If we comment on the quality of the officers and men of the navy of various countries during the war, perhaps the German navy can be ranked first, and even the counterparts of the Tang Empire cannot but admire the fighting quality of the German naval officers and men, as well as the heroic fighting spirit displayed on the battlefield. On the contrary, the British navy, which had dominated Europe for hundreds of years, did not show much quality during the Great War. The Battle of Skagerrak once again proved this point, with the British Navy having absolute superiority in numbers, only to have the German Home Fleet fire several extremely beautiful salvos, which inflicted huge losses on the British Navy.

The Avant-garde, the Valiant, the Challenge, and the Determination were responsible for confronting the German Home Fleet head-on. The same was true of the position of the four battleships in the formation, when the course of the "Avant-garde" was 85 degrees, the distance between the battleships was 2,500 yards, and the speed was 18 knots, which was the maximum speed that could be maintained in an artillery battle.

To the west, Admiral Lukins' flagship "Bismarck" was at the front, then "Tirpitz", "Gneisenau", and "Shaonhorst", the fleet course was 100 degrees, and the speed was 20 knots. Because the artillery was guided by radar, night lookouts were of little use, and the radar on German ships was more accurate, so Luggins was able to keep the fleet at a higher speed, trying to get around the British fleet, and then quickly turn around and intercept the British fleet.

When the artillery battle was fought from 20,000 yards to 18,000 yards, the artillery bombardment of both sides had a certain power, and at 20,000 yards, whether it was the 382-mm main gun of the "Bismarck" or the 15-inch main gun of the "avant-garde", it was difficult to tear through the main armor of the other side, and the firepower of the two battleships was comparable, with eight main guns, and the rate of fire was not much different. And the biggest difference is that the German Navy still insisted on the use of light bullets. That is, the power of direct fire in close combat is emphasized, and the power of large angles in long-range combat is not too important. That's the main reason why Luggins chose to get in on his opponent as soon as possible. The "Bismarck" ground gun has a huge power within 15,000 yards, if it is within 10,000 yards, it can directly penetrate the main armor of all British battleships, and its shelling accuracy is much higher than that of British battleships.

Samoville wasn't stupid either, he didn't want to fight the Germans in close combat. The manufacturing industry in Germany, especially the mechanical manufacturing industry, was very developed, and the manufacturing accuracy of artillery was even higher than that of the Tang Imperial Navy. Bismarck's main artillery shells can easily take out any "avant-garde" at close range, and the main feature of the British Navy's new heavy ammunition is that it is suitable for long-range combat, hitting the opponent's horizontal armor at a large angle, rather than vertical armor. Therefore, as soon as the battle began, Summerville did not think about fighting Lukins with bayonets. Keeping a reasonable distance was necessary to defeat the German Home Fleet.

By 3:15 a.m., the distance between the two sides was only about 15,000 yards, and although both sides had hit their opponents a few near-misses, neither posed any real threat. Only the Scharnhorst, at the rear of the German fleet, received a near-miss shot on the butt and was almost bombed by a propeller. But at a distance of 15,000 yards, for both sides, it was basically a fight for bayonets.

At this point, Satsumville adjusted the fleet's course to 105 degrees, trying to open up the distance, while at the same time ensuring that the four main gun turrets of each battleship were aimed at the target. Lukins discovers that the direction of the British fleet has changed. At 3:28 a.m., the course of the fleet was adjusted to 125 degrees, still closing the distance. It was also this adjustment of the route that the fight between the two sides finally entered a climax.

At 3:37, the "Tirpitz" made a beautiful leap shot in the 18th salvo, and the opposite "Brave" was almost hit, and two minutes later, in the 20th volley, the "Tirpitz" opened the first shot. Two of the eight shells hit the "Brave" and one hit the bow of the ship. The nose of the "Brave" was blown off, and another shot hit the secondary gun group near the stern, detonating some of the small-caliber shells here, killing dozens of gunners and, most importantly, the shell caused a large fire.

The fire on the Valiant became a sign for attracting shells, and the Tirpitz was quite accurate in the next few rounds of shelling, hitting the Valiant several times in a row. The Bismarck also aimed its guns at the Valiant in the 21st salvo, instead of continuing the fierce battle with the Avant-garde. And in the next five salvos, at least four shells of the "Brave" were hit. Even the "Gneisenau" joined the ranks of the "Valian", but the main guns on this battle cruiser did not pose much of a threat to the "Valian".

In less than 3:55 a.m., the "Valiant" was already riddled with holes, and in just over ten minutes, the British sailors finally tasted the high quality of the German naval gunners and the accuracy of the German naval guns. But at the same time, the British also found that at a distance of 15,000 yards, the armor-piercing shells fired by the German battleships were difficult to penetrate the main armor of the "avant-garde" class battleships.

When the "Valiant" was hit with a concentrated attack, the "Challenge" first gave the opponent a color. At 3:43 p.m., when the "Gneisenau" fired the fourth salvo against the "Valiant", a 15-inch armor-piercing bullet fired by the "Challenge" directly hit the "Gneisenau" in the first turret, and two minutes later, another armor-piercing shell from the "Challenge" hit the tail turret of the "Gneisenau". Just as the "Gneisenau" was about to transfer fire, at 3:53 a.m., the shell fired by the "Challenge" hit the hapless battlecruiser for the third time, and hit the middle of the battleship at a large angle, and finally exploded in the No. 3 boiler room, completely destroying the three boiler rooms, only the No. 2 boiler room, which was relatively far away, was not destroyed.

"Gneisenau" pushed almost three-quarters of the momentum at once, and a fire broke out. At 3:55 a.m., Lukins had to order the "Gneisenau" to withdraw from the battle alone, and let the "Scharnhorst" come up. To Luggins' relief, two minutes later, the "Valiant", which had been hit by more than a dozen huge bullets in a row, also faltered out of the battle. But at the same time, the good fortune of the German home fleet ran out.

Shortly before four o'clock, the lead turret of the Tirpitz, which had begun to show its might, was almost hit by the "Determination" and almost hit the "Challenge" by the "Resolve". By 4:15 a.m., the Tirpitz even had a chance to make a miraculous feat when a shell from its No. 3 turret hit the Challenge, which was 3,500 yards away, and penetrated the main armor and entered the interior of the battleship, but the shell did not explode! If the shell hits near the main ammunition compartment of the first part of the "Challenge", if it explodes, the "Challenge" is very likely to be blown up directly into the sky, and the German home fleet is very likely to gain a temporary advantage in strength, at least it will be able to get rid of the interception of Samoville and escape from the battlefield.

The Challenge's casualties shut down the main ammunition compartment and then spent fifteen minutes eliminating the danger, and the shell only made the Challenge inoperable for fifteen minutes from the two turrets in the bow. And the good fortune of the "Challenge" is not over yet. Before half past four, a shell from its D turret hit the "Tirpitz" again, and this shell hit almost the same position, the difference is that the British shell was not a dud, detonating the first ammunition compartment on the "Tirpitz"!

Disaster was inevitable, and the officers and men of the Tirpitz opened the sea valve of the ammunition compartment as quickly as possible, but they were still unable to prevent the explosion. At night, the flames from the explosion rushed hundreds of meters into the air, and Samoville could see it clearly, and knew that the battleship must be finished. (Fastest update: n).

By this time, the "Scharnhorst" had also received two shells, and although the damage was not enough to be fatal, the shells fired by this battlecruiser could not threaten the "Resolve" on the opposite side at all, but were repeatedly hit by the shells from the "Resolve" secondary guns. The "Bismarck" also received two shells, the turret in front of the Commander Huang Bridge was destroyed, and Lukins was also wounded. The "avant-garde" opposite it was hit by the "Bismarck" at least three times, but it did not lose its combat effectiveness.

By this time, Lukins also thought of retreating. Forty o'clock. Lukins was about to give the turn order when the radar operator sent a report. Another fleet appeared to the south, and it was huge. By the time Luggins reacted, the eight old battleships of the British Navy, which had successfully circled to the south of him, had already set up an array and fired the first salvo.

The ground gun muzzle flame produced by the battleship's main gun salvo can be clearly seen from ten nautical miles away, although the deviation of the shells when they fall is very large, and the caliber of the main guns of the old British battleships is on the small side, and the power of the armor-piercing shells is also insufficient. But for Lukins, it was undoubtedly a fatal blow. At that time the German fleet was sailing south, and if it turned, it would undoubtedly expose its flanks to the enemy. What's even worse is that the three "avant-garde" class ships have already taken the initiative to come up!

Summerville received the news at 4:35 a.m., knowing that another fleet had arrived. He immediately gave the order to turn around, approach the German fleet, entangle the Germans, and never let the German home fleet slip away again. It's now eleven to three, and two of them have been largely reimbursed. "Bismarck" also lost a quarter of its firepower, and there was basically no suspense in the battle.

Lukins made a last-ditch effort. At 4:43, he ordered the fleet to speed up, abandoned the "Tirpitz", which was already hopeless, and turned left at the maximum angle. Two minutes later, Lukins had the destroyers, who had not participated in the battle, launch a torpedo attack to cover the retreat of the capital ships. The cruiser also pressed up. to attract artillery fire from the British.

Sarmoville had been prepared for a long time, he guessed that Lukins was going to flee for his life, and his cruiser and destroyer formations had been standing by nearby, and after seeing the German destroyers killed, Summerville did not hesitate and immediately ordered his cruiser and destroyer formations to join the battle. At 4:48, Satsuma ordered the battleship formations to the south to quickly approach the "Bismarck" and "Scharnhorst" to prevent the enemy from escaping.

The final battle was quite a tragic death. At this time, the officers and men of the German Navy also showed their heroic fighting spirit in the face of death.

"Tirpitz" did not stop firing at the British battleship until it sank, and the turret in its aft section was constantly fighting. As the British battleships approached, both secondary and anti-aircraft guns were used. Summerville ignored the dying battleship, and in the end, at least four British destroyers fired torpedoes at the Tirpitz, which sank at 5:26 a.m. after being hit by nearly a dozen torpedoes, ending its last struggle. Of the more than 2,100 officers and men on board, less than 500 escaped, and all the others died along with the warship.

The unfortunate Scharnhorst, a battlecruiser that had not been hit by a huge bullet until now, was hit by a 14-inch armor-piercing shell from an old British battleship at 4:52 a.m. when it hit the bridge of the Commander's Ship, and then was hit by shells from the three approaching "Avant-garde" ships. "Scharnhorst" was originally just a battle cruiser, and it was even inferior to the large cruisers of the "Alaska" class of the US Navy, which could withstand the armor-piercing shells fired by the battleship. At 5:34 a.m., less than 10 minutes after the sinking of the Tirpitz, the Scharnhorst, which had been broken in two, also disappeared from the sea, and more than 1,200 German naval officers and sailors were killed and missing on the ship.

The "Bismarck" lasted until 5:40, but this was also its limit. At 5:25 a.m., the main engine room of the "Bismarck" was penetrated, half of the ground power was lost, and five minutes later, the cannonballs rained down like drops destroyed the bridge of the battleship commander, and dozens of officers, including Lukins, were killed. At 5:34 a.m., the main ammunition compartment at the tail of the "Bismarck" exploded, and the stern was blown off, and three minutes later, the first and second ammunition compartments of the "Bismarck" exploded again, and then the battleship sank rapidly, and by 5:40 a.m., the battleship had disappeared from the sea.

In the end, only the Gneisenau, which was the first to withdraw from the battle, managed to escape, and at 5:50 Samoville ordered the fleet to withdraw from the battlefield for fear of being attacked by German bombers after dawn. It was precisely because of his order that thousands of German naval officers and sailors were frozen to death at sea because they could not be rescued in time, perhaps this was the most serious mistake made by Samoville!