"Attention...... Collision ......"

When the rapid shout was issued by the rear mast lookout of the "Iron Duke", the combatants on the aft deck of the British flagship could not help but look in horror at the German battleship rushing straight from the port side, although the opponent was only a Nassau-class with a full load displacement of more than 20,000 tons, and the tonnage of the "Iron Duke" was half more than that, but in the waters closer to the German mainland, the damage to the hull that led to the loss of navigation ability was something that the British did not want to see. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

While the battle was still going on, the ordinary British sailors on board had only heard that the "Benbang" and "Orion" had sunk and had no idea of their final doom when they were rammed by the German ships, but the fear in their hearts was the same when they saw the enemy ships swooping down like wild beasts.

Seeing that the majestic German battleship was about to crash into the stern, the captain of the "Iron Duke", Rear Admiral Alexander Ludwich Duff, showed unusual calm. Ignoring the bad weather, he led several officers to stand on the observation deck on the bridge. There was only a rain shield set up here, and whenever a big wave hit, they almost stood in the water to direct the battleship, and the ponchos on their bodies could not stop the water from soaking at all, and they were in danger of being hit by shrapnel at any time, but this was the only position on the bridge where they could observe the situation on the side and rear in all directions......

"Left full rudder! The revolver reverses! ”

Major General Duff held his mouth to the microphone, tearing his throat at the top of his lungs to combat the interference of the harsh environment.

Immediately, the sonorous response of the helmsman below was heard from the microphone: "Understood! Full rudder left! Reverse left! ”

Under the dual effect of rudder deflection and blade reversal, the British capital ship, which had originally turned right to avoid the enemy, reacted quickly, the huge and heavy hull stabilized its attitude, and the sharp bow no longer deflected in a clockwise direction - when it moved in reverse in the turbulent waves, the distance between the stern and the bow of the German battleship was only a dozen meters, they seemed to be two battleships docked next to each other, and the crews of both sides could clearly observe all the details of the other side!

At the same moment, more than 2,000 officers and men on the two warships were waiting for the collision with one heart in their hearts. Time flew by, but the expected collision and tremor did not appear, and the crews in the upper positions were surprised to see the opposing side's side constantly moving backwards, and the two sides remained at a transverse distance within reach for a long time, until the thick stern flashed from sight and finally disappeared into the darkness.

Thrillingly avoiding the opponent, the battle bridge of the "Iron Duke" suddenly burst into a heavy panting. The greatest crisis had been resolved, but that did not mean that the British officers could settle down to continue their tactical strategy, and the German battleship that had just staggered by, with its four intact triple guns, and no visible injuries to its hull or superstructure, meant that it deserved to be adequately combat-ready. Even if it fails, it is still capable of bombarding the British flagship with high-density main gun fire at very close range!

Before the sound of the cannon hit, the lookout personnel on the main mast of the "Iron Duke" suddenly discovered that the thick shadow of another German battleship appeared on the sea in front of the port side, and the moment of shock just now obviously left an extremely deep impression on the British crew, and the lookout post did not hesitate to report to the bridge: The enemy ship has been found in the left front and is rushing towards our ship!

There was almost no time to think, and from the microphone connecting the bridge, the observation station, and the firing control command room, Rear Admiral Duff's roar filled with ambient noise was heard: "Return to the rudder, turn the left wheel forward, concentrate fire on the left front target!" ”

The helmsman spun the rudder as fast as he could, lest a second late could have fatal consequences.

After this, John Jericho, whose face was slightly softened, ordered in his cold tone: "Give the 'centurion' a signal to cover our withdrawal from the battle!" ”

As soon as the words fell, a fairly clear sound of cannon was heard from the stern of the ship. In the blink of an eye, loud explosions followed, and the "Iron Duke" was like a strong man being pushed in the crowd, and the hull inevitably had a new tendency to sway in its original state. Before the people could get used to this rhythm, suddenly, the hull of the ship shuddered violently, and a deafening thud hit the eardrums.

Trapped in the enemy formation, the situation was already very delicate, and this explosion instantly made countless hearts on the "Iron Duke" re-suspended!

"Shot in the stern!"

Rear Admiral Dafu's voice soon came from the microphone, and after a pause of two seconds, the fierce battleship commander added: "The injury should be fine!" ”

Hearing this, Jericho and his staff officers finally breathed a small sigh of relief, and immediately afterward, a report came from the ship's firing command room that "the main guns have been loaded, and they will fire alternately at the enemy ships in front of the left." The unified firing command system of the whole ship is not unique to the German Navy, in fact, the British Navy's research in this area started first, but in practical application slightly later than the later opponents. 13 on the ship with the orderly scheduling of the firing command room. The 5-inch gun was already aimed at the target, and as soon as the command to fire arrived, it let out a thunderous roar that deterred the enemy.

After half of the main guns were fired, most of the officers on the bridge focused their attention on the sea in front of the right. With the help of the light of the gunfire and the searchlight from the "Centurion", it can be seen that the impact point of this shot is at the near side of the target, the main gun on the ship can continue to fire without adjusting the parameters, and the single-mounted auxiliary gun of 6-inch caliber is in a state of free fire, some have already found the target, and some are still far behind.

Unlike these officers who occupied the "majority", John Jericho, who had an "Easter statue face", watched the starboard rear quite vigilantly, the German capital ship that had been attacked by the "Iron Duke" and the "Centurion" was still visible in the smoke of fire, it seemed that it had just been subjected to a close salvo of the "Centurion", and there was a noticeable loss of speed, but for the safety of the flagship, the "Centurion" obviously could not continue to bite it until it sank. According to Jellicoe's plan, the rest of the British capital ships were now under the leadership of the "George V" and the capital ships of the German fleet, so as to cover the "Iron Duke" and "Centurion" to carry out a rapid interspersed attack.

"Enemy destroyer fleet spotted on the port side!"

An exclamation of surprise caused Jericho's officers to quickly shift their gaze to the other side of the battleship. One of the major risks of a lone advance is that it may be besieged by enemy light ships at any time, but a small number of escort ships will not be enough to form an effective defense, and too many escort ships will limit tactical flexibility. In view of the fact that the bad sea conditions greatly restricted the torpedo attacks of the light ships, in order to achieve tactical suddenness, Jericho did not send his own cruisers and destroyers to open the way to escort the escort with great fanfare, and only the protective cruiser "Sappho" and the destroyer "Oak", which were directly attached to the flagship, accompanied by them, and in the face of the German battleships that suddenly appeared and attempted to ram the flagship, they had no time to react, and could only watch the thrilling scene unfold.

"We retreat." A few cold syllables spat out from between Jellico's teeth, and the officer who was a little further away didn't even realize that his fleet commander had just made an important decision.

"Attention! The ship turned to evacuate and sent a signal to the 'Centurion'! ”

Vice Admiral Charles Madden, Chief of Staff of the Fleet, used a loud voice to put these distraught colleagues in their places. He was a former subordinate of Sir George Callaghan, the former commander of the British Home Fleet, and served for many years in the main fleet, which was at stake in the fate of Great Britain, and was well acquainted with its ships, personnel, and traditions, while John Jericho, who had served in the Atlantic Fleet and the Admiralty in his early days, and only served as deputy commander of the Home Fleet from 1913 until the day after the outbreak of war.

After receiving the order, Rear Admiral Dafu remained on the observation platform and gave the command to "turn right 16 compass points" through the microphone to the helmsman in the combat bridge. The second rotation of the battleship's main guns unsurprisingly achieved a direct hit, and the German battleship that appeared in front of the starboard side did not put on a rushing pilot, but tried to use the advantage of the number of main guns to launch a close attack.

Just as the "Iron Duke" turned to withdraw from the battle, the "Centurion", which was in response, fell into the siege of four German battleships at the same time. The Nassau-class battleship "Rhineland", which failed to collide with the "Iron Duke", was located on its port side and turned 12 11-inch guns with a rate of fire of up to 3 rounds per minute to the George V-class battleship; The Caesar-class battleship "Catherine", which was heavily damaged but still held on to the battle, still had four 12-inch main guns and some secondary guns that could independently carry out observation and sight shooting; Directly in front of "Catherine", the battleship "Regent Luitport" of the same class, limited by the order to hold the array, could only attack the "Centurion" with 4 rear main guns and part of the secondary guns; The fourth German battleship involved in the siege was the "Thuringia", which, following the orders of the fleet's temporary flagship, passed between the "Catherine" and the "Regent of Louisport", turned to the right, and rushed straight to the starboard rear of the "Centurion" to bombard the enemy ships.

"Catherine" and "Regent of Luitport" were badly damaged and the other was in poor position, and it was the two old dreadnoughts that were built in advance that really made the "Centurion" suffer. In just a few minutes, their 11-inch armor-piercing shells frequently hit the "Centurion", causing damage to the two main turrets, fires in many places on the bridge and deck compartments, the upper armor belts on the left and right sides were broken or cracked, and heavy fuel oil in the fuel tanks was leaking outward. The 11-inch guns of the Rhineland and Thuringia would hardly pose a threat to the key defenses of the British George V-class battleships in a normal fleet engagement, but in this sea of chaos, they are like swords suddenly stabbing from behind the shields, making the opponent unguarded.

(End of chapter)