After receiving the order, the British army that lost the destroyer threatened to retaliate against the Northern Army, and Churchill ordered the Royal Destroyer and the cruiser to attack the Allied Navy in the English Channel, but the smoke on the battlefield did not decrease at all.

The rumbling sound of cannon reverberated across the rough sea, and when the high-explosive shell detached from the barrel at a degree of more than two tones, a large puff of smoke from the incomplete combustion of the projectile erupted in an instant, forming an irregular huge smoke screen in front of each of the 10 German battleships.

Before the smoke cleared, Zhang Kai issued a new order from his command room. Prior to this, the "Gneisenau" and the "Admiral Hippel" had been firing for more than an hour, and at an average degree of 2 bells and a salvo, the 12 front guns of the two ships had fired 400 shells at the British fleet, but behind this staggering figure, because the distance between the fleet and the target was far greater than the normal distance of the sea engagement, the shell hit rate was also surprisingly low - so far not a single British ship had been left behind.

The smoke quickly dissipated in the sea breeze, and the officers in the command room of the "Gneisenau" also breathed a sigh of relief. The crowd, including the captain Albrecht, did not say it explicitly, but Vice Admiral Zhang Kai had already seen their doubts. In the eyes of most people, since the main German fleet left its homeland and entered the Atlantic for a mission of destruction, it should be prepared to stay at sea for a long time, so every ton of oil, every bag of flour, every barrel of fresh water, and every shell should be cherished. But in the past hour or so, their commander had fought a battle with nearly a tenth of the ammunition of the entire fleet, but with no real gain. If this continued, they would have to go early to the French ports, which had already been occupied by the Germans, for various reasons, the German supply ships that were pre-positioned at sea were usually free of ammunition.

At this time, Schubert, who had been writing and drawing with a banknote, came over and said: "The British battleship fired a total of 13 rounds and consumed 52 shells,)

Our position with the British fleet! ”

"We should move south of the British fleet!"

Schubert said to his piece of paper, and the answers from the navigating officer and the direction of the battleship's main guns confirmed his suspicions.

Zhang Kai thought for a moment and ordered: "The whole fleet turns left 5 and lowers the course to 20 knots." All guns are ready to shoot! ”

The officers' eyes showed such questions, and the always calm captain Albrecht stood aside silently, he didn't understand Zhang Hainuo's strategy very much, but he had to accept this order unconditionally.

The sea is still sunny in the morning. At this time, it has become a sea of irritability under the dark clouds, and the violent sea wind rolls up more than one meter of high ground and the waves are surging, and the powerful power from the sea can also be felt on the 10,000-ton warship. After about a quarter of an hour, thunder resounded on the sea. In the rain, a large mass of black gunpowder smoke rose desperately on the outside of the left side of the ship, and then was ruthlessly swept away by the sea breeze, and finally completely dissipated in the dripping rain.

Lieutenant General Zhang Kai still stood at the front of the command room with a vigorous military posture. It's still stuck on the drawing board. The Scharnhorst-class battleships were designed as platforms for 380-meter heavy guns. Coupled with the "unexpected" effect of the low center of gravity, it naturally has a very superior stability when firing with a 280-meter naval gun. In naval battles. The stability of the firing platform is directly related to the accuracy of shooting, and the shelling of the line-of-sight is swayed by radar detection technology, and the advantages of the German fleet in this case are obvious!

Among the remaining escort ships of the British, seaplane carriers and auxiliary cruisers were now insignificant, and the only thing that could pose a threat to the German fleet was the revenge-class battleship. The British commander had two options: to take the initiative or to continue to escort the fleet, either of which he would face the most serious challenge, as he was now facing an extraordinary fleet commander.

"God forbid!"

Looking at the white column of water raised high on the sea a hundred meters away, "Many sailors on the seaplane carrier Counterattack took the trouble to draw crosses on their chests, and such a distance was enough for them

A freighter in the vicinity is a different story. When the shell explodes, it also means danger, the 11-inch shell - that is obviously a high-armor shell, the shock wave generated by the explosion and the shrapnel flying in all directions can easily kill and injure the personnel of a freighter without any protection, and in the previous shelling, many freighters have already suffered casualties due to shells falling at close range, although so far the entire fleet has not had a single ship directly hit by the shell, people have been praying incessantly, Pray that God will not abandon himself on this distant sea.

Will the Germans never run out of shells? A non-commissioned officer muttered to himself as he looked at the boiling sea.

"I'm really worried about the next ...... Oh, my God! It's still alive! The young sailor covered his face with his hands, and at this moment a new column of water was raised in his sight, although they were slightly less powerful in terms of height and thickness, but they landed impartially on the side of a freighter of less than 10,000 tons, and the gray freighter was instantly suppressed by the white column of water, which could not help but remind people of the scene of someone being attacked by a group of evil men. Experienced sailors will then think of a deeper question - how can the hull of an ordinary freighter withstand the destructive force of a near-miss? I'm afraid that the sea water is pouring into the cabin through the breach in the ship's wall, and if the leak is not plugged in time, the situation will deteriorate rapidly!

In a short time, the seemingly formidable "Ramillis" also fired its first salvo at its starboard side with all eight main guns, and the salvo of 15-inch guns was enough to suppress the Germans who could barely see the smoke of the other side, and despite the anticipation, one never saw General White give the German battleship a beautiful counterattack.

After a brief silence on the sea, people began to spend the rest of the year in terror, and the Germans' obsession with time made them dare not have the slightest extravagance, and the next shell could fall anywhere, but no one hoped that it would be on their heads.

The rain began to fall on the armored porthole at the front of the command room, and White's mood rose and fell against the raging sea. The veteran of two world wars was puzzled by the strange tactics adopted by the Germans, who had to keep an eye on the ammunition of his ships in case he fell into the German attrition trap, and on the other hand, he had to keep an eye on the entire fleet, lest the crew members, who were mostly untrained and lose control before the casualties and the pressure exerted by the Germans, in the depths of his mind, White did not give up trying to find a third way out, but God never lent a helping hand to him.

In two minutes, a cigarette has not been smoked, the German shells came as scheduled, their whistling sound is simply the bagpipes of the Grim Reaper, in the entire fleet, only the "Ramillis" is not afraid of 11-inch shells from a long distance, but the Germans seem to be not interested in the British battleships in the front of this +.

Whenever a German shell falls into the water and explodes, White always pretends to stand calmly in place, but pays great attention to the first reaction of the officers around him, the voice of "thank God" can always slightly reduce the pressure on his heart, and when someone shouts "My God", it means that the German shell is close enough to cause a loss of a certain freighter, at this time his facial muscles will always inadvertently twitch a few times, as if his heart has been directly whipped by the enemy.

In a two-minute torment followed by another, West. White felt that his body and mind were aging rapidly, and he would rather go to the gladiatorial arena like a samurai and let fate determine the final victory than to suffer as he did now. At the same time, deep down, he longed for a heroic mistake on the part of the Germans, for it was entirely possible that a single shot would greatly reduce the ability of the German warships to sail, so that the British fleet would have a chance to annihilate their opponents - even if the Ramillis was lost, the British navy would still be able to achieve a strategic victory.

When the 20 minutes came, White received very bad news from his staff officer: "The Etter has come to signal that the crew's efforts to repair the broken bulkhead have failed, the water pump is far from being able to keep up with the amount of seawater inflow, their voyage is slowing down, and if effective measures cannot be taken in time, I am afraid they will have to abandon ship!" ”

With years of experience and his own qualities, White made the last wise decision: "Order the ship to be abandoned and let the Betel come up and rescue the crew!" ”

Looking at the white column of water raised high on the sea a hundred meters away, "Many sailors on the seaplane carrier Counterattack took the trouble to draw crosses on their chests, and such a distance was enough for them

A freighter in the vicinity is a different story. When the shell explodes, it also means danger, the 11-inch shell - that is obviously a high-armor shell, the shock wave generated by the explosion and the shrapnel flying in all directions can easily kill and injure the personnel of a freighter without any protection, and in the previous shelling, many freighters have already suffered casualties due to shells falling at close range, although so far the entire fleet has not had a single ship directly hit by the shell, people have been praying incessantly, Pray that God will not abandon himself on this distant sea.