Chapter 425: The Decisive Battle Begins (1000 votes plus updates)

Late at night on March 20, Scapa Flow was brightly lit. Large searchlights illuminate the entire Scapa Flow. The officers and soldiers of the Royal Navy, inspired by Admiral John Jellicoe's speech, drove one after another warships out of the waterway of Scapa Flow and into the North Sea in order.

Although, the number of capital ships of the Royal Navy is not as good as that of the German Navy, and the performance of a single ship cannot be compared with the German Navy. However, they still believe that they can win this naval battle.

These ships of the Royal Navy Grand Fleet were regrouped. Among them, the battleships formed a number of battleship squadrons, including the 1st battleship squadron consisting of five 'Revenge class' battleships, the 2nd battleship squadron consisting of three 'Queen Elizabeth class' battleships, 'King George V' 3rd Battleship Squadron consisting of battleships and three 'Orion-class' battleships. The battleship "Hercules", the second ship of the "Giant class" battleship, together with the battleships "Agincourt", "Ireland" and "Canada", formed the 4th battleship division. The 5th Battleship Squadron composed of three "St. Vincent-class" battleships and three "Belle Luofeng-class" battleships moored at Wick. The remaining six battlecruisers formed the battlecruiser squadron.

In addition to these capital ships, the Royal Navy also dispatched a large number of cruisers and destroyers, bringing the total size of their fleet to more than 150 ships, about 30 ships more than the German Navy's High Seas Fleet.

Of course, no matter how many of these small and medium warships there are, it is difficult to have a fundamental impact on the battle situation. What really determines the outcome of a sea battle depends on the duel between battleships, which is the most important thing.

"General Betty, you lead the battlecruiser detachment and set off first to prevent the German battlecruiser formation from attacking our coastal cities again. If possible, it is best to defeat them." Admiral John Jellicoe ordered.

"Yes, General. However, this may be very difficult. Even if the Germans' 12 battlecruisers did not act together, if there were only half of them, we would not be able to defeat them. Of course, I will try my best to hold them back." David? Lieutenant General Betty said.

"General Betty, I plan to assign the second battleship detachment to your command. With the strength of three 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships and six battlecruisers, if you encounter a German battlecruiser detachment, you should have a strength of one." Fight? As long as the Germans don’t gather all the battlecruisers, there should be a chance of winning.” Admiral John Jellicoe said.

Lieutenant General David Betty's eyes flashed with joy. If he is asked to use six battlecruisers to deal with the 12 battlecruisers of the German Navy, then naturally there is no chance of winning. Not to mention that the number has doubled, even the performance of a single ship, the battlecruisers of the British Navy are far from being comparable to the battlecruisers of the German Navy. Under such circumstances, Lieutenant General David Betty's ending is naturally conceivable.

However, if there are three more "Queen Elizabeth-class" battleships, the situation may be different. The 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleship is the most powerful first-class battleship in the Royal Navy. Of course, it cannot be compared with the battleships of the same level of the German Navy, but it should still be able to deal with battlecruisers. As Admiral John Jellicoe said, as long as it does not encounter all 12 battlecruisers of the German Navy, the six battlecruisers of the British Navy plus the three "Queen Elizabeth-class" battleships are undoubtedly very important. odds of winning.

"Your Excellency, why did you change your plan?" Lieutenant General David Betty asked.

Previously, Admiral John Jellicoe's plan was to let Lieutenant General David Beatty entangle the battlecruisers of the German Navy, and then the battleship formation led by him would have a decisive battle with the battleship formation of the German Navy to fight for as many ships as possible. Sinking some of the German battleships.

"The German's sneak attack caused us to lose two 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships, one 'Orion-class' battleship, one 'Giant-class' battleship and the 'Neptune' battleship. Our battleship formation suffered heavy losses. If we use the battleship formation to confront the German battleship formation, we definitely have no chance of winning. At that time, it will be ugly to lose. Therefore, I decided to let you fight the German battlecruiser formation first. With the help of three 'Queen Elizabeth-class' battleships, it may be possible to defeat the German battlecruiser formation. In this case, we will not be completely at a disadvantage. Anyway, whether it is the German battleships or battlecruisers, we are It needs to be sunk. Just do your best to sink these battleships." Admiral John Jellicoe said.

"Yes, General, I will do my best to fight this battle!" Lieutenant General David Beatty said. He knew that Admiral John Jellicoe had put all his hopes of victory on him. It was precisely because of this that he felt how heavy the responsibility on his shoulders was.

Admiral John Jellicoe nodded: "For the sake of the British Empire, we have no way out this time. We must fight to the death. Even if we die in battle, the Germans must pay a sufficient price."

Lieutenant General David Beatty also nodded heavily.

Although, they all thought that Churchill's plan was too ruthless. However, they all know that this is the only chance. If the large fleet can cause enough casualties to the German Navy. Then, Britain still has a chance to turn defeat into victory in this battle. Otherwise, Britain would have no chance at all.

Although, the British navy left Scapa Flow in the middle of the night. However, it also did not escape the pursuit of the German Navy. After the British Navy's large fleet had just left Scapa Flow and started heading south. A submarine surfaced.

Information about the British Navy's large fleet leaving Scapa Flow immediately played a role in the Admiralty. The Ministry of the Navy immediately sent this information to the High Seas Fleet.

"The British are finally dispatched. Then, the decisive battle between us and the British is about to begin. The German Imperial Navy is destined to step on the corpse of the British Royal Navy and ascend to the throne of sea supremacy." Reinha Admiral Te Scheer is full of confidence in this naval battle. He believed that with such a large advantage, the victory must belong to them.