The next day, the German minesweepers began to sweep the minefield, and it took ten hours to open a roadway that was safe enough for the large fleet to exit. In the early morning of the third day www.biquge.info taking advantage of the high tide, 16 capital ships of the High Seas Fleet, led by the flagship Bavaria, sailed out of the harbor under the cover of 12 light cruisers and 36 destroyers.

Hipper's remaining detachment of three battle cruisers with three light cruisers was at the forefront of the fleet's reconnaissance force, forming an arc cordon 20 kilometers in front of the main fleet. The remaining 13 battleships were divided into 4 battleship detachments, formed into two columns to follow closely behind, and the speed of the fleet after leaving the port was not fast, about 14 knots of economic speed. Heading due north, in the direction of the North Sea blockade.

"Are we using an alternate line to contact Colonel Lefetsov?" Scheer asked.

"Don't do it yet, we don't know where they are, and we can't wait for their arrival on the North Sea blockade line for a long time, my attack this time is more of a temptation." The prince thought for a while and said, of course, it is definitely impossible to say this to the officers and soldiers below, this is degrading to morale, for most of the middle and high-level officers and soldiers, this mission is to try to smash the North Sea blockade line that is being rebuilt by the British, this is a low-risk mission, it must not be said, this time I plan to meet with the Grand Fleet.

Not long after the departure of the fleet, a British submarine spotted the main force of the High Seas Fleet sailing in the mist and sent a telegram to Jericho!

"The High Seas Fleet has been dispatched, heading due north!" When Jericho received this telegram, he immediately ordered the fleet to assemble and prepare for departure! And inform the British Admiralty about the imminent sortie of the fleet. He's been waiting for this day for a long time! AT THIS TIME, JERICHO'S GRAND FLEET HAD A TOTAL OF 10 DREADNOUGHTS, 10 SUPER DREADNOUGHTS EQUIPPED WITH 343MM GUNS, AND 5 REVENGE-CLASS BATTLESHIPS, PLUS 3 BATTLE CRUISERS, A TOTAL OF 28 BATTLESHIPS OF VARIOUS TYPES, MORE THAN 50% MORE THAN THE HIGH SEAS FLEET! And that's not counting the 3 armored cruiser detachments, 6 light cruiser detachments and nearly 50 destroyers of various kinds, which are attached to the Grand Fleet.

"Perhaps, after today, there will be a North Sea Square in London, the capital of the empire!" Jericho said excitedly. He now feels he has the potential to break the record of Nelson's predecessors and play an unprecedented battleship duel.

At this time, Jericho's fleet was stationed in Forth Bay, not far from the Shetland Islands at the exit of the North Sea, and in order to ensure that the German fleet could be stopped, Jericho had to pay a lot of money this time. First of all, he demanded that the entire fleet sail at a high speed of more than 18 knots, which is already the maximum speed that any old dreadnought can run at the moment! Not to mention what kind of results can be obtained this time, the fuel consumption of the fleet alone is enough to make Jericho's heart ache!

"Have the Air Force dispatch all V1500 long-range reconnaissance aircraft to conduct reconnaissance in the vicinity of the Shetland Islands. I need to find the trail of the German fleet as soon as possible. ”

"Also, let Major General Moore be careful, this time they may be in big trouble, let them go north. Far from the High Seas Fleet. Jericho then added.

After nearly one hour of preparation, the Grand Fleet began to sail out of Forth Bay, and the first to be dispatched was the Rear Admiral Hood reconnaissance fleet. Then there were 6 battleship detachments, with the 5 most powerful revenge-class battleships leading the way, followed by Jericho's flagship Iron Duke, and the 3 super-dreadnoughts of the same class behind. The huge Grand Fleet formed a 6-column box-shaped formation at sea, which is a formation that the Grand Fleet has practiced countless times before, and if necessary, it will take less than 15 minutes to unfold a huge battle line of more than 10 kilometers long, which will be the most powerful existence on the planet!

On both sides of the Grand Fleet, 2 detachments of light cruisers were deployed, and 3 detachments of armored cruisers were deployed in front of the main fleet. More destroyers also gathered next to the fleet. A huge fleet of more than 1 million tons of steel appeared on the North Sea! According to Jericho's plan, the entire fleet would first reach the North Sea blockade line, and then go south in search of the German fleet for a decisive battle.

At this time, 12 V1500 four-engine large reconnaissance planes in Forth Bay, Aberdeen, Shetland Islands and other places also took off from their respective bases. For the first time, these massive aerial giants showed their hideous teeth on the battlefield, and although they did not have the ability to fight the sea, their threat should not be underestimated! Soaring above 3500 meters, the giant eagle is almost not afraid of anything, and it is almost impossible to take it down with 1 machine gun from the J-2! And the radio direction finding equipment and jammers equipped on these aircraft can effectively reduce the soft power of the opponent!

"We seem to be in some new trouble, Your Highness." Scheer said as he sent a telegram over to him, which was sent using the new frequency band, and in the beginning, it was almost completely secure.

"Found the oversized plane of the British? Let Airship 12 continue to observe. The prince already had some understanding in his heart, and then ordered.

Naturally, it is impossible for the High Seas Fleet to attack surface warships in full formation, and in fact, as many as 24 submarines have been deployed around the High Seas Fleet's route as a cordon. In the air, a total of 16 airships were distributed in areas ranging from 70 to 30 kilometers from the center of the fleet for reconnaissance. And 4 hours after the fleet sailed, the contact between the two fleets was not surface warships, but reconnaissance forces in the air!

"Holy, what did I see?! Could this be an airplane? A few minutes ago, Second Lieutenant Panno, the observer of the Navy's No. 12 airship, pointed to a huge black figure in the distance and said in surprise. A behemoth with a length of nearly 20 meters and a wing width of nearly 40 meters flew quickly in front of the airship, and the speed of this guy exceeded 100 kilometers per hour at this time.

If only in terms of size, the No. 12 airship is far less huge than the other party, but as an aircraft, especially the aircraft of World War 1, it can have such a large volume regardless of performance, which makes people feel sincerely admired! However, at this time, the 12th airship did not forget to immediately send a telegram to inform the main fleet.

"Ensign, our telegram has been jammed!" The first transmission was a great failure, and there was a gut-tingling clutter in the communication band.

"Then use other frequency bands, and besides, let's raise them higher, if the other side has weapons, we won't be able to eat and walk around!" Airship 12 was slowly climbing and sending a message in the new frequency band, and this time, the contact was successful.

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