"Good."

On the bridge of the "Texas", the captain of the ship was issuing various orders to set sail one by one.

Soon, towed by a tugboat and led by a destroyer, the "Texas" passed through the harbor defense zone and headed out to sea.

"Look, the New York has set sail too." An American sailor said, "We just got here and caught up in the battle, how lucky we were!" ”

The four American battleships "New York," "Texas," "Wyoming," and "Arkansas," which had just escorted the American and Japanese troops to Cherbourg to participate in the counteroffensive, received orders to go to war as soon as they arrived in port.

"I heard that the original two battleships here have been sunk." Another person said.

"There are so many people here, I hate them." Another said.

"The German spy must be pointing his binoculars at us at the moment."

"Looks like they're going to have to talk about something this time."

"By the way, where are we heading?"

"We're out on the sea! Anyway, it's not going to the Mediterranean. Someone replied.

"Those few battleships of the French are fighting against the Austrian navy in the Mediterranean, and I think they will miss us." One of the sailors laughed.

In order to deal with the threat of the Austro-Hungarian navy and to make more effective use of the naval resources of the Entente, the French navy was forced to place only four "Lone" class battleships and three "Brittany" class battleships in the Mediterranean, while the French coast facing the Atlantic Ocean was all handed over to the Allied navy.

An American sailor came out of the cabin and onto the deck.

"We're going to fight the Germans in the Channel, boys." He said in a well-informed tone.

"Won't it?" Someone somewhere else asked aloud.

"You can't be wrong, we're heading towards the Strait."

"The Germans would come here?"

"My friend Kaiser Wilhelm forgot to call me and tell me. Wait, wait for him to call us. "Someone made a joke with a characteristic American humor that eased the tension that permeated the deck.

The "Texas" was towed and slowly sailed out of the harbor, and at this time, the guard curtain composed of destroyers, in front of the "New York" and the "Texas", faced the undulating waves, and headed for the ocean. Behind these two battleships were two more American battleships "Wyoming" and "Arkansas".

Unbeknownst to the American sailors, the German fleet was heading towards them.

Admiral Lot, who had finished resting, looked at the watch on his wrist and left the cabin and walked towards the bridge, when suddenly a terrible siren sounded.

"Enemy torpedo boats spotted! Spot enemy torpedo boats! ”

"Enemy torpedo boats! 45 degrees on the port side! ”

By this time, the anti-mine guns of the "Wilhelm the Great" had been aimed at the speeding torpedo boats, and before Admiral Lut and Frank could return to the bridge, the escorting destroyers opened fire. Admiral Lut saw a total of six British torpedo boats coming, which, under the cover of sea fog, broke through the fire net laid by the German direct frigates at a rapid speed, rushed to the bow of the "Kaiser Wilhelm", and fired torpedoes from a vantage point.

"Right full rudder!" Frank yelled.

At this time, the sea was densely covered with black smoke from the explosion of shells. The warship made a sharp turn with a great roll and a glittering track behind the stern of the ship formed a huge arc.

The torpedoes fired by the British galloped past the side of the "Kaiser Wilhelm", leaving a clearly visible track on the gray sea. Immediately afterwards, with a loud bang, a large amount of sea water was splashed, and a British torpedo boat exploded not too far from the starboard bow of the "Wilhelm the Great", it was hit by the secondary guns of the "Wilhelm the Great", and soon disappeared into the sea.

At this time, the secondary guns of the other German battleships also opened fire, and under the chase of the destroyers, the attack of the six British torpedo boats ended as quickly as it had begun.

"The British don't seem to have many ships to send." The Chief of Staff of the Fleet excitedly said, "Great! ”

In the operations hall of the British Admiralty, a group of senior British admirals and other officers were looking at charts showing the ships that were pursuing the German fleet.

"They're approaching it." Studdy said with some trepidation.

"yes, it seems so." Hamilton replied with a wry smile.

"The American fleet in Cherbourg has been warned, and they should now depart." Said a rear admiral.

"Did the plane go out?" Studdy tried to avoid passing on his bad feelings to his subordinates.

"It's been dispatched, sir."

"I don't think those planes would be able to find the Germans in such weather." Prince Louis, who had not spoken, said, "However, I believe we will not be able to wait long. ”

Betty curled up in her armchair and fell asleep with her head in her hands. Suddenly, the sound of an alarm woke him up. He quickly and alertly came to the bridge.

"Enemy ship spotted on the starboard side of the stern! Enemy ship spotted on the port side of the bow of the ship! ”

On the orders of Captain Schneider, the main guns of the battleship "Republic" immediately turned and aimed at the enemy ship. With a loud bang, cannonballs whistled and flew into the sea in the distance.

Betty looked in the direction the muzzle was pointing, and sure enough, she saw the figure of a large battleship.

"As you might expect, they're chasing us." Colonel Evans said to Xu Zhenpeng with a smile.

"The Germans are really persistent!" Betty sneered and lifted her binoculars.

"Is there only one?" Betty asked, observing for a moment.

"Yes." "This shows that they are not the main force of the Germans." ”

"Why do you say that?" Betty asked, but her eyes still didn't take her eyes off the binoculars for a moment.

"They've only caught up with one." "I think this may be a sign that these sailors are not very familiar with their warships." ”

"That is, they were battlecruisers that the Germans had just served?" Betty lowered her binoculars and went to the chart table.

"A battlecruiser, that's the Yorkie or the Scharnhorst." "The Germans were the only six battlecruisers they could move, and maybe all of them were dispatched this time," Betty said. ”

A naval officer marked the tracks of both sides on a chart.

At this moment, an officer reported: "The target is out of range and has disappeared." The roar of the cannon outside also died down in an instant.

"Their purpose in chasing us is to hold us back." Shen Honglie looked out of the porthole and said, "We can't be fooled, we should rush to the other side of the strait as soon as possible." ”

At this moment there was a sudden sound of shelling in the rear of the fleet, and soon an officer reported to Betty: "The battleship 'Spirit of Freedom' has sent a telegram that the German [***] ship has been spotted, and that they are engaged with the enemy ships. ”

And not long after, the sound of the cannon suddenly died down as before.

"Tell them to ignore the Germans and keep their speed and course." Betty said, staring at the chart.

And at this moment, another telegram was sent by the communications officer.

"Admiralty emergency! The German fleet is at war with the American convoy! ”

In the war room of the battleship "New York", a group of US Navy officers was gathered at the chart table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you already know that the main fleet of the Germans is ahead of us, and in a little while we will meet them, and our main fleet is still far behind them, and it is impossible to catch up with them in time. Therefore, we are fighting against an enemy with absolute superiority, and gentlemen, you should know your responsibility. Vice Admiral Hawkes, the commander of the fleet, said, "Good luck to you, gentlemen. ”

At this moment, there was a "Enemy ship!" from outside. Right front! Then there was a shrill siren.

Vice Admiral Hawkes immediately raised his binoculars, and at this time the fog on the sea was no longer as big as when they set off, and the figures of the huge German [***] ships in the distance were gradually becoming clear.

The captain of the ship, Colonel Carpenter, immediately gave the order to fight, and the 356-mm guns of the "New York" immediately began to turn and began firing.

The "New York" class battleship has a standard displacement of 28,700 tons, a full load displacement of 31,000 tons, a maximum speed of 21 knots, and five twin 356 mm caliber main guns. At that time, the battleships of the world's major naval powers were generally equipped with guns of more than 12 inches, while the "Wyoming" class was only equipped with 12-inch guns. This upset the US Navy, which decided to equip the New York-class battleships with new 14-inch (356 mm) caliber guns. Due to the fact that the main guns of the "New York" class battleships were larger in caliber than those of the "Wyoming" class, they were more powerful. Therefore, after the outbreak of World War I and on the eve of the United States' entry into the war, the "New York" class battleships remained in the United States, until the British Navy suffered a crushing defeat after the Battle of the Turandas, and the British mainland urgently needed large ships to guard it, so the US Navy Department decided to send the "New York" class battleships to Britain.

Captain Carpenter gave a quick order into the pipe, trying to seize the "T" prefix of the German fleet, and the helmsman turned the steering wheel with a rapid movement, and the huge warship sailed rapidly on the sea, with a tumbling white wake behind the stern, which was spectacular. Suddenly, several shells exploded not far from the bow of the "New York," making an earth-shattering sound and setting off a high wall of water. But. The U.S. [***] ship is still sailing and has not been significantly affected. Just as it was turning, the German fleet began another salvo, firing a new round of shells, which were much closer to the point of impact than the last. The waves from the violent explosion splashed on the bridge, and Vice Admiral Hawkes stood on the side of the bridge and angrily waved his fist at the German [***] ship.

"Fire! Fire! Captain Carpenter shouted.

After a brief hesitation, the main guns of the "New York" began the first salvo, and behind it the "Texas", "Wyoming" and "Arkansas" also opened fire. It may be that the Americans' character is too good, and the first salvo of the Americans hit the target.

Before the battleship "Kaiser Wilhelm the Great" could turn, the "New York" hit its bow with a single shot, exploding near the main turret, and the huge warship suddenly felt a terrible violent tremor.

"Right full rudder!" Frank yelled, "Hit it!" Hit it! ”

As if to respond to his roar, the turret of the "Wilhelm the Great" turned again and began a fierce salvo, and in the rear of the "Wilhelm", the "Frederick the Great", the "Empress Maria" and the "Blucher" also opened fire in turn

In the wheelhouse below, the helmsman turned the wheel with all his might, and the dial on the compass in front of him also turned.

Soon, the "Kaiser Wilhelm" was able to complete the steering maneuver with its high speed and excellent longitudinal surname, and drove side by side with the American fleet, and the Americans' plan to seize the "T" firing position fell through, and they had to start bombarding the Germans.

At this time, the Americans discovered that what they were facing was an unprecedentedly large fleet!

The flagship of the German fleet, the "Wilhelm the Great", was at the forefront at this time, and behind the "Wilhelm the Great" were three ships of the same class, "Frederick the Great", "Empress Maria" and "Blucher", and behind this battleship detachment, there were actually six battleships of the "Byrne" class!

After the end of the Battle of Deland, the Germans accelerated the pace of building new battleships, and due to the excellent performance of the battleships of the "Byrne" class, in order to enrich the battle fleet, the German Emperor Wilhelm II ordered the construction of two more "Byrne" class battleships, namely the "Mackensen" and "Frederick? Karl".

Compared with the original four ships of the same class, the "Mackensen" and "Frederick? The Karl was not much changed, it still used a 380-mm gun, the armor protection was correspondingly strengthened, the torpedo tubes were eliminated, and the speed was slightly increased. After the completion and commissioning of the "Mackensen" and "Frederick? The Karl had been deployed in the Baltic Sea and had fought many fierce battles with the Russian navy, but this time, the desperate Kaiser Wilhelm had incorporated them into Lot's bombardment fleet in order to achieve victory before the combined forces of the United States and China were gathered.

At this time, 4 American battleships had to deal with 10 German battleships.

The wind gradually became stronger, completely blowing away the residual fog on the sea, and for the first time the Americans saw all the main battleships of the Germans appear in front of them, many American sailors could not help but open their mouths wide.

The Americans realized what the Germans were here to do, and they were determined to fight to the death to buy time for the arrival of the main fleet.

Because in the port of Cherbourg behind them, there are not only the Japanese army, but also the American [***] team.

For a long time, because the United States deliberately vilified the Germans in order to build a campaign for war against Germany, the Germans were regarded by the Americans as an enemy of brutal aggression and killing innocents, a demon who specialized in cutting off the fingers of children and the breasts of young girls, and killing nuns and nurses.

The four American battleships desperately spat out the German ships in the face of the rain of bullets fired by the Germans, and the shells fired by both sides fell from the sky like a hurricane, and the entire sea surface boiled.

Under the fierce attack of the American sailors, the "New York" hit the "Wilhelm the Great" three times in succession with its main guns, which set the "Wilhelm the Great" on fire, and the "Texas" also hit the "Frederick the Great" twice, but the German artillery fire did not seem to be affected much, and they quickly overwhelmed the Americans. "New York" was then hit one after another by the 403-mm main guns of the "Kaiser Wilhelm", one of the main turrets was also torn off, and the gunners suffered heavy casualties for a while.

Suddenly, two 403-mm shells hit the stern of the "New York" in quick succession, and with a loud explosion, the speed of the "New York" began to slow down.

"Sir! The steering wheel won't move! The servo is damaged! The helmsman reported anxiously.

Vice Admiral Hawkes, who was on the bridge, felt a violent jolt from the hull. At this time, the telephone rang again, and the officer on duty took the call.

"Sir, it's from the cabin." He said to the captain.

"I'm the captain," Captain Carpenter took the microphone and nodded calmly as he listened to the report, "Yes,...... Right...... Very good. ”

As he hung up the microphone, the rattling vibration lessened, and the speed of the warship slowed down.

"Sir, our left host is parked." Carpenter said to Lieutenant General Hawkes, "The vibration hindered the rotation of the left thruster. ”

And just then, the phone rang again.

"Sir, it's from the damage management team."

"I'm the captain, okay,...... Good...... Great, keep it up! Carpenter said into the phone microphone.

"What's the situation?" Hawkes asked with a gloomy face,

"Sir. The servo was badly damaged and could no longer be tampered with. ”

"The Germans are so strong in firepower!" Lieutenant General Hawkes sighed, "We've only taken so many shots that we won't move." ”

"They have sixteen-inch cannons, sir." An officer said.

"We should no longer have hope of survival." Vice Admiral Hawkes looked out the window at the German battleships that were still spitting out long tongues of fire, and said to himself.

"I heard that before this, they had already sunk four of our battleships, two American and two original, isn't that so?" Lieutenant General Hawkes looked at his earth-colored subordinates and asked suddenly.

"That's right, sir." An officer reluctantly replied.

"How long will it take for the main fleet to arrive here?"

"I think it will be an hour at the earliest."

"Alright, let's consume their shells a little longer!" Hawkes looked at his watch, and his face suddenly turned hideous.

(To be continued)