Chapter 891: Epilogue
The fire of the large-caliber guns was constantly shining, and the fall of each round of shells was a disaster for the British, who were already able to see their homes in the distance, and even the torpedo boats and destroyers that came to meet them, but soon, under the blows of the light cruisers and destroyers of the Germans, after throwing away 3 destroyers, the British receiving fleet was forced to retreat, and under the suppression and attack of crossfire, the British auxiliary cruisers became piles of ruins floating on the sea. Pen | fun | pavilion www. biquge。 infoNo one knows how many British officers and sailors died in the last moments, but looking at the sea that is gradually stained red with blood, almost everyone can feel the cold cruelty and madness of war!
When the last auxiliary cruiser turned into a rising fireball in the salvo fire of the Blucher and Goeben, the cannon fire that had been on the surface for more than 4 hours finally subsided, and everything was over, and the 10th cruiser detachment used by the British for blockade lost twelve auxiliary cruisers of various kinds in just a few hours! 8 other vessels, including trawlers. Plus 4 armored cruisers.
And along with the loss of these warships, the Royal Navy also paid tens of thousands of casualties, and the general death is relatively small, this time the so-called casualties are almost all deaths, after all, people who fell into the sea, if no one rescues, want to swim back to the shore It is unlikely, although it is still autumn, but at night, the water temperature in the North Sea is enough for a person to quickly lose his heat, and then disappear from the sea forever.
In this battle, the losses of the German fleet were very limited, only 4 destroyers, and the number of dead in the battle was just over half a hundred. The only thing that surprised Hipper was that one of the destroyers was actually sunk by a submarine, and a British submarine could actually kill a destroyer moving at high speed, which really shocked Hipper.
"From now on, in the war zone from Shetland in the west to the coast of Norway in the east, there will be no mercy or forgiveness, and all that remains is death!" Looking at the rough sea, Hipper said with a long sigh. It was he who started it, but he didn't regret it.
War, especially the war related to the fortunes of the country, is about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, the British did the first year of junior high school, so don't blame Germany for doing the fifteenth. Everyone is for blockade and counter-blockade, what is the difference between the Germans blockade with submarines and the British with auxiliary cruisers? Defeat, then everything is over, and after victory, who will dwell on these problems? The winner, recalling his previous decision, will give himself a thumbs up, while the loser, even if he is angry, can only sulk in a dark corner, that's all!
Hipper looked up at the sky, and then looked at the wall clock, it was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and it was time to clean up, and then prepare to flash people, after all, the entire German fleet was now scattered in a radius of thousands of square kilometers, and it would take some time for the fleet to retract. We did a good job today, and if something goes wrong at the end of the day, it will be worth the loss.
Hipper, in his capacity as commander of the fleet, immediately ordered all the battleships participating in the battle to begin regrouping, and then go home in formation. An hour later, familiar figures appeared in Hipper's field of vision: the battlecruiser Goburn, the von der Tann, and the Blucher. They are now the same as when they first set off, not even a layer of paint has fallen off, and this kind of battle is really good.
Then there were several more light cruisers and a fleet of destroyers. These warships gradually surrounded them like attendants patrolling beside the god of war. Because he was attacked by submarines before, Hipper was still very serious in the end, all the capital ships were completed, the light cruisers opened the way for a thousand kilometers, and the destroyers were divided into two parts to escort the capital ships on both sides. When the whole fleet went back, it also took an anti-submarine route, constantly changing its course, so that the submarine could not lock its position.
"The size of our fleet seems to be a little larger......." Looking at the several huge figures following the fleet, Hipper couldn't help frowning, among them, the big ship at the head, Hipper knows, isn't this the Kaiser Wilhelm back then? I've sat on it myself! The latter two ships are also somewhat similar in appearance, but I can't remember exactly.
To Hipper's surprise, just today, there are several German cruise ships carrying a large amount of cargo passing through the North Sea, to say that luck, it is impossible, these large high-speed cruise ships are lone travelers at sea, relying on high speed to travel between the oceans, leaving all the guys who are not as fast as it are far behind. And now, it is impossible to break through the North Sea blockade line in a group!
"It seems that another hidden task of our fleet is to help these warships smuggle over." Hipper said helplessly, there are a total of 8 large transport ships that came back with the fleet, and 4 of them are hoisting the flag of the Kingdom of Bavaria on board at this time, so there is no need to ask, it must be the ship of the Kingdom of Bavaria, and this plan was formulated by the prince, and the meaning behind this is worth considering .......
"By the way, send a telegram to the Cedritz and say, on behalf of the fast fleet of the German High Seas Fleet, I wish him a smooth journey and a good return!" Hipper thought for a moment and said.
All battleships were evacuated, except for the battlecruiser Cedritz! Colonel Edelman finally decided to carry out his previous plan, leaving himself alone at the entrances to the Norwegian and North Seas and continuing to hunt down the auxiliary cruisers. Prior to this, Hipper had contacted Colonel Edelman several times and said that the plan had not been made public, and that Colonel Edelman could cancel it at any time without fear of reputational damage.
"We have torn the chains imposed on our necks by the British, but not enough! The British will certainly try to reinstate the blockade, and we will teach the British a profound lesson that I will make them feel terrified of a ghost behind them when they appear in the waters between Shetland and the coast of Norway! We must take advantage of the unprecedented weakening of the Grand Fleet to open up the routes to the country. As the capital ship in the best condition and fastest in the entire German fleet, I think it is my duty to carry out this mission! Colonel Edelman said.
Hipper, on the other hand, finally agreed to the latter's plan, and left one of the best light cruisers in the entire fleet to accompany the Cedritz, and this was the beginning of a new legend, of course, for another time.
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