The afternoon sun is blazing, spreading its scorching temperature to every corner. The blue sky is clear and the clouds are floating. On the vast sea, a fleet of more than a dozen warships was splitting the waves and hurrying to the northwest; Splashes of water flew from the sides of the bow of these ships, some even hitting the bow. Judging by this situation alone, they are by no means cruising at normal speed!

In the navigation room of a huge battleship, the commander of the German 5th battleship detachment, Wilhelm? Major General Mashaal is looking at the sea and sky in the distance; Although it was a vast blue, the shape of an American fleet appeared in his eyes. As time passed, there was a faint sense of excitement and excitement in Machar's heart that the big battle was coming, and he kept adjusting the frequency of his breathing, and finally let his mind return to caution and calm in the midst of restraint.

An hour earlier, Machar, who had been receiving supplies on the outskirts of the port of San Juan, had received an order from the USS Wilhelm the Great: the 5th Battlefleet under his command had immediately pulled anchor and gone to the Dominican landing ground to meet the invading enemy, and the cruisers and destroyers that had accompanied him were temporarily placed under his command. The telegram succinctly laid out the possible actions of the main American fleet and demanded that he must hold back the enemy in battle and ensure the safety of the landing force in Dominica. When Mashal pronounced this order to the whole army, there was a boiling cheer when the battleship boarded; All the sailors were gearing up and eager to try, and the morale of the troops instantly climbed to the highest peak since the formation of the unit!

As a fleet commander. Machar fully understood the reaction of his officers and men. This battlefleet under his command. It was the absolute pride of the German Navy during the Twenty-Year Treaty: four Bavaria-class battleships armed with four triple 400 mm guns. It has long been deeply imprinted in the hearts of every German sailor in the constant propaganda of peacetime. Whether it is tonnage or firepower, they have occupied the first throne in the world for many years, and are the best proof that the emerging German Navy replaced Britain in the control of the Poseidon Trident. Although the main position of these battleships has given way to new flat-topped ships under the passage of time, and their applicability and combat effectiveness have been surpassed by the Bismarck class of later generations, every sailor who served on this class of battleships has undoubtedly figured out a magnificent battle to prove his worth and deserve honor!

Due to the limited size and internal space of the original type of battleship of this class. As a result, they can only run 28 knots with an output of 130,000 horsepower after a large-scale rebuild; Although this speed is already quite fast, it is undoubtedly quite inferior to aircraft carriers and junior battleships with a full load speed of 31~32 knots. In order not to slow down the high-speed maneuver of the aircraft carrier group, Schell left this detachment behind and prepared to use it as a fire support ship in the battle to seize the island in the Caribbean Sea. The German sailors, eager to establish meritorious service, were disappointed in this idle task, believing that there was no place for them again; Now, however, the surprise of the military situation has finally given the fleet the responsibility of fighting, how can this not surprise the German sailors?

Just thirty minutes later, the excited sailors were ready to sail faster than during the exercise. Maneuver the battleship and gallop towards the target area at top speed. The seaplanes carried by the ship also ejected into the air one after another to search and reconnoiter the surrounding waters. Because of the eerie nature of the northern part of Dominica, the Bermuda Triangle has always been seen as a daunting destination for ships. The reconnaissance range of German aircraft was reduced to a few fixed sea areas; Less than two hours later, the battleship Baden, where Mashal was located, received a report of a seaplane. A formation of 6 new battleships, 4 cruisers, and 10 destroyers has appeared in the waters south of Dominica a hundred nautical miles away, and the pilots can already be sure that it is the American fleet!

"The Americans have so many ships!" Hearing the reconnaissance news from the signal room, Machar couldn't help but feel a shock in his heart: if his pilots had not miscalculated, then the enemy he would have to face this time would undoubtedly be a force that was better than his own! Seeing the majestic main gun group in front of the battleship, the fear in Machar's heart was fleeting, replaced by a stronger determination to fight. Twenty-four years ago, the German High Seas Fleet was at a disadvantage over the British Grand Fleet, and it was only by the addition of decisive battle patrols that it was barely able to maintain parity on paper; However, with the courage to fight to the death, the High Seas Fleet won an epic victory comparable to Trafalgar's, wrestling control of the seas from the seemingly unshakable pedestal of the British. Now, with 4 capital ships with excellent performance and tens of thousands of excellent sailors with long-term training, no matter which point of view, you should have a fight to the death with the other party!

The wind howled, the waves danced, and the German fleet continued to gallop westward at a speed of more than 26 knots: while the build-up on the bottom of the battleship could be scraped off by divers when it was anchored, the problem of fouling in the boiler pipes could not be maintained in South America. After more than four months of overseas dispatch, the current maximum speed of the Bavarian class can only be maintained at 26 knots, which is already the result of the extra maintenance of the power system by German sailors. Martial didn't feel too worried about this situation, after all, the speed of the second quarter is not the key factor in the decisive battle; As long as you can beat your opponent, then the battleship will naturally be preserved. If the opponent's land-based attack aircraft wants to take advantage of this weakness to launch an air attack on itself, its own side also has corresponding shore-based fighters to hold up an air umbrella for it.

The clouds are ringing, the sun is dark, and the clouds in the western sky are showing a spectacular scene of gilt gilding, and the time has come to 5:30 p.m. sharp. During this time, an American attack aircraft also spotted the German fleet, which was subsequently besieged by nearly twenty bombers; However, with the advance warning of anti-aircraft radars and the timely protection of shore-based fighters, the US bombing campaign was in vain. There were a lot of echoes on the Baden's sea-searching radar, and dense spots of light lit up on the screen; A few minutes later, the lookout on the mainmast also spotted the gray shadow in the far west, and the American fleet was emerging at sea level 26 kilometers away!

"Bang! Bang! Just as the shadows of the ships on both sides were still difficult to distinguish from the masts, the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns on either side of the battleship opened fire first. The seaplanes hovering in the sky have become a thorn in the side of all sides that want to get rid of them quickly, and they are most likely to carry the mission of correcting the guns of the opposing capital ships. For the German fleet in particular, the destruction of the enemy's battleships unleashed reconnaissance was particularly important: the 150 mm horizontal armor of the Bavaria-class was as strong as a mountain when it was first built, but today it is no longer superior, and if the enemy launches an artillery attack at a very long distance, their horizontal defense is likely to be insufficient.

Thankfully, Machar was able to find his anti-aircraft firepower, which was a bit difficult to deal with in the face of high-speed attack aircraft, but it was not stressful against the slow seaplanes. Not long after, the two US military scouts were disintegrated in the air, and the other several planes also hid in the clouds, and could no longer conduct effective observation. In the majestic main turret, the German gunners had already completed the first round of reloading; The 12 sturdy and thick cannons on each battleship proudly pointed to the sky like the giant arms of the gods, and the majestic charm of the eyes and eyes was only possessed by the battleship, the most large, complex, and sophisticated warplane made by mankind!

"The target is at a distance of 24,500 meters, azimuth 174, and a half-salvo is fired!"

"Boom!" When a landslide and tsunami sounded in the air, the 400-mm guns on the German battleships finally let out their powerful roar to the enemy after 20 years of service. The light waves were wrapped in bright yellow, gray and black gunsmoke, and rushed out nearly 70 meters long in an instant, looking like a fire dragon breaking through the sea and red Jiao soaring into the sky from a distance. The 1,150 kg shell was suddenly increased to a speed of 720 m/s under the action of the projectile, and in an instant it broke through the sky and disappeared into the dense clouds. With the continuous advancement of metallurgical technology, the Bavarian class has also been completely replaced with new heavy shells in the modernization and modification; Compared with the previous 970kg shell, the new bullet has been greatly improved in both vertical and horizontal penetration.

In the distance, the American battleships were also bursting with red light, which meant that they immediately launched a counterattack. Since the Americans' water scouts had been driven away by their own anti-aircraft artillery, Machar was not worried about the accuracy of the opponent's hits at this distance; More than a minute later, the roaring and rushing column of water really rose into the air in the sea that was still thousands of meters away from him. Seeing the astonishing momentum of this column of water, the experienced Machar was almost certain of the caliber of the opposing battleship's main guns: most of them were most likely 16 inches, and some could reach 17 inches.

More than twenty kilometers apart, the German battleships were already trying to find the distance to the target. Under the high magnification of the 15-meter baseline rangefinder, the impact point became clearly visible, and with the proven half-salvo artillery technique, the process was greatly accelerated; What's more, the Bavarian class has 12 main guns, and it undoubtedly has a significant advantage over its 8-gun and 9-gun counterparts in terms of gunnery! When the opponent's artillery fire was still more than 200 meters away from the German ship, the Baden formed a straddle fire on the enemy ship 20km away, and Machar in the command tower was full of confidence, and he would soon let the Americans taste the iron fist of the German giant ship! (To be continued......)

ps: Thank you for the book friend Golden Crab, 撖~勹, and zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~