I Became a Captain of the British Empire

dizzying distance

A yellow light illuminated the room. The gazes on the long table were as quiet as the chilly spring breeze. Looking around the tightly packed crowd, Baldwin, the wartime prime minister, broke the silence.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s start talking.”

One by one, their eyes turned to the seat of honor. Faces that seemed to each hold a dagger. Fatigue-soaked, bright red eyes flashed sharply.

If you touched it even slightly, it would bite like an angry snake. Under calm pressure, Baldwin held back a sigh and continued.

“The last two days. Our Repulse Task Force has sailed from St. John’s. You’re probably passing Halifax offshore by now.”

I looked at the huge map installed on the wall next to the meeting room to avoid my gaze. A map showing countless routes and battlefields. Seeing Canada, where more than half of them were dyed in red, my head was at a loss. Although we have won, we still have a long way to go.

“I heard that the fleet en route to Newfoundland was ambushed by an enemy submarine. Are there any problems?”

Someone raised their hand and said. I turned my head at the familiar voice. An old man with an impressive short mustache was looking at the prime minister.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that, Minister.”

David Lloyd George. A veteran of the cabinet during the last great war and the current Minister of War. A person who can be said to be a senior who led the wartime cabinet in the past.

Now, even at the age of 70, there was a gun in his calm voice. Baldwin held his breath.

“There was a submarine attack at the entrance to the sea area, but it is said that the frigate of the task force joined in and successfully repulsed it.”

“But being caught on a submarine means that the information is passed on to the US as well.”

“You can’t hide a fleet of that size anyway.”

It was another voice. At the unpleasant voice, this time Lloyd George frowned. The dignified man across from him also had an unreliable face.

“The Secretary of the Navy is right.”

The Secretary of the Navy sided with Churchill, and Baldwin led the story.

“From the beginning, the intention was to provide deterrence through numbers. So, in the end, it can be called a success.”

“However, it is very risky to disclose all of our forces. I think we should send the new battleships to Newfoundland as soon as possible.”

“They have not yet been trained and overhauled.”

Again, it was Churchill who interrupted. asked Lloyd George questioningly, frowning in increasing displeasure.

“How long are you going to delay? Isn’t there a brand new battleship in Newfoundland right now?”

“They have five battleships. It’s not a good number.”

“But everything is outdated. The minister is concerned about that, but… .”

“We cannot only consider the US Navy.”

firm voice. Soon, sharp eyes cross each other.

The two ministers stared at each other for a while and kept their mouths shut. An uneasy atmosphere permeated the meeting room.

“Do both.”

Baldwin scanned the area with deep eyes and waved his hand.

The two ministers reluctantly turned their heads.

Resisting the urge to sigh, Baldwin rubbed his eyes. I’ve already had dozens of meetings, but I still couldn’t understand the Navy Secretary’s fighting cock attitude.

Where does that fighting spirit come from?

Once again, he spoke to the audience.

“For now, let’s wait for a request from the field and discuss it again. More than that, there are things you need to know.”

He looked at Churchill and shook his head. At the signal, the Secretary of the Navy took out the papers and held them up.

“The French fleet sortied from Brest. It’s like normal deep-sea training, but… It has increased significantly in recent years.”

“You’re putting pressure on us!”

Quarterly voice.

Starting with Lloyd George, uncomfortable cries continued from everywhere. Even Churchill, who had just bumped into him, nodded briefly as if in agreement with this opinion.

Even former allies are now mere enemies. However, it was quite different for a comrade in the great war to shake off his hand like this.

It will give you a huge sense of betrayal.

“For now, the Baltic Sea is quiet.”

“Are you saying you won’t move during the meeting… .”

Baldwin covered his mouth and took a deep breath at Foreign Secretary Halifax’s report.

Once there, you’ll be able to catch your breath. But the situation is too bad to be safe.

“Come to think of it, Prime Minister, how did the meeting go?”

Clement Attley, CEO of Seominwon, continued. Baldwin coughed and twisted his mouth.

“That is… .”

I had nothing to say.

All kinds of memories pass by like a kaleidoscope. time of humiliation.

Crinkling his brow from the fatigue of having traveled all the way across the sea, he replied slowly.

“I guess we still have to wait and see.”

“We have no time!”

bang-

Someone hit a desk on one side of the conference room. Treasury Secretary Chamberlain shouted in a raised voice.

“It has been less than 20 years since the Great War ended! It’s a yard that hasn’t recovered from the scars of that time, but it’s an all-out war again!”

“There is no way! Is there any way for the Minister to end the war right now?”

“There is a way.”

A calm voice crossed the conference room. Everyone turned their heads at the same time. At the end, Churchill, who confirmed that attention had been drawn to him, continued.

“It’s about having a decisive battle as soon as possible and seizing control of the sea. If the sea route is blocked, they will have no choice but to step out into the conference room.”

fleet battle.

The weight of those words was felt by all who sat here.

They received a shocking telegram two days after the start of the war. Victory or defeat in the fleet battle can obviously greatly influence the direction of the war.

however…

“I think that is bullsh*t. Secretary of the Navy.”

With a laugh, Lord Halifax shook his head. He stared at Churchill with an uncomfortable glare.

“We also destroyed the German fleet in Jutland. But is that the end of the war? no! The war continued for four years after that!”

“It was different then and now. Americans are smart. If they are at a disadvantage in a decisive battle, they will enter the negotiating table without delay.”

Churchill said that, but his lips trembled.

That’s because he wasn’t even sure. Will the U.S. come to the negotiating table just because it lost its fleet? Of course, if you are a rational opponent, of course you will.

Churchill, however, had only uneasy premonitions. He squeezed his brow and spoke in a strained voice.

“… At least the cause is in our favor, so why don’t we just let them know that this war won’t help them?”

“It’s just a delusion! What if they eat Canada and declare that they will not defeat the army? Shall the yellow monkeys, who are immovable in the Far East, wait?”

“Then it is war again. Cut the waterways, attack the coast, and turn the will of the United Kingdom against the enemy until they are satisfied… .”

“If we go into a long-term battle, we will be at a disadvantage. Secretary of the Navy! How long are you going to keep delusions like Gallipoli?!”

“Damn it, cancel that statement! right now!”

Churchill finally kicked off his desk, put his hands on his hips, and shouted. Lord Halifax did not lose and stood up to face it. But nobody stopped them. It was because the reports poured in like a flood.

“Urgent news! Ireland’s problem… .”

“India’s movements are also unusual.”

“We don’t have to negotiate!”

“England cannot give up even one inch of territory!”

Baldwin whispered quietly in the conference room where all kinds of noise were raging.

“It’s a total mess.”

It was a moment when I missed the cigarette in my bosom.

It’s 5:00 PM, around the time the blue sky is slowly colored by the sunset. Our flyer is sailing around 400km southeast of Halifax.

The waves of the cold Atlantic Ocean crashed silently against the massive steel hull.

“The recon plane is running late.”

Air Chief Martin approached me holding binoculars on the bridge.

“Have you met any enemies?”

“There might be a task fleet nearby.”

I looked up at the sky with anxious eyes. A squadron of combat patrol planes flew in the sky, but unfortunately it didn’t feel very reassuring.

In the previous year’s battle, we also easily chewed air patrol and succeeded in air raids.

There is no guarantee that you won’t be attacked in the same way. This is an era where there is no radar and no know-how in maritime control. Blocking air strikes at the source with an interceptor is, frankly, a delusion.

“Shall we move the destroyers forward and give them an early warning?”

“A red flag?”

“Yes, it would be nice if you could find enemy ships and submarines as well.”

It is a concept similar to the radar picket ship of the future. Of course, since there is no radar, surveillance has to be done with the naked eye. Still, I thought it was better than nothing…

“There are too few destroyers. How are you going to divide the escort ships when you are still sending two ships forward?”

The officer who had been listening to the story from behind approached with a troubled face. So far, at least two destroyers were ahead of the fleet at 30 knots, conducting anti-submarine searches first.

It’s cumbersome, and it’s inconvenient to have to refuel the destroyer from time to time, but you have to do this to avoid losing the precious capital ship. There’s a long way to go, but it’s really difficult to escape after being hit by a torpedo.

“Well, there is no right way.”

He is right. We have sent escorts to the battleship squadron off the coast of Newfoundland, and now we have only four destroyers in our fleet. Excluding the two ships on anti-submarine warfare ahead, there are two ships that will be directly escorted. You can’t attach one ship to each capital ship.

There are other things to think about. During this time, the anti-submarine operation was detected by one ship with sonar, and the other ship ran at full speed and crashed… It’s not, it’s basic to drop depth charges.

So, when dealing with one submarine, it is said that two destroyers are needed.

After all, current flyers are extremely vulnerable to submarine ambush. Of course, it’s safe because it’s high-speed shearing, but… Wars don’t always unfold according to theory.

“Early warning is unreasonable. If so, you might need to keep a preemptive strike in mind.”

It’s just a passing thought, but it might be worth a try when there are more frigates someday. It was the car I was thinking of.

“See you at the Furious!”

“Something?”

I immediately turned my head to the urgent voice. The communication officer was pulling out a message with skillful hand movements.

Run to me at once and hand it to me.

– Discovery of a maneuver fleet composed of multiple ships, including 1 carrier and 1 battleship, bearing 350 degrees, range 50 miles, speed 20 knots.

“Fifty miles?!”

I almost lost the professional in my hands.

Damn, I shouted out loud without even realizing it.

The bridge personnel look at me with their eyes wide open. Chief Jun-Wui’s expression is not bright.

It’s an emergency situation anyway. I tried to ask if the telegram was wrong, but the communications officer wasn’t the kind of guy to do that. The reconnaissance aircraft might not have misunderstood the distance.

Fifty miles! It means that there is an enemy task force only 90 km away. If you really fall down, your nose will reach.

“Damn, what the hell were you doing while you came this close?”

“They say it was difficult to find because there were a lot of clouds.”

“Did we suffer the same number of times we wrote?”

There is no time to panic.

“Anti-aircraft alert! There may be an air raid soon!”

“Chairman, there is no guarantee that this side has been found!”

“It’s 50 miles away!”

“yes? But isn’t it going to be sunset soon?”

I came to my senses at the air chief’s question.

Yes. When the sun goes down, you can’t even launch an air raid. Too much attention was paid to pre-emptive strikes.

“It’s nighttime… No, it would be better to avoid useless skirmishes.”

“But the distance is too close. If the opponent is approaching this way, there is a high chance that they will encounter it even if they change course.”

It was the captain’s words. Opening the chart, he pointed out the course and showed it in front of me.

It’s definitely a flaw that the distance is too close. No matter which way it turns, there is a risk of being caught by the tail due to the size of the fleet. If you saw this side, you might push right in.

Once the enemy’s strength has not been fully revealed, we cannot recklessly start a fight. We don’t know how many fleets there might be behind them. It should be avoided as much as possible.

… But how?

“Chief of the flyer?”

The officer asks in a worried voice.

“Once you change course. To course 070.”

“Raise the signal!”

The deck tilts. A sharp player splits the waves.

The officer, who still blinked anxiously, raised a corner of his mouth and said.

“It’s okay, everything will be fine.”

It was a voice that I couldn’t even hear.

Frustrated, I went to the observation deck and took up my binoculars. Enemies are not visible on the horizon. However, sooner or later, countless chimney smoke may rise above the blue line. My heart is pounding.

“Damn it, your head won’t turn at times like this.”

He patted his head once and shook his head.

Deep down, the owner of the body is resentful. That feeling when you turn the key. If it helps you when planning your strategy, then there’s really nothing to be afraid of…

Well, now that I’m here, things like this are meaningless.

I sighed quietly and looked around. Two capital ships following Repulse in the open sea.

Furious returns behind Tiger, who lightly changes his course. It looks like a dull guy, but he’s pretty fast. really unexpected look. When I was only looking at pictures, it was an unexpected sight…

“wait for a sec.”

Flashing – My head throbbed like electricity. Thoughts continued as if clogged blood was being pierced. It is not the past of the owner of the body. this is my past

A panoramic scene. In an instant, the idea exploded as if something was boiling in my head.

“Yeah, that’s right!”

I turned my head and looked at Furious. A huge hull that moves confidently. lumpy appearance. A bower stretched out below the air deck.

… possible! Simple way. Why didn’t you think of that?

Suddenly, I clenched my fists and jumped into the bridge.

“Correspondent! Can I contact the Furious?”

“yes?”

The communication officer staring at me with a bemused face. I laughed heartily at him.

“There is a way!”

Maybe, I might get out safely.