Chapter 149: The Primary Objective

On the morning of October 11th, the Royal Navy of Britain finally learned that the High Seas Fleet had already passed through the English Channel. The news did not come from the torpedo boats patrolling within the Channel but from Portsmouth Harbor itself, as that very morning, the High Seas Fleet had shelled Portsmouth. Although the bombardment caused minimal casualties and damage, its impact was profound—it marked the first time in four months that the British mainland had been shelled, and the first time in over a year that a British naval base on home soil had come under fire. Moreover, it was the first offensive bombardment against the British mainland by the main force of the High Seas Fleet since the outbreak of the war. Most importantly, this confirmed that the Grand Fleet had successfully passed through the English Channel.

Receiving this information did not translate into immediate countermeasures.

Admiral Hamilton had already led the Grand Fleet away from Scapa Flow, steering towards Norway rather than the English Channel. Even if he were to reverse course immediately, it would take at least two days to reach the Channel. The American Atlantic Fleet was still thousands of kilometers away and utterly unable to assist.

In other words, there was no way to catch or intercept the High Seas Fleet.

This left the Royal Navy in a highly passive position.

That same afternoon, Hamilton altered course back towards the Shetland Islands and passed through them into the North Atlantic early on the morning of the 12th.

Across the Atlantic, the American Atlantic Fleet also adjusted its course.

Although searching for a task force in the vast ocean was no easy task, initially, both the British and Americans held some confidence.

The main rationale was that the operational range of the High Seas Fleet's battleships was very limited, especially the two Bayern-class ships, designed specifically for decisive battle in the North Sea against the Royal Navy. Their maximum cruising range was only about five thousand nautical miles, significantly less than other German warships. This meant the High Seas Fleet could not operate indefinitely in the North Atlantic and would sooner or later have to return to home ports due to fuel exhaustion.

Therefore, the British and American fleets planned to ambush the High Seas Fleet on its return route and annihilate the fleet eager to return home in one decisive strike.

However, by the 13th, the Royal Navy’s optimism waned.

That day, British intelligence received precise information: more than ten hours after the High Seas Fleet set out, a large supply fleet left Kiel Harbor. This supply fleet, consisting of eight fast oil tankers, did not pass through the Kiel Canal but instead entered the North Sea via the Skagerrak Strait and was to rendezvous with the High Seas Fleet. This meant the supply fleet had followed the High Seas Fleet into the North Atlantic.

Clearly, endurance was no longer an issue.

Eight oil tankers, each displacing over ten thousand tons, could provide at least one full refueling to the eight battleships and more than twenty light cruisers, effectively doubling the High Seas Fleet's operational range. Even the Bayern-class ships could now exceed ten thousand nautical miles, allowing them to operate in the North Atlantic for over a month.

There was no doubt the High Seas Fleet would not rush back.

Additionally, British intelligence obtained another piece of crucial information: the Imperial German Navy had resolved the technical challenges of refueling warships underway. Battleships no longer needed to enter port or anchor; they could replenish fuel while cruising.

This meant the High Seas Fleet had no need to dock anywhere.

The situation had become complicated.

The High Seas Fleet’s daring passage through the English Channel was not merely to shell Portsmouth or to cruise the North Atlantic aimlessly; it had a far more significant objective. Judging by its composition—all eight battleships being genuinely fast warships—the fleet’s primary mission was to sever the North Atlantic sea lanes, preventing the United States from supplying war materiel to Britain and France and blocking troop deployments to the European continent.

On the afternoon of the 13th, the American authorities informed Britain and France that unless the threat posed by the High Seas Fleet was neutralized, the deployment of American troops to France would be delayed. The reason was simple: the United States could not allow tens of thousands of troops to cross the North Atlantic without any guarantee of safety.

If American troop transports encountered the High Seas Fleet in the North Atlantic, survival would be impossible.

The American refusal to send ground forces to the continent rendered the situation grave.

That day, the British and French allies convened an emergency meeting to discuss the consequences of the American delay and formulate countermeasures. Although British Expeditionary Force commander General Haig promised to urge the Prime Minister to dispatch at least 500,000 additional troops to France in the near term, French Commander-in-Chief Joffre expressed serious dissatisfaction, believing British reinforcements would not compensate for the impact of the American delay. He demanded that Britain assume greater operational responsibilities, such as extending the defensive lines; otherwise, the French army would certainly collapse under the German offensive.

Joffre’s assessment was entirely justified.

That same day, the German army advanced fifteen kilometers closer to Paris, and in the Champagne region, three French corps were encircled. The German vanguard was less than eighty kilometers from Paris. Two days earlier, the Germans had deployed an unprecedented super-heavy artillery piece, unleashing over a hundred heavy shells on Paris. The French capital was gripped by panic, with over a million Parisians fleeing to the southern countryside and towns.

Though the French army still fought bravely at the front, morale had plummeted to rock bottom. Even in Béquin’s units, large numbers of desertions were reported.

Could France continue fighting?

Joffre did not mention the most crucial fact: France had no more men to conscript.

After over two years of war, France had drafted eight million male citizens. Theoretically, the maximum available manpower was less than ten million. Without vast overseas colonies to draw colonial troops from, France would have been forced to send boys as young as sixteen to the front long ago.

Now, the situation demanded even more conscription.

Plainly put, without additional manpower, the French army could not hold Paris.

In reality, after the United States officially entered the war, munitions were no longer a problem. In September alone, America had provided France with 500,000 rifles and 30,000 machine guns, along with ample artillery and shells. Other military supplies were practically limitless.

What America had not supplied were combat troops, and those were exactly what France desperately needed.

Of course, Haig’s promises were not guaranteed to materialize.

The reason was simple: Britain had also suffered tremendous war casualties and taken on numerous production tasks, leaving limited manpower for conscription. Although Britain had many dominions—Canada, Australia, New Zealand—with relatively abundant manpower, these dominions were reluctant to contribute troops and had not implemented conscription, so the number of troops available was limited.

Even if Haig pledged to send 500,000 more troops, it was certainly not something achievable within one or two months.

Would France still exist in a month or two?

Judging by the front-line situation, unless a decisive change occurred, the Germans would reach the outskirts of Paris within a month and capture the city within another.

France had little time left to maneuver.

While Haig was still negotiating with Joffre, the Royal Navy had already taken action, dispatching every vessel capable of ocean-going operations to search for the High Seas Fleet.

Soon after, the Royal Navy formulated an operational plan to pursue the High Seas Fleet.

This plan did not involve a rendezvous between the British and American fleets, because the primary objective was not to annihilate the High Seas Fleet but to expel it from the North Atlantic to keep the sea lanes open, ensuring American troop deployments to France. Hence, there was no need to concentrate forces or engage in a decisive battle.

Under the plan, the Royal Navy would be responsible for locating the High Seas Fleet, while the American Atlantic Fleet would protect troop transports. If all went smoothly, the United States would dispatch troop ships on October 20th, which, under the protection of their Atlantic Fleet, would sail to Europe. When reaching the eastern side of the North Atlantic midline, they would rendezvous with the Grand Fleet and then proceed to Britain together.

On the surface, the plan seemed flawless, but it harbored a fatal flaw.

The American Atlantic Fleet possessed six battleships: two of the New York class, two Nevada class, and two Wyoming class. Purely in terms of capital ships, the American Atlantic Fleet was not inferior to the High Seas Fleet. These six battleships were genuine dreadnoughts, especially the two Wyoming-class ships, each armed with twelve 14-inch guns, boasting firepower and armor superior to the German ships, albeit at slower speeds. The problem was that this fleet lacked fast warships suitable for pursuit; it had only eight light cruisers.

Clearly, this was not a fleet suitable for escort missions.

In fact, the American Atlantic Fleet’s initial primary mission was not escorting but to cross the Atlantic and join the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet to strengthen control over the North Sea and implement a more comprehensive and effective strategic blockade against the German Empire.

Given the circumstances, the Royal Navy should have been more proactive, sending the Grand Fleet across the Atlantic.

However, the Royal Navy refrained for two main reasons. First, if the Grand Fleet were to escort troop transports in the United States, the departure of those transports would have to be delayed by over five days, since the Grand Fleet required at least a week to cross the Atlantic, and the transports could only depart two days before the fleet’s arrival to rendezvous near the Bermuda Islands. Second, the Royal Navy still hoped to locate the High Seas Fleet and, before it could threaten the troop transports, engage it in a decisive battle to fundamentally eliminate the threat posed by the Imperial German Navy.

The question remained: would Admiral von Tsingtau engage in a decisive battle with the Grand Fleet?

His primary mission was to prevent American troop deployments to Europe.

On October 15th, von Tsingtau received news that the United States would proceed with troop deployments as planned, and that the Atlantic Fleet had remained near the Bermuda Islands.

Von Tsingtau immediately recognized the opportunity implicit in this message and that afternoon ordered the fleet to change course.

Since the Americans insisted on their course of action, a fierce battle was inevitable.