At noon, the German fleet slowed down, and sensing that it was out of danger, Admiral Sorochin ordered the fleet to temporarily slow down and prepare to refuel the destroyers.

The destroyer approached the tanker, then about 50 meters from the tanker, side by side at the slowest speed of 4 knots, and three arm-thick oil pipes were pulled to the destroyer along the cable connecting between the two ships, and then stuck on the pipe interface on the deck to the frontal oil storage tank.

The shriveled pipes bulged and began to refuel the destroyers, which had consumed more than half of their fuel since they had sailed about 1,800 nautical miles.

The problem was that the German-Austrian fleet was at this time on the path of the American fleet.

The American cruisers "Chattanoo" and "Porter" and "McDogel" were rushing forward about 15 nautical miles in front of the flagship. Since it was already noon, the crew had begun to have lunch, and the lookouts who were on guard were also changing shifts. In the foremast observation tower of the "Chattanou", Patrick, the new observer on the shift, with a full beard, sat on the swivel chair on duty, put his eyes in front of the high-powered monoculars like a small cannon barrel, and began to slowly rotate the telescope, scanning the sea antenna in the distance.

The mast observation tower was located on the highest point of the battleship, but it could only accommodate three lookouts at the same time, and was equipped with only one high-powered telescope, while the other two used hand-held binoculars to scan the sea back and forth. After a while, Patrick felt as if he had seen something...... and he looked at it more closely. …… There are several vague streaks on the water antenna that are slowly drifting into the air.

"Starboard 168 degrees, smoke column found!"

At this time, the captain of the "Chattanou", Colonel House, was having lunch, and on duty was the navigator Major Luhn, because the masthead lookout reported that only three plumes of smoke had been found, and Major Lune did not think that they would be German warships, because according to the report, the German fleet that entered the North Atlantic was full of more than 20 warships, and if they were discovered, then there would definitely be a large plume of smoke on the sea.

As the German destroyers were refueling, the speed of the entire German-Austrian fleet was reduced to a minimum, and only a very faint green smoke came out of the chimney, which was blown by the sea breeze and then dissipated, and the smoke was almost invisible in the distance. Only the three cruisers patrolling the outside were the first to be spotted because they had maintained their speed all the time.

Major Lune thought it might be a few neutral merchant ships, but he ordered the destroyer USS Porter to take a look. "Chattanou" gave a signal to "Potter", and soon the destroyer picked up speed and flew in the direction of the target at a speed of 27 knots.

Several columns of smoke on the surface of the sea became clearer, and observers on the bridge could already see some traces. Then Patrick reported, "Sir, those columns of smoke are coming in our direction!" ”

"Can you tell what ship it is?" Luan asked.

"Can't see clearly, sir." Patrick replied, "But I think they're warships, and they're turning in our direction right now, and they're fast!" ”

As Luan was hesitating whether to sound the battle alarm, the destroyer USS Porter, which was about four nautical miles ahead, suddenly flashed its light signal, and the situation immediately became clear.

"Discovery-Enemy-Man-Ship-Team!" The signal chief read the signal from the "Porter" word by word, and the destroyer in front of it was making a large circle on the surface of the sea and began to turn around and run back. Immediately afterwards, the lookout reported loudly, "The 'Porter' raised the signal flag and spotted the enemy ship!" ”

Major Lune immediately ordered: "Sound the battle alarm!" ”

Woo...... Woo...... A terrible siren sounded on the sea, and soon the figure of Captain House appeared on the bridge, "What's going on?" The colonel asked breathlessly.

"The enemy's fleet has been discovered!" Major Lune said, but it was not yet possible to figure out the specifics.

At this time, the outline of the warship could already be discerned under the three columns of smoke on the sea, and the three cruisers were approaching at high speed in the direction where they were.

"Left full rudder!" Colonel House gave the order quickly, and he did not want to fight with the superior enemy. Then a telegram was received from the "Porter": the enemy fleet was found, and the number was about 20-30 ships!

"Send a report to the Admiralty immediately." Captain House glanced at the telegram and handed it back to the communications officer.

"Express: German battlecruiser formation was discovered, located at 26 degrees west longitude and 51 degrees north latitude, heading southeast." With the "Chattanoo" telegraph room coming out of the "Di Di ...... Click-......", news of the discovery of the German fleet was immediately transmitted to the Admiralty in London or Washington.

Subsequently, in the Admiralty War Room in London, Rear Admiral Brandt, the Chief of Operations on duty, was on duty, and a junior officer came over and reported to him: "General, I just received a telegram of the special grade. ”

Rear Admiral Brandt read the telegram and said, "Great, the Americans have discovered the whereabouts of the German fleet, their location is ......," he pointed to the charts and said, "It's here." ”

The people in the war room became excited, and everyone rejoiced, as if they had won a battle.

"Inform Admiral Betty and Chalmers of the present position of the enemy's fleet, and, in an additional manner, report the matter immediately to the Lord of the Admiralty." Major General Brandt said.

"Didn't you inform General Jericho?" Colonel Justin asked.

"Notify me." The Rear Admiral's face became a little gloomy, the German fleet shelled Newcastle and Middlesbrough, and the British Home Fleet had engaged in another brief naval engagement with the German High Seas Fleet west of the Dogger Sandbank three days earlier, with several battleships on each side suffering heavy losses. After about two hours of artillery fighting, both sides returned home. Due to Jellicoe's cautious personality, the British fleet did not dare to pursue the main forces of the German fleet, which had completed the attack on the British coast.

Although the wartime Cabinet concealed the truth from the public, the attacks on two major cities on the British coast caused an uproar in the country, and the people took aim at the Admiralty.

"Betty's fleet is currently on the west side of the island of Ireland and is moving north, so to speak......," Colonel Justin gestured across two fingers on the chart, "perhaps it will take more than a day for them to meet the German fleet, and we need to send nearby cruisers to keep an eye on them first." ”

"Well, how many cruisers are there in this sea area?"

“…… It should be five, and three more a little further away. Colonel Justin said.

"Order them to rush over and follow the enemy." Rear Admiral Brandt said, then sighed, "It is difficult for Chalmers's fleet to reach the battlefield before the enemy enters the Bay of Biscay, the speed of the 'Revenge' class is too slow, and if Marshal Fischer is still in the position of Minister of the Admiralty, the cabinet will never allow the cabinet to cut the budget of this class of warships." Now the consequences are already being felt, and the battleships we built after the 'Queen' class are lagging behind the 'Queen' class in terms of speed and defense due to the limitations of the Navy's budget. ”

"What are you worried about?" Colonel Justin asked.

"The situation is not too rosy, even if Betty catches up with the German fleet, we still have no chance of winning, although we have five 'Queen Elizabeth' class to support it, but after all, our damn battle cruisers have serious design flaws." Rear Admiral Brandt said with a solemn face, "The results of the recent battle of the Dogger Sandbank also show that our Grand Fleet has no advantage against the German High Seas Fleet, and Poseidon's Trident has been lost in our hands. ”

"We can only do our best, and we will try to keep our honor!" Colonel Justin said.

The communications officer sent another telegram: "Sir, this is the position, course and speed of the German fleet, the American cruiser engaged in a brief exchange of fire with the German fleet, after which they retreated, and have now lost the position of their target. ”

Soon, Admiral Churchill and Admiral Oliver, Chief of Staff of the Navy, also came to the war room. The atmosphere here has changed significantly, and there is a sense of excitement and confidence everywhere. Except for Rear Admiral Brandt, who seemed a little worried, everyone was very excited.

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