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The main forces of the German High Seas Fleet and the main forces of the British Home Fleet approached at high speed, and both sides were constantly adjusting their positions in order to be able to seize advantageous positions at the beginning of the naval battle. It's already half past six in the afternoon, and the sun is already sinking to the sea level, but it's almost summer, and it's getting dark late. The largest steel collision in human history will begin this evening.

The main battleships of the British Navy's home fleet were also divided into several battlefleets. Seven 'Iron Duke-class' battleships formed the First Battlefleet, which was led by John Brown. Admiral Jericho personally commanded. Four 'King George V-class' battleships and four 'Orion-class' battleships formed the Second Battlefleet, commanded by British Vice Admiral Patrick. Three 'giant-class' battleships and four 'Neptune' battleships formed the Third Battlefleet, which was commanded by Rear Admiral Kanamori. Six 'St. Vincent-class' battleships formed the Fourth Battlefleet, commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas. Six 'Burlerophon-class' battleships and one 'dreadnought-class' battleship formed the Fifth Battlefleet, commanded by Rear Admiral Kent. There was also the Sixth Battleship consisting of five hidden 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships, commanded by Vice Admiral Root.

The 35 battleships of the British Navy formed a long battle line on the sea, with the 1st Battlefleet in front and the 5th Battlefleet behind. Defeated Davy. Vice Admiral Betty boarded the battlecruiser Indomitable and followed at the back of the battle line. As for the battered battlecruiser HMS Royal Princess, it returned to the British mainland under the escort of several destroyers. The British Navy's battle cruiser squadron, with the exception of the battle cruiser Indomitable, had been sunk or severely damaged by the German Navy, and the once formidable battle cruiser squadron had already existed in name only. Such a result makes David. Lieutenant General Betty could not accept it. He wanted to be able to see John. The main force of the home fleet led by Vice Admiral Jericho avenged him. Even now the five 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships of the Sixth Battlefleet have not yet appeared. But he still had strong confidence in the home fleet, which had 35 battleships.

The German Navy's High Seas Fleet also completed its pre-war deployment, with 29 battleships and 5 battlecruisers forming a long battle line. The 1st Battlefleet was in front, the 2nd Battlefleet in turn, and finally the 4th Battlefleet in the end. In addition, Vice Admiral Hipper, with five battle cruisers that were still able to continue the battle, followed behind the Fourth Battlefleet. So that there was almost no difference in the number of warships that made up the battle line between the two sides. Around the two long battle lines were light cruisers and destroyers on both sides, which were used to protect the battle line from torpedoes fired by the enemy's small warships.

At 6:40 p.m., the distance between the two sides had been shortened to 12,000 kilometers, and the course was heading northwest at the moment. Commander of the British Home Fleet, John Brown. Admiral Jericho and German High Seas Fleet Commander Reinhardt. Admiral Scheer after discovering that he could not grab a favorable position. They all tacitly chose to turn in the direction of reunification. so that they can engage in a heroic duel, like the heavy cavalry in heavy armor in the Middle Ages, armed with sharp knights' spears, and unleash a heroic charge.

The reason for such a tacit understanding is undoubtedly that both commanders have great confidence in their respective fleets. On the German side. The battle cruiser detachment of the British Navy was basically wiped out, and the gap in the number of capital ships of the two sides had narrowed to two. And the German Navy also had powerful 'Bavaria-class' battleships that could defeat any battleship of the British Navy. In addition to the numerical superiority of the British side, the five 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships of the Sixth Battlefleet that were rushing to the battlefield undoubtedly made John . Admiral Jericho is very confident. At the same time, there are four 'Pennsylvania-class' battleships and four 'Nevada-class' battleships of the US Navy hidden in the dark, who will deal a fatal blow to the German Navy at the most critical moment. It is these factors. Make John. Admiral Jericho was confident of victory, and even though the previous battlecruiser detachment suffered heavy losses, it did not take him too seriously.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The battleships 'Iron Duke' and 'Marlborough' of the British Navy were the first to open fire, and the target was the battleship 'Bavaria'. Because the British Navy had a numerical advantage of two. This makes John. Admiral Jericho was able to mobilize four battleships to attack two of the German Navy's powerful 'Bavaria-class' battleships while the firepower was being distributed. The remaining two 'Bavaria-class' battleships can only be fought by two 'Iron Duke-class' battleships. As for the remaining battleships, they took a one-on-one duel.

Just as the battleships "Iron Duke" and "Marlborough" opened fire on the battleship "Bavaria". The 'Ben Bau' and the 'Emperor of India', which were behind these two battleships, also opened fire on the 'Baden'. It's just that even the British Navy is very high. But firing at a distance of 12,000 kilometers, the deviation of the shells was still 500 meters away.

The British fleet was the first to open fire, and the German fleet immediately launched a fierce counterattack. For a time, nearly 70 capital ships of both sides combined engaged in a fierce exchange of fire in the North Sea. The cannon roared, the smoke filled the air, and the entire North Sea was almost boiling.

Judging by the level of artillery bombardment on both sides, the British fleet is undoubtedly a little stronger, and the accumulation of the British Navy over the centuries is not completely useless. However, with the assistance of advanced range-finding instruments and a complete set of fire control systems, the German Navy did not have to inferiorly inferior to the British Navy in its artillery bombardment, but on the contrary, it won somewhat. In the first round of salvo fire, even though the battleship "Bavaria" was facing the siege of two "Iron Duke-class" battleships, the nearest impact point in the salvo fired at the "Iron Duke" was still within 200 meters. This table of the German Navy made the commander of the British Home Fleet, Johann. Admiral Jericho felt a little more worried.

In naval warfare, luck is very important. It is not uncommon for one side to have better luck and turn the tide of battle. It's just that in this almost evenly matched naval battle, neither side seems to have had much luck. If you want to defeat your opponents, you may only rely on their true strength. And who will win the final victory will only be revealed at the end of the naval battle.

At 6:52 p.m., in a fierce battle, the British Navy made its first victory, and the battleship "Thor" of the British Navy's Second Battlefleet hit the battleship "Oldenburg" of the German Navy's Second Battlefleet. The battleship Raytheon was the fourth ship of the Orion class battleships of the British Navy, while the battleship Oldenburg was the fourth ship of the Helgoland class battleships of the German Navy. However, the 'Helgoland-class' battleships used the design blueprints of the Chinese Navy's 'Qin-class' battleships, and even though they have been in service for several years, they still do not lag behind the British Navy's battleships in terms of performance. Compared with the 'Orion-class' battleships, it is only a level smaller in the caliber of the main guns. But judging by the naval artillery technology of the German Navy, even the 305 mm guns were not much worse than the 343 mm guns of the British Navy.

The battleship "Thor" hit the No. 2 turret on the foredeck of the "Oldenburg". However, the armor-piercing shell exploded when it touched the turret armor. Although all the German sailors inside were killed, the armor of the turret was not torn apart. After a few minutes of command, the backup gunner commanded, and the main gun continued to fire. However, the British fleet hit its opponents first, which still boosted the morale of the British fleet. And this seems to have set a precedent, and after that, both sides continued to have warships hit.

At 6:56 p.m., the rear main gun of the battleship 'Emperor of India' hit the port side of the battleship 'Baden'. Blew up one of the secondary guns of the battleship 'Baden', and at the same time, left a large hole in the deck on the port side. If this shell had gone a few meters further and exploded near the waterline, the battleship "Baden" would have been left without food.

However, the battleship 'Baden' was then returned to color. In two minutes, a 381-mm armor-piercing shell fired from the forward main gun of the battleship "Baden" hit the No. 1 main gun on the foredeck of the battleship "Benbau". This armor-piercing projectile pierced through the frontal armor of the turret up to 280 mm thick and exploded inside the turret, completely destroying the main gun, causing the battleship Ben Bao to lose one-fifth of its firepower.

At 7:04 p.m., the battleship Hercules of the Third Battlefleet of the British Navy hit the battleship East Prussia of the Second Battlefleet of the German Navy. In this salvo, among the ten 305-mm armor-piercing shells, in addition to one accurate hit on the battleship 'East Prussia', there was also a close miss. What really dealt a fatal blow to the battleship 'East Prussia' was not the armor-piercing bullet that hit, but the near-miss. The armor-piercing shell that hit the battleship 'East Prussia' only left a large hole in the foredeck of the battleship 'East Prussia', killing a dozen sailors on deck. But this near-miss, but it sent the battleship 'East Prussia' directly to the bottom of the sea.

The near-miss bomb exploded about 20 meters from the rear side of the port side of the battleship 'East Prussia', and the huge water pressure generated tore through the underwater armor of the battleship 'East Prussia', causing a large opening several meters wide. The sea entered the battleship 'East Prussia' in a raging manner, and the damage control personnel were powerless. In less than ten minutes of command, the battleship 'East Prussia' capsized on the surface of the sea, becoming the first battleship of the German Navy to be sunk!