This was a salvo of the "Brandenburg" at a distance of about 8,000 meters, and it actually made a contribution with one blow, and won it with an easy victory without catching a single shell itself!

Enthusiastic cheers resounded in the German marching ranks, and without any words of encouragement, they collectively unleashed several times their enthusiasm for fighting.

Eight thousand meters! This is the first time in the history of naval warfare in the West - let's not mention the 10,000-meter kill of the Chinese fleet ten years ago.

In the history of the military evolution of Western navies, tactical changes have been accompanied by a series of upgrades such as the types of warships, the range of main guns, the accuracy, and the use of optical ranging instruments. If it weren't for Yang Hao's agitation, until the appearance of the dreadnought, all countries were still discussing the possibility of a seven-meter combat range. Optical rangefinders, new turret aiming, and ship-wide firing command system innovations slowly pushed this distance forward.

But now it is different, not to mention that the competition for the construction of dreadnoughts began seven or eight years in advance, and from the very beginning, all countries rushed to hit more than ten kilometers. Even the more unrestrained naval tactics experts even proposed to open fire at a distance of 15 kilometers.

Previously, this was beyond the range of the main gun. However, with the actual combat exercises of Chinese warships, various countries have developed artillery technology like crazy, and in the shortest possible time, they have come up with a 305mm main gun with a range of more than 15 kilometers, and a few years later, it has evolved to a more excellent 50 times diameter 12-inch gun at the fastest speed, and successfully pushed the range to more than 20 kilometers.

In the following decade, the British developed 13.5-inch, 380mm and other caliber high-range guns in one go; The Germans, the Americans, Italy, Russia, France, none of them would be left behind. Again and again, the caliber of the main gun was pushed up. Not enough range? Then lengthen the tube. The turret is too heavy to stand it? Then take drugs.

In a word. The caliber of the main guns of the whole world is expanding like crazy. The range continues to expand. Up to now, the cannons that have been built by various countries (not counting China) are undoubtedly the 50 times diameter 12-inch guns developed by the Germans themselves. The 12-inch guns of the Russians, which have been designed and produced, but have not yet entered service with the battleship, will be overtaken in terms of life and power. It's just that at that time, the Germans will use the 45 times the diameter of the Chinese OEM 356mm to press them down again.

The Americans have successfully developed a 50-fold diameter 12-inch gun and mounted it on the corresponding battleship. In terms of performance, it's about the same as the Germans. There is a large part of the reason for this. It was Yang Hao's version of the naval gun, which was originally copied from the Americans' original.

The British Empire, the world's hegemon and the first naval power, has fallen behind in the competition for naval guns! The performance of the 45-fold diameter 305mm gun they developed was the tail of the crane. After several twists and turns, it was successfully developed with a diameter of 50 times, but the result was that the life was insufficient, the accuracy was worrying, and the most intolerable thing was that the rate of fire was only 1.5 rounds / min, which was twice as slow as other countries!

Unwilling to fail, the British developed a 13.5mm/45L main gun, barely maintaining face. But it's only been a few days of comfort, and the German battleship came back with a 14-inch main gun and slapped in the face!

All in all, in the past ten years, the world's naval ship construction technology. and naval tactics have changed dramatically. The level of the great powers and the second- and third-rate countries suddenly increased, even to the point that they could not catch up with the others.

Except for China. None of the great powers had the experience of fighting at theoretical long distances (8000 meters - 10000 meters). All kinds of tactics they designed were upgraded along the equipment, and their practical ability was worrying.

The Germans, on the other hand, quietly picked up a little experience from the Chinese side and spent nearly a year simulating training, so they naturally had much more familiarity than others.

As a result, when the battle really happens, that extra bit of experience is immediately converted into actual results. It's still so gorgeous, it's so exciting!

The 8,000-meter one-shot achievement gave the Germans great self-confidence. Rear Admiral Spee pretended to be reserved and did not lose his temper, and the young officers did not care about that, their eyes lit up with excitement, and they were ready to pack up the other battleships.

On the other hand, the British are all blindfolded.

They had all heard about the naval battles in the Far East, more than once when a hit was taken from a distance of ten kilometers. However, most people think that it is just a lie fabricated by the Chinese to exaggerate their war achievements and the incompetence of the navies of various countries in order to cover up their failures. Ten km hits? Did you aim at Lao Tzu first?

Not to mention ten years ago, just now, Britain is equipped with a shooting sight, the Dreyer fire control table came out in advance, and the nine-foot pedestal rangefinder has pushed the accurate firing distance of naval warfare to 10,000 meters. In the experience of the British, it only took two salvos to judge and calculate the position of the enemy ship quite accurately, and at a distance of 8,000 meters, a salvo hit rate of 20%.

This is already quite an anti-sky data. You want the proud British to admit that Chinese technology is ahead of them, it is better to kill them!

The "Cornwall" was killed from 8,000 meters, let's not talk about the martyrdom, which the British have not solved for more than ten years, judging from the perception of Rear Admiral Stoddart, it was immediately determined that the Germans on the opposite side must have obtained the corresponding technical equipment!

"The Germans must have optical ranging and salvo command equipment, and the accuracy of their main guns is also quite amazing, judging from the water column from which the shells fall into the water, the caliber of the guns is very likely to be more than 12 inches."

Constantly calculating all kinds of data in his heart, His Excellency the Major General's face became extremely ugly! Because if such a judgment is correct, it will mean that none of the existing warships of the entire British Empire can win against these four big guys on the other side!

The latest and most powerful battleships can't do it, and they little guys are even more not!

But the problem is that now several of their warships are not far from each other, all within ten kilometers!

Major General Stoddart can be described as decisive in killing, and immediately ordered: "All of them break through in a straight line at full speed!" Don't hesitate and stay! Once you break through the enemy's strike range, evacuate directly to the north. Don't dwell on it! ”

Yes. He changed his mind! Because he already knows. According to previous estimates, the result was only one --- the Germans were intact, and the battleships and all the crews of the British Empire would be sacrificed senselessly, showing the courage of the British Navy.

It's just a pity that his order was a little late.

The fleets of both sides charged face to face. After the Germans succeeded in seizing the T-head, the four ships formed two parallel formations in front and back, and cut horizontally to the British fleet to gain the upper hand. After the encounter, each aimed at the target and carried out non-stop artillery fire.

It was not a one-on-one single exercise, but relying on the fast aiming speed and the powerful enough artillery, even the 150mm secondary guns were used, and the British battleships that could be reached at the near, medium and long distances were carried out continuously and indiscriminately!

It is equivalent to the lateral bombardment fire of four battleships, from the first to the last, while aiming at more than one enemy ship that came into range. Although the two formations will cause the two ships on the outside to have a considerable angle that cannot fire. Otherwise, it is easy to accidentally damage your own warship. But when the two sides go into parallel positions, it is possible to set fire in four lines. Take care of the other enemy ships by the way!

As a result, the British battleships that rushed into the battlefield at first only had two to greet the four twelve main guns and secondary guns in front of them, and soon became 12 and 36 guns to thrash together!

When the "Cornwall" was sunk, all four British battleships came into strike range.

As a result, Rear Admiral Spee ordered the flagship to concentrate its firepower on the farthest "Carnarvon", and by the way, the main and secondary guns in the rear took care of the flagship "Defense". The other warships did the same, with a total of sixty or seventy main and auxiliary guns, creating a dense explosion frenzy across the entire sea area!

Just a few minutes later, the remaining three battleships were all shot. None of them could withstand the heavy blow of 45 times the 356mm guns, and neither armored ships nor heavy cruisers could simply surrender their guns in the face of bombardment with more than 400mm armor-piercing capacity (this is still a reduced version of the shell).

Before they could rush out of the rain of bullets covering the waters, they were all destroyed by too many hits, exploded and caught fire one after another, and sank heroically!

Throughout, the British showed great bravery and insisted on returning fire. Although the blind cat touched the dead mouse and added a few black spots to the battleship on the German side, in the end it still couldn't bridge the gap in the absolute sense.

From Major General Stoddart downward, more than ninety percent of British officers and soldiers died heroically and became ghosts under the Pacific Ocean.

Major General Spee didn't show much excitement, it was a battle of hammer smashing walnuts in itself, victory was inevitable, and it was a shame to let the other side run. Fortunately, the boys are not bad, this is a good start, very beautiful!

Privately, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Secretly thank the British, really very cooperative!

If it weren't four broiler battleships, but four slightly weaker main battleships, and the face-to-face hard bombardment, the result would definitely not be so satisfying.

He knows very well the strength of the British Navy, it is really not bragging, and the real world hegemon is not a joke. Even if the ship is rough and thick-skinned, has comprehensive defenses, and has first-class artillery fire, it will definitely not be able to avoid being hit by enemy ships. At that time, even if the main armor is not returned, will the young men who lack experience and track record prove be able to maintain a stable performance in the continuous explosion of shells?

That's still unknown!

From his exchanges with the Chinese Navy, he got a very frank statement. The reason why the Chinese Navy was able to win those naval battles was that it relied on its absolute superiority in equipment and relied on surpassing the enemy in terms of range, accuracy, rate of fire, and speed. All the officers and men did not have too many worries and would not face too many shells, so they could fight so easily and smoothly.

If we get caught up in a bitter battle with the combined navies of the countries that followed, we may not be able to achieve anything.

But that kind of fight is fought a few more times, and consecutive victories will develop enough self-confidence. In the past ten years, the Chinese Navy has also moved from raw melons and eggs to maturity. At the very least, they won't be afraid to go head-to-head with their equals.

Rear Admiral Spee was so inspired that he did not think of using it to provoke the British Navy head-on, despite having four of the strongest battleships. He also wanted to follow the example of the Chinese, starting with the weaker enemy and honing the brave and calm admirals with continuous victories.

The British are so knowledgeable and knowledgeable that they actually sent it to the door, which is called a good cooperation!

Rear Admiral Spee believed that if there were a few more such victories, he and the German officers and men of the four battleships would become the backbone of the Imperial Navy! When the time comes, the German Navy will not need to be cowering in the North Sea all the time. The entire vast Atlantic, and even the Pacific and Indian Oceans, can be practiced with the British!

After quietly waiting for the soldiers to cheer, the rear admiral ordered: "The whole ship continues to advance, bypass Cape Horn, and enter the Atlantic!" ”

His son Otto, who was following him, was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but ask him: "General, shouldn't we send someone to rescue the surviving British?" ”

The navy is an aristocratic service, and gentlemanly demeanor and chivalry should be talked about a little. Now that you have defeated the enemy and saved the survivors, it should be the meaning of the question, right?

Unexpectedly, Rear Admiral Spee had a cold face and said lightly: "We don't need to worry about it, the British have other ships that will do this well." Our only task now is to drop everything and concentrate on the battle that is coming! ”

The old man made a decision, and he didn't need to ask what he said later.

In fact, His Excellency the Rear Admiral is also selfish, and he would rather risk a bad reputation than try to ensure the top secrets of this fleet. The British will not rest on their laurels, and it will be easier for Germany to get rid of unnecessary moral burdens as soon as possible.

There was no room for maneuver between Britain and Germany, and once the war began, the navy would be the main force. It is a little bit to be able to weaken the opponent's strength, and it is impossible to say that the means are dirtier.

The German fleet went away in a mighty way, and after more than an hour, two British armed freighters dodged and drove over, and set out to save the surviving navy, but the number was really small, and there was not one in ten!

Soon, the news that the British fleet was taken out shocked the world again!

The British were again caught up in a heated quarrel. The Germans' resolute and ruthless approach greatly exceeded many people's expectations, and they did not hesitate to start a war without giving any face! The problem is that Britain is very poorly prepared for this. The French, who could count on dragging Germany on land, had missed their cowardice in Morocco in North Africa last time, and the Germans saw their weakness inside. Another powerful thug, Tsarist Russia, was dragged down by the war waged by the Chinese.

This damn situation, it's just terrible!

However, this was not the worst-case scenario, and soon after, the forward fleet led by Rear Admiral Craddock also encountered the Germans who had entered the South Atlantic. At the time, they were cracking down on British colonies on the east coast of South America and on islands in the Atlantic.

Rear Admiral Craddock bravely led the fleet to slaughter.

This time, they have a strong lineup of two dreadnoughts, as well as two armored ships. (To be continued.) )