"9 large warships? Well, that's right, it's Betty's fleet, and it seems that they want another Skagerrak-style battle at sea. I've always regretted not being able to experience that naval battle firsthand, and maybe today, I can make up for it! In the war room of the "Count Spee", Sorochin stared at the chart table and couldn't help but say with some excitement that in fact, if he wanted to, he ordered the fleet to speed up, and it was entirely possible to easily throw off the opponent before the British arrived. But he didn't want to.

The position of the fleet is now about the same distance from the southeastern corner of England as to the port of Brest in France.

"Inform General Willennik of the situation, order the supply fleet, go to Brest at full speed, and we continue to maintain cruising speed!" Sorochin's eyes were fixed on the chart table as he began to give orders.

Time flew by, and soon it was noon. On the bridge of the "Queen Elizabeth", Commodore Chatfield stood by Betty's side, watching the British capital warships ride the wind and waves on the sea and rush to the battlefield. By this time, the sea was less overcast, visibility was better, and there were occasional rays of sunlight in the middle of the clouds.

"General, why do we have to risk a decisive battle with the Germans now? The Bay of Biscay, though open, could still be a prison for the German navy. In fact, the blockade is more beneficial to us than the war. Chatfield said that the British fast fleet did not have an advantage over its opponents in comparison, and if the losses in a naval battle were too severe, it would be difficult to make up for it in the short term.

"The problem is that we don't have enough warships to blockade them now, the Germans and Austrians got French, Italian and even Russian shipyards, but our strength is still as strong as it was before the war. If the war drags on for a long time, Britain will definitely be dragged down. Now we desperately need a victory at sea to inspire the people's determination to keep fighting! Betty said with a blank face that the Royal Navy was currently under tremendous pressure from home, and if it could not achieve a victory in the short term, Britain could fall into chaos and eventually be forced to withdraw from the war.

"War, after all, there will be a winner!" Betty looked out at the sea with some mixed feelings, and fell into deep thought. At the beginning of the war, he was in high spirits and did not take the German fleet seriously at all. But as the war progressed, he felt more and more powerless, and most of his original pride and ambition were consumed.

"The 3rd cruiser detachment has already spotted the enemy fleet, the target is 30 nautical miles ahead!" The communications officer's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Betty's whole body shook as if she had woken up from a dream, and Shimoma looked ahead, and then said to the communications officer, "Order the ships to get ready for battle!" ”

The signal flag for the battle was raised at the flagship, the battle bell sounded on the ships, the officers and men began to run to the battle positions, and the huge gun muzzles of the warships were raised high and aimed at the sea in the distance.

"The battle is finally about to begin!" Betty said a word to Chatfield, and then hurried back to the command room inside the bridge.

Instead, the battle started first at the front.

Admiral Sorochin's fears were indeed quite justified, and the British warships "Kent" and "Cumberland" armored cruisers from Gibraltar were on combat cruises on the southern side of the Bay of Biscay. The clouds were thick in the sky, and the warships were constantly swaying and undulating in the wind and waves. The lookouts around the bridge were at their posts, using binoculars to search the sea surface in a regular manner.

On board the "Kent", after a sharp whistle from the ship's cable broadcasting system, the announcement began: "I am the captain, and now I will inform all the crew of the latest news, the German fleet is coming in our direction, and Admiral Betty will soon lead the fast fleet." Our task is to detect them and report them to the Admiralty in a timely manner. From now on, the whole ship is in combat mode! I need to remind you to try to keep a distance from the German ships, which are armed with 15-inch guns and can hit us from 15 nautical miles, so please be vigilant! ”

"Oh my God, fifteen-inch cannon! What does the Admiralty want us to do, to die in vain? Someone on the warship shouted. It is true that Britain built a large number of armored cruisers before the appearance of dreadnoughts, but since the appearance of battle cruisers, these armored cruisers have been in a very awkward position, and they simply cannot be put into combat except for light cruisers that can bully the enemy.

And now, with the advancement of technology, the new cruisers in service have exceeded 30 knots, and these old armored cruisers have become powerless to chase these cruisers at sea, and can only play the role of port guard. As the "Monmouth" class armored cruiser built in the communication period of the century, it has become too old in the face of the rapid development of naval technology, and when facing the enemy's battle cruisers, it will fall into a desperate situation of not being able to fight and not being able to escape.

It was past lunchtime, and the lookout on the Cumberland spotted in the telescope that there were several vague lines on the water antenna that were rapidly approaching.

"93 degrees on the port side, warship spotted!"

At this time, the outline of the target is getting larger and larger. Four large warships, which looked particularly formidable under the gray sky, were speeding in the direction of the British warships.

"Starboard 93 degrees, four warships!"

More than a dozen pairs of binoculars looked at the port side together, and Brigadier General Higgins, the commander of the formation on the "Kent", hurriedly gave the order: "10 degrees to the right, sail at full speed!" ”

"Send a report to the Admiralty." Higgins continued to give orders, and the two British armored cruisers fled with all their might towards the southern coast of England while constantly sending out reports.

At the same time, on the "Archduke Friedrich", Admiral Willenic remained in the war room, "General, do we continue to escort the convoy now or go after those two British cruisers?" The combat staff officer asked.

"According to the reconnaissance report of the coastal aircraft, there are no British warships in front, order the cruiser fleet to protect the supply fleet into Brest, and we will go after the British!" said the admiral.

"But it's hard, the English run faster than rabbits, and we have to get to the coast of England to catch up with them!" Schwarzenberg watched the sea in the distance through his telescope, "They were fleeing at full speed." ”

"But we're faster than them, so let's scare them with a few shots." "Let's go and follow Betty's fleet!" ”

"Understood, a high-explosive bomb!" As the order to prepare for fire was given, the turret commander took the telephone receiver in his hand and shouted to the soldiers in the turret: "One high-explosive round, start loading!" ”

With the sound of the humming friction of the hoist, two huge warheads weighing more than 900 kilograms and about a person high were transported from a depth of 13 meters below the "Beta" turret of the "Count Spee" to the inside of the turret. The bolt had been opened, and the four sailors pushed the warhead into the chamber with force with a push rod on the slipway. In the main ammunition depot under the turret, three heavy steel doors separate the passage between the ammunition depot and the turret ammo hoist.

As soon as the order to reload was given, the sailors, under the command of the officer, loaded the warheads and propellant packs assigned by the commander of the upper turret onto the flatbed cart, and then carried them to the loaf machine, where they laboriously carried the one-ton warheads onto the loader with a hanging chain. An electric hoist then lifts the warheads into the upper turret under heavy armor protection, and then reloads them into the chamber in turn.

This is followed by a propellant pack, which normally requires three packs of propellant weighing around 50 kg. If it is necessary to reduce the propellant, the shooting commander gives a special order.

"One high-explosive shell, reloaded!" After the turret commander has completed the reloading, he not only needs to use the microphone to report to the shooting commander above the bridge, but also to press the complete reload indicator.

"The elevation angle is 27 degrees, the azimuth is 186! Anton, Beta turret equipment! ”

After the firing commander gave instructions, the two huge turrets on the foredeck began to turn, the thick, cold barrels were fine-tuned, the black muzzles continued to rise, and finally, all five main guns were pointed at the front of the battleship at a large elevation angle.

Willenic then ordered the warship to open fire. A few seconds later, with a roar resounding across the sea, the Austro-Hungarian battleship began firing at a distance of 30,000 meters from the British warship.

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