Chapter Sixteen: The Trump Card (Eleven)

  Braved the damn typhoon to come back, went shopping at the supermarket to stock up, turned on the computer, logged into QQ, and suddenly the editor popped out, startling me with two words: "go live".

  After detaching from the battle with the British Second Scouting Group and searching westward without result, the First Scouting Group under Hipper's command pushed on towards the British rendezvous point - the hazardous Skagerrak. However at 3 o'clock a telegram from the High Seas Fleet caused some little consternation aboard the ships of the First Scouting Group.

  A series of small but brilliant raids in the short time since the outbreak of the European war, the melee in the fog of Heligoland Bay, the glory of Sochi Angle, the passion of Coronel, and the horror of Dogger Bank, the High Seas Fleet had almost become a synonym for Germany's invincibility. Corresponding to victory was always high morale, apart from that there was also an air of invincibility, in March, the news of the Royal Navy's defeat at Moudros Bay was reported in the first time, and the officers and men of the High Seas Fleet felt that the so-called invincible fleet was nothing but a myth. However, David Beatty's mysterious steps in the North Sea gave the proud German navy a blow to their arrogance.

  "The British are not puppets on a string of German script, they're engaging in a battle for national survival! This is bloody war!"

  Wang Haiting, who had misjudged again, felt a burning sensation on her face, and the fist in her pocket loosened and tightened as she harshly criticized herself with the coarsest language for almost forgetting her original intention of seeking quick success and instant benefits.

  Scheer's order to "turn the fleet" was executed by the First Scouting Group. Hipper abandoned the cruising formation that would have been advantageous for deploying into line of battle, and instead formed a loose scouting formation, with the five battlecruisers in a long column as the central force; on the right wing were the faster torpedo boats, whose high speed and low freeboard helped them to avoid unexpected dangers; on the left was Rear Admiral Boedicker's Second Scouting Group, which consisted of newer armored cruisers that were not particularly fast but were relatively safe.

  After the change of formation, the first scouting fleet advancing south at 18 knots had a front width of over 8 kilometers and a visibility of up to 14 kilometers. Even so, searching for another fleet in the vast ocean was still an uncertain thing. The intercept radio station on the Jutland coast could not receive any wireless telegrams from the British, and the liaison with the disguised trawler fleet deployed in the Skagerrak Strait also failed.

  As time went by, Wang Haiting became increasingly anxious.

  At 5:42, the owner of the smoke column was confirmed. The American cowboy who made the British angry and the Germans feel noisy appeared in the telescope of the lookout, and the commanders of the two fleets unconsciously pursed their lips and withdrew their gaze from the Stars and Stripes.

  If that were all, the greatest battle line of dreadnoughts in the steam age would no longer exist, and the tragic Battle of Jutland might have been a completely different story. Unfortunately, just as the two destroyer flotillas were preparing to return home with spring in their steps, the timid American ship hoisted the internationally recognized flag signal under the old cowboy's command: "Neutral country ships, according to neutral laws, please do not mistakenly attack both warring parties!"

  The flag signals of the American guy made the commanders of the two destroyer fleets tremble with fear. In a critical moment, the two navies' distinct historical traditions, naval spirit, and oceanic concepts were fully displayed. The Germans, with good discipline and obedience, recklessly reported enemy information to the flagship, and maneuvered in a zigzag pattern to get as close as possible to the British side, trying to confirm the scale of the British fleet; The British commander, who advocated for offense, was overjoyed to issue an attack order, loading cannons and setting torpedo depths, preparing to avenge the Second Battlecruiser Squadron's hatred, and wanting to share the glory with the German destroyers.

  At 5:44, the lower-lying German destroyers spotted a large smoke cloud behind the Halidé à Vaudé cargo ship, which also fell into the view of British destroyers. The German First Scouting Group and the British Fast Cruiser Squadron had sighted each other.

  The sky was brightening, the two fleets, with limited ammunition, were 12,000 yards apart, but neither side had fired a shot, maintaining a tacit and dignified silence. After more than ten minutes of contact and probing, the two fleets approached to within 9,500 yards, both sides taking aim at maximum visible range, adjusting their gun angles, ready for battle.

  Benefiting from the destroyer flotilla's early detection, the Sylt fleet was able to turn east calmly. Within a few minutes, the wounded Deutschland raised steam pressure and increased its speed from 18 knots to an incredible 26 knots! It wasn't until then that the British commander, who had been slightly superior in the destroyer exchange, realized that torpedoing the German main force had become an impossible task, and he reluctantly gave up.

  The current situation at sea is that the German First Scouting Group, with five battlecruisers, encountered the British Fast Division, which had eight fast capital ships. After tallying up the results, the Lützow and Derfflinger were each hit once, but neither suffered significant damage; the Deutschland was hit by a shell that caused flooding, forcing it to make hasty repairs, which slowed its speed to 26 knots; only the Moltke had a rough time, with its Anton turret destroyed and thirty-six sailors killed. The British Queen Elizabeth-class battleship was hit twice, but remained fully operational, albeit at reduced speed of 23.3 knots; the Tiger and Indomitable were each hit once, with the Tiger having one boiler room destroyed and white steam billowing everywhere, while the Indomitable's bridge was hit, with a large-caliber shell shearing off half of it.

  At 7:03, the sea fog only had its last afterglow, and the naval battle continued. The shaky German battleship's turret fired a 350mm armor-piercing shell that accurately hit the Indomitable. The Indomitable's 5-6 inch waterline belt main armor was weak in front of the over 600kg 350mm cannonball, like paper. The shell stuck to the middle of the Indomitable's waterline belt like mud, and the combat department arrived on schedule. The 18,500-ton battleship's hull shook violently for a moment, with a terrifying displacement on the horizontal line. Fine cracks appeared at an invisible speed on the 5-inch thick side armor belt, and then spread at an even faster speed. After a frightening screech and twisting sound, the armor belt was deeply indented inward, finally being punched out of a large hole, with a violent explosion occurring deep within the ship's body.

  "Deutschland, 6:33 fired at Indomitable, mid-ship starboard direct hit, target ship showing obvious left tilt!" Deutschland's rangefinder team magnified the hit situation by 20 times, and the voice of the rangefinder operator echoed loudly in the command tower.

  Done! The captain of the Deutschland adjusted his uniform, trying to maintain the dignity of a German officer in front of his subordinates. At this moment, a slight tremor came from the soles of the captain's feet, which soon turned into violent shaking and trembling. A powerful external force suddenly threw the unsuspecting captain and his assistant to the ground. The model of the Deutschland on the table shook violently and fell onto the solid deck, scattering all over the place.

  "Commander's tower, Deutschland has been hit on the starboard side, repeat, Deutschland has been hit on the starboard side!"