Chapter 12: The Naval Political Storm (Three)

  Due to the needs of war propaganda, Imperial media rarely reported news of setbacks on the front lines. The Berliner Tageblatt, a newspaper with considerable influence in the Berlin area, shocked many people with its report on February 7 about the sinking of the cruiser Blücher. It is worth noting that this fleet was commanded by Admiral Oskar von Truppel's successor, Admiral Richard Eckermann!

  A long-planned coup, a prolonged stalemate after the outbreak, and an as-yet-unknown compromise were being played out in the Chancellor's office on Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin, the Hotel Adlon on Pariser Platz, the Esplanade Hotel on Friedrich-Ebert-Platz, and the drab, worn offices of the Navy High Command.

  On February 8, the transport vessel arriving from Kiel brought not only supplies for the Baltic blockade fleet but also a shocking rumor circulating in Berlin - due to Admiral Heidkamp's command error, the battleship Brunswick sank unfortunately, and Heidkamp was responsible for more than three hundred naval officers.

  Braunschweig sank, and the death of Admiral von Spee had already cast a pall over the blockading fleet, while malicious rumors only added to the excitement among the front-line officers. The sailors from civilian families, the lower-ranking officers of noble birth, and the veterans who had survived the Dogger Bank battle still remembered General Seydlitz's selfless bravery at the start of the war; they still remembered the sinking of the Strasbourg light cruiser and General Seydlitz's wandering on the deck of the Mainz, wounded; they still remembered the Dogger Bank battle, where General Seydlitz led three capital ships to face off against Admiral Beatty's eight capital ships without hesitation; they still remembered the sleepless nights and fatigue in the commander's quarters of the Seydlitz after the Dogger Bank battle; they still remembered the Baltic Sea blockade operation, where General Seydlitz swallowed a large dose of tranquilizers.

  The general had done his best, he was not only the commander of the Baltic Sea Fleet, but also the commander of the First Reconnaissance Fleet. As one of the few German naval strategic experts, the general often had to attend meetings convened by the Naval Headquarters, and the heavy workload made it difficult for the undefeated Aris to cope. The Brunswick tragedy could not be blamed on the general in any case. It must be known that before leaving on February 2, the commander repeatedly emphasized that the fleet was not allowed to take any adventurous actions, but only the deputy commander Wilhelm-Suhon, who temporarily took over the command, messed everything up!

  No matter how much the sailors emphasized, they ultimately had no impact on the massive naval department. On February 9th, in response to criticism from Navy Minister Capelle and State Secretary Müller, the Naval General Staff finally took action: In response to recent movements of the High Seas Fleet, the Navy decided to recall four King-class battleships from the Baltic Sea blockade fleet back to the North Sea, replacing the Fifth Squadron with the Fifth Scouting Group's four old-style cruisers (Victoria Louise, Berliner, Vineta, and Hansa); The First Scouting Group's three battlecruisers (Deutschland, Seydlitz, and Moltke) currently training in the Baltic Sea had their sea training plans retained but greatly shortened; Lützow and Derfflinger would remain in the Baltic until the third division of the Second Squadron, consisting of Preussen, Hessen, and Lothringen, arrived from the North Sea.

  What the Emperor Wilhelm had most been looking forward to did not materialize. The positions of Vice-Commander of the High Seas Fleet and Commander of the Fourth Squadron were abolished, and Admiral Hebbinghaus was temporarily relieved of his duties as Commander of the Scouting Division pending the arrival of a board of inquiry from the Admiralty.

  The night was not deep, the waves gently swayed the Levosov cruiser. Several destroyers patrolled in the ink-like darkness, their searchlights illuminating a pale patch of sea nearby.

  Auden's death has always been a shock to Wang Haitian, who is in the midst of a turbulent political storm. During the day, he still has to deal with the heavy tasks and battles of the blockade fleet, but at night, it becomes an endless torment. On the night of graduation from the Kiel Naval Academy in 1897, Auden's wild revelry for Sherman was vividly remembered, while his ears were always haunted by Su Xiong's shallow words: "Commander, I'm sorry to say that Colonel Auden died heroically at the Falkland Islands!"

  Heroic martyrdom, this is a term that Wang Haitian, an otaku, could not have imagined or understood in his past life. However, in 1915, on the Baltic Sea, he would engrave this pseudo-profound and insulted concept into his bones. Oden was not without parents; he was even married with children. Yet, for the sake of the nation's future, for the glory and tradition of the Junker military men, and for an illusory war goal, he would sacrifice himself without hesitation. Germany, this stubborn nation that has launched three European wars and risen three times, what kind of existence is it? Is this nation too resilient or has Wang Haitian already wasted his youth in peacetime, dissolving his persistence and forgetting his responsibility?!

  She swallowed several sleeping pills in one breath, but the drowsiness that had been absent for days was still nowhere to be found. In the oppressive and quiet commander's cabin, she wandered around a few times, whether it was the half-finished paper "Naval Base Policy and Fleet" on her desk or the sea chart on the wall marked with the position of each battle cruise of David-Betty's First War Cruiser Squadron, neither could distract Wang Heiti's attention.

  With eyes that had been red from lack of sleep and a haggard appearance, the otaku pushed open the door and walked out of his room. The cold winter night of the Baltic Sea hit him in the face.

  "Commander!" The duty officer raised his rubbing hands, strained to straighten his body, and gave a neat salute. The sailors knew that their respected commander was suffering from the pain of losing friends and what they saw as an unreasonable dismissal. Simple-minded sailors didn't know how to comfort the tired commander, so they could only show their best military posture to the general.

  "It turned out to be Berg, formerly a damage controlman on the Von der Tann, now deputy commander of the Lysov's damage control team."

  Never show a weak side in front of your subordinates, a soldier's weakness can be left to oneself. When you walk out of the closed space of self, you are no longer yourself, but a commander who holds responsibility for thousands of soldiers on a team, a warship, or even a fleet. You are an officer of the German Navy who believes in iron and blood and never gives up. This is what Wang Haitian learned at the Kiel Naval Academy. The otaku forced out a smile and patted the upperclassman's shoulder, jokingly saying:

  "A few days ago, I was still inquiring my chief of staff, Singerl, because I didn't know which ship he had put the old crewmen from Von der Tann on. As a result, Singerl told me that everyone was on my new flagship Lützow, and only then did I realize that I hadn't left the commander's quarters for a long time, not even the cabin boy Haber had already been promoted to naval sergeant!"

  "General, do you still remember me?!" Young Harbe's face was full of surprise, turning his head away, with a certain sparkling ** in his eyes.

  "What can't I remember..." King Haitian, with a beard, looked up at the thin moon in the Gulf of Finland and said with a hum: "Maybe I can't fully recall all the sailors on the reconnaissance fleet, but every officer who survived the bloody battle of Brünnhilde and Von der Tann is worth my remembrance."

  "General, I thought you would consider us cowards." The sailor's hands, frozen and cracked from exposure to the sub-zero air, could hardly find a place to rest as he stammered incoherently: "The Dogger Bank Sea Battle, Von der Tann was about to capsize, my comrades and I put on gas masks and jumped onto the destroyer that came to our rescue, swam across the icy North Sea, and found old Captain Hahn in the wheelhouse. The captain decided to go down with the ship, but we escaped like cowards."

  "Going down with the ship, that's the greatest honor a captain can have!" Looking at the sailor who was filled with shame, Wang Haitian suddenly understood something and said to the sailor, who was also the reincarnation of an otaku from his past life: "Death has never been the end for soldiers, because there are still you Harbe and I Seiram to inherit the legacy of the deceased, aren't there?"

  Taking heavy steps on the flat deck, Haber's young and tender voice came from behind, piercing through the vast night sky and the cold moonlight. "General, you must hold on! You are the hope of the Navy! We all look forward to fighting under your command, conquering the seven seas and gaining glory time and time again!"

  "Captain Haber, the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915 will be reenacted, war is imminent, and the true master of the North Atlantic throne will be decided! As for the king of the House of Hohenzollern, the German Emperor, he cannot stop me!" Breathing in the chilly air of the Baltic Sea, Wang Haitian clenched his fist and said firmly: "Haber, I promise you that!"

  ****

  The Berliner Tageblatt has blown up a storm in the Navy. At the last naval conference, Naval Minister Eduard von Capelle and Secretary of State for the Navy Georg von Müller severely criticized Admiral Walther's dereliction of duty as commander of the Baltic Sea blockade fleet, advocating for the revocation of Walther's and Wilhelm Souchon's fleet command positions, temporarily taking over the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Sea Blockade Fleet, and dispatching an accident investigation team. In a subsequent small-scale high-level internal meeting, Capelle retreated and advocated for transferring Walther to the North Sea base commander position held by Major General Gustav Bachmann, with Bachmann being transferred to the Deputy Chief of the Naval General Staff.

  Kapell and Müller obviously underestimated the influence of Wang Haitao within the Navy and among civilians. In Wilhelmshaven and Kiel, sailors were talking about it, middle and lower-level naval officers; except for the Baltic Fleet Commander, Prussian Prince Wilhelm-Heinrich, who cautiously maintained neutrality with Tirpitz, the front-line commanders of the High Seas Fleet and the Minister of the Navy Kapell's appearance of unity and separation were put on stage. The dissatisfaction accumulated by the Naval General Staff towards the Minister of the Navy's constant overstepping of authority was detonated. As subordinates of the Minister of the Navy, the Commander-in-Chief of the High Seas Fleet Reinhard-Scheer, Deputy Commander Franz-von-Hipper, Commander of the 1st Battle Squadron Schmidt, and even the Commander of the 2nd Battle Squadron Mauve, who had a general relationship with Wang Haitao, all pretended to be blind and ignored Emperor Wilhelm hiding behind the scenes. They sent various threatening letters to Schloss Charlottenburg; The Naval General Staff strongly rejected Kapell's instructions, and the conservative Hugo-von-Pohl rarely showed his tough side, reluctantly agreeing to revoke Wang Haitao's position as commander of the Baltic Sea blockade fleet and dispatch a naval accident investigation team, and the right to appoint members of the investigation team was firmly in hand.

  The storm of indignation gradually spread from the Navy outwards, while the Army cautiously expressed its opposition, as the Navy could not find a naval commander "bolder and more enterprising than Admiral Heidekamp", and both the Eastern Front campaign in 1915 and the subsequent decisive battles on the Western Front required powerful support and protection from the Navy. In Frankfurt, university professors who were immersed in their studies wrote articles one after another, using sentimental language to mourn the sinking of the Brunswick; in Danzig, young people with red eyes launched a new wave of enthusiasm for joining the army, determined to smash the hated polar bear; in Berlin, unknowing citizens held small flowers they had picked themselves and small paper flowers they had made, mourning the 325 fallen German sailors on Pariser Platz, outside Charlottenburg Palace.

  The increasingly familiar naval military song floated over the thick palace walls of Charlottenburg Palace, through the study guarded by the Imperial Guards, and echoed quietly in Wilhelm's ears. Wilhelm, who had inherited the armor that had been passed down for several centuries, wore a sword at his waist that was not stained with blood, pointed to the thick stack of letters on his desk, and said with a hint of sadness: "Bethmann, my prime minister, are you also going to betray Charlottenburg, betray me Wilhelm-Hohenzollern?"

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