A ray of orange-red light pierced the stagnant black and blue of the eastern sea and sky; Then the brilliant morning light erupted, dazzling and shining, and the light was ten thousand ways.

The sea breeze is blowing, the waves are rolling, and on the blue and clear ocean like brocade, a small formation of eight ships is slowly moving forward at cruising speed. Their square and smooth lines, slender and handsome shape, combined with the four slender and simple chimneys in the amidships, are pleasing to the eye and pleasing to the eye. From the towering mast lookout, the young sailors are looking with confidence and anticipation at the endless sea around them; And above their heads, hunting in the wind, fluttering in the wind, is a wide black vulture Iron Cross battle flag!

The commander of the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron, Major General Berdick, stood in the navigation room above the command tower, his pure black uniform fluttering in the morning breeze. Although the northern tip of the North Sea in the early morning still had the coolness of the night, the major general, who was already in his fifties, was still fully dressed and appeared in the area where the line-of-sight command was most superior. Looking at his own warships around him like light cavalry advancing on the sea, Berdick's heart could not help but surge, and he felt infinite anticipation and longing for the magnificent future of the Empire.

A week earlier, the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron, which was part of the Battle Patrol Formation, had set out straight from Wilhelmshaven to search for traces of the British in the depths of the ocean. Since this was the case with the intention of launching the most fierce head-on duel with the British Navy, the officers and men of the reconnaissance squadron were excited and determined to search for the big fish of the British at sea.

However, to their surprise, after cruising the sea for several days, they only found a few innocuous neutral cruise ships. Not even a shadow of the British. And in the meantime. The High Seas Fleet, however, has already changed two offensive locations. From the Thames, the confluence of Britain's economic elite, to Fell Island, the gateway of the Grand Fleet. The German sailors were all resentful, contemptuous, and cheerful at the unusually cowardly squatting reaction of the British; They have suppressed the Royal Navy, which has ruled the seas for more than three hundred years, and they dare not go out, which is simply unimaginable in a dream! As time passed, the last vestiges of fear of a strong enemy that hung over the young German navy disappeared in their real sense of control of the sea; Now, even in the face of any opponent, they have every courage to fight to the death!

"General, a suspicious black fog has been found in the south, which is suspected to be soot from ships." An adjutant hurried onto the bridge. Reported to Berdick the anomalies discovered by the lookouts. Burdick frowned slightly, and raised his binoculars to peer into the distance. In the still blue sky, there was indeed an imperceptible wisp of black quietly spreading. He nodded slightly and said, "The young man did a good job." Order the Strasbourg to turn two compass points to the left and proceed to the target to investigate. If it is a neutral ship that does not open its eyes, it will choose whether to expel it or not, depending on its course. ”

As Berdick gave the order, one of the battleships on the side of the fleet began to speed up, and its sturdy posture reminded Berdick of the Templar Knights of the Crusades. And the other 7 battleships also slowly turned their bows. The Strasbourg, which had gone to reconnoitre, came to the rear for support. The second level of combat alarm was raised on the battleship, and the German sailors quickly ran to their posts to stand by; The fitting metal block of the muzzle plugging is removed. The dark entrance of the cave reaches to the sky, ready to wait for that exciting roar.

Suddenly there was a continuous roar in the distance, like a lion and tiger galloping, and the thunder roared; Burdick's heart was suddenly startled, and he reflexively held on to the iron fence in front of him. A short time later, a hurried herald reported to him what had been received in the communications room. The Strasbourg found a British light cruiser formation at 11 nautical miles in 197 directions, numbering more than six, and the preliminary judgment was that it was a new type of warship built by Britain after 1907.

"The British finally came out, and I thought they were really going to stay in the harbor until we fully fortified Fair Island!" The corners of Berdick's mouth curled, and an indescribable excitement and excitement had surged in his heart. He paused, then spoke again: "Immediately report to General Hippel in detail on our area and the situation of the enemy. The fleet has accelerated to 24 knots and is on its way to the aid of our enemies! ”

The fire was rising, the axes were spinning, and the speed of the German light cruiser formation doubled in a short time, and it quickly rushed towards the battlefield where the friendly ships were located. The sharp bow of the ship broke through a large area of white spray, and in the steady and slow swaying of the battleship, there was a sense of calm and heavy power. For the battle that was about to break out, Berdick had almost nothing but anticipation and eagerness: in addition to the hope of beating the former sea lord, absolute confidence in the performance of his own ships was also an important reason why he had no worries at all.

Historically, the German Navy lagged behind the British Navy for a long time in the field of small cruisers. While the British were equipped with 152 mm guns on their 1909 Brestol class, the German Navy was still prioritizing projection, and on the 1912 Glaudenz class, they were still using the 105 mm rapid-fire guns they had been armed with since 1898. With the rapid improvement of fire control technology, the combat distance between light cruisers is also getting farther and farther; In several naval battles in history, the British light cruisers were outside the effective range of the German 105-mm guns, and they used a single shot to hit the enemy's 152-mm naval guns, which were three times more powerful than the enemy!

For this reason, Qing Ying made great improvements and innovations to the light cruisers of the German Navy in his own plane. Since the start of the Bremen class in 1902, the German Navy has put 150 mm guns on these dog-fighting cannon fodder ships, and has become the standard main gun caliber for light cruisers, which is still in use today.

The Second Reconnaissance Detachment, commanded by Rear Admiral Berdick, is the best light ship force in the German Navy at present on this historical basis. Four of the Magdeburg-class ships were newly incorporated into service by the German Navy since May 1912: they had a standard displacement of 4,570 tons, a maximum sea trial speed of more than 27.5 knots, and were equipped with eight single-mount 150 mm L42 guns of the same type as the main ship's secondary guns, four of which were arranged in a knapsack arrangement on the central axis of the hull, and the other four were arranged on the sides of the hull. In order to compensate for the decrease in the rate of fire caused by the sharp increase in the power of a single shot (6 rounds per minute for 150 mm guns and 15 rounds per minute for 105 guns), the class was equipped with two single 88 mm rapid-fire guns on the center line to effectively deal with the threat of torpedo boats at close range.

In terms of protection, thanks to the simple structure of the single-armor plate gun, which is a manpower reload and pitch, the Magdeburg class has received a lot of weight for laying defensive armor. Its 3.2-meter-high main waterline armor belt is 90 mm thick, and the deck is 30 mm thick, which is enough to effectively withstand shells of the same caliber fired at a distance of about 3,000 meters between the current light cruisers. The dome structure, which sacrificed space to resist direct fire from large-caliber shells on a certain distance, was abandoned forever on German light cruisers. According to Qing Ying's effective concept, the light patrol was not originally a weapon used to face the enemy's capital ships; Rather than going overboard for extreme vertical protection, as in the past, it is better to invest weight in the enhancement of the defense immunity zone when fighting enemy light patrol dogs.

The other four Coleburg-class ships were slightly less effective, but they were also excellent light cruisers that could be called top-notch. With a standard displacement of 4,362 tons and a maximum speed of 26.5 knots, the ship is equipped with six 150 mm L42 single main guns and two 88 mm rapid-fire guns, and its armor defense is the same as that of the Magdeburg class. With a full load of 1,000 tons of coal, the ship can sail 4,600 nautical miles at a speed of 12 knots, and it is not a problem to accompany the capital ship in combat.

According to the message sent back by the Strasbourg, the largest class of the British fleet that appeared was light cruisers, and there were no heavy capital ships above the cruiser, which instantly doubled the confidence of victory in Berdick's heart. Although the British light patrol was on par with the German light patrol in terms of firepower, its speed and protection were not an order of magnitude higher than that of its own light patrol; In this case, Berdick obviously did not have any fear.

After half an hour of continuous travel, the shape on the sea was already in front of his eyes. Contrary to the Strasbourg report, the number of British warships in the sea was as high as 12; At a cursory glance, the British's newest "Chatham"-class light cruisers are among them!

"God, these are the fast forces of the British battle cruisers, could it be that the nine battle cruisers have also appeared?" Burdick was suddenly startled in his heart, and hurriedly picked up the binoculars and looked at the surrounding sea and sky. The red sun rose in the east, and there were golden clouds floating in the blue sky, and there was no trace of soot. Seeing this, Berdick breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not let his guard down in his heart; He then turned around and said in a solemn tone to the adjutant next to him, "Report our situation here to General Hipperer immediately." It is highly likely that the British battle cruisers have already been dispatched, and these light cruisers are their outposts, requesting the reconnaissance fleet to reconnoiter the nearby sea area with water planes! The adjutant saluted him, then turned and strode away.

Burdick took a deep breath and stared into the distance. Twelve British ships were 15 kilometres away, their silhouettes illuminated by the bright morning sun. Looking at the current good visibility of more than 20 kilometers, Burdick's eyes flashed, and he said loudly: "Order, the fleet turns right to a compass point, ready to fight!" (To be continued......)

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Today's author's unit has a dinner, and the update is a little late, so I hope you will forgive me