Chapter 1371 Maritime Light Cavalry

Chapter 1371 Maritime Light Cavalry

A huge net has been opened over the Baltic Sea and on the sea. The German navy and air force have set up the net, waiting for the Russian fleet to fall into the net. The light cruiser squadron used as a bait has also increased the frequency of its activities at sea and will The cordon moved north.

"Rear Admiral Hopmann, your mission is to attack the Russian transport fleet severely and force them to come out from the depths of the Gulf of Finland. Be careful not to go deep into the Gulf of Finland. There may be minefields there." When Hipper told the fourth After the commander of the reconnaissance fleet, Rear Admiral Hopman, issued the order, the prologue of the entire Baltic Sea campaign finally came to light!

"It's very difficult, very difficult." After receiving the order, Major General Hopman, after discussing with his staff, agreed that this task was very difficult! The reason is simple. After sailing out of the Gulf of Finland, the absolute territory of the Russian fleet, and turning slightly south, you can reach the northern entrance of the Gulf of Riga, the Strait of Moon (the translation may be different in different places. This article chose the Intrepid Sea). translation.)

The islands on both sides of the strait, Dago Island and Issel Island, have Russian turrets, and there are also mines deployed in the strait, either by the Russians themselves or by the Germans... If the light cruiser detachment wants to enter this sea area, even without the escort of Russian warships, the threat will be great. It may be attacked by coastal defense artillery or encounter mines.

If the battle is conducted in the Gulf of Finland, it may be too close to the Russian fleet headquarters. If you are unlucky, the light cruiser squadron may have been destroyed by the Russian fleet before the German fleet arrives. Even if the Hipper fleet can enter the Gulf of Finland, it will still encounter difficulties in the Gulf of Riga. Russian mines and coastal defense guns will pose a great threat to the fleet. And if there is an ambush in the north. If the Russians choose night transportation, one night is enough for the transport ship to walk from the Gulf of Finland to the Gulf of Riga. However, if they choose night battle, the risks and uncertainties will be greater. In addition, another disadvantage is that the Gulf of Finland is a bit far from the German mainland airport, and the aircraft's flight time may be greatly affected.

"It's impossible to go north. Even if the Russian fleet comes out and successfully captures them, they can still choose to temporarily enter the Gulf of Riga, rely on the cover of turrets and mines, and then sneak out one night. Our small number of warships cannot It is possible to block the entire Gulf of Finland for a long time." Finally, Major General Hopman wrote in his report to Hipper.

Hipper also thought so after studying the situation in the war zone. The probability of success in taking action from the north is not high. So, the German Navy turned its attention to the south again! The western entrance of the Gulf of Riga, the Irbe Strait between the Courland Peninsula and Issel Island (also called Saaremaa Island on some maps)! This strait happened to be the route taken by the German Navy in history when launching Operation Albion.

"This route is also not good. There are still minefields, and on the private Volbe Peninsula, which extends to the south of Ussel Island, there are three Russian forts with 12-inch shore guns and 6-inch shore guns. and 4 130MM shore guns each. There is a certain risk for small warships.

"Hipper's chief of staff, Major General von Ruyter, marked the locations of the three Russian forts on the map.

"Is it okay if the destroyer and minesweeper units are allowed to clear a channel in the minefield?" Hipper asked the commander of the destroyer squadron next to him.

"If we were not too close to the Kurland area, we would simply pass through without much difficulty. The Russians deployed defensive minefields here, just offshore, and we are sure that the Russians did not deploy transverse minefields. Minefields throughout the strait!" said the latter.

"Why?" Hipper asked curiously.

"It's unclear. Maybe the Russians lacked enough mines. They put too much experience into building the defense line in the Gulf of Finland. In addition, in the port city of Riga inside the Gulf of Riga, the Russians deployed an additional minefield. For these reasons , they weakened the defense strength of the Irbe Strait. And they also have to enter and exit from here. Maybe for this reason, they left a channel." An officer replied.

"Can we find it?" Hipper asked immediately.

"There is no problem at all. Our seaplanes often conduct reconnaissance and have guided submarines into the area. There has never been a problem! Recently, the Russian fleet has not added new minefields." The officer affirmed.

"This is a bit hard to understand. If I were the Russian Navy, I would fill all the entrances and exits of the entire Gulf of Riga with mines!" Hipper sighed. However, in fact, although the battleships of the Russian Baltic Fleet in this plane are relatively powerful, their mine warfare capabilities are completely weakened. Judging from the current situation, the German army estimates the number of mines laid by the Russian army in the entire Gulf of Riga area to be about 2,300. This data seems to be a lot, right? In fact, it’s not enough at all!

You must know that in history, the Russian Navy deployed tens of thousands of mines in the Irbe Strait alone! There are also more than 1,300 rounds in the Moon Strait in the north! This does not include the number of mines outside the port of Riga. As for how large the overall mining scale of the Russian Navy was in history? Historically, in 1914, the Russians deployed 5,224 mines, but what about 1916? The Russians deployed 13,936 mines! Russia's minefields in the Gulf of Finland even achieved the glorious record of directly blowing up 7 of the 11 German destroyers of the 10th Lightning Strike Group by relying solely on mines. However, fortunately among the misfortunes, only 18 people were killed on the 7 destroyers. 20 people were injured...... At that time, the number of personnel on a destroyer was about 80!

Now, there are only 2,300 mines in the entire Gulf of Riga, and the German submarine force, which often performs missions nearby, said that this number is still overestimated by the Russians... As for why this happened, there are two main reasons. The first point is that after all, the war only lasted a year. Although the first battle in this plane started at the beginning of the year, the year 1914 in history was actually not even half a year old. It was already the third year when the Germans attacked the Gulf of Riga. After three years of accumulation, the Russian minefields were naturally numerous and thick.

The second point is that the Russian military industry capabilities are largely occupied by the war of attrition on land. You must know that a mine is not just an iron box filled with explosives. The electro-hydraulic trigger fuze or mechanical trigger fuze inside is considered high. Technology Products. The Russians were so embarrassed that they dismantled their shore batteries and used them as land guns. How many resources do you expect them to have to lay mines?

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