Chapter Ninety-Four: The Final Battle Approaches

December 7th, Feng Chengqian received a message from Tirpitz. The Spee Fleet had finished coaling at South Georgia Island and set off north on December 6th, expected to enter the North Atlantic around December 20th. If Feng Chengqian intended to bring back the Count Spee, he had to act quickly.

That very day, Feng Chengqian ordered Hipper to issue the mobilization command, and all seventeen battleships and six battlecruisers of the High Seas Fleet lit their boilers. On the morning of December 8th, at eight o’clock, the High Seas Fleet left Wilhelmshaven.

Almost simultaneously, Jellicoe received the intelligence report. Four hours later, the Grand Fleet sailed out of the Bay of Biscay. Before departure, Jellicoe sent a telegram to Churchill, notifying him that if the Grand Fleet failed to achieve the anticipated victory, Churchill needed to be prepared for the repercussions.

Clearly, Jellicoe had little hope for this operation. Although, after threatening resignation, Churchill had compromised, returning two battlecruisers stationed in the Mediterranean against the "Goeben," and the lightly damaged "Queen Mary" rejoined the fleet at the end of November, raising the Grand Fleet's battlecruiser count to three. Yet, compared to the High Seas Fleet, they remained at a distinct disadvantage, not only in battlecruisers but also in battleships.

Should the Grand Fleet encounter the High Seas Fleet, it would gain nothing. In fact, this was not the worst of it. Jellicoe was unaware that Churchill had staked his entire political future on this operation.

The Royal Navy and British politics were not lacking in hardliners like Churchill, proponents of aggressive action. For instance, the retired Fisher advocated concentrating forces to destroy the High Seas Fleet, thoroughly defeating the German Second Empire’s navy, seizing absolute control of the seas, and then imposing a comprehensive strategic blockade. However, not everyone shared such views. Prime Minister Asquith opposed a direct showdown with the High Seas Fleet, insisting that the European land campaign should take precedence, or at least that the Royal Navy should complete its preparations before challenging the High Seas Fleet.

Churchill could ignore others, but he could not dismiss the Prime Minister's opposition. Thus, to spur the Grand Fleet into more aggressive action, Churchill assured the Prime Minister that the fleet was capable of defeating the High Seas Fleet.

It was obvious: if the Grand Fleet were defeated, Churchill’s political career would be over. Without Churchill, could Jellicoe’s days remain so comfortable?

In many eyes, Jellicoe and Churchill were unrelated, as Jellicoe consistently advocated caution, opposing a decisive battle with the High Seas Fleet when the odds were unfavorable, while Churchill relentlessly pushed for such a battle, and soon. In truth, their relationship was not so simple. In a sense, their perspectives complemented each other; lacking one, the other's situation would worsen.

For example, Churchill’s aggressive stance made Jellicoe’s caution more rational within the Royal Navy. Conversely, excessive caution could turn into timidity, but Churchill's persistence ensured the Royal Navy would not lose its courage and resolve in adversity.

As the saying goes, a single hand cannot clap.

If Churchill fell, Jellicoe would also find himself isolated.

Plainly, this naval battle would decide not only the fate of the Royal Navy, but also Churchill and Jellicoe’s futures.

The question remained: how should the battle be fought?

If Jellicoe held a force advantage, especially more battlecruisers, he could be more proactive, advancing east to pin the High Seas Fleet at its doorstep, preventing it from entering the North Sea and threatening Britain’s sea routes to Norway.

Unfortunately, Jellicoe lacked such an advantage.

More importantly, the High Seas Fleet would certainly not go to Norway. All intelligence indicated its sortie was to rendezvous with the Spee Fleet.

Now, the situation grew more complex.

Theoretically, Spee had three routes: through the English Channel into the North Sea; through the Shetland Islands into the North Sea; or between the Shetland Islands and Norway into the North Sea. Clearly, risking the heavily blockaded English Channel was nearly impossible, and passing directly through the Shetlands was unlikely. Thus, Spee was most likely to take a wide detour, heading northwest past the Faroe Islands before turning south. For safety, Spee might even skirt Norway, sailing south along its coast.

Would the High Seas Fleet head to Norway?

While there was sufficient reason to believe so, Jellicoe disagreed, even suspecting the High Seas Fleet’s mission was not to meet the Spee Fleet.

The issue appeared complicated, but was actually quite simple. Even if the High Seas Fleet’s objective was to bring back the Spee Fleet, the best method was not to rendezvous, but to pin down the Grand Fleet, leaving the Royal Navy unable to intercept Spee. In this way, Spee could safely return to Wilhelmshaven.

Conversely, if the High Seas Fleet went to meet Spee, it would be hampered.

Jellicoe immediately recognized that the High Seas Fleet’s true mission was to seek a decisive battle with the Grand Fleet, or at least to use this opportunity to fight.

In this, Jellicoe’s understanding was exceptionally clear.

Until the Grand Fleet was strengthened—specifically, until the Royal Navy completed its redeployment, concentrating its main force from across the globe—the advantage lay with the High Seas Fleet. Thus, it was not the Grand Fleet seeking battle, but the High Seas Fleet, hoping to overturn the situation in one stroke.

Sadly, Jellicoe’s predicament was not so favorable.

Jellicoe himself believed that even if the Grand Fleet might not necessarily lose to the High Seas Fleet, there was no reason to risk a decisive battle before reaching peak strength. That would be gambling with the Grand Fleet, with two-thirds of the Royal Navy’s assets, and even Britain’s national fate.

The problem was, not everyone saw it this way.

It was precisely because the Grand Fleet and High Seas Fleet were evenly matched that Britain was so deeply divided over whether to fight a decisive battle. Not only politicians and military leaders, but even the public debated the issue.

If they fought, the Grand Fleet had no guarantee of victory.

If they didn’t, the High Seas Fleet would seize the initiative and dominate for at least half a year, humiliating Britain.

Clearly, both fighting and not fighting carried unpredictable consequences.

For Jellicoe, there was no choice this time; he had to fight, and he had to win—or at least produce a result that could satisfy Parliament and the public.

After the Grand Fleet left port, Jellicoe pondered this question.

Likewise, on the opposing side, Feng Chengqian and Hipper considered the same issue, though their options were far simpler.

Before departure, Feng Chengqian told Hipper that their sole purpose was to fight a decisive battle with the Grand Fleet.

Hipper wholeheartedly agreed.

If, before the war, admirals like Hipper were hesitant—believing the Imperial Navy was far inferior to the Royal Navy, and should not actively challenge it, focusing instead on securing the homeland and Baltic sea routes—after the Battle of the Shetlands, most Imperial Navy officers’ attitudes changed, even Scheer became more aggressive.

Undeniably, the Imperial Navy and Royal Navy had a clear disparity in strength.

More importantly, the Royal Navy had not completed its redeployment, with many capital ships scattered far from home. Within half a year, it was unlikely Britain could assemble a sufficiently strong fleet at home—this was the Imperial Navy’s opportunity.

The Battle of the Shetlands had proven this point.

Simply put, if the Imperial Navy could seize the favorable moment after the war began, it had every hope of defeating the Royal Navy.

The key was whether the Royal Navy would come out for a decisive battle.

The Battle of the Shetlands had shown that only when absolutely necessary would the Grand Fleet leave port and possibly fight the High Seas Fleet.

For the Royal Navy, now was indeed a time of necessity.

Since leaving Qingdao, the Spee Fleet had plundered British merchant ships and sunk several warships, drawing intense attention from the British public. The Royal Navy and government boasted they would never let Spee escape.

Though Spee had not yet returned home, Britain’s boasts were close to being disproved.

Spee’s escape from the Pacific into the Atlantic was already a great humiliation for the Royal Navy; otherwise, they would not have dispatched the fleet led by "Invincible" to the South Atlantic. If Spee returned home, the Royal Navy would lose all face.

Thus, Feng Chengqian and Hipper both believed Jellicoe would certainly lead the Grand Fleet out for a decisive battle.

If they could defeat the High Seas Fleet in the north, even if Spee returned home, the Royal Navy could still give the public a satisfactory explanation.

Yet, their perspectives were not entirely aligned.

Hipper believed Jellicoe would fight with all his might, even at great cost, to defeat the High Seas Fleet. In Hipper’s view, if the Royal Navy could defeat the High Seas Fleet, it would secure control of the North Sea and strategically blockade the Empire. If they achieved an even greater victory, they might even gain access to the Baltic.

Militarily, Hipper’s analysis was sound.

The problem was, war is merely a continuation of politics, so military actions cannot escape political constraints, especially for strategic services like the navy.

Thus, Feng Chengqian believed that the decisive battle with Jellicoe would not be as straightforward as Hipper anticipated.