1218th Reinforcements Arrived
The current formation of the Allied fleet has become chaotic, almost half of the warships are fighting independently, and the remaining half of the warships are desperately covering the half that is fighting independently. The wounded warship was ordered to leave the fleet, and the burning one was struggling hopelessly on the sea.
The fire and sinking of the escort aircraft carrier Galilee undoubtedly caused incalculable losses to the Allied fleet. These losses not only came from the loss of air defense carrier-based aircraft, but more from the blow to the morale of the Allied navy.
"The captain of the Galilee has given the order to abandon the ship. Fortunately, there are not many carrier-based aircraft left on the ship. When it was hit, there were still 9 aircraft left." The adjutant reported to his chief with some gratitude News of the sinking of the US escort aircraft carrier Galilee: "The cruiser Liverpool is trying to come over, but in front of him is the battleship Ramirez, which is being attacked, and it may take longer."
"There's no time! Anson... what we lack most now may be time!" Dudley Pound watched anxiously as his fleet was attacked by German planes, and he finally knew why Churchill, who was a former minister of the navy, would go through that The Battle of the English Channel was a fiasco. The pattern of naval warfare has changed by that time, and it's ridiculous that he still clings to the glorious tradition of a bunch of bullshit.
The long-range carrier-based aircraft can easily tear apart the battleship that looks extremely solid outside the line of sight, and the bombs that those slender aircraft can carry make all large ships at sea desperate-human society will develop, and so will weapons. progress. The weight of carrier-based aircraft is getting heavier and the power of engines is getting higher and higher, and the performance of these aircraft will obviously get better and better.
On the other hand, due to the progress of chemistry and other sciences, bombs will become more sophisticated and more powerful, and those bombs and torpedoes will produce even more amazing destructive effects.
But what about the seemingly powerful battleship? No matter how the armor of these battleships is increased, it cannot change the fact that the ships need to float on the water. Therefore, it is difficult for the thickness of the steel plate to change greatly over time - the defensive power of the battleship has almost come to an end, but the attack power of weapons is far from...
Therefore, the future naval battle has quietly changed the mode. The era of large ships and giant guns will eventually end, and the era of carrier-based aircraft and aircraft carriers will begin. It is a pity that the Germans and Americans are ahead of the world in this regard, but the British are not seen in the first echelon.
A hundred years of glory, a hundred years of undefeated myths, the supreme glory and strong belief brought to the British Royal Navy, the accumulated background and accumulated experience make this navy well-trained and amazing in combat effectiveness; but the same Yes, a hundred years has also left this navy with staleness and decay, making it impossible for this navy to have the courage to step forward in the right direction amidst the changes of the times.
"Our glory is gone..." Dudley Pound stood by the porthole, sighed softly, then changed his expression, shook his head and said firmly to himself: "No! Not our navy lost its former glory,
It was my own loss of the fearless spirit of Nelson! "
He felt that it was his cowardice that led to the current situation. In order to restore the current decline, he must cheer up, use Nelson's fighting spirit, and use bravery and strong beliefs to win a great victory for the Royal Navy .
"God! Please bless me! Please bless the British Empire! If we can finally win this war, then I, Dudley Pound, will definitely stick to the development of naval aviation and stop making stupid mistakes!" Unknowingly , Dudley Pound prayed in pessimistic mood, he hoped to catch any hope of victory, even including the gods.
Then he looked at the staff officer behind him, and said the following order: "Let the fleet turn around again! Then move forward at full speed! Target the German High Seas Fleet, and head due east!"
"General! Then the turning action we just took was a waste of effort?" The staff officer looked at his general with some doubts: "The fleet is prone to chaos under such repeated orders."
"I know! I know! Anson!" Dudley Pound also felt that his order was too inconsistent, but he had just resolved his contradictory thoughts, so of course he had to issue another inconsistent order: " But in this situation, we have to rely on battleships to regain our own rhythm."
The staff officer did not turn around to convey the order, but continued to persuade: "Your Excellency! With all due respect, my duty requires me to remind you that you are risking your entire fleet... Germany also has a battleship like the Hellboy, Relying on the Ramirez, you really can't necessarily beat that German battleship. The Ramirez was built in 1917, and the German battleship is at least 15 years younger than it."
"I know! But we still have heavy cruisers, and HMS Queen Elizabeth. As long as we can disrupt the Germans, HMS Villain and HMS Nelson, we have a chance to create miracles!" Dudley Pound looked at himself His subordinates said firmly: "We should not hesitate anymore, this will make us forget the Nelson spirit...Fight! We must fight! This is everything to us, isn't it?"
"General! You convinced me..." The staff officer stood at attention and saluted, and then said to Dudley Pound: "However, our order may anger the Americans, but I think we should try as much as possible, at least because Let the Germans suffer a little!"
"Signal to all the nearby submarines, and our real reinforcements may be coming soon!" Of course Dudley Pound came prepared, if he really only relied on two fleet aircraft carriers, he, an old fox, It will not expose its fleet to the threat of the German High Seas Fleet.
"Is this British commander crazy?" The captain of the USS Franklin looked at the order in front of him, sneered and threw the telegram under his feet: "He has issued 4 orders to change course! Did he think he was playing with a trolley? Push it in any direction you want?"
"He messed up the fleet himself! Now he still wants to drag us to die together?" Another American officer shouted angrily with his hands behind his back: "We have lost almost 100 fighter jets. He's still debating whether we should charge or run? Don't the Brits have a wiser man to be their admiral?"
The American captain shook his head, and then sarcastically said: "God! Our generals should have known that since Washington defeated the British, Britain has no better military commander than the United States! But this A group of idiots actually handed over our fleet to the command of the British for the sake of the so-called alliance."
"So, Captain, are we going to carry out the orders of the British?" The officer who had already been furious asked.
"Keep the route! Let the British order go to hell!" The American captain waved his hand: "Send a telegram to the British, saying that because of the serious loss of the plane, we will maintain the original route and give their fleet the rear!"
As a result, the entire fleet immediately became a mess. The American ships kept their original course and almost dispersed the British fleet. However, the British fleet was disturbed by the US Navy.
What's more, when the turn was completed, the top of the Allied fleet was still full of the fourth batch of attack aircraft of the German army. These German planes had no mercy. Taking advantage of the chaotic timing of the Allied forces, they sank a destroyer and two cruisers. The Ark Royal was also hit for the first time during the turn, though little substantial damage was done.
"These American bastards! What are they thinking at this time? Are they with the Germans? Damn!" The staff officer was excited when he got the American fleet to maintain the original northward route. yelled loudly. Of course he knew what kind of disaster the Americans had brought to the entire fleet. The loss of the British ships skyrocketed, and the direct cause was the American decision.
"Don't be so excited... just try to shoot some, at least they didn't fire at us." Dudley Pound sighed helplessly, and then said: "Let the fleet recover its formation as much as possible, cover each other and don't back down! Ours Reinforcements are coming soon, and the victory belongs to our British Navy after all!"
Just as he was saying these words, two German Stukas rushed down the clouds one after the other, aimed their torpedoes at the side of a cruiser of the British Navy, adjusted their positions, and then at a very close distance On board, the two torpedoes were thrown into the sea. The two planes then pulled away and broke away from the fight.
Soon the torpedo hit its target, and a British cruiser was severely damaged. The speed of this warship slowed down suddenly, the huge explosion even tore part of its deck, and the sea water poured directly into the big hole in the side, flooding one cabin after another.
"General! The fifth batch of German attack aircraft has arrived!" Just after receiving the news, the staff officer handed over the dumbfounding battle report to Dudley Pound. Obviously the Germans came faster, more and more deadly!
However, the second officer then ran into the bridge command room, dancing and shouting, "The radar on the other side of the fleet has responded! It's our reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!"
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The second correction is in the works, please wait patiently, it is estimated that it will be released around 0 o'clock...