Chapter 225 Bad News

London, 10 Downing Street.

Prime Minister's Office.

After reviewing several documents, Churchill put down his pen and looked at Chamberlain. "Have you heard about the German High Seas Fleet setting sail, Chamberlain?"

Although not officially in office yet, Churchill had already taken over the duties of the Prime Minister. In order to facilitate the transition, Chamberlain had been staying in the Prime Minister's office these days.

"I've heard.", replied Chamberlain somewhat absentmindedly. "What can those cowards achieve by going out to sea? It's just an attempt to intercept our fleet heading to Iceland. Once they see the Warspite in the fleet, they'll scurry back with their tails between their legs. Have we discovered the Germans' secret weapon?" Despite the Germans boasting about the achievements of their U-47 submarine, Chamberlain did not believe that a single submarine could sink so many warships. He was certain that the Germans were using some secret weapon.

Churchill shook his head with a hint of frustration. "Not yet." Every time he thought about the warships and sailors lost in vain, it felt like his heart was bleeding. Once they defeated these damned Germans, they must make them pay tenfold or a hundredfold for their actions!

At that moment, a secretary hurriedly entered. "Your Excellency, a telegram from the fleet reports encountering a German air raid."

"What?!" Chamberlain and Churchill were immediately surprised. Chamberlain muttered in astonishment, "How is that possible? How did those cowards suddenly gather the courage?!"

Waving his hand, Churchill said, "Understood, go to the communications room and stand by. Report immediately if there's any new information."

"Yes."

After the secretary left, Churchill looked at Chamberlain with a somewhat grim expression. "This doesn't bode well."

Chamberlain nodded. "Once they succeed this time, even if they manage to sink a destroyer, it will boost their morale significantly. It's indeed not good." In the previous encounters, the German Navy had shown timidity and fled. Unexpectedly, today, for some unknown reason, they had initiated an attack. "Could it be that the Germans didn't know the Warspite had joined the fleet, so they rashly launched the attack? Once they realize the Repulse is there, they might retreat on their own."

"... " Although this idea sounded a bit absurd, people were accustomed to thinking positively. Churchill, from the bottom of his heart, hoped that the German fleet would, as Chamberlain speculated, retreat after discovering the Warspite.

Unfortunately, reality had a penchant for slapping people in the face.

A few minutes later, the secretary rushed in again, looking panicked. "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, the Warspite has been hit! Captain Pullman Cook sent an urgent distress telegram, requesting air support!"

Churchill's portly figure moved unbelievably quickly to the massive map on the wall. His fingers traced over the map, searching for the fleet's position. "Damn it, how can we provide support at this distance?" The fleet was now hundreds of kilometers away from the mainland, already beyond the maximum range for fighter aircraft. If they dispatched fighter planes, it would be a one-way mission. Even if they managed to catch up and drive away the German planes, those fighters would likely end up in the sea due to fuel exhaustion.

After hesitating for a while, Churchill finally gave the order. "Tell them to hold on." As for how they would hold on, it would rely on the fleet's own anti-aircraft firepower. He could only hope that the German planes couldn't stay airborne for long due to fuel issues and would return early.

"This is really not good.", Chamberlain also realized that he had been wishful thinking just now. Perhaps the German fleet had targeted the Warspite after all.

Churchill paced back and forth with some irritation, calculating the extent of the losses this time. If the Warspite was heavily damaged, it would require extensive repairs, making it impossible for it to participate in battles in the short term. This would mean a reduction in their naval power.

"Shit!" He muttered under his breath, the hatred for the Germans increasing in his heart. In his mind, he silently vowed that after defeating Germany this time, they would dismantle Germany thoroughly, completely eradicating any future threats!

After a while, the secretary ran in again, his face twisted in a mournful expression. "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, Dunedin reports by telegram, the Warspite... the Warspite has sunk!"

"What?!" Churchill felt a bit dizzy, staggering for a moment. He had to support himself on the nearby desk to avoid collapsing.

"How is this possible?!" Chamberlain also wore an expression of disbelief. Even though the Warspite was an old ship launched before World War I, it was still a massive vessel of over thirty thousand tons. How could it sink in just over ten minutes? "How did it sink?"

According to the telegram, the first aerial bomb penetrated the Warspite's horizontal armor, damaging its boiler room, significantly reducing the Warspite's speed. During the second attack, three torpedoes simultaneously hit its side, causing the ship to capsize.

Chamberlain hurriedly asked, "What about Captain Pullman Cook and the others? How many managed to escape?" His primary concern was whether Captain Pullman Cook chose to go down with the ship.

"Captain and crew together.", this was a tradition in Western naval history that could be traced back to the Victorian era. According to records, it originated when a British Royal Navy troop transport ship was about to sink after hitting a reef. The captain proposed letting women and children leave first, choosing to stay behind himself. This chivalrous slogan, ultimately leading to the sacrifice of all senior crew members, became an unwritten rule from that time onward.

This value choice, prevalent in British naval culture, gradually became a universally accepted professional ethic. Phrases like "Honor before gain.", "Confront the strong, protect women and children.", "Maintain calm confidence in the face of the worst prospects, but never retreat.", and "Rather die than betray the trust of those who believe in you." constituted the ethical benchmarks of the gentleman's values in European society after the Victorian era. Similarly, it formed the societal honor standards for the ethics of "Captain and crew together." since that time.

Furthermore, soldiers always held honor higher than their own lives. The greatest disgrace for a soldier was to lose a position, and for a captain, the warship was their position. Once they chose to leave, they would be branded as "deserters", so even if it meant death, they were unwilling to abandon their post.

However, times had progressed. With the development of productive forces, manufacturing warships became easy, with factories capable of churning them out like dumplings into the sea. However, training captains remained a challenging task, not to mention that reaching adulthood and becoming a soldier took eighteen years.

Especially in times of war, experienced military personnel were invaluable. For a major power, continuing the fight with a new ship was an option, but for a smaller country, whether it was preserving the knowledge and passing it down to the next generation of naval commanders, it was a way to inflict more damage on the enemy and fulfill the duty of being a well-trained naval commander.

Sinking with the ship caused no harm to the enemy and only resulted in the unnecessary loss of a naval talent for the nation.

The secretary shook his head with a mournful expression. "The ship sank too quickly; very few managed to escape. Moreover, the German aircraft attacks are ongoing, and the fleet is already retreating toward the mainland."