The telegram was sent back by the destroyer "Jiyang", the second of three destroyers on alert, operating in the central part of the southwestern Strait of Dover, patrolling about 25 nautical miles from Eastbourne in southern Britain and about 30 nautical miles from Belk on the other side of the strait.

At that time, the destroyer was sailing in a northwesterly direction, and its patrol route was an "8" shaped staggered course, with a maximum range of only 5 nautical miles, and a patrol speed of about 18 knots. That is, the ship had to turn almost non-stop in order to ensure movement within the patrol range and thus avoid missing the enemy fleet. This kind of small-scale mobile patrol is a chore, mainly affected by the performance of the radar on the warship, and in order to maintain close monitoring in the strait, it is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the patrol route. At that time, the radar equipped on the "City" class destroyers had a nominal detection range of 25 nautical miles for large targets such as battleships, but in reality, no one could guarantee that the target would be found at this distance, especially in the case of rough sea conditions, and the detection range would be shortened to less than 15 nautical miles in many cases.

The southern part of the Strait of Dover, which is about 45 nautical miles northeast of the English Channel, is about 45 nautical miles, and if you use three destroyers to monitor the entire strait, it is necessary to accurately deploy the patrol range of these three destroyers. The "Jiyang" was between the other two destroyers, and according to the judgment of Chang Zhixin, the British fleet was likely to go directly to the port of Pontsmouth, so the most likely to find the British fleet should be the "Guanghan" located northwest of the "Jiyang". Therefore, when Chang Jianxin learned that the enemy fleet had been discovered by the "Jiyang", he was also a little surprised, didn't Satsumville plan to go to the port of Puffmouth? Or rather, Satsumville already knew the whereabouts of Task Force 3. And then kill it directly, ready to fight a night battle with the third task force?

"This is the approximate course of the British fleet." The information received by the navigation staff was marked on the chart, "It is not yet known whether the British fleet will turn again, according to the plan, the 'Jiyang' will be kept at a distance of 15 nautical miles from the British fleet, at this distance, the radar on the British battleship is unlikely to detect the 'Jiyang', in addition." The Jiyang has already contacted the Guanghan and Suzhou, and the other two destroyers are also trying to get close to the British fleet and maintain maximum radar contact with it. Avoid being discovered by enemies.

Chang Jianxin kept looking at the charts, and when he made contact, the course of the British expeditionary fleet was about 210 degrees, that is, 30 degrees to the south-west. If Sarmoville were to go to Portsmouth, then the British fleet would have to go a little further west, and it seemed that the British home fleet had just passed through the Strait of Dover, and perhaps had not yet escaped the minefield.

"Preliminary radar contact determined that there were at least five ships in the enemy fleet. Perhaps more Troikas, with speeds between 14 and 16 knots, and several cruisers that went out were also found. The navigating staff officer put down the pencil in his hand, "We have not yet contacted the 'Jiyang', according to the battle plan previously determined, the 'Jiyang' will send back the activities of the British fleet at any time, and in about five minutes, we will receive a new telegram." ”

"Keep an eye on the movements of the enemy fleet." Chang Jian Xinchang breathed a sigh of relief, and he looked up at the navigation clock. He added, "Don't break the radio silence for the time being, maybe the radar on the British battleships is also on, and their radar detection devices don't work, but now we can't actively expose it." Is there any news on Task Force 6? ”

The communications staff officer shook his head. "No other task forces have been heard."

"Then let's wait." Chang Jianxin sat down, "Let's take a look at the actions of the British, if they are going to return to the port of Puffmouth, then we will deal with the British home fleet tonight." No need to put it off until tomorrow. Also, immediately give the order for combat mobilization. The fleet is ready to turn and accelerate at any moment, and it seems that Satsumville does not want to drag it out, and he may be looking for us to fight a decisive battle. ”

The battle alarm was immediately sounded, and the officers and men had only spent half an hour at night, and now they were all at their posts, and the gunners of the five battleships were already active, and the main gun turrets were also turned, and the gunners also seized the time to check the condition of the main guns to ensure that there would be no mechanical failure when the battle began.

In less than five minutes, the 'Jiyang' sent back a second telegram reporting a new situation, the British fleet did not turn and was still moving towards the middle of the strait, at a speed of about 16 knots, and did not get out of radar contact with the British battleships in advance. By 12:20 p.m., the 'Guanghan' sent back a report, and the destroyer's radar had also spotted the British fleet, and the 'Jiyang' report was official, and the cruisers in the British fleet had already moved forward, but no British battleships were approaching the 'Guanghan', so the 'Guanghan' was still able to detect the battleships in the British fleet with radar. Subsequently, the "Suzhou" sent back a report, and its radar also detected the British fleet that was sailing in the waters of the central part of the strait. At this time, except for the "Jiyang", which was the first to detect the British fleet, was forced to move southwest to avoid being detected by the radar on the British cruisers, the "Guanghan" and "Suzhou" were monitoring the every move of the British battleships, and sent a telegram back every five minutes. At the same time, because the British fleet was sailing in a southwesterly direction, the three destroyers also turned one after another, heading towards the sea area where the third task force was located. (Fastest update: n).

The situation had become clear, the British Home Fleet had passed through the Strait of Dover, and Summerville had no intention of going directly to the port of Psets. The question also came up, and what Chang Jianxin was a little surprised was that Satsumville wanted to fight a night battle with Task Force 3?

According to Chang Jianxin's previous analysis, the British home fleet went through the Strait of Dover with great pains to sneak attack the third task force, and the best way was to use those aircraft carriers to contain the aircraft carrier task force of the Tang Imperial Navy during the day, and then the home fleet would defeat the third task force. Perhaps when dealing with the aircraft carrier task force, Sizeville will choose to sneak attack at night, after all, the bombers on the aircraft carrier cannot carry out combat missions at night, but the problem is that this time Sameville will fight the third task force, and the third task force is famous for its night combat ability, and it has never been defeated in the Pacific theater. From the technical aspect, the radar equipped on the warships of the Tang Imperial Navy is the best radar in the world, even if the radar of the British Navy is not bad, but after all, there is still a certain technological gap. Judging from the situation in the warring seas, it is close to the British mainland, and it is impossible for the British Air Force's shore-based bombers to carry out bombing missions at night. Therefore, from a technical and tactical point of view, there was no reason for Samoville to choose a decisive battle with Task Force 3 at night, and the best thing for him to do was to annihilate Task Force 3 during the day with the support of the Air Force's shore-based bombers!

So why did Samoville choose to kill it at night? Chang Jiexin had to consider one problem, that is, the whereabouts of the Third Task Force had been exposed, and the British knew that the Third Task Force was fighting alone, with only five battleships, while Satsumville had eight battleships in his hands. If Satsumville had been superstitious about the superiority of his forces and had believed that he would be able to defeat Task Force 3, then he might have chosen to approach Task Force 3 at night!

Thinking about this, Chang Jiexin suddenly realized this. Now that the British fleet is approaching, if Satsumville really knows the whereabouts of Task Force 3, this will not be enough for him to make the decision to fight a decisive battle with Task Force 3, and there is another point that cannot be ignored, that is, the existence of Task Force 6. If Task Force 6 is nearby, it will give Satsumville a few guts. He didn't dare to rush to the decisive battle. Thus, the actions of the British fleet now illustrate the fact that Satsumville knew not only the whereabouts of Task Force 3, but also the Task Force 6. And knowing that Task Force 6 would not be able to come in time to support Task Force 3, he could seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take out Task Force 3 in a single place!

Thinking about it, Chang Jianxin also broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't know how the British had figured out the whereabouts of Task Force 3, but all indications proved that Satsumville knew that Task Force 3 was in front of him, and even knew that Task Force 6 was a few hours away and could not come to support Task Force 3 at night! So, where exactly is Task Force 6? And. Third, should the task force take the initiative to meet the enemy, or should it evade it first?

"General. Suzhou's telegram back, the British fleet was accelerating. There are still no signs of turning. "In about half an hour we will have radar contact with the British fleet, and if we turn now, it may not be too late." ”

Chang Jianxin nodded slightly, but he didn't make a decision immediately. Now he has two choices, to fight or not to fight. In fact, there is no choice at all, the Third Task Force stayed to fight a decisive battle with the British Home Fleet, not to mention the few 'old ships' in Motorville. Even if the four "avant-garde" are there, Chang Jianxin will not be the slightest timid. But the question is, how to fight? Take the initiative to catch up, or first block the passage of the British fleet back to the port of Pratsmouth? At least, the possibility of a return to the port of Puffmouth cannot be ruled out for the time being. The problem was that if the fleet maneuvered to the north, it would have to get close to the British mainland, and if the Sixth Task Force could not arrive in time, the Third Task Force would be in a dilemma. It is possible to be defeated, and if not defeated, it will be a terrible price to pay!

After thinking about it for a while, Chang Recommend's expression became firm, and he glanced at the navigation staff. "The new course is 330 degrees, the speed is increased to 24 knots, it turns into a combat queue, contacts the destroyers in front. The movements of the British fleet continued to be closely monitored, and the cruiser and destroyer formations were all concentrated to the west. Also, don't forget to reach out to Task Force 6 and ask them directly where they are and when they will be able to get there. Go ahead, give the battle order! ”

The look of the nautical staff officer also became firm, and he immediately went to convey the order of the fleet commander. The new order already made it clear that the 3rd Task Force was to block the British's return to Portsmouth Harbour before engaging in a decisive battle with the enemy. This also reflects the judgment of the fleet commander, and it also reflects the confidence of Chang Zhixin in his own fleet.

The fleet began to accelerate as it turned, and Chang Zhixin also calmed down. He still didn't quite believe that Satsumville had discovered Task Force 3, and he didn't believe that Task Force 3 was confident that Task Force 3 would be defeated. At the time, none of the six new battleships of the U.S. Navy had defeated Task Force 3, while the British Home Fleet had only eight old battleships. It is even more impossible to defeat Task Force 3. More crucially, Sarmoville had already fought with the German "Far East Fleet" once, and when the strength was equal, and the German fleet came from afar, and the British fleet was attacking with defense, the "avant-garde" was not able to defeat the "new provincial capital", so how could Satsumville have the confidence to use eight old battleships to kill the five "new provincial capitals" of the Third Task Force?

Considering all the circumstances, Chang Jianxin still believes that the whereabouts of the Third Task Force have not been exposed, and now the British Home Fleet has not turned around, and it is very likely that it has just left the minefield and has not completely entered the safe sea, so it is not in a hurry to turn around. Moreover, if Satmoville did not know that Task Force 3 remained in the waters northeastern of the Channel, he would not have hurried to the port of Puffmouth, for he would have had enough time to complete the last leg of the course before daybreak. In other words, the British fleet was only sailing normally, and one thing is enough to prove Chang Zhixin's judgment, that is, the speed of the British fleet was still only 16 knots, and from the information he obtained, the speed of the eight British battleships was more than 20 knots. If Sulmoville had come to find a decisive battle with the 3rd Task Force, the British fleet would have accelerated to 20 knots a long time ago, instead of 16 knots!

It was on the basis of these judgments that Chang Jianxin made a bold decision to reach the northwest direction of the British fleet before it turned, block its route to the port of Petsmouth, and start a battle queue in advance, so that the five battleships were all in a position, and then rely on the advantages of radar and radar artillery aiming system, maybe in the first few rounds of salvo fire, a few British battleships can be killed, then the next battle is to clean up the battlefield!