Chapter 1,167 Battle
Chapter 1167 Battle
Soon another German light cruiser Pillau also aimed its guns at the coming British light cruiser and destroyer. The two German warships, with the cooperation of three destroyers, suppressed the British charge very well. From a distance of 6,000 meters to 2,500 meters, shells flew like raindrops towards the fleets of both sides, and balls of flames rose from the hulls from time to time. The bright flames instantly illuminated the positions of the fleets on both sides, and the rising black smoke was like a signal light telling the warships on both sides that there was a battle here!
"Your Excellency, Commander, we are under attack!" In the control tower of the flagship Queen Elizabeth, a British officer pointed at the light warships of both sides that had been reduced to a pot of porridge in the distance and said.
Thomas stopped paying attention to the battlefield after taking a look at the battle situation in the distance. As a commander, he needs to consider where his fleet will go! As the saying goes, 70% of a fleet commander's salary is used to pay for his adaptability, and this statement is very correct. Adaptability is also the most important and basic quality of an officer. And Thomas is now trying to guess the other party's thoughts and purposes.
The firefight just now took place on the side of the middle and rear of the fleet. Now only the Tiger, New Zealand and the light cruiser at the rear were attacking. The five fast battleships in front did not attack due to visibility problems. It has been determined that they are the opponent's light cruisers, so according to the practice of the German Navy, they should be the vanguard force of a certain main fleet!
"There is no doubt that we are being targeted by a German fleet! And it is a powerful enough fleet!" Thomas said to himself as he walked to the chart. The Germans are not stupid. The number of their light cruisers is even less than that of the battleships. It is impossible to send a team here in vain. And when you look at the posture, you obviously feel like there is someone behind me! When he saw his own battleship, he didn't consider his own size and just bit it! This is obviously to slow down myself!
"Order the fleet to turn half a compass point to the left, deal with the trouble behind it, and then evacuate at full speed towards the Firth of Forth!" Thomas spent less than 2 minutes thinking before issuing the attack order. Generally speaking, the German avant-garde light cruiser is far away from the main force. The fleet is at least 20 kilometers away, and in this weather, visibility is very low, even if you turn around and cut off these annoying little tails. He was still outside the sight of the German fleet. And if the two sides are chasing each other, it will not be easy for the Germans to close the firing distance. So Thomas thinks he has enough time to solve the problem!
And if you don't deal with the stalker behind you, there are too many hidden dangers. He knew how to deal with the German battlecruisers through multi-directional encirclement, and the Germans must have known that too! Thomas even thought that the entire High Seas Fleet might be around him, so he had to hide himself again!
Through the signal light, the five Queen-class battleships turned quickly. After giving way to the firing range, more than 30 15-inch artillery aimed at the German light cruiser detachment looming in the sea fog from the side! As the order to fire was given, fireballs several meters in diameter roared out from the muzzle! Looking from a distance,
A sheet of orange flames rose up on the sea almost at the same time!
"We discovered the British fleet! It's at our ten o'clock direction! It's the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship! All the queens are there!" The lookout on the battleship Saxony immediately spotted the jumping flames on the sea! What was somewhat unexpected to Thomas' expectation was that this time, the German fleet was not behind the British fleet, but to the side. At this time, the distance between the two sides was only 12 kilometers!
As a result, the entire Hipper fleet quickly became violent like a shark smelling blood, and a series of lights and signal flags were hung on the mast. The eight battleships of Hipper's fleet quickly entered combat readiness. "Wait a minute, we have to determine the opponent's course and block them!" At this time, the Hipper fleet, which was still uninvited, was like cheetahs entering the final hunting stage. They cautiously approached the opponent and stretched out the weapons hidden in the flesh pads. Minions, ready to launch the final blow at any time!
"Your Excellency, Commander, we seem to be in the middle of the opponent's formation. Five battleships are on our left side, and the other two battleships are on our starboard side..." At this time, an officer discovered a A very important and depressing problem, their encirclement net did not completely catch the prey!
"Major General Bodick confirmed that they were biting the Tiger?!" Hipper asked.
"That's right," the officer replied.
"Ignore the rubbish for now, what we want to kill this time is the Queen! The fleet cannot be dispersed, we must ensure an absolute advantage!" After weighing it, Hipper decided to ignore the two British battlecruisers for the time being, and then use all the firepower Aim at the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship ahead!
In the long baseline rangefinder of the German battleship, the blurred figures gradually became clearer. Five figures of similar sizes lined up in a row, almost diagonally rushing towards the German fleet. The Saxon and the Hesse separated the two. After each battleship selected the first two British battleships as targets, every two of the remaining six German battleships targeted one British battleship. In this way, the eight battleships assigned targets within 2 minutes, and subsequently In a few minutes, the formation was adjusted, and the hidden hunter loaded the shotgun with bullets and aimed at the prey that was still killing!
During this period, Rear Admiral Bodick's light cruiser detachment was under tremendous pressure. The light cruiser Elbin, which was first bitten by the British, quickly became the target of public criticism. The fire storm composed of the Queens' 15-inch semi-armor-piercing bombs instantly submerged this light cruiser with a displacement of only 6,000 tons!
"We couldn't even see its condition. The entire hull was obscured by tall water columns, and the loud noises from time to time were frightening. At least two British battleships targeted him, with an average of one wave every 20 seconds. The rain of bullets left him unable to fight back." After the war, Major General Bodick described the scene at that time.
The actual situation is indeed not bad, the British hit hard and accurately this time! Thomas’s queens are truly battle-hardened veterans! The fourth and a half salvo caught the target, and then the Malaya and the Queen Elizabeth alternately threw shells weighing 875KG near each other!
The first hit bomb was so fatal! This shell hit the side string of the Elbin's hull. The nearly 900KG shell easily tore through the Elbin's upper armor belt, which was no more than 5 inches from 10 kilometers away! Under the influence of huge kinetic energy, the huge armor-piercing projectile squeezed directly in!
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