Chapter 2219 Encounter 1
"I saw the main force of the British fleet! Their formations were distributed like this. Thomas' queens were at the front, not far behind were Hood's battlecruisers, which seemed to be closer to Thomas, and then the ones commanded by Jericho The Grand Fleet, all 21 battleships are there, they formed a rectangular battle array, from north to south are the Revenge-class battleships, Iron Duke-class battleships, Orion-class battleships, and two dreadnought squadrons." A plane flew over the British fleet. Nearby German seaplanes reported the British battle status to the High Seas Fleet.
At the same time, several British seaplanes also flew near the High Seas Fleet. Although they were quickly destroyed, they still sent some telegrams before being destroyed.
"The Germans' paint is a bit strange? What do you mean?" Jericho frowned slightly when he read the last sentence in the telegram, but before the battle, he obviously didn't have time to think about what the so-called strange paint meant. He Attention was focused on the formation of the German fleet.
Similar to the British fleet, the fast fleet moved forward to form an independent squadron, followed by the main fleet arranged in a rectangular shape. What surprised Jericho was that before this decisive battle, Ruprecht did not give Hipper any reinforcements! Just 4 lonely battlecruisers.
"I really don't know if you are confident or arrogant? But no matter what, we have gained a huge first-mover advantage! You can't think of it, right? When you didn't strengthen Hipper's fleet, I put my last fast fleet And almost all the aviation power was given to Thomas!" Admiral Jericho said with some pride.
Although Ruprecht is an enemy, in his heart, Admiral Jericho still has full respect for the man who created the legend of Bavaria and pushed German military power to the top. He may not show it to outsiders. But now, he seems to have caught a very big loophole in the opponent! A genuine smile from the bottom of his heart appeared on Jericho's face.
"General, you seem happy?" an officer said.
"Yes, I am very happy. Our enemy was smart all his life, but was confused at the most critical moment!" Jericho said with a smile: "I think at this moment, it was God who blinded the opponent's eyes and won the victory. The laurel crown is on our heads."
"Give Thomas an order. He now has the right to decide his own actions. When the fleets of both sides are close to a certain position, he can take the initiative to attack! First concentrate his firepower to kill the Hipper fleet, and then suppress the route and speed of the High Seas Fleet!" Jay Rico orders a report to Thomas!
"Order the fleet to prepare to speed up and send a message to General Hood behind, asking them to keep up with us. Don't get too close to those German monsters!" Thomas ordered decisively after receiving Jericho's telegram.
At this time, Thomas, who already knew the formation of the German fleet, had a general understanding of the way the German fleet was deployed. It was nothing more than Hipper's fleet in front, and then the five battleship squadrons of the main fleet deployed in sequence. From a positional point of view, 3 A Bavarian-class battleship detachment is obviously at the front.
This is not good news for Thomas, because Hipper is closely followed by the Bavaria-class battleship. If the Bavaria-class battleship provides cover when necessary, Thomas may be fine, but Rear Admiral Hood will be miserable. Got it! The weakest warship on both sides has hit the knife edge of the strongest warship. The existence time of Hood's fleet can only be calculated in minutes, right?
But this also gives Thomas some peace of mind. After all, if the German High Seas Fleet on the opposite side sets up a formation full of loopholes, then Thomas will think that the other side will have some conspiracy.
After all, there is no such thing as a halo of wisdom in this plane! Now, the fact that the German fleet has adopted this regular formation makes Thomas feel at ease, because although the Hipper fleet has not been strengthened, it can always receive support from the Bavarian-class battleships in the main fleet, which can be considered a balance.
In fact, Jericho had already thought of this formation that the German navy with weaker artillery capabilities might put in place. Therefore, in order to contain the fire support of the four Bavarian-class battleships next to Hipper's fleet, Jericho The first battleship squadron after the expansion of the HKUST fleet is the Revenge-class battleship! Use the best frontal battleships in the British fleet to offset the effects of the four Bavaria-class battleships, thereby winning the best battle conditions for Thomas!
"Finally, the order of deployment of our fleet is Thomas Fleet, Hood Fleet, First Battleship Squadron (4 Revenge-class battleships), Second Battleship Squadron (5 Jericho-class battleships), Third Battleship Squadron (Orion-class battleships) 4 battleships), and the 4th and 5th Battleship Squadrons!”
"The Thomas Fleet and the Hood Fleet concentrated their efforts to capture the Hipper Fleet. The 1st Battleship Squadron dealt with a Bavarian squadron, the 2nd Battleship Squadron dealt with a Bavarian squadron, and the 3rd Battleship Squadron and the 4th Battleship Squadron freely distributed targets. The 5th Battleship Squadron Keep an eye on each other's tail!" Before the battle, Jericho and his staff reviewed the battle sequence and engagement sequence for the last time.
Judging from this plan, the British fleet has completely guaranteed Thomas's advantage. The response of each squadron in the main fleet is at best a balance of power. In some places, there are even obvious loopholes, such as the third battleship squadron and the fourth battleship squadron. The five super-dreadnoughts and three dreadnoughts of the detachment have to face four Bavaria-class battleships, three Helgoland-class battleships, and a modified battleship similar to the Helgoland-class battleship. This is an absolute disadvantage. ! Even if the five Super Dreadnoughts of Jericho's own team were to fight four Bavaria ships, they would still be at a huge disadvantage. Perhaps within ten minutes of the battle, the British fleet would be sunk. But there is no way, this is war. When you have equal strength, when you stab the opponent's throat, the latter will also give you a fatal blow!
In fact, in Jericho's battle plan, including his flagship Iron Duke, except for the Queen-class battleship, Revenge-class battleship, and Fury fast battleship, all other battleships on the battle line can be lost! The main force of the large fleet actually used itself as bait to attract the opponent's strongest strike force!
"What are the British doing?" At this time, Ruprecht also learned about Jericho's deployment through aerial reconnaissance. There may be many differences between the two sides, but one thing is the same, and that is their mutual respect for each other. The contempt of the world!
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