Chapter 243 Battle Opportunity

Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered three 'Derfflinger-class' battleships to move south quickly, preparing to attack the four 'Iron Duke-class' battleships of the British Navy. The nine battlecruisers of the British Navy's battlecruiser formation are dealt with by the six battlecruisers of the broken fleet.

In this case, this naval battle will undoubtedly be divided into two battlefields. However, in these two battlefields, the German Navy does not have an advantage in the number of warships. Admiral Reinhardt Scheer was 3-4, Lieutenant Generals Spee and Hipper were 6-9. If only from this aspect, the German navy is undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

However, in many cases, you can't just look at the number of battleships. The performance of the battleship is also very important.

The "Derfflinger-class" battlecruiser is the most powerful battlecruiser in active service in the German Navy. Not only does it have three powerful triple-mounted 50-caliber 380mm main guns, but it is also amazing in terms of defense. The main armor belt on the side, the armor of the turret and the conning tower, are all 350 mm thick. The speed reached an astonishing 27.5 knots. Although the "Iron Duke" battleship is also the most powerful battleship in active service in the British Navy, it is far from comparable to the "Derfflinger-class" battlecruiser in terms of various key performances. Its displacement is only 30,000 tons, the main guns are five double-mounted 343mm main guns with a caliber of 45 times, and the maximum speed is only 21.25 knots. In terms of defense, the thickness of the main armor belt is only 305 mm, the thickness of the deck armor is 64 mm, the armor of the turret is 280 mm, the armor of the gun seat is 254 mm, and the armor of the conning tower is 280 mm.

Battleships were supposed to be stronger than battlecruisers in terms of defense. However, under the German Navy's design philosophy of emphasizing defense and survivability, the defense of the German Navy's battlecruisers is also very strong, even surpassing the British Navy's battleships. Under such circumstances, even if the two sides shoot at each other, the German navy will not be at a disadvantage.

It is precisely because of this that Admiral Reinhard Scheer dared to use three "Derfflinger-class" battlecruisers to deal with the four "Iron Duke-class" battleships of the British Navy. He believes that the winner will be his.

There is also a quantitative gap between the battlecruisers of the two sides, but the British "Invincible" battleships are too weak. In addition, the German Navy also has great confidence in the performance of its battlecruisers. Therefore, Admiral Reinhardt Scheer believed that his six battlecruisers were completely capable of dealing with the nine British battlecruisers. Even if you can't win for a while, it's not a big problem to hold them back. After one's own "Derfflinger" battlecruiser has dealt with the British "Iron Duke" battleship, it can attack the British battlecruiser formation. At that time, the German navy will have the upper hand.

After Admiral Reinhard Scheer's order was passed to Lieutenant General Spee and Lieutenant General Hipper, both of them couldn't help laughing.

"Haha, I knew that General Scheer would not let go of this good opportunity." Lieutenant General Hipper said with a smile on his face.

"Well, this is an opportunity to further widen the gap between us and the British Navy. As long as we seize this opportunity, we will win." Vice Admiral Spee nodded.

"In this case, let's create opportunities for General Scheer!" Lieutenant General Hipper said.

"Well, order the fleet to speed up. Let the distance between the British battlecruisers and the battleships be further opened, and then turn around and fight the British. I believe that our six battlecruisers can also be dealt with. Nine British battleships." Lieutenant General Spee gave the order.

The six battlecruisers of the German Navy broke through the fleet and continued to sail at an accelerated speed. The battlecruiser formation of the British Navy is chasing after it. However, the speed of the four "Iron Duke-class" battleships of the British Navy is far inferior to that of the battlecruisers. If this is the case, they will be left far behind.

"Damn it, do those Germans only know how to escape? When they bullied the 2nd battleship squadron before, why didn't they escape?" A young rear admiral on the battleship 'Iron Duke' said bitterly. His name was Robertson, and he was the commander of the 1st Battleship Squadron. Rear Admiral Carroll, the commander of the 2nd Battleship Squadron, which was almost wiped out by the German Navy's broken fleet before, was his good friend.

"Continue to pressurize the boiler and speed up!" Major General Robertson ordered.

"General, our speed has been increased to the fastest. If we accelerate again, the service life of the boiler will be further reduced, and even an explosion may occur." The chief engineer persuaded.

Major General Robertson was taken aback for a moment, and then resignedly gave up.

He didn't want the four most powerful battleships of the Royal Navy to become iron coffins lying on the sea because of the boiler explosion. In that case, Admiral Jellicoe will definitely send him to a court-martial.

"I hope that General Betty and the others can catch the German battlecruisers and tear them all to shreds. Those guys are like mice. They really want to trample them all to death." Major General Robertson cursed.

The High Seas Fleet of the German Navy has already caused huge losses to the United Kingdom. The sunk merchant ships alone have already caused the British to bleed. If the German fleet and those damn submarines are not dealt with, the British merchant ships will probably be lost. At that time, the British Isles will become dead islands.

At this time, three huge warships appeared to their north.

The shrill siren sounded immediately, and everyone was extremely nervous.

"What's going on?" Major General Robertson asked.

"General, look north, spot German warships."

"what?"

Major General Robertson grabbed the binoculars and looked towards the sea to the north. When he saw the three battleships floating on the sea like hills, which seemed to be larger than his own battleships and had unusually thick barrels, he couldn't help but sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Oh my god! That's a German battleship. The Germans not only assembled the six battlecruisers here, they also have three more powerful battleships. This is a German conspiracy!" Major General Robertson shouted road.

"Quickly, send a telegram to General Betty. We have been fooled by the Germans. They have been prepared for a long time. We have encountered a powerful German warship." Major General Robertson ordered.