I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 1036 This is a trap

I'm late today, only one chapter. Sorry!

……

Lieutenant General Freddie didn't take the black dots seriously, assuming they were German seaplanes coming to reinforce the troops.

More importantly, a fierce battle has already begun on the sea.

British warships, in groups of four to six, selected their respective targets and opened fire, with cannon fire echoing everywhere and smoke billowing in the air.

(Note: Ships grouped together are usually of the same class, or at least warships with the same or similar gun types. Only in this way can more accurate data be obtained using the aforementioned tactics.)
The German ship "Bavaria," which was at the forefront of the fleet, was hit by two shells, but it continued to advance as if nothing had happened.

The Bavarian-class, as the most advanced super-dreadnoughts in the German Navy, had main armor 350 mm thick, which was 20 mm thicker than the British Navy's most powerful battleship, the Queen Elizabeth-class.

With this protection, even being hit by small or medium-sized naval shells is like a tickle.

Before long, a group of about thirty torpedo boats suddenly emerged from the German fleet. They spread out on both sides of the formation at high speed and sped toward the British fleet.

Lieutenant General Freddie simply smiled when he saw this.

It's an old tactic. The Germans have never been able to occupy advantageous positions, so they always send out "torpedo boats" to pin their hopes for victory on torpedoes.

"Change course," Lieutenant General Freddy ordered.

Under his command, the British fleet opened its "louvers" and moved and fired at the German "torpedo boats" with their sterns facing them.

Previously, Vice Admiral Freddy would have ordered his troops to sail in the same direction as the enemy fleet.

At that time, the British army had a numerical advantage and was not worried about close combat. In fact, the British army's observation and aiming system was slightly inferior to that of the German army, and close combat could improve accuracy and give them an advantage.

But now, the British forces do not have a numerical advantage, so Vice Admiral Freddy adopted a more conservative approach: maintain distance from the enemy and fight while retreating. As long as they occupy a favorable "T" position, the British fleet will be invincible.

"Boom boom."

"Boom boom boom!"

……

A barrage of shells landed around the battleship "Barham," creating plumes of water, some only twenty meters from the hull, and the seawater even swept into the command compartment.

Lieutenant General Freddie was puzzled. How could the Germans, despite being in an unfavorable position, still be able to retaliate? And with such concentrated firepower.

Puzzled, he left the command cabin, climbed the watchtower, raised his binoculars, and looked back. He saw two German super-dreadnoughts chasing closely behind.

Ignoring the shells aimed at them, the two super-dreadnoughts pursued the Barham and opened fire despite the gunfire.

Lieutenant General Freddy realized that the British North Fleet only had one Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, HMS Barham, and the Germans could easily guess that it was the flagship.

Therefore, they decided to use the strategy of "capturing the king first to catch the thief".

If the HMS Barham is damaged or sunk, the British fleet will lose command and suffer a severe blow to morale.

“A good idea,” Lieutenant General Freddy praised as he put away his binoculars, but his eyes held a hint of mockery. “However, they seem to have forgotten that they can’t catch up with ‘Barham.’”

The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were designed for a speed of 24 knots, but actually reached 25 knots, and could even reach 26 knots with overpowered cruising.

The German ship "Bavarian" had an actual speed of only 22 knots.

Without hesitation, Lieutenant General Freddy ordered: "Full speed ahead!"

"Full speed ahead!"

"Full speed ahead!"

...Before long, the Barham will be able to escape the firing range of the Bavaria-class destroyers, and the German plan to "capture the leader first" will be easily thwarted.

But Vice Admiral Freddy failed to notice that, by ordering full speed ahead, the Barham had overtaken his own column of ships, becoming a conspicuous "lone ship."

……

Across from him, Admiral Scheer, who was swaying and propelling forward on the Bavaria under gunfire, saw the Barham accelerate and a smug smile appeared on his lips.

"Got you, you bastard!" said General Scheer, then shouted the order: "Full speed ahead, keep firing!"

With a loud "Boom!", another shell hit the ship, a burst of fire erupted from the warship, and several soldiers screamed in agony as they were struck by shrapnel.

But General Scher remained unmoved.

It was all worth it, he thought, and the British would soon find out what price they would pay.

……

In the air, Major Conrad arrived at the battlefield with his squadron of torpedo planes.

This is an elite attack aircraft group personally assembled by Admiral Scheer. There are 24 of them, all of them "UWD" seaplanes.

Each of these seaplanes carries one torpedo, and the pilots are all handpicked and have undergone rigorous training. In order to give them more combat experience, Admiral Scheer did not hesitate to use merchant ships as target ships for them to practice in actual combat.

"Everything has been for this day," Major Conrad thought, "so that they can deliver a fatal blow to the enemy on the battlefield."

The target was obvious: the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. Major Conrad even had a picture of one of these battleships pasted on his head.

If it's with other warships, it will be difficult to find it.

Sinking it would be even more difficult, because other warships would block the target's flanks, making it easy for torpedoes to accidentally hit the auxiliary vehicle.

but now.

The target was right there, a lone ship surrounded by water jets kicked up by cannonballs; it was hard not to recognize it.

Major Conrad raised his hand and waved to both sides, and immediately four torpedo planes descended and approached the side compartment of the USS Barham.

……

HMS Barham

Lieutenant General Freddy pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it, calculating the time it would take to escape the range of the Bavaria's gunfire.

The outcome is already decided; in ten minutes, "Bavarian" will have almost no chance of hitting the target.

Then came the time when the German fleet was brutally attacked.

Neither the "Bavarian" nor the other two will escape; they will be surrounded by British warships, their hulls will be riddled with holes, and finally, the destroyers will launch torpedoes to sink them to the cold seabed.

But just then, a lookout's panicked voice came from overhead: "Aircraft, torpedo planes!"

"Torpedo planes?" Lieutenant General Freddy was taken aback. Did the Germans also have "torpedo planes"?
Lieutenant General Freddie was aware that there was precedent for German torpedo planes participating in combat.

However, the German torpedo planes were few in number and slow, and the British seaplanes could shoot them down, so the British never took them seriously.

(Note: The German "UWD" seaplane has a speed of 110 to 120 kilometers per hour.)
When Lieutenant General Freddy stepped out of the command center, he saw more than 20 seaplanes overhead, each carrying a torpedo that was particularly conspicuous in the sunlight.

Lieutenant General Freddy glanced at the ranks he had left far behind, his face instantly turning pale: "To hell with it, this is a trap!"

(End of this chapter)