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Text Chapter 1091 Surrender

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    In the waters one hundred and twenty kilometers west of Sicily, eight huge, seemingly identical battleships are sailing westward.  However, these warships, which are the most powerful weapons of a country's navy, seem a bit miserable at the moment.  There were traces of scorch everywhere on these warships. Some warships' hulls even tilted, and their speed was only more than ten knots.  These battleships were all battleships that had been severely damaged under the siege of the Chinese naval aviation. Although they were not sunk, they were all severely damaged, especially the speed was greatly affected.  As a result, they became the targets of abandonment by the combined fleet.

    At the beginning, the eight battleships had no idea what was going on.  But as the other battleships of the combined fleet began to accelerate, the speed became faster and faster, finally reaching more than twenty knots.  The speed of these heavily damaged battleships was only more than ten knots, so they were quickly left far behind.  Although battleships are powerful, they still need the cooperation of other battleships during combat, otherwise they are likely to be struck by lightning from small enemy battleships.  Previously, we had to guard against enemy destroyers, but now we also have to guard against submarines.  But now, on the sea, the huge figures of these eight battleships look so lonely.  There were no warships around them at all.  After being abandoned, the United Fleet was no longer willing to equip them with escort warships, lest they be sunk by the Chinese naval aviation that arrived later.

    Those who can become commanders of battleships are not fools.  After realizing that they had been abandoned, the captains of the remaining eight battleships called the Combined Fleet Commander John.  Admiral Jellicoe sent a telegram questioning why he abandoned them.  But, John.  Admiral Jellicoe denied the idea of ??abandoning them, but claimed that under the threat of the powerful Chinese fighter planes, the ships fled as quickly as possible. Even if other warships of the Combined Fleet stayed, there would be no  Of little use, all battleships are the key targets of the Chinese fighter force.  So John.  Admiral Jellicoe could only wish them God's blessing.

    The remaining eight battleships of the Combined Fleet are the British battleships Iron Duke, Benbow, Canada, and Bold.

    The battleships Centurion and Thor, as well as the battleships Lorraine and Provence of the French Navy.  Although these battleships were not sunk under previous attacks by Chinese naval aviation, they were all severely damaged.

    Some serious cases even had water in the hull. Although they did not capsize or sink, their speed was greatly affected.  There is no doubt that these battleships also know that they will be the key targets of the Chinese Navy's aviation force.  When their speed was not affected, they could not escape the attack of the Chinese naval aviation. Under the current circumstances, it was even more difficult for them to escape.

    ¡®The captain of the battleship Iron Duke is Rear Admiral Bruce, who is fifty-two years old now, because he has the highest military rank and the most seniority in the navy.  Therefore, in John.  After Admiral Jellicoe shamelessly led the other battleships of the Combined Fleet to escape, he was appointed as the commander of these battleships.  And, John.  Admiral Jellicoe also ordered Rear Admiral Bruce to find a way to bring these battleships safely back to Gibraltar.  This command is completely embarrassing, and it is completely like John.  Admiral Jellicoe is just trying to shirk responsibility.

    The other battleships of the combined fleet accelerated to flee, which made the morale of the officers and soldiers of these eight battleships even lower. In addition, being abandoned, their fighting will dropped to a very low level.  If this was not the Mediterranean, but on land, these officers and soldiers would have collapsed and fled for their lives.  It's just that we are on the sea now, and there is no place to escape on the vast ocean, so everyone can only stay on the battleship.  But from everyone's pale faces, you can easily see the fear and despair deep in their hearts.

    "General! The Chinese, the Chinese are coming!" On the bridge of the battleship 'Iron Duke,' a major staff officer reported to Major General Bruce.  At this moment, the battleship 'Iron Duke's maximum speed was only eighteen knots. It had been hit by an aerial bomb and a torpedo before, causing this battleship with a displacement of up to 30,000 tons to be severely damaged.

    "Chinese? Is it their plane?" Major General Bliss trembled and then asked.  Before this, he was a firm believer in giant ships and cannons, believing that battleships with huge main guns and thick armor were the masters of the ocean. But now, the performance of the Chinese naval aviation has given him a deep impression.  , the huge battleship has no resistance at all in front of those small, toy-like aircraft.  The huge hull is no longer a sign of strength, but it is the best attack target for those aircraft.  This made Major General Bruce deeply shocked and frightened at the same time  In front of these aircraft, the huge battleships had no power to fight back, just like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

    "No, it's a battleship! It should be a battleship of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet. According to Wang Shou's report, there are four capital ships. They are chasing us at a high speed of 23 knots. It is estimated that we will have half an hour at most.  Get within their strike range!" reported the major staff officer.  If they had not been attacked by Chinese naval aviation fighter planes, with their eight battleships, they could easily defeat the four capital ships of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet.  But now, although these eight severely damaged battleships of the Combined Fleet are still capable of combat, it is difficult to say whether they can defeat the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet.  In addition, the Chinese planes must also be on their way. The situation is very unfavorable for these battleships of the Combined Fleet!

    Half an hour later, the distance between the eight battleships of the Chinese Navy¡¯s Indian Ocean Fleet and the Combined Fleet narrowed to 13,000 meters.

    "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The three triple-mounted 343mm main guns on the Han Ming Emperor battleship fired at the combined fleet. This was also the first salvo fired by the Chinese Navy's battleship in this naval battle.  However, at a distance of 13,000 meters and at high speed, the bombardment this time was really terrible. The nearest impact point was one thousand meters away.  Fortunately, what Admiral Li Haitao wanted was not to destroy these capital ships of the British and French naval fleets, but to attract their attention.

    Sure enough, after the Chinese navy began to attack, it caused a commotion among the British and French naval fleets.  Originally, these eight battleships sailed at a speed of 16 knots.  But now, some battleships began to speed up, trying to escape at a faster speed.

    ¡°Send them a signal and ask them to stop the ship immediately and surrender to us. Otherwise, we will sink them all!¡± Admiral Li Haitao ordered.  Whether we can capture these eight battleships depends on this!

    "General, the Chinese have sent a signal to us, asking us to surrender to them, otherwise they will sink us all!" the major staff officer reported to Major General Bruce.

    "Surrender? The Chinese want to capture us!" Major General Bruce looked a little gloomy.  Although he was abandoned, as a senior general of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, he still had his own dignity. If he was asked to surrender, it would be more uncomfortable for him than killing him.

    "Yes, General! The Chinese want to capture us! How should we reply to them?" asked the major staff officer.

    "Tell them that the heroic Royal Navy will never surrender to the enemy!" Rear Admiral Bruce replied decisively.

    "Ah? Okay, General!" Although the major staff officer was a little disappointed, he still followed Major General Brice's order and asked the watchman to notify the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet of the British Navy's decision through a flag.

    However, something unexpected happened at this time.  Two battleships of the French Navy suddenly broke away from the formation and raised the white flag.  They expressed to the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet through semaphores that the French Navy's battleships Lorraine and Provence were willing to surrender to the Chinese Navy.  Compared to the British, the romantic French undoubtedly cherish their lives more.

    Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet, laughed and accepted the surrender of the French Navy. He sent two light cruisers and two destroyers to approach the two battleships of the French Navy and took over control of the two battleships.

    Although there are more than a thousand naval officers and soldiers on the French Navy's 'Breton-class' battleships, the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet only has more than a hundred personnel onboard the two battleships to take over.  However, these French naval officers and soldiers were very cooperative. They obediently handed over their weapons, and the main guns on the two battleships were pointed at the sea.  Except for the key parts of the battleship that needed to be controlled by these French naval officers, the rest of the people, including the captain, gathered on the deck obediently and waited for the Chinese side to deal with it.  These French people were also frightened by the previous attacks by the Chinese naval aviation. They knew that there would be no good results if they continued to resist.  Therefore, in the face of glory and life, they chose the latter.

    "Give the stubborn British an ultimatum. If they don't surrender within twenty minutes, we will launch an attack. They and our aviation are on their way, and we have ten minutes at most.  They will be able to arrive. By then, they will have no choice but to die!" Admiral Li Haitao ordered after taking over two battleships of the French Navy!
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