Australian Storm 1876 - Chapter 1040

Chapter 1040 The Glory of Germany

The rise of the Oceanic Empire is a great stimulus to any ambitious country and individual. The same is true for Americans, Fuso, Germans, including Russians. Although the historical trend has not changed much, they have become better. Fighting, the policy is more aggressive.

What Tang people can do, why can’t we do it?

belongs to the pride of the Germans, and is not inferior to the British or the French. Now, they are eager to show their naval talents in the Atlantic, hit the British maritime hegemony hard, and achieve a glorious victory for the Germans.

Admiral Reinhard Scheer’s battle plan was very much in line with Kaiser Wilhelm II’s appetite. In the deepest part of his heart, there was a dream of the German navy galloping across the world’s oceans.

Whenever he thinks of this, he trembles with excitement.

And this day is coming, Kaiser Wilhelm II personally decided that Admiral Reinhardt-Schell was appointed as the commander of the Oceanic Fleet and personally led this exciting naval decisive battle plan.

There are amazing coincidences in history, just like the original historical time and space, but is this really the case?

The time has come to 16 years, and the world war has entered its third year. The Allied and Allied camps have decided this year as the year of the decisive battle, and they will do their best to defeat the opponent in order to win the final victory of the war.

The armies of the Allied Powers and the Allied Powers slaughtered in the dark on the European continent, and the battle between the British and German sides on the sea has not stopped.

After two battles in the early Heligoland Bay and Dogger Sands, the British Royal Navy caused a certain amount of damage to the German Navy and established itself as a dominant position in the North Sea. This is a situation that the Germans must not endure.

The Battle of Fate begins again

more than a month later

The tough-minded Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer obtained the independent command of the fleet from Kaiser Wilhelm II, and was intensively preparing for a large-scale attack. Sharp teeth.

In this operation, Germany sent a total of 16 dreadnoughts, 5 battlecruisers, 6 former dreadnought battleships, 11 light cruisers and 61 destroyers, with a total displacement of 660,000 tons, which was almost the majority of the German navy at that time.

In order to cooperate with the operations of surface ships, the German side also sent 16 submarines and 10 airships to provide reconnaissance and cover for the fleet on the seabed and in the sky.

After the night of May 31st, the reconnaissance fleet under the command of Hipper and the main fleet under the command of Scheer set out from the anchorage and set off northward.

On the 30th day of Scheer’s order to the High Seas Fleet, Britain intercepted German wireless telegrams.

The British had deciphered the German cipher code two years ago, quickly grasped the movements of Hipper’s fleet, and responded immediately, preparing to intercept the German fleet and let them see who is in this ocean. Owner?

At 21:30 that night, the British Grand Fleet set off from Scapa Flow, and at 22:00, the 5th Battleship Squadron and battlecruisers set off from Roses.

At 22:15, the 2nd Battleship Squadron set off from Invergordon, and several fleets moved towards Jutland under the cover of night, preparing to give the Germans a big surprise.

Strictly speaking, it should be a big shock, right?

Due to the superiority of intelligence, the Royal Navy even set off two hours earlier than its opponents. The Royal Navy’s home fleet was dispatched in full force, with a total of 28 Dreadnought-class battleships, 9 battlecruisers, 8 armored cruisers, 26 light cruisers, 78 A destroyer, a minelayer and a seaplane carrier, with a total displacement of 1.13 million tons.

At about 2:00 pm on May 31, the reconnaissance fleet of the German Navy as a bait had entered the waters of the northwestern Jutland peninsula. At this time, the North Sea had high winds and rough waves, the waves reached 6 meters, and the gusts were 4-5. The North Sea, known for its harsh sea conditions, can only be considered a trick.

Admiral Hipper, the commander of the German Decoy Fleet, stood in the large and heavy commander tower of the battlecruiser “Luzov”, his eyes swept the sea like a falcon. Combat is very strong.

The “Luzov” battlecruiser is still a first-line main battleship with a displacement of 16,200 tons, with a maximum speed of 26 knots per hour, equipped with six 280mm caliber main naval guns, and has a high-tech wireless rangefinder imitation product from the Ocean Empire. Soldiers are well trained and have a high will to fight.

All of this is the confidence of Vice Admiral Hipper.

The weather in the North Sea today is not good, the sky is overcast, and there is a slight haze on the sea, which caused a lot of trouble to find the enemy fleet.

Suddenly

The German Fleet’s alarm bell rang out, and the operational staff reported on the flagship; a large group of smoke was found in the southwest, and an enemy ship was suspected of lingering nearby.

Actually

The British Beatty Fleet and the German Hipper Fleet were 50 nautical miles apart, and the two fleets were in a parallel situation. However, due to errors in the calculation of the predetermined positions by both sides, neither of them found the other.

The large cloud of steam and smoke observed by the German officers and soldiers came from the Danish steamship “The Strait”, which, as historically arranged, passed through the sea between the two fleet forwards.

An unusually large amount of steam came out of the ship, causing both sides to be alarmed.

Admiral   Hippel gave an order for the entire fleet to enter the first-level combat readiness, and ordered the light cruiser “Erpin” and two torpedo boats to go to reconnaissance.

At this time, the British Betty Fleet also sent the light cruiser “Galatia” to check it out.

14:20, British light cruiser Galatia reports:

“There are two ships heading east-southeast, which seem to be enemy ships.”

The British, with the same purpose, sent the Betty fleet to explore in front, and the home fleet of the Royal Navy followed, followed by the navies of England and Germany. The tactics were surprisingly consistent, and the fateful battle of Jutland broke out.

Betty sent the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron to support the Galatia. At 14:28 the Galatia was hit by a 150mm shell from the German Erpin, but luckily the bomb Unexploded… The Battle of Jutland officially begins.

For soldiers, the sound of cannons is an order.

The light ships that came to check immediately started to fight, and quickly reported the situation to the main fleet, and the battlecruisers in the rear immediately approached the battlefield.

after an hour

At about 15:20, in the turbulent waves of the North Sea, one after another, the tall steel triangular masts of the huge battlecruisers floated on the sea, rushing towards the battlefield with a chilling air, and the tall chimneys spit. The thick black smoke blackened the sky, and the icy steel hull crushed the ocean and charged wildly towards the battlefield.

At this point, both the British and German battlecruisers were able to observe each other with the naked eye.

The enemy is very jealous when they meet.

At this time, what you say is all nonsense, just one word; “God mother ball drop”.

The commander of the German Decoy Fleet, Hipper, has not forgotten his mission. He ordered the fleet to turn to the southwest and take the British fleet into the ambush circle that the main force of the High Seas Fleet had already set up.

more than twenty minutes later

The British and German fleets approached each other in high-speed movement. The German battlecruisers fired first at a distance of 15,400 meters, and the British battlecruisers immediately returned fire. The battle of the main ships in the Battle of Jutland officially started.

in an instant

The Beihai area that I can see is full of cannon sounds. The dull sound of cannons with a huge sense of depression is like rolling thunder. Countless large-caliber artillery shells were launched, and the scene was spectacular.

Compared with German ships, British battlecruisers have advantages in number and range, but due to the adverse effects of light, their artillery strikes are not accurate, splashing a forest of water columns on the sea.

Thick gunpowder smoke filled the air, which made it even more difficult for both sides to observe.

After 5 minutes of fighting, after firing 8 rounds of artillery fire at each other, the distance between the two sides narrowed to 11,800 meters. With accurate radio rangefinders and optical sights, the artillery shells fired by the German battlecruisers hit the opponent first, but the British People quickly responded to the opponent, and immediately returned the color.

“For the glory of the German Empire, boys, give me a hard hit.”

Vice Admiral Hipper slammed a fist on the bridge, and almost used all his strength to roar.

His order was conveyed to the fleet, arousing the incomparable courage and fanatical fighting will of the German officers and soldiers, pouring out crazy artillery fire with all his strength, and soon achieved the first record of victory.

A 280mm. shell that fell from the sky penetrated the top of the “Q” turret of the “Lion” battlecruiser where Betty was, and exploded violently inside the turret, sending out a huge fireball.

This is like a bright light in the dark sky on the sea with poor visibility.

Since it can hit the accurate azimuth and ranging, the following is the crazy output of firepower. In just three minutes, the German fleet fired six salvos, including eleven 280mm shells and seven 210mm shells to kill the “Lion”. The battle cruiser, the full-load displacement of 40,000 tons of behemoth hit the whole body on fire, and the flames were burning.

At the moment of crisis, the British destroyer “Andres” took a huge risk to get on the “Lion” and picked up the commander General Betty and the other 33 people from the control tower.

Less than four minutes after the destroyer “Andres” left, the battle cruiser “Lion” exploded violently because the fire ignited the 70 tons of ammunition stored in the Q turret, and the huge explosion sounded out for dozens of Kilometers away, the giant ship was blown up in two, and the violent fire burst straight into the sky, reaching a height of 122 meters.

In a sour sound of steel tearing, the front and rear two hulls of the “Lion” battlecruiser were completely broken, and they were silent in the icy water one after another, becoming the first British battleship to be sunk.

Admiral Betty watched with tears in his eyes as the ship sank to the bottom of the sea. Along with the battleship, there were 1233 British sailors who were silent in the icy waters of the North Sea.

Just three minutes later, the Germans scored again.

At   16, several rounds of salvos from the German battlecruiser “Von der Tann” hit the British battlecruiser “Indefatigable”, the shells penetrated the turret and induced the explosion of the ammunition depot.

In the sky of the fire, the “Indefatigable” disappeared into the sea with 1015 British crew members. “Indefatigable” became the second battleship to be sunk in the Battle of Jutland, and the Germans were off to a fantastic start.

This result made all the officers and soldiers of the Hipper fleet cheer, and after a brief excitement, they immediately plunged into a more intense battle.

It seemed too early for the Germans to rejoice, and about six minutes later, on the sea in the distance, large battle fleets appeared one after another, the flag of St. George hanging from the tall steel masts, indicating that the British reinforcements had arrived.

That’s right, this is the British Fifth Battleship Squadron. They are rushing all the way at high speed. The British Fifth Battleship Squadron is equipped with four most advanced “Queen Elizabeth” class battleships, which are fast and powerful. , good defense.

The 381mm artillery it is equipped with is amazingly powerful. For the battle cruiser fleet led by General Hipper, it is really an instant injury and death if it is touched.

(end of this chapter)