At noon on August 9, a light rain began to fall in the sky, and the fleet was driving in the rain and fog, and the visibility was even lower.

At the same time, Vice Admiral La Perel, commander of the French Mediterranean Fleet, was leading a French fleet of four battleships and four cruisers to the sea in a state of madness. In order to confuse the enemy, Rear Admiral Sorochin first ran to the French North African port of Jena in Tunisia, and after shelling and sabotaging the troop carriers in the harbor, he turned back to the east.

The French, anxious to seize the "Goeben" for revenge, did not expect to run into the Austro-Hungarian fleet.

From time to time there were raindrops on the sea, and at this time on the armored cruiser "Defense", the flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Rear Admiral Dobreser was somewhat hesitant. The German battlecruisers with 10 11-inch guns were much more powerful than the armored cruisers in his hands, and the instructions from London were to try to avoid engaging an enemy with the upper hand, but he could not watch the Germans flee from under his nose.

But the staff officer told him that the German warships might use their speed to distance themselves and then attack him incessantly, and that the British armored cruisers were armed with 203-mm guns, while the Germans' 280-mm guns had a range not inferior to those of 305-mm guns.

Although there were later examples of battles that proved that four armored cruisers like the "Defense" were enough to drag a battle cruiser like the "Goeben" to death, Dobrasse did not have the courage to do so, and he chose to wait. Admiral Milne's two battle cruisers were still approaching about 80 nautical miles behind, while the other four older former dreadnoughts were further behind.

This allowed Sorochin to calmly lead the fleet to escape from the British.

Milne and Dobrasseur were dismissed as a result of this, and were never reused.

"Discover a fleet about 25 nautical miles to the southeast, General!" The battle alarm aboard the "United Forces" suddenly sounded, and a shrill buzz echoed across the sea.

The stern-looking communications officer reported the new situation to Lecheldon, and the destroyer "Zara", which was conducting a search in the right front, spotted the enemy's traces and sent back a telegram. At this point, he was faced with two choices, to retreat or to move forward to block the enemy's advance.

There was a rush of footsteps on the bridge and deck, and the officers shouted to their men to run to their positions. The staff officers in the war room let out a cheer of excitement, and the news swept away the depression that had plagued them for hours—they had thought that there was no chance of fighting on this voyage.

Many people feared that they would not be able to find any trace of the British, that the rain and fog from the sea interfered with the view, and that it was calculated that the British had now entered Cape Matapan and it would be difficult to catch up with them.

The operational staff officers were nervous and worried, and as time went on, their disappointment grew, even as the rain and fog thinned.

Until the lookout of the "Zara" saw the target.

This is surprising, could it be that the British have given up their pursuit of Sorochin and are preparing to return home?

Either way, it was nerve-wracking to enter the sea battle they had hoped for.

Lehedon entered the command room and walked to the chart table, where the staff officers had placed a model of the enemy fleet in the southern Ionian Sea, and it was obvious that the fleet was also aiming for the "Goburn".

"Send a telegram to General Negovan where they are now." Lehydon decided to break the radio silence, which was no longer useful, and the entire fleet continued to move forward in its current course.

"Report, General Negovan called, they are about 25 nautical miles behind us." Approximately ten minutes later, the Communications Officer reported to him. At this time, the opposite fleet also discovered their whereabouts and began to turn towards their position. The two fleets approached rapidly at a relative speed of 40 knots per hour, and after 15 minutes, they were within range of each other.

"Order the cruisers and destroyers to withdraw from the battlefield, and the battleship detachments to prepare to meet the enemy! In addition, General Negovan was ordered to come at full speed with the fleet. "Lehedon immediately decided, he needed to fight with the enemy, if he could stop the enemy, it was best, if not, he could feign not to retreat to the north of the Ionian Sea, and lure the enemy into pursuit.

"The target is about 20 nautical miles away!" The communications officer continued to report the information received from the "Zara", and if the weather was fine, the lookout would now be able to see the enemy, but the sea was gray and nothing could be seen. Heldon felt his heart beat faster, and although he seemed calm on the surface, it was indeed the first time he had experienced such a situation.

"Order the cruisers and destroyers to withdraw from the battlefield, and the battleship detachments to prepare to meet the enemy! In addition, General Negovan was ordered to come at full speed with the fleet. "Lehedon immediately decided, he needed to fight with the enemy, if he could stop the enemy, it was best, if not, he could feign not to retreat to the north of the Ionian Sea, and lure the enemy into pursuit.

Although the enemy is not visible yet, they will soon be within their range.

The fleet began to turn, plunging into the front of the enemy's course, and the huge guns on the battleship turned slowly to point in the direction of the target. As the distance closes, the lookouts can already see the target at sea: the opposing side is a fleet of eight warships, instead of the previous five!

Helton could easily have judged that this was the enemy's fleet, and that it was impossible for Italy to send such a large fleet in the present situation, and that the only people who could cruise the Mediterranean on such a scale were the French. The Austro-Hungarian fleet quickly took up battle formation, and the battle flags were raised on each battleship, but Vice Admiral La Perel was a little hesitant, could it be the British on the other side?

The sea became foggy due to light rain, and it was impossible to see the other party's flags clearly.

"Target 9100, 12 degrees to the right of the azimuth!" It was only at such a close distance that the gunnery commander latched on to the target for the first time, and quickly reported the number jù.

Pachner walked up to Lehedon, who had been observing the sea, and asked, "Your Excellency? ”

At first he didn't get a reply, until another dozen seconds passed. Finally, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who had been silent, as if he had no idea what was happening around him, raised his right hand: "Inform the ships, fire!" ”

At 2:37 p.m., about 9,000 meters apart, the Frenchman's flagship "Lone Pull" flashed signal lights to interrogate each other's identities.

They were answered by a rumbling burst of artillery in the distance, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy's flagship "Combined Forces" attacked first, followed by shelling of the ships, and the sea suddenly shone with a burst of fire.

Columns of water rose into the sky near the French warships.

Due to the proximity, at the very beginning, the battle began in a fierce way.

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