Chapter 459: last effort

   "Your Excellency, the German battlecruisers are catching up. At our speed, it is impossible to get rid of them." Lieutenant General David Beatty looked serious.

   After all, battlecruisers are naturally much faster than battleships in terms of speed. In this respect, the two warships are almost incomparable.

   "In this case, let's fight them again! Report the results of our lightning strike force to every warship, so that everyone can take courage again." Admiral John Jellicoe ordered.

  The news that the lightning strike formation sank one of the German Navy's capital ships and severely damaged four capital ships has been mastered by them. Admiral John Jellicoe naturally hoped to use this news to boost the morale of the troops. In this case, they may be able to exert stronger combat effectiveness in the next battle.

  Of course, Admiral John Jellicoe is also very distressed about the loss of the Thunderbolt formation, which has cost them almost half of their light warships.

  If it is counted, the British Royal Navy undoubtedly did not take advantage of it in the lightning strike operation just now. However, in order to ensure the morale and combat effectiveness of the troops, Admiral John Jellicoe and others would never tell the truth to ordinary soldiers. They also hope that in the next battle, these soldiers can continue to work hard!

   "Your Excellency, it is only an hour before it gets dark. If we can hold on, we will be able to retreat successfully." Lieutenant General David Betty said.

   One hour, although not short. However, for the Royal Navy, which has eight capital ships, it is nothing. Most of them are officers of the Royal Navy, and they all think that they can last for such a long time.

"Not only do we have to hold on for an hour, but we also have to sink more German battleships within this hour. The German battleships have not caught up yet, and this is our last chance." Admiral John Jellicoe said. Even at this time, he has not forgotten to sink as many capital ships of the German Navy as possible. However, even so, how many capital ships of the German Navy can they really sink? It is undoubtedly impossible to achieve the goal of severely damaging the German Navy.

   "Yes, Commander, we still have a chance!" Lieutenant General David Betty nodded.

   On the battlecruiser 'Mackenson', Lieutenant General Hipper also gave the order to fight. Although, the battlecruiser "Hindenburg" was hit by a torpedo and had to withdraw from the battle. However, they still have an overwhelming advantage in numbers. Now there are 11 battlecruisers against the British's eight battleships. At the same time, there are 20 battleships in the rear that are quickly catching up. In this battle, the German Navy still has an absolute advantage.

   There are only four "Revenge-class" battleships left in the British Navy. Therefore, Lieutenant General Hipper assigned the three 'Mackenson-class' battlecruisers and the 'Derfflinger' battlecruiser to deal with these four 'Revenge-class' battleships when assigning strike targets,' Lützow The HMS battlecruiser was against the battleship HMS King George V. Three "Moltke-class" battlecruisers and three "Blücher-class" battlecruisers besieged the three "Orion-class" battleships of the British Navy. After solving these three "Orion-class" battleships, they will besiege the previous British battleships to ensure that the German Navy can quickly win the naval battle.

   After all, Lieutenant General Hipper also realized that it was getting dark now. If too much time is wasted, this battle may not be able to achieve a perfect victory.

   "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

  The battleship "Revenge" of the British Navy opened fire first, and the target was the battlecruiser "Mackenson", the flagship of the battlecruiser formation of the German Navy.

   However, when the British Navy opened fire, the speed of the battle line remained at 18 knots, which greatly affected the accuracy of their shelling.

  After the British navy opened fire, the German navy immediately launched a counterattack. 11 battleships dealt with the 8 battleships of the British. No matter how you look at it, the German Navy has an absolute advantage.

   After two hours, the capital ships of both sides started a fierce exchange of fire again. The heavy shells, under the action of huge kinetic energy, slammed into the opponent's battleship fiercely, trying to sink the opponent's battleship.

  The British Navy hopes to make the German Navy pay heavy losses again before withdrawing from the battlefield. The German Navy also hopes to sink all the British capital ships to prevent them from escaping.

   Everyone knows that time is tight. If they have not achieved their respective goals after dark, it may be difficult to achieve their respective goals. This naval battle had to end with that result. Neither the British Navy nor the German Navy are obviously willing to accept such a result. Therefore, they all hope to work harder in this last hour. Maybe a miracle can happen because of this.

  The combat distance between the two sides was controlled within 12,000 meters. Although, a longer combat distance seems to be more beneficial to the German Navy. However, in order to improve the hit rate, Lieutenant General Hipper acquiesced that the British shortened the combat distance.

   "The self-righteous British, they will soon know how wrong they are. After the combat distance is shortened, they also have less than the slightest advantage!" Lieutenant General Hipper sneered.

  In less than ten minutes, several battlecruisers of the German Navy completed straddle shooting and switched to focused fire. This could not help but make General John Jellicoe and Lieutenant General David Beatty feel great pressure. The performance of the German Navy is still so strong. It is undoubtedly very difficult for the Royal Navy to achieve its goals in this naval battle.

   At 6:12 in the afternoon, the battleship "Blücher" of the German Navy successfully hit the battleship "Monarch" of the British Navy. Although the "Orion-class" battleship is a huge battleship with a full load displacement of more than 25,000 tons, it is equipped with five twin 343mm main guns. However, its defense is also not strong. The main armor belt is 305 mm thick, and the defense of other turrets and conning towers is only 280 mm.

  Although the battlecruiser "Blücher" is equipped with a 305mm main gun, the shells fired by the main gun with a caliber of 50 times have a powerful armor-piercing ability.