The Rise of the Empire

"The government of the Kingdom of Portugal brazenly seized our country's normal trading ships some time ago, which has seriously affected the empire's trade, and was regarded as a serious provocation by the German Empire. The Empire gave them time, and they have the support of some external forces. So far, in order to safeguard the dignity and economic interests of the empire, the German Empire has declared a state of war with the Kingdom of Portugal!"\u003c/p\u003e On June 22, 1899, the German Foreign Ministry officially issued a declaration of war, and even the final The steps of ultimatum were omitted. When the German ambassador to Portugal sent the relevant documents to Frank, the latter was so frightened that he almost sat on the ground! \u003c/p\u003eAt this time, thousands of miles away in the coastal waters of Angola, the squadron commanded by Hipper is heading for Luanda, the largest seaport city in Angola! Behind the flagship armored cruiser Marquis Bismarck were two transport ships carrying 1,000 German army officers and soldiers and their equipment, and an additional supply ship. Finally, the armored cruiser Hamburg was in charge, and four minesweepers cleared the way. The entire fleet sails at a speed of more than 15 knots. \u003c/p\u003e"If there is no accident, the imperial government has sent the declaration of war documents to the Portuguese. After 3 hours, we will arrive at the sea off Luanda and launch an attack." The staff sent a document to the bridge into the hands of Hipper. \u003c/p\u003e"The information sent by the radio relay ship shows that the A fleet commanded by Earl Spey will arrive in Luanda in 3 days. Should we wait for the Earl's main fleet after we occupy Luanda?" The staff considered After a while, he continued. \u003c/p\u003e "Is there anything wrong with the French fleet now?" Hipper turned around and asked. \u003c/p\u003e"The specific situation is not clear, but according to the information forwarded by the country, the French seem to have an attempt to interfere with the pull. Charlemagne, who is cruising in the open sea, returned to the port of Dakar and carried out maintenance and reinforcements. Coal operations. The five warships of the French fleet are all in Dakar now." The staff officer replied. \u003c/p\u003e "Do we have enough supplies?" Hipper said after a moment of contemplation. \u003c/p\u003e"Uh, according to the plan agreed in advance, an American fast supply ship will arrive in Luanda in half a day. The coal, heavy oil and food on board are enough to support two armored cruisers in battle for 2 months." \u003c/p\u003e "Well, we will wait for the American supply ship, and then quickly take the marines to Cabinda." It took only two minutes for Hipper to decide. There are two reasons why he made such a decision. First, if he waits for the Spey fleet, the French are likely to seize the northern area of ​​Angola, which is not good for the overall situation. Second, he does not believe that France will fire on the German fleet first, and the Germans also avoid fighting the French first. In this case, whoever can occupy an important port first will have an advantage. \u003c/p\u003eAs for what to do if the two sides shoot out and start a fight? Hipper's idea is very bachelor, so naturally he can fight if he can fight, and run away if he can't fight! The speed of my two warships is above 21 knots. If I want to run, can the French catch up? \u003c/p\u003e "There are mines ahead!" Just after Hipper gave the order, the signal from the minesweeping ship in front made Hipper feel a little nervous. The Portuguese navy is not to be feared. Tied together is not enough for Hipper to fight in one wave, but those deadly anchor mines are difficult to deal with, but fortunately the Portuguese have not many mines stored in Angola. \u003c/p\u003e After the minesweeping ship used the minesweeping lock to cut off the fixed lock of the anchor mine, it was then wiped out one by one by the small artillery on the ship. The water column produced by the detonation of the mine appeared on the sea from time to time, and the huge explosion could even be heard in Luanda. The Portuguese already knew the enemy was coming,

But it is useless, because at this time, Luanda's military strength does not even have 200 people.... \u003c/p\u003e"Our fleet has no battles except for a mine clearance operation and a landing battle exercise." Hipper wrote in a telegram to the German Navy Ministry. As a naval officer, he expects a real battle! \u003c/p\u003eAnd just when Hipper was expecting a real naval battle, the French fleet had already left the port of Dakar. Under the leadership of the flagship battleship Charlemagne, it consisted of 1 battleship and 2 A fleet of two protected cruisers began to sail towards the Cabinda area. The two protected cruisers are the nearly 4,000-ton Descartes, which was launched in 1894, and the 8,000-ton battleship Deendre Castioux, which was just commissioned in 1899 (hereinafter referred to as Deendre). Another battleship and a cruiser remained in the port because the coal loading operation had not been completed. \u003c/p\u003eJust as the fleets of the two countries were approaching rapidly, the Spey fleet in the Atlantic Ocean was sailing towards Angola at a speed of 20 knots. It was originally said that virtue and virtue would act together, but Earl Spey believed that the speed of the American fleet was too slow And take a step first, Earl Spey, who was on the bridge at this time, finally received a telegram forwarded from China. \u003c/p\u003e"All landing operations must be carried out. In the face of French ships that break into the warring waters, the German African fleet can seize or drive away. When it encounters the French fleet, it fires warning shots. When the French fleet makes any hostile After the action, the German African Fleet can take any measures to counterattack!" June 23, 1899 at 09:00. Earl Spey finally got the authorization from the country. An hour later, Hipper also received the telegram through the radio relay ship provided by the Americans! \u003c/p\u003eFor Earl Spey and Hipper, this is nothing more than an authorization. They are soldiers and only need to execute orders, but for Prince Ruprecht in Berlin, he can It took a considerable risk to issue this order! \u003c/p\u003eJust after the Germans issued a declaration of war, the Portuguese government immediately announced that it hoped that France would enter Angola to maintain regional stability. Although the French government did not respond positively, it still asked Germany to exercise restraint, and at the same time announced that it would order the fleet stationed in Dakar to march towards Angola! And this action undoubtedly escalated the original confrontation between Germany and Portugal to a confrontation between Germany and France! The relationship between the two parties immediately became tense! \u003c/p\u003eIf it was just a confrontation between Germany and France, the prince would not be too worried. Anyway, Germany and France are feuds. No time to worry about European affairs. As long as the German army does not reach Paris, it is estimated that Russia will not take any real action. The prince's attitude is that if you simply face France, if you say fight, let's fight! Ho is afraid of ho! \u003c/p\u003eThe second chapter is here~~ The recent subscription is very sad, the author asks for comfort--! \u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e