Long live Joachim

Chapter 5: The Aftermath of Saiweng In the autumn of 1926, in the heavily contested Azores, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers of the US and British fleets were eagerly waiting for the British mainland fleet and Gibraltar fleet, which could change the situation, to arrive and assist earlier. However, to the surprise of most people, these two powerful fleets remained far away from the Azores and ultimately failed to become the key force to make a final decision. The stagnation of the two British fleets is not due to the British government's fear of war or the soldiers' fear of death. Since the signing of the London Treaty, the whole nation of Britain has been looking forward to the day when shame will be washed away, but the more one endures humiliation, the more anxious they become. After the coup in Portugal, the main ships of the British Gibraltar Fleet quickly sailed to the Lisbon waters, where they encountered the German Atlantic Fleet led by the new cruiser Tirpitz. The strength of the two fleets is comparable, and the outcome of a head-on battle is unknown. However, the German fleet has a slight advantage in overall speed and adopts a strategy of ambiguous entanglement. After receiving instructions to head to the Azores, the British Gibraltar fleet was both wary of the closely following German fleet and anxious about the news of the Spanish army gathering troops in Gibraltar and the German army entering Spain through France. They repeatedly watched and waited, missing the best opportunity to rush to the Azores. At around the same time, the British mainland fleet also encountered similar difficulties. It had not yet sailed out of the English Channel when it was blocked by the Allied fleets of Germany and Ireland. The Germans have two newly commissioned super battleships, the Deutschland and the Prussian, as well as the King's class dreadnoughts that made great contributions during the war. They have two German aircraft carriers and one Irish aircraft carrier, and can also receive land-based aircraft support from Irish and French military bases. In addition, the German and Irish submarines that roam around have woven a big net for the British mainland fleet from the sky, water, and underwater. If the British force through the level, the battle will be doomed. In this situation, if two British fleets recklessly sail towards Azores and a war breaks out during their voyage, their fleets will face the dominant Allied fleet far from their own bases and allied fleets. After a fierce battle, the two sides may not be able to determine the winner, but the injured ships of Germany and Ireland can quickly withdraw to their bases along the Atlantic coast. The damaged ships of Britain either choose a safe route with a long range, or risk crossing the waters controlled by enemy ships and planes. The probability of secondary damage is much higher than that of the opponent, which is obviously a very unfavorable situation. Therefore, the commanders of the two British fleets coincidentally made conservative choices. In this way, the 1st and 2nd special forces fleets, which occupied half of the German navy, stared at each other for more than a week in the Azores with the joint attack of the American and British fleets. Eventually, a storm ended the military standoff that had attracted worldwide attention and amazement. In the eyes of the vast majority of people, the Germans are undoubtedly the big winners of this dispute. They have pulled Spain and Portugal, two Western European countries, into their military camp in one fell swoop, and have also narrowly acquired the Azores, gaining strategic initiative in the Atlantic Ocean. However, this move also allowed the British to bind the Americans as they wished - after Germany forcibly occupied the Azores, the anti German sentiment among the American people reached an unprecedented height, prompting the US Congress to change its usual non alignment policy and approve the government's military alliance agreement with Britain. From this point on, the United States and the United Kingdom, which have deep roots, officially joined forces, and the American war machine entered full speed forward amid fervent calls. The naval military confrontations that occurred in the Azores, Portuguese waters, and the English Channel showcased the dominance of the world's top three naval powers. Any fleet participating in the confrontation alone would be enough to crush the main fleets of second tier naval powers such as the Soviet Union, Italy, and Austria Hungary. At the same time, the confrontation between top battleships also aroused people's infinite imagination. This time, Germany's Deutschland class and Britain's Britannia class met each other in a tense situation, Germany's Tirpitz class played a show of power in front of Britain's Admiral class, and the unique Colorado class of the US Navy also had the opportunity to make an appearance. Countless enthusiasts speculated about their performance in actual combat. A French writer's article "If War Breaks Today" quickly became a serialized article in various newspapers and magazines. In this Frenchman's vision, the United States, Britain, and Germany engaged in an unprecedented and brutal battle in the Atlantic Ocean, ultimately suffering four defeats and injuries, but the German camp emerged victorious thanks to the latecomers of Italy and Austria Hungary. In the final fantasy, the French described the scene of the German army landing in Britain and sweeping across Britain, which sparked strong resistance from the British. As a result, this guy who earned a lot of money from writing was murdered at home and died before he could enjoy the benefits of fame. Setting aside such minor incidents, authoritative figures studying the international situation have predicted that although the two camps have avoided a major war, the competition over the Azores has just begun, and the next trigger for the outbreak of war is likely to be this strategically important Atlantic archipelago. The German leadership is well aware that the United States is very unwilling to see the Azores fall into the hands of the Allied forces, and also knows that the US military has been planning for this situation for many years. Germany's victory this time was unexpected. If the Americans had prepared in advance, this dispute would not have ended so easily. Therefore, while clearing the way for the Portuguese army's coup and the Spanish army's cross-border actions, the Germans intensified their occupation of the Azores - members of the Imperial Parliament eagerly approved a special military budget of 200 million marks to expand defense facilities and build new military airports in the Azores, all of which were required to be completed within three months. Given that Irish people have experience and skills in building fortresses and modern airports, nearly half of the project has been handed over to Irish construction teams, and the price is much higher than the normal market, which has made many Irish military and political officials feel delighted. However, Xia Shu was not so happy about the process and outcome of this dispute. His intention was to keep the Irish Navy out of the matter and observe the changes in the situation. However, in order to achieve a decisive effect, the German high-level demanded that the Irish Navy deploy its full force without leaving room for negotiation, showing the mobilization ability and all the assets of the Irish Navy to the world in advance. On that day, the Irish fleet appeared at the mouth of the English Channel, consisting of modernized battlecruisers Belfast, 14000 ton Scharnhorst class armored cruisers Celtic and Long Live Freedom, 15000 ton standard heavy cruisers Ruger and Dagda, 20000 ton standard aircraft carrier Ulster, as well as four 6000 ton standard light cruisers and fifteen 1000 to 1500 ton destroyers. The tonnage of these ships alone has reached 150000 tons. Compared to the British and German navies, the Irish navy is much weaker in strength, but it has also become a formidable naval force in European waters - its total tonnage has quietly climbed to the eighth place in the world, second only to Germany, the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, and Russia, and it possesses two "unique skills" that set it apart from Europe: weapon technology and talent reserves. Weapon technology refers to top-notch aviation and underwater technology. In recent years, Ireland has produced a group of outstanding designers, and the Irish king himself, known as the "Hohenzollern genius," is a leading expert in this field. Ireland's aircraft and submarine development has always been at the forefront of the world, with the only active aircraft carrier, the Ulster, and the 17000 ton training aircraft carrier, the Angus, carrying the latest models in service. Once the war requires it, the Irish aviation industry can provide Ireland and its allies with a large number of new fighter jets in a relatively short period of time. At the same time, Ireland's submarine manufacturing combined with Germany's diesel engine technology, delivering one high-performance submarine after another. In the face of recognized technological level and cost-effectiveness advantages, even the German Navy purchases nearly one-third of its active submarines from Ireland, and small European and Latin American countries have also ordered many submarines from Ireland. Taking advantage of this, more than half of the more than forty submarines equipped by the Irish Navy are new models built in recent years, and their overall combat effectiveness is not inferior to that of the Italian Navy, which has over a hundred submarines. Talent reserve refers to the reserve of technical talents in the military field with extraordinary standards. Since the 1920s, Ireland's military education system and treatment of military personnel have gradually improved to world-class levels. The quality of technical officers and non commissioned officers has greatly improved compared to the previous period, and their salaries even exceed those of the wealthy United States. This has enabled the Irish military to successfully acquire and retain a large number of outstanding talents. Taking pilots as an example, the active duty fighter jets of Ireland's frontline forces are maintained at around 200, plus 200 trainer planes, but there are nearly a thousand active duty pilots, and all pilots have an annual flying time exceeding that of the UK and Germany. In addition to being assigned to their own active duty forces, many Irish pilots are sent on official missions to allied or neutral countries as flight instructors, and economically weaker countries also welcome this type of high-level flight instructor who does not require their own funding. In addition, the developed Irish aviation industry has absorbed approximately 1200 retired pilots, providing a valuable reserve force for the Irish Air Force. Unless the situation requires it, one should not fully display their sharpness, which is Xia Shu's consistent attitude. The strong performance of the Irish Navy in the Azores crisis has the benefit of enhancing national reputation and national confidence, but it has also served as a solid warning to the United States and Britain: in order to overthrow Germany, on the road to Berlin, the first step is to remove Ireland, which is a smelly and hard stumbling block. Ireland is surrounded by the sea on all sides, with steep coastlines and strong military forces. However, it is ultimately a small country with a population of less than five million, a limited military base, and a heavy dependence on imports for production materials. Its industrial economy is highly concentrated in the capital city of Limerick. As long as Britain is used as a stepping stone to deploy heavy troops, pacifying this island nation does not seem to be a too difficult task.