Chapter 20: Battlecruiser Fleet, Sortie!

Until today, Lelouch had not realized that many aerial reconnaissance spies in this era actually flew under the flags of neutral nations.

Because airplanes had only existed for a decade, every country was still figuring out how to use them militarily.

Three months into the world war, the warring factions merely maintained basic anti-aircraft vigilance at the front lines, while the rear borders lacked any air defense awareness whatsoever.

Thus, the Britannians came up with the idea of screening citizens from neutral countries like the Netherlands to find those with flying skills and pro-Britannian political leanings.

They would then offer them hefty sums to fly into Demania's airspace and take photographs.

Vital military sites like Wilhelmshaven were naturally their frequent targets. As long as they could capture which warships were in port and which were gone, the photos would fetch a high price.

Unfortunately for them, they had run into Immelmann today. Since Immelmann had just been tipped off by Lelouch to carry weapons, the two men in the other plane clearly had no hope of returning.

Immelmann trailed slowly behind and to the side of the enemy, gradually closing the distance. Finally, the two aircraft were flying in the same direction at nearly identical speeds, less than thirty meters apart.

Only then did Immelmann pull out a Mauser pistol, handing it first to Lelouch before drawing another for himself. The two of them opened fire together.

"Captain! Aim for the pilot in the front! If the pilot dies, the plane crashes! What's the point of killing the photographer!"

Seeing that Immelmann was prioritizing the rear seat, giving the enemy plane a chance to turn and escape, Lelouch grew frantic.

Pilots of this era considered themselves "knights of the sky" and adhered to chivalry. So, when firing his gun for the first time today, Immelmann instinctively targeted the spying photographer first.

Fortunately, Immelmann was quick to correct his mistake. He immediately snapped back onto the enemy's tail with vicious precision, a completely self-taught maneuver.

Lelouch stared intently at the enemy pilot ahead and to their side. Gripping the Mauser C96 single-handedly, he mimicked the sideways shooting stance from later eras and fired rapidly.

The immense recoil of the Mauser C96 made it difficult to stabilize with one hand. However, by turning the gun horizontally, the upward kick of the recoil translated into horizontal spread, naturally creating a narrow field of suppressive fire.

He squeezed off over a dozen shots in rapid succession. Two of the bullets pierced the fabric skin and the seat, punching into the enemy cockpit.

The enemy pilot shrieked in agony as a bullet tore through the seat, entering his back and bursting out his chest. A massive spray of blood splattered across the plane's flight controls.

The enemy spy in the rear seat panicked, but it was impossible to swap seats in mid-air to take over the controls. He could only watch helplessly as the aircraft spun out of control, maintaining its general trajectory as it plummeted toward the distant sea.

"Exhilarating! So this is aerial combat! I've shot down the first plane in human military history! I'm going to report this achievement the moment we get back, and give interviews!" Captain Immelmann flailed his arms in excitement; if he wasn't flying the plane, he would have jumped for joy.

Lelouch replied, "Don't be so hasty! Are you that eager to leak the news that 'our pilots have already figured out aerial combat'? Wouldn't you rather make full preparations, equip our first batch of planes with machine guns, and then announce your combat results? If you reveal it too early, you're just giving the enemy free time to react!"

Hearing this, Immelmann felt a twinge of disappointment. He knew Lelouch made sense, but he didn't want to let the immediate glory slip away.

The interests of the Empire were important, but so were personal interests and honor.

Fortunately, Lelouch quickly found a persuasive angle. "Besides, you didn't even shoot this plane down, did you? You only focused on the spy in the back seat. I was the one who killed the pilot!

"I'm not rushing to claim credit, so why are you? But as long as you're willing to hold off for now, I will accurately report your contributions to Duke Rupprecht when the time comes. Your merits will be rewarded all at once, guaranteeing you an exceptional promotion!"

Immelmann thought it over. Even though this guy was two years younger than him, he was highly regarded by the generals of the Bavarian Royal Family. His words should carry some weight.

Muttering, Immelmann agreed. "Fine, just remember to vouch for me when the time comes. But what if the navy fishes up the wreckage or the bodies later? How do we explain that?"

"That's easy," Lelouch said. "Just have Rear Admiral Hipper say they recovered a crashed neutral aircraft. As for whether the newspapers want to report it, that's up to them. Besides, it'll be hard to dredge up anyway."

Immelmann still had one concern. "But I'm only temporarily seconded to the 6th Army, and I'm not from Baria. Will the Duke even have the authority to promote me?"

This question was exactly what Lelouch wanted to hear. Secretly delighted, he quickly reassured the pilot. "What's so hard about that? Just request a transfer to the 6th Army. I recall you mentioning you were from Saxony, right?"

Immelmann was born in Dresden, a major city in Saxony. The state of Saxony was located between Baria and Prossen, and the local beliefs and customs were a transitional blend of the two.

Among the main aviation heroes of the German Army in World War I, Immelmann's origins were relatively the closest to the southern German faction. The others, like Boelcke and Richthofen, were typical Prossen men.

Furthermore, these men were all very young, entirely born in the 1890s. Immelmann was born in '90, Boelcke in '91, and Richthofen was the same age as Lelouch, born in '92.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to rope an air force ace into his own little faction—wasn't that just perfect?

Immelmann said no more, simply nodding to seal the deal. The two reached a tacit understanding.

Immelmann knew very well that this Lelouch had vision. Telling him to bide his time was about making fuller preparations to seize a much greater, unexpected victory in the future.

Given that, Immelmann would naturally choose delayed gratification.

...

Half an hour later, after a smooth landing, Lelouch met with Rear Admiral Hipper in the raiding squadron's operations room in Wilhelmshaven.

Armed with Duke Rupprecht's handwritten secret letter and other tokens, he naturally faced no obstacles.

Rear Admiral Hipper had served as the Duke's adjutant in his youth, so he readily granted immediate audiences to anyone sent by his former commander.

The Rear Admiral's full name was Franz von Hipper. He was actually five years older than the Duke, having turned fifty this year. However, his background was relatively humble; even with a 'von' in his name, he had only reached the rank of Rear Admiral by the age of fifty.

Lelouch didn't have time to waste on pleasantries. After a brief introduction, he laid out everything he had repeatedly analyzed: the intelligence issues, the combat plans, and his speculations regarding the enemy.

Of course, he had Rear Admiral Hipper dismiss his subordinates first so the two could speak in private.

Hipper clearly related to this much more deeply than the Duke and Karl had.

Several times, when Lelouch mentioned that "the Britannians infiltrated our communications department under the cover of the neutral Netherlands, meaning our wired telegrams might be intercepted at signal relay stations, or our radio codes have been leaked and deciphered," Rear Admiral Hipper slapped his thigh fiercely, saying with bitter resentment:

"I knew it! I've felt something was off for a long time! Just three months into the war, the Empire's sabotage operations to raid enemy coastal ports have had to hit the brakes at the last minute several times! The enemy always inexplicably bolstered their defenses! So this is where the problem lies!"

Lelouch hadn't expected the man to be convinced so easily. Taken aback, he asked, "You... you just completely believe my theory?"

Hipper replied, "Because I already had these suspicions. Your explanation perfectly corroborates them, not to mention you have His Grace the Duke's secret letter."

Overjoyed, Lelouch said, "Then you... also agree with the Duke's plan and are willing to set a trap for the Britannians to verify these theories? If the results are good, we'll have a chance to earn some military merit, though you will have to temporarily bear the infamy of insubordination..."

Hipper waved a large hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. I'm used to acting on my own and disobeying orders in the military. Every time the Admiralty lets me pick my own targets for coastal bombardment raids, I've never strictly followed their demands. I always change either the time or the location.

"Thinking about it now, thank God I did! Otherwise, my men would have been killed off long ago by those leaking fools!"

Admiral Hipper was so straightforward that it left Lelouch—who had prepared a mountain of persuasive arguments in advance—somewhat at a loss.

All those speeches had been prepared for nothing.

Lelouch was stunned for a long moment before letting out a long sigh. "You're the one who should be the Commander-in-Chief of the High Seas Fleet! A foolish old dog like Scheer is completely unworthy!"

Flattered by this high praise, Rear Admiral Hipper grew a bit nervous and quickly rebuked him. "Don't say such things! Vice Admiral Scheer is a highly respected and meticulous senior officer!"

Knowing when to stop, Lelouch immediately adopted the posture of an impulsive young man, offering a token apology.

But even after apologizing, Lelouch stubbornly pressed on. "I've always felt that temporary differences in rank don't mean much. With years of war ahead, there will be plenty of opportunities to earn merit.

"He may be a Vice Admiral right now while you are a Rear Admiral, but in the future, you might be the faster one to reach full Admiral!"

Hipper laughingly scolded him to stop spouting nonsense, but inside, he couldn't help but feel a surge of secret satisfaction. 'This kid gets me! He knows what I'm capable of!'

Hitting it off like old friends who had met too late, the two discussed many deployment details.

Lelouch then told Hipper about how, just before dawn, he had flown with Immelmann and shot down a Britannian reconnaissance plane sent under the guise of a neutral nation.

Hipper immediately dispatched destroyers toward the direction Lelouch indicated to search for the downed wooden enemy aircraft.

Airplanes of this era were still built with wooden frames and canvas skins. Many had an overall density lighter than water, making it possible for them to float on the sea for a long time after crashing.

While Hipper went to arrange the recovery of the plane, Lelouch analyzed the potential symbolic significance of the event. "The fact that the Britannians sent a plane to scout Wilhelmshaven at a time like this shows how much they care about the situation inside the port. This indirectly confirms that they are planning a major operation soon.

"Nine times out of ten, they intend to use the Channel Fleet to bombard Nieuwpoort and Ostend. If you deploy a strong enough force for a long-distance raid, you could secure a massive victory. Even if the enemy doesn't show up, you can simply pivot and bombard the French forces currently attacking Nieuwpoort, then use your battlecruisers' high speed to retreat immediately without getting bogged down in an engagement. No matter how you look at it, our forces won't lose out."

Hipper nodded with a smug smile. "Not a problem. I'll immediately have someone send out the two deceptive telegrams you mentioned in your plan. And I don't mind telling you, you've come at the perfect time. I was already planning to bombard the port of Yarmouth on the eastern coast of the Britannian mainland in early November to destroy their local piers, shipyards, and anchored fleets.

"Because of that, my battlecruiser fleet has finished all preparations for a sortie and is ready to set sail at any moment. I don't even need to draw up a separate deception plan; I can just use the existing one. I'll simply touch up the Yarmouth bombardment plan I was originally going to execute, fabricate a few difficulties, and request instructions from my superiors via radio.

"If the enemy really intercepts and decodes my message, then their high-speed warships—even if they sail south from Scotland to set an ambush—won't go as far as the coast of Belgin. They might just wait around Yarmouth instead."

Hearing the situation Admiral Hipper laid out, Lelouch was even more overjoyed.

To think there was such a perfect coincidence!

In fact, in the original history, on November 3, 1914, Admiral Hipper was supposed to lead his two battlecruisers and one armored cruiser to bombard the Britannian port of Yarmouth. Since the war began, this would have been the third time he executed such a mission.

Today was October 28, merely five or six days away from that historical bombardment.

Considering that a fleet sortie often required playing a bit of smoke and mirrors rather than heading straight for the real target immediately after leaving port, a time difference of five or six days wasn't that long. After all, it was impossible to keep a fleet's departure a secret from the enemy; their spies would notice it sooner or later.

For the first two or three days right after discovering an enemy fleet had left port, the opposition's vigilance was usually at its highest. Only after the fleet disappeared for a while would they gradually let their guard down.

Just like the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf, they had to hear it a few times to become desensitized and slacken off.

In this way, Hipper could use a genuinely existing combat plan to deceive the enemy.

With every detail of the deployment being incredibly authentic, the results would naturally be outstanding.

Furthermore, the fleet's sortie preparations could be compressed to the absolute limit. Normally, a battlecruiser fleet's sortie would require several days for resupply and maintenance, but now they could just set out immediately. Everything had already been prepared in advance for the Yarmouth bombardment mission. Even the boilers had been preheated on a light load.

After urgently handling all these radio deceptions, Rear Admiral Hipper finally boarded his flagship, the battlecruiser Derfflinger, to set sail.

Before departing, he kindly extended an invitation to Lelouch. "Well, do you plan on flying back to the front lines, or returning with my battlecruisers? If you trust my strength, take the Derfflinger back to the front. She is the Empire's newest and most advanced battlecruiser; her armor is absolutely formidable, and her speed is enough to escape any enemy pursuit."

Lelouch pondered for only a few seconds before deciding he might as well take the battlecruiser. Even if this thing was heading into a war zone, it was still safer than the flimsy airplanes of this era.

The key point was that the Britannians currently had absolutely no dreadnoughts and no battlecruisers in the Channel Fleet combat zone.

The Britannians' Queen Elizabeth-class battleships had not yet entered service, so as long as they didn't run into a King George V-class (the 1911 class, not the later 1940s one) or an Iron Duke-class, everything else was nothing to worry about.

Even if they did encounter an Iron Duke, that thing only made 21 knots. Running at 27 knots, the Derfflinger could easily outrun it if they couldn't win.

"Then I shall respectfully accept. Thank you for the invitation."

Lieutenant Lelouch boarded the ship without hesitation and was invited by Hipper up to the conning tower on the bridge. The massive warship soon set sail, cleaving through the waves as it sped westward.

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