How efficient is it for large battleships to break diplomatic relations at sea? Even at the peak of the cruiser war, the most successful of the Scharnhorst brothers was to knock out a merchant ship of more than 100,000 tons, which was not very good for their cost, after all, the Hipper-class heavy cruisers also achieved similar results in the cruising time of more than half a year. Judging from a certain process, in the face of a fleet without escort, there is little difference between an 11-inch cannon and an 8-inch cannon attacking a merchant ship. As for the old battleships that escorted merchant ships? Well, the gap between the Scharnhorst-class battleships and the Hipper-class heavy cruisers is not big, and the 8-inch guns can't be penetrated, and the 11-inch guns can also wash and sleep. If you want to run, everyone can quickly turn in.

But it must be admitted that these warships that wandered around the sea did provide great convenience to the specialized submarines who broke the diplomatic relationship, and the British had to concentrate a large fleet to cruise these killers in the vast ocean. This greatly disperses the opponent's forces. And those destroyers that are first-class in dealing with submarines but extremely vulnerable in the face of naval guns must also be dealt with carefully, otherwise they will be killed in seconds when they encounter the opponent's attack ship. When the cruising war was at its best, it was also the most comfortable time for submarines, and it can be said that large battleships even in the case of sea-based aviation rifles in World War 2 (the British were in tears and lay down their guns directly. It is also very useful to contain the opposing navy.

And if this situation is put into the first war, especially the first battle of this plane, three Moltke-class fast battleships plus a large number of miscellaneous warships and submarines rushed to the North Atlantic transportation line without the preparation of the Entente, the impact will be considerable! There is no existence of these behemoths on this sea. Any merchant fleet that encounters it can only end up with death. The old cruisers that were used to deal with raiding ships had to deliver food in the face of these brand new killers.

But even if the shape is good, Count Spee and Housé are not carried away. After all, God knows when Magifin will return to the Atlantic with the fleet. The U.S. fleet is not only strong in capital ships, but also in the number of destroyers and armored cruisers that can be called against the sky, although they can't fight you. But it is absolutely possible to lay out a large net at sea, although the Moltke-class battleships can be at high speed, but the fuel is limited, and the result of your high speed all day is a great reduction in range, if the American fleet returns to the Atlantic and is fully fortified, then the best option for Spain is to temporarily avoid the edge, and in order to ensure the safety of the capital ships. The Houthis did not separate the three capital ships, this is due to the fact that there are also 2 Dutch fast battleships in the American fleet, if they are separated. If a single Spanish-class fast battleship meets two opponents, it will be really unlucky!

And when the Spanish fleet reached the North Atlantic, the situation was also quite dramatic, how to say? If the raiding ship is more like a rogue who comes and goes without a trace, relying on high speed and stealth to rob. Then the Spanish fleet is like the city management of the future generations to clean up the unlicensed petty traders! The action was too strong. Even to the point where everyone uses radio to communicate with each other at will. To know. In this era, there is a radio side, and usually the attacking ship does not contact with friendly forces or the mainland for fear of being used by the other party to determine the position, and then be surrounded, but now, the most powerful storage in this sea area is the three Spanish-class battleships, and when they encounter a large fleet and the attacking ship cannot eat by itself, it is undoubtedly the best choice to sue the boss to come over and clear the field.

After receiving a telegram from a submarine. The Houthis rushed with three fast battleships to a convoy of 30 transports, large and small, numbered GH79. The total tonnage is nearly 240,000 tons! And the forces that escorted this fleet were only 4 destroyers and 1 old cruiser, the armored cruiser USS Salt Lake City. (The name was invented by the author, not a historical battleship.) Prior to this, the convoy had sunk 1 German camouflage raider, driven out a sneak attack by at least 5 submarines, and was in England in two days, and Captain Duke, who was in charge of the security of the entire fleet, relaxed when victory was in sight. This is already his sixth successful escort mission, and after this mission is completed, he can rest for a few months.

But just this morning, his own fleet was targeted again, and this is a submarine that has never been seen before. Or that its model number is not registered in the Allied Submarine Quick Reference Manual published by the U.S. Navy. The other party just followed the convoy from a distance. When the destroyer went to drive away, the submarine dived into the water. The two sides have been kept at eye distance. It seems that the visual distance is not far, but the smoke and dust emitted by more than 30 ships can be found by the other party from 20 kilometers away! By the time the destroyers passed, they had already run away, and 4 destroyers were too few for the entire fleet, so God knows if the other side was playing tricks on the other side.

According to the US Navy's escort instructions, the first thing the commander should do in the face of this situation is not to destroy the submarine, but to ensure the safety of the entire fleet. So Major Duke gave up on driving the submarine after one or two attempts, and the other side would not dare to act blatantly during the day anyway. Still, Major Duke ordered the fleet to increase its speed from 8 to 10 knots in order to get rid of the dangerous tracker.

Two hours later, the lookout said there were two pieces of news to report, a good news and a bad news. Duke was puzzled and asked what the good news was. "We seem to have shaken off the submarine, and there will be no trace of it for at least 10 nautical miles." Duke then asks what the bad news is. "There is a main fleet approaching us, and the other side is flying the Spanish flag!"

"That's what happened?" On his way, Duke had received news that Spain had entered the war and shelled the port of Saint-Nazaire. According to his estimates, the most likely option for the Spaniards after a successful blow was to return to port or continue shelling other ports, so why would you go to the North Atlantic? And how dare they attack a convoy so close to the UK. Is it true that the Royal Navy is a vegetarian?

The reality was so cruel, the Spanish fleet came, and the main battleships of the British Grand Fleet did not appear. The warships of the Grand Fleet were either anchored at the anchorage in the north at this time, or were being overhauled in the shipyard, which was really inseparable, and the British, like the Americans, did not expect the Spanish fleet to be so bold! In the face of the murderous three fast battleships, Duke decisively issued two orders, the first was to order the transport fleet to be quickly disbanded. The second order was to rush to the powerful fleet in the distance with only 4 destroyers. And when the order was just given, the opponent's first salvo had already smashed over the head!

The result of the battle can be described as completely one-sided, after reducing the Salt Lake City to pieces in less than 10 minutes, the three Spanish-class battleships did not care about the American destroyers trying to stick to the trouble, but directly hunted the scattered transport fleet, although everyone dispersed, but how far can the maximum speed of 10 knots go in a few minutes? Faced with fast battleships with high speeds of more than 25 knots, the fate of these merchant ships was sealed. In less than an hour, 30 merchant ships were destroyed, 24 were captured, and only 3 small boats escaped ascension, with a total tonnage of up to 220,000 tons, and hundreds of thousands of tons of various materials and raw materials on them! This includes a large amount of ammunition and more than 400 vehicles of all kinds!

What karma. More than 200 years ago, the British and the Dutch worked together to raid the Spanish fleet, the most famous of which was the attack on the Spanish golden fleet by the two navies, which directly blocked the latter in the harbor. And now, Drake's children and grandchildren did not expect that this scene would be repeated in the Atlantic Ocean more than 200 years later, except that the two sides had reversed positions. It turned out that the Spaniards robbed the British fleet. Only the person concerned knows what it feels like. People have to sigh that creation makes people.

In less than 5 days, two convoys of transports were annihilated as a whole, which was undoubtedly the masterpiece of three Spanish-class fast battleships. In addition to this, there were a number of lone ships and a few warships. In a few days, the three warships already had a "harvest" of almost 400,000 tons. Because of the existence of the main fleet, the Allied fleet, which was escorted only by light warships, had to be separated to avoid being overwhelmed by the opposing side's fast battleships. And the dispersed fleet naturally facilitates submarines and attack ships. If you add the results of other raiding ships and submarines, then this number can be described as terrifying!

"The blood vessels of the entire Entente were almost cut off at this moment, the impact of the Spaniards was completely subversive, we were already in sight of victory, the navy blocked the most fierce attack of the Germans, the Italians were suppressed on the ground and did not dare to come out, the combat effectiveness of the army is also growing rapidly, we are fully sure that we will end this protracted war of attrition at the beginning of next year, but the entry of the Spaniards completely ruined a qiē, and the newly increased army strength had to draw a part to deal with the Spaniards, The situation is even worse on the naval side, in the case of a large reduction in the strength of the Grand Fleet, the only force that can be relied on is the US Navy, and the US Navy lacks fast battleships and is very unsuitable for anti-sabotage operations on the ocean. And two Dutch fast battleships were not enough to deal with three Spanish-class fast battleships, and our strategic plan was completely disrupted, and every qiē needed to be readjusted and deployed," Churchill wrote in his diary after receiving the war report.

Thanks to the book friend hukaikaka and the book friend zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~~. (To be continued......)