The southern mouth of the English Channel, off the coast of Cherbourg.

The German fleet, which had just finished an artillery bombardment, received ammunition supplies from German supply ships disguised as merchant ships, and transferred wounded and dead crew members by transport boats. After a naval battle of modest intensity, and an artillery bombardment of the coast, not a single German naval officer would have thought that the Allied navy did not yet know where the main forces of the German navy were.

"General, our combat goal is accomplished, then we have to find a way to leave." Captain Frank and Admiral Lut stood on the bridge of the USS Wilhelm the Great, and in the distance you could faintly see the smoke billowing from the harbor of Cherbourg.

"Has there been a report from the Helgolan airship?" Admiral Lut did not answer. Captain Frank turned back into the bridge, and after a while came out with a telegram copy paper.

"We can't seem to go back the way we came?" Admiral Lut turned his back to Captain Frank.

"Yes, General, the main forces of the British fleet began to assemble off the coast of Helgolan, and the airships found at least four battleship fleets, both British and American."

Meanwhile, at the Naval Staff in London, busy staff officers moved small models of warships around charts. Before that, the model of the ship representing the "Texas" class had disappeared from the map, but the previously vague German fleet also appeared on the chart.

"Where is Betty now?" Hamilton turned back to ask the officer behind him.

"General Betty had just shaken off the entanglement of the German battlecruiser formation, and now it should be in the Atlantic Sea off Edinburgh."

"Eddie, tell Betty that he doesn't have to go to the North Sea to pursue the German fleet, but to cross the Irish Channel directly and go to the Celtic Sea to stop the German fleet, and I want him to stop the Germans for at least 10 hours." Hamilton straightened his uniform and turned to Helst? Gint? Major General Evans ordered.

Rear Admiral Evans, Admiral Jericho and Admiral Betty were all friends of the Mediterranean Fleet. Tracy? An outstanding young officer under Sir Hamilton. Today, the young and handsome people of the past have grown into admirals in their own right.

The Major General, who was hanging on his arm, was leaning over the chart to take a closer look, and it was clear that the wounds of the Battle of Jutland were not yet fully healed. Hamilton's order made him slightly stunned, and the major general frowned and left the nautical chart sand table and walked in front of Hamilton: "Sir, are you too ...... like this", the major general's words did not continue. The Major General's meaning was clear, and Hamilton was not stupid either, and of course he knew what Evans didn't say.

"The only thing that could stop the German fleet now was a few scattered battleships, and Betty's fleet was the fastest and most combat-ready. Our main fleet needs time to assemble, but the Germans will not stupidly stay where they are and wait for us, Betty's fleet has the speed and firepower, and only they can complete the task of delaying the German fleet. As he spoke, Hamilton picked up the cup of tea in his hand and looked at Evans very calmly.

"General, we have just lost the Japanese fleet, and now the Chinese will agree that we send their most powerful fleet to stop the Germans? You know, there were 10 battleships, and there were 32 403 mm guns and 48 380 mm guns. ”

"Eddie, the Chinese are not Japanese, they are brave and confident, and I believe they will carry out the order. Of course, your worries are not unreasonable, so we write in the order and let them choose freely, and I believe that these Eastern warriors will rush forward with their swords held high! ”

It should be said that Rear Admiral Evans's fears were actually quite reasonable, and the German fleet fought a battle with the American detachment off the coast of Cherbourg, but basically there was no damage. The Chinese fleet commanded by Betty was also somewhat wounded when it pursued the German battlecruiser formation, and now they have 6 battleships to block 10 battleships that are not worse than them, which is somewhat of a death feeling, especially since the Americans and the Japanese have lost a fleet before.

Eventually, the order was sent to Betty.

"General, telegram from the Admiralty in London!" A Chinese officer walked into the command tower and handed a telegram to Betty.

"Xu, you decide." Betty glanced at the contents of the telegram and handed it to Xu Zhenpeng. Betty was somewhat embarrassed by the London order, believing that the Chinese navy was brave, but no one could guarantee that it would be foolproof. Carrying out such a mission with six such powerful warships is clearly a matter of sacrificing parts in exchange for global victory. If this was a battleship of the British Royal Navy, then Betty would not hesitate, but he was commanding the ships of his allies. Although he did not know what the Chinese government thought of these warships, he believed that he was at least unwilling to lose them easily. ,

Xu Zhenpeng took the telegram, glanced at it, walked out of the bridge, and went directly to the communication bridge on the lower deck.

"Send a telegram, the Admiralty forwarded General Yang Junjian: The British intend to make our fleet block the main force of the German fleet, and the mission is dangerous and the losses may be quite large. Xu Zhenpeng informed the British of the decision of the British at the first time through the large radio station on the battleship.

In fact, there is no need for him to say that the British have already sent this order to the Chinese side as well. Hamilton didn't dare to bet, and the British government didn't dare to bet, now that they don't have such a strong navy, the British still want to be tied to a chariot tightly for China, a trusted ally. So, along with this order, there was a long diplomatic document. The main content is probably that, in view of the outstanding performance of the Chinese Navy and Army in the Allied armies, Britain thanked the Chinese allies for their help, and as a "gift" it would cancel all concessions in China and exempt all Gengzi indemnities.

Yang Shuoming received a telegram from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before receiving a telegram from the Admiralty from Xu Zhenpeng, and Yang Shuoming understood the meaning of the British at the first time.

"It seems that the British gave me a good amount of money for selling my body!" Raising the two telegrams in his hand, Yang Shuoming said to Xi Xue beside him.

Yang Shuoming quickly sent his opinion to the central government in Beijing, at least in his opinion, six warships are precious, but they can be exchanged for so many national rights and interests, which is a good deal for both his political image and the interests of this country. Besides, will the British let a famous player like Betty die on the battlefield again? So with such a super big meat ticket in hand, the Chinese fleet may be broken, but it will not be cannon fodder.

The North Sea, the Chinese fleet, the bridge of the flagship "Republic".

"General, we carry out the order." Xu Zhenpeng had been away from the Command Tower for some time, and Betty did not go to the communication bridge to urge him during this time. Although he is a foreign devil and does not know the old Chinese saying that "the general will be outside, the monarch's order will not be affected", but he also knows that this is not an easy decision, and it is not something that the fleet commander can make. Xu Zhenpeng's voice from outside was exactly what Betty wanted to hear.

"Gentlemen, we're in a hurry." Betty happily shouted orders aloud from the command room. "The fleet is left with the rudder full, and we are crossing the Irish Channel this evening. Xu, tell my brave Chinese sailors that I will treat them to Irish whiskey tonight! Betty has never been afraid of a challenge, even knowing that there is a tiger's den in front of him, and the Chinese government's message has solved his last worries.

Six huge battleships turned around in a 270° arc on the surface of the sea and sprinted towards the Channel of Ireland at a speed of 24 knots, and a telegram was sent to the British Admiralty at the same time.

"General, General Betty's telegram." Evans was in a good mood and handed the newspaper to Hamilton.

"Oh, I was also in a good mood to see his telegram, the Chinese are indeed reliable allies, so I did as David asked and asked the naval supply ship in Belfast to send them a shipload of whiskey." The brave sailors are about to go to battle, and we send them a glass of wine to wish them victory! Sir Hamilton, in an almost aria tone, conveyed orders to the staff officers beside him.

In the deep blue night sea, a fleet sailed southeast of the Canary Islands towards the coast of Brest in France, where there was no moonlight on the sea. If someone can zoom in, the Star-Spangled Banner can be seen fluttering on the mast in the dim starlight. If viewed from the air, this fleet has two powerful battleships with four triple main guns, and anyone familiar with the US Navy should know that this is the first class of the standard American battleship design - the "Pennsylvania" class battleship. And now, standing on the bridge of this battleship is the fierce general of the US Navy. William, known as the "bullfight"? Germot? Lieutenant General Simms.

It is also embarrassing for the Americans, as the most powerful country in the Entente, the helmsman of his navy, William? Cal? Admiral Benson and one of the best fleet commanders, William? Germot? Lieutenant General Himms, also descendants of German immigrants. Germany, on the other hand, is the country's most formidable opponent at this stage.

At this time, Vice Admiral Simms, who was standing on the bridge of the flagship of this improvised small fleet, seemed to be looking around with a telescope aimlessly. Beside him, the chief of staff of this temporary fleet, was the assistant chief of staff of the Atlantic Fleet, Ernest? Brigadier General Kim, both of them stood silently and speechlessly. ,

A dozen hours earlier, they had received telegrams that two escort formations, each escorting two ocean-going convoys, had agreed by radio to form a temporary fleet in the Canary Islands to go north to block the German fleet. And not so long ago, they received news of the sinking of four American battleships, including the USS New York. At this moment, even the most optimistic people know that the road ahead is not easy.

In fact, the American battleships are still very distinctive in design, their battlecruisers can be fast, but the armor is still as fragile as the British, and their battleships are the other extreme, with thick armor but speed can only be regarded as just passing. Now, even with all the strength of the Shims fleet, which was given the order, the battleships of the "Pennsylvania" class could only run at a speed of 21 knots. However, fortunately, all American warships have a feature, their endurance is super strong, the "Pennsylvania" class battleships can cruise nearly 20,000 nautical miles without refueling, and now even if they sail at full speed, it is very easy to run 10,000 nautical miles, so they do not need to replenish and refuel halfway, which saves a lot of time in this regard.

Chase warfare is arguably one of the oldest naval tactics.

In the Age of Sails, before a naval battle began, it often took three to five days for the stronger side to catch up with the enemy in sight and enter the artillery battle distance. When chasing pirates, or enemy raiding ships, it can take even ten days to catch up with the enemy.

Previously, in order to deal with the German Navy's "Emden" attack ship, in addition to investing more than a dozen warships, it took several months to catch up with this "elusive" attack ship, and after several days of chase, it sank it!

Now, in front of Himms, there were 10 powerful German battleships, and he had only "Pennsylvania" and the sister ship "Arizona". From the last enemy briefing, the Germans left Cherbourg and sailed south, but as night fell, the planes could no longer risk taking off to reconnoiter the Germans.

From the analysis of the available intelligence alone, Simms can roughly judge that the Germans did not want a decisive battle with the Allied fleet, and now they were looking for a way out.

"Sir, we just intercepted a radio signal, which can basically be judged to be the German fleet." Interim Chief of Staff Ernest? Brigadier General Kim walked over.

Simms didn't like Commodore King at all, King wasn't the traditional warship commander, more often he stayed in the office on the shore, like an office clerk. Kim is cold and aggressive by nature, so he is unpopular. There are many people whose self-esteem has been damaged by him, and whose future has been ruined in his hands.

"Let's go to Biscay Bay and wait for the Germans." Simms commanded categorically.

At the same time, to the north of Simms's formation, the German fleet under the command of Lut unexpectedly shelled Plymouth at night, which was certainly not intended to attack the shipyards of Plymouth, but was intended to mislead the judgment of the British. Then Lut ordered the fleet to turn left to advance to the French coast in the Bay of Biscay.

This quiet and serenity lasted until the next day, when one of the avant-garde destroyers of the German fleet saw several plumes of smoke on the sea level, and soon a small fleet appeared in the sight of the German light warships. The nimble German light cruisers flew over the perimeter of the small fleet and relayed the information to Lut aboard the "Kaiser Wilhelm".

"Americans, a small fleet with only two capital ships." Ruth read the telegram quickly. Soon he judged that the other party did not have any reinforcements.

"Destroy them so quickly."

The battle began with light ships on both sides, and the German cruisers and destroyers rushed to the American fleet convoy, quickly entangled them, and the sea instantly seemed to be boiling.

On July 29, 1919, at 9:13 a.m., Lot's battleship fired its first shell at the USS Pennsylvania.

"It's 34,000 yards away, and it's 300 yards back." The observer on board the "Kaiser Wilhelm" quickly reported the location of the shells.

At the same time, in the turret of the battleship, the gun commander quickly commanded the gunners.

"Reload the shells, be quick! Adjust the shooting angle! ”

The Americans were also not slow to react, and at the same time as the first salvo of the German fleet was fired, Lut saw a burst of fire from the American fleet in the distance, which was the first round of fire from their main guns. ,

Lut's idea was to quickly settle the battle, and he already knew that the Americans opposite were two battleships of the "Pennsylvania" class. His armor was thicker and faster than the Americans', and his firepower was overwhelming. In order to ensure a sufficient rate of hits, it was necessary to maneuver to the east and occupy the "T" position before the formation of American battleships.

The artillery battle was very fierce, and both sides put on a posture of not giving an inch. At 9:45, it was still the "Kaiser Wilhelm" that opened the battle. An armor-piercing projectile fired from its B turret accurately hit the horizontal deck in front of the "Arizona" A turret and pierced through the horizontal armor, exploding inside the ship's hull. However, the armor-piercing shell was not able to penetrate the armor partition at the front end of the hull armor box, let alone threaten the heavily protected ammunition depot in the rear, so it did not pose much threat to the "Arizona".

Just half a minute later, the "Arizona" was back in color.

Fourteen-inch heavy armor-piercing shells hit the second deck behind the B turret and below the secondary bridge of the "Kaiser Wilhelm", blowing up a secondary turret and two rapid-fire gun turrets nearby. , but the German battleship was designed to protect against sixteen-inch armor-piercing shells, which did not penetrate the horizontal armor, but only blew a hole in the exposed superstructure and ignited some flammable materials. Five minutes later, the fire was extinguished by the damage management team.

Soon, the "Frederick the Great" and the "Empress Maria", which were followed by the "Wilhelm the Great", also achieved success.

From then on, the artillery battle entered a white-hot stage.

Himms, of course, did not want the Germans to get the "T" position smoothly, so he ordered the fleet to maintain a 120-degree course, try to make contact with the German fleet on the side, and use the power of all 24 356mm guns. As the distance between the two sides closes closer, the test is no longer the firepower and armor of both sides, but the survivability of the warships of both sides!

However, the superiority of the German fleet was too obvious, and Lot's fleet quickly grabbed the "T" prefix from the left side of the Sims fleet, and the large-caliber shells rained down on the Americans.

Brigadier General Kim now feels that he is no longer staying on a battleship, but in Los Angeles in the midst of a major earthquake. In less than half an hour, the "Pennsylvania" lost all its main guns, and the entire battleship was like a burning volcano, full of wounds and spewing flames outward.

The specific course of the battle was as follows: at 10:17, the C turret of the "Pennsylvania" was hit by a shell from the "Blucher". Although the armor-piercing shells that hit the front of the turret were not able to enter the turret interior. But the force of the impact on hit, as well as the impact from the explosion, seriously damaged the turret's swivel mechanism, making the turret inoperable. Nine minutes later, the B turret was hit, and dozens of officers and men in the turret were all killed or wounded, and the equipment was badly damaged beyond repair. At 10:30, the A turret was also hit by armor-piercing shells from enemy ships, resulting in dozens of gunners killed and wounded. In less than a minute, four shells fired from the "Empress Maria" covered the rear half of the hull of the "Pennsylvania". After 10 seconds, the D turret of the "Pennsylvania" flew into the air more than a hundred meters.

At 9:41, a volley of the Americans knocked out a secondary gun on the right side of the "Frederick the Great", and the battleship, which had always been neat and clean, was instantly burned black. Soon, several 14-inch shells were concentrated in the "Bavaria" and "Byrne" in the back, but the angle of incidence of the shells was too large, and they hit the thickest main armor belt, which did not cause much damage to them. Immediately, at 47 and 58 points, the armor-piercing shells fired by the "Arizona" successively punched several large holes in the right superstructure of the "Frederick the Great".

On the bridge of the "Arizona", which was blown away, Lieutenant Colonel Kimmel, a gunslinger officer, was at the helm. As early as the first minutes of the naval battle, shells fired from the German fleet accurately hit the bridge of the "Arizona", and more than half of the officers, including its captain, were either killed or wounded. Kimmel was so desperate that shrapnel only cut a hole in his brow bone, and after putting a bandage, he acted as the highest-ranking officer in command of the battleship.

"Sir, we've lost two boilers!" Rushing in from the cabin was a black-faced sergeant major, who looked like he was in the engine room. ,

"Let the damage management team try to fix it as much as possible!" Kimmel yelled loudly as he steered the rudder to dodge the German shells.

As soon as the words ended, the sound of a train whistle quickly approached.

"Hidden!" A young officer yelled and immediately threw Kimmel to the ground. The rumbling sound of shells coming through the hull of the ship, and the dull sound of shells exploding.

"Sir, our A turret is gone!" An officer dragged Kimmel up from the ground.

"Report to General Simms: How long will it be before our reinforcements arrive!" As soon as Kimmel stood firm, he walked up to the rudder and commanded loudly.

Simms wasn't having a good time now, his white navy uniform was covered in black ash, like it had come out of a coal mine. Now the situation Simms is very clear, if he wants to live, the best option is to withdraw from the fight. The aim of the Germans was to throw off the tracking Allied fleet and tear a way home in the defensive net. However, the tough-minded "Bullfight" was not willing to give in easily, and reinforcements were on their way, and perhaps as long as they held out for a while, the Germans would have to stay in the Bay of Biscay forever.

However, it is clear that the Goddess of Victory is not on the side of the Americans.

"Boom! Boom! ”

At least seven armor-piercing shells hit the Pennsylvania, and at least three armor-piercing shells pierced its main armor belt and exploded inside the ship's hull, one of which exploded just outside the No. 4 boiler room, causing damage to one of its boilers. And more importantly, the shells basically pierced the waterline, a large amount of seawater poured into the port side of the "Pennsylvania", and the battleship began to rapidly tilt to the left.

"Water on the starboard side, keep your balance!" Ernest? Kim quickly pounced on the phone for communication in the ship.

At 10:40, the final moment of the American detachment arrived.

A 403-mm shell entered from the paralyzed "Pennsylvania" B turret and, after penetrating the horizontal deck, detonated the ammunition compartment under the turret. Fortunately, the fierce fighting quickly depleted the ammunition reserves of the "Pennsylvania", and the ammunition compartment was not well stocked, but the ensuing explosion was still violent. The entire B turret had long since disappeared, the A turret was overturned and buckled upside down in the bow, the entire hull under the B turret collapsed like a morning glory, and the armor belts in the front half of the hull flew away. Huge cracks stretched from the deck to below the waterline, and seawater began to pour uncontrollably into the battleship.

When Ernest? When Kim woke up from the concussion of the big bang, there were basically no people standing on the bridge. With the remaining memories of the previous period, General Kim stood up and walked to the deck with an officer on the left, who was supposed to be Lieutenant General Simms. Of course, he did not forget to give the order to abandon the ship.

"All blow life jackets and abandon the ship!"

Other officers who stood up one after another conveyed the order to the various departments of the battleship. The remaining American sailors flocked to the starboard side of the battleship, but fortunately, the Atlantic water was still warm in the summer, and the Americans jumped off the battleship like dumplings.

The German fleet, seeing the "Pennsylvania", which was essentially scrap metal, quickly turned its guns to the "Arizona".

With only two salvos, the "Arizona", which withstood the full firepower of the German fleet, was essentially flattened to the superstructure.

As early as when Kimmel saw the tragic situation of the "Pennsylvania", he gave the order to abandon the ship, his speed is absolutely impossible to run past 27 knots of German battleship, he is not an invincible superman, can single-handedly take on the entire German fleet.

The smoke soon enveloped the "Arizona" and the "Pennsylvania", which was still struggling and still floating on the water, and the Germans did not rush to kill them all, now that the purpose of the operation had been achieved, then do not waste time on the two battleships that were doomed to sink, they had not yet broken out of the encirclement of the coalition forces.

"They're all good girls!" Simms, who had woken up, sat on a lifeboat, next to Brigadier King, and in the distance two sinking battleships and some superstructures remained on the sea. The German fleet had long since gone away, and the light warships that had been scattered in the battle just now gathered and began to search and rescue the American officers and men at sea.

"Another American fleet." Shen Honglie took a traffic boat from the second flagship "Constitution" to the "Republic".

In fact, when Sims reported the discovery of the German fleet and informed the other rounded up warships that they would launch a blockade, everyone guessed that this would be the result, but they didn't expect the Germans to be so strong. ,

Just after the Germans had finished their engagement with Himms, they quickly went a little deeper into the Bay of Biscay, and then, almost clinging to the southern coastline of France, turned back to the northwest in a nearly 180° turn.

As commander of the German fleet, Lot's idea was to deliberately delay some time in the Bay of Biscay, then make a time difference with other blocking fleets that might appear, and then bypass the entire British Isles. The formation of battle cruisers led by Hipper, who cooperated with the attack, finally returned to the port of Kiel.

At this time, the role of intelligence exchange was unexpectedly highlighted. The initial miscalculation of the German spies allowed the most dangerous opponents to appear on their way home. If it were only those British and American battleships that were not very fast, even if they were more numerous, it was highly likely that Lotus would take advantage of the time difference in speed and eventually escape into the vast North Atlantic before the encirclement network was formed.

At 3:40 p.m. on July 29, 1919, destroyers of the Chinese fleet discovered a plume of smoke in the southeastern part of the Celtic Sea.

At 4:16 p.m., the light ships of the German fleet suddenly moved forward, and the Chinese cruiser formation, which was tracking from afar, was forced to turn into a melee with the German light ships. After an hour of intense but barely effective scuffle, the Germans turned abruptly after a smoke cast, and half an hour later the pursuing Chinese fleet lost sight of the Germans.

"We almost smell the Germans!" Betty took a knife and fork and sat in her seat in the officer's cafeteria, in front of a tender Argentine veal.

"I'm afraid our opponents will slip out of our noses again, they are sophisticated and cunning!" Xu Zhenpeng and Shen Honglie also had Western-style steaks in front of them. The Chinese Navy has always had a strong British ancestry, and British-style meals are no stranger to them.

Most of the light ships of the fleet were sent out to search for the Germans, but in this day and age, without radar technology, the odds of searching for a fleet in the dark of night would not be much higher than winning the lottery. Even if the character explodes and the enemy is found, the hit rate is very ugly just by relying on the light of the flares. The safest thing to do is to follow from a distance and wait until dawn to attack.

Of course, it was not only the Chinese fleet that was searching for the Germans, but also the fleets of other Allied powers, which were gradually gathering over, were also searching in the direction of the Celtic Sea with a 120° fan. And they are gradually gathering together, so that any fleet that finds the Germans will be supported in the shortest possible time.

If God really exists, then looking down on this sea at this time, you will see hundreds of warships intertwined. At the forefront were six Chinese battleships, accompanied by a dozen light warships. And just to the left in front of them, the German fleet was about eighty nautical miles from them.

The night was generally quiet, although from time to time there were telegrams saying that the Germans had been spotted, but they were eventually confirmed to be Allied troops, and the heavy night also limited the speed advantage of the Chinese.

At four o'clock in the morning, when the distance was reduced to about forty nautical miles, the speed of the Chinese fleet increased to 27 knots, which was exactly the fastest speed that the Republic-class battleships could achieve in a cruising state. Half an hour later, the course of the fleet turned to 70°.

At 7:09, an American cruiser came out of the front to report the discovery of a suspicious column of smoke.

At 7:23, the main forces of the Chinese fleet found themselves turning to the German fleet in a northwesterly direction, and a major battle was inevitable.

"These cunning two-headed vultures have finally seen their shadows!" Betty almost gritted her teeth and snapped out these words. In the Battle of Jutland, the Royal Navy was almost wiped out under the battle of the Two-Headed Vulture, and two days earlier in Cherbourg, heavy artillery fire caused heavy casualties and material losses on the French coast.

Lut was a little late in seeing the Chinese fleet, but they had already spotted the Coalition light ships that had been tracked down.

"General, it's a big guy of the Chinese." Captain Frank saw the battleship in the distance from the bridge.

They already knew from the telegram from Wilhelmshaven that it was the Chinese fleet that was pursuing the battlecruiser formation of Hipper, and that it had reversed and began to join the round-up of them. Although the large telescope on the ship was not enough to see the battleship in the distance, Captain Frank's rich experience allowed him to judge that only the battleships of the Chinese fleet had such speeds. ,

"Regardless of them, we maintain top speed." Lut knew that there was no room for delay, and that the other Allied fleets could be rushed out at any time, and they had to buy time to distance themselves from these enemies.

At the same time, on the bridge of the battleship "Republic", Betty also gave the order to pursue at full speed.

"Command engine room pressure ventilation, we need more power." Ruth knows that speed is life now, and the Chinese must not be entangled.

"Xu, command the engine room, we want to be faster!" Betty also knows what speed means.

The huge "Republican"-class battleship ran its fastest speed, 33 knots, which was a dangerous speed. As fast battleships, the "Republica" class could reach a top speed of 31 knots, and in the case of strong pressure ventilation, sacrificing the life of the boilers, they could rush to 33-34 knots in a short time, but this meant that the boilers could be scrapped at any time.

At this time, the position of the Germans was in front of the left side of the Chinese fleet, and the sun had jumped out of the sea, enveloping the silhouette of the Germans in the sun.

"The fleet collectively turned 15 degrees to the right and maintained a speed of 28 knots!" Once again, Lute gave the order that he was to get ahead of Betty, not to grab the "T" prefix, but to cross Betty's course laterally.

"The Germans can't be allowed to slip away!" Xu Zhenpeng grabbed the helm position and started to steer himself.

"The whole turned 5 degrees to the left, the lateral difference was 1200 chains, and the front main gun was strongly charged." Betty gave a loud command.

"Boom, boom!"

The 36 16-inch front guns of the six huge battleships spewed orange flames, and Betty hoped to slow down the Germans by shelling. One round of shelling was followed by another, and in an instant, dozens of huge columns of water erupted in front of it.

At this time, the rate of fire of the Chinese fleet reached the limit, and there was no need to think about the hit rate, but simply threw ammunition in the direction of the Germans. The scorching summer heat was undoubtedly a torture for the gunners who struggled in the main turret of the battleship, despite being shirtless, despite the exhaust fans, and despite the machinery to assist in reloading. However, the combined movement of nearly one and a half tons of shells and more than 100 kilograms of propellant already makes people sweat profusely, not to mention the high temperature that remains in the chamber after the shells are fired.

There is no doubt that the speed advantage of the "Republic" class fast battleships with pure blood is still much better than that of the "Wilhelm the Great" and "Byrne" class battleships. As the distance between the two fleets closened, the Germans were not quietly unresponsive. The 403-mm guns of the "Kaiser Wilhelm" class and the 380-mm guns of the "Byrne" class also began to fight back fiercely.

In the high-speed chase battle, the hit rate of both sides was not high, and the German sailors' accurate gunnery played a role at this time! As the school firing transmitted back the shooting data one by one, the shells of the German fleet began to hit the target, and several orange flames "bloomed" on the hull of the "Republican" class battleship!

"A single shot hit an enemy 'Republic'-class battleship, and the opponent's foredeck was hit by a bullet and caught fire!"

"A single shot hit an enemy 'Republic'-class battleship, and the opponent's superstructure was shot and caught fire!"

Two good news in quick succession relieved the nervous officers on the bridge of the "Kaiser Wilhelm", but Admiral Lut frowned. The Republic-class battleships were the strongest battleships in the Allied forces, not only as fast as Cheetahs, but also as good for armored shooting. Lut's concern was whether his armor-piercing shells would be able to penetrate the thick armor of the newest battleships.

Soon, Ruth's fears became a reality.

"A single shot hit one of the enemy's 'Republic'-class battleships, which was the second ship of the target, and an explosion occurred in the middle of the opponent. The damage is unknown for the time being, and the speed has not been reduced! ”

"Two shots hit one of the enemy's 'Republic'-class battleships, the target ship No. 1, the opponent's foredeck was hit and exploded, and no fire was seen!"

"A single shot hit the enemy's 'Republic' class battleship No. 4, an explosion occurred in the middle of the opponent, the hull caught fire, and the speed did not decrease!"

Betty could only bite the bullet at this point, and if he relented a little, Lot's fleet would disappear from his face. The Chinese sailors did not have the same accurate gunnery as the German sailors, but fortunately, the warships with auxiliary loaders allowed them to make up for the difference in accuracy through the rate of fire.

The rapid formation of Republic-class battleships quickly closed the distance to 17,000 yards, and at this time the second ship, the Democracy, achieved the first result of the battle. A 16-inch shell fired from the C turret accurately hit the "Württemberg", knocking off a large chunk of its superstructure and igniting some flammable materials. ,

"Good!" Betty shook her fist excitedly.

Soon, other Chinese battleships also achieved success, and from 9:18 to 9:30, in a battle that lasted twelve minutes, the performance of the "Republic" class battleship was enough to prove its strength on the design blueprints. At a distance of less than 20,000 yards, the superiority of the Germans' accurate gunnery was minimal, and the battleships of both sides were evenly matched. During these twelve minutes, the Chinese fleet fired eight salvos, an average of one every minute and a half, which was almost the fastest salvo rate for the main guns of a battleship of this class. Of the 492 armor-piercing shells fired, a total of 36 hits, a hit rate of more than 8 percent.

"One more shot, dog-day German, grandpa let you fight!" In the B turret of the "Nation" at the end of the formation, the gunner Wang Erdan yelled and instructed the gunners to load the shells.

At this time, the Chinese fleet was already 12,000 yards close to the rear defense on the right side of the German fleet, and the German fleet kept turning to the right. The two fleets were now almost parallel and chasing in large arcs. The Germans were more than halfway complete, their position had shifted from southeast to southwest, and the sun's rays could no longer envelop them. Without the dazzling sunlight, the command of the Chinese gunners became more and more accurate.

"No, the Germans are about to complete the turn!" Betty was not happy with the increasing results. The German battleship is still as sturdy as ever, sturdy and almost perverted, and a decision must be made!

"Order, turn 20 degrees to the left, cut between the second and first ships of the German fleet, and we will turn forward!" It's already a desperate fight.

The Germans now had the advantage in numbers, and they were well-trained and accurate in their artillery, so turning forward meant that the entire fleet would have to withstand at least ten minutes of intense artillery fire from the left and right.

Betty was not a reckless man, and although he was sometimes reckless and impulsive, he was also a naval expert who was well-versed in naval tactics. He believed that as long as the German fleet was entangled at this time, it would not be long before other reinforcements would arrive, which was the fighting spirit of the Royal Navy!

The order was soon given, and the other battleships, seeing the flagship's signal, followed the flagship and began to turn to the left, ready to insert into the gap in the battle line of the corresponding German battleship.

Fight to the death!