Bismarck

The main gun director and radar were thrown directly into the sea by the explosion of the 356 shell! And little Eugen, who was crouching with his head in his hands, was in so much pain that he covered his head with tears and rubbed it gently, which made Top feel distressed.

After all, it was his own battleship... and it was so cute... Top, feeling distressed, quickly hugged Eugen's head, and his rough hands gently stroked Eugen's tearful little head...

For some reason, Top suddenly felt that even though he always felt that there was something wrong between him and Lindemann, maybe he and he actually had a lot in common...

However, there is no time to think about this now! The danger is not over yet!

"Right rudder! Heading due west 270! We continue to attack the enemy convoy!"

On one hand, he gently rubbed the cute little rabbit in his arms with heartache, and on the other hand, he turned around with a stern voice and shouted at his subordinates to give combat orders!

Looking at Top who was acting like "So you are this kind of captain", his subordinates looked at each other, and they all felt angry and amused.

How much pampering is this!

No wonder he risked losing his job and going to jail in order to beat the former deputy captain into a pig's head!

This captain is indeed a "ship control"!

But they were all soldiers after all, and they carried out the order while holding back their laughter - Top's order was not wrong.

After all, even if their cruiser had been slightly injured before, its speed was nearly 35 knots! Moreover, as long as they rushed into the Allied convoy, with the merchant ship's clumsy maneuverability and tight formation that could not be dispersed for a while, the shelling of the terrifying main guns of the four American battleships with inherently large dispersion would be like a deaf ear - decoration!

At this moment, the little rabbit in his arms also moved softly: "Top Top, I'm fine... Sister Zeppelin has already brought the plane over... You...you let me go! So many people are watching..."

"Forehead……"

Top, who was weakly struggling with Eugen, suddenly reacted. He looked around and could clearly see that his gang of bastards all had serious faces but were desperately covering their mouths to hold back their laughter!

Those serious looks of looking at their noses, their mouths, and their consciences, as calm as an old monk in meditation, are probably all fake!

Even the usually cold and stern Toph suddenly felt that he might be a little awkward in this way...

-

After all, the speed has an overwhelming advantage. Top commanded the Prince Eugen to turn the rudder, and soon forced the American battleships, whose maximum speed was only 21 knots, to turn around one after another. The battle line formation, which was originally facing the enemy sideways with more than 30 main guns firing at the same time, was turned into a long snake formation, following the wake of the Prince Eugen as much as possible and barely keeping a distance. Moreover, it could only use the front main gun of the leading battleship Nevada to fire at the "Black Storm" that was getting farther and farther in front of it!

Originally, if it was the more than thirty 356 guns firing, even Prince Eugen would have felt overwhelmed. But now that only four 356 guns were firing, with Top's experience and courage, and Eugen's cleverness, and the fact that the American 356 naval gun itself had inherent deficiencies in rifling design and manufacturing, the firepower of the four 356 guns could even be said to be directly ignored by Prince Eugen!

In less than half an hour, the Prince Eugen had shortened the distance from the American battleship from 25 kilometers to the Nevada's maximum range of 32 kilometers!

Moreover, Prince Eugen has now rushed into the left wing of the slow convoy like a sharp blade!

The convoy on the opposite side, which was about to become the target of hungry sharks, was originally short of manpower. Apart from seven escort aircraft carriers that had basically no night combat capability, there were only four anti-aircraft cruisers: Luna, Hermione, Charybdis, and Banshee, as well as a pitiful escort force of eight destroyers!

Even this pitiful amount of troops was still scattered around a large circle of more than 20 kilometers around the 45 merchant ships! Even if these light warships arranged around the escort team wanted to reinforce their comrades on the other side, they were blocked by the transport ships they were guarding!

The British simply couldn't concentrate their forces in such a short period of time!

After the destroyer Ollie sank, the British destroyers and anti-aircraft cruisers from other directions came over in twos and threes. But what is the difference between this chaotic "coming over" and the legendary military taboo - the tactic of adding fuel to the fire and queuing up to die? !

How could they be a match for the Prinz Eugen when they couldn't even muster the minimum numerical advantage? Not to mention, the main gun of the Prinz Eugen had a range of more than 30 kilometers! Even if it was a guided shell, it had a range of more than 20 kilometers! Even if she didn't rush in, the range of the artillery was enough to cover the escort team! !

Eight eight-inch machine guns fired continuously at the British destroyers and transport ships on the opposite side!

The eight British destroyers, under the intensive bombardment of guided shells operated by Eugen, fired round after round of fierce salvos, which directly turned those destroyers that were either trying to cover the evacuation of the transport ships with smoke or trying to launch sneak attacks with torpedoes into a hornet's nest!

Although the anti-aircraft cruisers in the inner circle were larger in tonnage and had the least amount of armor, they were not powerful enough and were quickly wounded by the 203mm machine guns and guided shells commanded by Top and Eugen! Even if the Allied officers and soldiers were determined to die, they could only helplessly watch the warships under their feet, dragging thick smoke and unable to move on the sea...

If even warships couldn't withstand the 203-inch heavy machine guns, then merchant ships would be even more unlucky! Those ordinary transport ships were hit one after another by the guided shells, burning and exploding! And those escort aircraft carriers hiding around the transport ships were targeted by Zeppelin!

Although the merchant ships and escort aircraft carriers were equipped with some 127 and 152mm guns on simple gun mounts, they couldn't even stand steadily on the shaking hulls, and they didn't even know where the shells they fired flew to. How could they fight back against Prince Eugen? !

The 203mm armor-piercing shell weighed 122 kilograms, and the high-explosive charge was nearly 9 kilograms! Even the Prinz Eugen, who was in high spirits, used the 105 anti-aircraft guns on both sides! Those anti-aircraft guns with a range of 20 meters and a firing rate of nearly 15.1 rounds per minute, fired kilograms of high-explosive shells at the transport ships one after another!

The steel plates of the transport ships were not very thick, and their strength was only that of civilian shipbuilding steel! Poor transport ships with thin skin and heavy fillings, how could they withstand the continuous bombardment of heavy cruisers?

Especially those ships loaded with ammunition or other flammable items, they caught fire on the spot! If we don't want the fire to spread and cause an uncontrollable fire on the whole ship or the explosion of ammunition, we can only rely on the efficiency of the damage control team - the premise is that in the dense rain of bullets like machine gun fire and the flying shrapnel, the damage control team can still operate the fire-fighting facilities step by step...

The communication channel of the British slow convoy was suddenly in chaos. There were calls for help, calls for assembly, calls for information, calls for transfer, panic, hysteria...

-

Even so, Major General Giffen, who was chasing closely behind, had no way to close the distance between himself and Eugen even by a centimeter...

This is a competition between machines, and his will has no effect at all.

"Assholes!! These damn assholes!!"

Giffen was furious, but he could do nothing! He felt hopeless.

And at this time, even more tragic news came to him.

"Sir, radar has detected a small-scale aircraft group approaching at a distance of... Oh no! Our radar is being interfered with!" The radar soldier who was reporting the enemy situation shouted in panic when he saw the PPI display showing a field of snow whenever it scanned the area near the German aircraft group.

"Interference? Why don't you tune the channel? What are you still standing there for? Prepare for air defense!" Giffen, who was already irritable, cursed at him. But after cursing, Giffen, with a dark face, still added an order: "The fleet turns around and retreats! Return to the high-speed escort team immediately!"

As for the idea of ​​using a battleship with only 20 knots to capture a Zeppelin that was said to have a maximum speed of 40 knots...

Giffen asked himself if he was still willing to do what he wanted - that was why he felt even more aggrieved!

But… even if he wanted to defend against air attacks, he didn’t have enough troops and he didn’t have enough time!!

Eight destroyers and four anti-aircraft cruisers were protecting the slow convoy, but now they were beaten to a pulp by Eugen! Another eight destroyers and three anti-aircraft cruisers were protecting the high-speed convoy, and they couldn't be pulled out at all! As for the last six destroyers, four of them were in Somerville's fleet, desperately but in vain pulling smoke screens behind Somerville's retreating fleet, and at the same time using their torpedoes to intimidate the German fleet on the opposite side, as a cover for the evacuation of the battleships. The other two destroyers were now with the three Colorado-class ships - that is to say, now they had no light ships to cover their battleships and resist the opposite air strikes!

Giffen, with a gloomy face, suddenly remembered the most basic sentence of sea power theory in the Naval Academy...

"The main battleship is only used to defeat the enemy's main fleet and seize sea control, but in order to defend sea control and protect the main fleet, there must be enough light warships..."

The submarine war in the Atlantic is now in full swing, and although the submarine threat to the Pacific escort fleet is not great, it is far-reaching. A merchant ship can only make three round trips a year, so where can so many destroyers be gathered?

If I were the "Witch of Edelweiss", would she let go of this thin-crusted and filling apple pie? Giffen didn't even think about it, knowing that the answer would obviously not be "Let it go..."

But what should I do then? Should I just forgive her?

And now, even if we return to the escort team, it is too late! !

I am about 25 kilometers away from the high-speed escort team...but...how long will it take the plane?

In just a few minutes, amid Giffen's worry and the sailors' panic, it was like a FW-190 passing by at high speed, and it passed in a flash without anyone noticing!

Just a few hundred seconds later, two flares suddenly lit up in the dark sky! It was as if the devil had opened its eyes in the night sky, making people feel creepy instantly!

Under the illumination of hundreds of thousands of luminous units, the four American battleships that were sailing clumsily on the sea were illuminated so brightly that they had no place to hide!

Everything under the shadow can be seen clearly.

"Air raid! Air raid!!"

“…Damn it! Where are the enemies?!”

“…I don’t know! What the hell is this!!”

"The radar is also disturbed... Anti-aircraft guns! Shoot down the flares!!"

"Okay... what the hell?! They're throwing flares again!!"

"Oh no! They are throwing flares behind us, and we are completely exposed!!..."

"…Oh my god…"

"Forget God! Turn the rudder! Full left!! Turn around together! Hurry up!!"

The American fleet on the sea was already a little hysterical! In the shadows on the other side of the flares, twelve FW-190 fighters carrying torpedoes, under the cover of night and electronic jammers, rushed towards those huge shadows that were evading and blindly firing at the sky, but still stood out under the light of the flares!

"I'm Rudel! Distance 2500... throw a torpedo!"

"Yes!"

"understand!"

"Captain, just watch!"

Following the order from the German leader, the twelve FW-190s easily dodged the aimless fireworks and dropped airborne torpedoes with white trails!

White lines were moving towards Admiral Giffen's battleship.

The originally ferocious and terrifying huge shadow seemed so clumsy and helpless in front of the torpedo net woven by the white lines pulled out by these high-speed attacking warhawks...

Chapter 635: Somerville

This night in the Indian Ocean is a bloody night full of the cruelty of war!

Under the fierce attack of the four evil warships, the battleship Bismarck, the battleship Tirpitz, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and the aircraft carrier Zeppelin, the Allied escort fleet, although having an absolute advantage in theoretical strength, was actually at an absolute disadvantage in detecting the enemy, speed, range, and even communication and electronic warfare, and was already in a state of loss!

It was only because of their military duty and the vital importance of this escort team that the British and American sailors gritted their teeth and persevered in the dark.

but……

If even the warships were struggling, how would the merchant ships perform in the face of the German evil spirits?

Even though the sailors and captains of these merchant ships were not lacking in courage...

"Marshal! Report from Rear Admiral Giffen of our American ally! Just now, his four battleships were attacked by torpedoes from Zeppelin carrier-based aircraft at night! The USS Oklahoma sank! The battleships Nevada and Tennessee were damaged by torpedoes! Requesting instructions for the next step of the battle!"

"…Urgent report from the slow convoy! We are unable to resist Prince Eugen (boom!), and have suffered heavy losses!"

"…We lost three destroyers! We lost three escort carriers! The Luna and Hermione anti-aircraft cruisers were severely damaged! The merchant fleet is being slaughtered! (Boom!)… Marshal, we can't hold out for long! Please disband the escort fleet. At least we can have a chance to escape! (Boom!)…"

"…This is the Maryland (Boom!) This is the Maryland! I am the detachment commander, Rear Admiral Willis Lee…We have met General Somerville, but…we are suppressed by the range and speed of Bismarck and Tirpitz! (Boom!)…General Somerville is seriously injured, and their radio is no longer usable. Now I am in command of the formation!!…Marshal Cunningham! We will keep them away from the safe distance of the convoy at all costs! (Boom!!)…It's bad! The front main gun was hit and caught fire! Damage control team!"

One after another, urgent telegrams for help were sent, and some people even cried out directly on the radio! Especially now, even the battle-hardened Admiral Somerville was seriously injured in the fierce battle! Unable to command the fleet! Even now, the American named Willis Lee had to take over the command!

Cunningham, who was in command of the Warspite and was heading at full speed towards Somerville with the North Carolina, Washington, and three heavy cruisers, no longer had his usual cheerful smile on his face. Instead, he stood in front of the porthole with a grim face, staring closely at the flashes of gun muzzle lights in the distant sky!

"...Allow the slow convoy to disband its formation when necessary and head to ports in India or the Middle East! In addition, the remaining destroyers and cruisers of the slow convoy will be commanded by Rear Admiral Giffen... In any case, we must first delay the Prince Eugen. Only after the transport ships have been completely dispersed and evacuated can we break out on our own... God bless them, I hope they have a safe journey..."

“…Also, order the high-speed transport team to resume speed at 16 knots and turn southeast to avoid the Germans!”

"Order Major General Li, we no longer have any extra destroyers to escort the injured warships out of the formation and return home... Tell them not to waste time, fight and retreat at the same time, and reunite with the high-speed escort team as soon as possible!"

Orders were issued one after another from the cold-faced Cunningham - even some of these orders required him to harden his heart and abandon his subordinates and the transport ships he was protecting! !

For example, the order to disband the slow convoy and the order for the battleships to "not waste time, there are no destroyers to cover the damaged warships returning home" - not to mention the merchant fleet and destroyers

Everyone knows what will happen to abandoned units on the battlefield!

Even this abandoned unit included three battleships of American ally Rear Admiral Giffen.

In particular, according to estimates, German submarines should be arriving by now.

To put it bluntly, these two orders were actually to disperse the slow convoy, and even some seriously damaged ships could only move alone - these lone merchant ships and warships were baits, and Cunningham had to use the method of cutting off the tail with a gecko and sacrificing the car to save the king, sacrificing them to consume the ammunition of the German warships and submarines and cover the high-speed convoy to escape danger.

Looking at Cunningham's livid face, you can tell that being forced to give such an order with great reluctance must have made him feel uncomfortable.

Next to Cunningham, the secretary, Ms. Belle Dura Despicio, also stood straight. She had a rather strong and irritable personality to begin with, and now she was so angry that she was speechless!

However, there is no way...

Unless... the British fleet can repel the German evil warships on the opposite side - but, this is easier said than done!

Although in her perception, Willis Lee, who was acting as Somerville, was with seven damaged British and American battleships twenty nautical miles to the north of her. They were being hit repeatedly by bullets from a rain of bullets that was not fierce but extremely accurate, and were in danger!

At a distance of 20 nautical miles, even if we can reach a speed of 28 knots, it will still take at least 40 to 50 minutes! Moreover, the current American fleet is still sailing as far north as possible - if they cannot maintain the distance, relying on the huge effective range advantage of the ship girl, they can only be beaten unilaterally without being able to fight back, which is extremely damaging to morale!

Moreover, the Royal Navy and even the US Navy are now very clear about one thing: the Lütjens Fleet is an exiled fleet! Although they don't know their specific supply, unstable logistics is definitely one of their biggest fatal weaknesses.

As long as they consume one point, they will lose one point of combat effectiveness. On the Allied side, the potential of the US shipbuilding industry alone is definitely not something that a few crickets can make up for. Not to mention, as the secretary ship of the First Sea Lord of the British Royal Navy, War-weary is also very clear that there are many black technologies being developed closely in the UK and the US! For example, guided bombs and even anti-ship missiles!

"…Just wait! Once our anti-ship missile research is successful, it will be the end of you guys on the ship!"

War-weary secretly gnashed his teeth, holding a heart full of hatred, cursing the German ship girls on the opposite side...

Although, this curse has no effect on the current battle situation...

"General, War-weariness sent a telegram asking us to fight and retreat at the same time and reunite with the high-speed escort team!"

On the fiercely fighting battleship USS Maryland, the communications soldier stumbled from the radio translation room to the microphone in the command room, turned on the microphone, and reported the latest orders from the USS Warspite to Rear Admiral Willis Lee, who was directing the artillery battle in the command tower.

But this command...

"Fight and retreat at the same time? How can we fight and retreat at the same time! They are faster than us, have a longer range than us, and are more accurate than us. How do you want me to fight and retreat at the same time?!" Major General Li was a little crazy.

As far as he knew, the slow convoy in the rear had been ordered to disband. The badly damaged Standard-class battleships under Rear Admiral Giffen did not even have time to salvage the sailors who fell into the water from the USS Oklahoma. They were hurriedly dragging their wounded bodies in the direction of Prince Eugen to cover the disbanding and evacuation of the transport fleet.

And if the slow transport team can still be sacrificed, the high-speed transport team behind him is the formation that cannot suffer any losses at all!

In order to cover the last high-speed transport team and to barely maintain the distance between himself and the two German battleships, he now led the seven battleships of the British and American armies and advanced desperately towards the north. Although he had seven battleships, the three R-class battleships could not hit the enemy beyond 30 yards ( kilometers). Among the remaining four ships, the Warrior was already seriously injured. Even Admiral Somerville on the ship was now seriously injured and it was difficult for him to stay in the queue. And the shelling of his three Colorado-class battleships at a distance of yards was, to put it bluntly, just a bit better than nothing!

The firepower of a battleship that can fire at full force without any interference is extremely terrifying, not to mention that there are two battleships opposite him - and they are not ordinary battleships, but evil spirit battleships that have already made a name for themselves in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean over the past few years!

However, it is a soldier's duty after all. He should inform his subordinates of the military orders issued by his superiors and then execute them carefully...