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Text Chapter 1033 Battlecruiser Showdown

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    At two o'clock and two thirty in the morning on May 31, hundreds of warships of the German Navy sailed out of the military port in two batches and entered the icy North Sea.  Although the sea is dark at the moment, the officers and soldiers of the German Navy have high morale. They firmly believe that this time they will re-create history and pull the British, who have dominated the world's oceans for hundreds of years, from their position as hegemons.  replace

    After the German High Seas Fleet reconnaissance squadron led by Lieutenant General Hipper sailed out of Wilhelmshaven, with eight battlecruisers as the core, they formed several parallel columns and sailed westward.

    The fleet at this time usually moves forward in several parallel columns. Relatively speaking, this formation is more maneuverable.  Several shorter columns can turn faster than a long snake formation, and can also more quickly transmit the signal of the flagship (usually located at the head of the central column) to the entire fleet through searchlights or semaphores.  In a long snake formation, the signal sent from the flagship at the head of the column often takes KO minutes or more to be transmitted to the last ship in the column. This is because of the black smoke coming out of the battleship's chimney.  This makes it difficult to distinguish signals sent from behind, and each ship has to repeatedly send the message it receives to the ship behind (or in front of) it.  And because many messages must be confirmed by each ship before they can be implemented, the time wasted may be doubled.

    In actual combat, fleets often line up in a column to fight enemy ships before engaging in firefights.  This requires the leading ship of each column to lead the ships it leads to turn left or right to form a suitable formation.  Since the fleets of both warring parties are traveling at high speed, fleet commanders need to send out reconnaissance fleets (usually composed of battlecruisers and cruisers) to report the enemy's position, speed, heading and other information, so that the fleet can attack the enemy as soon as possible.  Arrange in the most advantageous formation to fight enemy ships.  The reconnaissance fleet must also try to prevent the other party's reconnaissance fleet from obtaining similar information.

    The most ideal situation is that one's own column is exactly across the advancing route of the opponent's fleet, forming a T-shape or T-shape (our fleet is located one horizontal position of the T-shape), so that all the front and rear main guns of one's side and all the guns on one side are  The broadside guns can be aimed at the opponent, and the opponent can only fire back with the forward main gun of the ship at the front of the column.  However, a large part of the plan to form a T-shaped formation depends on luck: since both sides are advancing at a high speed, it is very likely that they did not grasp the timing well, causing themselves to change from a horizontal to a vertical position in the T-shaped formation, thus being passively beaten.

    The high seas fleet reconnaissance squadron led by Lieutenant General Hipper is responsible for reporting the enemy's position, speed, course and other information. After discovering the enemy, it quickly reports the enemy's information to the main fleet so that the main fleet can quickly carry out operations.  Adjust and prepare for the challenge.  In addition, according to Reinhardt.  According to the plan drawn up by Admiral Scheer, Vice Admiral Hipper also needed to lead a reconnaissance squadron to launch a surprise attack on the British fleet responsible for blockading the German coast, and lay mines on the British coast, etc.  All this is to consume the strength of the British Navy as much as possible.  After all, the British Navy had more battleships and battlecruisers than the German Navy.  The German Navy did not know that the main force of the British Navy had also entered the North Sea at this moment, and the fleets from both sides were approaching.

    The war is about to begin.

    Lieutenant General Hipper's flagship is the battlecruiser Derflinger, which is the most powerful battlecruiser of the German Navy. Its full load displacement reaches 31,000 tons and its armament is 4 twin-mounted 305  mm main gun, 14 single-mounted 150mm secondary guns, and 12 single-mounted 88mm rapid-fire guns.  The horizontal armor is up to 300 mm thick, the deck armor is 80 mm thick, and the turret armor is 150 mm thick. The maximum speed is 26 knots.

    "Colonel Feng, who do you think is more powerful this time between the Imperial Navy and the Chinese Navy?" On the bridge of the battlecruiser Derflinger, Lieutenant General Hipper asked a young Asian man next to him  asked.  Lieutenant General Hipper is only 49 years old and is full of energy.  Even though it was early in the morning, he was not sleepy at all.  The young Asian man next to him is a member of the observation group sent by the Chinese Navy to Germany, Colonel Feng Zhongsheng, a colonel and staff officer from the Chinese Navy.

    "Your Excellency General, I have to admit that your country's navy is very good in terms of the performance of its warships and the quality of its soldiers. If compared with the Chinese Navy, it should be comparable!" Colonel Feng Zhongsheng said with a smile.  replied.  As a senior staff officer of the Ministry of the Navy, he certainly knows that the main direction of the development of the Chinese Navy has changed. It has already shifted from battleships to aircraft carriers.  This time the Navy sent an observation team to Europe mainly to find out the strength of the European naval powers.  However, whether the British Navy or the German Navy wins, it will not pose a great threat to the Chinese Navy.  The four Emeishan-class aircraft carriers of the Chinese Navy have already entered service, and the carrier aviation is undergoing training and will soon be able to form combat effectiveness.  In addition, in the navy's shipyard, five larger ships

      ¡®The Wuyue-class aircraft carrier is under construction.  Compared with Western navies that are using battleships to compete, the Chinese navy is once again at the forefront of the world.

    "Yes, the Chinese Navy is as powerful as the German Navy. We will replace the old navy that has become decadent and backward!" Lieutenant General Hipper said with a smile.  Of course, deep down in his heart, he does not think that the German Navy is inferior to the Chinese Navy.  And, this time the German Navy would make history.  He firmly believed that victory must belong to the great German Imperial Navy.

    According to Reinhardt.  According to Admiral Scheer's plan, the main force of the German High Seas Fleet under his command would be fifty nautical miles behind Vice Admiral Hipper's reconnaissance squadron.  Once Vice Admiral Hipper completes his mission and encounters the British Navy, he will attract the enemy to the main force of the High Seas Fleet.  At that time, the main force of the High Seas Fleet, which has completed combat preparations, will deal a fatal blow to the British fleet.  By then, the German Navy's High Seas Fleet will be able to regain its disadvantage.  And defeated the British Navy!

    At 5 o¡¯clock in the morning, British Admiral John.  The main force of the British Navy's Home Fleet led by Jellicoe began to turn. The fleet turned 50 degrees south-east at a speed of 16 knots, preparing to fight with David.  Vice Admiral Beatty's battlecruiser squadron converged.

    5:30, Reinhardt.  Admiral Scheer received a report from Submarine No. 123, which stated that two battleships, two cruisers and several destroyers were sighted heading southeast.

    Before the decisive battle began, the German Navy dispatched a large number of submarines into the North Sea. On the one hand, it was looking for opportunities to attack the British Navy's warships and merchant ships. On the other hand, it was also on a reconnaissance mission to provide the High Seas Fleet with the movements of the British Navy.

    At 6:30, Admiral Scheer received a report from the submarine U66 that eight battleships were moving northeast under the escort of several cruisers and destroyers. Admiral Scheer decided to keep the fleet course unchanged.

    At eight o'clock in the morning, Admiral Scheer kept the main force of the High Seas Fleet fifty nautical miles behind the battlecruiser detachment of Hipper's fleet. All the main ships of the High Seas Fleet except "King" and "Thuringia" had already  join in.

    As for the British Navy, John.  Admiral Jellicoe and David.  There was an error in the intelligence received by Lieutenant General Betty. The intelligence told them that the main force of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet was still in the port.  This intelligence misled them.  However, even if there is only the German Navy's battlecruiser detachment, they do not want to give up. If they can kill the eight battlecruisers of the German Navy, they can further weaken the strength of the German Navy.  Therefore, John.  Admiral Jellicoe ordered David.  Vice-Admiral Beatty continued to advance with the British Navy's battlecruiser squadron, while he followed behind with the main force of the British Navy's Home Fleet.

    At two o'clock in the afternoon, Betty's fleet and Hipper's fleet were 50 nautical miles apart. The two fleets were in a parallel situation. However, due to errors in the calculations of the predetermined positions by both sides, they did not find each other.  Just when a big battle was about to pass, an irregular ship (the Danish steamship "Strait") happened to pass through the sea between the forwards of the two fleets. The ship emitted an unusually large amount of steam, which caused a stir between the two sides.  alert. Hipper ordered the light cruiser "Elpin" (originally built for the Russian Navy and taken over by the German Navy after the war) and two destroyers to conduct reconnaissance. Similarly, Betty also sent the light cruiser "Galatia" to the front.  Go check it out.

    At 2:20 p.m., the "Galatia" reported: "There are two ships heading east-southeast, which appear to be enemy ships." Betty ordered the fleet to turn the rudder to the south-southeast.  However, the turn of the 5th Battleship Squadron was delayed due to a signal error.  The 1st Light Cruiser Squadron was sent to support the Galatea.  At 2:28 in the afternoon, the "Galatia" was hit by a millimeter shell from the "Elpin" on the bridge, but fortunately the shell did not explode - the Battle of Jutland officially began.  Due to a communications failure, the initial report from the Elpin could not be read.  Hipper did not change the fleet's course.

    At 2:32 p.m., David.  Vice Admiral Beatty ordered all battlecruisers to increase their speed to 24 knots.

    At 2:52 pm, Lieutenant General Hipper discovered a communication failure, re-interpreted the report of the "Elping", and then led the team to move closer to the ship.  At the same time, give it to Reinhardt behind.  Admiral Scheer sent a telegram regarding a possible encounter with the British fleet.

    At 3:32 pm, the German naval reconnaissance squadron led by Lieutenant General Hipper and David.  The British naval battlecruiser squadron led by Vice Admiral Beatty discovered the opponent almost at the same time.  The decisive naval battle between Britain and Germany would begin with a duel between the battlecruisers of both sides.
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