1890 King of Southeast Asia

At this time, there was still 1 hour and 20 minutes before dark.

Hipper dispatched destroyers to launch torpedo attacks on the British battlecruisers on both sides.

Torpedo attacks were not the goal, but a means to force the British to dodge. Once they began to dodge, the formation would be in chaos and a lot of time would be wasted.

Of course, if someone was too stubborn and didn't dodge, it was okay. One heavy torpedo was enough to seriously injure or even sink a 10,000-ton battleship.

Seeing this, Florenzi ordered each to dodge and the fleet dispersed.

This set of actions bought Hipper nearly 40 minutes.

However, it was not without cost. The Lion class was equipped with 12 152mm secondary guns, and the Renown class was equipped with 16 152mm secondary guns.

The British originally preferred to use 102mm rapid-fire guns as secondary guns, but after experiments on small cruisers, they found that 102mm rapid-fire guns were no longer sufficient to undertake the task of anti-torpedo attacks.

After a long struggle over the three secondary gun calibers of 120mm, 127mm and 152mm, the Lion and Renown classes were finally equipped with 152mm secondary guns.

The British had not updated the 120mm gun for a long time. The 127mm had a good rate of fire and weight, but the British were not sure about its performance in anti-torpedo.

In the end, they simply chose the 152mm secondary gun, which was the same level as the battleship secondary gun.

In addition to the 152mm secondary gun, two 76mm + 2-pound rapid-fire guns were added to the Renown. Although the power was not great, the rate of fire was fast, and the 50-caliber long barrel also provided a larger range.

The secondary gun group's attack on the German destroyer was very obvious. The destroyer was already very fragile. If it took a few more 152mm shells, it would be seriously injured even if it did not hit the core area.

In the end, Germany paid the price of three destroyers sunk and two seriously injured and caught fire for this torpedo.

However, this also gave Hipper a chance to leave, because Florenzi chose to turn right when evading, and the distance between him and the Germans was getting farther and farther.

In order not to repeat the same mistake, the other two Lion-class battlecruisers dared to evade from a distance. Hipper led the fleet to speed up and successfully rushed out.

When the British reorganized, the time was already 6:20, and Hipper had run more than ten nautical miles away, and he could not catch up at all... ... Normally.

However, it was not normal at this time, just like Hipper had already crippled 4 British battlecruisers, but he still ran away, which looked abnormal.

That's because Hipper never forgot that this place was not far from the British mainland, and the surrounding British fleet was not far away.

They came out to attack, and once they were discovered, they had to return immediately, otherwise they would be surrounded.

For example, in this battle, the British came like crazy with 5 ships first, and then 4 ships. They knew that the Germans had more numbers and a strict formation, but they still rushed up desperately.

Why? Isn't it just to delay time and wait for the Royal Navy to be deployed in place? By then, it is not certain how many ships the Germans can return.

"What is the situation of each ship?" Hipper looked at the enemy ships gradually disappearing on the sea level and breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Goeben was moderately damaged, but it is taking on water, and the damage control is working hard to repair it."

"The Von der Tann was seriously injured. It was hit by 13 heavy bombs, the hull was full of holes, one main gun was damaged, and one was on strike. Fortunately, the water intake was not serious, and the speed was no problem."

"The Moltke was already injured before, and it was hit by several large-caliber shells in the second round of combat. The whole ship was seriously flooded, and 24 knots was already the full-power speed."

"Although the other warships were hit and had various scars, it did not affect navigation and combat." The chief of staff said thankfully.

Although the Germans sank one Blücher, the British seriously damaged four ships, all of which were new and large warships. Overall, the Germans had a slight advantage.

If the battle ended here, the British would have won.

The damaged ship was pulled back for repairs for a few months and became a good ship again. Not only that, the British also destroyed the Germans' intentions - this is the most important thing.

The two countries invested a total of 23 battlecruisers, more than 20 cruisers, dozens of destroyers, and a total of hundreds of combat ships.

In any country, even if the quality is not considered and only the quantity is considered, this is a decisive battle.

What was the result of this battle? The Germans abandoned a ship and ran away.

This means that the sea power has always been firmly in the hands of the British. The Germans can be violent on land, but they cannot challenge the British on the sea.

No matter what the Germans want to do, they are blocked by the British.

However, in Hipper's view, this does not affect anything. The Germans have long been accustomed to being surrounded, just like the Russians have been accustomed to being targeted in Europe.

"General, the Goeben sent a telegram saying that another fleet was found on its port side, that is, in the northwest direction, about 18 nautical miles away." The captain handed over another telegram with a dark face.

The officers who thought Hipper was a little worried looked at Hipper with admiration for a while.

"Can you confirm what warship it is? What is the enemy's course?" Hipper took a look and the message on the telegram was very simple. It should be that the Goeben itself was not sure.

The captain certainly didn't know, so Hipper asked the chief of staff to send a telegram to ask.

At 6:40, the sun was setting in the west.

The fiery red sun was getting closer and closer to the sea level, and the sun spread the red sunlight on the sea, sparkling and very beautiful.

"It should be the British Indefatigable-class battlecruisers, a total of 3 ships, heading in the direction ahead of us."

"They haven't formed a battle formation yet, so they shouldn't have discovered us. Maybe the British behind them sent them a telegram."

"My suggestion is to quickly disengage. There are an unknown number of British battlecruisers following us, and after dark, it will be easier to be struck by torpedoes."

The chief of staff didn't want to be entangled again at this time.

This is the British home ground, and the British can concentrate hundreds of destroyers or torpedo boats at any time.

And in the dark, it is inevitable to use searchlights to expose your position, which is very dangerous.

"Go up, we don't have much supplies, and fighting at night will cause greater waste." Hipper shook his head.

After continuous fighting, 60% of the main gun shells have been consumed, and there are still many secondary gun shells, but when the main battleship is fighting, the secondary guns can't play a big role, at least the range is not enough.

"We must save some shells. If we encounter British battleships tomorrow, we will be lambs to be slaughtered without shells." Hipper said to the chief of staff.

"I understand. In this case, I suggest concentrating firepower to attack one battleship. After scaring the enemy, it will be almost dark, and we will maneuver." The chief of staff was easily convinced.

Although the battlecruiser can run away with its speed, the longer it stays outside, the greater the risk, and there are not many shells. If it is stuck, the night battle will consume more.

Once there are no shells, the battleship will be in a situation where it can only be hit but not fight back, and the situation will deteriorate sharply.

For example, the British battleship may approach to fire at a distance of 10,000 or even several thousand meters. If the distance is close enough, penetrating the armor is not a problem.

Hipper agreed to the chief of staff's proposal, but only sent four warships of the 1st Battlecruiser Division to attack.

Soon, the British also discovered the German warships and began to change their formations and approach, apparently preparing to fight in a battle line. The British still did not learn their lesson.

At about 15,000 kilometers, the British began to fire, and the Germans did not fight back. They did not have enough shells and needed to close the distance to improve their hit rate.

The British did not distance themselves. Their mission was to stick to the Germans, and the Germans' reaction just followed the British's idea.

Bruce, the commander of the Indefatigable, had heard the results of the previous battle. The Lion was seriously injured, the Royal Princess was seriously injured, and the Queen Mary was damaged underwater, sinking half and taking in thousands of tons of water.

The turret of the Repulse exploded in the middle of the ship, and the explosion affected the chimney, which in turn caused steam leakage, pipeline blockage, steam turbine failure, etc., and the speed decreased.

9 battleships, 4 were seriously injured, and the remaining 5 were also injured.

If it were not for the blessing of Nelson's spirit, Bruce would definitely not fight in a battle line, but ordered each warship to fight on its own.

Fighting alone has more advantages, such as being able to change the route at any time, and retreating if it doesn't work. This is a tactic referenced when designing battlecruisers.

"Well done." Bruce looked at the explosion on the Goeben and smiled happily.

The Germans have experienced two battles and fought for a whole day, and they are exhausted.

And Bruce also noticed that the Germans have not used their main guns. The range of the German 305mm main guns cannot be less than ten kilometers.

Then, the reason is obvious. The Germans have few shells and have to move closer to improve the hit rate and save shells.

In this era, various equipment is not very mature, and long-distance calibration also requires several rounds.

"The fleet turns left by one compass point, controls the distance to 15,000 yards, and delays the Germans." Bruce saw that the Goeben, which was hit by two shells, was fine, so he decided to play it safe and keep a distance.

Anyway, it's getting dark, so we can pull in a little after dark and delay it.

As for destruction, nine warships equipped with 356 mm and full load displacement of more than 30,000 tons are not good enough, so he, a 20,000-ton 305, should not join in the fun.

"Received, pay attention to turn left."

"Turn left."

The steering gear turned, and the course of the Indefatigable shifted to the left. As soon as the Indefatigable made way, two water columns rose on his starboard side, one far and one near.

Obviously, if he didn't turn, at least one of the two shells would hit.

"God bless you." Bruce was still rejoicing when a shock wave suddenly knocked him to the ground.

boo!

Crackling~~

The explosion lasted for several minutes, and Bruce was still confused when he got up.

"What happened? Where was it hit?" Bruce asked.

"Sir, the New Zealand is finished." The first mate pointed to a cloud of smoke behind the Indefatigable, and fell silent after speaking.

"How could it be? It's only been ten minutes since the war started..." Bruce stared at the cloud of smoke blankly.

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