October 12, 1939, Iceland time, 8 p.m.

The North Atlantic is once again covered in night, with the north wind blowing from 5 p.m. and the moon and stars looming in the night sky.

On the pitch-black sea, there were a few dazzling fires, and a few steamers illuminated by the fire could be faintly seen. It was the masterpiece of the Fokker 99 dive bomber during the daytime today, when as many as fourteen ships were damaged, and seven are still on fire. A few of the remaining ships were extinguished by fire but could not be fully repaired, some lost power and floated slowly at sea, while others struggled to move forward at very slow speeds.

On the radar screens of the "Scharnhorst", "Seydlitz" and "Leipzig", the 14 damaged "prey" turned into flashing points of light, exuding a deadly temptation.

"Lieutenant General, 14 targets have been found, and they are all there!"

"How can it be so concentrated?" Lieutenant General Machar felt a little strange. The bombing was carried out in waves, and the British convoy was advancing while being bombed. How could these 14 damaged ships be so concentrated?

"Perhaps they were towed here by the destroyer," Rear Admiral Leifman was also surprised, but he tried to explain, "and then, fearing that we would catch up, the destroyer fled with the crew." ”

"Will it?" Vice Admiral Machar shook his head, "So from the radar, are there battleships among those targets?" ”

He was worried about the ambush, so he asked.

"No, the maximum is a ship with a displacement of 15,000 tons, at most, 15,000 tons." Major General Reifman replied. "The radar of all three boats saw this result."

"Then there is nothing," Lieutenant General Machar breathed a sigh of relief, "even if there are two heavy patrols in ambush, it is no match for the Scharnhorst." "But be careful, let the Leipzig quietly lean in and release the torpedo, the Scharnhorst in the back, and the Seydlitz in the end." ”

……

"Boom ......"

After the loud bang, a huge fireball rose on the surface of the sea, which was the image of a torpedo blowing up a merchant ship. A British freighter with a displacement of 10,000 tons had just been hit by a torpedo, the whole thing was disconnected from the middle and soon sank.

"Okay, another 10,000 tons!"

Vice Admiral Machar smiled and said to Leifman: "This is the fifth, our 'Scharnhorst' has sunk 50,000 tons before it has fired, it seems that we will have a good harvest in the Atlantic!" ”

"It's hard to say," Leifman laughed, "maybe the British will escort them with aircraft carriers and battleships." ”

"That's not bad," Marcal laughed, "and they only have four carriers in total, and they can form a maximum of four convoys...... Before the war began, there were 1,500 British steamers sailing in the Atlantic every day, and four aircraft carriers could not protect that many ships. ”

Britain is an island nation, and an industrialized island nation, with an economy that is extremely dependent on overseas trade. If it is mixed to the point of using aircraft carriers and battleships to escort the ship, it will not be able to maintain enough trade - after all, Britain now only has four aircraft carriers, and it maintains four trade routes at the top of the sky, which is far from meeting the needs of Britain's domestic industrial production and people's consumption.

While the two were talking, the "Leipzig" sank another smoking British merchant ship. Then, the light cruiser with a standard displacement of 6619 tons went to a nearby "merchant ship" that did not emit smoke.

It was of course difficult to see clearly with the eyes of a ship without fire, and it was the radar on the "Leipzig" that guided the light cruiser. It is a pity that at this time, Germany's radar was not advanced enough, and there was only an air-to-sea search radar, and there was no fire control radar, so it was impossible to fire in the dark. And the commander of the "Leipzig", who did not want to expose himself by opening fire in the dark, chose to release the torpedo closely.

However, the captain of the "Leipzig", who had successfully sunk six merchant ships, did not now think that his next target would not be a damaged merchant ship floating on the sea without moving.

It's Walburton. The heavy cruiser "London" under the command of Colonel Lee!

The eight 8-inch cannons were now aimed at the rapidly approaching black shadow on the pitch-black sea.

"It's a little small, it's supposed to be a light cruiser!" Wolberton. Colonel Lee whispered to his first mate, "However, as soon as we open fire, the Scharnhorst will definitely show up!"

Now, let's fire and sink that light cruiser first! Then it was the turn of the Scharnhorst! ”

……

The lookout post on the "Leipzig" also realized that something was wrong at this time, the appearance of the merchant ship was still very different from that of the heavy cruiser, even at night, a little closer could be seen.

"Enemy ships! Enemy! Boom ......"

As soon as the alarm from the lookout post reached the command tower, the heavy cruiser on the opposite side had already opened fire. First, the "snowflake" flares fired by the secondary guns exploded in the sky above the "Leipzig", releasing a dazzling light that shrouded the cruiser of more than 6,600 tons below in a white expanse of light.

"Damn! It's flares! ”

Lieutenant General Machar, who was watching the battle in the rear, also saw a few "little suns" (hanging parachutes) slowly descending over "Leipzig".

Almost at the same time as he shouted, the eight 8-inch cannons of the "London" roared at the same time. Eight armor-piercing shells roared and headed straight for the "Leipzig", and since the artillery battle began, the distance between the two sides was less than 5,000 meters, and the second salvo of the "London" had one hit and one missed. Since the "Leipzig" was facing the enemy at the bow, its bow turret unfortunately fell victim to the main guns of the "London", and an orange-red fireball suddenly rose up, followed by an earth-shattering explosion. A twin 150mm gun turret has been lifted into the sky by a massive blast!

"Leipzig" was hit!

However, the salvo of the "London" also revealed its position, and Vice Admiral Marsha on the "Scharnhorst" immediately gave the order to open fire. The Scharnhorst, which had been prepared for a long time, was facing the stern of the "Leipzig" on the port side. That is, it is parallel to the "London". The four twin 280mm main gun turrets quickly turned, all aimed at the "London", which was firing at the "Leipzig", and then there was round after round of salvos.

Several huge columns of water rose on both sides of the "London"! In just three rounds, the "Scharnhorst" fired a straddle shot.

"That's accurate!" London, Walburton. Colonel Lee, of course, understands what "straddle shooting" means! However, he believed that his "London" was strong enough to carry a few 280mm shells.

"Keep firing and sink that light cruiser!" He commanded loudly, staring only at the Leipzig, which had already been beaten to the ground.

Sinking this light cruiser and at the same time leading the "Scharnhorst" to fire is the mission of the "London"!

Because there is not just one cruiser ambushed here tonight, but a whole five!

And at a distance of 30,000 meters, two "Revenge" class battleships are approaching at full speed! As long as 5 heavy cruisers were able to entangle the "Scharnhorst" for half an hour, no, as long as they entangled it for 20 minutes, the end of the German battleship would come.

"Lieutenant General! The radar spotted several targets and began to move quickly! They're coming at us, most likely heavy cruisers! ”

When Vice Admiral Mashal heard the report, he already knew that he had fallen into the trap of the British, and that the "Leipzig" was in danger.

"How many are there? What is the distance? When he asked loudly, the body of the giant ship trembled, and eight more 280mm shells were shot out.

"Including the one that is firing, there are 5 of them! The nearest is less than 13,000 meters away! ”

Mashal suddenly thought of the "torpedo". He asked aloud: "How's the Leipzig?" Can you run? ”

"It's trying, but ......," Rear Admiral Leifman's voice could be heard, and a loud noise came from the "London" in the distance.

"Hit!" Rear Admiral Leifman shouted, "Hit that heavy cruiser!" ”

"London" hit a 280mm shell during the 6th salvo of the "Scharnhorst". The shell hit the conning tower squarely, and Walburton, who had planned this ambush tonight, hit the conning tower. Colonel Lee and all the people in the command tower were killed on the spot. However, the main guns of the heavy cruiser "London" were still firing frantically. Shells rained down on the "Leipzig". The eight 280mm cannons of the "Scharnhorst" also showed their might, hitting the "London" one after another in the next few volleys, turning the 10,000-ton heavy patrol into a fireship.

"Let the Leipzig go first!" Knowing that the other party must have a backhand, Machar hurriedly gave the order to retreat. "We shoot 3 more rounds and leave immediately."

At this moment, one of the four British cruisers, which was rapidly approaching, fired flares at the "Scharnhorst". The steel hull, shrouded in a miserable white light, became a huge target.

"Turn the ship south, now!" Vice Admiral Machar did not dare to fight again, and the four cruisers might not be able to help the "Scharnhorst", but once they were entangled, it would be a little difficult to get out when the British battleships came.

"Where are our 10 submarines?" Machar then asked.

"About 180 nautical miles to the southwest." "They're coming at full speed." ”

"Good! Let's go and meet them! As soon as Machar gave the order, a loud noise came from the direction of the Leipzig. The light cruiser, which was more than 6,600 tons, suddenly rose several huge columns of water near the starboard side.

"Battleship, it's the battleship that is shelling!"

(To be continued.) )