Chapter 1,165 Target, Thomas Fleet 1
Chapter 1165 Target, Thomas Fleet 1
"From now on, all fleet internal communications can only use the backup frequency band, and can only actively send messages as a last resort! Vice Admiral Hipper, this is you leading a battleship squadron alone, and you have the High Seas Fleet in your hands. With half the force, you have only one mission, keep an eye on the opponent and cut off their evacuation direction to the Shetland Islands. If possible, get close to the opponent without being prematurely discovered!" Before the fleet separated, the prince said Said to Hipper.
Jericho guessed right, the prince would never take any drastic action against the Grand Fleet! This time we are still targeting the Thomas Fleet! Why do you say that the last battle was very good? I thought that the Thomas fleet now only has 5 queens, plus two battlecruisers, there are only 7 battleships in total, and the combat effectiveness has dropped to less than half of the strength of the fast fleet of the High Seas Fleet! That's why the prince dared to divide his troops and outflank him!
To deal with a fleet whose speed is almost the same as your own, it is useless to simply pursue it. The speed difference between the two sides is at most 1 to 2 knots. If you want to shorten the visual distance to about 18 kilometers for artillery battle, you may have to use Several hours, and after a few hours, the large fleet may be approaching, and the opponent can still use smoke screens to interfere. How to hunt a fast fleet? Thomas has told everyone with practical experience, that is multi-channel outflanking!
However, it would be difficult to outflank during the day. British seaplanes and auxiliary battleships could provide early warning to the fleet. So this outflanking is useless during the day! Therefore, the only and best solution is to carry out the outflank maneuver at night, and the time for the two sides to meet is at dawn! At dawn, there will be sea fog in the North Sea, which will still protect the fleet, and when the sun rises, the best position for the Scheer fleet is to get stuck on the British fleet on its way home!
The choice of this interception point cannot be too close to the Firth of Forth, otherwise it may not be discovered by the Thomas Fleet and may be discovered by British land-based aircraft or submarines. And because airships and radio direction finding are relied on to determine the position of the British fleet, this also has a large error. These things can only depend on the technical level and luck of the relevant personnel. But this at least gives the prince a chance to hunt!
And what about Hipper's fleet? His mission is to track and block the opponent's retreat, and at the same time, alert to the direction of the possible arrival of the large fleet from the north. It stands to reason that when the British fleet finds that there is a main fleet of about 7 ships in front of them, they may choose to fight, or they may turn around and run. Running north is the most likely, so theoretically the position of Hipper's fleet is It should be north or northeast, because that is the Shetland Islands. You can also run south, but you will be farther and farther away from the grand fleet, and the prince has a whole day to pursue it. I wonder if the British fleet has enough engines and fuel to fight the prince for a day!
This is actually a game. If you don't have enough troops, you bet on the direction that the opponent can choose most easily. Then stop him! So far, the plan looked good. According to British telegrams and airship reports, the German fleet could use an incoherent curve to indicate the trajectory of Thomas's fleet.
And the speed and direction of this trajectory were within the prince's expectations!
In order to avoid being discovered, the entire fleet implemented a blackout and only used signal lights to communicate with each other when necessary. In the dark night, except for the occasional flashing lights, no one was aware of the giant hidden in the shadows. Beasts, they are like cheetahs before hunting, cautiously approaching their prey until the time is right to strike a fatal blow!
Time passes by minute by second. If someone opens the God's perspective and stands on the sky and can penetrate the night, then he can see such a scene. The Thomas fleet is still heading towards the Firth of Forth at a speed of about 14 knots. Sailing away, the first and second battleship squadrons commanded by Vice Admiral Scheer took a shortcut at a speed of 22 knots and gradually moved in front of the British fleet. According to the approximate position of the British fleet, they were 150 meters away from the Firth of Forth. Traveling back and forth a thousand meters away, waiting for the other party to come to your door.
After the Hipper fleet determined the general position of the British fleet, it slowly followed them, like a pride of lions waiting for an opportunity to approach their prey in the dark. At this time, if you turn on the God's perspective, you can find that the Hipper fleet has been about 25 kilometers northeast of the British fleet, and it was as close as 20 kilometers at the latest, but because it was dark, , the British did not notice the fleet behind them that implemented blackout and radio silence. Since the target had been locked, Hipper did not send a telegram, but continued to receive information on the location of the British fleet from airships.
Except for the officers and personnel on duty, the remaining personnel took advantage of their precious rest time to have a good sleep. When it was 4 o'clock in the morning, they began to eat the first breakfast of the day, which was also the last meal before the war. After dinner, each soldier was given an extra cup of hot chocolate. This kind of thing is not the brown liquid that tastes like Lego in the cafeteria in later generations. It is made by melting a whole piece of chocolate. Even if you drink half of it, you can stick a spoon in it and it will stand up... .....
After more than 6 hours of fast sailing, the Scheer fleet, which had already entered the position, also began to relax a little. They reduced the speed to about 16 knots, and at the same time repaired various minor problems in the steam pipelines on the battleships to prepare for the warships. Preparing for the battle that is about to begin. At the same time, Thomas still knew nothing about the upcoming fierce battle, and the entire fleet was in a relaxed attitude. Especially the closer to dawn, the British became more relieved. In addition to the reason of getting home soon, in addition An important reason is that British land-based aircraft outside the Bay of Forth will soon be able to provide themselves with full anti-submarine and reconnaissance. As Jericho said, under a clear sky, we have an unobstructed view of the situation at sea!
When the sun gradually rose, the morning sea fog gradually dissipated, and the visibility got better little by little. At this time, Thomas also sent the last telegram before the war to the Firth of Forth! The telegram clearly stated the location of the British fleet and requested the dispatch of aircraft to provide escort. Thomas originally planned to make the fleet safer, but unfortunately, with the help of this telegram, the Germans finally determined the position of the British fleet. The invisible radio waves woke up the giant bear in hibernation like a spring thunder, and the German high seas The fleet finally showed off its sharp sword again!
The author looked at his mobile phone and it seems that there will be wireless recommendations tomorrow~~~! Third update tomorrow~~~! Please subscribe and reward~~~!