Chapter 1121 The Last Battle of the Blücher 1

Chapter 1121 The last battle of the Blücher 1

"All three of our battleship squadrons have been deployed. The Shetland Islands have land-based aviation responsible for reconnaissance. Our first squadron follows the opponent into the North Sea, the second squadron searches near the North Sea blockade, and the third squadron searches from the east. For surface movement, we have limited the opponent's position to an area of ​​150 kilometers from east to west and 80 kilometers from north to south. If they are in this area, we will definitely be able to find them, and if they are not in this area, but choose to be in If they escape northward at night, they will never be able to return to the port because there is not enough fuel." When the morning star rose again, Thomas said to his subordinates.

His estimate was very accurate. If the German fleet wanted to go back, it would have to go all the way south, and the routes were almost fixed. Even considering that the Moltke might provide fuel to the Blücher, the battleship still couldn't Last longer. The German fleet seemed to know that a British fleet was approaching Norway, so Blücher sailed southwest when crossing the blockade.

In fact, this is the direction Thomas wants the Germans to go, because it is close to the Shetland Islands and there are aircraft that can provide reconnaissance. At the same time, the second detachment is also waiting there! The three fleets will push the German fleet to the west, thereby eventually exhausting the opponent's fuel. At that time, the opponent can only choose to turn back and fight. Anyway, no matter what, as long as there is a decisive battle, the British will win!

But it is a pity that Thomas's thinking was taken advantage of by the Germans. The latter did not expect that the Germans would divide their forces. In other words, Thomas did not care about the German fleet after the division. Three squadrons and six queens were attracted to the west. , while the Moltke sailed south. According to the plan, he would arrive at the Skagerrak Strait as soon as possible, but even if Thomas knew about it, he would not mind, because there are 4 battleships commanded by Rear Admiral Moore. Waiting for Moltke! So what if you go? There’s no going back!

Let's take a look outside Wilhelmshaven, about 40 nautical miles away from the base of the German High Seas Fleet. The huge fleet has set up a huge box formation on the periphery of the German minefield. A whole four teams of light cruisers formed a formation in front of the main fleet. A wide line of investigation. The British destroyers are located further forward. Almost came into contact with the German destroyer hidden in the minefield. This time, behind the huge fleet, three seaplane carriers released three waves of 23 seaplanes in total towards the German port, and V1500 bombers flying from the British mainland also came to join in the fun.

However, it is different from that at sea. Although the current scale of the German naval aviation force is far from the thousands of aircraft and tens of thousands of personnel of the Royal Naval Aviation at the end of World War I, now, including seaplanes, under Emperor Wilhelm Hong Kong, the powerhouse of the German navy, it is not difficult to assemble a three-digit aircraft! But this time, the British seaplane force suffered a head-on attack!

More than 50 J-1 fighter jets and Fokker fighter jets swarmed up. With their huge numbers and performance advantages, they taught the British seaplanes how to behave again. The air battle and entanglement between the two sides lasted for nearly an hour.

After paying a heavy price for the loss of more than a dozen seaplanes, the British Navy finally determined one thing, that is, the German High Seas Fleet was still in the Bay of Yard, and in order to prevent a squadron from being dispatched, the British also I specifically counted the number of German battleships anchored in the harbor and checked their models!

"To the east are two detachments under the German 1st Battleship Squadron, with a total of 6 Bavaria battleships. To the northeast are two newly commissioned Bavaria-class battleships. To the west are Hipper's 4 battlecruisers. To the north is the Helgeland-class battleship. All the fast battleships of the German fleet are in the port, and basically all the light cruiser detachments are also there. There should be three detachments. I think we can send a report to General Thomas." Grand Fleet Staff Officer Lieutenant General Charles Madden said to Jay immediately after marking the position of the German fleet on the huge sand table.

"That's good. The German battleships are all here. I think General Thomas' hunting is almost over, right?" Admiral Jericho said with a sigh of relief. At this moment, Jericho was really relieved.

"Your Excellency, Commander, our aerial reconnaissance has discovered the opponent. It seems to be 35 kilometers southwest of the fleet. Our judgment is very accurate. It can be said that the distance between them is very close!" Thomas, who had just finished breakfast, received the message. A piece of good news. This made him excited to walk to the chart and watch with his own eyes as the staff marked each other's positions on the chart!

"Order the fleet to accelerate to 25 knots immediately! The final battle is about to begin! Tell the second and third detachments to surround them quickly!" Thomas said.

"The second telegram said that there seemed to be only two warships this time, and one of them was obviously smaller." Later, when the staff reported the second telegram to Thomas, the vice admiral was stunned at first, and then The frustration and regret are palpable.

"Who is the battleship?" Thomas asked.

"This seems to be the Blücher. The big one only has three turrets on it," the staff officer said.

"Let the Second Fleet sail east immediately and search the eastern part of the North Sea. They are trying to divert the tiger away from the mountain. Maybe the Moltke has secretly gone south!" Thomas ordered. Blücher served as a decoy heading west, which then caused the British fleet's interceptor net to shift westward, then providing Moltke with the opportunity to break out. Thomas finally figured out the Germans' plan, but so far, he is not worried because Thomas has already left a backup plan.

After once again confirming that the opponent only had one battle cruiser, the Blücher, Thomas decided to let himself and the closer third squadron kill the two German warships, while the second squadron's Barem and Warspite searched. The lone Moltke also telegraphed Major General Moore to let him guard the Skagerrak Strait.

More than 2 hours later, at 10 a.m., under the guidance of a reconnaissance plane, Thomas finally saw the battlecruiser Blücher and the cruiser Wiesbaden behind it. At the same time, the Warriors and Reputation of the third battle line also appeared in the southeast of the German fleet, ready to intercept the opponent at any time.

"What a pity. We only attracted two battleship squadrons this time. I hope Moltke can be lucky enough to avoid the other two queens." Captain Hullhouse, the captain of the Blücher, said with a little regret.

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