Self-sinking of the high seas fleet: Operation Rainbow
19181kloc-0/0. In October, World War I was coming to an end and Germany was defeated, but the German ruling group still wanted to put all its eggs in one basket and fight a war. On the 25th, the Navy Command ordered the high seas fleet of Kiel Port to go out to sea to fight against the British, and if it failed, it would "sink gloriously". 80,000 sailors in Kiel Port refused to anchor and set fire to warships. Due to the disillusionment and long-term non-participation of the high seas fleet in the decisive battle with the British fleet, the already shaken will to fight began to collapse.
165438+1On October 3rd, a sailor uprising broke out in the German high seas fleet, which affected the whole high seas fleet, resulting in the rapid collapse of all German war machines and the collapse of the high seas fleet. On the 7th, there was a mutiny among sailors. On June 1 1, the German government signed an armistice agreement, ending the First World War.
According to the 13 clause of the armistice agreement, the German fleet must stay in German Ports and be placed under the close supervision of the allies. At the same time, Germany must hand over the most advanced ships to the victors for detention and disposal, including 10 battleship, 6 battle cruiser, 8 cruisers, 50 destroyers and the entire submarine fleet. At the same time, the victors also carved up all the transport ships that exceeded the German tonnage, and more than half of the remaining smaller ships. The surface ships that the Allies originally decided to disarm were detained in neutral countries, but no neutral country was willing to use its own port as a place to detain the German fleet, fearing that it would become a place of right and wrong afterwards. The allied forces negotiated with Spain on this matter, but the Spanish government refused. At the same time, Germany is also looking for shelter, but in vain. In the end, the victors chose Scarpa Bay in Britain as the safest place to detain the German fleet.
From 2 1 to June 19 19, the German high seas fleet led by German Major General Ludwig von Reuters was detained by the allied forces in Scarpa Bay. The surveillance of the victorious country was extremely strict: radio stations were banned on board, and Reuters and his officers were almost isolated from the world. They can only understand the external situation by reading the British newspaper four days ago.
At the same time, the victors continued to quarrel over the fate of the high seas fleet. Britain tried to monopolize the fleet and was unwilling to share it with its allies. In June, Reuters learned that the armistice agreement 19 18 was about to expire, but the German government still refused to ratify the Paris Treaty of Versailles. British ports are also rumored that the British government is preparing to detain the German fleet. Britain does plan to seize the German fleet. British Deputy Admiral David Betty and Major General Charles Maiden both agreed that if the Germans destroyed their fleet, they would seize it. Some generals even suggested that they must seize the German fleet to avoid accidents. On June 6th, 65438, British Admiral Sidney fremantle submitted to Maiden an action plan to capture the German fleet at midnight on June 6th, 265438. However, the ultimatum of the Allies was extended to 23rd, and the plan to capture the German fleet was postponed to 23rd accordingly. At this critical moment, Reuters decided to sink the fleet.
On the evening of 20th, when reading the London Times of 16, Reuters found that the Allies had given the German government an ultimatum: 2 1 day must accept the peace treaty, otherwise the state of war would be resumed. But what he didn't know was that on the 20th, the same day that he read the newspaper four days ago, the German government had accepted the armistice treaty. Therefore, the ultimatum was extended to the 23rd.
On the morning of 2 1, Reuters's chief of staff told him that five British battleships in charge of the German fleet in Scarpa Bay left Scarpa Bay early that morning for military exercises outside the port. Reuters immediately gave the flagship captain the order to sink the ship.
10: 30, the flagship cruiser "Emden" issued a rainbow signal. 12, 16, the battleship Friedrich the Great sank first. 12: 56, the "King Albert" sank; At 1, at 10, Mao Qi sank; 10, 15, Prince William sank ... other warships also sank one after another.
12: 20, the news of the self-sinking of the German fleet reached the Royal Navy, which was exercising. 12: 35, the British fleet immediately stopped the exercise and rushed back. At 2: 30 in the afternoon, they rushed back to the bay, but everything was irreparable. 17, the battleship hindenburg finally sank. 15 capital ships, 5 cruisers and 30 destroyers sank to the bottom of the sea one after another, completely smashing the attempt of the allies to carve up this fleet. For the Germans, this is a defeat victory. In the words of German navy general Scheer, "it has washed away the humiliation of surrender and showed the world the spirit of the fleet will last forever. This last battle is the best embodiment of the glorious tradition of the German navy! "
The allies were very angry at the sinking of Germany. Soon, four Nassau-class and four Helgolan-class warships that Germany was allowed to keep were announced for extradition, and 42 destroyers, 50 torpedo boats, 300,000 tons of Upright and 4.2 tons of dredgers, tugboats and cranes were handed over to compensate for the losses in Scarpa Bay.
1919165438+15 October, these eight battleships were downgraded by the German navy. The "Nashore" was finally compensated to Japan, and the remaining three ships were compensated to Britain, while the "Helgolan" class warship was divided up by Britain, the United States, Japan and France. The French and Italian navies also carved up the remaining new light ships in Germany. There are only six old battleships left in the German navy. These ships are not allowed to be used for other purposes except training and coastal defense. In addition, many warships were dismantled by the British and had no fighting capacity at all. At the same time, the Allies imposed strict restrictions on the establishment of the German navy. It is stipulated that the size of the navy shall not exceed 15000 and the number of officers shall not exceed 1500. The tragic fate of the German navy is enough to prove the special significance of the fleet to the war. The victorious country used the legal weapon of the peace treaty to completely liquidate the German navy. The defeat of the German war and the sinking of the German fleet in Scarpa Bay also declared the failure of William II's naval policy and the final disillusionment of its dream of becoming a great power.
The rout of the cruiser war
Shortly after the curtain of the First World War, the Royal British Navy blocked the North Sea with its strong strength, blocking most German warships in Kiel Port and William Port. In the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean of Haopu, there are only eight German surface ships participating in the war, four of which belong to the East Asian Fleet under the command of von Spee vice admiral. On August 8, 2004, the first and second squadrons of the Japanese fleet were ordered by Admiral to set sail for Jiaozhou. On 14, Japan submitted an ultimatum to the German government, demanding that Germany immediately withdraw its warships in Jiaozhou Bay and deliver the leased land in Jiaozhou Bay to Japan before September 15. An answer must be given before noon on August 23rd.
On August 23rd, 19 18, because there was no response, Japan declared war on Germany in the name of "anglo-japanese alliance" and sent troops to occupy China Jiaodong Peninsula and Qingdao. Jiaozhou Bay was immediately blocked by the Japanese fleet, including gunboats such as stoats, jaguars, bobcats and tigers in Jiaozhou Bay, old steam sail cruisers, cormorants, S-90 and Dagu torpedo boats, and Elizabeth and Empress 2 of Austria.
Japanese warships also shelled the fortifications in Qingdao. In September, a Japanese aggressor army landed in Qishan Bay under the leadership of General Shenwei. Nearly5,000 Germans and reserves stubbornly resisted the attack of about 20,000 Japanese troops. 65438+1October 3 1 day, Japan launched the final attack,165438+1October 7, the Japanese army swarmed in, Alfred Mayer-Waldeck surrendered, and 200 Germans were killed and 500 wounded.
On February 8, 65438, Germany and Britain fought a naval battle near the Falkland Islands, and Britain won a decisive victory. British Stilt destroyed Speer's fleet and sank four German warships and two coal carriers at a very small cost. Since then, Germany has lost its ability to fight in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and the remaining warships have been sunk or driven back to Germany.
Japanese warships are still patrolling the Pacific trade routes, sweeping German shipping. And sent the navy to attack the South Pacific, occupying the undefended Caroline Islands and Marshall Islands in Germany. Eugenio Blanco, the last governor of Spain's Caroline Islands, proposed to recruit 5,000 well-trained Filipino volunteers without any remuneration to help Germany defend itself, but it was rejected by the German Foreign Ministry and the General Staff of the Navy.
19 14 Samoa was occupied on August 29th, and Bismarck was occupied by the British Expeditionary Force on September 29th,1. 2 1 September 26th, 2008-101October 29th, the Japanese fleet occupied all the islands in Micronesia, Germany, on the pretext of chasing German squadrons. 10 year 10. On October 6th, the Mariana Islands were occupied. On the 7th, Palau was occupied by the Australian army. 16 On February 6th, Emperor William's territory was occupied by the landing parties and the Australian fleet (consisting of four armed cruisers, six torpedo destroyers and three submarines). 65438+On February 27th, Solomon Islands was occupied by Australians.
In Africa, Britain believes that German colonies threaten the security of the British Empire, and that Germany does not deserve to own colonies and is not suitable for governing native races. Therefore, Britain should destroy the German colonies to ensure the safety of the British Empire and its colonies. 1965438+Before the end of August 2004, British troops occupied Togo. British and French troops moved into Rumailong again. 165438+ 10 In October, Germany's East Africa repelled an expeditionary force from India. Under the unified command of a young German military genius, Lieutenant Colonel Paul von Lai-Fohrbeck, an army composed of local whites and aborigines launched several short-term attacks on British East Africa during the period of 19 14. However, by the end of 19 16, all German colonies had surrendered to their allies under the attack of the powerful British army, except the East African colony of Germany.
Smutz was an outstanding South African and Commonwealth politician, strategist and philosopher, and was a spokesman in London at that time. When talking about Germany's attempt to become a world power, he said: Germany will endanger western civilization. Whatever happens, these colonies will never be returned to Germany. This is almost an inevitable result ... they should stay with our allies. "His views have been widely echoed by the British media.
1965438+On June 28th, 2009, Britain, France and other naval powers drafted the Treaty of Versailles in the name of 27 victorious countries, in which the military side stipulated the dissolution of the German General Staff and other similar organizations; Abolish the compulsory military service system; According to the quota of German naval vessels, the number of German ships does not exceed 6,543.8+million, and the number of navy ships does not exceed 6,543.8+0.5 million. The production of heavy weapons and the possession of aircraft are prohibited. The navy has developed six battleships and cruisers with a maximum capacity of 65438+ 10000 tons, destroyers and torpedoes with a capacity of 12, and it is forbidden to own submarines and warships with a capacity of more than 65438+ 10000 tons. Article 22 of the Treaty of Versailles also carved up Germany's overseas colonies and spheres of influence, further weakening Germany's maritime interests, which was guaranteed by Article 1 19.
The peace treaty also stipulates that Togo and Humailong in Africa are divided by Britain and France; Tanzania, Africa, Tanzania, Tanzania, Tanzania, Tanzania, Tanzania, Tanzania, Tanzania, Tanzania. Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands and Mariana Islands north of the equator of the Pacific Ocean belong to Japan; South of the equator, Germany New Guinea belongs to Australia; Samoa was assigned to New Zealand; Jiaozhou Bay illegally acquired by Germany in China was also handed over to Japan; Portugal gets the Assange triangle; Germany's southwest Africa was ruled by the South African Federation appointed by the League of Nations. The colonial system that Germany plundered and operated overseas for half a century vanished in an instant.