owlsbooks Chapter 1030 1030: The Greatest Beneficiary Must Be France
Chapter 1030 1030: The Greatest Beneficiary Must Be France
London War Building, among the command staff, the one most lacking in military knowledge is Prime Minister George, a lawyer by training. Although he succeeded Kitchener as the Minister of the Army, his role was mainly to coordinate among the various branches of the military.
At this moment, upon discovering that the English Channel was blocked by French aircraft, the first proposal he thought of was the one previously suggested by the Minister of Military Supplies.
"Then." Prime Minister George looked at the Minister of Military Supplies, "Should we redeploy the fleet back to Brest Port to continue the offensive?"
If reinforcements to the North Sea were not possible, then attacking Brest Port would be the next option, while finding another solution for the North Sea direction.
The Minister of Military Supplies shook his head and reminded him, "The airport, Prime Minister, there's an airport at Brest Port."
Prime Minister George instantly understood.
France's Brest Port had never worried about being besieged by the Royal Navy, because there was an airport, and similar events to what happened in the waters near Caen could occur at Brest Port.
The French Army's intention of making it seem like this port was about to be captured was entirely to lure the British fleet away from the North Sea, trapping them here with no return.
In simple terms, Brest Port was a decoy, and the Royal Navy never had any hope of capturing it; it was like this from the very beginning.
"These bastards!" exclaimed Prime Minister George, "They had planned it all along; everything is a trap, even Gibraltar."
"There seems to be a loophole," Major General Trunchard was unwilling to concede, "We all know that aircraft cannot operate at night, perhaps we can pass through the channel during the night."
"No," Minister of the Navy Belfort refuted this idea, pointing at the map to explain:
"The English Channel is 520 kilometers long."
"Even if the fleet moves at full speed of 20 knots, it would still take 14 hours, making it impossible to pass safely through the channel at night."
"Moreover, the French bombers have an operational radius of 150 kilometers, and there are three airports along the Channel; in theory, they can block 820 kilometers of sea area."
The Minister of Military Supplies added, "Including Holland, the distance is even greater."
Major General Trunchard nodded in agreement, fully understanding this principle as the Chief of Staff of the Royal Flying Corps.
Belfort then pointed to the middle of the channel:
"More importantly, the Dover Strait."
"This is the bottleneck of the English Channel, only 34 kilometers at its narrowest point."
"The French airport at Dunkirk can easily block this, and their aircraft can linger overhead for hours."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze towards Trunchard.
"Not exactly for hours," Trunchard corrected, "But over an hour, which is already more than we can bear."
Prime Minister George did not quite understand these words, so Trunchard provided an explanation with data:
"Because of the short distance, Prime Minister."
"The Dover Strait is only 34 kilometers wide, meaning French aircraft need to fly only 30 to 40 kilometers to find our fleet."
"Thus, the same number of aircraft can make short round trips, delivering bombs over our fleet as quickly as possible."
(Above is an image of the Dover Strait, the narrowest part of the English Channel, with a minimum distance of 34 kilometers. Dunkirk, where French airports and ports are located, is nearby.)
Prime Minister George still did not understand, "But you said, as long as we pass at night, it would not be a problem."
The Minister of Military Supplies shook his head helplessly:
"They won't let us pass at night, Prime Minister."
"If I were Shire, I would allocate a portion of fighter and bomber aircraft to block and drive away ships attempting to pass through the Dover Strait during the day."
"Then, French minesweepers departing from Dunkirk could safely lay mines there."
Before the words were out, a staff officer reported: "Dover Port is under attack by enemy aircraft!"
No one was surprised; what the Minister of Military Supplies could think of, Shire certainly could as well.
This was another type of sea-air coordination: aircraft controlled sea power, while minesweepers or even fishing boats planted mines, and even if the Royal Navy had battleships far more advanced and expensive than fishing boats, they could not pass through this area.
The two strategies of passing through the channel or attacking Brest Port were both vetoed.
The only thing left was...
Major General Trunchard said over the nautical chart, "Stay away from enemy airports, that's the only way to increase the distance and difficulty for their bombers while prolonging the bombing time."
…
The British Second Fleet was fleeing in disarray, with Admiral Forbes and all the ships changing course, shifting from attempting to cross the English Channel to keeping as far away from the French coastline as possible.
This approach was indeed effective, as the widest part of the English Channel was 240 kilometers, exceeding the operational radius of the aircraft, which was around 150 kilometers, thus by fleeing towards England, they could essentially escape within its operational radius.
However, during the retreat, the British fleet was mercilessly hunted by French bombers and "torpedo planes."
The Dreadnought "Collingwood" was hit by a torpedo, lost power, and was subsequently sunk under concentrated fire.
The pre-dreadnought "Majestic" had its ammunition depot detonated by an aerial bomb, creating a massive hole on the port side, rapidly taking on water, and sank to the seabed within two minutes.
Five destroyers were also sunk by aerial bombs, though these did not count as significant victories for the French.
The Commander of the Second Fleet, Vice Admiral Forbes, upon escaping outside the bombing radius, immediately conveyed a message to his subordinates: "Gentlemen, if possible, replace all artillery with anti-aircraft weapons, including the main guns!"
He issued the order while standing next to the mighty twin-mounted main guns of "Queen Elizabeth," looking sentimentally at the barrels pointing majestically to the sky.
If they can't hit anything, what's the point of taking them to the battlefield?
The battlefield has changed, into an unfamiliar scene, also turning them into novices who understood nothing and were capable of nothing!
…
Although the Second Fleet in the English Channel escaped jeopardy, the command at the London War Office Building did not feel a sense of relief.
A more severe problem loomed before them.
"The North Sea," said Minister of the Navy Belfort: "Their focus is the North Sea!"
Prime Minister George turned pale.
The reason they decided to send reinforcements to the Atlantic, one of the reasons was that the Second Fleet could immediately reinforce the North Sea.
But now that the English Channel was blockaded, reinforcing the North Sea became a pipe dream.
"Shire has won," Prime Minister George sighed: "Regardless of who wins or loses this battle, the biggest beneficiary will inevitably be France."
This was a political consideration.
Germany possessing a powerful navy was equally disadvantageous to Shire, even if those warships were merely targets under the French bombers.
Therefore, using the German High Seas Fleet to deplete the Royal Navy, there was nothing more perfect for Shire.
Major General Trunchard asked the Minister of the Navy: "How many days would it take for the Second Fleet to bypass England and reinforce the North Sea?"
The Minister of the Navy answered with difficulty, "At least three days."
The office fell into silence.
Three days, and the battle in the North Sea would likely already be over!