It is necessary to remove this hidden danger and solve the threat of the Austrian and Italian navies to the British and French Mediterranean routes. For several months, the British and French combined fleets have been waiting for opportunities. With Bulgaria's participation in the war, this purpose has become more and more urgent.

The Port of Toulon is the home base of the French Mediterranean Fleet. The shoreline of the base pier is ten kilometers long and the water depth is more than twelve meters. It is the largest military port in the French Mediterranean region. As a semi-closed port, it is very important to the French fleet in the Mediterranean and is the control center.

An important pivot point in the Western Mediterranean.

During the Revolution, Napoleon crushed the royalists here and repulsed the British and Spanish fleets. Later, it became the starting point for Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. The long-term imaginary enemy of the French Mediterranean fleet was the Italian navy.

From the Saint-Mandrière peninsula in the port, you can have a panoramic view of the Port of Toulon. The interior of the military port is full of warships with flags flying. There is no doubt that Allied spies are gathered here, overlooking the port, and observing the movements of the French navy at any time.

.

Since France transferred its Atlantic Fleet back to the Mediterranean, the Port of Toulon has become increasingly important. A large number of warships from the French Navy have been gathered there, and spies have reported the movements in the port in real time.

There is absolutely nothing to hide from this. Many military ports like the Port of Toulon cannot avoid this situation.

After Churchill's own mediation, on June 25, the British fleet in Gibraltar, Alexandria, Egypt, and the French fleet in Toulon simultaneously disappeared from major military ports in a proactive manner.

The Allied spies lurking near these ports almost immediately discovered that the port fleets were deserted. Such a big movement could not be concealed. The telegrams flew like snowflakes to Rome, Vienna and Berlin. At the same time, they were also transmitted to Germany.

Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Alfred von Tirpitz.

After receiving the news, Alfred von Tirpitz immediately rushed to the palace and asked to see Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Before Tirpitz became Minister of the Navy, the German Navy at that time was only an offshore defense force. Its strength was only equivalent to that of Sweden and Denmark, or slightly stronger. For the ambitious Kaiser, the German Army with its excellent tradition was not enough.

It was worth worrying about. The only thing he was worried about was the navy. At that time, the British Royal Navy was in its heyday. Not only did it have a large fleet, but the best talents in the UK were attracted to the navy. This fleet guarded from Canada to Australia.

, a colonial territory of tens of millions of square kilometers from India to South Africa. The combat effectiveness of the British Royal Navy has an absolute advantage over Germany. Germany must seriously consider this harsh fact if it wants to realize its ambitions.

Tirpitz was an extremely courageous figure. Not only was he determined to create a real ocean-going fleet for Germany, he also hoped that such a fleet could rival the British Royal Navy.

William II admired Tirpitz's courage and ambition very much, placed his deep trust in Tirpitz, fully supported his expansion plan, and made him count soon after. This trust was so deep that

So much so that Tirpitz finally received the title of Tirpitz forever.

In order to increase his weight, before arriving at the palace, Tirpitz called the German Chief of General Staff Moltke. Although the Schlieffen Plan failed due to various reasons, its early success and the fact that the Allies still had the strategic advantage on land, Moltke

Qi did not lose his position as Chief of General Staff, and was still dragging his exhausted body to make suggestions for the war.

"Chief of the General Staff, your mental state is too tense. You should take a proper rest." Before William II appeared, Tirpitz met the young Moltke with a reduced face. As the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Tirpitz

He did not participate in the struggle for power within the Army and had a normal attitude toward matters within the Army.

Before the war, everyone hoped that the Schlieffen Plan could be implemented resolutely and without compromise. However, such a war involving many countries would inevitably cause problems in the plan to deal with the war.

Even with strict planning, when the war really comes, we will face all kinds of unplanned things. If Italy could follow Germany immediately after joining the war, or if the Russian army did not desperately launch an attack on the Eastern Front, maybe the war would be over by now.

Already.

A world war is not a one-man battle. Germany's own performance is very important, but the performance of its allies is equally important. For example, after Italy entered the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire gained hundreds of thousands more military forces and got rid of the intimidation of the Italian army. Now

The Austro-Hungarian Empire has been able to use its excess troops to withstand the Russian offensive, and there are even Austrian troops arriving on the Western Front to fight alongside Germany. This is a benefit.

Now the Allied Powers as a whole are fighting the war on the enemy's land, occupying a relative advantage on both fronts. It is also for this reason that Mao Qi's position as Chief of General Staff is quite stable.

"Marshal, thank you for your concern. I wonder why you asked me to meet with His Majesty?" Little Maoqi is indeed a little energetic. Due to physical illness, coupled with long-term high-intensity work and war, his current state

Very poor indeed.

However, Tirpitz, who rarely appeared in public, took the initiative to invite him to meet with His Majesty, and he gladly accepted.

"I have important news. I have to ask the Chief of General Staff to analyze the overall situation. When His Majesty comes, I hope the Chief of General Staff can help." Tirpitz said solemnly, "This is an intelligence report. It is reported that in Gibraltar

, the British and French combined fleets in Alexandria and Toulon have left the ports."

"What is their purpose?" Little Moltke glanced at the telegram handed over by Tirpitz and asked in a thoughtful tone.

"Hmph, the British and French combined fleets want to Copenhagenize the Austrian and Italian navies in the Mediterranean!" Tirpitz snorted and sneered, "But in the Mediterranean, although we, Germany, currently have no naval power, we can still take advantage of this gap."

After Germany developed its navy and entered into a naval race with Britain, the then British First Lord of the Navy, Baron John Arbuthnot Fisher, roared crazily and said: "The German fleet should be Copenhagen", indicating that it would dominate the world just like during the Napoleonic Wars.

The second fleet of the Danish Navy was also destroyed in Copenhagen.

Because the British Royal Navy has long faced an overwhelming advantage over the German navy, and was blocked by the British in the port and eliminated, this has always been a worry for Tirpitz, but this time he felt the possibility of breaking the British naval advantage.

.

Little Maoqi's eyes lit up, and he continued to think along Tirpitz's idea. After a while, he agreed deeply and said, "Good idea."

"My forever Tirpitz, if you have anything to ask me, oh, look who else is, our Chief of General Staff." William II appeared with a relaxed expression. The war had begun for nearly a year, and William II also started from the beginning.

The anxiety and frustration of the Schlieffen Plan's failure came out, and we entered the new normal during the war.

Although the Allied camp did not defeat the enemy quickly, there was still more joyful news in the past year. William II was very happy to see the heads of the navy and army coming at the same time.

"Your Majesty!" Tirpitz and Moltke performed court etiquette at the same time and greeted William II. They nodded to each other and Tirpitz said, "We have received important news from the Mediterranean. Your Majesty, please take a look."

"Oh?" William II took the telegram, read it attentively, and finally said, "What do you think?"

"The French Navy's Soba-class battleships have some problems, and are not even as good as the dreadnoughts of the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies. Even if France transfers the entire Atlantic Fleet to the Mediterranean, it will only be evenly matched in terms of total tonnage. In fact, there is a balance between the dreadnoughts and the pre-dreadnoughts.

On the ship, the French navy is at a disadvantage. If the British-French combined fleet wants to inflict heavy damage on the Austrian-Italian navy this time, then I can make a judgment that in addition to the British fleet in the Mediterranean, the British must have mobilized part of the home fleet.

"Tirpitz said with certainty, "I don't know how many warships will be mobilized, but at least four dreadnoughts of the Italian Navy and the Austro-Hungarian Navy must be suppressed. If this gap needs to be made up by the United Kingdom, Your Majesty, this will

This is the closest time in the past ten years that the strength of the German Navy and the British Navy have been the same."

The areas where the British and German navies are close are the dreadnoughts, the British are twenty, the Germans are fourteen, and similar battlecruisers. As for the comparison of former dreadnoughts, the German navy is only a little more than half the strength of the British Royal Navy. More before

Among the armored cruisers still in service, the German Navy is only one-third as powerful as the British Navy.

William II nodded slightly, and something was already moving in his heart. He understood what Tirpitz meant. If the High Seas Fleet came out in full force at this time, the British might feel that their lives were in danger.

"Chief of the General Staff, what do you think?" William II turned his attention to Moltke and asked in a consultative tone.

"Your Majesty, I consider the worst situation. If we draw the British Navy at sea, or a tragic victory, it will be beneficial to us. The navy is a very important strategic force for the empire, but

For Britain, the navy is their life." Moltke firmly stood on Tirpitz's side and emphasized, "Once the British Royal Navy is severely damaged, the impact on the country's confidence will be far greater than ours. Of course, I

It’s not that the High Seas Fleet is not strong enough, it’s just telling the truth.”

"I understand that my Admiral wants a decisive battle at sea." William II nodded to indicate that he understood, and asked Tirpitz again, "Is our navy really ready?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Tirpitz replied solemnly, "We have never been so fully prepared. The navy must go to the ocean. This battle with the British Navy is at the right time."
Chapter completed!