Australian Storm 1876 - Chapter 1042

Chapter 1042 Take advantage of the way

“No, the Royal Navy’s warships all sank due to explosions. This shows that the design of the ships has fatal flaws. The entrance to the ammunition depot is not completely closed during the battle. Once hit, the fire spreads and the ammunition explodes.” He Jiaben The major general blurted out.

No, it cannot be explained that a battleship with a displacement of nearly 40,000 tons was sunk in one shot, which is too unacceptable.

Which battleship of the German Hipper fleet has not been injured since the battle?

Less hits 2~3 shells, more hits a dozen or 20 shells, and only battleships that are heavily damaged but not sunk, this is the level they should have.

Otherwise, wouldn’t the bulletproof armor plate costing tens of thousands of tons be a waste?

He Jiaben’s eyes are full of disbelief when he thinks that the British Royal Navy’s local fleet has such a big leak. He can think of this, and the experienced British Royal Navy can think of this even more.

Only need a small explosion-proof closed door to solve this deadly hidden danger.

However, the war is imminent, and there is no way to solve it.

“Report to General, the German Grand Fleet was found ahead. It should be the High Seas Fleet.”

Major General He Jiaben couldn’t think of anything else at this time, he quickly grabbed the telescope and looked into the distance…

The dim sea ahead

When the water and the sky meet, a large densely packed tall steel mast emerges, boundless. This is a terrible war monster in the history of human industry. Trembling.

That invisible oppressive force, even if it is nearly 20 kilometers away, can really convey to the body, smelling the terrible breath of facing death.

This is the main force of the High Seas Fleet led by Admiral Scheer of Germany arrived. There is a decoy fleet in front and a large fleet in the back. This is Admiral Scheer’s battle plan against the British. Because of the fatal flaws of the Royal Navy itself, the effect is amazing. Okay.

These masts represent 22 battleships, 6 cruisers and 31 destroyers, the workhorse of the entire German High Seas Fleet, swooping in at full speed.

“Damn it, we got caught.”

British General Betty immediately ordered the entire crew to retreat. Facing the huge fear of annihilation, the order was a little flustered, and the British 5th Battleship Squadron did not receive the order to retreat.

A scene that once happened in history, is now reappearing.

Betty’s fleet immediately turned at a large angle and fled in the direction of the British mainland fleet led by Admiral Jellicoe. At this time around 4:40 pm, the six main battlecruisers of Betty’s fleet, 4 were sunk and one was slightly injured. .

After entering the ambush circle of the German High Seas Fleet, how could it be so easy to escape?

Continuously achieved huge victories, which aroused the high fighting spirit of the German Hipper fleet. They entangled in the first time and fired artillery to prevent the British Betty fleet from evacuating.

The British Fifth Battle Fleet, which did not receive an order to retreat, bore the brunt of the battle. They bombarded each other with the German ships in high-speed movement. They had a lively rumble, but the hit rate between each other was poor.

In the age of big ships and big guns

The hit rate of naval guns depends not only on accurate wireless rangefinders and optical sights, but also on the speed of the ship, the relative motion trajectory and the attitude of the ship itself in rough seas, including pitch and roll.

The boat is moving fast, and any technical means are not easy to use.

The British Betty Fleet turned to avoid at a large angle, and the German High Seas Fleet spread head-on like an octopus, rushing to the battlefield at full speed. The sea as far as the eye could see was full of ships scurrying around, shelling each other non-stop.

Just over 10 minutes later

The distance of the High Seas Fleet was close to about 13,000 yards and began to launch heavy artillery fire.

A frenzy of ammunition poured down, and artillery fire covered the waters where the British 5th Battle Fleet was located, including the Barham, Warrior, Warspite, the battleship Malaya and the battered battle cruiser “Tiger”. The British battleship, which was a beat behind, was caught in a bitter fight.

The sound of “rumbling” cannons on the sea surface was incessant. More than 30 main German battleships formed a siege against the British battleships, and the situation was extremely unfavorable for the British Royal Navy.

at this time

The heavy cruiser “New York” watching the battle was far away, and the atmosphere in the commander’s tower was deadly silent. Before the war, no one thought that the British Royal Navy would make such a result?

Watching the British battleship “War Exhaustion” in the distance was beaten all over with fire, with a dozen shells in it, and the black smoke of the flaming flames shot into the sky, with a miserable appearance.

Rear Admiral He Jiaben’s eyes twitched, and he asked subconsciously, “Where is the local fleet led by Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the British fleet? If this continues, we won’t be able to catch up.”

“Report to Your Excellency General, it is estimated that there should be about 40 minutes to an hour and a half. This is only speculation, and it is impossible to control the specific movements of the British mainland fleet.”

“40 minutes to an hour and a half?”

Major General He Jiaben raised his watch and looked at it. It was 4:53 pm, and it would be about 1 hour and 40 minutes before it would get dark in the Beihai area. Considering the dim light on the sea surface, it would take an hour and a half to get dark.

If the British Grand Fleet arrives within 40 minutes, the 5th Battle Fleet in front of you will still be saved.

Now they also realize that the situation is not good, and they are retreating while fighting, but the battleship “Warspite” and the battlecruiser “Tiger” were badly damaged, which seriously slowed down the escape speed of the other three battleships.

Now it is wise for the strong man to break his wrist, and after leaving the two heavily damaged battleships, the other three British battleships flee at full speed, and maybe they can be saved.

Sure enough, the battleships Barham, Warriors, and Malaya suddenly turned at a large angle and began to flee. Behind them was a dense rain of bullets, hitting the hull from time to time and exploding huge flames.

Fortunately, the British battleships were not as crispy as the battlecruisers, and they also looked like old beef tendons, fleeing with fire and black smoke all over their bodies.

The German High Seas Fleet joined forces and chased them down, leaving behind the destroyer fleet, which continued to launch torpedo attacks on the heavily damaged battleship “Warspite” and battlecruiser “Tiger”.

more than ten minutes later

After being poured into a large amount of seawater, the bloated battleship “Warspite” was hit by three torpedoes and disintegrated in a loud explosion, becoming the first British battleship to sink in the Battle of Jutland.

shortly thereafter

The battle cruiser “Tiger” also slowly sank into the icy sea water under the intensive blow of artillery and torpedoes.

chased for nearly half an hour

The three battleships Barham, Warrior, and Malaya were beaten all over. A 305mm shell hit the stern compartment of the battleship Malaysia. After breaking through the surface armor of the hull, the shell exploded in the engine room, causing a violent explosion. The explosion caused one of the main drive shafts to be blown off and the other to be deformed and stuck.

The battleship Malaya suddenly stalled, and was approached by the German battleships that were chasing closer and closer to 6 kilometers, 5 kilometers, and 4.5 kilometers. Nineteen rounds of large-caliber artillery shells were hit one after another, causing serious flooding on one side of the hull. Even the bottom of the boat was exposed.

The German destroyers “Nestor” and “Nomad” immediately caught up and fired five torpedoes successively, sending the sad battleship Malaya into the seabed. This is the British battle in Jutland. The second battleship that sank.

The German High Seas Fleet was ecstatic after the victory and chased after it more and more vigorously.

The British battleships “Barham” and “Warrior”, which were beaten all the way in front of them, were as mouth-watering as the delicious food, and it seemed that they could not escape the poison.

just in time

The light cruiser “Wiesbaden”, which was released far away by the High Seas Fleet, sent an urgent telegram; the British mainland fleet was found ahead, and the number of warships was innumerable.

After the first warning telegram was dispatched, the German light cruiser “Wiesbaden” quickly turned around and began to flee for her life.

And just behind them, dozens of powerful dreadnought battleships, the main force of the British mainland fleet, were entering the battlefield.

The tall British battleships are like black whales with castles on their backs, lined up in battle lines that stretch for ten kilometers in front and back. This is the most powerful maritime armed force on earth after the arrival of the industrial age.

The British fleet consists of 151 battleships, including 28 battleships, 9 battlecruisers, 8 armoured cruisers, 26 light cruisers, 78 destroyers, 1 minelayer, and 1 seaplane carrier, swooping from north to south Come.

If facing the German High Seas Fleet is trembling and fearful, then facing the terrifying lineup of the British Royal Navy’s home fleet, you can only worship.

Comparison

The German High Seas Fleet has a total of 99 warships, including 16 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 6 former dreadnought battleships, 11 light cruisers, and 61 lightning ships. They are divided into two formations and are traveling from south to north.

At this time, it was approaching 6 o’clock in the afternoon, and it was already the moment when the twilight was sinking. I have to say that the German High Seas Fleet was very lucky. Not only did they achieve dazzling results in the pursuit, but they also helped each other at the right time and place.

On the rough North Sea

The British battleships “Barham” and “Warrior”, which were on fire all the way, were like beacons. They fled into the artillery protection circle of the British fleet in embarrassment, and finally escaped.

The British 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron, which served as the vanguard of the Grand Fleet, spotted the German light cruiser and opened fire at a distance of 7,300 meters, and the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron also arrived at the battlefield. Facing the firing of the 305mm main guns of the British “Invincible” and “Indomitable”, Admiral Reinhard Scheer, commander of the German High Seas Fleet, resolutely counseled, and ordered the fleet to turn to the northwest course and use the cover of night to escape the battle.

Night is coming

It was around 6:30 in the evening, and the visibility on the sea was extremely poor. The main fleets of Britain and Germany passed by by accident, only less than five nautical miles apart.

On the sea shrouded in night, the sound of rumbling guns could be heard from time to time, most of which were sporadic gun battles between destroyers and cruisers between Britain and Germany.

After tens of minutes

The German Grand Fleet sailing north found the British armored cruisers “Defense” and “Brave”, tormenting the German light cruiser “Wiesbaden” floating on the sea, which immediately aroused the anger of the Germans, Almost all the artillery fire was concentrated on the two British armored cruisers.

The hapless British armored cruiser “Defense” sank on the spot amid the intense artillery fire, and the “Brave” sank from serious injuries shortly after retreating.

The Germans were lucky, and after packing up two British armored cruisers, the German High Seas Fleet continued north.

At this time, they found a British battleship in a circle not far away, this is the battleship “Warrior”.

Due to the failure of the steering gear of the battleship “Warrior”, it had to draw a circle on the sea, which was fatal in the fierce naval battle.

The British Royal Home Fleet, which was advancing to search for the enemy, could not stop and wait for him, so as not to miss the fighter plane, so it could only leave the battleship behind, anyway, the general German ships had nothing to do with him.

It’s just a coincidence that the German High Seas Fleet passed by and saw the cooked duck fly, and witnessed the duck return to the front of the eyes, what else can I say?

In the face of the fat meat circling in front of his eyes, the German fleet would of course not be polite, and concentrated its firepower on the “Warrior”. The “Warrior” was hit with 29 large-caliber artillery shells, and then was torpedoed by the German destroyer.

took advantage of it all the way

At this time, Admiral Reinhard Scheer of the German High Seas Fleet had an unexpected thought. He was surprised to find that the British did not pursue, so he wanted to kill a carbine and cause heavy damage to the British Royal Navy, so that he was more sure. Safe retreat.

As everyone knows, this is equivalent to putting the high seas fleet in great danger.

A tiger is a tiger after all, even if the sleeping tiger is temporarily taken advantage of, when he launches a threat, it is unbearable.

At this point, if it is stopped, then the German High Seas Fleet has achieved an uncompromising victory, sinking four British battlecruisers, three powerful “Queen Elizabeth” class battleships, and 11 British cruisers and destroyer.

himself only pays a small price for two battlecruisers heavily wounded, three battleships lightly wounded, and two German destroyers lost.

The greed of the human heart is boundless, as is the case with Admiral Scheer.

And when they achieved successive brilliant victories, the high-ranking generals of the German navy were full of self-confidence, and could not help but underestimate the enemy.

So the German High Seas Fleet made a U-turn in a big circle and touched it again in the dark night.

at this moment

The British Royal Fleet was shrouded in an atmosphere of grief and anger. The battle was too aggrieved, and the losses were too great. Admiral Jellicoe, the commander of the local fleet, was bleeding in his heart, and now he wanted to kill people.

Admiral Betty’s fleet was almost wiped out, 6 powerful battlecruisers, 4 were sunk.

The 5th Battle Fleet to which it belongs had 4 powerful “Queen Elizabeth” class battleships, and 3 battleships were sunk. Those were cutting-edge battleships equipped with 381mm cannons!

Launched for 1 to 3 years, it was the first-class main battleship of the Royal Navy, and it was buried in vain.

Are the Germans so powerful?

(end of this chapter)