A column of water exploded by a series of large-caliber shells in the vicinity of the "Kunlun", and Rear Admiral T) Zhi quickly identified from the telescope that the enemy ships that came to reinforce were 1 Drake-class, 2 Edinburgh-class, and 1 Devonscher-class, all of which were first-class armored cruisers with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons:

The Drake class has a displacement of 14000~:] point 2-inch (two, three, four-mm) main guns and 16 6-inch secondary guns (2 6-inch guns can be used on either side).

The Edinburgh-class has a displacement of 11,500 and is equipped with 6 single-mount 9-point 2-inch main guns and 10 6-inch secondary guns (49-point 2-inch and 5 6-inch guns on either side).

Devon Scher class displacement 10800~:] point 5-inch (190 mm) main gun and 66-inch secondary gun (375-inch and 36-inch guns can be used on either side).

Completed between 1903 and 1906 and with a maximum speed of 2,223 knots, the 3rd class had a maximum of 6 inches (152 mm) of main armor belts, unlike the thin-skinned "Monmouth" class, which was enough to give the commander a sense of security and the ...... that came with it Guts.

Rear Admiral Abbasnot, commander of the British 1st Cruiser Squadron aboard the Cape of Good Hope (Drake-class), had apparently given himself enough fuel to order an "all-ship assault" and asked Rear Admiral Haas's 2nd Cruiser Squadron to turn around and counterattack.

The pursuit of 64 suddenly turned into a counterattack of 86, Rear Admiral Yang Tianzhi on the "Kunlun" had to reassess the situation, he first ordered the whole team to avoid the northeast together, temporarily avoiding the edge, and in the next few minutes, the British 9.2-inch shells fell scattered behind the buttocks of the ships, and even failed to use sea water to wash the deck of the ** ship, so Yang Tianzhi, who had a sense of superiority, ordered the ships to slow down to 24 knots and continue to carefully observe the movements of the other party.

At 16:35, when Yang Tianzhi witnessed the other support force of the other side, the 10th Fleet of the 8I-class destroyer, suddenly appear in front of the "Kunlun" on the right, he decided to abandon the risk, and immediately ordered the ships to release the smoke screen and turn due north to retreat at full speed.

After the battle, Yang Tianzhi defended his retreat order: "I am not worried about a long-range artillery battle with equal strength, but it is never wise to get into a scuffle with the enemy's superior forces, especially when it also includes a considerable number of rapid lightning strike troops, which will make us scramble and cause unnecessary losses." ”

Rear Admiral Abbasnot and Rear Admiral Haas had no intention of pursuing them, and of course, their ships could not catch up at all, and Colonel Windland, commander of the 10th Destroyer Fleet on the "Impermanence", was not hot-headed.

Around 17 o'clock, the light forces of the two sides basically disengaged from contact.

In less than an hour of desperate and fierce fighting. The Allies battle-sank light cruisers "Daring", "Glasgow", "Comas" and "Bristol". Destroyer "Fierce". as well as 20 destroyers such as the "Laurel"; Heavy damage to the destroyers "Reckless" and "Corolla". More than 2,000 crew members were killed or missing in battle.

In contrast to that. The East Asian military sank light cruisers "Golden Leopard" and "Green Leopard". as well as 8 destroyers such as "Guyang"; Heavy damage to the light cruisers "White Panther", "Leopard". As well as 4 destroyers such as "Xinyang". More than a thousand crew members were killed or missing in battle.

And outside the main battlefield. The East Asian Army's mobile forces were attacked by the Allied shore-based air forces, and the last intact aircraft carrier "Golden Falcon" was the last aircraft carrier. After all, they couldn't escape the torpedoes that staggered from both sides. First, at 16:21, the port side was thundered. The damage management center closed the damaged compartment in a timely manner. No serious damage was caused. After 2 minutes, there was another thunder in the rear of the port side. Water ingress into the engine room. Immediately stalled and stopped. 4:26 p.m. Another thunder hit the starboard front. The standby generator was damaged and failed. The whole ship could not find a single pumping machine that could use the ground. The "Golden Falcon" began to sink slowly.

to 1645 points. Acting Commander of the Force, Vice Admiral Bi Lingbo, who had no way to maneuver, ordered the ship to be abandoned. The command was transferred to the light patrol "Dragon Leopard". The rest of the crew was contained by the light cruiser "Sky Leopard" and the destroyer "Mengyang". Immediately, they began to organize all ships to search for and rescue our pilots who had to make a forced landing on the sea due to the loss of their mothership.

1705 points. Battlecruiser "Thunder".

"The enemy queen modified battleship has been spotted in the front right. The distance is twenty-two thousand yards. Speed 18. Head southwest. ”

After holding his breath and listening to the report of the observation post, Yuan Feng grinned and stroked the bandage on the top of his forehead, hissed a few times in his mouth, and smashed his fist on his thigh: "You, you really know how to go around in circles, Lao Tzu is happy." ”

On the chart in front of him, a self-righteous "T" slanted to the lower right of Lu stood out.

A few minutes ago, as the "B" telegram sent by the "Pinghai" spread throughout the ships, the more than 10-kilometer-long column of the East Asian Army's main ships gradually broke into two parts: The "B unit," composed of five low-speed battleships below the "Longwei," maintained a speed of 22 knots and temporarily broke out of the battle in the direction of due east

At 16:30, the forces will turn southwest and pursue the first unit in close pursuit; The "A Force," consisting of the 12 high-speed battleships on the Lee T and the two battle cruisers "Thunder" and "Thunderbolt," which were still in good condition, accelerated to 25 knots together, maintained its original southeast course until 16:30, and then took the lead with the "Thunder" and turned due south in turn, and after 20 minutes, it turned southwest in turn.

If, during this period, the Allied capital ship column, which was originally sailing parallel in the same direction to the south of the capital ship column of the East Asian Army, still maintained its original course, at this moment, the 14 tall ships of Unit A were in front of the column of the Allied capital ship column, and they beautifully seized the so-called "T-shaped horizontal head".

It was evident that the reality before us was very different from the good ideals on the charts, and it was clear that the Entente ships had left their course long before the first turn of force A, and had turned around and retreated in unison to the southwest, the direction from which they had come.

After a short period of sighing and regret, and scolding his mother, Yuan Feng ordered the situation to be reported to the general flagship, and then issued the instruction of "preparing for the main artillery".

The weakening sunlight in the west is no longer so dazzling, and the shadow of the "Revenge" ship located southwest of the "Thunder" has become more blurred, but the visibility has been greatly improved, and the smoke screen within a radius of tens of kilometers has long been thrown away by the two sides, and as the distance between the two sides has shortened sharply at a rate of 7 nautical miles per hour, or 1400 per 10 minutes, the two ships are moving more and more in parallel, and the adverse effects of the original southwest wind on the East Asian Army are gradually weakening.

The performance of the main gun fire system of the Leizi, which has long been verified in the sea of the Gulf of Alaska, how to give full play to it when the observation and aiming conditions are improved at this time - this is the only problem that Yuan Feng wants to pay attention to next.

A few minutes later, the battleship "Pinghai".

"That's right, the purpose of launching a lightning strike is to cover the main force to leave, which is also expected."

Sa Zhenbing pushed away the newspaper in his hand without emotion.

Ye Fei looked lost: "Bai turned such a big turn, and now the T head can't be grabbed ......"

Sa Zhenbing picked up the tea bowl that the orderly had just presented, rubbed the lid, blew and blew, took a sip of half a mouthful, and said leisurely: "Instead of fleeing to the open sea and letting the superior army slaughter, it is better to continue to walk close to the shore, it is easier to get support, this is not a matter of course." That's why they left us alone and concentrated shore-based aviation to strike mobile units. ”

Ye Fei said with a bitter face: "Yes, although it was expected, it is a pity that we failed to grab the T head after all, now the mobile force is finished, if we can't solve the problem before dawn tomorrow, we will face the enemy's shore-based aviation without cover." ”

Sa Zhenbing smiled without malice: "Pinning your hopes on the stupidity of the enemy is a kind of foolishness in itself. The key to step B is to get rid of the threat of the enemy's lightning attack forces, and to pursue the enemy's main force with a neat battle column and an absolutely superior speed. ”

Ye Feideng's eyes lit up: "And then annihilate them all in one breath in the night battle?" ”

Sa Zhenbing smiled faintly, noncommittal.

……

"Queen Elizabeth".

"That's right, 16:24...... My lion cub dived so quickly and thought it would last longer......"

Betty shrugged and easily accepted the fact that his former flagship, the Lion, had long since sunk.

"The enemy has caught up, 20,000 yards northeast of the Revenge, there are two Thunderbolt-class ships at the head, and 4 Pinghai-class ships at the back, and more enemy ships are still being identified." Lieutenant Colonel Kanter, who suddenly rushed into the bridge, reported with a calm expression.

"Very well, just let them come." Betty squeezed out a resigned smile.

Kanter looked directly at Betty, his sword-like gaze as if it was about to pierce his commander: "Is it really going to be a charge?" In this way, the outnumbered crowd can only be completely annihilated. Will sacrificing the 3 most powerful battleships in the fleet really save the remaining outdated broken ships? ”

Betty tilted her head, not intending to meet the overly sharp gaze head-on, and flicked a telegram on the table: "Westland has just reported that his shore-based air force has inflicted heavy damage on the enemy's last aircraft carrier, which means that as long as we survive the night, we will be able to retreat safely after dawn under the protection of shore-based aviation." ”

"Will they survive without us?" Kanter said stiffly.

Betty picked up another telegram and shook it: "Bernie's reinforcements are coming at full speed, and it is estimated that they will converge in 1 hour, they may be a burden in the daytime frontal battle, but in the chaotic night battle, the number is more decisive." ”

After a pause, Betty turned to Kante and looked directly: "Are you afraid that you will sink with the ship?" ”

Kante hesitated and shook his head: "No, I'm not afraid. ”

Betty pouted and smiled, "Maybe I'm scared, but I don't have a choice." ”