I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 791: Battle of Jutland

Berlin Sanssouci Palace, the sunset cast a long shadow on its back.

Ever since last night, William II hadn’t rested and remained excited, pacing back and forth in the study, occasionally glancing at the phone on the desk.

Under the plan devised by him and Admiral Scheer, they decided to take the risky action of launching a "breakthrough" against the British Navy.

They both knew that the German Navy, in terms of tonnage and quality, could not compare with the Royal Navy.

Therefore, the devised strategy was to send a small fleet to provoke, lure part of the British Fleet forward, and then concentrate the main German Fleet to encircle and annihilate it.

If this kind of victory could happen a few more times, the German Navy would gradually catch up with the British Royal Navy, eventually engaging in a showdown and completely defeating it.

"This is the only chance," thought William II.

He had already lost control of the army. If the navy couldn’t achieve a victory and break through, he would be like the German Fleet, merely a "figurehead emperor."

Suddenly, the phone rang.

William II quickly lunged for the receiver.

The voice of the staff came through: "Your Majesty, we achieved victory on the Western Front, Marshal Hindenburg’s troops reached the enemy’s Nancy defense line."

"Is that so?" William II looked disappointed: "Well, that’s good. Convey my congratulations to the marshal and all the soldiers involved in the attack."

After putting down the phone, William II frowned.

What’s going on with this guy Shire, when Fajin Han was the chief of staff he was invincible.

When Hindenburg was the chief of staff, he remained inactive on the West Bank of the Meuse River.

William II sighed deeply; this was not a good situation. The more victories Hindenburg achieved, the more solid his reputation and position became, and the more he himself remained a mere figurehead.

The phone rang again, and William II picked it up dejectedly, saying weakly, "It’s me."

"Your Majesty, we won." Admiral Scheer’s excited voice came through the phone.

William II’s expression instantly turned to joy: "Is that so? We won, what kind of victory? Tell me, in detail!"

William II preferred hearing the entire process rather than just the result, savoring it like tasting a delicacy, bit by bit, gradually—it was a form of enjoyment.

Admiral Scheer replied: "The naval battle was surprising; we encountered the British main fleet in the Jutland region. They deployed at least 150 warships."

"God," William II blanched: "150 warships, nearly double the number of our ships."

Actually, it wasn’t double. The German Navy deployed 99 ships, but the disparity was large enough.

"Yes," Admiral Scheer spoke quickly, seemingly not recovered from the tension and excitement of the battle:

"At one point, I thought we were finished; the enemy dominated us in every aspect, their fleet stretched 10 kilometers long."

"Originally, we planned to use superior forces to encircle their small fleet, unexpectedly ending up being encircled by them."

"It was a surprising large-scale battle."

William II asked nervously, "Then? How much did we lose?"

"We lost 4 light cruisers and 5 torpedo boats, Your Majesty," Admiral Scheer responded, "Additionally, 1 battlecruiser and 1 dreadnought were heavily damaged, 9 cruisers lightly damaged, but they all safely returned, only needing some time for repair."

(Note: German torpedo boats were actually destroyers; the naming differed during World War I)

William II let out an "Oh," unable to hide his disappointment.

Admiral Scheer seemed to consider "breaking through the enemy’s encirclement" as a victory.

Although this was technically a "victory," it wasn’t the "victory" William II desired.

Unexpectedly, Admiral Scheer continued: "We sank 3 British battlecruisers, 3 armored cruisers, and 8 torpedo boats in total."

"What?" William II’s eyes widened: "What did you say?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Admiral Scheer replied excitedly, "You heard right, we sank 14 enemy ships in total, including 3 battlecruisers!"

William II was stunned for a moment, his mouth half-open. After a long pause, he exclaimed excitedly, "Wonderful, Admiral, I knew it, I knew we could achieve victory. We have the world’s strongest navy, the most excellent sailors, the finest officers..."

"No, Your Majesty," Admiral Scheer interrupted William II: "This is Shire’s contribution."

"What?" William II didn’t understand the meaning of this.

Admiral Scheer explained:

"’UWD’ seaplanes, Your Majesty."

"You didn’t see the scene of the naval battle; our seaplanes coordinated with the torpedo boats and launched a joint attack on the enemy fleet, catching them off guard."

"I mean, when enemy ships turned to evade our torpedoes, our seaplanes attacked them."

"The enemy ships were caught unprepared, turning into sitting ducks or falling into chaos, and we sank several ships, including two battlecruisers, heavily damaging another."

This was a tactic Admiral Scheer painstakingly studied. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

At the battle’s start, he observed that over 100 British warships formed a line occupying the "T" formation, blocking the advance of the German Fleet.

If the German Fleet forced a breakthrough, they would be subjected to concentrated attacks from the British Fleet.

Facing numerical and positional disadvantages, the German Fleet’s only outcome would be defeat.

Hence, Admiral Scheer withdrew the main fleet, instead employing concentrated torpedo attacks using torpedo boats.

(Note: British fleets occupying an advantageous "T" formation were easily hit by torpedoes, even if torpedo boats fired randomly, because the British warships, in broadside formation, presented the largest side area to the German Fleet)

To evade the torpedoes, the British Fleet changed direction, facing the German torpedo boats.

At this moment, the German Navy’s "UWD" seaplanes carrying torpedoes descended from the clouds, launching attacks on the British Fleet’s flanks.

There were 35 planes in total; Admiral Scheer deployed all available seaplanes, except one which couldn’t take off due to a malfunction.

They hardly needed to aim because over 100 densely packed warships lay below.

One by one, the torpedoes were deployed at close range, streaking white paths towards the ships.

The British Fleet instantly plunged into chaos, hurriedly changing course to dodge the torpedoes dropped by airplanes, only to be hit by torpedoes launched from another direction by the torpedo boats.

Some chose not to evade and ended up as targets for the aircraft.

At this time, the German Navy’s main fleet turned back and launched a fierce assault on the British Fleet.

After hearing the entire process, William II was thrilled:

"Unbelievable, we actually defeated the British main fleet, from the front."

"Simply because there was coordination with torpedo planes."

"If that’s the case, does it mean we now have the capability to breach the blockade of the British Fleet?"