In the evening of the same day, Vice Admiral Spey led the German, Italian and Austrian Pacific Fleet to attack Sydney Harbor.
The Sydney Coast Defense Force, which had already received the news, cooperated with the Royal Australian Navy to resist the attack of the Spey Fleet. In the end, at the cost of losing four gunboats, three torpedo boats, and more than ten coastal defense guns, the Spey Fleet was driven out of Sydney Bay.
.And damaged many of the opponent's warships, achieving a strategic victory.
Although this resulted in the sinking of 14 transport ships in the port and the destruction of two shipyards, it broke the Spey fleet's determination to destroy Sydney. (Spey: I need an ammunition supply fleet)
News of the attack on Sydney quickly spread throughout the world.
The Southeast Asian fleet, which was originally searching for the whereabouts of the Spey fleet in the Maluku Islands, set sail from the islands as soon as it received the news. They rushed to the east coast of Australia non-stop. In the words of Major General Craddock, the commander of the fleet
, since Spey dared to show his face, the British Empire must let him know the consequences. Therefore, the mighty Southeast Asian fleet immediately turned around and headed straight for the east coast of Australia.
In addition, in order to prevent the Spey fleet from escaping, Major General Craddock also sent a formation headed by the reconnaissance cruiser Debok to the Samoa Islands, Fiji Islands and other South Pacific Islands for reconnaissance. This was to prevent the Spey fleet from using the South Pacific Islands again.
The island eluded its search.
In addition to sending out warships for alert and search, he also sent telegrams to British and French strongholds on the South Pacific Islands, asking them to pay attention to foreign ships, especially warships.
In addition, he also sent a telegram to the Royal Australian Navy, asking them to pay attention to whether there are suspicious ships in Bass Strait and the Australian Gulf. Although the sea conditions in the South Indian Ocean are rough and rough, the possibility of the other party taking the risk of passing through this sea area is not ruled out (the South Indian Ocean is now
There are no flights either).
Moreover, by crossing the southern Indian Ocean, the opponent can obtain supplies and repairs in the Italian colonies in East Africa. Major General Craddock believes that if the opponent wants to escape, he will definitely pass through here. Therefore, he also pays great attention to the southern waters of Australia.
.
But it is a pity that all the elite warships of the Australian Navy have been transferred away, otherwise the Spey fleet would not dare to be so reckless.
Although Craddock has many arrangements, the most important thing is to lead the fleet to the east coast of Australia. Only in this way can the unscrupulous Spey fleet be stopped.
"Lieutenant Colonel Graylat, please tell me why a low-level mistake like a miscalculation occurred. This is on the battlefield and we are still performing a dangerous mission. There is such a serious mistake as a miscalculation of speed. Your combat staff room is too conceited.
I'm disappointed."
According to Lieutenant General Spey, the most important thing about this attack is that the enemy cannot figure out the movement trajectory of the fleet. Because there is a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, if the enemy grasps his movement trajectory, the consequences will be disastrous. So in order
To ensure the safety of the fleet, Spey would rather reduce the number of attacks to ensure the safety of his own fleet.
"It looks like a warship. Did the Australian Navy send a fleet here?"
If it were not for the attack on Sydney Harbor, it would be as if the Spey Fleet had never appeared. Then where was the Spey Fleet?
So the reaction of the crew of the Cole at this time was not surprising.
The reason for Spey's anger was simple. When formulating the plan for the attack on Wellington, the combat staff made a stupid mistake and failed to take the reduction of ship speed into consideration.
The gunboat Cole was currently patrolling off the coast of Wellington. This was the result of the Spey fleet's attack on Sydney. At this time, the crew of the Cole were chatting tiredly.
That's why Spey led the fleet through the vast Tasman Sea and rushed to Cook Strait. The scenery of Cook Strait under the moonlight is beautiful and gives people a very comfortable feeling.
"Why does this ship look so wrong? It's a German warship."
Although they are also willing to make sacrifices for the motherland, don't they have to make fearless sacrifices and leave their names to make greater contributions to the country?
As the target of most concern in the east of the Indian Ocean at present, the Spey fleet after attacking Sydney did not continue to attack other Australian seaports as the British thought.
The early morning sun jumps out of the water and shines into the windy city of Wellington.
"This boat is so fast."
"Commander, are we still going to Wellington now?"
As for why it is only now discovered that the maximum speed of warships has been reduced, it is because warships consume more than twice the fuel when sailing at maximum speed as their economic speed. And the fleet carrying capacity is limited, even if it is carrying a supply ship, it is impossible to consume fuel for no reason.
At this time, an officer asked, but then he immediately knew the consequences of asking blindly.
"I hope so. The Germans attacked Sydney. Your Excellencies gave the order and we suffered. I don't know where the German fleet went. They haven't been seen for a week. Did they run away?"
Although Wellington's coastal defense facilities are not very good, they will still cause some damage to the fleet's warships, especially small cruisers. Therefore, Lieutenant General Spey was furious about this kind of mistake in the operational staff room. This caused the fleet to
It would be strange not to get angry if you suffer more unwarranted losses.
"Who knows, but he ran away, right?"
The lookout hand's words caused the crew members to look in the direction he pointed.
As a sea area named after the famous Captain Cook, Cook Strait separates the north and south islands of New Zealand. Due to the influence of strong westerly winds, the currents in Cook Strait are turbulent and changeable, which is not very friendly to ships.
…………
"If we don't go to Wellington, will we just return in vain?"
At this moment, in the command tower, Lieutenant General Spey looked at Lieutenant Colonel Graylat in front of him with an angry look.
"Who knows, maybe the crew on the Stubborn Stone overslept, or maybe there was a malfunction on the ship."
However, Lieutenant-Admiral Spe, who was on the flagship Scharnhorst, did not feel comfortable at all. Instead, he was very upset at this time. The reason why he was upset was none other than the chief of the fleet combat staff, Gray Rat.
Lieutenant Colonel.
At this time, a fleet was sailing in the strait under the gaze of the moonlight.
As the capital of New Zealand, Wellington is developing well. With a population of more than 60,000, it is also the second largest city in New Zealand. The hustle and bustle of Wellington is gradually rising in the early morning sunshine, and residents are getting busy.
While the crew of the Cole were bragging, they saw the lookout staring at the distant coastline and shouting loudly. "Attention, there are ships coming from the west. It seems to be a fleet."
"I've been up all night again, why haven't the replacement Nuggets arrived yet?"
At this time, the crew of the Cole were not aware of the danger. Years of comfortable life without war had left the New Zealand Fleet of the Royal Navy with little vigilance. After all, there were not even pirates in New Zealand. Since the establishment of the fleet, apart from accidents,
There is no other danger to the fleet.
But soon, as the warships in the distance gradually approached, some sharp-eyed crew members finally realized that something was wrong.
The plan drawn up by the combat staff originally called for the fleet to attack Wellington at dawn on February 16 at maximum speed. However, based on the current speed, it can only reach Wellington in the early morning. The gap is not small.
One is unprepared, the other is prepared.
"Don't think it broke down. The last time the Stone broke down, we had to stay for an extra three hours."
"I don't think so. It should be sent by the Southeast Fleet."
And his idea also won the support of the captains. After all, no one is stupid. Who wants to be caught by the British fleet when the strength is hugely disparity.
"Quickly, send a message that the Germans are coming."
"I'm too busy sending telegrams, so I just fired artillery to alert the defenders."
Lieutenant Colonel Graylat, who was staring at him, lowered his head in shame to express his acknowledgment of his mistake.
However, after Sydney was attacked, no matter whether it was Australia's important ports of Melbourne or Brisbane or the reconnaissance ships scurrying around the sea, the Spey fleet was no longer seen.
This sentence immediately made the crew of the Cole busy.
It was obvious that this person had taken the heat and successfully directed Lieutenant General Spey's anger towards himself.
Due to the fact that the battleship has not been maintained for a long time, the attachments on the bottom of the battleship have become clustered, which has resulted in the battleship's top speed generally being reduced by one to two knots.
Yes, this is the Spey fleet that many people miss.
"Your Excellency, Commander, this time we did not take into account the impact of attachments on the ship's speed, resulting in a calculation error. This is the fault of our combat staff room, and we are willing to accept any punishment."
Although the Cole made the most correct decision, since Vice Admiral Spey dared to lead the fleet to attack Wellington, he naturally understood its strength.
Soon afterwards, Wellington residents watched the menacing warships rush into the harbor, and a disaster befell Wellington.
News of the attack on Wellington soon reached Major General Craddock, who was leading the Southeast Asia Fleet, via radio waves.
At this time, he was still halfway with his fleet, and his current location was still in the eastern part of the Coral Sea, still more than two thousand nautical miles away from New Zealand.
At this time, after Major General Craddock put down the telegram, he issued an order that he would regret for the rest of his life. "Immediately send a telegram to the Australian Navy, requesting them to search the Tasman Sea and pay attention to suspicious ships. Send a message to our warships in the South Pacific,
Order them to keep an eye out for foreign ships at all times. In addition, let the first cruiser formation head to the Palau Islands immediately, and then search all the way south. I will lead the fleet to New Zealand."
