England, London, the Admiralty.
The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, had just returned from a visit to the Prime Minister's office. The situation was becoming increasingly dire for Britain. Russia had indeed made peace with Germany, relieving the latter of concerns about a two-front war. It was foreseeable that the Germans would soon launch a massive offensive on the Western Front. The ability of the Anglo-French forces to withstand the German onslaught would directly determine their prospects of enduring in this conflict.
In light of these circumstances, not only were the French frantically mobilizing additional troops, but Britain was also endeavoring to bolster its expeditionary force, striving to withstand the impending German assault.
However, the British Navy had yet to recover from its recent devastating losses. While the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships had entered service and the Revenge-class battleships were soon to follow, this restoration of naval strength was insufficient to inspire confidence in the looming decisive naval confrontation. Churchill understood all too well that, even with ten additional battleships equipped with 15-inch guns, the Royal Navy would still struggle to match the German fleet. Thus, his hopes were pinned on the subsequent construction of more formidable vessels, but it was clear that Germany would not afford them ample time.
The German Navy was ruthlessly targeting Britain's maritime supply lines. British merchant ships were either sunk or captured, putting the island nation, heavily reliant on maritime trade, in a perilous position. Had it not been for American vessels continuously transporting various supplies to Britain, the situation might have become untenable.
In an effort to escalate their assault, German submarines and raiders even turned their sights on British fishing boats, sharply reducing the supply of seafood that the British could obtain from the ocean.
Britain, an industrial powerhouse, did not produce sufficient domestic grain and relied heavily on imports. As an island nation, seafood constituted a vital part of the British diet. With their maritime supply lines severed, the British government urged fishermen to increase their catches to avert famine.
Unfortunately, as more and more fishing boats fell victim to German attacks, fishermen became increasingly hesitant to venture out to sea. Even when they did, it was only for short excursions close to shore, severely limiting their ability to catch fish. This significantly heightened the risk of famine in Britain.
Prime Minister Asquith convened the ministers of the British Cabinet to deliberate on strategies to counter this crisis.
"We cannot allow the Germans to act with such impunity," Churchill murmured. "If we do not act soon, our new warships will not be completed before Britain is brought to its knees. The colonial system that has been maintained for centuries could collapse in an instant."
Defeating the German Navy decisively to alleviate the current crisis would be ideal, yet regrettably, the Royal Navy lacked the necessary strength.
"The German raider fleet is formidable, especially with the presence of battlecruisers armed with 15-inch guns. Even if we deploy our Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, we may not secure a favorable outcome. If we cannot counter the raiders, we must focus on addressing the threat posed by their submarines. If we can neutralize the German submarines, the threat to our shipping would diminish significantly," Churchill pondered.
Among the losses inflicted on British merchant vessels by the German Navy, the raider fleet did not account for the largest share. Those seemingly inconspicuous submarines had become the principal agents of severing Britain's maritime supply lines.
Particularly, with the German Navy holding the initiative, they could deploy numerous merchant and supply vessels to support these submarines, extending their operational endurance in the ocean. The elusive and unpredictable nature of submarine attacks rendered British merchant ships exceedingly vulnerable, resulting in tremendous losses.
While the German raider fleet was powerful, its limited numbers meant that a complete blockade of Britain's coast was impossible. If the British could neutralize the German submarines, the crisis facing Britain would be alleviated to some extent.
In this context, Churchill directly issued orders to the Grand Fleet of the Royal Navy, commanding them to find ways to eliminate the German submarines.
Admiral John Jellicoe, upon receiving the orders, felt a great deal of trepidation. The German submarines, lurking beneath the surface, were not easily detected. Although British scientists had developed rudimentary sonar, it was exceedingly primitive compared to future technologies and could not accurately locate underwater targets.
As a result, the Royal Navy's attempts to engage the German submarines had yielded little success.
Since the outbreak of the war, Germany had lost over a dozen submarines, but apart from a few sunk by the Royal Navy, the majority were lost due to technical failures.
The losses of these submarines, however, came at the price of cutting off British maritime supply lines, a trade-off that was undoubtedly deemed worthwhile.
As Admiral Jellicoe endeavored to fulfill Churchill's orders, a British naval staff officer proposed a combat plan. Upon reviewing the proposal, Jellicoe was very pleased and promptly flew to London to present the plan to Prime Minister Churchill.
"Mr. Prime Minister, this is our proposed combat strategy. German submarines frequently surface to threaten our merchant vessels with their guns, forcing many unarmed ships to surrender. Therefore, we can exploit this situation to ambush German submarines or, in essence, set a trap for them, awaiting their unwitting arrival," Admiral Jellicoe explained.
The Royal Navy planned to prepare twenty merchant vessels, discreetly outfitting them with small-caliber rapid-fire guns, to simulate a return voyage from North America to Britain or from Britain to North America. Once a German submarine surfaced to seize these vessels, British sailors disguised as civilians would man the small-caliber guns and attack the German submarine, sinking it.
Undoubtedly, this was a rather crude approach. However, in the absence of alternatives, Churchill had no choice but to adopt this strategy.