I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 272: Original - 272 The Battlefield of Politicians Modified - 272 The Battlefield of Politicians

Chapter 272: Original: Chapter 272 The Battlefield of Politicians Modified: Chapter 272 The Battlefield of Politicians

London, England, in the third-floor conference room of the Navy Department Building, the Minister of the Army, the Minister of the Navy, and a group of young naval officers including General Winter engaged in heated discussions about the Dardanelles Sea Battle.

"We should stop this operation!" General Winter expressed his viewpoint during the meeting: "This plan might have had a chance of success at the beginning, but now it has failed. We must acknowledge this result. Trying to commit more forces and resources to a battle with almost no hope of winning is more like gambling rather than waging war!"

The young officers supported Shire’s viewpoint, as they had always believed that the plan to win a war and force a country to surrender solely relying on the navy was unrealistic; this era had passed.

Even if the formidable fleet of the Allies could break into the Marmara Strait, even if the fleet could set cannons below the walls of Constantinople, would the Ottoman Empire surrender because of it?

The young officers’ viewpoint was: "They only need to withdraw their army a dozen kilometers away, and then you can do whatever you want. Why would they surrender?"

The Minister of the Navy questioned calmly: "Why isn’t war a gamble? Is it sentenced to death merely because of a small defeat? No, we should not give up on it!

"Your Excellency!" General Winter stared at the Minister of the Navy in disbelief: "We lost three battleships in one day, and three were severely damaged and lost combat capability. Yet, you regard this as a ’small defeat’?"

That is already one-third of our strength, they could even form the navy of a country.

The Minister of the Navy smiled gently and rose to answer confidently: "Gentlemen, first we should look at the casualty numbers of this battle."

The Minister of the Navy lifted the document in his hand towards everyone, then turned around and said: "You may have received the war report; in the entire battle there were only 728 casualties!"

He threw the document on the table, pointing heavily with his finger: "728 casualties, this small number is insignificant. The army can suffer thousands or even tens of thousands of casualties in a single day. Are we supposed to be frightened by such a small number in the navy?"

The Minister of the Navy did not go into detail, and the attendees tacitly refrained from discussing it, but they all understood:

Most of the 728 casualties were from "Bouvet."

It sank in over two minutes with a loud explosion, the vast majority of the crew did not escape in time, more than six hundred were taken to the sea floor with the battleship.

But "Bouvet" was a French warship, the casualties were French, and British sailors suffered only a little over a hundred casualty.

That was indeed "insignificant."

The Minister of the Navy’s words were immediately opposed by General Winter: "We are not the army, Your Excellency! We lost 6 main battleships..."

"3, General Winter." The Minister of the Navy corrected him: "The other vessels were merely damaged."

Then, the Minister of the Navy passionately added:

"Damaged ships can be generally repaired in the Malta shipyard in about a month or six weeks, and then return to the battlefield."

"As for those sunk battleships, they were destined to become a pile of scrap metal in any condition, even if they didn’t sink, they would soon be retired and sent to the shipyard for dismantling!"

These words were fiercely opposed by the naval officers, who responded angrily:

"Mines cannot differentiate between old ships and new ones, Your Excellency!"

"The reason old ships were lost is that they are always at the forefront, while new ships follow the paths cleared by old ships. If all old ships are blown up, then it will be the new ships’ turn next!"

"If you think so, why don’t you personally board ’Queen Elizabeth’ and fight this battle?"

...

The Minister of the Navy’s words were ignorant, the sunken battleships might be old for Britain, but globally they were still quite advanced.

Moreover, dealing with mines indeed has nothing to do with whether a ship is old or new.

General Winter believed these words insulted the navy’s dignity, he stood up abruptly and stared at the Minister of the Navy angrily:

"Your Excellency, you must know one thing, these old battleships are sacred."

"When many sailors were young officers, the first words they heard when stepping onto the deck were ’To abandon a warship is a disgrace, they will stand with the warship’."

"Even when they become old sailors or ship captains, they still remember this sentence deeply ingrained in their minds."

"Yet you disregard them, treating them as consumables, as junk to be dismantled even if they aren’t blown up ..."

The Minister of the Navy interrupted General Winter:

"I understand this, General."

"But for a leader, warships have no emotional value during wartime."

"Warships are tools, machines meant to take risks during a war, and should sacrifice for the common cause and the country’s basic policies when necessary! I believe that is very worthwhile!"

General Winter and the naval officers were at a loss for words, as what the Minister of the Navy said seemed to be a truth, whereas these naval officers had emotionalized and personified the war machines.

This is the result of politicians commanding the military; they do not consider the emotions, morale, and battlefield reality of the military but only their political interests and reputation.

The key is that politicians usually have better rhetoric, they can dominate the battleground of the meeting room and leave the military side speechless, despite the fact that the truth proves the politicians wrong.

Ultimately, the Royal Navy agreed to continue the battle under the persuasion of the Minister of the Navy, although they did not accept the absurd notion of "the Navy alone can win."

This was exactly what the Minister of the Navy intended, as he had already convinced the Minister of the Army to join the plan.

Their idea was: "The navy was close to victory, now if we add the cooperation of the army, we can end this war gloriously without much effort."

By then, they would be the creators of a great victory, the turning point of World War I, ending the war and bringing unimaginable political benefits.

General Winter pessimistically sent a telegram to Shire:

"I feel we are sinking deeper into the quagmire, moving from one disaster to a more dreadful one."

"But I am powerless to prevent it, I can only hope you will help."

"If anyone can save them, I believe that person is you. Please be fully prepared!"

These words alerted Shire.

Previously, Shire had also hoped to stop this battle or, through intelligence, steer it in a better direction. But it seemed to have little effect.

If it can’t be stopped, perhaps some preparations can be made in advance?