Chapter 1016: Don’t Intercept the Fleet Returning Home

Chapter 1016 Don’t intercept the fleet returning home

Kato Nobuyoshi's answer is quite objective. It is true that the United Forces and the St. Stephen have no combat effectiveness and their speed is very low. The situation of the Allied fleet is not good. Otherwise, the two will not be defeated. A Japanese battleship has survived until now...

However, it was different when such words fell into the ears of De La Perel. He was eager to fight and even just wanted to find a reason to pursue, so he interpreted it to mean that the Allied fleet was vulnerable? At least that’s what he wrote in his post-war summary…. So, the confident Vice Admiral decided to rush forward and tear off a piece of meat from this tired beast! Even if they can't annihilate them all, they should at least keep the combined force and the St. Stephen, right? !

Lieutenant General de La Perel thought so and did the same. "Order the fleet to turn around and prepare to pursue the Allied fleet! As for the Japanese? Let them do what they want!" So, 4 minutes later, the Brestany, as the flagship, turned first, followed by the Lorraine and Provence , as well as the 3 Guba-class battleships and 2 Dandong-class battleships behind them, a total of 8 battleships formed a battle line and chased in the direction where the count left! Like a shark that smells something fishy!

"The French are catching up! They seem to have discovered our route and are sailing directly to the south of Rhode Island. If we maintain our current speed, then they are likely to block our way home." Just as the count gathered up the pre-dreadnought battleship , and when preparing to return, an officer said after holding the telegram just forwarded by the seaplane.

"What?! The French dare to come here?!" the count said in surprise, but he still walked to the chart in a few steps. At this time, a route marked with a red dotted line was extending from the battlefield to the northeast. The French He was not stupid at all. He had no intention of chasing the Earl's fleet because it was inefficient. Laperelle directly targeted the two United Forces-class battleships that were almost dead fish. At this time, the two The battleship left the battlefield first, performed a simple self-rescue, and then headed north to Rhode Island, which was equivalent to taking the two short sides of a triangle. The French directly chose the long side. The distance was shorter, and the French fleet seemed to be faster than The two current Austro-Hungarian battleships are even faster! If nothing unexpected happens, maybe in 2 hours, the French fleet will be directly on the route of the Austro-Hungarian fleet! Wait for the other party to hit you!

The count looked up at the sky. It seemed that it was time for lunch. If nothing else happened, the French would still have one afternoon to fight with him! The Earl was very surprised that the seemingly simple rendezvous mission turned out to be so complicated.

"I chose to avoid it. I just wanted to avoid a unnecessary battle, but if the French still want to try it, I don't mind teaching them how to fight at sea!" This time, the count really got angry. He never did Never been so angry! There is a saying in Europe that says not to stop the fleet returning home. There is also a saying in the East in ancient times that a dog will jump over a wall when it is angry, and a cat will bite when it is angry!

"Report the speed of each ship in the fleet.

"

"The speed of the four fast battleships can reach more than 24 knots at any time. The speed of the former dreadnought fleet is about 19 to 20 knots. The speed of General Negovan's fleet is currently 16 knots. It is expected that after repairing part of the power system, it can reach 18 knots. Knots. The French fleet's speed is only about 18 knots, and they only have one chance to intercept." A moment later, after completing the paper homework, Major General Schulz said.

Bring the pre-dreadnought? This idea was immediately killed by the Count. Now is not the time for a fleet battle. To be honest, if the two sides really open up and fight, they will really suffer some losses, not just in terms of fleet numbers. The problem is, my ammunition reserves are not that sufficient either.

You must know that Turkey itself cannot mass-produce 350MM armor-piercing projectiles. Within a few days, the Allied Mediterranean Fleet fought two battles and almost consumed all the large-caliber artillery shells. However, the ammunition shipped through the neutral countries Romania and Bulgaria has not yet been shipped. When the entire fleet came out this time, the ammunition compartment was not even filled. After defeating the Japanese fleet, the ammunition inventory plummeted. The count did not think that a high-intensity fleet battle could be carried out with these ammunition.

Therefore, what the Earl has to do in the following actions is to shock and cover, so that the French fleet can retreat in the face of difficulties, because there is really no benefit in fighting to the death. In order to do this, the flexibility of the challenging fleet becomes The most important factor is to be able to resist, fight and run!

"Let's go ahead and let the former Dreadnought Fleet and General Negovan's fleet go together, and we will cover them to get home!" After a moment of contemplation, the count ordered. A few minutes later, the Allied fleets that had been gathered together separated again. The pre-dreadnought battleships quickly moved closer to General Niegovan's fleet, while the Count, with 4 fast battleships and a group of destroyers, turned north to the two Login Points and headed towards the French fleet. Rushing towards the extended route, like a knight bravely challenging a dragon, the Count will use his 4 fast battleships to challenge the 8 French battleships! Fight for a glimmer of life for the teammates behind you!

"Your Excellency, General, this is the German fleet. They want to intercept us!" Following the direction of one of his subordinates' fingers, Vice Admiral de Laperre saw the Earl's fleet appearing in the southeast of the fleet. At this time, the opponent's route was almost Cross your own route, and the other party's speed is very fast!

"Are they trying to use a mantis as a chariot? 4 warships to fight 8 of us?! Do you really think you are God's favorite?" A sneer appeared on the corner of the lieutenant general's mouth. But then, the lieutenant general frowned slightly, because he realized a problem. If everyone opens up and fights, the French fleet will naturally not be afraid of the opponent, but if it changes its course and fights with the opponent in line, then it will play into the opponent's hands. ! The Allied fleet's course is northwest. If he also turns to the northwest, it will be completely contrary to the original plan! And if you don't turn around, then just wait to be T'ed by the opponent!

At this time, the Vice Admiral discovered for the first time that the fast fleet had such a great advantage in choosing to engage in this kind of battle! So that no matter what choice the French fleet makes, it will be detrimental to itself...

"How about we give it a try?" After hesitating again and again, the Lieutenant General decided to give it a try. Anyway, he had a huge advantage! As a result, the entire French fleet accelerated again, keeping almost the same course and rushing towards the opponent like an angry bull!

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