The concept of the elector arose during the period of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, the First German Empire, in which anyone with a free body could participate in the election of a king, but the right to vote was limited to a certain number of ecclesiastical and secular princes, who were called the electors. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info "Great Elector" refers specifically to Frederick Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, who reigned from 1640 to 1688 and was known as the "Great Elector" for his 1685 victory over the Brandenburg-Prussian army at the Battle of Ferbering, defeating the Swedish army, which had repeatedly interfered in North German affairs since the Thirty Years' War, and recovering West Pomerania.

The second King-class dreadnought of the Second German Reich Navy was named after it.

At first sight, the German officers and men on the "Elector" were shocked by this spectacular scene, but when the British heavy shells fell one after another with a sharp whistling, the shock turned into shock, and the position of the leading ship made them feel sincerely proud, and it was only at this time that they really realized what a "mountain of swords and a sea of fire" was!

At a distance of more than 20,000 meters, the British fleet failed to grasp the subject in the first few rounds of firing, and the closest impact point to the "Great Elector" was also 50 or 60 meters away, but a large torpedo boat sailing in front of the left side of the "Great Elector" was hit by a seed, and a near-miss bomb blew through its weak hull, causing it to quickly lose all power, and the ship began to tilt, and the crew hurriedly put down the lifeboat and began to abandon the boat to escape.

This small blow apparently did not affect the judgment and decision-making of the commander of the German fleet, and under the fire of the British fleet, the German fleet calmly adjusted its course, until the distance between the two sides was reduced to 20,000 meters, and the Germans opened fire without haste.

According to the one-to-one correspondence in the fleet array, the target of the "Elector" was the lead ship of the British main fleet, a George V-class super-dreadnought. Although there is a nominal difference between ordinary dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts, British battleships do not actually have an advantage in other aspects except for the larger caliber of the main guns. The "Elector" is the second of the King-class dreadnoughts, which began construction in 1911 and was officially commissioned in August 1914, with a standard displacement of nearly 27,000 tons, a maximum speed of 24 knots, and an armor thickness of 13.8 inches in key parts, while the four George V-class ships of the British Navy were all started in 1911 and completed in 1913, with a standard displacement of 25,000 tons, a maximum speed of 21 knots, and an armor thickness of 11 to 12 inches in key parts.

Judging by the Battle of Jutland and the Second Battle of Flanders, the 13.5-inch guns of the George V class were powerful and had an excellent level of protection. The "Centurion" persisted in fighting for more than 20 minutes under the close siege of four German dreadnoughts, and in the whole process, it was subjected to more than 60 German-made armor-piercing shells of 11 and 12 inches. The combat experience of the "Centurion" became the material for the British official propaganda of the naval spirit, and the world saw that the British capital warships were not inferior to the survivability of the opponent, so they had great expectations for the British navy to turn around. Unfortunately, in the battle of Flanders, the German fleet won by tactics, the "Daring" was sunk by torpedoes, the "Ajax" was destroyed by artillery fire, and only the lone "George V" remained of the four George V class ships......

Thanks to the mature application of the Zeiss stereo rangefinder and the unified firing command system of the whole ship, the first two rounds of alternating firing of the "Elector" achieved an accuracy that was significantly better than that of the opponent, but the British capital ships on the opposite side all aimed their guns at the "Elector", no matter how brave it was, before it could kill the target, it was afraid that it would have turned into a pile of scrap metal under the fierce attack of the British fleet.

Frederick-Wilhelm, known as the "Elector", was not a victorious general, he was defeated by the French and was infamous for breaking the Covenant many times, but it was with all kinds of unconventional and flexible skills that he made Brandenburg develop from a weak and weak electoral state into a powerful state with a prosperous economy, a growing military power, and a sense of national survival, and is regarded as the founder of the Brandenburg-Prussian state.

In the face of the "mass assault" of the entire British fleet, the "Elector" neither resisted hard, nor did it recklessly break out of the array. Before leading the dreadnought group around, it had already sent instructions to the accompanying ships. Six large torpedo boats soon lined up in front of the starboard side of the "Elector", and as they made their way through the columns of water stirred up by enemy shells, they released tactical smoke screens through smoke agents and canisters. In a short time, a wall of smoke four or five hundred meters long and thirty or forty meters high appeared on the surface of the sea, and this wall of smoke was moving with the movement of the German fleet. Except for a small section at the top of the mast, the majestic hull of the "Elector" is hidden behind the smokescreen. The British fleet was unable to accurately aim at it and the "Frontier Governor" that followed it, but the German battleships were able to constantly adjust the firing parameters with the help of carrier-based aircraft calibration, and the British once again suffered a great tactical loss.

The British capital ship group's concentration of artillery fire on the German ships was as disadvantageous as the good, and in the face of a fleet known for its accuracy, this strategic arrangement was too risky. When the British dreadnoughts, super-dreadnoughts and battle cruisers buried their heads in bombarding the "Elector", the remaining nine German dreadnoughts were able to aim and shoot without human interference, because one of the British dreadnoughts withdrew from the battle after being damaged by an aviation torpedo, the German fleet had an advantage in the number of capital ships even if there were no battle cruisers participating in the battle, and the "Helgoland" and "Thuringia" at the tail of the fleet were able to unite to attack the ninth ship of the British capital ship column - It was a new British battleship that the Germans had never seen before!

Within 10 minutes, six of the 10 German dreadnoughts formed a cross-fire on the target battleship, and the "Caesar" became the first to achieve a hit on the main warships of both sides. At a distance of about 17,000 kilometers, the armor-piercing shells fired from its 12-inch guns directly pierced the armor plate on the starboard bow of the British battleship, but the location was far away from the ammunition depot and the lifting channel, and the armor-piercing shells that exploded in the ship did not cause serious damage to the British ship, but this shell was a warning to the British fleet commander: If this trend continues, your situation is dangerous!

Sir Jackson, who was in charge of the flagship "Iron Duke", could not turn a blind eye to such a situation, and in this rapidly changing battlefield, the precious ten minutes passed like this, and nine British capital ships bombarded a German dreadnought indiscriminately, but because of the interference of artificial smoke screens and the lack of strength of his own naval forces, he could not even confirm the results of the battle, and he had a deep chagrin in his heart. At this time, he couldn't help but think of John Jellico, who had suffered many setbacks, remembered the tragic fate of Levis Bailey, and remembered the tenacious and unyielding David Betty.

When Jackson finally couldn't hold back and was about to change his strategy, the excited shouts of the guards on the mast lookout came from the microphone: "It's on fire!" The target is on fire! There is a fire behind the smokehouse, and there is a different kind of black smoke! ”

The officers on the bridge, including Jackson, quickly focused in the same direction.

Although the hateful smoke screen made the two or three capital ships at the forefront of the German fleet hide in front of the British fleet, the sea breeze and heavy rain made the artificial smoke screen survive for a much smaller time than usual, and the smoke wall formed by the smoke released by many light ships was thick and thin, and in those relatively thin "joints", a strong wind blew, and the German battleships looming behind the smoke screen, and the flames of the naval guns were clearly discerning.

"Great! We continue to shoot, and as long as we can take out the German flagship, this naval battle will be won in half! A colonel's staff officer said excitedly.

Another major immediately responded: "Yes, send the devil to hell, and this German fleet will not be afraid!" ”

To the British, Nelson was a god of war, but to the French and Spanish of the Napoleonic era, it was definitely a "devil" to be feared.

Now that the British Navy was facing such an unborn devil, and an even more elusive opponent than Nelson, Jackson and his staff were still a little less adequate. They did not expect that from Jutland to Flanders, the German flagship, which had been rushing to the front, chose a relatively safe position. Even if they took a step back, they were concentrating their fire on the German flagship at this time, and a few hits at a distance of 10,000 kilometers were far from enough to take out a King-class dreadnought. German warships were able to withstand naval guns and torpedo attacks, and showed tenacious survivability in many naval battles. The key to this damage management system is a powerful pump system that works with the armor structure, and each warship will have a set of drainage system drawings when completed, showing the layout of the drainage devices on the ship, including the drainage valves in each compartment, and their location and use. All the frames and compartments on the drawings were clearly marked, and the crew could quickly find any water pump. The German Navy also appointed officers, usually co-captains, who were responsible for damage management and water injection control in the event of engagement. The water filling system allows the compartment where the ammunition depot is located to be filled with water at the same time as the adjacent compartment, and any ammunition compartment of the "King" can be filled with water in 15 minutes.

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