บท 86: Follow Me

Six months ago, Königsberg.

"His Royal Highness, why didn't we block the channel and trap all the British warships in the harbor during the first wave of air strikes, and then we sent waves of planes to slowly swallow them?" Tirpitz, a hard-working classmate who asked. Raised his hand again to ask a question.

Chen Tian put down the pencil in his hand and asked calmly, "Your Excellency, how many warships and submarines are there in the British Navy besides this large fleet?"

"Uh... the British Navy's possessions are 30 new battleships and battlecruisers, 40 old battleships, 100 light cruisers, 300 destroyers and 70 submarines. Their main fleet has hit almost all the latest battleships. And battlecruisers and almost a quarter of the cruisers and destroyers! What do you mean...?" Tirpitz knew about each of the British battleships as if they always stayed in his harbor.

"After the previous waves of attacks, the British harbor should be full of sunken and stranded warships. At this time, it is no longer suitable for torpedo attacks in the harbor. We assume that at this time the British main fleet is left with 2/3. Of course, in fact, our previous waves of attacks may not achieve the effect of destroying 1/3 of the opponent's ships. Then we can only use fighter-bombers and bombers to throw bombs. If we conduct 4-5 waves of attacks every day, do you think we have to How many days will most of the warships in the harbor be wiped out?"

Tirpitz was lost in thought and calculation, but soon he gave his answer.

"About 6-7 days. That's a week!"

"So do you think the other warships of the British navy will be ignored during this time? You said that the British have about 70 submarines. If 10 submarines are close to our raid fleet, do you think the ability of the raid fleet can defend several ships? ?"

"One boat can't be guarded!" Tirpitz started to sweat.

"Then, about the third or fourth day of the air raid, our air raid fleet will not even be left with scum!" Chen Tian smiled, and Tirpitz finally realized it.

At 1:15 pm on September 2, 1914, the remaining 18 Dreadnought-class battleships, 4 armored cruisers, 4 light cruisers, and 10 destroyers of the British Grand Fleet headed towards the sea under the leadership of the flagship "George V" Prince Drich's assault fleet drove away, and they vowed to tear the "despicable Germans" to pieces.

At 1:20 pm, the 076 "ostrich I" bomber hovering over the British fleet sent a report to the "Lisa" that the main British fleet was heading towards the assault fleet, heading 40 degrees south due east. The speed is 18 knots.

1:30 pm. The German Assault Fleet's flagship "Lisa" sent the first radio signal in three days: grasp your destiny!

1:35 pm. The entire assault fleet turned, 20 degrees due south to east, and a speed of 16 knots. The destroyers and aircraft carriers were in the front, and the submarines were in the back.

1:45 pm. "Lisa" sent out a radio to announce her position.

1:50 pm. The Grand Marshal Tirpitz in the German High Seas Fleet sent a semaphore from the flagship "Frederick the Great", dividing the High Seas fleet into two pairs, 16 dreadnoughts, 3 battlecruisers, 6 cruisers and 18 at higher speeds. The destroyers formed the first fast fleet, advancing northward at a speed of 19 knots. The remaining 12 old battleships with a slower speed, 4 cruisers, and 12 destroyers formed a backup team, which followed up at a speed of 14 knots.

2 o'clock in the afternoon. On the decks of the "Lisa" and "Super Duck Mother", the propellers of the aircraft started to start, and the entire deck was enveloped by a burst of real smoke. The German sailors waved to the heroes who were about to set off. This group of attack teams consisting of 24 "Swordfish", 8 "Sea Eagle II" and 2 "Ostrich I" will fight against each other under the leadership of Captain Lieb. The British Grand Fleet, which is pursuing the assault fleet, is harassing and monitoring. After 15 minutes, they all lifted off under the gaze of thousands of pairs of eyes and then flew north after the formation was completed.

At 2:33 pm, the first "Swordfish" torpedo aircraft to participate in the third wave of air strikes landed steadily on the huge deck of the "Lisa". Numerous hats representing victory were thrown into the air. The great victories one after another were ecstatic.

At 2:45 in the afternoon, Admiral Gerrid, commander of the British Navy's Grand Fleet, corrected the heading of the fleet: 30 degrees due east and south. At this time, the British fleet was 75 nautical miles away from the German assault fleet.

At 2:55 pm, all aircraft participating in the third wave of gaps had returned to the aircraft carrier.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the applauding transmitter appeared on Dunnitz's U-039 submarine and the repair was completed. They sent a telegram to the flagship to report their situation and location.

At 3:3 in the afternoon, the flagship "Lisa" sent a telegram to the U-039 submarine, requesting the highest speed on the water to keep up with the assault fleet. Dunnitz was surprised to find that he had fallen behind the other submarines by about 25 nautical miles.

At 3:6 in the afternoon, in the command room of the British fleet flagship "George V", British Admiral Jellied, who was lying on the nautical chart studying and calculating, was suddenly interrupted by a noisy shout. The adjutant rushed to report that another group of German aircraft had appeared right in front of the fleet.

"It seems that our direction is not wrong. The Germans now want to stop us from pursuing with all their strength!" Jellied gently put down the compasses, as if he didn't care. He felt that his fleet had already fished into the sea, and there was no room for shelter like it was moored in a harbor, so he ordered the ships to continue advancing at full speed.

"Hmph! Damn it to the British, my torpedo will be unstoppable when I get to the sea!" Captain Lieb's thoughts were completely opposite to the British. Captain Lieb is a commander who emphasizes team operations. Whether it is previous exercises or morning battles, he always takes two wingmen to attack the target together. According to his words: enemy warships can't fly. , It can dodge one more than two, can it still dodge a third one? The enemy's warship is not an unsinkable continent. Can I get the third one if I get one or two?

At this time, a huge shadow of the British fleet on the right side of the British fleet attracted Lieb's attention. The standard water capacity of 22,200 tons, the British Orion-class battleship Orion in 1912, appeared to be extremely new and new in the dusty British fleet. Swagger.

"Brothers, it's work!" Lieb greeted his wingman.

The three torpedo planes separated from the aircraft group, drew a large arc in the air, and then dropped to a few meters above the sea. From a distance, it looks like a few flying fish jumping on the surface of the sea. When the sailors on the Orion watchtower spotted these flying fish, they were still 10,000 yards away. When the report was reported that a large number of captains in the command tower were there, Lieb's team had flown to a distance of 1,000 yards. . Three plops fell into the water, sneaked for a certain distance in the water, and then left. White tear marks composed of white bubbles were drawn on the sea surface.

"Torpedo! The torpedo was found on the right chord!" The British sailors sounded the alarm, and the battleship Pangdae quickly turned to the right. At this time, three fake torpedo planes flew over the mast.

The end result is just like what Lieb said, it has avoided one, two, but not the third torpedo. The last torpedo bitterly hit the hungry tail of Orion, a huge water column rose, and several sailors on the tail deck fell into the sea. Orion's thick armor belt prevented it from being penetrated, but its rudder completely failed, spinning around the sea like a stroked duck.

The large British fleet and the traditional intensive formation saved Mr. Lieb the other two torpedoes that missed the Orion, and a destroyer became Orion's replacement. The 3,000-ton hull was shattered on the spot, leaving no bones of 235 officers and soldiers.

British Admiral Gerrid watched as his fleet was slaughtered again in the vast ocean that was originally owned by the British. There were many ships on the left and right sides of the fleet covered by fire and smoke, and there was a line everywhere on the sea. No one knows that the white water marks are those that have hit the target, and those are left by torpedoes that have not been taken advantage of yet. Fear and bereavement have dissatisfied the faces of every British person.

"Fleet disperse!" These words were spit out from Admiral Jellied's mouth, but it was too late. The German planes had all bombed, and the torpedo planes had begun to return, leaving only two. The bombers were still hovering over the fleet. The fluttering pieces of paper began to fall again. This time it read: Poor British, your king is hiding in the toilet and crying!

Ten minutes later, Jellied tore the pieces of paper sent by the adjutant to pieces, "The ships are moving forward at the highest speed! The slow-speed armored cruisers and destroyers are free to follow up!"

The "ostrich I" in the air clearly saw the British fleet dispersing, 16 new dreadnoughts and 3 light cruisers, 6 destroyers moving wildly at a speed of more than 20 knots, and several old crop cruisers. The destroyer and the destroyer were left far behind, and several destroyers were in place to accompany the two dreadnoughts that were injured.

London, England.

King George and the Prime Minister of England sat in their seats silently, and telegrams about the British fleet would be delivered to them every few minutes. What's happening today is too stimulating to them. No one has come forward to express their opinions on Jerryd's actions. Everyone eagerly hopes that their fleet can fight for the British Empire's navy to get back the last bit of face.

"Your Majesty, you don't have to work too hard! I have ordered the Second Fleet to set sail from Puttersmouth to support Gerrid. Our submarine has also set off from Mali Bend. I believe that the German fleet will be wiped out soon. !" Prime Minister Lloyd walked to the side of the king to comfort him.

"Chancellor of the Navy, have you found out what secret weapon the Germans used?" King George rubbed his temple and opened his eyes to look at the Secretary of the Navy Churchill.

"Your Majesty, our spies have discovered that the German High Seas Fleet has ships similar to our "Egadin" seaplane carrier. I think they are using that kind of weapon this time! What Churchill called "Egadin" 'The displacement was 1,800 tons. It was originally a Straits ferry completed in 1912. It was requisitioned by the Navy on August 11, 1914. It was later converted into a seaplane carrier at Chaham Shipyard. It was completed on September 1, 1914 and could carry 4 aircraft. Seaplane."

"But the Minister, General Jellied said that there were more than 50 German aircraft in the air raid on Scarpaflo. There were so many seaplane carriers from the Germans. I remember that the report of the Intelligence Office stated that the German High Seas Fleet had only A mothership that can carry 6-8 seaplanes. No such ships have been found in German military ports such as Kiel. The Germans have transformed so many aircraft and motherships from there!" Lloyd asked the opposite.

"This...The Intelligence Service is already trying its best to find out about this!" A few drops of sweat came out on the forehead of the Secretary of the Navy Churchill.

"Try to find out? It's all a bunch of rubbish! If the Germans carry out an air raid on London, what do I see you do?" King George was shocked when he said this. Indeed, the Germans can air strike Scarpaflo Port, and they can completely air strike London.

"Order the Second Fleet to stop and let them defend London! Also, send a telegram to Gerid and let him destroy the German fleet at all costs!" The king shouted in panic, and this order was completely ruined. The future of Jérid's Great Fleet and the British Imperial Navy.

At 4:23, Prince Heydrich stood on the bridge of the "Lisa" aircraft carrier and stared silently ahead. The masts of a group of German battleships appeared on the water antenna, and the sailors shouted excitedly: "High Seas Fleet ! Our high seas fleet is here!"

At 4:26, the flagship of the High Seas Fleet "Frederick the Great" issued a semaphore: The ships turned, the submarine troops formed an ambush formation, and the formation of aircraft carriers and destroyers followed up 15 nautical miles from the high seas fleet.

At 4:40, all 21 submarines except U-039 completed their turn and arranged in a rectangular submarine battle position. They were located about 20 nautical miles in front of the High Seas Fleet and opened their way in front of the High Seas Fleet at a speed of 15 knots. At this time, U-039 was still 20 nautical miles away from the other submarines, and Dunnitz got the order of Prince Heydrich: U-039 stopped advancing and waited for other submarines in place!

A solitary submarine floats on the wide North Sea 90 nautical miles southeast of Scarpaflor. On the submarine's control tower, a young captain sighed softly.

"Oh! Damn the engine! It broke down at a critical time. Not only did a British cruiser slip out of my nose, but it also missed the fleet's actions. I hope other submarines can get here before the British arrive!"

"Captain, look!" The sailor who was watching with the observation telescope beside him pushed Dunnitz, who was in a daze. In the telescope, a column of thick black smoke appeared in the northern sky.

"Come here fast!" Dunnitz looked at his watch, and the British fleet set sail at about 1:00 pm and arrived here in four and a half hours.

"All the crew entered the battle position, and the submarine slowly moved forward and began to dive!" Dunnitz finally looked north and covered the hatch and entered the submarine.

At 5:2 pm on September 2, the German Assault Fleet and the High Seas Fleet received reports from the reconnaissance aircraft and the U-039 submarine, confirming that the British warship was 43 nautical miles ahead of them. Both Tirpitz and Heydrich know very well that the critical moment of "Operation Destiny" is coming, and the largest battle fleet in human history will collide fiercely here.

At 5:29, the prelude to the battle of the century was started by the German naval submarine force...