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Although midsummer is approaching, this does not mean that the water temperature has risen as a result, nor does it mean that the officers and soldiers who fall into the water will survive for a long time, because the sea conditions in the North Atlantic are notoriously poor, with high winds and rough waves all year round.

Moreover, the average water temperature in the sea area where the naval battle took place was 13 degrees Celsius in summer, and the water temperature in May was often below 10 degrees Celsius.

In order to avoid the whirlpool formed by the sinking of the Friedrich, all the officers and men who fell into the water swam as far away as possible, which made them scattered in a wide area of the sea, which caused great difficulty in the search and rescue of the warships that came to the rescue.

After the war, although Lütjens organized 6 warships, 18 speedboats and 4 seaplanes to search and rescue the crew who fell into the water, 673 people were still killed and 421 people were missing, and only 311 of the 1,405 crew members returned to Germany safely.

Rear Admiral Kurt Hoffmann, captain of the battleship Friedrich Albert and commander of the Third Reich, also became the highest-ranking officer to die in Germany since the beginning of the war.

Seeing the Friedrich disappear into the sea, the British fleet swept away the previously gloomy atmosphere and boosted morale, and the accuracy of the ships also improved a lot.

Under the orders of Baron Tovey, the British ships concentrated their fire on the Bismarck, who was flying the flag of the flagship and was the culprit in the sinking of the Hood.

The battle gradually entered a white-hot heat, and the warships of both sides were killed, not to mention the main guns and secondary guns, and even the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns of each ship were used, shooting frantically at the enemy ships, regardless of whether they could cause substantial damage to the opposing warships.

Soon, the Prestige battlecruiser, which was closer to the German ships, was in trouble, and the large-caliber guns from the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz pierced its armor one after another, while the massive influx of water reduced its speed to 15 knots.

Eventually, a 406mm armor-piercing round from the Bismarck pierced the main ammunition depot under the Fame's No. 1 turret, and the heavy blast blasted the warship into two parts—one at the bow of the front of the No. 1 turret and one at the stern of the hull behind the No. 1 turret.

Like the Hood, which was killed, the Prestige quickly disappeared into the sea, along with more than 1,000 British naval officers and men.

It is a tragedy that the British fleet, which was once so powerful and invincible, is now reduced to a mere battleship.

Looking at the sinking wounds of his battleship, Baron Tovey slumped in his chair, his face becoming extremely ugly and colorless.

After a long time, he silently recited: "The glory of the empire on which the sun never sets, the glory of the Royal Navy, has been buried in my hands......"

After saying that, he stood up and walked outside with his binoculars.

"General! What are you doing? When the officers in the command tower saw Baron Tovey walking out, they all panicked and hurriedly went up to stop them, "It's dangerous outside!" Checkmate! ”

Baron Tovey didn't answer, just pushed away and walked on, leaving the heavily armored conning tower, and then stood outside the bridge in the open air, looking straight at the German battleship Bismarck a few kilometers away.

He was to witness the fall of the Royal Navy.

It just so happened that the book was not written, and Lütjans, who was commanding on the Bismarck, suddenly left the conning tower despite everyone's obstruction, and walked out of the bridge to look at the last battleship of the British Navy, like Baron Tovey, he also wanted to witness the destruction of the Royal Navy, but he was the victor.

In this way, the representatives of the two navies quietly looked at each other across the sea.

Ignoring the heavy artillery fire, with a triumphant smile on his face, Lütjans ordered one of the major officers beside him: "Tell the 'King George V' to stop making useless struggles!" ”

"Understood!" The major officer saluted and hurried back to the bridge.

Soon, the Bismarck made contact with the George V.

"King George V and all the warships of the Royal Navy, I am the Bismarck, the flagship of the battleship detachment of the German High Seas Fleet." The major officer grabbed the microphone and said in pure English, "You are surrounded by our superior forces, please stop your ships immediately and put an end to the senseless resistance, and the commander of our fleet, Vice Admiral Gonser Lütjans of the Third Reich of Germany, guarantees in his honor that you will not be treated unjustly after surrendering!" Repeat, please stop the useless resistance immediately! ”

Soon, Baron Tovey, who heard the news of the German persuasion to surrender, returned to the bridge, grabbed the microphone and said in person: "I am the commander of the British Royal Navy's home fleet, Admiral John Colonin Tovey, the wartime admiral, I refuse to surrender on behalf of King George V and the home fleet, and King George V and the home fleet will fight until the last warship sinks!" ”

After hearing Baron Tovey's words, the major immediately threw down the microphone and ran to Lütjans's side and reported: "Admiral Lütjans, the commander of the British fleet said that he refused to surrender, do you want me to persuade him again?" ”

"No, if Baron Tovey is here, no matter how much you persuade you, it's just a waste of words." Lytjans waved his hand, "Let the fleet gather fire on the King George V." ”

In the face of the German fleet's fire, the George V, despite its excellent defenses, was still destroyed in just five minutes and quickly sank into the sea.

After the sinking of the George V, the remaining warships of the Home Fleet split into two parts, one attempting to flee the battlefield with speed superiority, and the other raising the white flag to surrender to the powerful German fleet.

For the warships that surrendered, Lütjans fulfilled his promise and did not embarrass them, but sent troops to disarm each British ship, all torpedo shells were pushed into the sea, the soldiers' guns were collected, and only officers above the rank of captain were able to keep a pistol.

As for the warships that escaped, Lütjans was not polite, he sent 3 heavy cruisers and 14 destroyers to pursue, and in the end only 3 destroyers and 2 light cruisers escaped the pursuit of German warships and returned to the mainland.

On the other hand, after the British carrier-based air force attacked, the German aircraft carrier fleet organized 30 torpedo bombers, 17 dive bombers, and 7 fighters, and followed the British carrier-based aircraft group back to retaliate against the British aircraft carrier fleet, sinking the two aircraft carriers of the Eagle and the Athletic, and severely damaging the Radiance and the Ark Royal.

Cunningham immediately led the aircraft carrier fleet to turn around and flee to the mainland after receiving the news of the total annihilation of the battleship detachment.

The naval battle that shocked the world ended with a resounding victory for the German High Seas Fleet.

In this battle, the High Seas Fleet sank 6 British battleships, 2 aircraft carriers, 7 light cruisers, and 23 destroyers, and lost 1 battleship, 1 aircraft carrier, 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, and 9 destroyers.

Since then, the main force of the British Navy has been completely annihilated, and the Royal Navy, which has dominated the world's oceans for 300 years, has completely withdrawn from the stage of history!

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