To catch up with the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy, the German Navy Combined Fleet began to accelerate. Originally, the fleet had been cruising at fifteen knots. They had believed the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy would sail west, in which case they could simply wait for them to deliver themselves into their hands. But now, the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy was trying to escape in another direction. To keep the cooked duck from flying away, the German Navy Combined Fleet had to speed up and give chase.
Fortunately, the German Navy's Capital Ships were almost all cutting-edge warships. Those Battleships generally had maximum speeds of over twenty-five knots. The Battlecruisers could reach more than twenty-eight knots. With forced draught applied to the boilers, pushing their speed to thirty knots would not be difficult. However, they could not sustain that state for long, or the boilers might explode.
As for the small and medium warships, all of them could exceed thirty knots. Therefore, raising the entire fleet's speed to twenty-three knots was no problem at all, and they still had strength in reserve.
Although the German Navy Combined Fleet and the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy were more than a thousand kilometers apart, the distance between them was rapidly shrinking under the German Navy's all-out pursuit. Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy was still completely unaware of it.
In Berlin, Germany, Oscar was likewise roused from his sleep. First Sea Lord Admiral Scheer had requested an audience in the middle of the night; clearly, something major had happened with the Combined Fleet.
"Your Majesty, I am deeply sorry for disturbing your rest!" Admiral Scheer said, his face full of apology. Earlier, he had sworn with absolute certainty that the Combined Fleet would crush the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy. Yet he had not expected such a huge problem to arise.