"I saw two Moltke-class battle cruisers, two 5,000-ton light cruisers, four large torpedo boats, and five enemies in previous engagements, a total of thirteen ships. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

In a telegram to the armored cruiser, the captain of the British destroyer "Brilliant", Major Mack, recounted.

At this time, the newly emerged German fleet and the British patrol formation were at the opposite end of the battlefield, and the three British destroyers that had previously pursued the "Glaudenz" formation were in the center of the battlefield. The German war patrols flew over their heads with a loud whistling sound, and the German light cruisers with a closer range focused on them, the alternating fire was not yet fierce, but it would not be long before they became a mortal threat.

A swift retreat or a brave advance, two paths with very different meanings and outcomes were laid before the British.

A short time later, three destroyers of the Rush, including the "Brilliant", received a telegram from their own armored cruiser: "Cover the retreat."

This extremely simple sentence fails to accurately convey the intent of the combat order, or rather the commander deliberately did it - if understood with a completely different mentality, it will lead to a completely different conclusion.

The twin ships Moltke and Goeben are the proud works of the German Navy, and through the experience of the Blücher and von der Tann, they have been successfully designed, with high firepower, incredible speed, and considerable protection. Despite the limited damage of the 11-inch guns and the technical flaws in the way the triple-mounted guns were configured, they became famous in the Battle of Jutland, and the dense and fast design of the main guns made a very deep impression on the British, and the British Admiralty even considered trying to use the 15-inch or 380-mm triple-gun on the two Queen Elizabeth-class superdreadnoughts that were built more slowly. If adopted, they will be the most powerful warships in the world.

The sudden appearance of the two Moltke-class ships alarmed the British officers and men on the battlefield, and the three armored cruisers turned around decisively - it was wise to retreat as they were not sure where their main fleet was and whether they would be able to come in time for reinforcements. After all, judging by the history of the Battle of Jutland, these armored cruisers, built at the end of the last century, would definitely not last more than half an hour in front of the main battle cruisers of the Germans.

Most of the officers and sailors were disappointed to see their armored cruisers slip away and the three British destroyers that burst ahead. Although the two German fleets in the line of sight were not united, they were not far apart, echoed each other, covered each other, and formed a formidable and rapid force. And there is reason to believe that this fleet was followed by the more powerful main German fleet.

If the morale of the British is visible, then it must be in a state of collapse and slump at this moment.

Surprisingly, Major Mack gave the order to go full speed ahead and prepare to attack the German fleet with torpedoes.

Since the "Brilliant" was in the leading position among the three British destroyers, without any communication, the two destroyers behind followed it.

Ships at high speeds are certainly more difficult to hit than slow-moving targets, but such assaults are still very adventurous. I saw that the German fleet adjusted its course slightly, so that the ships in the formation could exert their broadside fire, and large and small shells rained down near the three British destroyers. The columnar waves rose and scattered, the waves rolled and surged, and these British destroyers were like kayaks in the treacherous rapids, which could be crushed by rocks in a fraction of a second, and they were full of dangers, but they also avoided thrills.

Approaching a distance of about two thousand meters, the resistance of the three British destroyers increased sharply. The machine gun fire of the German ships formed an impermeable fire network at this position, and the bow, forward deck and bridge of the British destroyers were frequently hit, although these small-caliber shells could not directly threaten the vital point of the destroyers, but the open position in front of them became a shooting range for shrapnel, and the sailors could lose their lives at any time even if they raised their heads slightly from the concealed position, so the front guns of the three destroyers were all in unison, and they only managed to avoid the enemy artillery fire with the control skills of the helmsman.

In the process, the two German battlecruisers did not display their salvo firepower like a storm, and the triple main guns unhurriedly alternated fire, as if intended to make it difficult for the British armored cruisers to retreat, rather than to kill them.

Moments later, the "Brilliant" was only a kilometer away from the nearest German battleship and about 2,500 meters from the German battlecruisers. From this position, Major Mack held the binoculars tightly in both hands, and looked intently at the two majestic and domineering German war cruisers, the squadron commander flag of the vice admiral class was hung on the flagpole of the one in front, and a group of energetic and ambitious officers stood on its open bridge. Major Mack vaguely guessed that the leader was Graf von Hipper, who was notorious as a "baby killer" and "public enemy of England". This tenacious and resilient admiral has served in the reconnaissance fleet for many years, and is familiar with the performance, structure, and characteristics of these fast warships, and knows how to use them. Before the war began, many well-wishers speculated about who would be able to win in direct conversation, two evenly matched opponents, Hipper and Betty. As a result, Hipper's sharp edge led the German reconnaissance fleet to a beautiful start, laying a solid foundation for that historic victory.

Major Mack wanted to shoot the wicked and dangerous German admirals into hell by blasting them on the bridge of a German battlecruiser, but the reality was that his gunners were completely out of temper.

In front of the line, both the German cruisers and the large torpedo boats had lowered their muzzles. Several shells struck one after another, and bursting columns of water rose one after another in front of the bow and on the left and right sides of the "Brilliant," and the hull of the ship swayed violently, as if it was in the midst of a terrible storm, and it was in danger of capsizing at any time.

In order to avoid the heavy shells that exploded in the water, the helmsman made a sharp right turn, and the figure of the German fleet left the bow directly in front of the ship, as well as out of the aiming range of the underwater torpedo tubes. Major Mack gritted his teeth and waited for his ship to return to the right angle, but the furious artillery fire of the German fleet made him feel unprecedented psychological pressure - as if one more second of support would have been God's favor, and the next second would have been a terrible catastrophe.

The helmsman seemed to read the commander's thoughts, and he quickly returned to the helm, and a large wave of water once again rushed onto the deck, washing away the blood of the casualties.

Major Mack shouted at the adjutant who had been holding the phone to ensure that the instructions were conveyed at all times, "Torpedo...... Launch them all! ”

"Torpedo launch! Two salvos! ”

The adjutant shouted into the microphone, and for a moment, he nodded at Major Mack.

"Both torpedoes have been fired."

Major Mack breathed a sigh of relief, and the helmsman standing behind him understood, and spun the rudder at a rapid pace.

Following the rhythm of the "Brilliant", the two destroyers behind also fired torpedoes from the torpedo tubes at the German fleet.

The sea was boiled by the artillery fire of the German fleet, the white wake marks of the torpedoes were not so conspicuous, and more than a dozen German ships formed a wide cross-section, although the torpedoes swam a somewhat long distance, if these German battleships did not change course, how could they hit one or two.

However, the lookouts on the German battleships spotted them in time, and the three light cruisers turned to evade, while the large torpedo boats clinged to the side of the battlecruisers, protecting them from evasion, ready to sacrifice their lives when they were forced to do so.

Because there was more than one torpedo, the ship's lookout personnel found that they were one after the other, and most of the German warships made more than two turns, some at a large angle, some with a small arc, and the tracks left on the sea surface were tortuous and disorderly, constituting a different kind of war picture.

The clock ticked by, the Germans were praying, the British were praying.

As long as one torpedo hits the target, the brave adventure of these three British destroyers is worth it.

As soon as one battleship was torpedoed, the situation of this German fleet would have become very delicate.

Luck eventually sided with the Germans, and all six torpedoes were lost.

Next, the German fleet slammed the buttocks of the three British destroyers with intensive artillery fire, and took advantage of the situation, leaving aside the cowardly British armored cruisers, and headed straight to the northwest.

At this time, the British light fleet led by two Linxian-class light cruisers was suffering from the attack of German aircraft. These ships were all new ships of the British Navy in recent years, but during the period of their design and construction, the aircraft were only auxiliary tools for reconnaissance and calibration in the eyes of the vast majority of people, and there was no air defense at that time, and there was no really effective air defense weapon. Because of the losses of German planes in the waters of Jutland and Flanders, the British hastily equipped the ships with machine guns and modified the original machine guns and small-caliber rapid-fire guns to give them an angle for aerial fire. These improvised anti-aircraft weapons were not highly effective, and there was still very little record of directly shooting down planes, and their most practical significance made German pilots dare not hover at low altitudes unscrupulously, and the hit rate of bombs dropped was reduced considerably.

As a result, the battle between the two sides was fought in the air and sea, but neither of them could pose a real threat to the opponent.

Two German planes flew away, and soon two more were staring at them, circling, dropping bombs, and strafing, forcing the British officers and men on the ship to scramble and their scalps tingle.

When the British easily sent away these two "plague gods", the German fleet could be seen in the distant sea, and its number of ships was not more than that of the British light fleet that set off from the port of Harwich, but there were two battle cruisers in the lineup, so the disparity in strength between the two sides was huge, and the momentum at the beginning was also in sharp contrast.

These two German battle cruisers certainly did not have the imposing triple heavy guns of the Moltke class, but they were equally famous and well-known. One has been dubbed "the most comprehensive" and "the most perfect", and it is also the longest, largest and heaviest of the German Navy's active ships; One showed detachment strength and interpreted the ferocity of the "Sea Killer" with superb archery.

(End of chapter)