The Rise of the Empire

"You won't come up with any other designs, will you?" Several question marks popped up in the prince's mind.

"It's a design, or an idea." William II smiled and went back to have a look. Maybe you already have similar thoughts.

After going back, **** Ruprecht took a closer look. This time William II did not draw a warship or anything else with a piece of paper. blockade made some recommendations.

No matter how the Germans destroyed the British sea transportation line, their own communication line was almost cut off by the British. It is impossible to import materials in large quantities, but a large amount is not enough, a small amount is still possible, and Germany also relies on Substitutes have been imported from neutral countries and smuggled for 4 years. Because of **** reasons, the German high-level has a certain understanding of the future situation. The shortage of materials has made the German high-level feel on pins and needles. This kind of super-large submarine similar to Deutschland was built and went to the United States to exchange chemical products, precious stones, and precious metals for rubber and non-ferrous metals, which can be seen in Germany's material dilemma.

Bulk low-value items such as food can be substituted by Germany or obtained from the Allied system, but after all, some things cannot be obtained from the system, such as rubber, a large amount of copper ore, tin ore, manganese ore, and so on. The demand for these things is not as great as food, but a lack of them will inevitably lead to poor operation of German industry. Therefore, the Kaiser is also thinking about how to break through the British blockade of German strategic materials.

Don't even think about all the ships flying the German flag. Even if these ships will not be cleared by the Royal Navy in the first place, it is absolutely impossible to travel between the German mainland and neutral countries. As for the suspension of camouflaged attack ships from other neutral countries, what should I say? It may be okay if the number of entries and exits is small. For example, the Wolf has gone 2 times, and the Seagull has gone 4 times. But if you go too many times, it will not work. After all, you are a fake. .

The only ships that can really pass through the blockade with less risk are truly neutral ships. The punishment of the British for the transportation of contraband by neutral merchant ships in history was confiscation or forced purchase. Specifically, what items are considered contraband, and what countries are forcibly confiscated or purchased, the prince is not sure, but one thing is certain is that the goods may be gone, but the ship can still be kept.

The meaning of the Kaiser is very close to that of the prince, that is, Germany invested in a shipping company in other neutral countries, especially the United States. One of the important tasks of this company during the war was to secretly transport supplies to Germany. On the surface, this is business. For the event, luck is good, the supplies have been shipped, and everyone is happy. Bad luck, the worst thing is confiscation. If the British are afraid of the power of the United States, they will probably buy it forcibly, and it will be considered a recovery of the cost...  The prince could think of this, and he did so. The Kaiser went a step further. This time, in this document, the Kaiser proposed to use high-speed ships to directly break through the barrier!

At first glance, this is a bit unimaginable, but after careful consideration, His Royal Highness thinks that what the Kaiser said this time really makes some sense. First of all, high-speed cruise ships are considered a strategic resource in World War II, because their speed is too fast! Although some light cruisers are theoretically faster than high-speed cruise ships, but in the high sea environment of the North Sea, how fast they can run is really a problem. Moreover, it is impossible for the British to use a large number of light cruisers to block the entrance to the northern end of the North Sea. The reason is simple, the battle line is too long, and the number of British light cruisers is limited.

Moreover, the light cruiser itself is not suitable for long-term patrols in the north,

Because their endurance is relatively small, and they have to carry a large amount of supplies and boarding personnel, take the nearly 8,000-ton old-style first-class cruiser Edgar class as an example, such ships are actually not enough, supplies and personnel Too much has led to the deterioration of the living environment, and morale and efficiency have been greatly affected. How can most light cruisers of about 5,000 tons have such a large endurance for blockade?

In fact, the blockade of the British on the northern line of the North Sea in history is just these slow ships. Think about it, such as Edgar and his like, they have been in service for more than 20 years around 1914, and they can run again when overloaded How many knots is the speed? You must know that the high-speed civilian ships of this era run more than 23 knots, just like playing games, and it is not difficult to run at high speed throughout the journey. As long as you are not particularly unlucky, just rush over. Edgar really expected to use old-fashioned artillery and reserve personnel to catch high-speed merchant ships above 23 knots? What are you thinking?

Moreover, this is a genuine neutral American merchant ship. If you really sink it, something will happen. The relationship between the United States and the British in this plane is not good. When the United Kingdom goes to war with the allies, it will stimulate the United States too much? What are you thinking?

Although such a mode of transportation cannot fundamentally reverse the situation in which German materials are blocked, at least some high-value materials will be greatly improved. And in fact, if Germany can use submarines or other warships to continuously attack this blockade, it will also increase the cost of the British to maintain the blockade, and it will also make the blockade more loopholes.

For the German Navy, the minimum limit is actually very low. As long as it can guarantee its absolute advantage in the Baltic Sea and ensure that the offshore waters will not be breached by the British, it is still possible to bear some losses. To some extent, exchanging a submarine for an auxiliary cruiser is still a big profit...  Although the statement is a bit cruel, is it war? It's a kind of exchange.

For the Kaiser's proposal, the prince supported it, and the prince himself modified this proposal. When necessary, if there are more merchant ships arriving at one time, then the German battlecruiser or light cruiser can also choose to be in the appropriate place. Time to go north with the submarine to sweep away the blockade in the North Sea. Of course, the voyage will be longer and the risk will be slightly greater, but if it succeeds, the benefits will obviously be not small. In the eyes of His Royal Highness, at least it is better than going to the British mainland to bombard Undefended cities are much more cost-effective.

Think about it, a team of battleships, at the risk of being blocked by the British BC, risked the risk of being hit by a mine in the offshore, just to run to the edge of the opponent's city and use expensive shells and fuel to bombard several buildings. The death of a few civilians, except for bringing some political pressure to the British Navy, has no other effect.

But it is different to ensure that a team of fast transport ships can successfully break through the blockade. According to the Kaiser's vision, every transport ship must have a displacement of more than 20,000 tons, right? The loaded goods are at least 5 digits, right? Not to mention installing some high-value resources, even 10,000 tons of wheat and rice are of great significance.

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