Chapter 1,106 Stalemate
Chapter 1106 Stalemate
Of course, it is impossible to contact the main force of the High Seas Fleet now, and even if they are contacted, it will be difficult for them to come to support them in a short time while the High Seas Fleet is performing tasks in the Baltic Sea. And if there is no response from the High Seas Fleet, then it will be difficult for them to I definitely can’t go home!
In this chaotic situation, Colonel Lefetsov would rather take a moment to evacuate to the depths of the Norwegian Sea than to go back in a hurry now. Going back now is tantamount to throwing yourself into a trap. To some extent, time should On their side, the British attacked in advance. This time the British fast fleet will definitely attack with all its troops, and the large fleet may also move. The Englishman was already in top form from the start.
As for Germany. Although there is no telegram, the German Navy will definitely realize that this attack is encountering difficulties. If General Hipper gets in touch with the prince, it is still possible to concentrate the main force of the High Seas Fleet to respond to him. At that time, although the British Navy was still stronger, with the help of the High Seas Fleet, the chance of returning would be greater.
The colonel now needs to do two things. The first thing is to hide himself in the waves of the Norwegian Sea. The second thing is to understand how many warships the other party has participated in the encirclement and suppression, and their approximate location. The third thing is to find ways to contact the headquarters.
Realizing this, the colonel decisively evacuated deep into the Norwegian Sea. At this time, the light cruisers commanded by the two battleships HMS Warrior and HMS Reputation belonging to the Second Squadron discovered the German fleet that was evacuating to the north. At this time, if anyone opened the God's perspective, they would find that it turned out that The Thomas Fleet deployed to the northeast of the German fleet, the Second Squadron deployed to the west, and the Warspite and Balem of the Third Squadron deployed over there are gradually encircling the opponent!
At the same time, they rushed over from the west, northeast and south. At this time, if the German fleet dares to go south, it will have no choice but to collide with one fleet, and it is possible to collide with two fleets! Do you want to run away after bumping into me again this time? The difficulty is great! Are there enough manpower to shovel coal? Will machinery running at high speed for a long time cause problems? Is there enough fuel? Will the fleet that is directly pursued and intercepted be damaged? After post-analysis, Thomas believed that if the Germans went south, the battle would probably end today. Even if it was delayed until tomorrow, the two injured German warships would never return to the North Sea. After all, they still had one ship. The Queen and 3 battle cruisers are waiting for you! Thomas is full of good cards now!
"The German fleet is withdrawing to the north?" Thomas was a little frustrated after receiving the report. "It seems that we met a master this time! He can restrain his desire to go home and continue to circle with us. It is not easy."
"So what do we do next?" one officer asked.
"Stabilize our position. General Moore's Fourth Squadron and its reconnaissance force will guard the entrance and exit of the North Sea for me. Then our three squadrons will slowly accompany them! The German High Seas Fleet has not yet gathered.
There will be no response in a short time. With the courage of General von Boll and Tirpitz, even if they know that the two battle cruisers are in trouble, they may not dare to come out to respond. It doesn't matter if they come out. Jericho's large fleet will be responsible. To deal with it, we only need to catch these two battlecruisers. Thomas said as he patted the other party's shoulder easily.
However, he knew that things had become complicated now. He really didn't know how long he would be entangled with the Germans in the Norwegian Sea this time!
The Thomas fleet did not penetrate deep into the Norwegian Sea across the German fleet. After all, Thomas felt that the power in his hands was still a little less. However, two light cruisers were arranged to track the German fleet. At the same time, the surrounding camouflaged cruisers were ordered to continue searching for traces of the German fleet. This tracking continued until nightfall. At this time, the German fleet was already about 200 nautical miles away from the North Sea exit in a straight line. Even if it returned at the highest speed, it was unlikely to return to the North Sea before dawn.
"Blücher has about 65% of fuel left. We have about 72% of fuel left. Wiesbaden has about half that. If we sail at an economical speed of 12 knots, that will allow us Drifting on the sea for at least half a month," an officer said.
"Half a month, we actually can't hold on for that long. Let's wait for two days, and then see if we can contact the headquarters." Although there is a backup radio channel, Colonel Lefetsov is not willing to easily contact the headquarters. Contact, if nothing else, you must at least know the size of the British fleet that is chasing you, right? So, across the wide sea, the two sides spent the first night after contact.
In the following two days, the fleets of both sides did not meet much. The German fleet continued to hide in the depths of the Norwegian Sea, while the British fleet also cruised in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea. While no changes were visible on the front line, the situation was quietly changing, because at this time the prince had already arrived in Port Wilhelm with his entourage.
In the port, the prince once again saw the entire high seas fleet like the Great Steel Wall. At this moment, more than 70% of the warships of the High Seas Fleet are gathered here. The current situation is like this. The slow battleship Nassau equipped with 10 12-inch guns and the two slow battleships Bossen equipped with 12 12-inch guns are both in the Baltic Sea to defend against possible actions by the Russians. Except for the two battlecruisers that were playing hide-and-seek with Thomas in the Norwegian Sea, all the remaining battleships are really here!
Standing at the highest point of Wilhelmshaven, the prince had a panoramic view of the entire port. A total of 5 battleship squadrons were deployed in the entire port. The closest ones to him were General Scheer's First Battleship Squadron and Second Battleship Squadron, (together Formed into the 1st Battleship Squadron.) Each squadron consisted of 3 Bavaria-class battleships.
Far away from me is the newly established Third Battleship Division, which is composed of three newly commissioned Bavaria-class battleships. They were Weimar, Braunschweig and Dessau. The Fourth Battleship Division consisted of the three Helgeland-class battleships Helgeland, Thuringia and Oldenburg. (Together they form the 2nd Battleship Squadron)
The only Dreadnought fast battleship Rheinland temporarily followed the Fourth Battleship Squadron. The farthest away is General Hipper's battlecruiser detachment, but there are currently only three ships, namely Goeben, Seydlitz and von der Tann. A total of 16 fast battleships are deployed in this port, and the speed of the main fleet is more than 24 knots.
In addition to these capital ships, there are also 5 light cruiser squadrons with a total of 18 light cruisers of various types parked here, as well as 8 destroyer squadrons and nearly 50 destroyers of various types.
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