"The only thing that can rule the blue of the Mediterranean is the great Austria and the wise Emperor Franz!"

The commander of the United Forces, Tower, and the commander of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, Haus, looked at the Allied fleet that had turned to escape in the distance, his fists clenched, and the stirring of his heart was difficult to express in words. Next to him, a group of Austrian staff officers also looked longing and excited, and some young officers even had warm tears in the corners of their eyes.

One hundred and fifty years ago, when Austrian merchant ships were plagued by privateer raids during the Seven Years' War due to lack of warship protection, Habsburg decision-makers decided to build their own fleet, ushering in a new era in the seas of Central Europe's traditional land empire. In the following century, although the Austrian Navy ushered in two royal commanders who were keen on fleet development, due to many reasons such as national economy, industrial strength, ideology, etc., this fleet was always the "yellow water power" in the Adriatic Sea, and it could not even talk about the green water a little farther away. Britain, France, and even Italy, which had been defeated at the Battle of Lisa, ignored the Habsburg fleet's existence as an unfashionable commodity on the part of the Ottomans and Greece.

However, in the last decade of the 19th century, with the help of the second industrial revolution, the dualistic monarchy empire was finally freed from the shackles of coastal defense and bathed in the warm splendor of the Mediterranean. The Habsburgs, Radetz, and combined forces, as the first-class battleships burst into the water with the mellow smell of champagne, the fleet flying the red and white crown flag is expanding its strength at an unprecedented rate, and in the field of capital ships, in one fell swoop in the field of capital ships, Italy, which has always despised Vienna. Approaching France, the world's second navy. And today. The Austro-Hungarian Navy is making great strides on the broad avenue that has made Zào history. Defeating Britain and France, the two most powerful naval forces in the Mediterranean, and chasing them to the north, they were only one step away from a final and decisive victory. A greater victory at the Battle of Lisa was coming, and he Anton? Haus, too, will become a giant on a par with Taghoff, forever remembered by the subjects of the Empire!

"Boom!" A 305-mm shell burst through the air like a rainbow, and thundered into the dreadnought main armor belt in front of the British "Ambition"; The shell was castrated after penetrating 150 mm of armor, breaking through its 50 mm thick homogeneous sloping dome. Drilled into the boiler compartment and exploded. The shrapnel and a large amount of superheated steam were wreaked havoc under the coercion of the fierce air, and nearly 20 stokers instantly flew flesh and blood, and their intestines were rotten, and they died tragically on the spot. Huge sums of seawater poured down the hulls torn apart by the explosion, drowning the red-hot coals and devouring the blazing boilers; Under the impact of the rapid change of heat and cold, it continues to destroy the things it encounters. The battleship with a standing displacement of 13,150 tons shook violently, and its speed suddenly slowed down, and thick firelight, black smoke and steam rushed out from all parts, enveloping the entire battleship!

"Maria? Well done Theresia, worthy of being the best dauntless in Imperial gunnery! "After receiving a report from our own ship. The satisfaction on House's face increased a little. Built by drawings provided by Germany, this level of dreadnought is indeed superior in performance and has staggering offensive and defensive capabilities; The power of the enemy ship has been destroyed. It's impossible to get out of it all the time.

At this thought, House couldn't help but glance at the four Italian Queen Elena-class dreadnoughts sailing ahead. The originally handsome and slender three-chimney hull was already surging with fire, broken ruins, and the deck bridge was scorched and collapsed, looking quite miserable. In the confrontation with the top French dreadnought, the Italian battleship, which was longer than the main gun, was rarely at a disadvantage and was beaten by the opponent's main gun. To House's regret, the protection of the Italian ships was still very conscientious, and the fire from the French dreadnoughts only caused skin wounds, but not wounded bones. The French platoon, like House, placed the main battleship in the center and in the front, so as to act as both the backbone and the forward assault force; The Austrians' plan to kill people with the sword fell through, and their dreadnoughts still took on the most difficult decisive task.

However, Rao's own dreadnought group also achieved an advantage over the French Danton-class in the battle. The 3 Radetz-class and 1 Hayreddin-class all have large areas of 280 mm or even 300 mm waterline armor, and the tall core cabin is indestructible in front of the French 305 mm L45 main gun; The Dante's 250mm main and 220mm tops were slightly less protected, but they made up for it with ferocious firepower. The United Forces made the French warships have no idea, and its powerful combat power is only the Lone Class Super Dreadnought that France is still trying at sea can barely fight with it on an equal footing. In front of the battle line formed by these majestic ships, the seemingly tall and majestic French battleships were obviously beyond their strength, as long as God blessed both sides with equal luck, the final victor must be on the side of the Allies!

"Boom!" Several large-caliber shells rushed into the sea, rushing up a wide wall of water around the French battleship. The lookout, who was above the mast, immediately reported to the conning tower that the French fleet had once again begun to turn evasively, and the first round of fire had all been missed. Upon learning of this, House poked the telescope into the table with some indignation. Whenever the artillery found the right shooting parameters, the French battleship made a coquettish turn at sea, which made the accuracy of the hit rate of the own artillery suddenly miss; With superior steering performance, the six French dreadnoughts still maintained an almost regular battle line while carrying out a small steering evasion, without giving the other side the slightest chance to compete for the T-shaped crosshead.

After a moment's thought, House gave the order to redistribute fire. The Zolini turned its guns and joined forces with the Combined Forces to bombard the Danton, which was at the forefront of the French column; The Rio Ferdinand and Radetz were in the center of the fire, while the Kharedin and Dante attacked the Voltaire, which had previously lost a single main turret. It is better to cut off one finger than to hurt ten fingers, and to concentrate superior firepower to bombard is obviously an effective means to break through the current situation. Although the enemy's warships, which were not taken care of because of this, could have taken the opportunity to carry out a pressure-free artillery bombardment on their own ships, the advantage in armor made House dare to make this decision!

Lights flickered and flags were raised. The conscientious and competent Austro-Hungarian signalmen, with skilful manoeuvres, faithfully issued a new order from the commander of the fleet; After repeating the lights and flag signals twice, the Allied dreadnought battleships, which were only 4 kilometers from the beginning to the end, all appreciated the flagship's command intention in the current weather with superior visibility. The rangefinder, located on the main mast, began to change direction, bringing new targets into the aiming center; The turrets, which were hundreds of tons, slowly rotated under the drive of electric motors, and the guns pitched, and finally all aimed at the French battleship.

"Boom!" The artillery fire thundered, the red light exploded, and the dozens of meters long cannon muzzle flame erupted and danced, like a cloud as spectacular and pleasing to the eye. Four 350-mm shells roared with wind and thunder, rushing into the sea nearly 100 meters away from the Dandong, stirring up huge waves and rolling waves. Seeing the surging waves not far away, the commander of the French fleet, de la Perel, showed a mixture of jealousy and ridicule on his face: compared with the 340 mm L45 naval guns on the Kolbe, which was completed a month and a half ago, the 350 mm heavy guns of the Austro-Hungarian battleship seemed to be better in terms of single-shot power, and even the Brittany-class battleships of the French Navy, which will be completed the year after the next year, are still equipped with lower caliber of main guns than the Austro-Hungarian super dreadnought. However, under his own strong command, the Austro-Hungarian battleships have only now achieved a direct hit and two close misses on the Danton; The shell that hit directly also hit only the bow anchor chain of the Dandong and not the key parts.

Ten seconds later, De la Perel, who was smiling at the Danton's brilliant play against the enemy's fire control, suddenly heard a screeching sound like a train approaching him. Before he could react, his ears were suddenly filled with thousands of violent thunders, and his eardrums were about to burst; The hull of the ship shook violently, and the charts and pencils hanging on the wall were shaken and scattered. De la Perel lost his balance and fell to the hard steel floor, the pain of his fragile bones shattering beyond the reach of the young admiral: he faintly heard his lieutenant shouting his name, and then fell unconscious.

The Austro-Hungarian artillery roared incessantly, concentrating all its strength on the three wounded French dreadnoughts. Covered by 2-on-1 firepower, the Allied fleet soon achieved more results than before: the chimney of the French Mirabeau was blown to the ground, two of which collapsed in the flames, and the overall speed dropped to 14 knots. The Voltaire was even more furious, and the billowing smoke enveloped almost the entire battleship; The stout aft mast collapsed with a bang, blocking the rotational path of the stern's main turret.

Since Hawson's order to concentrate fire was on the premise of letting go of the three enemy dreadnoughts, while attacking the target, the Allied dreadnoughts were also repeatedly frustrated under the fierce artillery fire of the other side: the cabins exploded, the deck was shattered, the hull was flooded, the turret was jammed, and the number of casualties skyrocketed. However, the wide main armor and reliable horizontal defense made the Allied dreadnoughts far more resistant to strikes; With de la Perel's coma, the situation of the French fleet was gradually collapsing. (To be continued......)