Chapter 709: Battle of Jutland
After the war began, Scapafello became the most important port for the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet, where the essence of the British Royal Navy was concentrated. Its mission was undoubtedly to keep the main force of the world's second largest navy, the German High Seas Fleet, in its home port and become a fleet that existed until the end of the war.
Due to the overwhelming strength of the Royal Navy, although the war had lasted for more than a year, the German High Seas Fleet did nothing. Apart from attacking coastal cities on the east coast of Britain, it did not cause much trouble to the mainland.
At the German Navy Headquarters, Tirpitz had issued the last combat order using the old code, and at the same time, all naval agencies received secret orders to change the radio codes. Vice Admiral Hipper, who had already boarded the flagship and was preparing to go to sea with the vanguard fleet, took out his pocket watch and ordered the execution of the same order.
"All ships maintain radio silence. The order was a bit hasty, but I believe that the fleet's naval officers and soldiers are professional enough." Hipper issued a temporary order to the ships under his command. During the last day, all naval officers and soldiers were not allowed to leave the ship. They must stay on the warship and wait for the last 24 hours before leaving the port.
Hipper set out first with a reconnaissance squadron consisting of five battlecruisers and forty other fast ships. His duty was to act as bait and try to lure some of the British ships into an ambush by the main force of the High Seas Fleet.
At this moment, Admiral John Jellicoe, who was standing in front of the nautical chart in a daze at the headquarters of the British Grand Fleet in Scarpaflo Port, was startled by the sudden sound of the door being pushed open. The naval staff took out a top-secret telegram and handed it to John Jellicoe.
"A German battlecruiser fleet will set sail tomorrow to bombard cities on the east coast." John Jellicoe opened the telegram and read, "Five battlecruisers, which is quite powerful. Call General Beatty in!"
Not long after, General David Beatty came in and saw the same intelligence. He asked with a smile, "Did the Germans really go out to sea? This is really an unexpected move."
However, considering that the German Navy has attacked port cities on the east coast of Britain many times in the past six months, hit and run, this is not something that is difficult to understand. It’s just that compared with previous attacks, this attack fleet is obviously a little larger. Of course, in David Beatty’s eyes, it is not that big.
"What do you think?" John Jellicoe asked Beatty. If he had any dissatisfaction with Beatty, it was that this naval commander was too adventurous. When he was personally in command at the front line, he often issued some unnecessary and risky orders. In fact, even if such orders were not issued, they would have no effect on the overall battle situation.
However, the British Royal Navy is far more powerful than its enemy, and the stronger side often cannot avoid the emergence of such naval generals. Because of the strong strength as a foundation, adventurous generals like Beatty will only emerge in endlessly.
"I have fought against Hipper of the German battlecruiser fleet. He is a tough opponent. If he were in the Royal Navy, he would be a good general." Beatty said confidently and slowly, "But we are the Royal Navy and we have full confidence in victory on the ocean."
"Then you will intercept him!" John Jellicoe nodded, spread out the nautical chart and gave the command, "Battlecruisers are characterized by high speed and firepower that is no less than that of dreadnoughts. They are an important part of the entire naval force. If the battlecruiser formation is severely damaged or even annihilated, it will be a huge loss for the entire German Navy. At best, the German Navy may lose the courage to challenge the ocean. Even if this courage is not lost, the strength comparison will be completely unbalanced, and the Germans will no longer be a threat on the ocean."
"I think so too. This is a good opportunity." After hearing what John Jellicoe said, Betty rubbed her hands in agreement. She couldn't wait to give the Germans a good beating and have a larger-scale naval battle at Dogger Bank.
"You set out from Rosyth Harbor and destroy them." After careful consideration, John Jellicoe gave an order that made Betty ecstatic. This was very rare for John Jellicoe, who had always been very conservative.
Beatty was unwilling to delay for a moment, and after getting the nod, he immediately headed for Rosyth Harbor. The power in his hands far exceeded that of Hipper's fleet. This fleet was centered around four new super dreadnought battleships and six battlecruisers, including 52 battleships. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be a big victory. Now this honor was in front of Beatty. After defeating the Germans, his name could be mentioned at the same time as his idol Nelson.
On the afternoon of November 11, Hipper led the vanguard fleet to leave the port. The battlecruiser formation filed out of the port and soon disappeared on the cold sea. Hipper was very familiar with the sea area where he had been cruising for a year, but this was not an advantage, because his opponent also knew the preset battlefield well, and the two sides had fought many times in the chase.
The Betty fleet at Rosyth Port left the port almost immediately and entered the turbulent sea.
As the sun disappeared below the horizon, the home port of the German High Seas Fleet became bustling. Reinhartschel appeared on the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, Friedrich the Grosse. Reinhartschel stared at the chart on the table, while several staff officers were marking the position of the fleet based on the calculated navigation position.
"Time's up, let's go!" When the pointer on the pocket watch reached five o'clock, Reinhard Scheer raised his hand gracefully, and the pocket watch cover made a crisp sound. The German High Seas Fleet, which had been prepared for a long time, began to leave the port and embarked on an unknown journey.
Reinhard Scheer was both excited and worried about the upcoming naval battle. He certainly hoped that everything would go well, but before the results came, all expectations and impulses had to be suppressed, and the worst-case scenario had to be prepared in order to achieve the greatest victory.
Not only the two fleets and the two navies, but even the top leaders of the two countries were in this tacit mentality, looking forward to their own victory with anxiety.
As night fell, the sea water became even more icy. The opponents who thought they had won were like blindfolded in the dark, approaching their opponents step by step. As for the main force of the German High Seas Fleet led by Reinhard Scheer, it kept a distance of 60 nautical miles from Hipper's fleet and lurked in the waters south of Hipper's fleet.
The two sides met at Jutland. Hipper's fleet and the High Seas Fleet led by Scheer, the German fleet had a total of 99 warships, including 16 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, 11 light cruisers, and 61 torpedo boats. They were divided into two formations and sailed from south to north.
The ignorant Beatty's fleet was more proactive because the fleet he led was far larger than Hipper's fleet.
This encounter finally broke out in the freezing cold North Sea.
Hipper was the first to attack after the encounter. With a sharp whistle, four 305mm caliber heavy shells fell to the sea surface with great momentum. In an instant, these high-explosive shells weighing more than 400 kilograms and with a speed of more than 700 meters per second stirred up a group of columnar waves on the sea surface. Before the snow-white waves reached their highest point, a huge change suddenly occurred below. The extremely violent explosion instantly formed a huge wave that looked like a blooming flower. It rose up to exceed the height and width of the previous water column, splashing in all directions and falling dozens of meters away. When the water waves fell, the large amount of water droplets left in the air formed a mist.
The German battlecruisers could only fire with their front main guns for the time being, but even half of their firepower output made the officers and soldiers of the first few British warships that were hit suffer.
The German fleet's artillery fired the first batch of shells. Before the shells fell, a large cloud of thick smoke mixed with orange fire was seen spraying out from the muzzles of British warships in the distance. The British also opened fire. The first batch of shells fired by the German warships hit the British warships. However, the first batch of British shells bypassed the German warship column and fell on the sea in the distance. The German heavy surface ships adopted a new type of unified azimuth firing command system for the entire ship. When all the artillery fired at the same time, the dispersion of the bullet impact points was small, and the shooting effect was obviously better than that of the British warships.
In this noisy sea, the heavy shells passing through the sky made a brake-like scream again and again, and the British crew faced the fierce bombardment of the German battlecruise formation with amazing courage.
In the historical Battle of Jutland, the main gun hit rate of Beatty's fleet was extremely low. If John Jellicoe had not led the local fleet to take the lead in absolute strength comparison and occupy a favorable position first, the performance of Beatty's fleet in the Battle of Jutland alone would have been absolutely disastrous.
Facing Hipper's fleet's initial attack, Beatty showed no fear and immediately ordered all ships, "Closer, we are going to destroy the German battlecruisers this time."
In the design of battleships, Britain and Germany obviously have different ideas. British battleships focus on the caliber of artillery and high speed, which inevitably brings certain hidden dangers. That is, compared with German warships, the survivability of British warships is questionable.
However, due to the British Royal Navy's own powerful strength, this shortcoming will not be exposed when its advantage far exceeds that of its opponents. Because once the two main fleets meet, the huge number of the British fleet, plus the large-caliber main guns, will definitely deal a heavy blow to the German High Seas Fleet.
So the question is, what if the German High Seas Fleet happens to encounter it when the power comparison is not at an upper hand?
Reinhard Scheer, who was leading the High Seas Fleet and approaching rapidly, was ready to answer the British question.
(End of this chapter)
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