Chapter 1003 Encounter 1
Chapter 1003 Encounter 1
Behind the main fleet are 3 large and 4 medium transport ships, a total of 7 transport ships. On both sides of the fleet, a destroyer squadron was deployed. The entire fleet sailed rapidly toward the northeast in a three-file formation, and the speed was estimated to be around 20 knots!
"Kingfisher discovered the Austro-Hungarian fleet. They all came out. Five large battleships and a large number of destroyers. They are right in front of me, to the southwest of the fleet!" The telegraph operator in the back seat was also stunned by the situation in front of him. , he sent it immediately! At this time, the seaplane was not far from our own fleet, only about 30 kilometers away. The Fuso's release of this seaplane was actually mainly for training, and by the way, it deterred submarines that might be nearby, which the Japanese did not expect. What's amazing is that this little guy actually discovered the Austro-Hungarian fleet heading to Rhodes Island!
This rather unexpected and nervous news was instantly sent to the battleship Fuso via radio waves. When Kato Nobuyoshi received this telegram, his heart skipped a beat, and at the same time there was a hint of expectation! This feeling of worry, but at the same time wanting to fight with it, made him feel very strange! Although the German navy and battleships gained a great reputation after the outbreak of World War 1, the Japanese navy is also not a fool! And especially when one's own warship is 6,000 tons larger than the other's and at least 400,000 pounds more expensive than the other's, normally, if nothing else happens, one should have the upper hand, right?
"What do you think of General Hall?" Kato Nobuyoshi asked.
"General Hall means to intercept! We can't let the Austro-Hungarian fleet easily merge with the Spey fleet, not to mention, the other side seems to be carrying a large amount of supplies and accessories!" An officer pointed to the British warship behind and typed Semaphore said.
"Let's get started! Let's take a look at the condition of the Austro-Hungarian fleet!" Lieutenant General Kato Sadayoshi said, and then the staff on the battleship Fuso began to map the routes of both sides based on the collected intelligence. At this time, the British and Japanese fleets were heading northwest, while the Austro-Hungarian fleets were heading northeast. The straight-line distance between the two sides was about 40 kilometers. However, because of the tendency of relative sailing, each other should be able to see their opponents in 15 minutes at most. In half an hour at most, both sides can bring the other side's warships within the range of their own naval guns!
"Tell the French that we have encountered the Austro-Hungarian fleet! We hope they will support you immediately!" After a moment, Lieutenant General Kato Sadayoshi added another order. In his heart, Kato Sadaikichi still felt a little unstable... So he decided to say hello to the French first, but what he didn't expect was that his greeting only brought him a psychological sense of security, but actually brought big trouble to the British and Japanese fleets... .....
"Your Excellency, Commander, our radio personnel have just intercepted a new high-power signal source!" On the sea nearly 80 kilometers away from the Japanese fleet, a huge fleet was sailing southwest, and the leader's flagship The high-flying Lieutenant General clearly revealed his identity. He had just severely damaged the French fleet in a night attack not long ago. Count Spee quietly entered the Aegean Sea again.
But this time, according to the previous script, it seemed that he was just picking up a friend.
But now it seems that things have changed! A sudden strong radio signal broke the calm on the sea! "This doesn't seem to match the script!" the count said to himself after listening to his subordinate's report. According to the previous agreement, the fleets of both sides maintained strict radio silence. The silence could only be broken unless they arrived at the scheduled assembly point or encountered an emergency. However, judging from the location, the new radio signal source seemed to be a bit far away from the scheduled rendezvous point. , and the location is not right, too close to the south.
"Your Excellency Commander, we seem to have run into some trouble. After receiving all the telegrams, we found that we cannot decipher this telegram! This is not any kind of code we have encountered before! And it was definitely not sent by our people. ." Five minutes later, Major General Schultz said with a livid face.
"Damn it! Something is wrong with this!" Count Spey immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. This was no small matter! The undecipherable telegram illustrates a problem. The visitor must be the Allied fleet! And if the passwords are completely different from the previous ones, the problem will be even more serious! This can only mean two possibilities. One is that the other party suddenly chooses to change the password, which means that the other party will take big actions. After all, the password just used is the most secure! Another possibility is that a new force suddenly breaks in! Regardless of the possibility, the impact will be detrimental to the Allies!
"Fleet-scale radio communications, brand new codes and techniques!" The count couldn't help but gasped. He felt that he and the Austro-Hungarian fleet seemed to have fallen into a pit...
"Is the Japanese fleet coming?!" Schultz said worriedly.
"It seems possible now! The Japanese fleet is not scary. What is really scary is when the Japanese fleet and the French fleet merge! Where is the French fleet?" The count stood up and walked a few steps to the front of the chart. It marked the position of its own fleet, the expected route of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, and the approximate location of the new signal source!
"We seem to be in big trouble!" The earl's voice was trembling. It's really satisfying to hold the power that can change the situation of the war in one day, but great rights also mean great responsibilities. When things go beyond When I expected it, it was impossible to say that the count was not afraid! Because losing is not only a problem for yourself, it can even directly affect the national destiny of an empire! Affect the fate of millions of people! And now, the location of this abnormal signal source is right in the middle of our own fleet! It's like a sharp blade cutting at the meeting point of the two sides!
If it is true that the Japanese and French fleets have merged now, then the count's fleet will definitely not be able to defeat it. Even if he makes a trick and allows the Austro-Hungarian fleet to suddenly come to join him, and then fights against the Allied fleet, he will not be able to defeat him. , after all, each of the count's four battleships was injured. If you add the Austro-Hungarian fleet in time, it will be absolutely impossible to defeat the opponent's fleet consisting of 2 Fuso, 3 Brestany, and 3 Guba-class battleships! And what's more serious is that he discovered a problem, but the Austro-Hungarian fleet didn't seem to notice the sudden appearance of the fleet!
Count Spee could feel a drop of cold sweat falling from his head, and fell on the table with a clatter.
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