CHAPTER 636: CHAPTER 636 SHIRE HELPED US

Admiral Scheer, who had done his homework, appeared very confident. He took a navigational chart from his coat pocket and spread it out on the coffee table, analyzing:

"Fighter aircraft are different from bombers. The combat radius of a fighter is typically one-third of its total range."

"One-third of the fuel is used to reach the target battlefield, one-third for pursuit and engagement, and the remaining one-third for the return."

"Therefore, although the ’Camel’ fighter is invincible, its combat radius is only over 100 kilometers, which is its biggest weakness."

As he spoke, Admiral Scheer looked up at Fajin Han, with an inquisitive and slightly provocative look.

Fajin Han could only nod and grumble, "Yes, you are right."

Admiral Scheer smiled smugly and continued his analysis:

"Let’s not even discuss the fact that the British ’Camel’ fighters have not been mass-produced yet. They only have a few dozen, most of which are deployed on the Western Front."

"Even if mass-produced, taking off from the British coastline, they can control only about 100 kilometers of coastal waters."

"However, our bombers can use binoculars to scout along this line, which almost covers the entire North Sea."

William II exclaimed, "The entire North Sea?"

"Yes," Admiral Scheer nodded. "This is very advantageous for us. Sometimes I even think that on the surface, Shire seems to be helping the British, but in reality, he is helping us."

"What?" William II and Fajin Han shot puzzled looks at Admiral Scheer simultaneously.

How could Shire possibly help the German Navy?

Admiral Scheer explained the map:

"The British blockade line extends from the northern part of the North Sea all the way to the south, with many escort fleets and merchant ships in between."

"This line is nearly 1,000 kilometers long. If they are all under our bombers’ reconnaissance..."

Upon hearing this, William II and Fajin Han understood, nodding thoughtfully.

"Exactly," William II said. "The longer the defensive line, the more weaknesses it has, and the more attack opportunities we have."

Fajin Han added, "And as for our forces, they are originally being trapped by the British Fleet in Helgoland Bay, so our defensive line has very few weaknesses and vulnerabilities, if any at all."

"No loopholes?" William II looked at Fajin Han in amazement as he did not understand why there would be no vulnerabilities.

But Admiral Scheer nodded approvingly, "The Royal Navy cannot change its strategy of long-range blockade, so we have no vulnerabilities and no weaknesses."

William II was stunned for a moment and then understood.

Even if the British discovered the weaknesses in the German defensive line, what could they do?

Send a fleet to attack?

Impossible!

Because that would mean that the British Royal Fleet would abandon its strategy of long-range blockade and instead launch an offensive on Helgoland Bay.

By then, they would have to face the German Thunder Strike Ships and even coastal defense guns in close waters, which is obviously not cost-effective, and is exactly what the German Fleet desires.

Thus, the German Fleet’s lines are without holes.

However, William II soon frowned again:

"But even if our fleet discovered British weaknesses and vulnerabilities, it wouldn’t be able to attack."

"I mean, if the British use enough ’Caproni’ bombers for reconnaissance, they would accurately grasp our fleet’s movements."

"As soon as our ships leave Helgoland Bay, they would be tracked by their bombers."

Admiral Scheer replied unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, the weakness of aerial reconnaissance is that it’s very difficult, even dangerous, to carry out night missions."

"Very dangerous?" William II looked puzzled.

He could understand difficulty; it’s hard to find targets at night, but danger...

Fajin Han chimed in again, "Yes, especially when flying over the sea."

"If there are no stars and no moonlight, in pitch darkness, the pilot might not be able to tell which direction is the sky and which is the ocean."

"He might dive into the ocean, thinking he is ascending."

William II appeared to grasp it partially.

He had never flown, so he could not understand the feeling of weightlessness in the plane and the pilot mistaking the ocean as the sky.

But he did not ask more questions.

With both Fajin Han and Admiral Scheer saying so, it had to be correct.

William II realized the conclusion, "So, our warships can set out at night?"

"Yes," Admiral Scheer affirmed. "Once we identify a British weak point, we can dispatch a rapid fleet to strike at night. As long as they reach the target and launch the attack before dawn, then withdraw immediately, the British will have no way to deal with us."

The German Fleet’s light cruisers had a speed of 27 knots, and the destroyers 29 knots.

Calculating at the speed of light cruisers, they could travel 48 kilometers per hour, making it possible to reach the target location from Helgoland Island in one night.

"We can have many targets for our attack." Admiral Scheer’s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Not just the British Third Fleet, but also their convoys. If we use submarines in conjunction with aerial reconnaissance to gather precise intelligence, the rapid fleet can avoid their patrol fleet and directly hit their merchant ships."

Hearing this, William II couldn’t help but beam with joy, "Are you saying we might not even need to use submarines?"

"Yes," Admiral Scheer nodded confidently. "We have the potential to achieve greater results at a lower cost, and we might even capture some supplies, if time permits."

"Excellent." William II rubbed his hands in excitement.

Only Fajin Han had a frown and remained silent. After a while, he hesitated and said, "But why would Shire do this? I mean, wouldn’t he have thought of these?"

Fajin Han had been fooled a few times. He believed Shire wouldn’t be as simple as Admiral Scheer thought.

But Admiral Scheer had no doubts, "I think it’s because Shire didn’t consider that we have bombers, or he simply didn’t know we had bombers."

Saying this, Admiral Scheer stared at Fajin Han, waiting for his answer.

Fajin Han nodded slightly:

"Yes, these are the bombers we developed last year, targeting Shire’s ’Caproni.’"

"Other than our high military command, no one else knows about them."

(The picture above shows the German Gotha G.1 bomber, the first of which was produced in July 1915, with only 20 produced in total.)

"Then it’s settled," William II said excitedly, "Shire didn’t know we had bombers, so he wasn’t prepared. He didn’t even realize he made an irremediable mistake."

At this moment, William II did not know that this was actually Shire’s deliberate intention.

From the French Navy’s perspective, Shire did not want to see the German Navy trapped in Helgoland Bay, immobilized.

So, his goal was to aid the German Navy, so that they could have a good fight with the British Royal Navy.

It would be best if they fought in a state of havoc, with fierce winds and torrential rain, a scene of horror and devastation...