At 00:51, the officer command team with German Admiral von Ingnoll as the highest-ranking officer left the "Frederick the Great" and took the V-25 to the temporary flagship "King". Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 During this relatively short ferry, Natsuki watched the movements of the southern sea with extreme vigilance, fearing that Jellico's main fleet would suddenly appear. In addition to the "Frederick the Great", who withdrew from the battle, the remaining 13 German dreadnoughts still maintained a single column formation, and the radio equipment of the V-25 was also able to operate normally, but this was the most inflexible moment for the command of the German fleet, and there were still 13 dreadnoughts - 8 of which were super-dreadnoughts The British fleet still had the strength to turn the tables at this moment.

Natsuki's worst fears did not come true after all, and ten minutes later, the fleet commander's flag and the admiral's flag were raised on the German Navy's newest capital ship. Although the "King" is not equipped with all kinds of special command and communication facilities like "Frederick the Great", after all, it is a new type of capital ship that was finalized and built after the launch of the Caesar-class, except that the main and auxiliary gun models have not changed, from the basic steel, power facilities to optics and electrical equipment have been upgraded and improved, and the software and hardware conditions have been optimized, and the ship design team of the German Navy has explored and accumulated a lot of experience in the construction and service process of the Nassau-class and Helgoland-class. All of this made the King-class battleship the most perfect dreadnought ever built by the German Navy.

The first thing Natsuki did after boarding the "King" was not to familiarize himself with the ship's officer corps, but to ask about all the messages the ship had received in the last ten minutes. The captain, Commodore Paul Beanke, looked at Ingnoll with a somewhat gloomy expression and reported to the Chief of Staff of the Fleet: "I have received a telegram from two torpedo boats, and through the interrogation of the British crew rescued by us, it has been learned that the two British capital ships sunk in the battle are the 'Benbang' and the 'Orion'. It is reported that this formation broke away from Jellico's main fleet more than an hour ago, and the whereabouts of that fleet are currently unknown. ”

After that, Commodore Beinke suggested to Ingnoll: "Do you send a telegram to the ships informing them that our flagship has been temporarily changed from 'Frederick the Great' to 'King'?" ”

Ingnoll looked at Natsuki, who replied without hesitation, "Not for the time being." ”

Brigadier General Beinke looked at the two commanders with very different expressions with some surprise, and then had a general understanding of this delicate situation. He didn't ask anything, but stood aside and waited for the decision of the actual controller of the fleet.

Natsuki said unhurriedly: "According to Scheer's report, Jellico's main fleet has long since gotten rid of our 2nd Battleship Detachment heading north at full speed, and if they don't change course, they should be directly in front of us, and they may come out of the rain at any time. ”

Hearing this, Commodore Beinke and the officers around him turned their heads to look ahead of the bow, and there was nothing to be seen in the dark night. With the current visual distance, even if an entire British fleet was moving forward from a kilometer away, it would be difficult for them to observe even if they turned on all the searchlights.

"But if I'm Jericho......" Natsuki turned his words around and speculated in a way of empathy: "I won't fight hard with an opponent of equal strength without losing the battle patrol formation and several capital ships, but I won't withdraw in disgrace, but use the cover of the environment to patiently look for opportunities - a chance to win with one blow!" ”

Brigadier General Beinke asked, "Then in your judgment, when is the best chance for the enemy?" ”

Natsuki's handsome eyebrows furrowed slightly: "Maybe...... Just now. ”

"While the chiefs change flagships?"

"No, when we were still on the 'Frederick the Great'." Natsuki replied, "The damage from the battle has made it a flagship that cannot perform its functions properly. ”

Brigadier General Beinke thought for a moment and realized that what the chief of staff of the fleet said was right, so he nodded and said, "It seems that our enemy has indeed missed the best opportunity. ”

Ingnoll, who had been silent since leaving the "Frederick the Great", suddenly spoke: "That may not be. ”

Including Natsuki, everyone's eyes were focused on the legitimate fleet commander for a moment.

"I don't know if you've ever heard a saying that people tend to let their guard down when they are very close to victory." Ingnoll scanned the crowd, his gaze lingering on Natsuki's face for a moment, then turned to the deep, dull sea.

"Will they follow us until we return to the Gulf of Helgoland?" A major staff officer speculated in surprise.

Captain Gord smiled contemptuously, "That's easy. We only need to go through the minefields and be able to easily put the British main fleet to death. ”

Even before the war between Britain and Germany began, the German Navy had begun to lay mines extensively in accordance with the coastal defense plan, and minefields had formed in the Helgoland Bay and nearby important waterways, and the safe passage route was in the hands of only a few senior officers of the High Seas Fleet. These safety lines could be determined by means of fixed buoys, and German ships were able to enter and exit them even at night when there was no natural light, but if the waves were very bad, there was a high possibility of accidents due to a faulty ranging or a broken anchor chain.

With his own knowledge of Ingnoor, it was not difficult for Natsuki to follow his train of thought to find the answer. If it was ordinary, he would have saved enough face for Ingnoel, but this decisive naval battle could not tolerate the indecision and hesitation of the commander, so Natsuki said to Captain Gode in a tone of lesson: "No, the commander means when we think the enemy will not attack, such as ...... We've just joined up with Scheer's fleet and the support group, and it looks like we're in a well-organized and well-guarded position, but in fact the queue is dragging and the enemy is trying to get us into chaos by sending their elite to pounce, so as to get the most out of the battle with the least losses. ”

Captain Gord cooperated with a sudden realization.

Natsuki then turned his head to face Ingnoor: "Sir, are you right?" ”

When Natsuki made an explanation just now, a hint of surprise flashed in Ingnoor's eyes. He hesitated slightly, neither negative nor affirmative, but said vaguely: "Time will bring us the answer." ”

In order to facilitate command and dispatch, the "King" sent a light signal to the dreadnoughts and escort ships in the main formation, informing the ships to comply with their orders from now on, and soon issued a new fleet order: the escort ships responsible for vigilance and reconnaissance continued to hold their positions, the 1st battleship detachment slowed down to 12 knots, and the 3rd battleship detachment maintained its original speed and adjusted its position to the left. This meant that the main German fleet would be changed from a single column to a double column. According to the Navy's Operations Manual, an array adjustment of this size takes at least 20 minutes, depending on the speed of each ship.

Less than a quarter of an hour after the order was issued, the V-47, a large torpedo boat that was conducting alert reconnaissance in the waters on the right side of the German fleet, raised a combat alarm, except for the "Frederick the Great" who was staggering out of the line, the remaining five battleships of the 1st Battleship Detachment all increased to 16 knots, and the eight old dreadnoughts belonging to the 3rd Battleship Detachment, which was sailing on the right side of the 1st Battleship Detachment, also turned their guns and were ready to participate in the battle at any time. Under the nervous gaze of tens of thousands of German naval officers and men, four black ship shadows rushed out of the rain in a horizontal formation. With the order of the "King", several German battleships turned on their searchlights in unison. Despite the stark light, the British battleships seemed to have expected it, and their light bodies sometimes disappeared in the valley of the waves, sometimes leaped on the crest of the waves, and when the German ships opened fire, they quickly turned to the right in unison, leaving only a full arc on the surface of the sea, and soon disappeared into the depths of the vast rain curtain.

In front of the German capital ship formation, the active retreat of the four British destroyers seemed logical, but their appearance immediately aroused the vigilance of the Germans. Both officers and sailors saw it as a sign of the imminent appearance of the British main fleet, and the atmosphere of imminent battle quickly lifted their spirits. In order to strengthen the perimeter surveillance and reconnaissance force on the right side of the fleet, Colonel Hoffert proposed that a number of escort ships be transferred from the left and rear of the fleet. This time, Natsuki decisively accepted his proposal - with the fleet array changing from a single column to a double column, the length of the battle line was almost halved, and the warning area of the escort ships was also correspondingly reduced, so that four escort ships could be smoothly transferred to one area. However, Natsuki didn't think that the four British destroyers just now were just outposts, and they were most likely misleading the German fleet's warning direction, so he also sent a reminder to the ships at the rear of the fleet: Pay attention to your starboard sea!

At 1:17, the lead ship of the 3rd Battleship Detachment of the German Navy, the "Helgoland", arrived at a position flush with the "Caesar", and the array adjustment of the German main fleet was now in place. The "King" immediately issued an order: all capital ships should maintain a speed of 16 knots, and all escort light ships should maintain their combat positions at an appropriate speed.

Four minutes later, the "Catherine", which was at the end of the German 1st Battleship Detachment, spotted a suspicious ship on the starboard side of the sea, and almost at the same time, the G39, which was on guard in the area, also raised the alarm and turned on the searchlight when the enemy ships approached further - two British destroyers sailing together then appeared in sight, and they realized that it was only a large German torpedo boat that was blocking the front, so they expelled it with heavy artillery fire, but the roar of the "Catherine" immediately suppressed their arrogance. While the two British destroyers turned around and retreated, they turned on their searchlights and shone on "Catherine" and its surrounding waters.

Since these two British destroyers, who did not know whether to live or die, took the initiative to turn on the searchlights, the German gunners on the "Catherine" unceremoniously covered themselves with fierce artillery fire, and in the blink of an eye, one of them was set on fire, and the situation of this battle was simply a realistic interpretation of "the praying mantis catches the cicada and the yellow finch is behind", and the artillery fire of the "Catherine" quickly attracted heavy shells from the enemy. In the middle of the battlefield, the G39 turned its searchlight in the direction of the gunfire, and the hazy silhouette of an Iron Duke-class battleship appeared.

Like Germany's King-class battleships, Germany's Iron Duke-class was also the capital ship that was built before the war and was not fully commissioned at the outbreak of the war. Germany's King-class ships were built into three, namely the "King", the "Elector" and the "Border Governor", the latter two are still in the sea trial stage, and they do not yet have the conditions to participate in the war, and only the "King" goes out with the main force of the High Seas Fleet; Britain's Iron Duke class has also built three ships, namely the "Iron Duke", the "Benbang" and the "Emperor of India", the "Indian Emperor" is still in the sea trial stage, and the actual "Iron Duke" and "Benbang" are actually incorporated into the Grand Fleet to participate in the war, and the "Benbang" has sunk, and there is only one Iron Duke class left in Jericho's fleet, that is the "Iron Duke", the general flagship of his Grand Fleet!

(End of chapter)