At 9:26 p.m. on August 7, 1914, the night was getting deeper. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info the North Sea of Europe, and under the faint light of the stars, the sea surface glows with a faint cold light. It is hard to imagine that the main British and German fleets, each with nearly 100 ships and tens of thousands of officers and men, are gathered in a sea area no more than 50 nautical miles long and wide, and almost every battleship is pitch black, except for the light in the direction of the stern, and even if they stand 100 meters away, they are only a hazy and blurred black shadow. The surging waves beat rhythmically against the hard outer walls of these steel battleships, the propellers running at an even speed vigorously stirred the cold and bitter waters, and on the towering masts and bridges, a pair of eyes were vigilant and vigilant in the dark, no one knew when and how the battle would come, they could only wait, wait quietly......

Returning to the battle bridge of the "Frederick the Great," the general flagship of the German High Seas Fleet, and when the tactical secret message from the "Long" was received, Admiral von Ingnoll commanded the German main fleet to complete the turn, and 14 dreadnoughts and 15 forward dreadnoughts lined up in a single-line battle column of more than 10 kilometers, driving at a speed of 12 knots from due east to due west and north. On the flanks of this battleship, as well as in the front and rear, 18 German cruisers and 39 large torpedo boats shared the task of reconnaissance and vigilance, and they were only three or four hundred meters away from the battleship column, and the closest battleships were four or five thousand meters away from their own side, or even more.

"As far as I can judge, it is highly likely that the lone British cruiser was part of Betty's fleet. Given that it sailed from north to south in the battle with our torpedo boats, I believe that it was most likely sent to search for traces of our main fleet, rather than being strayed by war wounds. ”

This unhurried and unhurried inference came from the young Chief of Staff of the German High Seas Fleet, Prince Joachim, a genius of the Hohenzollern royal family, who was not facing the same admiration and admiration as he had been when the new warships were launched. Naval warfare is different from building ships, it can be done slowly, and even the simplest decision can affect the fate of an entire fleet. Now, the German main fleet as a whole has turned left for half an hour, but the battleship group of the British Grand Fleet has not appeared in the starboard direction as expected, if both sides fail to seize the T-shape, then this naval battle is likely to be staged in a disorderly way, in this way, the German main fleet is strong in front and weak in the rear There is a great weakness, once the British main fleet turns continuously, and then from the middle and rear of the German fleet's battle column, the consequences will be unimaginable.

After Natsuki spoke, Colonel Hofelt, the most senior staff officer of the High Seas Fleet and the most relied on think tank of the former fleet commander Herzendorf, spoke: "At present, we are evenly matched with the British Grand Fleet, and whoever can occupy a favorable position will have a greater chance of winning. Since our reconnaissance planes were unable to grasp the position of the British battlefleet for a long time, and the reconnaissance ships had not yet found anything, it was better for the ships to go south, temporarily leave the area of battle, and wait until dawn to look for fighters. ”

In terms of personality, this suggestion should be very much in line with Ingnorr's appetite, so he looked at Natsuki without saying a word, hoping that this special status of the fleet chief of staff would agree.

Before Natsuki could say anything, Colonel Rubich, an observer, interjected, "I personally don't approve of retreating. We have just inflicted heavy losses on the British battle cruisers, the morale of the enemy is low and our morale is high, and after a long day of preparation, the whole crew is now adjusted to the best state of the battle, even if we have a bad start in this duel of the main fleet, with a double advantage in technology and tactics, at most a few minor battleships, the victory will inevitably be ours. If the battle resumes tomorrow, the mental state of all personnel will be affected. Moreover, if the Great Fleet of Great Britain dragged its damaged battle cruisers to the north, and after dawn it was already far away from us, and then we would pursue it or not? ”

The captain's previous words and deeds gave people the impression of being a reckless and straightforward old man, but this analysis was methodical and straightforward.

The young Captain Gold, who graduated one year before Natsuki at the Kiel Naval Academy, said politely, "Sir, may I say a few words?" ”

Ingnoll was noncommittal, and after receiving Natsuki's nod of approval, Captain Gord said: "I have just made careful calculations in the drawing room, assuming that the British battleships are in a single-line battleline, and the interval between ships is 400 to 500 meters, then the entire main battleship is at least 10 kilometers long, and based on the report of the reconnaissance aircraft and the extreme speed of the British fleet, they should still be to the north of us, and the most likely state is to move in a single column in the opposite direction of us, that is, the position of the remnants of Betty's fleet, The speed is comparable to ours. In this way, unless the normally cautious Jericho suddenly turns in a state of confusion, they are unlikely to penetrate into the middle and rear of our columns. However, the telegram just received from the 'Long' may be an important turning point - if Jericho realizes that our auxiliary fleet is still moving north, he can rule out our intention of turning to avoid the battle and send more light ships to search for us, so that whoever can find the other side first will have the initiative. Therefore, I propose to send a part of the light cruisers and torpedo boats to the north to carry out rapid reconnaissance, and even if there are losses, it is more advantageous to find us before the other side. ”

Even an immortal god of war like Napoleon will have his calculations, not to mention that at least half of Natsuki's resourcefulness stems from his knowledge of history. The current naval battle can be seen as an advance of the Battle of Jutland, and so far, the lure-ambush operation has been a great success, and the subsequent part is unprecedented in history, and tactical decision-making can only rely on real command ability. After listening to Captain God's analysis, Natsuki pondered it carefully, and felt that it was indeed necessary to send light ships to conduct rapid reconnaissance, but if he waited until they sent back a reconnaissance report and then adjusted the course, he was likely to miss the best time to attack.

"Sir, there is an old saying in the East called' Tonight's chance may be the only door of victory that God has opened for us, and if the British Grand Fleet is allowed to slip away, they will inevitably become more cautious because of the loss of Betty's fleet, and until the great shipbuilding industry has accumulated sufficient numerical superiority, the British fleet may choose to avoid the battle, and wait for us to challenge the narrow English Channel or the far northern passage, in which case we will either remain in the great cage of the North Sea, or force our challenge to the British Navy under unfavorable conditions. Instead of leaving the decision to fate, it is better to be the controller of fate! ”

After saying this, Natsuki did not look at Colonel Hofert, but stared at Ingnoll with both eyes.

This time, the commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet hesitated. He paced back and forth with his head down, and after a moment stopped to look at the window. The reconnaissance plane that took off from the "Bismarck" continued to drop flares on the distant sea, which was more than ten nautical miles away, and sparse shadows could be seen on the sea illuminated by strong light, but it could be seen that it was a secondary ship that Jericho had deliberately left behind to mislead the German pilots.

When the interruption continues, it is chaotic. This is a big lesson for Natsuki from the decades of two lives, and it is also where the failures often occur in the classics of war history. At this point in the battle, Natsuki was unwilling to give up halfway, and he thought of the next command for Ingnoll - "The fleet will turn right at 4 compass points, and the rear ship must start turning after seeing the indicator light that the forward ship has turned completely." ”

The fleet turned 4 compass points to the right, that is, to turn 45 degrees to the right, and it was not easy to maintain the formation to carry out such a large-angle maneuver at night, and the latter command was even more complicated. In the case of forward rotation of the engine, the full rudder steering radius of a battleship is usually between 300 and 700 meters, if one side is forward and the other side is reversed, the steering radius of the ship can be further reduced, and this emergency steering method is usually only used in artillery maneuvers.

Hearing the chief of staff of the fleet make a "suggestion" to himself in an unusually resolute tone, Ingnoll looked at him in surprise, and then turned to glance at the officers who were nearby.

Seeing that Ingnoll still couldn't make up his mind, Xia Shu's heart was crossed, and he said to Captain Gord: "Carry out the commander's order!" ”

"Yes! The fleet was ordered to turn 4 compass points to the right with all rudders, and the rear ship was to start turning after seeing the indicator light that the front ship had completed turning. Captain Gord repeated the order aloud, and he turned and walked over to the wall-mounted telephone on the battle bridge, where the staff officer who remained there did not move at first, but under his cold gaze, the officer stepped aside.

Watching what Captain Gord was doing, Colonel Hoffert opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't utter any syllables.

Captain Gord picked up the phone and resolutely ordered: "Communications officer, send a tactical light code signal to the whole fleet: turn the whole rudder to the right for 4 compass points, and the rear ship must start turning after seeing the indicator light that the forward ship has completed turning. ”

Immediately afterwards, the captain repeated the order, and by the time he uttered the last sentence, his voice was already a little shaky.

When Captain Gord hung up the phone, Captain Lubic publicly gave his first mate the order to turn four compasses to the right with the rudder in full, and asked the communications personnel to signal the indicator light after completing the turn. After doing this, Colonel Lubic glanced around, held his head high, and said, "As long as I can win this victory, I am willing to take the corresponding responsibility." ”

Since Colonel Lubic had already spoken first, he turned to Ingnoll and whispered, "Forgive me for being abrupt and offensive, Your Excellency Fleet Commander, I have no intention of competing for power with anyone. In fact, I had already thought that when Germany reached the peak of victory, I would retire from the German Navy and spend the rest of my time with my family. ”

Ingnoll smiled bitterly: "No, Your Royal Highness, when Germany wins, it will be right for an indecisive, mediocre and dull person like me to retire." I had been in the German Navy for too long, neglecting my family's feelings for many years, and I had little time left, so it was time to spend time with them. ”

Just as Natsuki was annoyed by the overly hasty decision he had just made, Ingnorr said, "Your Highness, it doesn't matter which of us makes up our minds, as long as we can win this battle, all the effort and risk will be worth it. For the sake of German victory, let's let it go! ”

Hearing Ingnoll's words, the eyes and expressions of half of the officers present showed excitement. They are young, vigorous and energetic, more fighting spirit than the old and steady veterans, and dare to wave the sword in their hands to cut through the thorns in the road ahead; They are martial, they revere will, they crave honor, and the passion for battle swells in their veins, which is the greatest motivation for this new empire to reach the top.

(End of chapter)