In the eastern Pacific Ocean, 30 nautical miles northeast of German Clipperton Island, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, headed north at full speed with the Wyoming-class battleship Arkansas as its flagship.

The beautiful scenery of the setting sun can relax a person's mood or make a person's imagination soar, but Vice Admiral Conway, deputy commander of the US Atlantic Fleet standing on the bridge of the "Arkansas", has a very bad feeling in his heart. The U.S. government and President Wilson's strategy of keeping the U.S. out of the war while continuing to sell arms to both sides for a profit, Lieutenant General Conway, a military man, had no problem with this, but the current development of the situation has made him more and more confused.

Dressed in a thick dark blue military coat, Conway silently enjoyed the cold sea breeze in the Pacific Ocean, when about 8 nautical miles behind his fleet, a small Japanese fleet followed like a ghost. For the Japanese cruiser fleet, consisting of 6 cruisers and 2 supply ships, Conway and his fleet could not take any action against the Japanese for the time being until they received instructions from Admiral Sims, the commander of the navy, and the Japanese did not make any hostile moves.

Despite this, Conway knew very well in his heart that the Japanese would have absolutely no good intentions when they came here, so he put the ships on alert, and all the sailors were on standby at their respective posts.

There are more than 9,000 American sailors in Conway's fleet, and the total number of sailors on each ship should be 13,000 when the ships are full, which means that about one-third of the sailors of his Atlantic fleet have not had time to return to Norfolk Naval Base before departure. Lieutenant General Conway was also dumb about this, because the documents approving the leave of most sailors were signed by his Conway's name, but this situation was something he never expected.

As for the British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand sailors who had previously been on these ships, some of them had been transferred to Churchill's remaining ships on their return voyages, and those who had returned to Norfolk Military Port with these ships were left behind at the US naval base. The British government paid the salary, and the U.S. government took care of the food, and these people lived by playing cards and having fun with peace of mind.

When footsteps sounded behind him, Conway took his gaze back from the vast sea.

The person who came was Conway's staff officer, 36-year-old Colonel Ernest, who had directly observed the Russo-Japanese naval battle as a military observer, and had a good understanding of the tactics and strength of the Japanese Navy, and the commander of the Japanese fleet this time was really Heihachiro Togo, who led the Combined Fleet to defeat the Russian fleet.

"General, a telegram has been sent from the Norfolk base, and eighty percent of the remaining three thousand seven hundred sailors have returned to the base to report for duty, and they want to know how to arrange these sailors, whether to make them wait in Norfolk, or to come and join the fleet as soon as possible?"

"Let them stay in Norfolk for a while! By the time they arrived on the west coast by land, the world would have been too peaceful! Conway says this because the U.S. is so big, and it's because the U.K. is so small. Germany's recent landing attack was no longer top secret, and the eyes of governments and militaries around the world were focused on the tiny British Isles. Those who supported Britain wanted to see the landing of German troops squeezed into the sea, those who supported Germany looked forward to seeing the British mainland invaded again after the Roman Empire, and most neutrals were curious about the landing pattern of the German army's artillery and giant ships, and some whimsical people even wanted to take an airship to England to watch the battle, although the German government had solemnly warned these adventurers not to visit England before the end of the British War.

"Yes, and General James has sent a signal asking for your permission to lead a few battleships to drive away the Japanese warships following our fleet!"

"This James is still so anxious! Tell him that we will have a chance to repair the Japanese, but not now! I think that when our Atlantic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet meet, the Japanese will know the difficulty and retreat! ”

For the sudden appearance of the Japanese fleet, Conway could only sigh at the political sense of those Japanese. As an admiral, he felt that a large part of the reason for this situation was that the US Congress had reduced the shipbuilding proposals proposed by the Admiralty on several occasions, otherwise the Japanese Navy would not have jumped to the point where it could compete with the US Navy in just 10 years. However, Conway and most of the admirals were not worried about this, first, they were very confident in their country's warship design and construction technology, and second, through this matter, it could also stimulate Congress, as long as Congress approved the shipbuilding budget, with the industrial and shipbuilding strength of the United States, the US Navy would be beyond the reach of the Japanese in a few years. Many people even confidently believe that in a few years, the strength of the US Navy will completely surpass Germany, the new hegemon in Europe, and become the new world's largest navy after the decline of Britain.

U.S. West Coast, Alameda Naval Base.

On the mast of Rulin, the star-striped flags were bathed in bright red sunlight, and most of the sunset had sunk to the sea level, and the dreamlike sunset on the horizon was intoxicating, but the busy scene on the docks was incompatible with this calm. Military vehicles painted with white five-pointed stars brought a large amount of supplies, food, daily necessities, and ammunition were continuously delivered to the warships anchored in the harbor.

Outside the base, many American civilians looked at this vibrant harbor from afar, those majestic warships with many barrels had become their pride at this time, those voices opposed to the expansion of the navy disappeared without a trace with the arrival of the Japanese fleet, and the usually deserted naval recruiting station lined up after Christmas longer than the relief distribution point, and the American pride and competitiveness were stimulated in a way that the Japanese did not expect.

On the dock next to one of the battleships, a group of people who looked like senior generals were talking about something, and it looked like a group of officers were seeing off another group. Soon after, a young captain ran down from the battleship, and he walked straight to one of the weather-covered generals with a piece of paper in his hand.

"General, Mr. President has sent a telegram!"

Everyone fell silent at once, and the general silently took the telegram, which was only two lines on the paper, but it pinned on Wilson and the government's expectations for the navy.

"Alright, everyone! This is not a combat operation, but we want to let our opponents know what we are capable of! What we are going to bring to the world is a stronger shock than the Great White Fleet 7 years ago! For those who are not friendly countries, we want them to understand that it would be the most stupid thing to infringe on the United States of America! ”

After the general finished speaking, he shook hands with the officers next to him one by one and said goodbye, and finally gave the order to the communications officer:

"The fleet set sail at 12 p.m.! Inform Lieutenant General Conway that we will rush directly to meet them! ”

At 12 o'clock in the morning on December 27, 1914, the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the German landing fleet chose this time to set sail, the Americans to show their strength, and the Germans to fight a battle of fate.

As soon as the sun sank below sea level, the canopy of night did not fall immediately, but the light on the surface of the sea began to dim. The water reconnaissance planes that had successfully torpedoed the Churchill ship "Utah" had returned to the raiding fleet, the cruisers "Frenberg" and "Will" began to retract them, the lightly wounded "Munich" broke away from the raiding fleet to take over the surrendered "Knight", and the battleships "Elector" and "Oldenburg" continued to fire at the British battleship fleet 10,000 yards away.

At this time, the speed of the battleship "Utah" had completely slowed down, due to the influx of hundreds of tons of seawater through the torpedo opening, its hull deviated to the starboard side of the bomb by a full ten degrees, and in desperation, Churchill had no choice but to order a large amount of water to be filled into the bilge, although the deck of the "Utah" was able to return to a level state, but the whole battleship was like a buffalo that had drunk enough water, and no matter how hard the British sailors tried, its speed could no longer exceed 5 knots. As for the other two British battleships, the "Florida" and "Bend", which had not yet been hit, they no longer approached directly towards the German raiding fleet, but sailed at 45 degrees in the direction of the German fleet, so that the main guns of the two British battleships could fire a salvo on the same side.

By the time the Utah was no longer able to continue fighting, the battlefield had turned into a gunnery contest between two German battleships and two British battleships at a distance of 12,000 yards. The advantage of the Germans was obvious, the school shooters were still hovering over the heads of the British battleships, the Germans could throw 18 305mm guns in a single salvo, while the British had 10 305mm guns and 4 280mm guns, the Germans had what was claimed to be the strongest defensive battleship in the world, while the British had American battleships with weaker defenses than British-made battleships.

But the British did not retreat, and the 3,977 British naval officers and men on the three battleships, including the "Utah", were making their last efforts, and not far behind them, the convoy was approaching the homeland with the hopes of the whole British people. When people face death, they may become unusually calm. The gunners on the British battleships were exhausted, but they still stuffed the shells and ****** into the breeches under the heat, and when the rate of fire of the German fleet gradually decreased, the British miraculously maintained the initial rate of fire, and every two minutes three waves of British shells flew towards the German fleet with the determination of the British sailors to fight, but some things could not be replaced by willpower, and the British shells still fell hundreds of yards from the German battleships, blowing up countless small fish, shrimp and seaweed in the seawater.

"The fleet turns 30 degrees to the left and heads 42 degrees north-east!"

After firing at the British battleship fleet, Hillel gave the first order to turn, which caused the two fleets to advance in a nearly parallel and opposite direction. Dönitz's submarine squadron had just sent a telegram that they were still a full 20 nautical miles from the battlefield, and they had no way to get there before dark, but it was only a matter of time before Hillel and his raiding fleet could sink the three British battleships.

The first star that appeared on the horizon did not bring good luck to the British, and the first salvo after the German fleet turned to smoke the "Florida", which had fired a wave of shells only a dozen seconds earlier, and three armor-piercing shells hit the battleship's bow waterline, the top of the No. 2 turret and the central boiler room. Its bow was blown out of a large hole with a diameter of four meters, and the battleship suddenly became a grinning and smirking rotten leather boot, and as a large amount of seawater poured into the breach, the battleship, which had just been chopping the waves, suddenly stalled, and finally could only float on the surface of the sea and could not move; Half-ton armor-piercing shells pierced the top armor of turret No. 2 and fell inside the turret. After a loud bang, shelnel flew in the turret, and nothing remained in the turret; As for the armor-piercing shell that hit the boiler compartment in the middle of the battleship, it jammed most of the power of the "Florida" from the source, and the flying shrapnel, powerful air waves and violent vibrations made most of the British sailors in the boiler room lose consciousness in an instant.

Although the remaining four main turrets of the "Florida" were still making their final efforts, Churchill had realized that his battle fleet could not delay much time, and the Germans would never be soft on targets such as the "Utah" and "Florida", which were almost fixed targets, and the "Bend" was only an armored battleship belonging to the era of the Great White Fleet, and the addition of 4 or 5 "Bend" was no match for the German raid fleet.

"Thank God I did my part!" Churchill borrowed a phrase from Nelson, but his tone was a far cry from Nelson's tragedy, which was a victory for Britain before his death, and a bleak future for Britain before Churchill's defeat.

"Sir, the Germans are signaling for us to surrender!" The adjutant pointed to the German fleet in the distance above the sea, and the pillar of smoke above the head of that fleet looked like a black cloud of a terrible storm, which mercilessly devoured everything Churchill had.

"Keep fighting! We will die a glorious death like Nelson! Churchill sat back in his chair silently, he never imagined that the magic box he had opened with his own hands would destroy the British Empire.

"But sir, your talent is very useful for our troops to resist the German attack, don't you want to drive the Germans back to their homeland with your own hands? I don't think there should be much problem for our convoy to get out of danger, and it's glorious to die here, but wouldn't it be better to keep it useful to continue fighting? ”

The adjutant actively lobbied Churchill to retreat, but of course this not outstanding officer did not see Churchill's talent, he just didn't want to die here. Outside was icy waters, and he had no chance of returning to England unless Churchill took him aboard the Bend to evacuate.

Churchill fell into deep thought, he was not afraid of death, but now he was really unwilling to die, not to mention that his book "German Airplanes, Nothing to Fear" was not finished, he didn't want to be scolded as TJ. After this battle, his understanding of German aircraft was a little more practical.

"Will the king and the people spare me? The fleet we exchanged for land has lost so much ...... in my hands" Churchill suddenly raised his head and looked pessimistically at the sea ahead, most of the warships that were sunk before were gone, judging from the current situation, the "Utah" and "Florida" had no chance to escape from the hands of the Germans.

"Sir, you have been thinking too much, bringing 40 ships of munitions back to the mainland is already a great achievement, and the people will definitely thank you!"

"40 ships of munitions ......" Churchill felt that it was a very funny thing, and those arms, which were a gift from the deal, were now the bulk of the shipments back to Britain.

"Look, we've hit a German battleship!" The other officers in the command room suddenly shouted excitedly, and Churchill jumped out of his chair.

In the telescope, the explosion had just dispersed, and the black smoke of the explosion was still left over the German battleship, but to the dismay of the British, the battleship did not burn at all, and the 280-mm shells of the "Bend" seemed to have left only a few traces on the skin of the German battleship.

Soon, the fire and white smoke that erupted from the main gun muzzle of the German battleship proved that it was "healthy" and energetic, and then another German battleship opened fire. The lonely "Bender" was not so lucky, and the few near-misses that fell near its port waterline, although they did not leave behind a large fire or smoke, blew the white-painted battleship several large holes. A short time later, the British sailors on board the ship announced that the plugging had failed, and the last battleship of Churchill's fleet had begun to sink irretrievably.

"Oh my God!" Churchill's adjutant looked depressed.

"Does God want to kill me? I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a German prisoner of war camp, and if the Germans take LinkedIn country, they will know sooner or later that I arranged it......" Churchill finally felt hopeless, and he began to wonder what would be the most glorious death.

"Look, the Germans are signaling again, they're ...... They made us surrender! "The young lieutenant clearly still has too much attachment to this world.

After the hull of the "Bend" began to tilt, and the German plane that had been hovering over the British fleet returned home, taking into account the growing darkness, so that the Heater fleet did not notice the appearance of British submarines from behind the dying British battleships. After untying the destroyer's towing cable, 7 British submarines in the British special fleet slowly chased after them under their own power.

About a quarter of an hour later, while the German fleet was slowly approaching, and the unsunken British battleships were still firing, the immortal Churchill and the adjutant, who was extremely attached to the world, came to a submarine of the "Holland II" type. Most of the British sailors with oil-stained faces looked at the former British Admiralty in amazement, after the British submarines suffered heavy losses in the face of the Germans' sonar and depth charges, the British Navy did not have any extra submariners in its hands, and most of the people sent to the United States to receive submarines this time were some British sailors who had served on surface ships before, and many of them were in contact with real submarines for the first time.

"Hello Sir, welcome to the submarine 'Sea Thorn'! Royal Navy Lieutenant Rohr salutes you and asks for next steps! There was no trace of fear in the tone of the British captain, who had not experienced the brutal battle just now, and when he saw the tragic situation of the three British battleships left on the sea, and the British sailors who were fleeing from the battleships, his heart was more angry, and this mood seemed to have infected Churchill.

"Lieutenant, do you have torpedoes on your submarine?"

"Plenty of torpedoes!"

"Where's the oil?"

"Enough to return to the British mainland!"

"That's good! Let's sink ****** one or two German battleships before we go! Churchill gritted his teeth.

"Sir......" Lieutenant Rohr was obviously a little surprised, but he quickly straightened his chest, "no problem! ”