Chapter 1112 Encounter
Chapter 1112 Encounter
"Really? Then let's withdraw first and report our current position to the main fleet." The officer's report dispelled the last hesitation of Major General Hood. 3V3 is a shame! That means something is definitely going to happen, okay! It has been proven in many naval battles that when British and German warships of the same level and number compete against each other, the British will kneel down, okay? What's more, the opponent has 2 super Dreadnoughts, and all 3 of our own are original Dreadnoughts. This isn't a fight, it's a death battle, isn't it? The British Navy has allowed its fleet to retreat voluntarily if it is defeated.
"Is it finally here? I hope the German fleet will not be scared away!" Jericho ordered the fleet to maintain a speed of 17 knots and prepare to engage the enemy. With the help of aerial reconnaissance and surface combatants, Jericho has roughly determined the position of the German fleet. According to intelligence reality, the British fleet was northwest of the German fleet. At this time, the Grand Fleet was still 30 kilometers away from Rear Admiral Hood's battlecruiser detachment. After Rear Admiral Hood chose to divert and evacuate, the two sides could converge in more than 20 minutes.
The smoke sent by the huge fleet shrouded the sky above the large fleet like a dark cloud. They moved with the fleet, and German naval reconnaissance planes also discovered the large fleet entering the battlefield.
"I never thought that human industry could be so majestic and amazing!" A German pilot described the scene at that time. "At least more than two dozen battleship squadrons formed a nearly square formation. Like a city on the sea. Hundreds of various cruisers and destroyers surrounded the fleet. They occupied at least dozens of square kilometers of area. In an unstoppable manner Crush them over with such a posture, even just looking at such a lineup, it feels very scary."
"The Grand Fleet has appeared, located about 25 kilometers northwest of Hipper's fleet!" A few minutes later, Scheer and Hipper received this extremely important telegram at the same time!
"Let Hipper rendezvous with the main fleet immediately!" the prince ordered.
"Are we still going to move forward?" Scheer said worriedly. Knowing that he can't beat his opponent now, he might as well just leave.
"No, let's go up and have a look." said the prince. "Don't worry, they can't catch us! Just think of this as a preview of a certain war in the future!"
The British and German fleets, aware of the presence of both sides, used the last period before the encounter to adjust their formations. Hipper's fleet began to recover, while the High Seas Fleet, with nine Bavaria-class battleships as its core, continued to approach. At the same time, the three Bavaria-class battleships of the Second Battleship Division moved forward slightly, and they will serve as the spearhead of the entire High Seas Fleet. The Third Battleship Division followed, followed by the First Battleship Division directly led by Scheer, and other battleships behind.
At this time, before the fleets came into contact, the seaplanes of both sides had already launched the first round of combat. The three seaplane carriers carried by the large fleet released 12 seaplanes at once.
Including those released from battleships, the British had at least two dozen seaplanes in the air. The Germans were also unambiguous and released 20 seaplanes in one go. Thus, the first large-scale battle between naval aviation forces in history began! However, neither Jericho nor Prince Ruprecht were concerned about this at this time. These immature guys could not threaten the battleships on the sea. They both focus on each other!
"Are the Germans stupid?! Do you really want to fight me?!" Jericho was sure that the German fleet must have known the approximate location of the large fleet at this time. So now that you know it, why don't you run away? At this time, the straight-line distance between the two sides is about 25 kilometers. In no more than a quarter of an hour, the two sides can see their opponents at visual distance!
Jericho dismissed the distracting thoughts in his head. He firmly believed that as long as the German fleet unfolded and faced him head-on, he would win, and he began to think about how to win this battle! He now has two options. The first option is to expand eastward. In this case, the expansion will be the fastest and it will just block the route of the German fleet. Of course, there are also disadvantages. If the German fleet turns around at this time, the Grand Fleet will It's definitely impossible to catch up. It's a joke. The speed difference between the two sides is more than 6 knots. Why should you chase them?
Another option is to draw the battle line to the southeast. Although this will not cut off the German fleet's route to the north, if the Germans dare to continue heading north, then if the entire fleet turns east, it will be able to cut off the German fleet's return route. road.
At that moment, Jericho really wanted to try the latter, although this would bear huge risks. For example, the German fleet would turn early, pull out the battleships westward at a faster speed, and then lie in front of the British fleet. But the idea of blocking the opponent's return and forcing them to fight to the death is too tempting. But in the last few minutes, stability and reason once again prevailed, and Jericho decided to choose the simplest and safest method. The fleet sailed eastward to draw out the battle line!
The quality of the British Royal Navy is indeed the best in the world. With more than 2 dozen battleships and 6 battleship squadrons, it only took about 16 minutes to pull out a battleship that was more than ten kilometers long from a sailing box formation. time! The expansion of this Great Steel Wall is enough to make virtually any other navy despair! In the dusk, the British fleet painted in Victoria gray and nearly a hundred turrets above, more than 200 artillery can pour hundreds of tons of ammunition in one minute!
"Each squadron turned!" Scheer estimated the distance between each other. Before the High Seas Fleet entered the other side's effective range, each squadron began to turn separately. The High Seas Fleet in Jutland, which also amazed the world, turned in front of this. A repeat of the moment! The German fleet moved faster, and it took less than 6 minutes to switch the entire fleet from a northward course to a west-south direction! Easily dodged many T-shaped crosses!
At a distance of 20 kilometers from the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet and the Grand Fleet were traveling in almost parallel lines and in opposite directions. Naturally, the prince will not leave just after meeting each other this time. He is looking for problems with the Grand Fleet. How will the Grand Fleet act without the help of fast battleships! The prince did not think that Jericho would only find the right opportunity to deploy the formation. In fact, the larger the fleet, the slower the response. For the existence of the grand fleet, the prince really wanted to know how they would change their formations in actual combat. how much time is required!
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