Germany does not seek survival

Estonia currently does not directly border the German front, but it has a long coastline and several islands near its coast, which have long been occupied by the High Seas Fleet.

"We can form a naval fleet, transport a small number of elite troops from the Gulf of Riga, and land directly in Estonia to kick the Russian army in the back. After a successful landing, this force can attack Tallinn or move south to cut off the Russian army's retreat route in Riga."

According to Manstein's idea, the German landing operation would involve great risks, and the size of this landing force could not be too large, otherwise the German Navy would not be able to transport them to Estonia in a short period of time. However, this force had to independently undertake the task of destroying the Russian army's rear transportation lines, and an ordinary small force was simply not capable of doing this.

Faust understood that Manstein's modification plan was to allow the Greater German Regiment to appear.

Faust took the initiative and said, "The Grossdeutschland Regiment is capable of operating in any complex terrain. Landing on the Estonian coast is certainly no problem. Once the Grossdeutschland Regiment establishes a landing site on the coast, the navy fleet can immediately bring the Polish Legion ashore. Combined with the three Polish divisions, we will be able to cut off the Russian army's retreat."

Chief of Staff Hoffman still had doubts about Manstein's improvement suggestions, because Ludendorff had planned an operation in the Gulf of Riga in 1915. That operation...

The result is hard to describe.

With the British Navy engaged in the Dardanelles Campaign, the German Navy was able to deploy a large fleet from the High Seas Fleet into the Baltic Sea, deploying a powerful force. Coordinated with the army, the German Navy planned to penetrate the Gulf of Riga and capture the strategically important city of Riga. Capturing this location would have posed a significant threat to the Russian capital, Petrograd, just 500 kilometers away, by both land and sea.

For this operation in the Gulf of Riga, the High Seas Fleet mobilized seven pre-dreadnoughts, eight dreadnoughts, and three battlecruisers, an extremely luxurious lineup. The Russian Navy only had one very old battleship, the "Glory", in the Gulf of Riga.

As a result, the German army lost 2 destroyers and 3 minesweepers, and 1 battlecruiser, 2 light cruisers, 2 destroyers and 1 minesweeper were damaged. The losses on the Russian side were much lighter. Apart from paying the price of 2 old gunboats, only the "Glory" and the destroyer "Siberian Shooter" suffered a certain degree of damage.

The German army's actions on land encountered the most outstanding general in the Russian army, Colonel Kolchak.

At that time, Rear Admiral Trukhachev, commander of the Baltic Torpedo Brigade responsible for the defense of the Gulf of Riga, was ill and was temporarily replaced by Colonel Kolchak.

Colonel Kolchak, who was not yet the "Fearless Admiral", used the urgently repaired battleship "Glory" to cover 543 Russian infantrymen in a tactical landing at Cape Domesnes in the western part of the Gulf of Riga.

The landing operation of such a small force frightened the German army, which was forced to stop the siege of Riga and withdraw a large number of troops from the front line to strengthen the defense of the coast of the Gulf of Riga.

The German army, which has always been proud of its tactical agility, was defeated by Kolchak of the Russian army in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915. Therefore, Chief of Staff Hoffman did not dare to rashly decide to implement an amphibious landing in view of the previous failure.

Manstein believed that this was a different time.

The reason why the German army's operation in the Gulf of Riga failed in 1915 was that the Russian army had carefully arranged a strict defense system in the Gulf of Riga. In these straits, which were controlled by layers of light and heavy artillery, there were dense mine defense lines that had been continuously enriched over a long period of time. Among them, there were no less than 11000 mines in the relatively wide Irbe Strait.

Smaller mines were laid along the approaches to Tagalaghat Bay and the Soela Strait. In the wider waters of the Qalsar Sea, east of Moon Island and Worms Island, 508 mines were laid, while the entire Moon Strait contained 1300 mines.

In addition, Russia has more than 50 seaplanes and 10 Newport land-based aircraft in this area.

Most of the High Seas Fleet's losses in the 1915 Gulf of Riga Operation came from Russian coastal artillery and mines, but after two years of attrition, the Russian coastal artillery and mine defenses had all been weakened.

The German Navy produced a large number of minesweepers in the repeated mine-laying struggles with the British Navy. As long as a small number of minesweepers in the English Channel area were transferred to the Baltic Sea, it would be enough to eliminate the Russian army's mine defenses.

Chapter 72: The National Annihilation Fleet

If the German army wanted to carry out the largest amphibious landing in World War I in the Gulf of Riga, which was heavily guarded by the Russian army, it had to launch a joint sea, land and air operation.

This was something the German army had never done before in war.

Manstein proposed a very targeted plan: "We need to mobilize the Grossdeutschland Regiment and the 1st Division of the Polish Corps... and cooperate with artillery, combat engineers, and radio communication units. We must prepare enough horses and vehicles, at least 5,000 horses, 1,000 vehicles, and ammunition for 20,000 troops for 30 days."

"All these troops will first be assembled in Libau and then transferred to ships. The main landing force is scheduled to land in Talagahet Bay northwest of Essel Island, while auxiliary forces will cooperate at Cape Pamel..."

"...In order to confuse the defenders, we will launch airstrikes or artillery bombardments on the Russian naval aviation base at Kirkand in the west of Ösel Island, as well as on the coastal artillery batteries on the Svorbe Peninsula. Once the main force successfully lands, these landing forces will simultaneously advance towards the Svorbe Peninsula, the island's main town of Arensburg, and Orisalti, which connects to Moon Island..."

"...In order to gain control of the Gulf of Riga and secure the flanks of the Eastern Front Army, a multi-service joint offensive was launched to completely eliminate Russian resistance on the Baltic coast."

In Manstein's plan, the German army had to mobilize a large number of naval forces. In addition to ensuring the transportation of landing ships and the landing of landing troops at the designated locations, the High Seas Fleet was also responsible for suppressing the shore artillery and providing fire support for the resistance encountered during the landing process.

To achieve these tactical goals, the High Seas Fleet had to deploy a large number of new capital ships and form a task force larger than the one used in the Gulf of Riga operation in 1915.

Chief of Staff Hoffmann, who had no authority to command the High Seas Fleet, was also shocked by the scale of Manstein's plan.

Prince Leopold, who had always been taciturn, suddenly asked, "Major Manstein, how many ships does the navy need to deploy for the Estonian landing operation?"

Manstein replied: "At the very least, we need ten battleships, and the remaining auxiliary ships, mainly minesweepers, should be more than one hundred."

Prince Leopold immediately made the decision: "I will coordinate with the navy to assemble 200 ships, no, 300 ships to resolve the problem in the Gulf of Riga!"

Prince Leopold usually kept silent, but when he spoke, his words were earth-shattering: three hundred ships!

Even if a large number of them are light torpedo boats, minesweepers and submarines, three hundred ships is still a very scary number.

Prince Leopold also assured Faust: "We will provide the Greater German Regiment and the Polish Army with absolutely sufficient weapons and supplies. Whatever you need, just provide a list to the War Office. No matter what you ask for, we can meet your needs within 48 hours."

Faust was also surprised. He did not expect Prince Leopold to accept Manstein's plan so decisively. This landing plan required taking very great risks, but if successful, it would indeed have amazing effects. It would wipe out the Russian army on the Baltic front, and the German army would open the door directly to Petrograd.

Now it is Faust's turn to worry about the changes in history. If the German army wins too much, Germany will not really make a comeback!

If the German army had captured Petrograd cleanly and efficiently on the Eastern Front, I really don’t know what history would have looked like in the future.

At the headquarters, Faust still did not express these concerns that others could not understand. He just immediately said that the Greater German Regiment would definitely be able to complete the task.

Chief of Staff Hoffman was somewhat dissatisfied with Manstein's stealing of the limelight. Hoffman told Manstein: "Major, don't forget that your main task is to be in charge of the Eastern Group and to conduct intelligence and sabotage operations."

Manstein smiled and said, "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, we have already contacted enough revolutionaries. As long as the army exerts some pressure on the Russian army on the battlefield, especially after seizing the transportation hub of Riga, the Russian revolution will break out at any time."

Chief of Staff Hoffman questioned Manstein: "How long does it take to break out at any time? In my opinion, something that happens within a month or two can be called a breakout at any time."

Faust said something for Manstein: "In one or two months, General, after the capture of Riga, in one or two months you will witness the Russian Revolution."

Hoffman smiled coldly: "I hope so."

Germany's military tradition has always been centered around the army, with the Junkers holding military power. Sixty percent of senior generals above the rank of major general came from the Junker families.

In contrast, the navy broke the rules of family background in the recruitment of officers and almost completely opened its doors to the middle class. Among the 10 chiefs of staff of the Navy General Staff, only one was a titled aristocrat. Among the 48 naval officers who served as heads of staff departments during the same period, only two were truly titled Junker aristocrats.

Before the outbreak of World War I, the political struggle between the German Army and Navy for budget had intensified.

The army has a long history and is particularly powerful in all military and political circles. The navy has the support of William II himself. Because William II lacked maternal love since childhood, his mother was Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom who particularly hated Prussian culture. Influenced by this, William II regarded challenging British maritime power as his innate responsibility since he was a child, and devoted all his efforts to supporting the development of the German Navy.

By 1914, the German Army received 70 percent of the military budget and the German Navy received 30 percent.

This ratio actually still makes the army very dissatisfied. In the three years of war, the High Seas Fleet, which consumed one-third of Germany's military budget, has not yet achieved as many military exploits as the army.

The army occupied almost all of Belgium, occupied the most important industrial area in northern France, severely damaged Russia, occupied Lithuania, Russian Poland and northern Ukraine, and also swept into Serbia and Romania.

What did the Navy do?

In the North Sea, Germany only narrowly avoided colliding with the British Navy. Its few achievements were the commerce-breaking battle of the East Asian Fleet in Qingdao and the Goeben battleship in the Mediterranean, which brought Turkey as an ally to Germany.

The largest battle, the Battle of Jutland, is said to be an unprecedented naval battle in human history, but the result was only the sinking of one British battlecruiser, three armored cruisers and eight destroyers, which did not help to change the predicament of Germany being completely blockaded by the Allies.

Apart from this, the navy had few military achievements. Ludendorff once said that if Germany had never invested heavily in developing its navy, perhaps Britain would not have become an enemy of Germany at all. The one-third of military expenditure saved would have been enough to double the strength of the German army and easily defeat the Franco-Russian alliance.

Hoffmann was also a typical Prussian officer who looked down on the effectiveness of the navy, but Prince Leopold was different. The old prince was a Bavarian and his style was completely different from that of Prussian soldiers.

Prince Leopold immediately went to smooth things over. He found Vice Admiral Erhard Schmidt, who commanded the 1st Battleship Squadron in the Battle of Jutland. This man was not a Prussian, but from Offenbach am Main in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. He was also a South German from a merchant family, and his mother was Bavarian.

Vice Admiral Erhard was given the task at a critical moment. He was responsible for assembling a powerful fleet consisting of eleven dreadnoughts and battlecruisers, as well as hundreds of torpedo boats and minesweepers, forming a massive fleet to destroy a country.

This was no more glorious than the High Seas Fleet at Jutland, but it had the opportunity to win a victory far more significant than that of Jutland.

After the Battle of Jutland, the German Navy had been ineffective in the North Sea and the English Channel. Prince Leopold could easily mobilize a large number of warships: König, Bayern, Grosser Kurfürst, Kronprinz, Margrave, Friedrich the Grosse, König Albert, Kaiserin, Prinz-Regent Lüipott, Kaiser...

Behind them, as far as the eye can see, is a huge line of ships that stretches endlessly.

In Faust's view, this was truly spectacular. The supplies needed by the Great German Regiment and the Polish Legion were also continuously supplied, including vehicles, weapons, ammunition, and the latest radio communication equipment.

Kesselring adjusted the radio newly issued to the Großdeutschland Regiment. The military radio began playing music. The first few bars were the popular wartime song "I Dare Not" (I Don't Dare You).

“I dare you not to come here;

I dare you not to risk getting too close.

Take off your hat and stop bragging.

Don't cheer, be patient,

Do you dare to move forward?"

Chapter 73: Operation Albion

The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed sea with a low salinity. Because many rivers flow into it, they bring a large amount of nutrients, which cause algae to reproduce in the bay, and the sea water will appear a strong dark green in spring.

The German Navy had hundreds of minesweepers, with six small ships each spread out in a diagonal formation, like one side of an inverted V. Each minesweeper towed a long, serrated cable cutter on the right side of the hull, dragging it in the sea to cut the moored mines and detonate the drifting mines.

Behind the minesweepers were the slender escort destroyers, and further back were a large number of transport ships carrying 20,000 Polish Legion soldiers, as well as a large number of artillery, ammunition, vehicles and other supplies.

To each fully loaded ship was attached an anti-aircraft blocking balloon to a sturdy mooring cable. Because the blocking balloons floated at the same height and swayed in the strong wind, the entire fleet looked like a bunch of dandelions.

The wind was blowing hard in the Gulf of Riga, and in the dim gray light, the huge Baltic Task Force of the High Seas Fleet was standing in a majestic, spectacular and terrible battle line in the Gulf of Riga. The sea was full of ships, and the Iron Cross battle flag fluttered in the wind all over the sea level, against the background of the sky.

Beneath the shadow of the huge steel battleship's outline, a forest of chimneys emerged. Patrol boats sped back and forth among the landing craft circling the waves, their engines vibrating, whistles blaring, winches whirring, and the iron chains on the davits clanging.

On the battleship Bayern, Faust personally checked the soldiers' equipment. Each person had a life jacket. In addition to weapons, supply bags, entrenching tools, gas masks, first aid kits, water bottles, bayonets and rations, they also carried a large number of grenades, explosives and bullets.

Each person carried at least 250 rounds of ammunition. In addition, many people also brought special equipment according to the needs of their specific tasks. As the waves rose and fell, Faust felt dizzy. He was a little skeptical that such heavy equipment would affect the landing operation. The soldiers were in poor condition and their combat effectiveness was not very good.

The other officers were optimistic. Kesselring believed that the landing plan drawn up by Hoffmann and revised by Manstein was perfect:

"Our fleet only needs one wave of bombardment to destroy all Russian resistance. Whether it means drowning or hell, we must remove those damn obstacles!"

The waves in the Gulf of Riga were high, and several clergymen from the Lutheran and South German Catholic Churches were delivering their final war sermons on deck:

"…renunciation of selfish desires, renunciation of personal possessions, renunciation of self-centeredness—this is the first requirement of God and the Fatherland for all of us…Our Father in heaven, we enshrine your holy name…"

At this time, the sky was gloomy and foggy. The battleships arranged in a solemn manner around Faust had begun to exchange fire with the Russian coastal defense artillery. The shells from the giant ships and cannons penetrated the sea fog and slammed into the Estonian cape and mudflats. Each shell stirred up a terrifying column of water and smoke, and the entire landing beach was filled with torrential firepower.

The battleships aimed at their selected targets and bombarded them steadily and continuously. The thundering sound of the cannons like a whirlpool and rapids echoed throughout the Gulf of Riga. The hot flashes of the huge cannons made the gray sky brighter, and black smoke began to billow over the entire beach area.

The 380mm main guns on the Margrave and Friedrich der Grosse fired tons of steel, while the highly maneuverable cruisers and destroyers poured a torrent of 150mm shells on the machine gun bunkers, pillboxes and defensive positions on the opposite shore.

Kesselring assured Faust: "No army could withstand such a bombardment, not even the Russians, not even us, not even the French and the British."

This joint sea, land and air offensive in the Gulf of Riga was code-named "Operation Albion" within the German army.

Albion is the ancient name of the United Kingdom. It can be seen that in addition to the need for confidentiality, the General Staff intended to use this action as a rehearsal for future landings in the United Kingdom.

Faust nodded slightly. "I hope so! Great German Regiment, transfer to assault boats. We will be the first troops to reach the Estonian beach!"

The soldiers of the Großdeutschland Regiment first transferred from larger warships and transport ships to small landing craft. The officers and soldiers climbed down from the rope net. The tide was surging, and the small landing craft rose and fell with the waves. Many people's faces turned pale, and some people could not bear it any longer and began to vomit beside the ship.

Thick fog enveloped the entire Gulf of Riga like cotton wool soaked in motor oil. Faust, wearing a dark gray trench coat, was already standing in the deck recess at the bow of the assault boat, listening to the vibration of the diesel engine, as if a mad beast was crashing in the belly of the boat.

"Don't forget, we have to take the lead," said Faust.

The other officers of the Grossdeutschland Regiment also boosted their morale. Rommel shouted, "Jägers, take your positions."

The mustache man put on a steel helmet, his face pale in the churning sea: "Remember the atrocities committed by the Russians in East Prussia and Galicia! God bless Germany!"

Kesselring, who had experience in small-scale landings in East Prussia and Lithuania in 1914, advised his men: "Brothers, brothers, comrades, don't panic. Grab your guns and put on your helmets. When we land, don't worry, the Russian soldiers will have been blown to pieces by the battleships."

Scherner also shouted: "Even if the Tsar had an inexhaustible supply of slaves, and there were still three million of them, the Russian bureaucrats could not send them to the battlefield so quickly."

Thomas and Tito climbed onto the deck and shouted, "The Russians have set up a searchlight on the abandoned lighthouse, thirty degrees to port!"

Several core members of the National Socialist Party were all on the landing ship, only Sorge had now been transferred to the Eastern General Planning Group and served as an intelligence staff officer under Manstein.

Faust used an eight-fold Zeiss telescope to observe the coastline. There was indeed a fuzzy halo in the gray-white mist, but the other soldiers did not have as good eyesight as Faust, and they could not clearly identify the Russian army's deployment on the coastline through the sea fog.

The coastline that appeared gray to everyone else was crystal clear to Faust.

The three concrete turrets of the Russian army were like crouching giant beasts, with their black muzzles pointing towards the sea. Beneath the dark green water, Faust could still vaguely make out a number of mines in the shallow waters.

The fierce bombardment of the High Seas Fleet must have played a big role. The Russian artillery facilities were severely damaged. Many 250mm caliber coastal defense heavy artillery are now unusable and have become completely useless.

In the fortress of Riga, the Russians were indeed in a panic. The nominal supreme commander of the Russian army in the Riga theater was Admiral von Essen, commander of the Baltic Fleet. Just by looking at his name, you can tell that he was not a Slav, but a Baltic German. So when the Russian army was attacked fiercely by the Germans, the Tsarist authorities immediately lost trust in Admiral von Essen.

The command of the Gulf of Riga was soon transferred to Major General Chasne, deputy commander of the Riga garrison.

The battleships' shells shattered the Russian bunkers into pieces, leaving dust, dirt and concrete fragments everywhere. The German artillery bombardment also focused on destroying the Russian transportation and telephone lines.

Now in Major General Chasnet's garrison headquarters, seven or eight of the ten military telephones are out of service, communications are problematic everywhere, and all that can be heard from the telephones are anxious busy tones.

When the phone finally rang, Major General Chasnet immediately asked, "What's the situation on the coast?"

"Commander, we are under fire! Heavy bombardment!"

Major General Chasner could hear the sound of heavy artillery explosions over the phone. He tried his best to remain calm, but at the same time he was helpless. Colonel Kolchak made an indelible contribution to the Russian army's ability to withstand the German offensive in the Gulf of Riga in 1915, but after that victory, Kolchak was promoted to commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and left Riga.

Major General Chasnet said on the phone: "Master your artillery. When the German bombardment ends, use the remaining artillery to counterattack."

He is still not sure what the German Navy's large-scale bombardment is intended to do. Is it to weaken Russia's strength in the Gulf of Riga? It is impossible that they really want to launch a large-scale landing operation!

The Russian Navy still has four dreadnoughts and a large number of cruisers and destroyers in the Gulf of Riga. Although it is now completely suppressed by the German Navy, do the Germans really dare to take such a big risk to land?

At this time, several long rows of landing craft rose and fell, getting closer and closer to the Estonian beach. The Russian Navy's main battleships were all anchored in the port of Riga, which indeed made the defense of Estonia weak. The Russians really could not have imagined that the German army had such a big appetite, not only wanting to eat Riga, but also Estonia at the same time.

Faust's landing craft left a long trail of white waves, making a deafening noise as it continued to surge towards the shore.

In the tilting and bouncing landing craft, all commands had to be shouted at the top of their voices, otherwise no one would hear them. Above the landing craft of the Grossdeutschland Regiment, the battleship's shells were like a huge steel umbrella, still shaking like thunder.

Some small ships of the Russian Navy, such as fast destroyers and torpedo boats, have taken the initiative to attack from Riga, and some submarines supported by the British to Russia have also taken advantage of the chaos to launch attacks.

But they mainly attacked the German Navy in the Riga area, hoping to make a small profit with a big investment to see if there was a chance to steal one or two German battleships, and did not pay attention to the direction of Estonia.