Combined Fleet's flagship 'Caesar' Battleship, Commander Admiral Hipper has rested. This level of German Navy, 'New Kaiser-class' Battleship, was continued construction and modification on 'Lion-class' Battleship, which Britain people had already completed half of the hull.
British Navy's battleship design has always focused on enjoyment. The captain's cabin not only has a good-sized lounge, but also an office. This is undoubtedly very good on Battleship.
Admiral Hipper, very satisfied with this. However, after the construction of 'Kaiser-class' Battleship was continued, German Navy no longer started construction of Battleship. This made Admiral Hipper generals who had been on Capital Ships for most of their lives very reluctant to leave. However, they also know that German Navy will build more aircraft carriers in the future. That is because aircraft carriers are the mainstream in the future and will help German Navy win the next more intense naval battle. Therefore, not only did they not prevent the aircraft carrier from replacing Capital Ships as the main force of the navy, but they promoted it as much as possible. However, Admiral Hipper and others still hope that the huge Capital Ships team owned by German Navy can contribute its own strength in future naval battles.
"Bang bang bang!" The cabin door was knocked.
Admiral Hipper suddenly stood up from the bed, quickly put on his pants and clothes, and then opened the hatch.
"What happened? Brigadier." Admiral Hipper asked.
"General, Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy has left Adriatic Sea and entered Mediterranean Sea. However, they did not sail west, but sailed east." Commodore Barod, the captain of the "Caesar" Battleship, reported.
"Huh?" Admiral Hipper was stunned for a moment. He also felt that this problem might be more troublesome.
Brigadier Generals Admiral Hipper and Barod quickly went to the command tower. Local Lieutenant General Fleet Chief of Staff Richter Field, Mediterranean Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Mauff, Chief of Staff Major General Raeder, Indian Ocean Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Ingol, Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Luiet, have all arrived. Obviously, this abnormal move of Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy caused a big problem in German Navy's plan.
"Your Excellency Commander, Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy gave up the westward march. Obviously, they did not want to enter Atlantic Ocean through Strait of Gibraltar, but chose other ways. Now it seems that they want to forcefully break into Suez Canal, and then enter Indian Ocean through the canal." Lieutenant General Richter Field said.
Admiral Hipper nodded. "This is undoubtedly a very difficult problem. Once Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy enters Indian Ocean, it will be even more difficult for us to catch them. After they enter Indian Ocean, they can Entering Atlantic Ocean through Cape of Good Hope, you can also bypass Australia to enter Western Pacific, and then bypass South America and enter Atlantic Ocean. This will cause great problems for our pursuit."
Originally, Admiral Hipper thought that this naval battle would be dangerous. But with the strength of German Navy Combined Fleet, it is completely enough to crush Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy. So, they will have no problem winning. At most, there will be a certain amount of casualties. But now it seems that Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy is not ready to sit still and wait for death. Knowing that they are not as powerful as German Navy, they will not come to die foolishly, but choose a detour in an attempt to get rid of German Navy's pursuit.
"Your Excellency Commander, can you order our garrison at Suez Canal to intercept Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy?" Vice Admiral Ingol asked.
Admiral Hipper shook his head. "We only have one regiment of security forces in Suez Canal. They only have a dozen 75mm Field Gun. Let them use those field guns to deal with Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy? That is obviously impossible."
"If we had known earlier, we should not have rushed to Gibraltar too early. If we had stayed in the eastern sea area of the Mediterranean Sea, we could have intercepted Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy. We could even use the terrain to intercept Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy in the north of the Red Sea and the southern end of Suez Canal." Vice Admiral Ingol sighed.
Although, Indian Ocean Fleet is not as strong as Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy. However, Red Sea is narrow, and Suez Canal can only allow a single ship of Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy and Capital Ships to pass. As long as they deploy a few Capital Ships at the entrance of the canal, they can block it tightly. Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy enters Red Sea through the canal, and they will only be blocked there.
However, it is too late to say this now.
"The actions of the Austro-Hungarian Navy really surprised us. They actually gave up the shortest way into the Atlantic Ocean and chose to give up rendezvous with the U. S. Navy as soon as possible, but chose to take a long way around. Now, we have no other way but to pursue. Fortunately, The battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy are not too fast, especially their "United Forces" battleships, which have a maximum speed of only 20 knots. It is a blessing from God that they can maintain a speed of more than 18 knots in service. Battleship. Even if the speed is increased to 23 knots or 24 knots, there is no problem. In this case, we can close the gap with them by 5 knots per hour, which is more than 200 kilometers. In this case, we can catch up in a week at most. Get them! From the junction of the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Suez Canal, it is almost two thousand kilometers. We can shorten the distance to half. With luck, we will be able to catch up with them when the Austro-Hungarian Navy just passes through the Red Sea!
This is the stupidest way, but it is also the most effective way. German Navy can only use the speed advantage of the battleship to pursue Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy.
The other generals nodded and approved this plan.
"Order us to prepare sufficient supplies at the base of Egypt. At that time, we need to carry out a supply. In addition, at Indian Ocean Fleet, prepare a batch of supplies and use the transport ship, send it to Gulf of Aden and hide it. If we haven't had a decisive battle with Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy by then, we can resupply the fleet," Admiral Hipper ordered.
"Yes, Your Excellency Commander." Vice Admiral Ingol nodded.
"In addition, we must not lose Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy. Especially before they enter Indian Ocean, if we have not caught up with them, we must not lose them. Otherwise, when they enter Indian Ocean and we lose them again, it will be even more difficult to intercept them!" Admiral Hipper looked serious.