Chapter 890 Hunting
I want to ask the British if there is a better way. Of course there is, that is, all auxiliary cruisers flee towards the Norwegian Sea. The German fleet cannot be permanently stationed, so as long as they can temporarily avoid it, then increase the difficulty of searching for the German fleet. , but unfortunately, most British people do not have such a choice! After all, we are not far from home now, so being able to go back is a victory! The temptation to go home is too great!
The radio lateral and positioning equipment on the battleship Moltke has locked onto the two largest signal sources, and the fundamental reason for the delay in taking action against them is that they want to determine the direction of the British fleet's next phase of action. Now, the British finally moved. With the spread of radio signals over the North Sea, the British fleet scattered in the blockade area finally began to take action. They communicated and passed messages to each other via radio. However, all this was ultimately reflected on the drawing board in the German battleship conning tower.
Every half hour, the German fleet will exchange information with each other through radio communications, and now, judging from the movement trajectory of the British auxiliary cruiser squadron that has been discovered but not hunted yet, they have begun to set up They retreated in the direction of the Orchid Islands, but their retreat did not go their separate ways, but chose to gather together at a certain point, and then everyone went home together!
The British were still wrong in their estimation of the size and performance of the German fleet. They regarded the target of the attack as battleships mainly large armored cruisers and light cruisers, and occasionally one or two battlecruisers. Rear Admiral Arbuthnot thought well. Everyone gathered together and the armored cruiser covered the auxiliary cruiser's evacuation. At the same time, the remaining destroyers and other armored cruisers from the Shetland Islands came to respond. This is much better than evacuating separately. It would be better to at least gather together and protect each other.
But what he didn't expect was that the German fleet on the opposite side was so powerful! A whole five battlecruisers are here! This fleet was enough to deal with the Betty fleet in the historical Battle of Jutland! And it will be very enjoyable and there won’t be any tangles in the process!
The three battlecruisers Goben, Blücher, and Vondertann sailed towards the intersection of the British routes. After discovering that all the prey that could be identified so far had begun to evacuate, the Seydlitz also decisively moved away. Follow him. The speed on one side is about 15 to 18 knots, and the speed on the other side is more than 27 knots. In other words, how can you outrun others?
When Major General Arbuthnot's Black Prince armored cruiser and Major General Ace's armored cruiser Hampshire met, six auxiliary cruisers were already concentrated here, and then they suddenly discovered a ship in the direction of the Shetland Islands. A huge black shadow!
German warships also came from all directions. When they appeared in the British sight, they did not merge. The position at this time was roughly like this. The Goeben and Seydlitz were about 15 kilometers northwest of the British fleet. place, among which the distance between Goeben and Seydlitz is still about 3 kilometers. Von der Tann was blocked to the west of the British fleet and had the best position. Blücher was to the southeast of the British fleet. The other two light cruisers appeared to the east of the British fleet, following the two auxiliary cruisers. The entire British fleet seemed to be surrounded.
If it is fighting an opponent of the same level, then the best choice for the German fleet is to immediately release smoke and run away. There is no formation at all, it is completely a rhythm of going wherever you go! how to spell? But the problem is that the current combat effectiveness of the British fleet is too weak! No matter how we fight the Germans, there is no reason to lose. As long as the British can be included in the shooting range,
Then all that’s left is to fire up!
Without a formation, it would be inconvenient to communicate. The biggest problem is the distribution of firepower. Fortunately, there are many targets, and the two British armored cruisers are too conspicuous. The Goeben and Vondertann, which are located closer, are targeting the Black Prince and Hampshire armored cruisers respectively!
"The overall situation has been decided, only A is left!" If the prince were here, he would definitely say this, and this is indeed the case now. After the four German battlecruisers fired tons of shells, the end of this war The result has actually been decided!
The Shetland Islands have already appeared in sight. As long as the fleet sails at full speed for 45 minutes, it will be completely safe. But now, these last ten kilometers have become an insurmountable distance! The two leading armored cruisers were first attacked by concentrated fire. Vondertann's artillery caliber was smaller, so the Hampshire's support lasted a little longer, while the Black Prince was taken care of by the Goben. The download time can only be calculated in minutes.
"Let's rush up and cover the brothers behind!" The courage shown by Major General Arbuthnot at the last moment of his life is amazing. However, it is of no use. The Black Prince's 10-inch gun cannot reach the Goeben at all. , with a few precise and fierce firepower, although the Black Prince was not killed by the High Seas Fleet in less than three minutes as in history, he did not last more than 20 minutes!
Rear Admiral Arbuthnot's charge was eventually ended by two 350MM heavy artillery shells that hit almost simultaneously. One shell hit the main gun magazine located in the front half of the battleship, while the other shell detonated the torpedo room in the bow. A series of torpedo explosions spread from the bow to the rear of the hull, and the entire bow was reduced to pieces in a burst of fire.
Another armored cruiser, the HMS Hampshire, also did not escape the fate of defeat. Although von der Tann's artillery caliber was smaller, it was still enough to knock through the 7-inch side armor of the HMS Hampshire. While the von der Tann sent shells one after another to the hull of the Hampshire from a long distance, the German destroyers could no longer hold back. Under the cover of dense rain of bullets, the four destroyers quickly approached. The somewhat overwhelmed armored cruiser HMS Hampshire fired eight torpedoes in a row at a distance of 3,500 to 2,000 meters. After two violent explosions, the armored cruiser HMS Hampshire slowly sank with nearly a thousand officers and soldiers. into the rolling waves of the North Sea.
After the last two armored cruisers that could barely make a jump collapsed and sank into the sand, the remaining auxiliary cruisers were completely in despair facing the German warships with a total tonnage of about 100,000 tons! All that's left is a one-sided massacre, and it doesn't even take much time!
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