Chapter 643: Something Dangerous
In the southern waters of the North Sea, the sun slowly rises from the east. It should have been shining brightly, but because of the thick fog, only a blurry fireball can be seen.
A fleet was moving slowly forward in the fog like a ghost. The ships swayed rhythmically and collided with the waves, making heavy noises that sounded like groans or heartbeats, over and over again.
Leading the way was a battlecruiser, with its eight 305MM main guns ready to go. The gunners were in their positions, looking around nervously waiting for orders. The towering gun barrels pointed straight into the sky, occasionally slightly adjusting the direction, as if ready to roar at the enemy at any time.
This is the "Lützow" battlecruiser of the German High Seas Fleet. It is the flagship of the First Fast Fleet and is recognized as the fastest, newest and most advanced battlecruiser.
(The picture above shows the battlecruiser "Lützow", which was commissioned on August 8, 1915 and is the second ship of the "Derfflinger" class battlecruiser)
In the captain's room, Rear Admiral von Caves took out his diary from the drawer as usual after finishing breakfast, opened it to a blank page, and wrote in cursive with a casual expression:
February 25th.
I don't know what kind of weather it is, it's like fog but also like it's drizzling.
This is the case in Beihai. It is cloudy for 270 days out of 365 days, and half of the time is filled with fog.
But I think this was to our advantage, because the British reconnaissance planes couldn't see us, at least until the fog lifted.
And the French.
They are the target of our operation. We have detected a convoy passing nearby, escorted by 15 destroyers and 2 cruisers of the French fleet.
Hopefully they won't spot us too soon and run away.
Especially those destroyers, they can detect our submarines...
Suddenly, the staff officer pushed the door open and reported: "General, the fog has cleared."
Cavis said "hmm", closed the notebook, put away the pen, and muttered to himself: "Next, let's write the battle report!"
Without hesitation, he stood up and went out with his staff, walking quickly up the gangway to the command tower.
Major General Caves was as steady as a rock in the swaying ship. He glanced around and saw that the fog was indeed dissipating. The visibility was getting higher and higher. Rays of sunlight shone through the clouds like sharp swords onto the sea, creating a little light like fish scales.
"Full speed ahead!" Cavis ordered.
Cavis always rushed his fleet to top speed before a battle.
“Full speed ahead!”
“Full speed ahead!”
…
The orders were passed down one by one.
The fleet's speed increased, thick smoke billowed from the chimneys of the warships, and occasional sparks could be seen.
The signalman used signal lights to constantly inform the ships behind him to keep up.
This was a fleet of 20 warships, including the battlecruiser "Lützow", "Moltke" and "Sedley".
The last two are Moltke-class battlecruisers.
Because their speed was not much different from that of the "Lützow", they were organized into the "First Fast Fleet" to carry out quick attacks and withdrawals on targets.
In addition, there are 2 cruisers and 15 destroyers.
Major General Caves firmly believed that such a lineup could defeat the French fleet in a short period of time.
If time permits, Major General Caves also hopes to seize a batch of merchant ships and take them back to Germany.
Germany needed these supplies badly, including daily necessities and gasoline. The unused weapons were blown up or sunk on the spot.
"Release the seaplane." Major General Cavis ordered in a deep voice.
"Release the seaplane!"
"Release the seaplane!"
…
Seaplanes can expand the reconnaissance range, allowing the fleet to find the exact location of the target.
However, Major General Caves soon discovered that this was unnecessary.
Ten minutes later, the lookout standing on the mast lookout shouted down: "Target spotted!"
Major General Cavis raised his telescope and looked in the indicated direction. Sure enough, he saw a vague shadow in the fog that had not yet completely dissipated.
"Prepare for battle!" Major General Cavis made a prompt decision: "Change to column formation to fight!"
(Note: It is more convenient to use the "1" long snake formation when the fleet is sailing. When fighting, you should try your best to deploy firepower to form a "1" shape.)
The fleet deployed smoothly. The faster destroyers and cruisers in the rear caught up at high speed and deployed on both sides, forming a column with three battlecruisers as the core, and rushed towards the enemy in a mighty manner.
The target was getting closer and closer. Major General Cavis could see the target's hull through the telescope. At the same time, the artillery had been loaded and aimed at the target, waiting for his order to spit out flames at the enemy ship.
But at this time a signalman reported: "General, an enemy fleet appeared on the flank."
Major General Cavis understood instantly.
The French fleet used merchant ships as bait, while its main force took advantage of the fog to go around the fleet's flank.
"Change formation!" Major General Cavis shouted.
But it was too late. The artillery fire started the moment Major General Cavis gave the order.
The whistling sound came from far away and gradually got closer. Towering water columns exploded around the fleet. The ships were shaking continuously on the turbulent sea. Several shells hit the ships, causing bursts of fire and smoke.
The "Lützow" was also hit by a shell, but the shell failed to penetrate its 300MM thick side armor, and only caused a slight, imperceptible shake on the ship.
Major General Cavis turned his head to look at the flames from the shells exploding on the ship, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. This was the difference in strength.
The reason why the battle-experienced Major General Cavis fell into this trap was that he did not expect that the escort fleet consisting of only cruisers and destroyers would dare to challenge head-on.
These fools should have chosen to escape, or wait for the main fleet to arrive before rejoining the battle.
If we attack now, all we will get is destruction!
“Boom boom boom!”
“Boom boom!”
…
The main guns of the "Lützow" opened fire.
Major General Caves raised his telescope to observe during the violent shaking. The first shells formed a cross-fire around the enemy cruiser. This was a good start.
(Note: Cross-fire means that during the bombardment, the water column caused by the salvo of shells is observed to be distributed in front and behind the target warship at the same time, which means that the shooting parameters are very accurate. Continuing to adjust based on these shooting parameters will have a high probability of hitting the target.)
Suddenly, a dark shadow passed overhead.
Major General Cavis didn't take it seriously at first.
That was Charles' Caproni bomber, Major General Caves thought, use it as a reconnaissance plane, and let it watch how we sink our targets one by one!
But at the moment the Caproni bomber flew out of sight, Major General Caves seemed to be suddenly stung by something.
He didn't see clearly what it was, but his subconscious told him that it was something dangerous!
(End of this chapter)
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