"Fire!" The repeated command to fire sounded at the various gun emplacements, and just as the Taghoff sank to the bottom of the sea, the exchange of fire between the Italian fleet and the French fleet entered a white-hot stage, and the Lorraine, which was hit by a bullet in the water, became the target of everyone! 2 Super Dreadnoughts and 1 Dreadnought concentrated their fire on the French Dreadnought, which was lagging behind, which would be the first Super Dreadnought to be lost after the start of the war, and both the Italians and Austrians wanted to take this honor into their own hands! The Italians for glory, and the Austrians for revenge! In this naval battle, two Austro-Hungarian dreadnoughts were already sunk!

A storm of steel and flames continues to strike the former sea lord. THE FRENCH OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS ON THE LORRAINE WERE COMPLETELY NUMB, LIKE A HEAVY HAMMER SHELLS CONSTANTLY HITTING THE HULL, BRINGING A STORM OF DEATH, AT A MEDIUM DISTANCE, THE FRENCH'S PROUD 343MM HARDENED ARMOR COULD NOT FULLY WITHSTAND THE ATTACK OF THE RAIN OF BULLETS, FINALLY, A SHELL PENETRATED THE HEAVY ARMOR, AND AT THE MOMENT OF ARMOR BREAKAGE, THE BODY OF THE PROJECTILE WAS ALSO TURNED INTO COUNTLESS FRAGMENTS BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENT IMPACT. However, this did not reduce its power in the slightest, because there was no obstacle behind the armor, and the steel plate of more than ten millimeters was easily torn apart, and then the flying shrapnel destroyed the running motor, and almost instantly, the interior of the Lorraine was plunged into darkness!

"We've done our best for France!" The final moment finally came, and the Lorraine finally couldn't hold on under the fierce blow, only to see that the battleship, which had been seriously tilted, shook violently, and when the tilt reached a critical point, the entire battleship completely capsized. No matter how much the French crew tried to save the battleship, it could not avoid its loss! Although Lorraine was still occupied by the Germans. But this French super-dreadnought named after Lorraine still fulfilled its duty and fought to the last moment!

Shortly after the Lorraine sank into the sea, a huge pillar of fire rose from the French battle. The huge force propelled countless flames and debris into the air hundreds of meters high! Then spread out in all directions under the action of the sea breeze and explosion, and a gray-brown mushroom cloud that foreshadowed destruction quickly formed, and below it, a gray-white figure broke in two!

"The battleship Diderot has been destroyed!" An officer reported to George Leger. The latter just waved his hand, indicating that he already knew that a 14-inch armor-piercing bullet had pierced the upper armor of the Diderot and then burrowed into an ammunition depot. As a result, the battleship, which had been wrecked, was finally buried at the bottom of the sea. And now, the once majestic French main fleet was left with only 4 battleships, and half of the battleships were lost. And whether these 4 battleships can go back is still a question, the Italians have at least more than 2 hours to finish off themselves!

"Report, a column of smoke has been found in the northeast direction! The British are coming! Almost at the same time, George Leg and Tycho received a report from their subordinates. The fleet, which had always been huge, gradually became clear in the telescopes of both sides. "God bless France!" The French officers and soldiers, who were already in a desperate situation, praised God loudly, praised all the gods they knew, even Nelson, who once made the French hate to the bone! Now, the remaining French ships can finally return alive, and the addition of a powerful fleet has changed the whole situation.

"Withdraw." Tycho said with regret, and after glancing at the crumbling French fleet in the distance with billowing smoke, he gave the final order to retreat. "God has blessed us to win this great battle, and we cannot be insatiable. We showed the British the miserable state of their allies. "Look at the dejected Italian officers around them. Tycho said lightly.

"The French fleet is finished, they are no longer combat-ready. If it had been Admiral Garibaldi, he would have ordered the fleet to attack the British! An officer shouted. I don't know if it was because the battle gave him confidence or because he was a warmonger himself, he said loudly after Tycho gave the order to retreat.

"On average, there are only about 15 armor-piercing shells left in our main guns, and the remaining 8 battleships have lost nearly half of their main gun fire on average, and each of them is wounded. We are not superior, and they also have 6 armored cruisers. Without waiting for Tycho to speak, another officer retorted.

The Italian fleet, led by the Caraccino, made a huge U-shaped course on the sea, heading in the direction of the mainland. The remaining French had no intention of continuing to engage them, and they repaired their ships as they headed for their homeland. And the British are also in a dilemma, to chase or not to chase? Thomas looked at the dilapidated but still powerful fleet in the distance, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"With just another 30 minutes, we can bring them into the range of the main gun, and we have nearly 2 hours to crush them!" A voice sounded in Thomas's head, "They are not strong, even if the other side is 2 times as many as us." "Defeat them and you will be the second Nelson, your statue will appear in Trafalgar Square, and you will save the Entente!"

"Spot a torpedo on the starboard side, be careful to avoid it!" The sudden sound of the siren woke Thomas from his contemplation, and two thunder trails spread out from the sea on the right side of the South Africa, and the South Africa quickly evaded, which led to a small chaos in the fleet, and it was no accident that while the South Africa was dodging the enemy submarine attack, 3 thunder trails also appeared on the port side of the New Zealand! It is clear that there is more than one submarine that attacked them!

"Damn, we're playing on each other's home turf!" Thomas cursed that the Italian submarines were attacking very reluctantly, the position was not good, and because of the auxiliary warships, the two submarines fired torpedoes almost at the extreme range, although the British were scrambling, but they did not pose a threat. However, it also reminded the British that their opponents were not only above the water, but also from the surface of the water, where there were also a large number of submarines, and after a maximum of 2 hours, night was coming! If the British insist on pursuit, there may be some trouble at night!

Before World War 2, the dominant player would have an inexplicable fear of night fighting. Because the night will provide maximum protection for the weak, the firepower of the stronger side will be greatly reduced because the target cannot be found, and the heavy armor will also be ineffective due to the proximity of the engagement distance, the Chinese navy tried its best to avoid night battles, and the British did the same! What's more, this time they will fight against each other at the door of their own home, and there are still a large number of submarines and mines waiting for them underwater, and Thomas shuddeers a little when he thinks of this! With just one chance, a super dreadnought will be hit hard! This is obviously a bit of a big price!

"Cover the return of the French fleet to the Eastern Mediterranean, and then we retreat to Alexandria." The battle is over, there is no point in staying here, don't forget, by the time you leave, I'm afraid that the German-Turkish fleet cowering in the Persian Gulf will no longer be able to bear it, right? Without themselves, the Indian Ocean would be their world. Thomas ran for nothing this time! If it weren't for the fact that he sank a dreadnought, Thomas would have been a bit embarrassed! Of course, it didn't matter much to him, he just did what he was told. Even he acted ahead of time, it can only be said that this time, fate is not on his side!

The British fleet then drew an arc on the sea and headed for the French fleet, and in order to prevent the Italians from killing them and to expel the Italian submarines who did not know where to hide, Thomas decided to give the French a ride. The curtain finally came down on the first large-scale naval battle of the First World War, in which the French lost 1 super-dreadnought, 3 dreadnought, as well as 4 pre-dreadnought battleships and up to 8 armored cruisers. There are more than 20 destroyers and light cruisers of all kinds. As a result of this battle, the French Navy lost more than half of its combat effectiveness.

And the Ito-Austrian fleet, which was on the side of the victors, also paid 2 dreadnoughts and 3 ex-dreadnoughts, as well as 5 armored cruisers! Destroyers and light cruisers also sank more than a dozen, and it can be said that just about 7 hours of engagement wiped out the accumulation of nearly 20 years of three industrial powers! This speed of destruction was unexpected by everyone, and it also meant that with the maturity of armor-piercing projectile skills and the increase in artillery caliber, the situation between spear and shield had changed!

Although the battle was won, Tycho said that I am afraid that for a long time, it will be impossible for the Italian fleet to have another decisive battle at sea, not to mention that the remaining battleships are all wounded, and the number of large-caliber main guns that need to be replaced is no less than 30, and all the battleships have been flooded to varying degrees. In a more serious way, it is estimated that they will spend about three months on the slipway, but one thing is fortunate that the Italians have finally obtained the coveted sea control in the Western Mediterranean, and as long as the British do not increase their troops, then the Allied North Africa strategy can be implemented.

Tycho, who had relaxed, felt a wave of fatigue hit him, he was a little tired, he had been planning everything since Italy decided to go to war, and now he had finally completed his mission. For his country and for his teachers, he handed in a qualified answer sheet. "Perhaps, one day, I can be called a hero of the times together with my teacher and Yang Yonglin." Tycho whispered.

"Huh? Wrong! Suddenly a stirring spirit woke Tycho from his drowsiness, and that is, he suddenly remembered the question, how could the English arrive at the battlefield so coincidentally? This is definitely not an accident! The British gave up the surveillance of the German-Turkish fleet and came to the Mediterranean at home, which was definitely premeditated, and even planned to join the French fleet to annihilate the Italian-Austrian fleet! Only this time Lady Luck is on his side!

"Something is wrong with one of us!" A terrible thought had completely dispelled Tycho's sleepiness, and he had to find a way to find the answer to his question now! Otherwise, the next time you may be unlucky is the Italian Navy, and Lady Luck will not be able to favor you all the time!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward, and the book friend LM1876TF the monthly pass to support the ~~~~~. (To be continued......)