Romanian Eagle

While Mizke is fighting for his future, a group of German naval officers are fighting for what has happened to their country.

In Scapa Flow, the most important naval anchorage in the British Empire, there are many steel giants galloping across the sea as usual. However, in this era, mankind has built the strongest naval battleship, but there is a strong German style.

That's right, the German Empire worked hard to build the high seas fleet, which was disarmed and parked in the port of its old rival. Up to more than 70 ships, all have unloaded all ammunition, all fire control, aiming devices and bolts. Since Germany announced the armistice, the High Seas Fleet has been escorted to dock here as a guarantee of its armistice.

The giant warships that should be fighting bloody battles for the motherland are like guarded prisoners waiting for the victor's verdict.

The influence of Kiel's sailors due to domestic starvation and the outbreak of red ideas is fading. When inner dissatisfaction is vented, reason is returning. The punishment faced after the defeat of the motherland has always loomed over the minds of the naval officers and soldiers who piloted these warships.

In fact, the Entente countries led by Britain and France spent a lot of thought in order to make this high seas fleet, which is regarded as a big worry by the Allied group of countries, accept punishment obediently. First, these surrendering warships were not allowed to carry any ammunition, and secondly, the German officers and soldiers on the warships could only be maintained to the minimum level that could be activated. Therefore, this high seas fleet, which requires tens of thousands of naval officers and soldiers to ensure the best condition, currently has less than 3,000 people on board. Even in the event of a dangerous situation, self-rescue becomes difficult.

In addition, in order to appease the officers and soldiers of the High Seas Fleet who are still on the ships, the British side blocked the news of the peace talks while preaching that it would not impose too severe punishment on Germany.

Although the UK is blocking the news, German naval officers and soldiers who care about their motherland still have their own ways to obtain this content.

The officers and men of the High Seas Fleet were stunned when the articles about the German defeat were revealed. Abandon all overseas colonies, cede Alsace and Lorraine to France, and pay 226 billion marks in reparations. The harshness of the Treaty of Versailles was completely beyond their expectations.

More importantly, the High Seas Fleet, which was built at a huge cost, will be divided among the Allied nations as part of the reparations. This condition broke the hearts of the naval officers and soldiers present. For them, it was equivalent to surrendering their dreams and love for the sea to their opponents. No one could stand this grievance. Some people even said on the spot that if they knew this would be the result, it would be better to fight the enemy vigorously, even if the entire army was wiped out, it would be better than being so useless now.

The group's heated indignation was of no use, let alone a decisive battle with their opponents, they couldn't even drive out of the harbor. There are many forts in the heavily defended Scapa Flow, not to mention the British fleet is closely monitoring the harbor. Any little change can lead to a violent blow from a heavily armed enemy. This left the officers and soldiers of the High Seas Fleet completely helpless.

They can only wait patiently with anger in their hearts.

As for the British Empire, in addition to being strict at the beginning, the supervision of the High Seas Fleet has gradually become less guarded. After all, as a symbol of the British Empire, the fleet cannot always be by the side of the High Seas Fleet. The tedious events such as its colonies all over the world and the Red Revolution in Russia all required the British Empire to show its strength.

So during this time, the caretaker power of the British Empire has been dwindling. In this regard, the officers and soldiers of the High Seas Fleet have been watching.

On the "Crown Prince William" of the High Seas Fleet, the crew members looked around vigilantly. Because on this ship, a secret negotiation about the fate of the High Seas Fleet is going on.

"This treaty is too harsh on Germany, and the domestic opposition is very loud. 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 the fleet, and can't shoot artillery shells. On our own people. Otherwise, we will be sinners to the country."

In a relatively secret cabin, Rear Admiral von Reuter, as the commander, is expressing his inner grief and anger to the officers who participated in this secret meeting with impassioned enthusiasm.

As the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Admiral Hipper's favorite person, Rear Admiral von Reuter is also concerned about the safety of the fleet. And Adolf von Trotta, the commander-in-chief of the German Navy, had informed von Reuter before departure that the fleet could not be surrendered under any circumstances.

The punishment for Germany's defeat this time was too harsh. What's even more worrying is that the local British newspaper's reports that "the armistice talks are on the verge of breaking down" and "the possibility of resumption of military hostilities" made Major General von Reuter feel that something was wrong.

Now the High Seas Fleet has been disarmed and held in Scapa Flow, like a prisoner being watched. If war breaks out again, Rear Admiral von Reuter has every reason to believe that the warships of the High Seas Fleet will definitely be the vanguard of the bombardment of the German coast.

Isn't this a characteristic of the British, who have always let others stand in the front, while they wait behind to harvest the spoils. From the previous Thirty Years' War to the anti-French alliance during Napoleon's time, it has always been like this, waiting until the enemy is dying before stepping forward to deliver the final blow to the opponent.

It was absolutely unacceptable for Major General von Reuter to let the High Seas Fleet, which has gathered Germany's hard work, bombard the German people. If this happens, he and the naval officers and soldiers will become the sinners of history. That's why Major General von Reuter secretly called this gathering to discuss the survival of the fleet.

"The fleet must not fall into the hands of the British, otherwise we will all be sinners of the Empire."

Colonel Bill Burrough, who was the captain of the "Crown Prince William", immediately stood up and expressed his thoughts after Major General von Reuter's voice fell. Judging from the fact that he still calls Germany the Empire, he is also a staunch royalist. Even after the Kiel sailor uprising, most of the high-level German navy were royalists who hoped to retain the imperial system. Therefore, for Colonel Billborough still calling Germany an empire, no one present was interested in making him change his tune.

More importantly, in their opinion, Major General von Reuter was right. Once the war resumed, and without the protection of the High Seas Fleet, the British would not let go of the idea of ​​bombarding German coastal cities from the sea.

"No one else, take the fleet from us."

"That's right, we can't be the sinners of history."

The local British newspaper, read by everyone who cares about what happened to Germany. As a German, whoever watched the reports about "armistic talks on the verge of breaking down" and "the possibility of resumption of military hostilities" is not worried.

"Since everyone thinks so, then I will talk about the plan I have prepared."

After seeing that everyone agreed with his point of view, Major General von Reuter revealed his plan.

"The number of British fleets guarding us is getting smaller and smaller. I plan to open the sea locks at the right time to let the fleet sink."

The word self-sufficiency made the atmosphere of the scene more solemn.

In fact, when fighting at sea, self-sinking is used for warships that are too wounded to return to port. In addition, when fighting the enemy, you can't escape, and self-sinking is also the default way. And this time it's clearly the latter.

Therefore, in the following discussions, Major Admiral von Reuter and many captains discussed the plan of self-sinking.

They planned to start sinking their ships if no news came from the country by June 11, the deadline for the Treaty of Versailles.

At the same time, in order to prevent the news from being too late to notify everyone, they agreed. From the flagship "Emden" light cruiser, the international signal flags d and g were first hung on the masthead to indicate everyone's preparation. Wait until he informs the signal soldiers again, hang up the pre-agreed signal "Eleventh Section." to confirm that the sinking begins. "Section 11" is a slang term commonly used by Germans when they drink beer, which means to open a bottle and drink freely. This is his signal to the entire fleet to prepare for sinking.

Now the High Seas Fleet has prepared for the worst, waiting for the final news from Germany.

In Germany, the government formed by the Social Democrats was also debating the Treaty of Versailles. Many people disagreed with the treaty, believing it was too harsh for Germany.

The cession of some of the eastern provinces and colonies left everyone uneasy, as well as huge war reparations and long-term debts. In particular, the amount of compensation required has made everyone dissatisfied. Years of wars have almost emptied the national wealth, and now they have to pay 226 billion marks (about 11.3 billion pounds) in compensation, and they are paid in gold. Where does Germany now have the ability to compensate these payments.

Even Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, could not contain his dissatisfaction, let alone the public at home. Therefore, the new German government has been unable to get the reply of the Allies. until the beginning of June. Seeing that the deadline was approaching, Albert hurriedly held several meetings to try to explain the representatives of all parties. (This matter can't be delayed, and finally let all parties reluctantly agree).

However, in order to take care of domestic dissatisfaction, the new government decided to send a two-day grace to the Allies who were still waiting at Versailles, so as to facilitate "decent preparations". The Allies agreed to this. Now the bell of peace has struck, and peace has returned to the European continent.

Is there something forgotten?

That's right, when the German government notified the country of the news, it forgot 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 misjudgment began.

"Immediately order the hoisting of the signals d and g."

After ten o'clock international signals d and g were hoisted from the mastheads of the light cruiser Emden.

The captains of the ships who were already familiar with the inside information immediately asked the crew to open the watertight compartment, and at the same time opened the eyes of the observation post to further check the next move of the flagship.

At 11 o'clock, there was still no domestic news, and the desperate Major General von Reuter informed the signal soldiers again to hang up the pre-agreed signal "Section 11".

As a result, the German ships began to hang the banned German naval flags, and some were sending out light signals to pass the message to all ships. So the sea lock was opened, and the turbulent seawater began to spread rapidly in the cabin.

At this time, the British side also discovered the abnormality of the German fleet. For this reason, British sailors rushed to their warships from all over the world. (Because the war is over, it's all relaxed)

The five R-class battleships in charge of guarding their 1st Battleship Squadron also set fire to it immediately, and signalled the High Seas Fleet not to move. Only now I found out that it was too late. The continuous influx of sea water caused the warships of each High Seas Fleet to tilt to varying degrees. And the seawater gradually filled the cabin below, so that the sea lock could not be closed.

12:16, the battleship "Frederick the Great" sank first; 12:56, King Albert sank; 1:10, Moltke sank; 1:15, Crown Prince William sank... The rest of the warships are also one by one Submerged in water one after another. At 17:00, the last sunk was the battle cruiser "Hindenburg". The British fleet tried every means to try to remedy it, but it was impossible to prevent such a large-scale collective self-sinking operation.

Lasted about 6 hours. Fifty-one of all 74 detained German warships sank, including 10 of the 11 battleships and all five battlecruisers. The tonnage of the sunken warship is 94% of the total tonnage of the seized fleet

This self-sinking action made all parties in the Entente very angry. Soon, the four Nassau-class and four Helgoland-class battleships that Germany had been allowed to retain were declared extradited to compensate for the loss of Scapa Flow.

On November 5, 1919, the eight battleships were declassified by the German Navy. The Nassau was finally compensated to Japan, the remaining three were compensated to the United Kingdom, and the four Helgoland-class battleships were divided among the four countries of Britain, the United States, Japan and France. In addition, a large number of auxiliary ships designated by the Allies were divided up.

As a result, only 6 old-fashioned battleships remained in the main battleships of the German Navy after the war. These ships are not intended for use other than for training and coastal defense. In addition, there are several other outdated old cruisers left in Germany. Most of these ships are old and very old, and many of the warships have their weapons dismantled by the British and are not capable of combat at all.

At the same time, the same strict restrictions were imposed on the establishment of the German navy. It is stipulated that the size of the navy shall not exceed 15,000, and the number of officers shall not exceed 1,500.

This self-sinking operation was a complete tragedy, but it made the German navy face a more difficult situation. But for the reason, he couldn't help but sigh.

And when this news was sent to Edel, he couldn't help but sigh that the inertia of history has not changed. The new German government really made mistakes while busy, and brought such bitter fruit. But for Romania, this is good news.

Thinking of Romania's pocket-sized navy, it would be good to select many people from the abolished German navy as advisors. After all, I have had some experience in Jutland and the British Empire.

And those naval shipyards will face the fate of being closed down and demolished, and skilled shipyard workers will face the fate of being laid off. Edel's heart is broken, he feels that as a member of the Hohenzollern family, he has a responsibility to help these poor people.

However, it is necessary to ensure that the best batch of technology can only be obtained. After all, the landlord's family has no surplus food.

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