"Do you know? Just yesterday, a German fleet of only four light cruisers entered the second largest military port of the empire in the Baltic Sea as if wandering in the back garden of his home!" Tsar Nicholas II knocked on the table with his hand.

"They easily broke through the defense line of the shore artillery, passed through the minefield, and then, at our doorstep, sank our transport ships one by one! Finally, they brought the captured ships outside the port of Riga and shot dozens of tons of shells into our homes! Are there no shame in everyone here? The Germans, a very small German fleet, dared to be so arrogant. When their main force was still cruising in the Black Sea, they dared to do this! So, what is the significance of the funds we give to the navy every year and the warships we build?" The roar of the Tsar echoed throughout the conference hall.

This is not just because Major General Hopman's action slapped the Russians in the face. More importantly, this action itself made the Russians feel a crisis! If nothing happened, who would send a small fleet into the absolute inside of the opponent's navy to cause trouble? Since the Germans did this, and the air force also began to bomb various important facilities in the Gulf of Riga. That means a problem. After completing the Polish Pocket Campaign, the Germans will definitely continue to advance, and the target of their march is very likely to be Riga!

Haha, if Riga is over, the next target may be St. Petersburg? If the Russians could do something that burned Moscow and didn’t give it to the other party during the Napoleon period. Then when Nicholas II, let alone burning St. Petersburg, even if it was lost, there would be disputes in Russia! There were many people who wanted to control the regime of this country! It was related to the life and death of a country. Nicholas II was naturally extremely furious!

"We have mobilized troops from Ukraine and the Transcaucasus. Now it is spring. The pressure on our coal supply is much less, and we can vacate some of the transportation capacity to transport troops and equipment. At least 10 divisions are already mobilizing." The Russian Prime Minister bowed and said.

"Although we can transfer our troops to the St. Petersburg area by railway or to Riga by road, if we want to transport a large amount of supplies and weapons to Riga, we must rely on the help of maritime transportation. But now..." General Constantine Van der Frit, commander of the Sixth Army, who is responsible for guarding the Russian capital, looked at General Essen, the commander of the Baltic Fleet next to him. The words behind did not come out. After all, no one dared to enter the Bay of Riga without the escort of the main battleship.

The reason is very simple. The defense of the entire Gulf of Riga is ineffective. First of all, the minefield cannot be recovered. In yesterday's battle, the Russian Baltic Fleet lost more than a dozen destroyers and several mines. Without these warships and the mines carried on it, there were almost no extra mines in the Gulf of Riga. Secondly, the fleet and the turrets were severely damaged, and three cruisers were lost. The turrets responsible for guarding the Ilbe Strait were also severely damaged.

The current German fleet can almost be described as if it wants to come and walk as soon as it wants to go. If you want to continue transporting supplies to Riga Port, then you must have a battleship escort. Otherwise, even if you transport them to Riga Port, you can slowly blow up the supplies piled up in the port from a distance of more than ten kilometers!
Chapter completed!