"General, should we dispatch our warships to reinforce the French and Italian navies? If we allow the Germans to sink their battleships, the upcoming decisive battle will undoubtedly turn against us!" Vice Admiral David Beatty suggested.
Admiral John Jellicoe nodded. "Very well, send some smaller warships to their aid. However, our own air defense must be strengthened."
Although the three-nation navy had formed a joint fleet, as the commander of the fleet, Admiral Jellicoe had the duty to maintain impartiality. Yet, as a Briton, he could not help but prioritize the interests of the Royal Navy.
Even though the British Navy had sent some smaller warships to assist the French and Italian navies in their air defense, these smaller ships were equipped with minimal anti-aircraft firepower. Dispersing them across the fleet rendered them ineffective. The German naval aircraft exploited the gaps, launching attacks on the French and Italian battleships.
The *Paris*, the third ship of the *Courbet*-class battleships, became the second French battleship to be sunk. Under the siege of German naval aircraft, it was struck by four torpedoes and two bombs.
Following the *Paris*, the *Provence* also met a similar fate, raising the number of French battleships lost in this battle to three.
After the loss of the *Dante Alighieri*, the Italian navy's *Giulio Cesare* was also sunk after it was hit by five torpedoes, bringing Italy's losses to two battleships.
By this time, the German naval aircraft had expended all their bombs and torpedoes and had to return to base. Although they were not entirely satisfied, with no more bombs or torpedoes left, they could not simply crash their planes into enemy ships. They returned to the carriers for refueling and rearming before launching further attacks.
In this initial wave, the Germans had sunk five battleships from the Allied fleet. This was a remarkable victory, reducing the number of the Joint Fleet's battleships from 36 to 31—three fewer than the German fleet's 34. This shift meant that they no longer held a numerical advantage in capital ships, making it increasingly difficult to defeat the German Navy in the coming battles.
Admiral Jellicoe watched the retreating German aircraft, his face dark with frustration, as though the very air around him were suffused with gloom.
"Sir, the losses are catastrophic. After losing five battleships, do we still stand a chance of defeating the Germans in the upcoming showdown?" Vice Admiral Beatty shook his head with a bitter smile. He no longer felt the confidence he once had.
"I don't know. Perhaps we should never have engaged in this final battle with the Germans," Admiral Jellicoe responded.
Undoubtedly, the probability of British failure in this battle had now increased significantly.
"Sir, even if we wanted to retreat, it is no longer feasible. The German main fleet is already close. If we withdraw, they will certainly pursue us relentlessly. In that case, we will only be able to fall back to the Irish Sea. While this might save our capital ships, it will effectively be a defeat. France and Italy will not be able to hold out much longer," Vice Admiral Beatty said.
If they did not win this battle, the fall of France and Italy would become inevitable. In that case, Britain would be left to face Germany alone—a prospect that seemed insurmountable given the current state of the British military.
"I know," Admiral Jellicoe said. "Therefore, no matter what, this battle must continue. We must fight with everything we have to defeat the Germans. Only then will our nation have any hope."
The Allied fleet had been badly crippled by the German aircraft in this latest wave of attacks. Morale had plummeted, particularly among the French and Italian navies. Their fighting spirit, never as strong as the British, had barely held together under such heavy blows. If the Germans launched another wave of attacks, it was unclear how much longer they could withstand the pressure.
On the German side, Admiral Reinhard Scheer, Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper, and Vice Admiral Wilhelm von Schpeiser, upon hearing that their aircraft had sunk five battleships of the Allied fleet, could not suppress their laughter.
"Sir, they are now left with only 31 capital ships, three fewer than our fleet. The upcoming decisive battle holds no suspense; we will certainly defeat them!" Vice Admiral Schpeiser said with full confidence.
Admiral Scheer nodded. "The aircraft carrier's attack was only the first wave. Soon, they will begin the second wave. Let us hope they can sink even more enemy ships. The more ships they destroy, the higher our chances of victory."
"I never expected the power of aircraft carriers to be so immense. It seems that the aircraft carrier, with its planes, will inevitably replace battleships and battlecruisers as the central force of naval warfare," Vice Admiral von Hipper mused.
"Yes, while battleships and battlecruisers may still play a role in specific naval theaters, the aircraft carrier will undoubtedly become the dominant force in naval warfare," Vice Admiral Schpeiser agreed.
"This is undoubtedly good news for the Imperial Navy. After all, we are far ahead of other nations in terms of aircraft carriers. In addition to the two *Vanguard-class* carriers, the four *Kaiser Wilhelm II-class* carriers will soon be commissioned. Once that happens, the Imperial Navy's strength will further increase!" Admiral Scheer declared.
While the German Navy was already the world's most powerful, this did not mean there was no room for improvement. With more aircraft carriers entering service, the Imperial Navy's power would continue to grow, making it even harder for other nations to challenge Germany.
The rise of aircraft carriers as the main force in naval combat, coupled with the German Navy's continued success with its carriers, had become an irreversible trend.