Chapter 1369： Baltic Fever One (1/2)
Chapter 1369 - Storm in the Baltic Sea (1)
”The Russian fleet has appeared! They sailed out of the Gulf of Finland!” When Ruprecht had finished breakfast, cleaned up, and was about to start a new day at work, a telegram sent by the intelligence department caught the attention of the prince. , The Russian fleet took the initiative!
”Let Hipper come over immediately, and tell the staff from the staff to immediately clean up all the information about the Baltic and Russian maritime mobilization, as well as our current bombing operations on the Gulf of Riga, put it together, and hand it in!” Ruprecht immediately ordered Tao.
After reading the relevant information, the prince finally had a general understanding of the current situation and the actions taken by Russia. After completing the encirclement and killing the air force in the Russian Polish region, the freed-up Bavarian bomber force began bombing the transportation hub outside the Gulf of Riga, which is the closest fortified city to Germany. If the Russians want to clear the siege, Then the troops will definitely be concentrated here and then act. Not only the St. Petersburg area, but also the Ukrainian and Belarusian forces must gather here before they can attack. This is not just a matter of starting position, but also a traffic issue.
Therefore, in order to delay the opponent's combat readiness, the Bavarian Air Force began to bomb the Gulf of Riga, with at least 150 bombers per day, with bombs weighing more than 100 tons. Faced with such a blow, the Gulf of Riga, which was violently bombed for the first time, became very uncomfortable. The Russians adopted two methods. The first method was to deploy troops in a decentralized manner with the Gulf of Riga as the core to minimize the effects of air strikes. Another way is to solve the problem of equipment and material movement through sea transportation!
”According to our intelligence and inference, at present, the Luftwaffe does not have the ability to attack the sea, especially the attack power against moving ships is almost negligible. Therefore, before the main force of the high seas fleet enters the Baltic Sea and begins to perform cruise missions. Your country It is entirely possible to use the fleet for transportation.” The British staff made such a proposal to the Russian base camp.
The British think what they are saying makes sense. From the current point of view, the Luftwaffe has no record of any large-scale attack on ships. Although the British Air Force also has it, the effect is relatively average. In the eyes of Trenchard and others, the air strike in Turkey not long ago was a complete failure for the Royal Air Force! The loss of elite personnel is too great. So they think that the Luftwaffe should not have the ability to attack the sea.
In fact, the Luftwaffe has indeed practiced attacks on the sea, but it has never been able to find an opportunity to attack. From the situation in the North Sea, the high seas fleet has been on offensive operations, and the combat area is close to the British mainland. At that time, the range of German bombers Some difficulties. What about the Mediterranean? Since Earl Spey made a vote of the French fleet at night, the French fleet has returned to the mainland smoothly. Transport in the Mediterranean is almost limited to a standstill. At that time, the Luftwaffe had no spare capacity to deploy in the Balkans. As for the Baltic Sea? In the beginning, Russia did not rely on shipping. Therefore, in general, the German Air Force sword is forged, but it has not had time to use it! You don’t know, it doesn’t mean they don’t!
Now, when rail transportation cannot sustain the frontline needs, the Russians must use other methods to make up for it. Therefore, even without the advice of the British, sea transportation is a problem sooner or later, otherwise you can’t let the frontline army lack guns and cannons every day. Starving?
It has to be said that the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Essen, as an admiral who experienced the Russo-Japanese War and played a good record, is still very good. In addition to fleet battles, mine warfare and minesweeping warfare are also very easy to play. Even before Russia decided to take maritime transport operations, Essen had been continuously strengthening its mine-laying and mine-clearing capabilities. Although the offensive mine-laying has been cancelled due to its own cost, it can still guarantee a channel to the Gulf of Riga even with German submarines and mines riding their faces.
For sea transportation, it is far away from St. Petersburg to Riga, and it is impossible not to be exposed in the daytime. In this case, the **** of the fleet becomes a must. Therefore, Essen divided his fleet into two groups. One group was an **** fleet composed of light cruisers and destroyer units, mainly dealing with submarines and small German warships. The other group is the main fleet, consisting of battleships and battlecruisers. At present, it is mainly squatting at home, or doing small-scale ”activities” near the Gulf of Finland.