Republic of China game

Page 517

At the same time that the German armored cruiser detachment detected the British fleet with radar, the radar commander of the British advance fleet flagship HMS Hood was also reporting the latest discovery to the commander, Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland.

Lieutenant General Holland raised his binoculars and looked at the dark sea, but he couldn't see anything.Although the Hood is equipped with a search radar, it cannot be used to correct and guide the firing of the naval guns, so although the opponent will soon enter the range of the Hood's main gun, there is no way to use the Hood, The 14 15-inch main guns of the three battlecruisers Prestige and Tiger (8 on the Hood and 6 on the Prestige) and 8 13.5-inch main guns (on the Battlecruiser Tiger) dealt a head-on blow to their opponents.

"Sir, should we turn around?" The chief of staff on the side hesitated for a while, and then reminded: "The enemy has six 'Zhenyuan' class ships, with a total of 6 54-inch naval guns, which are several times stronger than ours. , and with better protection and higher speed, if we don't go now..."

"Let's go now?" Lieutenant General Holland put down the binoculars in his hand, shook his head, and said with a smile: "Those Hans guys are not fools. If we run away as soon as we meet, they will definitely arouse their vigilance. They will think: British Empire Navy When did you become so useless? There must be a ghost here!" He paused, and then said: "Let's fight, it's night, our night combat training should be effective. We must at least sink one A German cruiser, that's likely to piss off those Hans, er, and those yellow-skinned opium ghosts."

Speaking of this, the muscles on Lieutenant General Holland's face twitched unconsciously. Less than 100 years ago, the small expeditionary fleet of the British Empire could still rampage outside the coastline of the old empire.But now, three super battleships of the Chinese Navy are at war with the British mainland fleet in the North Sea!How could the British Empire endure such humiliation?Lieutenant General Holland gritted his teeth and ordered loudly:

"Order the destroyer formation to approach the enemy fleet at full speed, launch torpedoes at a distance of 8000 meters, and then fire flares at the enemy fleet; HMS Hood, HMS Renown, HMS Tiger, HMS Kent, HMS Berwick, HMS Cumberland, HMS Kang The Wall formed the bombardment formation; the light cruiser formation was responsible for protecting the bombardment formation..."

Just after Lieutenant General Holland gave the order, the voice of the radar chief sounded again, "Sir, the enemy fleet has begun to turn to the left, and the distance is 20000 meters!"

"Turn left, 22 degrees, speed 20 knots." Holland ordered: "Guns, order all the guns to be in position, as soon as the flares of the destroyer formation are fired, fire immediately, and aim at the enemy formation as quickly as possible. The first warship of our team fired 3 rounds of salvo!"

"Yes, sir."

After Holland gave the order, he raised the binoculars in his hand and looked in the direction of the enemy ship.The combat order he just issued is almost pulling his teeth out of the tiger's mouth. He wants to use three battlecruisers to sink their heavy cruisers under the eyes of the enemy's six battleships!Then retreat quickly and lure the entire main force of the German High Seas Fleet to a designated location deep in the North Sea, where as many as 14 battleships will be waiting for these damn Germans and opium ghosts...

"Sir! The radar has detected the target. There are about 10 or more small warships approaching us at a distance of 15000 meters!" Admiral Hipper's radar had discovered the British destroyer formation at this time.Major General Rolf Kars hastily issued an order before the radar director's voice fell. "Guns, flares fired, direction to the front right, distance 15000, the patrol formation is ready, open fire as soon as the enemy destroyer is found!"

On November 11th, at 20:0 in the morning, three bright and dazzling light clusters suddenly appeared directly in front of 38 high-speed British destroyers, and then six flares rose again on the left and right sides of them, almost at the At the same time, 12 "Konigsberg-class" light cruisers and 5 destroyers also fired a round of intensive bullet rain.The Battle of the North Sea officially started!

……

"Near miss!" Someone yelled loudly in the bridge of the battlecruiser Hood.

Lieutenant General Holland's heart also accelerated, and at this moment the sea surface around the Hood seemed to be boiling.With the rounds of salvos, water columns continued to rise high, especially the water column that just rose was only 50 meters away from the Hood!Judging from the momentum raised by the water column, it should be the 280mm main guns of the five "Polish Legion" class armored ships of the German High Seas Fleet firing salvos.

The five German "Polish Legions" had a total of 5 30mm main guns. Although they were not as powerful as Hood's 280mm main guns, the three battlecruisers of the British advance fleet really had to take a few shots. Layers of skin!What made Holland even more depressed was that the rate of fire and accuracy of these German main guns were higher than his own 380mm main gun. De number!

"Boom..." The German fleet fired another salvo, and the water column rose high around the Hood, and the distance was closer than before.Lieutenant General Holland's face became even more ugly. He was not really afraid that his three battlecruisers would capsize in the gutter and be sunk by the German 1-ton armored ship.The firepower of those German armored ships looks fierce, but the defense is not very good. After all, they are 5-ton warships.As long as it is hit by a 15000-inch shell, it will be sunk in all likelihood, and as long as my three battle cruisers are not particularly unlucky, they should be able to carry a few 15mm shells.

But behind these five armored ships, there are six 5-ton "Zhenyuan"-class battleships coming at full speed!They have a total of 6 4mm main guns. This is no joke... If you are entangled by the five armored ships in front of you, it will not be so easy to get out later.But is it too early to leave now?Can it act as a lure to the enemy?While Holland was hesitating, there was only a deafening bang, and a huge fire ball rose behind the Hood.

"General! The Tiger was hit by two 280mm armor-piercing shells! A turret was damaged..." The communications officer shouted, bringing bad news to Holland and helping him make up his mind to retreat.

"Turn the rudder, we retreat..."

As soon as the order was spoken, another earth-shattering roar came from the rear. Such a loud noise cannot be produced by 280mm shells!The muscles on Holland's face twitched, and he hurriedly turned his head, only to see a huge fireball appearing on the sea in the distance.

"My God! It's the Cornwall! The Cornwall has been hit by them! This poor 'white elephant' is finished." I don't know who exclaimed.

The heavy cruiser Cornwall with a standard displacement of only 10000 tons is a product of the "Washington Naval Treaty". It has eight 8-inch guns, and its firepower is not weak, but its armor is really thinner. The nicknames "White Grave" and "Thin Skin".

There are a total of 4 "Kent" class heavy cruisers in the decoy fleet commanded by Lieutenant General Holland, and their opponents are 4 German Admiral Hipper class heavy cruisers!Although they are all called heavy cruisers, the Admiral Hipper class is a big guy with a standard displacement of more than 14200 tons. It is covered with solid armor from top to bottom, and its protection ability is far from that of the "Kent" class.

As a result, the four British heavy cruisers and the four German heavy cruisers competed for only ten minutes before the winner was decided.A 203mm German shell broke through the defense on the top of the No. 2 turret on the bow of the "Cornwall", and a center blossomed inside the turret!When the explosion happened, the No. 2 turret was just being loaded with shells, and two 8-inch shells were killed immediately. The explosion of three 3 kg shells caused a fire on the bow of the "Cornwall".The battleship that burned like a torch in the night battle is undoubtedly the enemy's best target. The 120 32mm main guns of the four German heavy cruisers aimed at the "Cornwall" almost at the same time.The shells rained down on the burning warship. The "Cornwall" only lasted for a few minutes before being hit by more than five 203mm shells, one of which easily landed on the waterline armor in the midship of the hull. An opening was opened, and tons of sea water swarmed in, and the hull began to tilt slowly.

"Commander! The Captain Cornwall requests to abandon ship!"

The news Holland least wanted to hear finally rang in his ears.The Cornwall is sinking!The battle has just begun, and I lost a heavy cruiser...

"I agree to the abandonment of the Cornwall, and arrange for the destroyer to rescue those who fell into the water." Holland gritted his teeth and said this order.

All the soldiers of the British advance fleet saw this scene. No one thought that they would be bullied by the armored ships and heavy cruisers of the Germans with 3 battlecruisers!Only 18 minutes into the battle, the slender hull of a 1-ton heavy cruiser of the 6st heavy cruiser unit sank like a dead fish with its belly exposed.The pessimism of defeatism enveloped the entire fleet at once. Thinking of the six "Zhenyuan" class battleships that were about to arrive on the battlefield, no one was interested in fighting. After receiving the order from Lieutenant General Holland, they turned around one after another. Plus fleeing west!

At this time, on the radar screen of the battlecruiser Hood, dozens of small green dots were jumping out from the edge of the screen.

The main force of the German High Seas Fleet has finally arrived!

"Boom! Boom! Boom..." The thunderous explosions made Major General Holland's face turn pale. He no longer knew how many shells exploded beside the precious battlecruiser Hood. Although the Hood was not hit by the continuously rising water column, years of experience in the navy told Holland that Lady Luck would not always stand with the British Empire.Because the shooting skills of those Hans and their Chinese allies are not bad, and now they are not hit because of the relatively long distance.

However, the distance between the two sides is getting closer little by little!Holland has cursed the despicableness of the Germans and Chinese in his heart more than once.The speed of the 6 "Zhenyuan" class battleships is not 28 knots as publicly announced, but they have already reached about 31 knots!Almost as fast as the battlecruiser USS Hood.

Well, I wouldn't be afraid if the Hood could go to 31 knots, but she can't go that fast now, because she can't leave the Renown at 28 knots and the Tiger at 27.5 knots.Otherwise, the two thin-skinned battle cruisers will be torn to pieces by six "Zhenyuan" class ships that seem to have a capacity of 30 tons in less than 6 minutes.

If this kind of thing really happens, Holland believes that most of the German High Seas Fleet, which has taken advantage of it, will not pursue the Hood anymore, and then he will become the biggest fool in the history of the British Empire Navy!

……

"These damned Brits aren't running too slowly!" Inside the command tower of the Bismarck, Vice Admiral Lütjens, commander of the battleship division of the German High Seas Fleet, said to Qiao Guanhua, the Chinese liaison officer beside him, with a faint smile.In fact, right now he is already very anxious. Of course he knows that the other party is the bait, but it is indeed a very attractive bait. 3 battlecruisers and 3 heavy cruisers are an important force for any country's navy, even the British Empire, the maritime hegemony, is no exception.

"Order the heavy cruiser unit and the armored ship unit to advance at full speed! Rush up and entangle the Tiger!"

"Order all the main guns of the 1st and 2nd battleship squadrons to shoot at Tiger!"

Faced with the situation where the three British battlecruisers were fleeing at high speed, and the main force of the British home fleet did not know where to ambush, Lütjens simply came to the next best thing, and temporarily let go of the faster and more powerful ships. Hood and Renown, and the weakest Tiger as the main target.However, after this order, some unexpected results were achieved, and the balance of victory in this naval battle was further tilted towards the fascist camp...

The German Hipper-class heavy cruiser is undoubtedly the star of this naval battle. After receiving the order from Lütjens, the four Hipper-class heavy cruisers under the command of Major General Rolf Karls seemed to be Four runaway wild horses are breaking through the waves at a limit speed of 32.5 knots.At the same time, the 16 203mm main guns on the bows of the four heavy cruisers, and the 20 280mm main guns on the bows of the five "Polish Legion" class armored ships also kept spewing shells and flares, enveloping the battlecruiser Tiger. In a piece of fire and smoke.

At this time, Lieutenant General Holland, the commander of the British Advance Fleet, once again ignored the damage that these powerful German heavy cruisers could cause, and only ordered 3 British Kent-class heavy cruisers to try to delay the opponent.The 3 powerful 10-inch main guns on the sterns of the three British battlecruisers were still aimed at the battleship Tirpis of the German High Seas Fleet's first battleship squadron.

1:22 am.

德国公海舰队的72门大口径舰炮（其中380mm舰炮36门、280mm舰炮20门、203mm舰炮16门）的狂轰滥炸终于取得了战果。一枚不知道是280mm还是203mm的德国炮弹在12000米（德国重巡和装甲舰距离英国舰队较近）的距离上，准确命中了虎号战列巡洋舰第一个和第二个烟囱的中间，一声巨响后，火光和浓烟顿时就从这艘一战前下水的老式战列巡洋舰的舰体舯部冒了出来。

Although it was not a fatal injury, every sailor on the entire battlefield knew that this battlecruiser was over!Because now is the night when you can hardly see your fingers.Both sides are relying on radar to guide the general direction, and then use flares to illuminate the battle.Under this kind of visibility, it would be difficult to hit the opponent at a slightly further distance, but once a battleship was shot and caught fire and became a flaming floating target, then what awaited it would naturally be a dead end!Just 2 minutes later, the 380mm main guns of Bismarck and Zhenyuan hit it almost at the same time. Two 380mm armor-piercing projectiles penetrated from the side of the stern turret and the midship deck respectively. The bottom is no different from the paper.Of these two shells, one directly drilled into the next door of the ammunition compartment, and the other broke through all the way to the power compartment. After two loud noises almost at the same time, the battlecruiser Tiger with a standard displacement of 76 tons broke into two pieces. It sank into the icy North Sea with unimaginable speed.All 380 officers and soldiers on board were killed in battle, and none survived...

Chapter 0804 Admiral's decision (thirteen) Jutland and Hong Kong

"My God! We've lost the Tiger."

Major General Holland stared fixedly at the place where the Tiger disappeared. This 28340-ton sea behemoth disappeared without a trace.Next, is it the turn of the Renown?An ominous premonition welled up in Holland's heart.This bait mission might be the last time I will fight for the British Empire!

"Get out of here! Disband the formation and evacuate all ships at full speed!"

霍兰德真得有些惊慌了，现在他的先遣舰队距离同本土舰队主力的预定回合地点还有至少1个半小时的航程。如果像刚才这样和德国佬再打1个半小时，天知道自己这支诱饵舰队还有没有？而且德国人的雷达多半也能在30公里左右的距离上发现潜伏的本土舰队，到时候德国公海舰队完全可以凭借较高的航速逃跑！霍兰德估计对方6艘战列舰的最高航速在31节左右，而本土舰队的那些老掉牙的战列舰多数都只有20几节，其中拥有3门3联装16英寸主炮的纳尔逊级的最高航速仅仅只有23.5节！

How can an ambush be launched at this speed after the search radar appears on a naval warship?

However, while ordering the disbandment of the formation, Lieutenant General Holder still sent an urgent call for help to the main force of the local fleet.Then ordered the Hood and the Renown to escape separately. The Renown was escorted by a light cruiser and two destroyers to retreat due west to Scapa Flow, while the Hood was escorted by two light cruisers and two destroyers. Escorted by destroyers, they fled to the southwest, hoping to join the main force of the local fleet that was heading northeast at full speed... As for the rest of the British ships, they scattered and fled.

Holland's arrangement, on the Bismarck's radar, showed that the enemy fleet dispersed in a rush, divided into two large groups and seven or eight small spots.Lieutenant General Lütjens estimated that those small dots fleeing in all directions should be small shrimps, and the two big fish—the Hood and the Renown should be in the two large strands of green dots.They are now running away separately, but the German High Seas Fleet dare not chase them separately. Who knows if they will run into the main force of the British mainland fleet?If the main force of the entire High Seas Fleet encounters the main force of the British mainland fleet, Lütjens feels that it is still possible to fight, but if it is half of the main force of the High Seas Fleet, I am afraid that the British will be beaten to death!

In fact, with the search radar and high speed, the High Seas Fleet does not need to worry about the British home fleet with a large number of ships.However, the inertial thinking formed by decades of naval career is still working at this time.After thinking for a while, Lütjens chose the southwest direction, which is the direction where the battlecruiser Hood fled, and chased after it.

Because Lütjens estimates that the main force of the British mainland fleet is there!

According to the plan formulated by Admiral Raeder, the 6 battleships of the German High Seas Fleet (including 3 battleships of the Chinese Expeditionary Fleet), 5 armored ships, and 4 heavy cruisers will have the same tasks in this battle as the British Advance Fleet , is also a bait, a bait that attracts the main force of the British mainland fleet.

The Germans' goal is not one or two battlecruisers. Such a result will not cause Britain to lose its command of the North Sea, nor will it change the naval strength between Britain and Germany!In order to achieve the above two goals, the only way is to concentrate Germany's superior air power and severely injure or even annihilate the British home fleet in the North Sea in one fell swoop!Driven by this guiding ideology, the main force of the German High Seas Fleet clung to the battlecruiser Hood, which was fleeing southwest, and chased it at full speed.

3:05 am.

After chasing each other for nearly an hour and a half, hundreds of green dots suddenly appeared on the Bismarck's search radar screen!The British Home Fleet finally showed up.

"Target found! Target found! There are hundreds of ships at a distance of 28000 meters! It must be the British mainland fleet, and they are all here!" Bismarck's radar director shouted nervously.