Germany Capital Berlin, Royal Palace.
After Oscar succeeded to the throne and became Emperor Wilhelm III, he naturally could no longer stay on the front line. Fortunately, Western Front German military has completely established victory. This allows Oscar not to worry too much. Even if the command is handed over to General Staff Headquarters, there will be no problem.
Being an emperor and being Crown Prince are naturally completely different. Even though Oscar has fully delegated power, Cabinet is responsible for government affairs, and War Ministry and Naval Ministry are responsible for military affairs. He only needs to know the final result. Even so, he was very tired. However, he had just ascended the throne and was still unfamiliar with many matters. After this period of work is over, it will be relatively better.
At noon on May 7, while Oscar was still having lunch, Servant reported that Minister of War and Chief of Staff von? Field Marshal Falkenhayn, General Waldersee, Deputy Chief of Staff asked for a meeting.
"Ask them to go to the office, I'll be ready soon." After Oscar finished speaking, he stuffed the steak into his mouth, drank the freshly squeezed juice in the cup, wiped his mouth, and rushed to the office. He knew that if it wasn't an emergency, Feng Falkenhayn and Waldersee would not come to see him at this time.
"Your Majesty!" After Oscar entered the office, Feng Falkenhayn and Waldersee both saluted him. Although Oscar is still very young, he is already Emperor of the Empire after all.
"Both of you, please sit down. Have you had lunch? If not, I'll have someone prepare it." Oscar asked.
"Your Majesty, we have already eaten." Feng Falkenhayn expressed his gratitude.
"Okay, I'll send you three cups of coffee." Oscar said one after another.
After Servant exited, Oscar asked, "What happened?"
"The battle between Your Majesty, 1st Army Corps and 8th Army Corps attacking Le Havre happened," Feng Falkenhayn said.
"What? How is that possible?" Oscar couldn't help but frowned. 1st Army Corps and 8th Army Corps have nearly half a million troops, both of which are the most elite troops of the Imperial Army. Attacking the Le Havre garrisoned with more than 300,000 British Expeditionary Force should definitely be a sure thing. How could there be a problem? This really makes Oscar a little unbelievable.
"Your Majesty, Britain people dispatched the navy. They dispatched a huge Grand Fleet consisting of 21 Pre-dreadnought and 13 Armored Cruiser, which appeared in the coastal waters of Le Havre to attack 1st Army Corps who was attacking Le Havre and 8th Army Corps launched a fierce bombardment. Under the bombardment of Britain's large-caliber Naval Gun, 1st Army Corps and 8th Army Corps not only failed in their attack, but also paid an extremely heavy price." Feng Field Marshal Falkenhayn introduced.
Oscar's face suddenly became quite ugly. Although, he didn't see it with his own eyes. But he could fully imagine that when the German military infantry attacked Le Havre, the Britain warships began to bombard them fiercely. A large number of large-caliber Naval Gun fell from the sky and exploded in the queue of German military. What would it be like? What is certain is that German military will suffer considerable losses under the bombardment of Naval Gun from Britain people.
"How big is our loss?" Oscar asked.
"Your Majesty, 1st Army Corps and 8th Army Corps, in this attack alone, the losses exceeded 10,000 people. In addition, hundreds of cannons were destroyed by Britain people's Naval Gun was destroyed. The morale of the troops was hit hard after this battle. This will be very detrimental to our future operations," said General Waldersee.
Oscar nodded. This round of attack setback was indeed something German Army had never experienced since the war began. Especially 8th Army Corps, whether in Eastern Front or Western Front, they have been winning continuously and have never failed. This time, they were beaten badly by Britain's Naval Gun and suffered heavy losses. This is indeed a heavy blow to 8th Army Corps.
"General Kluck and General Ludendorff, what are you going to do?" Oscar asked.
"Your Majesty, for now 1st Army Corps and 8th Army Corps have withdrawn from the range of Naval Gun of British Navy. However, if you want to attack Le Havre, you have to consider British Navy's Naval Gun poses a threat to us. If this threat cannot be resolved, 1st Army Corps and 8th Army Corps may not be able to capture Le Havre, and may even suffer greater losses there," said Feng Field Marshal Falkenhayn.
Oscar agrees with this. British Navy The size of the fleet assembled is indeed huge. This is also the strong foundation of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, which enables them to easily assemble such a powerful fleet. Other countries may not be able to do it at all. Although, those battleships are all outdated and old battleships. But it turns out that there is never any waste in this world, there are just resources that have been misplaced.
"How do you plan to solve the threat of British fleet?" Oscar asked.
Admiral Feng Falkenhayn and Waldersee looked at it, and then Feng Field Marshal Falkenhayn said, "Your Majesty, I hope High Seas Fleet can send a fleet south to defeat British fleet and eliminate the threat British Navy poses to our army."
Sending the fleet south to defeat British fleet is undoubtedly the safest way. However, German Navy cannot dispatch many warships now.
"The navy may not be able to dispatch its main fleet now. Although our navy has severely damaged the British navy. However, the blockade of Britain has now entered the most critical moment. Most of the warships are operating in the western waters of Britain and the North Sea. In addition, the Ministry of the Navy discovered that the British Navy, the French Navy and the Italian Navy The troops are being mobilized secretly. They judge that the British are not willing to fail and are actively preparing to counterattack the Imperial Navy. Therefore, all the capital ships need to be used to deal with potential threats. In this case, I am afraid that they will not be able to provide support to you for the time being.
Naval movements of Britain, France and Kingdom of Italy, albeit secretly. However, it is impossible to maintain complete confidentiality. Germany's intelligence department, based on clues, speculated that the Britain, France, and Italy Three Kingdoms were most likely preparing to deal with German Navy. This makes German Navy feel like facing a formidable enemy and has to deal with it vigilantly. German Navy was able to achieve the current situation, but it was hard-won. It would be a pity if a good situation was lost due to an oversight.