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At two o'clock in the morning and half past two in the morning of May 31, hundreds of warships of the German Navy sailed out of the military port in two groups and entered the icy North Sea. Although the sea was dark at the moment, the morale of the officers and men of the German Navy was high, and they were convinced that this time they would recreate history and pull down the British, who had dominated the world's oceans for hundreds of years, from their position as hegemon, and then replace them.

After the German High Seas Fleet reconnaissance detachment led by Vice Admiral Hipper, sailed out of Wilhelmshaven, with eight battle cruisers as the core, formed several parallel columns and sailed westward.

At this time, the fleet usually marched in several parallel columns, which were relatively more mobile. A number of shorter columns can turn faster than a long serpentine formation, and can also transmit the signal of the flagship (usually at the head of the central column) to the entire fleet more quickly. In a long line of snakes, the signal from the flagship at the head of the column often takes 10 minutes or more to be transmitted to the last ship of the column, because the black smoke coming from the battleship's chimney makes it difficult to make out the signals sent from the front and back, and each ship has to repeat the message it receives to the ship behind it (or in front). And since many messages must be acknowledged by each ship before they can be implemented, the time wasted can be doubled.

In actual combat, fleets often line up in columns to meet enemy ships before exchanging fire. This requires the ships led by each column to lead the ships they lead to turn left or right to form a suitable formation. Since the fleets of both warring sides are traveling at high speeds, fleet commanders need to send reconnaissance fleets (usually composed of battlecruisers and cruisers) to report the enemy's position, speed, course, etc., so that the fleet can form the most favorable formation to meet the enemy ships as soon as possible. The reconnaissance fleet should also try to prevent the opposing reconnaissance fleet from obtaining similar information.

Ideally, your own column is exactly on the path of the opposing fleet. Form a T-shaped or T-shaped shape (your fleet is positioned in a T-shaped position) so that all of your front and rear guns and all guns on one side can be aimed at the opponent, and only the front main guns of the ship at the front of the column can return fire. But a large part of the plan to form a T-shaped formation depends on luck: since both sides are advancing at high speed, it is likely that because the timing is not right, the guide himself will change from a horizontal to a vertical T, and thus be passively beaten.

The reconnaissance detachment of the High Seas Fleet led by Vice Admiral Hipper is responsible for reporting the enemy's position, speed, course, and other information, and after discovering the enemy, it quickly reports the enemy's information to the main fleet. It is convenient for the main fleet to quickly adjust and prepare for battle. Also, according to Reinhardt. Admiral Schell drew up a plan, Vice Admiral Hipper also needed to lead a reconnaissance detachment to launch a surprise attack on the British fleet tasked with blockading the German coast, and to lay mines on the British coast, etc. This qiē. All in order to deplete the strength of the British Navy as much as possible. After all, the British Navy had more battleships and battlecruisers than the German Navy. The German Navy did not know that at this moment the main forces of the British Navy had also entered the North Sea, and the fleets of both sides were approaching. The Great War is about to begin.

Vice Admiral Hipper's flagship was the battlecruiser De Vorlinger, the most powerful battlecruiser in the German Navy, with a full load displacement of 31,000 tons and four twin 305 mm guns. 14 single-mounted 150-mm secondary guns, 12 single-mounted 88-mm rapid-fire guns. The horizontal armor was up to 300 mm thick, the deck armor was 80 mm thick, and the turret armor was 150 mm thick. The maximum speed is 26 knots.

"Colonel Feng, who do you think is more powerful than the Imperial Navy and the Chinese Navy this time?" On the bridge of the battlecruiser De Fringel, Vice Admiral Hippert asked a young Asian man beside him. Lieutenant General Hipper is only 49 years old. It's a time to be energetic. Even though it was early in the morning, he didn't feel sleepy at all. A young Asian man beside him. Colonel Feng Zhongsheng, a staff officer of the Chinese Admiralty, was part of the observation mission sent by the Chinese Navy to Germany.

"Your Excellency General, I have to admit that your country's navy is very good in terms of the performance of its warships and the plain performance of its soldiers, and if it is compared with the Chinese navy, it should be on par!" Colonel Feng Zhongsheng replied with a smile on his face. As a senior staff officer of the Admiralty, he certainly knew that the main direction of the development of the Chinese Navy had changed, and it had long since moved from battleships to aircraft carriers. This time, the Admiralty sent an observation mission to Europe, mainly to find out the strength of the European naval powers. However, neither the victory of the British Navy nor the German Navy will pose much of a threat to the Chinese Navy. The Chinese Navy's four 'Emeishan-class' aircraft carriers have already been put into service, and carrier-based aviation units are being trained and will soon be able to form combat effectiveness. In addition, in the Navy's shipyards, five more powerful 'Gotake-class' aircraft carriers are being built. Compared with the Western Navy, which is using battleships to fight each other, the Chinese Navy is once again at the forefront of the world.

"Yes, the Chinese Navy is as strong as the German Navy. We will replace the old navy, which is already decaying and backward! Lieutenant General Hipperl said with a smile. Of course, deep down in his heart he would not have thought that the German Navy was inferior to the Chinese Navy. And, this time, the German Navy will make history. He was convinced that victory must have belonged to the great German Imperial Navy.

Follow Reinhardt. Admiral Schell's plan, the main forces of the German High Seas Fleet under his command would be fifty nautical miles behind Vice Admiral Hipper's reconnaissance detachment. Once Vice Admiral Hipper had completed his mission and had encountered the British Navy, he would draw the enemy to the main forces of the High Seas Fleet. And at that time, the main forces of the High Seas Fleet, having completed combat readiness, were going to deal a fatal blow to the British fleet. At that time, the German Navy's high seas fleet will be able to regain its inferiority. And take advantage of the situation to defeat the British Navy!

At 5 a.m., British Admiral John Murphy. The main force of the British Navy's home fleet led by Jericho began to turn, and the fleet turned 50 degrees east-south at a speed of 16 knots. Vice Admiral Betty's detachment of battlecruisers converged.

Half past five, Reinhardt. Admiral Scheer received a report from the submarine U23, which stated that two battleships, two cruisers and several destroyers were spotted and were heading southeast.

Before the decisive battle began, the German Navy sent a large number of submarines into the North Sea, on the one hand, looking for opportunities to attack the British Navy's warships and merchant ships, and on the other hand, it was also responsible for reconnaissance missions, providing the High Seas Fleet with the movements of the British Navy.

At half past six o'clock, Admiral Scheer received a report from the U66 submarine that eight battleships were moving northeast under the escort of several cruisers and destroyers, and Admiral Scheer decided to keep the fleet course unchanged.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Admiral Schell kept the main forces of the High Seas Fleet fifty nautical miles behind the battle cruiser detachment of the Hipper's fleet, and all the capital ships of the High Seas Fleet except the "King" and "Thuringia" had joined.

On the British naval side, John . Admiral Jericho and David. Vice Admiral Betty had received an error in the information, and the intelligence reported that the main force of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet was still in the harbor. This information misled them. However, even if there was only a detachment of battle cruisers in the German Navy, they did not want to give up, and if they could kill the eight battle cruisers of the German Navy, they could further weaken the strength of the German Navy. Therefore, John. Admiral Jericho ordered Davy. Vice Admiral Betty led the LinkedIn Navy's battle cruiser detachment on its way, while he followed with the main force of the LinkedIn Navy's home fleet.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Betty and Hipper's fleets were 50 nautical miles apart, and the two fleets were in a parallel position, but the other was not detected because of errors in the calculation of the intended positions by both sides. Just when a big battle was about to pass by, it happened that an irregular (the Danish steamer "Strait" passed through the sea between the advances of the two fleets, and the ship emitted an unusually large amount of steam, which aroused the alarm of both sides. Hipper ordered the light cruiser "Elpin" (originally built by the Russian Navy and received by the German Navy after the war) and two destroyers to reconnoitre, and Betty also sent the light cruiser "Galatea" to investigate.

At 2:20 p.m., the "Galatea" reported: "There are two ships heading east-southeast and appear to be enemy ships." Betty ordered the fleet to turn the rudder in a south-southeast direction. However, due to a signal error, the 5th battleship detachment turned late. The 1st detachment of light cruisers was sent to support the "Galatea". At 2:28 p.m., the Galatea was hit on the bridge by a 150-mm shell from the Elpin, but fortunately the shell did not explode - the Battle of Jutland officially began. Due to a communication failure, the report originally from the Elpin could not be read. Hipper did not change the course of the fleet.

At 2:32 p.m., David. Vice Admiral Betty ordered all battlecruisers to speed up to 24 knots.

At 2:52 p.m., Vice Admiral Hippel discovered a communication malfunction, re-read the report of the "Elpin", and then led a group to move closer to the ship. At the same time to Reinhardt in the back. Admiral Scheer sent a telegram of possible encounters with the British fleet.

At 3:32 p.m., the German Navy's reconnaissance detachment led by Vice Admiral Hipper. The British naval battle cruiser detachment led by Vice Admiral Betty discovered each other almost simultaneously. The Anglo-German decisive battle at sea would begin with a duel between the battlecruisers of both sides.