The main theme of this European war was the Anglo-German struggle for hegemony, but the Austrians played the role of spoilers during this period. Before the war, the British leadership had no idea that the declining Habsburg dynasty would have such an impact on the outcome of the war. In terms of war capability, Austria-Hungary could not fight Russia alone, and on the Eastern Front, whenever the Russians began to attack, the Austro-Hungarian army abandoned the occupied lands and even its own territory, retreated to the Carpathian line, which was conducive to defense, waited for reinforcements from the German army, and then launched a counterattack together.

They have never fought alone against the offensive of the Russian army.

The only achievement they can be proud of is that in the face of the incompetent Italian army, they finally showed the momentum of a European power, and it took only three months to completely defeat the whole of Italy. The British did not really pay attention to Austria-Hungary until this time, but unfortunately it was too late.

Due to the existence of the Austro-Hungarian navy, Britain gradually lost control of the Mediterranean, and the war throughout North Africa and the Middle East became more and more passive, and by the time the Austro-Hungarian army opened up their connection with Turkey, in fact, on the battlefield, the Germans had been able to contend with the British and French for a long time due to the material support from the East.

The same was true in the maritime theater, where the British Fast Fleet had not been able to gain the upper hand in the face of the original Hippert fleet simply because of two Austro-Hungarian battle cruisers.

Now they have reappeared, and now they are four main battleships. This is an important force that can change the balance of power between the two sides and the outcome of the naval battle.

"Queen Elizabeth" raised the signal flag of "all retreat", and the British fleet began to turn to the left, gradually widening the distance from the Sorochin fleet.

Admiral Villenik led the main Austro-Hungarian fleet to the battlefield, just in time to meet the "Australia", which was covered in smoke and was fleeing quickly. The poor battleship had just escaped from the tiger's mouth and fell into the wolf's den again. Looking at the four main Austro-Hungarian ships blocking the way in front, the captain, Colonel Moore, finally knew what it was like to be desperate.

Only a few minutes later, the "Australia" was hit by the Austro-Hungarian battleship, lost its ability to fight back, and floated on the sea, almost unable to move.

"Abandon the ship!" In order to avoid the capture of the battleship, Moore reluctantly ordered the opening of the sea valve at the bottom of the ship and ordered the ship to be abandoned. The Austro-Hungarian fleet saw that they had lowered their lifeboats and stopped firing. Seeing that the "Australia" began to sink slowly, Willenic ordered the fleet to turn around and continue to intercept Betty's fleet.

Now even Admiral Beatty, who was known for his bravery, was a little frightened, and if his fleet suffered heavy losses, there would be little power in the North Atlantic to stop the German-Austrian navy from galloping, and Britain would soon have to swallow the bitter pill of defeat because of the loss of its bargaining chips.

At this moment, the British fleet had completed its turn and temporarily disengaged from the German fleet, and Sorochin also began to adjust its course, chasing after him. The German fleet was faster than Betty's warships, and Betty had to go to great lengths to return safely to England. By this time, the New Zealand had run 15 nautical miles away, and after extinguishing the fire, the captain asked Betty if he needed them to return.

Betty ordered the "New Zealand" to return alone, and he himself led five battleships to protect the badly damaged "Tiger" and retreated north. They also need to fight to the death and break through the interception of the Austro-Hungarian fleet.

At 4:15 p.m., the battle resumed, and the British and Austro-Hungarian fleets faced each other, and at a distance of 17,000 meters, artillery battles began again.

With Sorochin in pursuit, Betty did not dare to fight, and led the fleet to fight back while quickly retreating northward. The Austro-Hungarian fleet was much more calm, keeping its speed at about 15 knots, and the accuracy and accuracy of its shelling were much higher than those of British ships moving at high speed.

Willennik commanded the Austro-Hungarian fleet in ambushing the retreating British fleet, but the sight of the Austro-Hungarian ships was not very good, and the British fleet was to the east of them, and its figure was occasionally hidden under the gray sky. The clouds in the sky were thick, and the light on the sea was not easy to catch.

Sorochin's fleet also caught up from behind, and the German and Austro-Hungarian fleets, which were rapidly approaching, sandwiched the British fleet in the middle, and concentrated their fire on the "War Weary" and "Malaya" at the end of the British ships. At 4:35 a.m., a shell hit the rear turret of the "Malaya", and a large fire broke out on the aft deck of the entire warship. Then two shells hit its port side accurately, and almost all of its secondary guns were destroyed.

A large hole was torn 10 feet below the starboard waterline of the "War Wey", and it suddenly tilted 4 degrees to the right, and fuel spilled rapidly through the breach. However, the two British battleships continued to sail at a reduced speed, and the battleships that the British spent 2.5 million pounds to build were really worth the money, and they were still able to maintain a certain combat effectiveness after being bombarded by dozens of shells.

But that was the end of the good fortune of the British, and just as the Austro-Hungarian fleet was about to stagger with them, the battleship "War-Wey" slammed into it, pouring out a large amount of steam from the amidships of the warship, and instantly enveloping the entire warship. The boiler compartment of the "War Wey" was pierced by a shell, and the speed was reduced.

"War Weathiness" made a banner and told Betty to leave it alone and continue to break through. Unable to run away anyway, Captain Ferguson decided to stay and put up a stubborn resistance to buy time for the retreat of Betty's fleet.

"The 'War Weathiness' is over!" Betty couldn't help but close her eyes when she got the news, but what could he do? Reflexively go back? It is possible to bury the entire fleet.

The war-weary's stubborn resistance bought Betty time to escape, and by thirty minutes its hull had been battered to pieces, almost losing its original shape, and smoke was spewing violently from all directions. The superstructure has almost been razed to the ground, the chimneys and masts have been broken, and the bridge has collapsed and deformed. Under the thick smoke, on the gloomy and gray hull, high red tongues of fire burst out.

Now, its decks were almost parallel to the sea, besieged by a dozen German-Austrian warships, and it was amazing that a few people on board were still alive in the flames and explosions. They climbed out of the dilapidated deck and jumped from below the flaming warship into the rolling sea.

Both Admiral Sorochin and Admiral Willennik looked somewhat helpless, and due to the experience of the Battle of Skagerrak, the German battlecruisers eliminated underwater torpedo tubes during repairs and refits, while the Austro-Hungarian capital battleships were designed with torpedo launchers.

Admiral Sorochin could only call the only devoyant fleet to the south to rush over and torpedo the war-weary.

"Do you want to pursue it?" Admiral Willenic asked the "Count Spee" with a light on board the "Grand Duke Friedrich".

"Forget it, let's go back now!" Sorochin replied.

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