Rasputin of the East

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the sun is setting

The whole sky and sea are dyed with blood as if announcing the fall.

Looking at the sun across the horizon, Spruance muttered like a spit.

“Damn it, those damn flies took too much time.”

“It is fortunate that no ships have been lost.”

For the giant gunners, it must have felt like their heart was dropping.

Battleships dodge aircraft and run around until nighttime when air operations become difficult.

“Are you sure they haven’t taken the lead yet?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“The battleship squadron is still holding out, but I don’t know how much longer it will hold out.”

“Admiral?”

“It’s a night fight. They smash the battlecruiser squadrons, annihilate the carrier squadrons, and then attack the enemy battleship squadrons just before sunrise.”

“Admiral! that……”

“If battlecruisers intervene at night, it will only increase the threat of accidental damage to our allies. From destroyers and cruisers to battleships, tangled up everywhere, exchanging shells and torpedoes, what’s the guarantee that we won’t shoot our allies? Where’s the guarantee they won’t shoot us?”

A battlecruiser is a ship that should never be hit. The armor of most battlecruisers is at best enough to block heavy cruisers fire.

It is a situation that must be avoided unless it is unavoidable to be involved in a night battle, where close-quarters battles that are not normally imaginable are frequent.

“But night warfare is advantageous on the premise that we are dealing with the enemy cruiser battlecruiser squadrons.”

pushed out of the brain However, the average quality is the highest.

In other words, night battles are the battlefield where Spruance’s plan of destroying the enemy’s high-performance high-speed battleships first and then arranging the enemy’s outdated battlecruisers one by one is the most effective.

“And if we want to avoid being hives when the sun comes up, we must destroy the aircraft carriers. Do you understand what it means?”

“Yes!”

“It will be busy tonight.”

The last bit of twilight disappears. Spruance wiped the sweat from his hands with a handkerchief without anyone knowing.

There’s nothing good about letting your subordinates know that the commander is nervous.

how long has it been

“Professional from USS Buchanan! Discovery of a large ship’s wake!”

“Also. It’s near here.”

If it is long, it is long, if it is short, after a short time, the second report came in.

“Elected from USS Stewart! Check out the large enemy ship silhouette!”

“Shoot flares!”

If it’s a ship near here, it’s either an aircraft carrier or a battlecruiser.

and……

The forward-focused turret of the Invincible-class battlecruiser was clearly visible in front of the flares with parachuted parachutes in the air.

“Enemy Invincible-class battlecruiser! Distance 20,000!”

“Start shooting!”

All the guns of the US Navy battlecruisers began to roar in unison.

“Check the impact! Wontan!”

Shortly thereafter, the shock spread.

“Enemy shell hit! Gunshot!”

Battlecruisers frantically fire shells at each other.

“Admiral! Enemy Invincible-class battlecruisers have their searchlights turned on! Rangers are being investigated!”

Literally, the searchlight was emitting and accurately illuminating the ranger.

“Yeah, no matter how many shots they get, they are fine, right?”

Although the Invincible class is classified as a battlecruiser in the UK, it is actually a high-speed battleship. The defense is also decent.

“Captain! Sink that rotten bastard first!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the shells flew and set up a column of water around the enemy invincible.

“Narrow!”

“Keep shooting! If you can’t catch him, you’ll be a ranger!”

– Whoa, whoa, whoa!

The 16-inch SHS flew in faster than the sound.

– Kwaang!

“Hit!”

“Enemy ship on fire! Focus fire!”

At that moment, a scream rang out.

“Ranger is awesome!”

Cannonballs were thrown all over the Ranger’s body.

The ranger, covered in shells that far surpassed her defense, caused an explosion and began to be sucked into the sea.

Of course, the Invincible, who was aiming for her, did not go unharmed. It was an instant when the hit bullets started to come out until the Invincible, covered with concentrated bombardment, became incapable of combat.

“Flashing flares!”

The time has come for the light of the flare to weaken.

“Wait, what’s so bright?”

“Yes?”

“The flares are all going out… Isn’t there a little bit left until the moonrise?”

“That’s right!”

“What the hell… damn it.”

Spruance looked straight up at the sky, and it was frozen.

“……. Aurora.”

The aurora, the mystery of Mother Nature, was illuminating the battlefield of the North Atlantic near Greenland.

And because of the light of the aurora, the silhouettes of the battleships were clearly visible.

“Damn, sink those ships with forward-focused turrets! They are the most dangerous!”

“All right!”

“Check the enemy Avenger-class battlecruisers! Defense 010! Distance 3.000!”

“Turn the key! Left-handed strike!”

The two battleships passing by were all at once pouring out shells.

The six 20-inch shells of the Avenger-class battlecruiser failed to hit the Lexington, which repeatedly struck port and starboard. On the other hand, two of Lexington’s 16-inch shells hit the Avenger.

It was pure luck. In the first place, I can only say that I was lucky that the two ships were shot properly while they were trying to avoid a collision and to not get hit.

And that alone was full of it.

“Enemy! Incapacitated with flames!”

At the same time, several more shells were fired.

“Saratoga shooting!”

“Did the crazy bastards intend to scourge your ally!”

Of course, Saratoga’s fire went right into the enemy ship.

Enough to detonate enemy battlecruisers.

– Aww!

“ね!”

“Admiral! Get down!”

Dozens of bulletproof glass protecting the bridge shattered all at once, attacking the crew of the bridge.

“ね!”

Spruance, who was lying on the floor, realized that there were shards of glass on his forearm, and pulled it out and threw it away.

“Damn.”

On the other side of the battlecruiser, I could see an orange flash of light flashing brightly, as if the battlecruiser had been detonated.

I couldn’t even tell if it was a friendly ship or an enemy ship.

“Constellation charges into the middle of the enemy battlecruiser squadrons!”

“what?”

It was real. I don’t know if the captain is crazy or if the key is broken, but Constellation was charging the enemy fleet head-on.

Immediately, shells were thrown at the constellation. It was to gather all the aggro of the enemy cruiser battleship squadron. Only then was it no different from the weekly battle.

“It’s a battle of eggs with hammers……”

Here, the difference in caliber was also of little significance. It’s too close, so unless you’re shooting with a secondary battery, you can just shoot through it.

“Izmail is firing!”

Aiming at the Admiral-class battlecruisers, the Japanese soldiers of Izmail built a water column. A flash of light flashed from an enemy battlecruiser rapidly turning.

– Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

The battlecruiser, which had become a ball of fire as if its ammunition depot had exploded, quickly sank.

– Koo!

A great shock came from behind.

“There is an enemy ship in the rear! Destroy the 4 main turret!”

“Introduce the Conservative Team!”

“Kite hit! The soot flows back into the engine room!”

“The port compartment is submerged!”

Among the battlecruisers of the 2nd power and 4 countries that entered the battle, none of them were intact. One by one, the battlecruisers that had their turrets and barbets pierced at a distance that could be destroyed by shooting lost their speed and were incapacitated or sunk.

If the main gun can fire, it fires, and if the engine is alive, it moves.

After the aurora disappeared, flares filled the night sky again. However, the ships of both sides did not stop firing.

***

German Navy aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin.

“The moon is rising.”

“It won’t help much, though.”

In response to the admiral’s reply, the captain was speechless for a moment.

Of course, the Admiral was telling the truth. Even on a cloudy day, the moon did not have enough light to illuminate the night sea.

“What about Victorious and Hermies?”

“Victorious is being towed, and Hermies are able to move on their own.”

The Admiral sighed.

“Except for the guards, let the crew, especially the pilots, get a good night’s sleep, because we have to start operation at the same time as tomorrow’s sunrise.”

“All right.”

Night shifts are crazy. regardless of country.

It is not a sane thing to do with goodness and goodness in the original aircraft carrier, but the danger is doubled at night.

“and……..”

For a moment, the captain’s words were cut off.

– Aww!

A huge shock was heard. A faint gunshot echoed a little later in the distance, but that didn’t matter.

“What… what!”

“The bombardment!”

A minimum battleship-class or heavy cruiser-level bombardment could not produce this kind of power!

“Lights! Fire the flares!”

One step later, flares flew into the sky, but nothing was seen.

“Damn, is the muzzle flash confirmed?”

If an aircraft carrier encounters a battleship within range, or if it is ambushed on a night when it is difficult to operate the aircraft, there is no other option than to hang out.

The problem is I don’t know where the battleship is! I couldn’t even see the muzzle flash, so I was going crazy.

“Check Unidentified Aircraft!”

“What?”

“It’s like a seaplane for impact observation!”

“Shoot it down… no, in the opposite direction! Go in the opposite direction!”

I wondered where the crazy guy was who floats the hit-and-shoot plane at night. The problem is that when the flares went off earlier, the bandit must have clearly seen where they were!

“Victorius is……”

“throw away!”

Rescue of a British aircraft carrier that is now out of service could not put the only regular carrier in the German Navy at risk.

Then, a bang rang out.

– Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

“Scharnhorst Pitan!”

Scharnhorst, the eldest of three siblings of the German Navy’s modified passenger ship carrier, was hit by a bombardment and set on fire.

“…I don’t know if I should bury the bones here.”

It’s a perfect surprise. It would be more correct to assume that they moved after knowing all the positions of this place.

If so, the measures to be taken to save the aircraft carrier were clear.

“We divide the fleet in two. Scharnhorst, Victorious, Hermes, Graf Zeppelin and their escort fleets, and Potsdam, Gneisenau, Fourmidables and their escort fleets.”

“Admiral?”

“I’m sorry, Helmud.”

The admiral said quietly.

“We must die together.”

The meaning was clear. Except for the Graf Zeppelins, all ships are not capable of escaping in the first place. Therefore, using them as bait, the remaining three that can operate normally are saved.

Of course, if the enemies notice this, they will leave them alone and go hunting other guys, so Graf Zeppelin must remain and work hard.

That will attract attention.

“I didn’t know you’d ever be able to use guns.”

The Graf Zeppelin is equipped with 16 150 mm guns. It’s basically for self-defense, but now it’s like gold.

“Aside from us, there is no other ship capable of dying with us.”

At best, how much attention would the Fourmi Double, armed with 105mm anti-aircraft guns or only Scharnhorst-class or 4.5-inch dual-purpose guns, draw attention to battleships? Still, it’s a mission that anyone with a light cruiser-level gun could do.

“It is.”

“It was an honor to fight with you, Captain.”

“I did too. Admiral.”