After the bloody storm of midnight, the southern seas of the Cohen Peninsula fell silent like a graveyard. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info There are countless debris stains floating on the surface of the gentle sea, and the remains of the dead can be seen from time to time, a bleak and messy scene.

In the face of the brave British mine-striking ships, the allied fleet, which had absolute superiority in strength, suffered a dark loss in the night battle, losing one light cruiser, four destroyers, one minesweeper, and two transports, and six battleships under the German heavy cruiser "Queen Augusta" suffered heavy losses, but fortunately the battleships did not suffer further losses. After the bombardment mission ended, the main ships of the coalition fleet quickly retreated, leaving only some ships to continue to protect the transport ships, and the Irish Navy destroyer "Sligo" was ordered to lead the German destroyer "Bamberg", the escort ship "Maitz", and the minesweeper "Muniz" to search for the survivors who had fallen overboard......

As dawn approached, Major Aaron Morrow stood solemnly on the bridge of the Sligo, silently watching the flames flickering in the direction of Abersoch, listening to the shrill whistling of shells as they fell, and the violent sound of explosions. Although it was his first time participating in actual combat, with his rich experience in live-fire drills and his meticulous personal observation, he was certain that it was the enemy's large-caliber artillery wreaking havoc on the landing area of the coalition forces. Regardless of whether these powerful shells came from British surface ships or heavy ground artillery, such a fierce shelling would certainly deal a heavy blow to the Allied officers and soldiers on the shore.

Less than 10 minutes after the first round of shelling began, the "Sligo" received a combat order from the flagship: Our ground troops were bombarded by the enemy's heavy artillery, and it was initially judged that the enemy's artillery group might be deployed in the vicinity of Krikius, and ordered your ship to reconnoiter as quickly as possible with the "Bamberg."

The German destroyer "Bamberg" is a customized modification of the Hunter-class destroyer, and the anti-submarine capabilities have been greatly enhanced on the basis of the prototype ship. Because the ship has been deployed at a German base in northern Ireland for a long time, it often conducts joint training with Irish ships, so there is no communication problem with the "Sligo".

Unable to wait for the "Bamberg", which had rushed back from the search position, Major Moreau led the "Sligo" towards Krichius. After about ten minutes, the lookout reported an anomaly - several columns of searchlight piercing the sky to the northeast, like lighthouses in the darkness, which could be clearly seen from afar.

Major Moreau picked up the telescope and quietly observed the changes in light and shadow in the distance. As the British shelling continued, the orange flames lit up the night sky again and again, and the cannon flames appeared to be around the source of the searchlights. The navigator used a sextant to determine the course and bearing, and the location of the searchlights and cannon flames should have been near Criquius.

If the Sligo had sailed at full speed, it would have been able to bombard the British seaside town that had been ravaged by the Allied fleet once in a quarter of an hour, but it was certain that the 5-inch guns were far less destructive to targets on the shore than the battleships and heavy cruisers.

The major immediately ordered the signal corps to send a report to the flagship: it was basically determined that the British heavy artillery position was near Crickieus, and judging from visual observations, the number of enemy large-caliber guns should be more than twenty.

The flagship sent a reply telegram with great efficiency: a cruiser formation has been dispatched to rush to full speed, and your ship's first task is to carry out outpost reconnaissance with the "Bamberg" and to respond to the cruiser formation's artillery bombardment of the target, and on this basis, allow your ship's camera to act.

Since the launch of the landing campaign, coalition ships have been frequently active in the southern waters of the Coen Peninsula, and since the British have deployed heavy artillery in the coastal area that had been shelled by coalition forces, and have turned on their searchlights with a swagger, they must have been on guard, perhaps many mine-striking ships and submarines have been ambushed in the waters near Crikius, and when necessary, the British heavy artillery that shelled the coalition landing site can also quickly turn its guns to deal with sea targets.

With this concern in mind, Major Moreau ordered the speed to be slowed down and told the lookout to keep an eye on the surface of the sea and watch out for the elusive British lightning strikes.

After about twenty minutes of this march, the "Bamberg" caught up in time.

Both Irish destroyers used 5-inch or 127 mm single-mounted guns, with a maximum elevation angle of 39 degrees, and the maximum range of a normal charge was 19 kilometers, and when the two ships were united, they were less than 20 kilometers away from Cricius.

Unable to be sure, Major Moreau said to his navigator that "if the British heavy artillery were not protected by bunkers, we could stop their shelling by opening fire, but if the British had pre-set artillery positions, our long-range artillery would not prevent them from continuing the shelling, but would put us in danger." ”

On a light warship such as a destroyer, the duties of the navigator are not simply to determine the course and calculate the route, but also to be the captain's right-hand man with the gunner, and his professional analysis can provide an important basis for the commander to make tactical decisions when performing combat missions.

"It doesn't matter if they have artillery bunkers or not, when our cruisers come, they can be eliminated in three or two clicks." The lieutenant navigator replied.

Major Moreau said, "But our fleet is still at least thirty nautical miles away, and by the time they arrive, it will be dawn." We may not be able to take advantage of the fire against the shore artillery, not to mention the fact that we have to deal with the bombing of British planes at that time. ”

The navigator pondered for a moment: "If we want to make a difference, we will quietly approach the coast, bombard the British heavy artillery positions with direct artillery fire, and then use the speed of the ship to quickly withdraw." ”

Now that the navigator had thought of this, Major Moreau did not hesitate, and ordered to sail to Krikius at a speed of 20 knots, and without consultation asked the German destroyer "Bamberg" to follow him.

Since the flagship was clearly assigned to its wartime subordination, the strict Germans carried out this order without objection. In this way, the two coalition destroyers, which strictly enforced the light control, quietly sailed to the unpredictable target area, and every minute of navigation was in "low pressure". The battleship was getting closer and closer to the searchlight beam that pierced the sky, and the roar of the heavy artillery became more and more ear-filling, and the flickering cannon flame was clearly reflected in everyone's eyes...... After nearly twenty minutes of sailing, the two destroyers finally sailed to a position about five or six kilometers away from Crichius, and so far no trace of enemy ships had been found around.

On the bridge of the battleship, Major Moreau and several of his officers tensed their faces and watched the situation on the coast with full attention.

At the command of the major, the gunnery officer gave the battle order according to his own judgment: "All main guns...... Shooting azimuth 279, shooting elevation angle 008, three rapid fire ready! ”

Moments later, Major Morrow gave the order to open fire.

Without any hesitation, it took only half a minute for the crew to smash three rounds of artillery fire at Crickias.

The flames of the explosion jumped between the rubble, occasionally reflecting the figure of the train cannon.

The German destroyers followed closely with open fire. Major Moreau held the binoculars and said loudly while observing: "That's right, the enemy's heavy artillery is here, and it continues to fire according to the position just now." Mills, turn right at a 5-degree rudder angle and turn 2 compass points! ”

Such an artillery bombardment on the opposite shore is no longer necessary, and there is no need for a salvo. The main guns of the "Sligo" were free to play, and the 127-mm naval guns almost fired the rate of fire of the Hubert II rifle.

The roar of the naval guns sounded very relieving, but in the blink of an eye, a bright light came from the shore, and several searchlights quickly locked on the two coalition destroyers, and the rapid whistling of shells breaking through the air immediately sounded.

Judging from the column of water stirred up by the shells, it was only the enemy's field artillery that was the first to respond, and its artillery fire was limited, but seeing more and more columns of water rising around, Major Moreau did not dare to hold it up, and hurriedly ordered the battleship to speed up to 30 knots, and the destroyer danced a "waltz" on the surface of the sea while maintaining the opposite shore firing - it was very chic at first, and as more and more artillery joined the firing ranks on the shore, the two coalition warships quickly fell into danger, as Major Moreau feared.

"The enemy has at least three field artillery battalions here!" The gunnery shouted, and as soon as he finished speaking, the battleship shuddered violently.

Although the officers here have served for a long time, none of them have participated in real naval battles, and the training exercises can simulate the environment of naval battles, but they cannot let people really understand every detail of the actual battle, including what the situation of the different degrees of damage to the warships is, so everyone's hearts suddenly hang.

The officer closest to the hatch hurriedly ran out to confirm the situation.

Through the front viewing window of the battle bridge, Major Moreau saw that the two front guns were still firing at full speed. In just two minutes, the gunners who were sticking to the gun position seemed to have been drenched by the sea water stirred up by the enemy's artillery fire, although the strong main gun shield could resist the attack of shrapnel from the front, but such a semi-enclosed turret could not provide all-round protection for the gunner like a fully enclosed armored turret after all, and no one had fallen at the moment, but the next scene might be replaced by a bloody scene.

Major Morrow's mind raced, and he turned to the communications officer and instructed: "Quick, send a telegram to the flagship, and find out that the enemy's heavy artillery is deployed in the town of Crichius, protected by at least three field artillery battalions, and its effective defensive range is estimated to be within 10 kilometers. Our ship and the Bamberg successfully approached and fired at close range, and are now rapidly retreating. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the officer who had gone out earlier ran back to the bridge with a sigh of relief: "Good news, it was just a near-miss bomb, and it shouldn't have caused us much damage." ”

As soon as the people breathed a sigh of relief, a phone call came from the engine room, reporting that the bottom bulkhead at the rear of the battleship had been blown and that additional personnel had to be sent to plug the leak immediately.

Major Moreau's eyes widened: "The first reserve group quickly goes to the engine room for reinforcements!" Turn right at full speed and 4 compass points! Inform the Bamberg to withdraw from the battle quickly! ”

Shells of all sizes stirred up columns of water, and two destroyers of similar silhouette staggered away from the shore, and behind them, the shore flashed with sparkling flames, and there seemed to be a hornet's nest under attack, and countless hornets flew out to launch a frantic counterattack against the attackers.

(End of chapter)