As the Diamond turned the rudder and retreated, the two destroyers behind her, the Lieutenant Shestakov and the Lieutenant Commander Sarken, came directly into the Ruthless and the Fury, which rushed towards her. The first naval battle between the White Army and the Red Army was about to begin with a battle between destroyers.

Although it is said to be a battle between destroyers, in fact, there is a clear gap in the comparison of combat strength. The Ruthless and the Fury belong to the new type of fast destroyers that were only commissioned after 1913, with a normal displacement of about 1,100 tons and a full load displacement of "up to" 1,300 tons (some reaching nearly 1,500 tons).

Although the Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Commander Sarken are also called destroyers, they have a displacement of only more than 600 tons, and they belong to the old ships of 1907. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the Lieutenant Shestakov and the Lieutenant Commander Sarkin together are worth a Ruthless.

The difference in speed between the two sides is even more obvious, the maximum speed of the Lieutenant Shestakov-class destroyers is only 25 knots, while the ruthless-class destroyers can generally run to 34 or even 35 knots. To put it mildly, the Speed Ruthless can easily trap the Admiral Lieutenant Shestakov.

The disparity in armament is also quite obvious, with the Ruthless class having three 102mm guns and five twin 18-inch (457mm) torpedo tubes. The Lieutenant Shestakov class, on the other hand, had only one 120 mm gun and a triple torpedo tube. The former can kill the latter in terms of firepower dropping density.

The real battle situation was similar, as the four destroyers had just met, and the Ruthless and the Fury took advantage of their high speed to take advantage of their superior position. Six 102-mm guns frantically rained down on the Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Colonel Sarken. Time. There are soaring water columns rising in the eight directions of the latter, front and back, left and right, and the scene is very spectacular.

Faced with a passive situation, Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Commander Sarken also tried to return fire, but the firepower was too thin, and the two poor 120 mm guns, although slightly larger in caliber, were thrown out of the way in terms of projection ability per unit of time. And because of the relationship between facing the sun, the dazzling sunlight greatly interfered with the gunner's aiming. The few shells fired could only be described as symbolic return fire.

This bad situation did not improve significantly after the addition of two other old Brave-class destroyers, Zhivoi and Zhutki (I don't bother to translate the names of the ships, it hurts too much). These two obsolete destroyers were weaker than the Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Commander Sarken, each armed with only one 75-millimeter gun and two 18-inch torpedoes.

Especially after the Ruthless and the Fury occupied the torpedo firing position, firing nearly 20 torpedoes in one go, and the four old destroyers were Spartan in an instant. 20 fan-shaped white line bodies covered the course of four old destroyers. Any one of them will allow these small dots with a full load displacement of less than a thousand tons to fly into the sky.

In the face of the dense torpedo threat, the four old destroyers panicked instantly, and the original formation immediately collapsed, and the head of the Admiral Lieutenant Shestakov slammed a left full rudder and began to dodge. However, Lieutenant Colonel Sacken, who followed him, chose to fill the rudder on the right, and the two friends chose to part ways.

And the two Valiant-class destroyers that followed them coped even more poorly. The bold Zhivoi chose to charge at the enemy, and the Zhutki, the most behind the formation, turned its rudder and fled.

However, the Zhutki's luck was really bad, if he wanted to escape, he should not have chosen to join at the beginning of the battle, and he still had the possibility of escaping at that time. And after the Ruthless and the Fury launched a powerful torpedo offensive, in a "sea of thunder", if you want to retreat with your whole body, to tell the truth, the level of helm of the captain is quite high!

Unfortunately, the captain of the Zhutki did not possess such superb steering skills at all, and his ship was like a clumsy duck, and as soon as he turned the hull stiffly, a torpedo hit his chrysanthemum.

The scene at that time was quite shocking, and in the words of later generations, the Xiang of the Zhutki was exploded! A shocking column of water flew into the sky with the half of the stern and propeller of the Zhutki, and the height was quite amazing. The front half of the Zhutki's hull was like a horse that had been whipped severely, and it rushed forward.

After the violent explosion, the Zhutki raised its head "proudly" and quickly hugged the seabed of the Black Sea with its butt facing backwards and falling geese.

From the thunder of the Zhutki to the sinking, it only took two minutes, including the captain who was not very good at steering, and the nearly seventy heroes on the entire Zhutki only escaped two or three three-legged cats.

However, on the battlefield, even the friends of the Zhutki did not have extra time to care about this unlucky destroyer. After finally flashing a piece of torpedo, whether it was the heroic charge of Zhivoi, or the Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Colonel Saken, who flew separately, they were all facing a great crisis!

As their formation collapsed, the Ruthless and the Fury did not choose to take it as soon as they saw it, and after firing the torpedoes, instead of turning the rudder and withdrawing from the battlefield to reload the torpedoes, as is customary, they chose to plunge into the battlefield, splitting the remaining three White destroyers, and preparing to break them individually.

The first to be unlucky was the Zhivoi, a 350-ton old destroyer that had heroically crossed the "Thunder Sea" and used great courage to challenge a formidable opponent. But the gap in strength is not something that can be bridged by courage, and almost as soon as he catches fire, he is blinded by the rain of bullets from the Ruthless and the Fury.

After two volleys, the Fury opened first, and the 102-mm grenade accurately hit the torpedo tube in the middle of the Zhivoi's hull, making a group of sailors who had just turned the launch tube to aim and prepare to release the mine instantly turned into water ghosts. Immediately afterwards, the Ruthless also achieved results, digging a hole in the anchor compartment of the Zhivoi, and breaking the windlass.

Of course. Zhivoi will not sit still. Although the momentum is weak. However, he also fought back as best he could, and although the 75mm guns did not achieve success, the five three-pounder rapid-fire guns still left several scars on the Fury due to their fast rate of fire.

When the Zhivoi was besieged by the Furious and the Ruthless, Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Colonel Sarkin also knew that the situation was not good, and if they did not rush forward to support, the Zhivoi's small body would not be able to withstand a few rounds of old punches.

Lieutenant Shestakov reacted the fastest, adjusting the course. While supporting the Zhivoi as much as possible, but his support seemed quite weak, and it was too difficult to achieve results with that 120mm gun. It's better than nothing, at least to distract the sailors of the Ruthless and Fury.

Overall, in the first round of the battle, the Ruthless and Fury got off to a good start, sinking one enemy ship and disrupting the enemy formation, keeping the Mercury Memorial safe from the White destroyers on its way to the battlefield.

Let's take a breath of relief. Wait for the real protagonists of this naval battle, the Mercury Memorial and the Ascade, to take the stage. Now, they're still some distance from the center of the stage. Let's go to Sevastopol first, where the drama is about to begin.

After learning that Li Xiaofeng had left Sevastopol, Nikolai did not immediately take action, for a person like him, Li Xiaofeng's departure does not mean that he is safe, who knows whether he is really going or fake, what if the old man is suspicious, and he comes back in a circle around the sea?

Until the exact whereabouts of Li Xiaofeng are obtained, Nikolai still prefers to stand still, he has to wait for news from Odessa, and only when someone arrives in Odessa, will he show his fangs.

However, Nikolai can wait, it does not mean that Skoropatsky can also wait, he was already impatient to wait before, if it wasn't for Nikolai repeatedly asking him to refrain from it, he would have exploded long ago. Now, he feels that he has completed the transfer of the tiger from the mountain, and at this time, he should hurry up and act against time, how can he continue to wait!

"I'm not waiting!" Skoropatsky slapped the table in annoyance, stood up and walked out without looking back, "What the hell, which of you wants to wait, who waits!" Anyway, I'm not waiting! ”

Nikolai's brows moved, he felt that now had reached the most critical moment, any choice they made would determine the success or failure of the action, the more at such a time, the more they should calm down!

"That's not calm, you're cowardly!" Skoropatsky snorted contemptuously and sarcastically: "Before, you said that you would not lead Andrei away. Petrovich can't act, okay, I promised you, paying great losses to lure him away. And now that the milky and dry boy is gone, what do you say to calm down, how do you calm down? Wait for him to come back? ”

At the end, he laughed loudly: "You are just a coward without seeds, if you don't dare to do it, then I will do it myself...... I'm going to show you how we Ukrainian men do things! ”

After saying that, Skoropatsky pulled his legs and prepared to go out, at this time Nikolai couldn't help it, and warned for the last time: "Mr. Skoropatsky, if you rashly carry out the action, then our previous agreement will be null and void!" ”

Skoropatsky turned his head and stared at Nikolai viciously, his expression like a wolf. As a weak and weak force in Ukraine that survives in the cracks, he has to look at people's faces everywhere, and without the support of the Germans, he has already fallen through a big fight, and if he falls out with the Entente now, he really can't be mixed.

However, he was unwilling to let Skoropatsky continue to wait for such a boring death, he was afraid of missing the opportunity, for this plan, he had already bet all his capital on it, and he really couldn't afford to lose.

Just as Nikolai and Skoropatsky made eye contact, the door to the hideout was slammed open, and a man rushed in breathlessly, and then immediately stupefied by the tense atmosphere in the room.

Nikolai looked away quietly and asked calmly, "What's the matter?" ”

The visitor swallowed and spat, stumbling back, "Just got in touch with the Diamond!" ”

Skoropatsky immediately asked: "What do they say, did it succeed?" ”

There was a regretful expression on the face of the visitor, "The plan to occupy Mykolaiv failed, and the Diamond fled from Nikolaev with the destroyers Zhivoi, Zhutki and the gunboat Donetsk......"

Skoropatsky looked annoyed, the Diamond was full of his men. It was hoped that Nikolaev would also be captured. Whoever thought of it also failed. He asked, a little unhappily, "Where is the Diamond now?" ”

The man said, "They have joined the Ascade. According to the plan, we will sail to Sevastopol to assist us in the operation, but ......"

Before the man could finish speaking, Skoropatsky slapped the table again in annoyance: "What does it matter with their little strength, and our person in charge here is still a coward, hum!" ”

Nikolai didn't mean to fight back, he was more concerned about what the person who came said was what it was.

The visitor swallowed and foamed. said: "Rear Admiral Garanin led the fleet to encounter the Mercury Memorial halfway through, and when the report was sent, it was in an exchange of fire with the Mercury Remembrance......"

"Say it again!"

Nikolai was instantly excited, he rushed up and grabbed the man's shirt with an arrow, and asked viciously: "Are you sure that it was the Mercury Memorial who fought with them?" ”

The person who came wanted to say, "How can I be sure that Lao Tzu is not at the scene." But Nikolai's vicious expression made him swallow back what he wanted to complain about, and replied honestly: "That's what Major General Garanin said on the telegram......

Nikolai's face was cloudy for a while, and he pondered for a while before ordering: "You immediately call back Major General Galanin and ask him to be sure." Is it the Mercury Memorial or not! ”

The messenger ran away, and Skoropatsky asked thoughtfully, "If you can be sure it's the Mercury Memorial." Isn't it time for us to take action? ”

Nikolai did not answer this question directly, he sat back in his original position, and said slowly: "If the Mercury Memorial is off the coast of Nikolaev, then it can move, but the safest thing is to wait for news from Odessa......"

Garanin's nose was crooked when Nikolai received the news that he was at war with the Mercury Memorial. The rear admiral felt that Nikolai was simply, there were only two Warrior-class cruisers in the Black Sea Fleet, Kagul should be anchored in Sevastopol, who else could appear here?

Kalanin didn't want to deal with this kind of unintelligent request, the battle situation on the sea was not good for him, and when his ship Ascade arrived on the battlefield, the Zhutki was completely out of sight, and the situation of the Zhivoi was not much better, the whole ship was shrouded in smoke and flames, and was withdrawing from the battlefield in a stealthy way. Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Commander Sarkin were also firmly pinned down by the Fury and the Ruthless, and if he hadn't arrived in time, it would have been only a matter of time before the two destroyers were beaten into a sieve.

This kind of scene was far from what Garanin had imagined, and what was even more infuriating was that when the Ruthless and Fury found him approaching the battlefield, they immediately sped up to turn the rudder. This made Garanin, who wanted to avenge his subordinates, very angry. He thinks that the other party doesn't bring seeds at all, and will only bully the small with the big, don't run if you have a seed, let's compare and match with real knives and guns!

Garanin wanted to catch up and beat the "Reservoir Dogs", but the speed of the Ascade was really not powerful, let alone the Ruthless and the Fury, even if it was replaced by the Lieutenant Shestakov and Lieutenant Commander Sarken, he would not be able to escape.

"Accelerate, accelerate!"

Garanin kept urging the chief engineer to speed up, he felt that the other party's two destroyers had escaped under his strong pressure, and it was very likely that the Mercury Memorial would also escape, and he was eager to rush into the engine room to help the stoker shovel coal.

And at this time, Nikolai's brain-dead telegram arrived, and it is understandable that he is angry, but fortunately there is still self-knowledge in this goods. Knowing who brought him back to military power, the representative sent by his godfather couldn't afford to provoke him even if he was brain-dead, and for the sake of his career, he met Nikolai's request.

"Confirmed so soon?" Nikolai was amazed by Garanin's speed and was even less reassured by the result.

However, the messenger did not want to make another trip, explaining: "Rear Admiral Garanin is engaged with the Mercury Memorial, and he is very sure that his opponents are none other than the Mercury Memorial and the Ruthless and Fury!" ”

Nikolai still nodded slowly, but Skoropatsky couldn't help it anymore, and he couldn't wait to jump out again: "Now everything can be determined, Andrei. Petrovich, if not in Odessa, must be on the Mercury Memorial...... No more problems, do it! ”

To tell the truth, Nikolai still had doubts, but it was not only Skoropatsky who was impatient at the scene, but the other former officers of the Black Sea Fleet who had been in contact with him couldn't help it. If he continues to ask for patience, I am afraid that the sky will be turned upside down immediately. And although this news is not particularly reliable, it can be regarded as eight or nine points of certainty, everything to be perfect, it is almost impossible, and if you are eighty percent sure, you can completely let it go!

Suddenly, Nikolai made up his mind, he slammed the table hard, and shouted categorically: "Do it! ”

Almost at the same time that Nikolai decided to make a move, on the surface of the sea, the Mercury Memorial finally arrived on the battlefield, and she met the Ascade, and she answered without fear, fulfilling Garanin's desire to fight.

"That's what a man looks like!"

Satisfied, Garanin lowered his binoculars, and he began to sketch a new picture, and under his perfect command and powerful offensive, the Mercury Memorial raised the white flag in disarray...... With the pride of a victor, he boarded this historic ship with great dignity...... After that, he will retake the Black Sea Fleet with the momentum of victory, and then his fleet will cleave the waves and move forward bravely, destroy all the rebels, and restore the land and honor of Russia in one fell swoop...... (To be continued......)