Chapter 983: Prologue in the Night
On the night of October 5, 1918. A large fleet slowly approached the port of Molde, and in the distance the brightly lit port of Molde was supplying the German submarines in the harbor, which would set off at night, avoiding the eyes and ears of the British, and by the time the day came, they had already left the confines of the British naval blockade. These guys, who have a surface speed of more than 15 knots, are enough to cover about 240 kilometers in one night. So the port of Molde at night is always busy, even more intense than during the day.
The Germans and Norwegians in the harbor at this time did not seem to realize that a powerful fleet had taken it as a target, and about 20 km northwest of the port of Molde, a powerful fleet under the command of Jericho had reached the designated position. Having determined by light and telegram that all the detachments were in place, the huge combined Anglo-American fleet began to deploy their huge military forces as planned.
According to the plan, the armored cruiser detachment will first approach the port of Molde for a tentative attack under the cover of escort warships, and then, after suppressing the counterattack in the harbor and ensuring that there is no ambush, the former dreadnought will follow up and completely destroy the port with 12-inch guns. These are all used against a possible high seas fleet, and there is nothing in Norway's ports that can only be destroyed with naval guns of more than 12 inches!
"I wish you all a smooth journey!" At the end of the light signal, Jericho on the Revenge made another message of blessing, and it was very dangerous for them to go. Perhaps there is a powerful high seas fleet lurking in the dark. It can be described as a life of nine deaths. The two detachments slowly broke away from the main fleet and began to sail towards Port Molde. They sailed slowly at a speed of 10 knots, and as long as they got close to about 10 kilometers, they could deliver a covering blow to the entire port with artillery. In half an hour at most, a rain of ruined bullets will fall on the port of Molde, and the German submarines in the harbor will also be buried in this port!
The British tactic was simple: to attack the port of Molde to test whether the enemy's capital ships were nearby, and if the German High Seas Fleet attacked the decoy fleet of old dreadnoughts and armored cruisers, the main force of the Grand Fleet hiding behind would deal a fatal blow. And in order to hide itself as much as possible, the British fleet did not let all the warships attack at the beginning. Instead, they are divided into groups to choose one or more groups to fire according to the situation such as the opponent's fire. It avoided the situation that the Germans would be completely exposed as soon as they were tempted!
But what the British did not expect was that underwater. A small periscope sticks out of the water and tries to preempt the attack position. But alas, even if the opponent sailed at a speed of 10 knots, the submarine with the number U15 could not keep up. "Stay away for a while. Prepare a report to General Scheer. Let's just say, our guests have come to the door! The bearded captain wiped his sweat and said.
"The British really came to the door!" After receiving the telegram from the U15, the German High Seas Fleet, which had been hiding southwest of Port Molde, was quickly awakened like a dormant beast! The detachments quickly communicated with each other by light. However, no one used radio to communicate, because the British were not far from here, and if a high-power radio station was found at sea, then the existence of the high seas fleet would be exposed.
"It's finally here, we didn't wait 5 days in vain. We concentrated the submarine forces in Molde just to wait for the British to take the bait, and they came! Scheer said excitedly. The state of imminence of battle puts Scheer in a state of extreme excitement. This is an opportunity. A chance to settle the naval battle in the North Sea, and at the same time a chance to end a decades-long feud between himself and Jericho!
"We used to discuss each other's futures over coffee on a warship. We have fought side by side, but more often than not, we get along as enemies, and it's time to understand, whether we win or lose. It has to be seen! Even a man as aggressive as Schell had exhausted all his energy after more than four years of war, and although the High Seas Fleet had reached the peak of its strength, his familiar men and men who had spent decades training in the German Empire had lost a large number of casualties in all naval battles. Although he is strong on the surface, Scheer knows that if he continues to fight, it really doesn't matter if he wins or loses. "We are fighting to end the war!"
"These are just small fish, we'll have to wait for the big ones later." When his subordinates asked if they were ready to attack, Scheer categorically rejected the other party's suggestion, if Jericho was the kind of person who was bent on rushing up from the beginning, how could he fight with himself until now? It's just a decoy fleet, and if no one cares, they'll blow up the entire harbor, and if they do it themselves, Jericho will be happy hiding in the dark!
"Let the 4th Battleship Detachment prepare, these decoys are just right for their appetite." Scheer thought for a while and said, since everyone is a tentative attack, after the British have revealed their position, then let the former dreadnought fleet commanded by Hansen fight the other party! The 5 former dreadnoughts and attached destroyers of the 4th battleship formation left the main force and began to slowly move towards Port Molde. They already knew that the other party was on the northwestern side of Port Molde. And Hansen's fleet approached the opponent from the southwest, so that they would not be illuminated by the lights of the harbor, while the German fleet could attack the British from the flank and rear!
"Let's fire!" Shortly after Hansen's Fourth Battlefleet departed, the four armored cruisers that had arrived at the attack position, under the command of the flagship Achilles, began to attack the distant harbor, and the roar of 9.2-inch guns and 7.5-inch guns instantly resounded across the sea, and the deadly rain of bullets sprayed by medium-caliber guns pierced the silent night sky like lightning and flew towards the distant harbor. More than ten seconds later, huge columns of smoke and fireballs came from a distance along with the sound of explosions. The whole port was in chaos, and the various ships in the berths were also scrambling to avoid the flying shells, but in the cramped harbor, it was clear that doing so would cause even more chaos.
"Implement coverage of the target area according to the predetermined plan." After several test firings, the British fleet fired more and more accurately, and with certain buildings as a reference, the British began to cover the entire port area, of course, first dealing with those shore guns, followed by various facilities and warehouses, and finally berths. "This attack is very smooth, if it goes on like this, when the former dreadnought fleet is in place, the target can be razed to the ground in a maximum of an hour." A British officer said with ease as he looked at the harbor where explosions kept ringing in the distance. ”
"Send a report to the former dreadnought detachment and the main fleet, and say that so far, the former dreadnought fleet can enter the position for artillery bombardment." The commander of the armored cruiser detachment thought for a moment and said. Subsequently, under the command of Major General Mass, four British dreadnoughts also entered the firing position, and after a short period of fire, the thick 12-inch main guns began to rain down on the distant harbor under the guidance of the fire control system. The 12-inch high-explosive shell is indeed much stronger than those medium-caliber guns, and it is much higher in terms of range and long-range accuracy.
"Are we attacking now?" A German officer looked at the British fleet that was spewing tongues of fire not far away, and then at the port of Molde, which had turned into a sea of fire, and said anxiously.
"It's still too far away, we need to get closer." Hansen frowned, suppressing the thought in his heart that he wanted to fire. There are only 5 ex-dreadnoughts on his side, and the other side is 4 ex-dreadnoughts and 4 armored cruisers, plus there are far more escort battleship configurations than his own, so he will definitely not take advantage of himself once he fights. Therefore, as the weaker party, you must ensure that you can cause as much damage as possible to the other party during the sneak attack!
"We really didn't expect that in the Battle of Norway, the first British battleship was sunk by a submarine, and our fleet continued to get closer to the target, intending to fire again when it was about 7KM away from the opponent, and the British battleship completely exposed itself under the light of the muzzle flame, because we were behind their flanks and implemented strict lighting control, so they did not find us."
"800 meters, 4 torpedo salvos!" Since the Germans set this trap for the British fleet, they would naturally arrange a submarine cordon, and unfortunately, the British battleship that was shelling outside the harbor happened to be in the ambush zone of a submarine, and the constantly firing artillery provided enough light for the submarine, and the new U500 submarine successfully entered the torpedo range, and then hit a fatal blow!
FOUR G7 TORPEDOES WEIGHING 1365KG CAME OUT OF THE TORPEDO TUBES AT A HIGH SPEED OF 37 KNOTS PER HOUR, AND THE EXHAUST GASES FROM THE HIGH-SPEED TORPEDOES LEFT A DEEP TRACE IN THE WATER, BUT UNDER THE COVER OF THE NIGHT, THE BRITISH, WHO WERE PLAYING COMFORTABLY, DID NOT REALIZE THAT THIS SNEAK ATTACKER WAS LURKING IN THE SEA, AND A MINUTE LATER, THE BATTLESHIP EDWARD VII, WHICH WAS LOCATED IN THE BATTLESHIP FORMATION, SUDDENLY SHOOK VIOLENTLY, ACCOMPANIED BY A HUGE EXPLOSION, AND A HUGE COLUMN OF WATER SURGED FROM THE SIDE OF THE SHIP. THE HIGH EXPLOSIVES OF UP TO 195KG TORE OPEN THE HULL OF THE OLD BATTLESHIP IN AN INSTANT, AND THE WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENT THAT WAS ATTACKED DIRECTLY COLLAPSED. A huge amount of sea water poured in! Dazzling firelight poured out from the Edward VII, illuminating the surrounding sea as if it were day. Almost the entire British shelling fleet was exposed to the fire!
"It's now! Hit the signal, and leave that battleship in a mine alone. He's dead, attack around it! Fight the battleship first! Hansen said excitedly. Soon the light signal was transmitted directly on the battleship, and the 5 German battleships began to accelerate, and they soon approached to a distance of only about 4500 meters from the enemy, and in less than 5 minutes, the roar of 30 11-inch 40L naval guns swore the arrival of the German counterattack!
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