Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Albatross Operation (1)
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Vroooom───
While the German 8th and 9th Armies were locked in fierce combat with the Russian 1st Army in East Prussia, dozens of large and small warships cleaved through the rough waves of the Baltic Sea, belching thick black smoke from their stacks as they pressed forward relentlessly.
They were none other than the German Baltic Fleet.
It was the second most powerful fleet after the High Seas Fleet, created specifically to counter the Russian Baltic Fleet, whose strength had been preserved intact since they hadn't suffered defeat at Tsushima.
"Captain Reuter, how much longer until we reach the Gulf of Finland?"
"Three hours remain, Admiral Heinrich. For reference, you asked the same question five minutes ago."
"Heh heh heh heh. Don't sweat the small stuff. I'm just so excited for our darling girl's debutante ball."
As Prince Heinrich, appointed commander of the Baltic Fleet the moment World War I broke out, crossed his arms and let out a strange chuckle with a suspicious grin, Captain Ludwig von Reuter shook his head with a look of utter exasperation.
"Ah, how long I've waited for this day."
Yet the prince muttered to himself in high spirits, as if he could fly to the heavens, ignoring Reuter's rotten glare.
He had clashed endlessly with the stubborn Tirpitz and Imperial Air Force Commander von Hopfner, but finally made it this far.
All that remained was to prove the true worth of this girl, whom he cherished like his own daughter, to everyone.
"If I had my way, I'd hop into a plane myself and lead the German Navy Air Service's monumental first battle at the forefront."
"Please, I beg you, don't."
"Haha, just kidding. Just a joke."
'Doesn't sound like a joke at all...'
Captain Reuter eyed Prince Heinrich, who laughed jovially like his late uncle Edward VII, with eyes full of suspicion.
He had been burned too many times to trust this man.
'Sigh, how did I end up tangled with this reckless nutjob...'
He had been slated to command a sleek new cruiser.
Instead, Reuter lamented his fate as captain of this bizarre "aircraft carrier" vessel loaded with twenty onboard planes, dragged here by the eccentric prince.
"...Hoo, I'm not pleased."
"Admiral Tirpitz, what do you mean all of a sudden?"
Rewind the clock a bit to just as the Eastern Front battles were kicking off.
A heavy sigh echoed from Navy Minister Tirpitz at the admirals' conference.
"The army keeps racking up victories on land, while our navy just stares at enemy ports or chases submarine tails."
"What can we do when the French and Russian navies are holed up in their harbors?"
At the outbreak of the World War, Tirpitz had been over the moon, convinced the Kaiserliche Marine—his life's work—would finally shine.
But his excitement proved premature; the German Navy saw no glorious action.
The French and Russian fleets, hopelessly outmatched by the Entente, abandoned direct confrontation with the Anglo-German armada. Under the "fleet-in-being" strategy, they simply refused to sortie from port.
"Damn it, you cowards! Come out and fight!"
Tirpitz was left barking empty threats at the enemy navies, like a dog chasing chickens.
It was, of course, an obvious and unavoidable choice for the French and Russian navies.
Even with their fleets strengthened or preserved due to altered history, facing the cheat combo of "Britain and Germany" was absurd.
"Since it's come to this, let's land on the French coast or hit the Russian Crimea like in the Crimean War!"
"Sigh... If you don't want to waste our naval strength on enemy coastal guns, please shut up, Minister Churchill."
Compared to the thirsty-for-action Churchill, though, Tirpitz was a saint.
Thus, only Admiral Fisher—who had returned to advisory duty after avoiding resignation and name-change issues thanks to his unaltered origins—clutched his neck at Churchill's antics.
In any case, both the Royal Navy and Imperial Navy had secured sea control smoothly, then busied themselves hunting Allied submarines attempting commerce raiding.
Our own battleship enthusiast Tirpitz didn't throw tantrums like Churchill, but he clearly chafed at his precious Kaiserliche Marine being sidelined.
"The army's scoring points on the ground, so now that war's broken out, shouldn't our Kaiserliche Marine deliver results that match theirs?"
"I get how you feel, Admiral, but with them stuck in port, what can we do?"
"Exactly. Even if we try hitting their trapped fleets, we'll just eat coastal barrage fire."
"At least Admiral Spee's Eastern Fleet is on the move aggressively..."
Maximilian von Spee, who had unwittingly joined Friedrich der Große's debut off Venezuela, now commanded the German East Asia Squadron in the Far East, just like in original history.
He had sortied from Singapore alongside the British China Station, ANZAC forces, and—despite some noise over their involvement—Japan, who cited the Anglo-Japanese Alliance to join the Entente, to drive out the Russian and French navies from the Far East.
Considering his tragic original fate—losing Tsingtao to Japan, raiding British shipping en route from South America, and dying at the Falklands—it was profoundly ironic.
Spee had cornered the Russian Pacific Fleet, the Far East's biggest threat, in Vladivostok. Now he awaited Japanese forces advancing on Primorye to flush them out.
This had forced many Korean settlers in Primorye, including Choi Jae-hyung, to flee toward the Free Government in Kiautschou to escape the incoming Japanese.
"That's not enough to satisfy him!"
Tirpitz, however, thrust out his chin, insisting it fell short.
"The Far East barely matters to the war's outcome! Opera audiences watch the leads, not the extras."
The true focus was Europe, the heart of the Great War.
Far East sailors under Spee, patrolling tirelessly for victory, would scoff if they heard.
"I have a good idea."
"...Pardon?"
As the Kaiserliche Marine admirals huddled, desperate for a European coup to restore naval pride, Prince Heinrich raised a hand from the corner with a sly chuckle.
Tirpitz's head throbbed; what madness was this man plotting now?
"Elaborate."
He had no choice but to listen.
"Attack the Russian Baltic Fleet?"
I furrowed my brow at Prince Heinrich and Admiral Tirpitz's words.
I was swamped discussing Portugal—Britain's traditional ally—wanting to join our Entente. What cloud-cuckoo nonsense was this?
"I trust you're not saying you'll charge straight into St. Petersburg—or Petrograd—where their Baltic Fleet is based."
That place was fortress artillery central; even the Royal Navy had poked around briefly in the Crimean War before retreating.
I couldn't shake fears these two might spout the same drivel as my British in-laws.
"Haha, they call me eccentric, but I'm not that insane, dear nephew-in-law. What we mean is luring the Russian Baltic Fleet out of port for a decisive fleet battle."
"Hmm."
Eliminating the Baltic threat would benefit us greatly.
We had split off part of the High Seas Fleet to bolster what was originally a minor Baltic squadron into a substantial force. Crushing the Russians Tsushima-style would free up assets elsewhere.
'Like sending them to pressure unpredictable Italy in the Mediterranean.'
It would support army ops too, and dismantling the Baltic Fleet would aid in crumbling the Russian Empire from within.
Assuming Prince Heinrich's scheme succeeded, that is.
"Well, our prince just wants to see his aircraft carrier shine."
As I mulled the plan's feasibility, Tirpitz grumbled.
"...Seriously?"
"Well, among other things. Among other things."
Sigh, typical from my uncle-in-law.
I wouldn't bat an eye if Prince Heinrich proposed a German Pearl Harbor.
Unrealistic, of course.
But his obsession with planes and carriers bordered on mania.
Three years back, when Tirpitz flatly rejected his carrier plans... I can't even describe it.
Just know Tirpitz developed neurosis from Prince Heinrich afterward.
'Though I was the one who first brought up carriers to him.'
I wasn't crazy enough to say battleships were obsolete, time for carriers.
I just suggested a testbed like Britain's HMS Furious, Japan's Hosho, or America's USS Langley—converting a collier.
My compromise calmed the navy brass, leading to a dramatic accord between the prince and Tirpitz.
Prince Heinrich didn't quiet down, though.
"Your Highness, what if we build a hangar below deck with elevators? We could carry more planes."
"Oh, brilliant idea. Approved!"
"They developed a 'catapult' aircraft launcher in America. Shall we adopt it?"
"Hmm, biplanes are light enough without, but better safe. Approved!"
Prince Heinrich led the navy’s few aviation buffs (Tirpitz called them plane-crazed weirdos) in personally overseeing construction.
He was so gung-ho, I barely needed to advise.
Thus, in 1912, the world's first aircraft carrier, SMS Otto Lilienthal, was born.
Why that name? The Wright brothers were American, so German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal became the hero by contrast.
Zeppelin was still alive, making his name awkward. The prince wanted SMS Prinz Heinrich, but a namesake battleship existed.
"Anyway, you're not seriously thinking one carrier can bomb the Russian Baltic Fleet at Kronstadt. How do you plan to draw them out?"
"By striking Russian ports like Riga and Helsinki to provoke the Empire. Admiral Essen, Baltic Fleet commander, is a sharp scion of a naval dynasty, but Nicky lacks the patience to sit idle while Baltic ports burn."
Keep poking the Russian bear until political pressure forces the fleet to sea?
Not bad.
"Still, I think that's insufficient. You know how indecisive the Tsar is. Unless Petrograd itself is threatened, he won't budge."
"Ah, true. Nicky always dithers on big calls."
"But directly hitting Petrograd or Kronstadt is impossible."
I nodded at Tirpitz.
Other ports had weak defenses, but the enemy's heart was impregnable even to the High Seas Fleet.
"If sea approaches won't work, hit from another angle."
"Ah! We have just the thing!"
As I pointed upward, Prince Heinrich and Tirpitz exclaimed in realization.
Thus began Operation Albatross to annihilate the Russian Baltic Fleet.