About 200 kilometers northeast of Uruguay, the British interceptor fleet, which had arrived in a hurry, came into contact with the German fleet, which had just finished a burst of force.

When Major General Craddock looked through the telescope at the behemoth opposite, he felt almost the same mood as Major General Stoddat, who died heroically.

In particular, he himself personally commanded a battleship to conduct an exercise with a battleship of the same type, and he knew very well how difficult the guy on the other side was. The difference is that in the last exercise, the Chinese Navy forcibly reduced the performance of the warship and disguised it as a general battle patrol, but this time, it is a complete version of the Eight Classics!

The major general was too embarrassed to lose last time, and after he went back, he studied the pros and cons for a while, and if he was confident that he would face it again, he would be somewhat sure. But when he saw the four big guys face to face, aiming the main cannon at his side, Craddock still couldn't help but feel irritated in his heart.

He's not sure!

It's hard to talk about, and it's the result of what he's very unhappy to admit. But there was no way, the difference in strength between the two sides was here, and Rear Admiral Stoddart also used the lives of more than 1,000 British naval officers and men with himself and four warships to prove the strength of the Germans.

According to common sense, Major General Craddock should no longer be on the hard side. Whether it's from the instructions of the Admiralty or the perception of the enemy's strength, it's wise to let go.

But just when he easily blocked the other party with the help of the merchant ship telegrams infested in the Atlantic, an irrepressible war spirit burned like pouring gasoline!

"Is it really invincible? Just avoid it? ”

After asking himself, Major General Craddock clenched his fists suddenly: "No, I must not retreat without a fight!" At least. They should do their part. Let the Germans feel the determination and will of the officers and men of the British Empire! ”

Take a deep breath. The major general decisively gave the order to meet the battle.

The four main battleships and the two auxiliary armored cruisers immediately sounded the alarm and began to accelerate.

The four capital ships under Craddock are the two dreadnoughts "Bellerophon" and "Magnificent". The two armored ships are the "Sovereign" and the "Ireland" of the "Edward VII class".

Both dreadnoughts are uniformly equipped with five 10 45x diameter 305mm guns with a firing range of 17,200 meters. Enhanced heat pipe boiler and British-made Parsons direct-drive steam turbine with a maximum speed of 21 knots.

The ship has 254mm side armor, and the turret front and conning tower have 278mm, all of which are equipped with the latest Wicks armor, which is from the point of view of defensive capabilities. It is more durable than the previous 305mm armor of the armored ship.

The latter two armoured ships were equipped with two four 305mm guns, plus 10 233mm firepower. This was due to the fact that the Chinese fleet advanced the line of the capital ships with all main guns, and the design was revised in advance.

In terms of armor, it has the old 305mm main armor and turret armor, and the protection is not much worse than that of a dreadnought. But the speed was slightly slower, only 19 knots.

Purely in terms of armament, the four battleships had 24 305mm guns and 20 233mm guns, which seemed to be superior in numbers compared to the 36 main guns of the German battleships opposite.

However, in terms of ammunition delivery, range, and power, it is one level behind. So comparatively. It seems that the British side is ironclad to lose.

But if there is absolutely no chance, it is not necessarily. According to the intelligence obtained by the British side. At the beginning, the battleships designed by China were not as high as 30,000 tons of full load displacement, and the thickness of the main armor was only 305mm, which was not much.

The reason why the hull is so large is mainly because the triple turret is too heavy, the front and rear double bridges are obviously tall, and the main engine system is strong, but also further increases the displacement.

In addition, there are some unconfirmed rumors that Chinese-built warships have further strengthened the protection of key parts. If nothing else, three layers of horizontal armor alone, plus multiple layers of protection around the ammunition depot, the main engine and the fuel bunker, will bring at least two or three thousand tons of weight.

Counting the volume of the cabins reserved for a long voyage, we can see that even if they want to make the battleship smaller, they can't.

For example, the "Iron Duke class", the strongest in Britain so far, has a huge hull of 30,580 tons, 10 13.5mm guns, a maximum thickness of 12 inches of main armor, a range of 8,580 nautical miles/10 knots, and a speed of 22.5 knots, which is applied to many reinforced armor. The decks, watertight compartments, have all been redesigned and strengthened, and are more than a step more resistant to sinking than the original dreadnoughts.

The "Queen Elizabeth class", which is under construction, has increased its displacement to a height of 33,000 tons, and the return gift has also become eight 380mm guns.

In the words of the British Navy elite, "this is the real battleship."

Yes, according to the standards that the Chinese took the lead in doing at the beginning, a single-caliber full main gun, high speed, high armor thickness, large range, using a full set of the latest technology and equipment, seizing the superior position with high mobility, and hitting the target fiercely with salvo fire plus heavy armor-piercing shells!

Ten years, ten whole years! From the moment it became known that China had created the "Hebei-class" battleships as a template, the British Imperial Navy was finally able to create excellent warships that were guaranteed to surpass each other! I have to say that this catch-up is really painful.

Rear Admiral Craddock hated this feeling so much, and as an admiral and nobleman, he could not tolerate the British Imperial Navy being left behind. Now that he has met the object of shame for him in person, if he pretends to be invisible and dodges it, will he still have the face to see people in the future?

Like the warriors in the legendary story, the British knew that their strength was inferior to the enemy, but they still resolutely launched a brave frontal charge!

Rear Admiral Craddock is not blindly risking his own life and that of thousands of naval officers, he has repeatedly calculated that there is a considerable chance to inflict heavy losses on the other side!

Nothing else, it is impossible for a battleship of this year to open fire and bombard at maximum speed. Although the guy on the opposite side may have more speed than he does, he will not be able to take advantage of himself when it comes to seizing the T-shaped position. But when it comes to firing. But they have to slow down to about the same extent as each other.

Moreover. In order to guarantee the hit rate. The opponent will inevitably have to pull down the firing distance within ten kilometers, so that its own artillery can exert considerable striking ability! If we add the numerical superiority and break up the array, it may be possible to form a short face-to-face fight bayonet to fight more and fight less. With his own 305mm main gun, he didn't believe that he couldn't leave a heavy blow to the other party!

As long as they can damage the enemy ships on the opposite side, the main fleet that is speeding up behind them will be able to wipe them out!

It's worth the risk!

Raise the flag and sound the alarm. The four capital ships lined up, and the two armored cruisers staggered and dragged behind in separate formations, waiting for an opportunity to rush forward, or shell or fire torpedoes.

As for the German fleet, seeing the actions of the British clearly, the officers couldn't help frowning: "The British should have received the news of the fiasco of the previous fleet, right?" They still refuse to learn their lesson and continue to challenge us with no means of self-determination? However, it seems to be a little threatening. ”

Having realized the strength of their own strength, the German naval officers and men were full of fighting spirit and fearless.

The accompanying naval staff officer reminded Rear Admiral Spee: "Our purpose. It was to successfully sail these four warships back to Morocco or the Mediterranean, and become the main force to contain the British Atlantic Fleet. and became a key force in the war to cut off its transportation liaison with overseas colonies. For the sake of the overall strategic goal, we must not afford to lose! In comparison, it does not matter whether the British battleship on the opposite side was sunk or not. ”

Major General Spee's eyes narrowed, and he replied with an unusually stiff voice: "I don't think that with the little strength in front, it will pose much of a threat to us. On the contrary, I believe that this is one of the great responsibilities of this fleet. Whether it was from cultivating the will to fight or weakening British maritime power, the battle was worth enough. ”

He did not hesitate to give the order, face the battle!

After a baptism of battle, all the members of this fleet became much calmer, and after entering their posts one after another, they cooperated with the majestic big guy to skillfully seize the advantageous position.

Both sides want to inflict heavy damage on their opponents and establish meritorious deeds, so there is no need to dodge. After each exerted all their strength to seize the T-shaped head and divide the victory and defeat as scheduled, it is not surprising that the German fleet won the first place with columns.

The Kraddock fleet was reversed, with two staggered formations similar to the previous German pattern. Among them, four battleships and armored ships were paired in pairs, with the most powerful "Bellerophon-class" rushing to the front, and the two armored ships in the rear, so as to form a face-to-face firepower that could be coordinated, but would not be calmly attacked by the opponent's concentrated firepower one by one.

At the same time, two armored cruisers were interspersed from behind, outflanking, trying to take advantage of the chaos to force the enemy ship. Don't guess what's going to do.

Once the confrontation was formed, the distance quickly closed, and the German battleships were the first to fire!

Compared with the main guns of the British, which only had a range of 17,200 meters, the Germans used 45 times the diameter of the 356mm guns with a maximum range of 23,000 meters, and the accuracy was higher than that of the opponent, and the rate of fire did not fall behind. Aiming speed or something, it's not a problem.

The fly in the ointment was that on the battleships given to the Germans, the triple turret was not provided with a firing delay device. If the three main guns are fired together, it will inevitably cause the muzzle wind to interfere with each other, and the accuracy will plummet. The solution the Germans got was to use only two main guns on the left and right at a time, and the three middle guns of the three turrets fired in a separate salvo.

This may seem awkward, but it ensures the maximum accuracy of the salvo. Otherwise, you will have to take a more troublesome approach. Inevitably, the British will make the barrels of different lengths, and the Germans themselves seem to have widened the distance between the main barrels, which led to a surge in the weight of the turret, which further affected the armor, total displacement, and so on. The resulting useless death weight, that's quite a few!

But this little problem is not a problem at all for the German fleet at the moment. It took them more than half a year, and they have already practiced and figured out the whole set of tactics, and they don't feel any impact when they use them.

Therefore, when entering the strike distance, the four battleships in an arc array first fired a test shot each, and the landing point exploded an evacuation column of water about two kilometers away from the target British ship "Magnificent". The second test shot disperses the landing points, forms a straddle and estimates the relatively accurate distance. The escort enters a dense volley.

At this time, the distance between the two sides is still more than 12 kilometers!

Major General Craddock's face was extremely serious! At this distance, the battleships on his side didn't even want to aim at each other! With the main gun in his hand, he couldn't see the landing point too clearly after hitting so far. You have to push to 10 kilometers or even 8 kilometers to be quite sure of the hit.

But before that, the opponent can shoot several rounds in a row!

He finally understood why Rear Admiral Stoddat's entire army was annihilated, and it was too difficult to get close to the enemy ship and fight bayonets under the one-sided blow

In this era, only the Chinese navy was skilled in the routine of grabbing the T-shaped head in columns and striking the enemy with a salvo. Although the countries themselves have also practiced it, the actual combat is unfamiliar after all.

The Germans have the guidance of Chinese friends, are relatively experienced, and have been verified by a real battle, and are skilled and confident. In such a high comparison, the British are not half a star worse!

After several rounds of salvo fire, the Germans cooperated more and more tacitly, always following the trained routine, adhering to the strategy of joint fire and strike of the four ships, and the front and rear turrets cooperated with each other, dropping a series of heavy shells on the heads of the enemy ships directly on the side!

Just when the two sides were close to 10 kilometers, a close miss was generated, and a hit was generated! The two dreadnoughts in front were hit by heavy armor-piercing shells, and when they landed, steel flew wildly, explosions and smoke rose, and the optical rangefinder on the mainmast, let alone play a good role, it was not easy to even stabilize the position!

Rear Admiral Craddock stayed in the conning tower and experienced first-hand how terrifying a large-caliber shell could be when it hit the side! One shot came down at a steep angle, flattening the right front turret. The 278mm thick armor failed to block the impact of the 650kg armor-piercing projectile's violent kinetic energy, and was easily blown apart!

At that moment, the rear admiral only saw countless steel on the side scrambling to leave the battleship, the broken twin turret roof flew higher than the command tower, a cannon barrel was thrown out of the oblique stab more than ten meters away and smashed into the sea, a large number of fragments rose up, the smashed mainmast and the side hull clanged, one of the secondary guns was completely flattened, and all the gun emplacement members turned into meat sauce!

Fortunately, this cannon did not cause a detonation, but only the detonation of the shell's own charge, but it also made the major general's ears ring for a long time. And until the end of the battle, hearing was not restored.

In modern artillery warfare, optical aiming and firing fire control systems come into play, and once a close miss and a cross are formed, a hit is almost inevitable. And once you get hit, wait for more shells to come with precision!

For the first time, the British experienced what it was like to be attacked by a rain of bullets that would kill people. Major General Craddock's flagship then kept jolting and shaking in the roar of hit explosions and near-misses, not to mention aiming and counterattacking, it was difficult to stand firm!

The 356mm armor-piercing projectile itself is used against the "Queen Elizabeth class", which is considered the equivalent, and it is purely overkill for use on dreadnoughts. After a few hits, an explosion finally opened a large hole in the bow, causing a fire that blurred the vision of the entire ship!

Major General Craddock chuckled in his heart for a moment, and finally realized that it was not good! (To be continued.) )