While Mizik is fighting for his future, a group of German naval officers are fighting for the fate of their country.
In Scapa Flow, the most important naval anchorage of the British Empire, there are many steel behemoths galloping on the sea parked here as usual. However, in this era, the strongest maritime warships built by mankind have a strong German style.
That's right, the German Empire worked hard to build a high seas fleet, but it was disarmed and parked in its old rival's military port. More than 70 ships had all their ammunition, fire control, aiming devices, and gun bolts removed. .Since Germany announced the armistice, the High Seas Fleet has been escorted to dock here as a guarantee of the armistice.
The giant battleships that were supposed to fight bloody battles for the motherland were like prisoners under guard, waiting for the verdict of the victor.
The influence of the Kiel sailors due to domestic hunger and the outbreak of red ideology is disappearing. After the inner dissatisfaction is vented, rationality is returning. The punishment faced after the defeat of the motherland has always shrouded the minds of the naval officers and soldiers who piloted these battleships.
In fact, in order to make the High Seas Fleet, which was regarded as a major problem by the Allied Powers group, accept punishment obediently, the Allied Powers led by Britain and France spent a lot of effort. First of all, these surrendered warships were not allowed to carry any ammunition, and secondly, the German officers and soldiers on the warships could only maintain It has reached the lowest level that can be activated. Therefore, this high seas fleet, which requires tens of thousands of naval officers and soldiers to maintain its best condition, currently has less than 3,000 people on board. Even in danger, self-rescue is difficult.
In addition, in order to appease the officers and soldiers of the High Seas Fleet who were still on the ships, the British side announced that it would not punish Germany too harshly, while blocking news about the peace talks.
Although the United Kingdom is blocking information, German naval officers and soldiers who care about their motherland still have their own ways to obtain these contents.
When the terms of Germany's defeat were revealed, the officers and soldiers of the High Seas Fleet were shocked. They gave up all overseas colonies, ceded Alsace and Lorraine to France, and compensated 226 billion marks in compensation. The harshness of the Treaty of Versailles, Completely beyond their expectations.
More importantly, the High Seas Fleet, which was built at a huge cost, will be divided among the Allied Powers as part of the reparations. This condition broke the hearts of the naval officers and soldiers present. For them, it was tantamount to losing their dreams and their opponents. All the love of the sea was surrendered to the opponent, and no one could bear this grievance. Some people even said on the spot that if they had known that this would be the result, it would be better to fight the enemy vigorously, even if the whole army was annihilated, it would be better than being so useless now.
There was no use in raising up the passionate indignation. Let alone a decisive battle with their opponents, they could not even sail out of the harbor. There were many forts in the heavily defended Scapa Flow, not to mention that there was a British fleet in the harbor. The officers and soldiers of the High Seas Fleet had no choice but to suppress the anger in their hearts and wait patiently.
As for the British Empire, although the supervision of the High Seas Fleet was a little strict at the beginning, it gradually became less vigilant. After all, as a symbol of the British Empire, the fleet cannot always be guarded by the High Seas Fleet. It has colonies all over the world. Complex events such as the Red Revolution in Russia required the British Empire to show its power.
Therefore, during this period of time, the British Empire's guarding force has been decreasing. The officers and soldiers of the High Seas Fleet have been watching this.
On the "Crown Prince William" of the High Seas Fleet, the crew looked around with vigilance. Because on this ship, a secret negotiation related to the fate of the High Seas Fleet was taking place.
"This treaty is too harsh on Germany, and there is a strong voice of domestic opposition. It is very likely that the country will not agree. If this is the case, our warships cannot fall into the hands of the enemy. The German people have spent a lot of money to build a fleet, and they cannot fire shells
To our own people. Otherwise, we will be the sinners of the country."
In a relatively private cabin, the commander, Rear Admiral von Reuter, was speaking impassionedly about his inner sorrow and indignation to the officers who participated in this secret meeting.
As the most favored person of Fleet Commander-in-Chief Admiral Hipper, Rear Admiral von Reuter is also concerned about the safety of the fleet. Moreover, the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, Admiral Adolf von Trotta, had already
Von Reuter was informed that the fleet could not be surrendered under any circumstances.
The punishment for Germany's defeat this time was too harsh. What is even more worrying is that the local British newspaper reported that "the armistice negotiations are on the verge of breakdown" and "military hostilities may resume", which made Major General von Reuter feel uneasy about something serious.
Wonderful feeling.
The High Seas Fleet has now been disarmed and imprisoned in Scapa Flow, just like a prisoner being held captive. If war breaks out again, Rear Admiral von Reuter has every reason to believe that the warships of the High Seas Fleet will definitely become a bombardment
Pioneer of the German coastal zone.
Isn't this a characteristic of the British? They have always let others take the lead while waiting to harvest the spoils behind. This has always been the case from the Thirty Years' War to the anti-French alliance during the Napoleonic period. They waited until the enemy was dying before stepping forward.
Give your opponent the final blow.
In the eyes of Major General von Reuter, it is absolutely unacceptable for the High Seas Fleet, which has concentrated the efforts of Germany, to bombard the German people. If this happens, he and the naval officers and soldiers will become the sinners of history. Therefore, Major General von Reuter
This gathering was secretly convened to discuss the survival of the fleet.
"We must not let the fleet fall into the hands of the British, otherwise we will all become sinners of the empire."
Colonel Bilborough, who served as the captain of the "Kronprinz Wilhelm", immediately stood up and expressed his thoughts after Major General von Reuter finished speaking. Judging from the fact that he still called Germany the Empire, he was also a staunch royalist.
elements. Even after the Kiel sailors' uprising, most of the German navy's top brass were royalists who hoped to retain the imperial system. Therefore, no one present had any intention of changing Colonel Bilborough's claim to Germany as the empire.
.
More importantly, in their opinion, Major General von Reuter was right. Once the war breaks out again, without the protection of the High Seas Fleet, the British will definitely not let go of the idea of bombarding German coastal cities from the sea.
"No one else can take the fleet from our hands."
"You are right, we cannot be the sinners of history."
The local British newspaper is read by everyone who cares about what happened to Germany. As a German, who can read the reports about "the armistice negotiations are on the verge of collapse" and "the possible resumption of military hostilities"?
"Since everyone thinks so, let me tell you the plan I have prepared."
After seeing that everyone agreed with his point of view, Major General von Reuter revealed his plan.
"Now the number of British fleets guarding us is getting smaller and smaller. I plan to open the sea gates and let the fleet sink itself at an appropriate time."
The word "self-destruction" made the atmosphere here become more solemn.
In fact, when fighting at sea, self-sinking is the default method for warships that are too injured and unable to return to port. In addition, when fighting an enemy and unable to escape, self-sinking is also the default method. And this time it is obviously the latter.
So in the ensuing discussion, Rear Admiral von Reuter and many captains discussed a plan to scuttle the ship.
They planned to start scuttling the warships if no news came from the country by June 11 (the deadline for the Treaty of Versailles this time).
At the same time, in order to avoid being too late to notify everyone when the news came, they unanimously agreed. The flagship "Emden" light cruiser first hoisted the international signal flags D and G on the masthead to express everyone's preparation. Wait until he notifies the signal again
Soldier, hang up the pre-agreed signal "Section 11." to confirm the start of self-sinking. "Section 11" is a slang commonly used by Germans when drinking beer, which means opening the bottle and drinking. This is what he said to everyone.
The fleet sent a signal to prepare to scuttle.
Now the High Seas Fleet has prepared for the worst and is waiting for the final news from Germany.
The government formed by the Social Democratic Party in Germany is also arguing endlessly about the Treaty of Versailles. Many people do not agree with this treaty and believe that it is too harsh on Germany.
Everyone is dissatisfied with the cession of some eastern provinces and colonies, as well as the huge war reparations and long-term debts. Especially the amount of reparations required. Years of wars have almost emptied the national wealth, and now they have to bear the burden of reparations.
226 billion marks (approximately 11.3 billion pounds), and it was paid in gold. How can Germany now have the ability to compensate these amounts?
Even Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, could not suppress the voice of dissatisfaction, let alone the people at home. Therefore, the new German government was unable to get a reply from the Allies. It was delayed until early June. Seeing that
As the deadline was approaching, Albert quickly held several meetings and tried to explain the representatives of all parties. (This matter could not be delayed, and finally all parties reluctantly agreed).
However, in order to take care of domestic dissatisfaction, the new government decided to give the Allied Powers, who were still waiting at the Palace of Versailles, two days of grace in order to make "decent preparations". The Allied Powers also agreed to this. Now the bell of peace has sounded.
There was a sound, and peace returned to the European continent.
Did you forget something?
That's right, when the German government notified the country of the news, it forgot about the High Seas Fleet, which was still waiting for news in Scapa Flow. The telegram was not sent to Major General von Reuter, so a tragedy was inevitable.
On June 11, Major General von Reuter, who had been waiting for domestic news, did not receive a domestic telegram, so the miscalculation began.
"Immediately order to raise signal flags D and G."
After 10 o'clock, the international signal flags D and G were hoisted on the masthead of the light cruiser Emden.
The captains of each ship, who were already familiar with the situation, immediately asked the crew members to open the watertight compartments, and at the same time asked the observation posts to open their eyes to further check the flagship's next actions.
When there was still no news from the country at 11 o'clock, the desperate Major General von Reuter once again notified the signal troops to hoist the pre-agreed signal "Section 11".
As a result, the German ships began to fly the banned German naval flag one after another, and some were sending out light signals to convey the news to all ships. Then the sea gate was opened, and the raging seawater began to spread rapidly in the cabin.
At this time, the British also discovered something unusual about the German fleet. For this reason, British sailors rushed to their warships from all over the country. (Because the war was over, they all relaxed)
The five R-class battleships responsible for guarding their First Battleship Squadron also immediately lit fires, and at the same time sent a signal to warn the High Seas Fleet not to move. But only now did they realize that it was too late. The continuous influx of sea water made every ship on the high seas
The battleships in the fleet tilted to varying degrees. Moreover, sea water gradually filled the cabins below, making it impossible to close the sea gate.
At 12:16, the battleship "King Friedrich der Grosse" sank first; at 12:56, the König Albert sank; at 1:10, the Moltke sank; at 1:15, the Crown Prince Wilhelm sank... The other warships also sank one by one.
They were submerged in the water one after another. At 17:00, the battlecruiser "Hindenburg" was the last to sink. The British fleet tried various methods to try to remedy the situation, but it was impossible to prevent such a large-scale collective self-sinking operation.
It lasted about 6 hours. 51 of the 74 detained German warships sank to the bottom of the sea, including 10 of the 11 battleships and all 5 battlecruisers. The tonnage of the sunken warships was 94% of the total tonnage of the detained fleet.
%
This scuttling operation made all the Allied Powers extremely angry. Soon, the four Nassau-class and four Helgoland-class warships that Germany had been allowed to retain were announced to be extradited to compensate for the losses in Scapa Flow.
On November 5, 1919, these eight battleships were declassified by the German Navy. The Nassau was finally compensated to Japan, and the remaining three battleships were compensated to the United Kingdom. The four Helgoland-class battleships were respectively
The four countries of Britain, the United States, Japan, and France were divided among them. In addition, a large number of auxiliary ships designated by the Allied Powers were divided among them.
As a result, the German Navy's capital ships after the war only retained 6 old-fashioned battleships. These ships were not used for other purposes except for training and coastal defense. In addition, Germany also retained several other outdated old-fashioned battleships.
Cruisers, most of these ships are old and dilapidated. Many warships have had their weapons dismantled by the British and have no combat effectiveness at all.
At the same time, the same strict restrictions were imposed on the establishment of the German Navy. It was stipulated that the size of the navy should not exceed 15,000 people, and the number of officers should not exceed 1,500.
This scuttling operation was a complete tragedy, but it made the German navy face a more difficult situation. However, looking at the reasons, one cannot help but sigh.
When this news was sent to Edel, he couldn't help but lament that the inertia of history has not changed. The new German government really made a mistake in its busy schedule, which resulted in such a bitter fruit. But for Romania, this is good news.
When I think of Romania's small navy, it would be good to select many people from the disbanded German navy as consultants. After all, they have fought head-on in Jutland and the British Empire, so they have some experience.
Moreover, those naval shipyards are facing the fate of closing down and being demolished, and skilled shipyard workers are facing the fate of being laid off. Edel was heartbroken. He felt that as a member of the Hohenzollern family, he had the responsibility to help these poor people.
people.
But you have to ensure that you only get the ones with the best technology. After all, the landlords don’t have enough food left.
