their minesweeping equipment and low efficiency, several of their scout ships were sunk by mines, forcing them to abandon the plan.

In this life, Lelouch helped the Empire develop new mine-clearing weapons, so there's no reason not to take this opportunity to annihilate the Russa Navy first! As for the Burgundy Navy, we can deal with them slowly.

"I see, I understand. You can then take control of the operational plan and pace, but I hope the navy will not miss any more opportunities and can give me good news in the second quarter of next year."

Tirpitz breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this, but he was also put under a tight rein.

Today, to avoid being forced into battle by the impulsive emperor, I had to make a "six-month agreement," hoping that I could come up with a complete battle plan in six months.

Should we listen to the opinions of Hipper and Spee, those meritorious generals, first? Perhaps they can come up with a more comprehensive plan.

...While Kaiser Wilhelm summoned Tirpitz at the Potsdam Palace in Berlin.

At 10 Downing Street in London, Prime Minister Asquith solemnly summoned First Lord of the Admiralty Walton Spencer, Armaments Secretary Lloyd George, Foreign Secretary Balfour, and several high-ranking naval officers.

Within three days, the Royal Navy lost three dreadnoughts, three pre-dreadnoughts, two Minotaur-class cruisers, and a host of other warships. Such heavy losses were a significant blow to the Royal Navy.

Since Emperor William dared to consider a decisive fleet battle, the Britannians naturally had to guard against Demania making a desperate gamble.

The more the enemy wants to do something, the more vigilant we must be against them doing it.

"Walton, tell me, is the situation still under control? How do we handle the aftermath of the defeat at Dover? The fleet has been drastically reduced; will the Demagnesians break out? How do we block them?!"

Prime Minister Asquith was furious that the Royal Navy had failed to detect the enemy's air attack intentions or their months-long secret construction work at White Cliffs near Calais. These issues must be addressed, and remedial measures must be developed.

Secretary Walton Spencer, his face ashen and lips clenched, hesitated for a long time before finally taking responsibility: "Your Excellency! I certainly bear some responsibility for the naval matters, but not the primary one. I hope you will give me another chance to complete the upcoming Dardanelles landing operation!"

The Demacians' sudden two-pronged air and artillery barrage indicates they are planning something big. Their original intention was likely to target Lusa, but they felt that airships were about to be exploited, so while launching a large-scale air campaign against Lusa, they also diverted half of their forces to attack various naval ports on our mainland, hoping to make a quick profit before airships become obsolete.

Judging from the results, the Demacians made the right bet this time. During the three-day high-intensity air battle, the Empire's air defense and fighter forces found a way to deal with the airships through trial and error: to equip the rear-mounted heavy machine guns of the fighters with white phosphorus ammunition belts!

Moreover, the Navy is currently pushing forward two projects urgently. One is to unlock the maximum firing elevation angle of all 4-inch naval guns and 4-inch port fixed guns, so that the 4-inch guns can also be raised to more than 75 degrees, which will allow the shells to be fired at a maximum altitude of 6000 meters.

Given the airship's slow speed and large size, as long as you aim carefully, even a target 6000 meters high can be hit most of the time if you fire a hundred or so shots in total.

The other project involved commissioning Rolls-Royce to urgently develop an aircraft engine with more powerful combustion chamber pressure. Rolls-Royce estimated that the new engine would increase the overall cost of the aircraft by at least 30%, possibly even half. The cost of the engine itself would almost double, requiring the use of many unprecedented new technologies.

Rolls-Royce engineers have conducted a thorough evaluation and determined that our fighter jets will be able to stably fly at altitudes above 3500 meters. Combined with custom-designed long-barreled machine guns and white phosphorus bombs, they should be able to reliably pose a threat to enemy airships at altitudes of up to 5000 meters.

The former project can be completed before the end of the third quarter, and the latter will definitely be completed by the end of this year. In addition, the Battle of Dover-Gale taught my fighter forces a bloody lesson, and aircraft manufacturers have vowed to complete the research and development and production of a fighter firing coordinator like the Demania's by the end of the third quarter.

By the fourth quarter of this year, our fighter jets will be able to close the technological gap with the enemy, and we will also be able to mount coaxial machine guns in the nose and fire straight ahead. Although the bloody battles of the past few days have resulted in heavy losses, we have found countermeasures and solutions, and the enemy's air strike forces will no longer be able to carry out any further attacks!

The enemy should still have fifty airships in stock. From this perspective, although this battle caused us considerable losses, the countermeasures we found greatly reduced the value of the enemy's last fifty airships, turning them into useless reconnaissance vessels.

The cost of fifty airships is roughly equivalent to twenty or thirty light cruisers, or three new battleships. So, we essentially destroyed three of the enemy's new battleships; the losses weren't that significant…”

Minister Wharton Spencer offered various sophistry and arguments, and after a series of theoretical analyses, he actually concluded that "the two sides were actually evenly matched."

In short, we can win at everything! At least we won't lose too much!

This is the art of bookkeeping.

However, Prime Minister Asquith is no saint either. This statement is just to appease the general public; the Prime Minister himself certainly doesn't believe it at all.

He waved his hand impatiently, signaling Walton to quickly get to the important matter:
"I already know the remedial measures. You don't need to tell me the details. I just want the results! Since you said you would render the enemy's airships and coastal artillery attacks ineffective, I expect you to keep your word! If any more capital ships sink due to cross-sea artillery fire or air raids, you can get out of here!"
As for the Dardanelles landing operation you mentioned—the situation is already so critical, do you still insist on carrying out this operation as scheduled? What if, on our home turf, the Demacians take advantage of our recent loss of three dreadnoughts and seek a fleet showdown?
Although the Imperial Navy's total size and combat power still exceed that of the Demagnesians by at least 20-30%, the situation would be unpredictable if the Empire were to divide its forces! Why do you insist on dividing your forces at this critical juncture?!

Secretary Walton was extremely anxious as he watched this unexpected turn of events disrupt his long-planned and much-anticipated Dardanelles landing operation.

He hurriedly swore and pleaded, "Your Excellency Prime Minister! You must not waver at this time! According to intercepted radio intelligence, the Demagnesians are very likely to expand their operations against Lusa soon. As I said before, their western air raids are more like a 'last-ditch frenzy before the airship tactics fail, a final squeeze to make a quick buck'."

Therefore, they absolutely do not have enough troops to seek a decisive battle with the Royal Navy fleet! And we should take this opportunity to support the Lusa, otherwise if the Lusa navy suffers a mishap and is defeated and eliminated one by one by the Demanians, then the Demanians will turn around and concentrate their forces to fight the Royal Navy, and the situation will be even more dangerous!

As for your concerns about homeland security, control of the North Sea, and whether it will give enemy battlecruisers the opportunity to break through the blockade and enter the Atlantic to carry out commerce raiding missions, I think these are all issues that can be addressed.

In the Mediterranean campaign, I will try to concentrate the pre-dreadnoughts and the reserve protected cruiser fleet to carry out the mission, and try not to call up high-speed capital ships, so as not to create gaps in the homeland and the North Sea.

Please support the continued implementation of this plan! Otherwise, we will fall into the Demacian trap! The reason the Demacians are making so many moves is because they are afraid that the Empire will interfere with their efforts to concentrate their forces on slaughtering the Lussan. The more the Demacians try to stop something, the more we should do it without fear of hardship!
I am willing to stake my career prospects on this: if this plan fails, I will resign and relinquish all public office to take full responsibility for the entire campaign's decision-making!

Secretary of State Walton Spencer knew that his remaining credit score with the Prime Minister was not enough, so he had no choice but to take a gamble and risk his entire political future.

Only after hearing this did Asquith finally show some interest.

This was the first time one of his ministers had gambled his future. Since they were betting so much, they must be very confident, so let's give them one last chance.

"Are you sure that the radio monitoring department has really detected the Demacians' movements? Are they really going to take action against the Lusa Navy in the Baltic and Black Seas soon?"

Previously, the radio monitoring department had provided crucial intelligence on enemy fleet operations on several occasions, but in the end, there were always those like Hipper who defied orders and went their own way, and those like Spee who were reckless and suicidal, who would sabotage everything. Prime Minister Asquith finally confirmed one issue.

If he could get a 100% affirmative answer to this question, he would decide to finally approve proceeding as planned.

Walton confirmed unequivocally, "I swear! The enemy radio codes deciphered by the intelligence department clearly show that they are about to take action against the Baltic and Black Sea fleets."

Our intelligence deciphering was not the problem; it's just that Demacian naval commanders were too prone to improvising and even disobeying orders, which prevented our previous intelligence from being fully utilized.

Asquith nodded and said nothing more.

Let's observe one last time and see if the radio code-breaking department is actually useful.

Little did they know that this time, the telegram outlining the general plan of Hipper and Spee's communication with the Navy Department was indeed genuine.

Hipper initially asked Lelouch privately if they should lie again this time. But Lelouch advised him: Just tell the truth. Just omit some technical details and don't mention them on the radio.

Therefore, both the news that "the Demacians are about to launch an offensive in the Baltic Sea and an offensive in the Black Sea" are true.

But it doesn't matter if it's leaked; this is an open conspiracy. The Royal Britannian Navy can't enter the Black Sea or the Baltic Sea, so what harm is there in telling you? It'll just leave you anxious.

There was absolutely no need to mention in the wireless telegram the news that the weapons research institute at the Wilhelmshaven Naval Shipyard had invented a new "bottom-scraping trawling mine-clearing chain".

No one stipulates that strategic requests in telegrams must be so detailed, right?

However, as long as the enemy is unaware of the existence of this secret weapon, simply knowing that "the Demacians are going to attack" is of no value.

Sure enough, just as Secretary Walton received the Prime Minister's approval to continue preparations for the Dardanelles landing operation.

Walton also requested the Prime Minister's approval to allow the Naval Intelligence Service and the Lussa to share some intelligence in order to alert the Lussa.

The Prime Minister nodded, and then Secretary Wharton instructed the people in room 40 to send a secret telegram to the Lussa, reminding them to be on guard recently and to have the fleet prepare for battle.

The Lussa people, after receiving the warning, did not disbelieve it. They simply felt that the enemy was not a great threat and that they might even be able to take the opportunity to weaken the Demacian navy!

Upon receiving a warning from his allies, Admiral Andrei Augustović Eberhard, commander of the Russa Black Sea Fleet, immediately recognized this as an opportune moment to lure the enemy into an attack, then cripple their fleet with minefields. Once the enemy was weakened, the main force of the Russa Black Sea Fleet would then launch a counterattack to annihilate the remaining enemy and clean up the mess!

Meanwhile, on the Baltic Fleet side, Admiral Nikolai Otovich von Essen, the fleet commander, also believed Minister Wharton's warning and expressed his gratitude.

But he also believed that this was a golden opportunity to take advantage of the Demacians being weakened by the mines first and then severely damaged!
"What? You're saying that the Demanian fleet might attempt to enter the Gulf of Riga from the Strait of Ilbe soon, threatening the flanks and rear of our forces stationed on the Courland Peninsula and in the Riga region? Excellent! Thank you very much for the intelligence provided by our Britannian colleagues!"
But rest assured, my Baltic Fleet has already laid thousands of mines in the Ilbe Strait! The Demanians are committing suicide if they try to enter the Gulf of Riga; we can take this opportunity to severely damage the Demanian fleet!

This is the content of a secret telegram of thanks from Admiral Nikolai Otovich von Essen, commander of the Roussaburo Fleet, to First Lord of the Navy Walton Spencer.

(End of this chapter)