Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 91: Fighting

The German pocket-sized battleship Admiral Scheer charged forward, and a German lieutenant flag was hung on the tall mast, indicating the flagship status of this battleship. Baidu search for Geli Literature Net

Lieutenant Admiral Lütjens sat neatly in the armored commander tower in front of the bridge, silently listening to the battle commands issued by the captain and officers. He didn't like this boat, he didn't like it from the beginning. At the beginning, this battleship was chosen as the flagship because she has a very complete remote communication system and can directly communicate with the command.

Lütjens is more emotionally supportive of this decisive battle than actually being an act of revenge. He participated in the Battle of Jutland and witnessed the majestic Operation Rainbow with his own eyes. Other predecessors and colleagues in the Navy who have experienced those tragic days share the same belief that the unforgettable humiliation and pain can only be washed away with the blood of the enemy.

But if you consider tactically rationally, Lütjens feels that with the current strength of the German navy, there is no need for such an adventure. The German navy and the British navy are actually the same and cannot afford any losses at all.

The mission of the German Navy is too heavy and its forces are already stretched out. The loss of any warship is unacceptable. The Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, and the west coast of Africa are all clamoring for more ship support. The German navy has finally not entered the Mediterranean, otherwise it will have to mobilize a batch of ships, the sky will not fall off the cruiser, Lütjens is not a god, it is impossible to transform a ship out of thin air, he now wants to put a destroyer Break it into two for use.

The welding rivet guns on the berth of German domestic shipyards have never stopped. The SS was once again proved to be a very useful foreman, their methods are simple and rude, whip iron gold mark. The efficiency of the shipyard has increased by 300%. Those warships that were once only on the drawings of the Führer are now slowly taking shape.

But in the end, the distant water is difficult to quench the near thirst. At least for a year, Lütjens still has to plan carefully and live swiftly.

"It's fifty thousand meters, sir." Major General Hertes, the captain, reported to Lütjens.

"Keep the course and wait for the signal." Lütjens stood up. Standing in front of the narrow observation slit behind the conning tower, he raised his binoculars and looked out. The huge silhouette of the Scharnhorst appeared in the lens. He saw the figure shaking in the navigating bridge of the battleship. On the observation bridge on one side, someone was looking at it with a telescope.

"The German Navy will perform its duties and obey orders. But if it is only for honor, is it necessary to do this? Or, what do you want to prove to the head of state, Commander." Lütjens knew the identity of the figure. It was this guy who took his ship and threw him back on the pocket battleship, but he could only accept it honestly, and could not express the slightest dissatisfaction, because that person was his immediate superior. Commander-in-chief of the German Navy, Marshal Erich John Albert Riddle.

The dispatch this time was entirely Riddle's personal behavior. It was he who asked the High Command with all his strength to let the German navy's surface fleet complete the final blow to the British navy, and the long-cherished wish he had entangled in his heart day and night for 24 years.

Ryder knew that after this time, Britain and Germany would never have a chance, and at the same time they would have the strength to conduct such a fleet battle. This is the last chance of an old German navy. For the dead and alive naval officers of the Second German Reich, for the warships that sank in the Bay of Biscay. He wanted to use this method to continue the honor of the German Navy and regain the glory and pride he had lost. He was ready to reshape the soul of the Imperial Navy. The German Navy's surface fleet is not an **** detachment of the submarine brigade, absolutely not.

It is said that Rydell expressed his opinions to the head of state in the phone, and vowed to sigh and sigh with fierce swearing and bluffing to force the crown to resign. Anyway, all dirty tricks were used, and finally the head of state Reinhardt reluctantly agreed. His request for dispatch.

The old guy immediately set off from the headquarters, jumped onto a torpedo boat and went straight to the **** strike fleet. At this time, the German navy fleet was a bit exhausted and boring, lining up in the sea near Dier to play around in circles, with neither a target nor an opponent, asking for guidance from a superior, and no reply from it.

No one thought that the boss would come over in person. Ryder boarded Lütjens’ flagship Scharnhorst, and then summoned all the captains to the flagship for a meeting. The lineup in the conference room shocked the captains. There were two admirals sitting beside the admiral, one was Carl Witzel, director of naval weapons and equipment, and the other was William Sherman, Germany. Former commander of the battle fleet. The two World War I veterans happened to be drinking coffee at the Ryder Command. The old guy walked out of the office and saw them. He casually asked, "Beat the British, go or not." So he went together.

Rydell said that the British fleet came out and the target was the Strait of Dover. After his all-out efforts, the head of state finally agreed to hand over the task of defeating the British mainland fleet to the new high seas fleet of the German Navy. Now all are dispatched immediately. The Dover Strait, assault on the British fleet, destroy the British fleet and regain the honor of the German Navy. It was 10 o'clock in the morning on Day D, and there were still four and a half hours before the encounter between the two parties.

At 3:15 pm on the d day, it was sunny and breezy in the middle of the English Channel. The British fleet first spotted the oncoming German fleet.

"Directly ahead, at a distance of 20 miles, an unknown fleet was found. The number is about ten." The watchman of the J-type destroyer Javelin running at the forefront, looking at the fifteen-fold telescope lens, looked at the group of large ships. , A large warship with a tall bridge was rushing towards him, he could vaguely distinguish the huge turrets on the warships, and the young soldier couldn't help swallowing.

The British fleet immediately began to prepare for combat. The trumpets and drums of combat readiness sounded from the horns, and the sailors who had been waiting for the battle began to make the final preparations in accordance with the naval order. The sailors quickly ran into their work bays, the waterproof doors of the bottom compartment were closed and locked one by one, and the off-duty marines were grouped according to the training. Added the ammunition group of the secondary battery and the main battery. The military doctors led a stretcher team to guard under the stairs of the main aisle on the deck. The damage management team put on fire-resistant suits and helmets and gas masks. The elevator transported the propellant and shells from the blast shaft to the turret. The hydraulic loading system stuffed the warhead and the charge into the barrel one by one.

The two destroyers have completed their reconnaissance mission. Putting them on the front line is equivalent to sending them to death. Tovey immediately ordered them to withdraw. He organized the four destroyers into a team and placed them on the inside of the fleet. These destroyers will not play a role in the fleet battle, put them on the side of the distant enemy. In the middle of the battle line of one's own side, the destroyer will be shielded and protected by the hull of one's own warship during the artillery battle. At the same time, waiting for the opportunity, perhaps you can launch an unexpected raid.

Tovey is a destroyer officer and has his own unique understanding of the use of destroyers. Of course, this does not mean that he will not fight naval battles. He participated in the Battle of Jutland. In those days, he commanded a destroyer to launch a torpedo attack on Hipper’s flagship battlecruiser Lüzo. The result was unsuccessful. He was fired by the swift German battlecruiser guns and was eventually seriously injured. To escape, there was a young staff officer on the Lüzo, who is now the commander-in-chief of the German navy. Perhaps these two people had never thought that after twenty-four years, they would encounter it again at sea. Draw an end to the unending battle.

The fleets of both sides approached at high speed, and the German fleet formed a two rows of four warships. The two front and rear battleships are grouped together, and the two German-class pocket battleships are lined up in the middle of the line. On the right are two Scharnhorst-class battleships, on the left are two Hipper-class battleships, and the left is the outermost. Are two light cruisers.

Ryder knows that the German fleet does not actually have the upper hand. The two sides can only say that they are evenly matched. Germany's shortcoming is that there is no real battleship in town. Although the 283mm main gun can sling all the British heavy cruisers in front of it, there is no way to get the Queen Elizabeth class.

Queen Elizabeth is a famous iron turtle. The thick helmet and heavy armor are resistant to beating and hitting, and they made a splash during the Jutland Sea battle. The German Navy’s existing 283mm main gun must be close to within 10,000 meters to penetrate the 360-mm-thick main armor. Prior to this, her superstructure could only be used to vent its air. The 356 mm main gun of the Queen Elizabeth, although its performance is much behind the times, is still enough to cause a fatal blow to all the German warships present. No German ship’s armor can withstand this kind of fire.

The distance between the two sides was 24,000 meters. The British couldn't help but launched the first round of shelling. The British Navy was arranged in an L-shaped formation, with three heavy cruisers and one battleship in the first row, and six light cruisers lined up in a column to follow the outermost Cumberland. Tovey was ready to play as much as possible before entering the battle line. The firepower of the four battleships strives to obtain the first result before it approaches 20,000 yards.

The British Royal Navy’s artillery technology is not very impressive. Even after the end of World War I and after acquiring Germany’s most advanced optical observation and fire control command system, he still stubbornly insisted on their own old style, saying It’s okay for them to stand still or say that they don’t want to make progress. Anyway, the Royal Navy insists that their technology is the best. The Battle of Jutland is proof, and the German surrender is proof.

A pile of colorfully dyed water jets rises from the front and side of the German fleet. In order to identify the landing point, the warhead is equipped with dyes. Each battleship chooses a different color, usually red and blue. The first round of the Royal Navy’s shelling was a bit ugly. The furthest deviation was more than two kilometers. There may be a problem with their ranging.

The German fleet remained unmoved, still maintaining its original course and approaching the British. Two minutes later, the British fired a second round of volleys. Since the two sides were facing the enemy head-on, the British fleet could only fire with half of the frontal main guns. The advantage is that it is easier to adjust the angle and reduce its bomb surface. , The disadvantage is that the firepower density is not enough, and it increases the difficulty of ranging.

The second round of shelling failed again, but it was obviously better than the first round, especially the Queen Elizabeth. The water column shot by her 356mm main gun was the easiest to identify. Two of the shells were on the side of Admiral Scheer. It fell into the sea about six hundred meters ahead and almost hit the "flagship" of the German Navy.

Lütjens wiped a cold sweat on Scheer’s armored commander tower. He heard that the command seems to be approving and is preparing to downgrade this pocket battleship to a heavy cruiser. He now agrees with the command. The Er was really only an armored cruiser. What was better than her was not as fast as her, and the one who was faster than her was not as strong as her. In the end it was not driven to death by the three cruisers outside the harbour.

"When the battle is over, I don't even want Scharnhorst! I want to put the commander flag on the Bismarck." Lütjens made a secret decision.

Now he has nothing to do, basically just a cover, with two thin-skinned pseudo battleships to attract the attention of the British. The guy who really ordered sits on the Scharnhorst and squats. In the 350mm armored command tower, happily screamed up to the sky. There are three heavy cruisers and one battleship on the opposite side. The 150mm armor on the outer side of the Scher Commander Tower can’t stop anything. As long as it is shot, it will be destroyed. Now the combat command has the captain and the fleet command has the boss, Lütjens and his. The Chief of Staff stood by the armored observation window holding a coffee suit, and his mind had already ran out of the train.

"The flagship is starting to fire!" A violent roar sounded, dragging Lütjens's thoughts back to reality. He turned his head sideways and looked out from the observation gap, the front turret of the Scharnhorst Shrouded in a cloud of dark gray smoke.

"The main gun started shooting." The gunner put on earphones and gave orders to the microphone. Everyone in the commander's tower brought earphones, one for talking, and the other for hearing protection. This place is less than five meters away from the main gun turret. It can be said that the gun barrel is under their noses.

With a roar~IndoMTL.com~Scheer’s triple gun fired its first salvo since the start of the war, and everyone raised their binoculars and looked at the British fleet in the distance. After waiting for almost half a minute, it felt like waiting for half a year. Suddenly, six water columns dyed in green rose behind the side of the Kent, and then four water columns dyed in red were erected in front of the Berwick. In the work of the Earl Pell, the water column of the Scheer dyed blue was erected on the side of the Queen Elizabeth.

"The range finding was very accurate. I shot a near miss for the first time. Keep shooting!" Lütjens was finally happy. Admiral Scheer's shelling was the most accurate in this round.

"Why are there only two water columns? Where did the other shot go?" the chief of staff asked suspiciously.

"One shot hit! The adjusted distance is nearly 600." The gunner shouted into the microphone excitedly. Lütjens saw a plume of smoke rising from the middle of the front of the Queen Elizabeth bridge, and he didn't know what had been lit. (To be continued) WWW.GEILIWX.COM Happy reading every day