"The 5th Destroyer Group encountered the British fleet? The Ariadne is not ......," Hipper, when he received a telegram from the 1st Detachment of the 5th Destroyer Group at 7:45, found that the situation was far more serious than he had imagined.

Hipper, who had thought that the British had broken through with nothing more than a small fleet, had already ordered at 7:05 a.m. the 5th Destroyer Group, which was docked on the docks of Helgoland, to be immediately reinforced. Lieutenant Colonel Knezebeck, who received the order, also believed that the number of enemies would not be too large, so he asked the first and second detachments to go first, and he himself followed.

However, Lieutenant Commander Kneezerbeck's flagships, the Niopa and the Ariadne, belonged to the same class, and as when the first and second detachments set off, the boilers of the Nioba were also in a state of flameout, and as a 1,400-ton destroyer lead ship that was 5 or 6 years older than the Type 1905 destroyer, the Niopa not only sailed slower than the Type 1905 destroyer, but also took longer to fire and burn steam, and when the Niopa burned half of the steam and left the port, it was formed with the remaining two formations of destroyers to rush to the battlefieldThe first and second detachments had already exchanged fire with the British for 10 minutes.

While the 12 L-class destroyers joined the battlefield to form an overwhelming advantage, Lieutenant Commander Knezebeck was leading his fleet at a "high speed" of 22 knots.

Although Vice Admiral Hipper and Lieutenant Commander Knezebeck did not deliberately trap the first and second detachments of the 5th Destroyer Group, their orders did put the eight destroyers in danger at this time, and Lieutenant Commander Knezebeck's own behavior of bringing nine ships at this time became a taboo for soldiers -- a tactic of adding fuel.

Hipper, who got the telegram, received a farewell telegram from the Ariadne only 5 minutes ago, and now the encounter of the 5th destroyer group with the British fleet only shows a problem, the British have come in more than one fleet! If you dare to come in two fleets, then it is difficult to guarantee that there will not be a third! The fourth! And there must be a receiving fleet outside its own defensive circle!

"How many Britons are coming in?! Is our defensive ring just a sieve?! What about submarines?! What about airships?! Isn't there a single fleet that can find the British? Could it be that the British are so swaggering to come as soon as they want?! Hipper's whole body trembled with anger, and how long had it been since he swore to the emperor, to the chief of the general staff, to the navy, that the Helgoland Bay defense zone was impregnable? The current situation proves that his promise was a joke!

Even if the minefields are mined, the important coastline areas such as the mouth of the Yad Bay and the mouth of the Emes River have a high priority for mine-laying, and it is understandable that it is extremely difficult to fill the outer layer of Helgoland Bay with such a huge area of minefields. But the reality of several detective lines was slapped in Hipper's face like a slap.

Hipper's anger silenced everyone, but since His Excellency the Lieutenant General had been named, these troops were inevitably held accountable, so someone immediately ran to contact them.

Fifteen minutes later, the answers of the two armies made Hipper's face turn blue as he understood what was going on.

The submarine and airship units did conduct daily patrols as planned, but they reported that they had "seen nothing" rather than "nothing was seen".

The difference in a few words has created the current situation! Fog is thick in the Gulf of Helgoland, but Wilhelmshaven is now sunny and sunny! From beginning to end, none of the ships that encountered the British reported the weather conditions. So Hipper always thought that the visibility in the Helgoland Bay was now good, and the size of the troops that the British touched in was definitely not a big deal!

This weather made Hipper's previous order the same mistake as Lieutenant Commander Knezerbeck, who, at 7:05 a.m., in addition to ordering the Fifth Destroyer Group to go for reinforcements, also received orders from the light cruisers Stettin and Lübeck, which were closest to the area of engagement.

And just now, after realizing that the strength of the British fleet was not weak, he ordered all the light cruisers in the Gulf of Helgoland that could be dispatched immediately to set fire and set off! What's even worse is that in order to be in a hurry, he asked the warship to set off alone as soon as it was ready!

The positions and states of these cruisers when they received the order were different, and it would have been a clear sky in the Helgoland Bay at this time, but now the foggy ships are going to the battle area alone, and they cannot coordinate at all, and they are very likely to be broken by each one!

Fortunately, the problem was discovered early, and the five light cruisers of the 2nd Reconnaissance Fleet in Wilhelmshaven had just begun to start fire, the 2 light cruisers of the 3rd Reconnaissance Fleet were far away at Brunsbitrk on the west side of the Kiel Canal, and one light cruiser at the mouth of the Gulf of Yard at the southeastern end of the Gulf of Helgoland, and one light cruiser at the mouth of the Ames River in the depths of the Gulf of Yard had to arrive at the battlefield, and it was too late to correct this erroneous order!

"Send it now! Inform Major General Maas not to strike alone! Let his fleet wait on the southeast side of Helgoland for the Munich and Danzig of the Third Reconnaissance Fleet; Inform the Munich and Danzig of the rendezvous with Rear Admiral Maas! Inform the Dresden at the mouth of the Yad Bay to join up with Mainz before heading to the war zone! Inform the Stettin, Lübeck and the 5th Destroyer Group not to fall in love with the war, and to make it their first priority to hold off the British fleet! ”

Although the Stettin and Lübeck, which had departed earlier, had also rushed alone from different positions, the two ships were estimated to be about to arrive in the war zone at this time, and the Fifth Destroyer Group had already exchanged fire with the British, so the possibility of being broken by each was also very small, so Hippert was not very worried.

In Hipper's opinion, 2 light cruisers plus a group of destroyers should be able to hold off the British. And the reinforcement fleet, in addition to the 9 light cruisers ready for departure, also has 2 heavy cruisers on the island of Helgoland. The dispatch of forces of this magnitude is bound to teach a painful lesson to the British, who had the courage to break into the Gulf of Helgoland, and can be regarded as their own reparation for such a serious mistake today.

Hipper did not know that it was not the entire Fifth Destroyer Group that was engaged with the British at this time, but only two destroyer detachments. However, at this time, the situation on the side of Major Schultz was very bad, and the arrival of the Stettin and Lübeck did save the two destroyer detachments that were in danger.

"Gun Position 1 is destroyed! All the artillery crews were killed! ”

"Shot on the starboard side! Damn the Brit blew our kitchen away! ”

"Shot in the bow! Thank God! The cannonball passed through! ”

The constant explosion of water around the battleship, and the constant reporting of casualties on the ship, made Major Anschutz's eyes red. The fleet was caught in the middle of the British, and it was simply impossible to turn around and escape. So he decided to tear a hole out of the British's array and kill it!

The 12 L-class destroyers were undoubtedly hitting the stone with eggs in the current state of the German ships, so the First Destroyer Fleet, which had been beaten by its own side before, became a breakthrough for the Germans. However, the British also saw that the Germans wanted to break through, and the nine Class I destroyers of the First Destroyer Fleet desperately poured fire in an attempt to force the Germans to change course, and the Z-69 at the head naturally became the target of public criticism. But this time can not be turned anyway! 12 L-class destroyers are biting into the back of their ass!

The house leak happened to rain overnight, and under the pursuit of 12 L-class destroyers, the destroyers that fell behind inevitably appeared.

"Z-93 sent a telegram: 'This ship has been bombed in the engine room, its speed has decreased, and it is about to break out of formation, I wish all ships a smooth breakthrough, long live Germany!' ”

"Call back: 'Good luck! May God be with you! Long live Germany! Major Anschutz clenched his fists tightly, trying not to think about the already doomed fate of Z-93, and gave the order again stiffly: "Keep the assault!" We must fight our way out! ”

Although it broke away from the formation, the Z-93 was not captured!

"Even if we lose momentum, we can still fire! Keep up the fight back! The captain, Major Lechler, watched the friendly ship fade away and gave the order to continue the battle.

The pursuing L-class destroyers did not pay attention to the German destroyer, which had fallen behind, and they were still bent on stopping the entire German fleet, and the Z-93, which had lost power, was already a delicacy that could be eaten at any time. Therefore, the L-class destroyers lined up in three diagonal columns, except for one column in the rear of the flank, which was still firing at the Z-93, the remaining two columns were still staring closely at the German formation in front.

However, the British contempt for the Z-93 soon paid the price, a 105 mm shell smashed the Lance rushing forward, this luck bomb directly hit the twin 533 mm torpedo tubes on the middle deck of the Lance's hull, the two 533 mm torpedoes that were detonated exploded in the middle of the Lance's hull A huge fireball, the middle deck of the hull was completely torn apart, the boiler room below was completely blown up, and the Lance suddenly turned into a dead fish and collapsed on the sea.

"Haha! We've taken out one! "The result of such a huge explosion for a destroyer is either dead or maimed, and the bridge of the Z-93 is filled with cheers, as if he has forgotten that he has lost power and is in a place of death.

"Well done, gentlemen! We took out one of their destroyers, and next time we took out two of them! Major Lechler looked at the fireball rising in the distance and said with a pretense of relief, knowing that what awaited him and the entire crew of the Z-93 would be fierce retaliation from the British.

He guessed correctly, the actions of the Z-93 made the British realize that this was not a lamb to the slaughter, and a column of 4 L-class destroyers had turned their bows and surrounded the Z-93.

At 8:45 a.m., the Z-93 was in shambles, the whole battleship was shrouded in black smoke and fire, all the ship's guns had been destroyed, and the three torpedoes fired at the port side only made the British destroyer adjust its course slightly, and it was only a few minutes of delay, and the Z-93 was almost over.

"The British want to take the ship?!" Looking at the British destroyer not far away, putting down the dinghy and approaching this side with sailors, Major Lechler, who was not lightly injured and covered with blood, smashed his fist on the fence of the bridge: "The deception is too much! ”

"Captain! We can still fight! All those who can move are now on deck, and if the British dare to board the ship, we will beat them into the sea! Lieutenant Captain Jasper shouted.

The Z-93 has lost power, and all the sailors in the boiler room and engine room have all been concentrated on the deck, except for the dead and seriously injured and incapacitated, all the people on the ship who can still stand up are standing on the side of the ship at this moment waiting for the final battle.

Looking at the young sailors lined up on the side of the board, all of them were disorganized, their uniforms were dirty, and their standing posture was crooked, without the image of German soldiers. But at this moment, looking at the snow-white bandages on the lightly wounded and stained red with blood, at the rifles with bayonets in the hands of the soldiers, and at the stokers with shovels for shoveling coal, Major Lechler suddenly felt that the current image of these young men was that of a real German soldier.

Looking at these disfigured, but determined-eyed sailors, looking at the young men who had to hold mop sticks and even bare-handed because of the insufficient number of guns, Major Lechler made a difficult decision.

"Abandon the ship."

"Captain?!"

"We've done what we can, there's no need for the lads to fight with sticks and fists anymore."

"Yes, Captain."

"But!" Major Lechler's voice was raised: "The Z-93 cannot be left to the British!" Blow her up! I'm not going to let the dirty hands of the British touch her! Lechler's expression was a little distorted, and he blew up and sank his own ship with his own hands, a decision that made Lechler's heart twist.

"Yes, Captain! The British won't touch a finger of her! Jasper replied aloud.

At 8:50, the Z-93 was broadcast with all the abandonment of the ship, and the sailors jumped into the sea.

At 9 o'clock sharp, after confirming that all the crew had left the ship, Rear Admiral Lechler ignited the self-sinking explosives in the bilge and jumped into the sea.

At 9:05, after a dull explosion, Z-93 began to tilt slowly.

At 9:10, the Z-93 completely capsized, and the crimson bottom of the upside-down Z-93 was still stubbornly floating on the sea

"She's not sunk yet." Looking at the bottom of the Z-93, Major Lechler muttered.

"She's a good ship." Ensign Jasper, who was floating on the surface of the sea with Major Lechler, said.

"Yes, she's a good ship."

Not far away, the dinghy released by the British was approaching Major Lechler while salvaging the drowning man.

"Looks like we're going to be a prisoner." Major Lechler laughed at himself as he looked at the approaching dinghy.

"I don't know what the British will do to us." Captain Jasper was a little worried, just when the Z-93 capsized, the Lance, which had been disabled by the British, also sank, and the power of the explosion of the two 533mm torpedoes damaged the hull structure of the Lance, and after floating on the sea for a period of time, the unsupportable hull structure began to twist and break, and then capsized and sank, and the speed of sinking was still very fast, the Z-93 is now floating on the bottom of the water, and the Spear has disappeared on the sea.

So Jasper was a little worried that the British would wait for an opportunity to retaliate. But he was too careful, at least for now, the British still have some discipline, the British released the boat not to seize the ship, but to see that the Z-93 has completely lost the ability to fight back, so it is judged that the Germans should need rescue to help.

However, such a misunderstanding was irrelevant, because even if it was known that the British had no intention of seizing the ship, the outcome of the Z-69 would not have changed much.

Just as Major Lechler climbed into the Englishman's dinghy and thought gloomily that he would spend a long time in the prisoner of war camp in the future, Major Anschutz's formation finally escaped! (To be continued.) )