Chapter 329 Reinforcement
After a burst of "boom boom" artillery fire, dense shells poured towards the British warships.
Similar to the British firing at the Germans, shells exploded around the British fleet, creating a series of water columns that soared into the sky. The difference was that three destroyers and one cruiser were hit in the first place, including the "Gloucester" cruiser, which was the flagship of the A fleet. Commander Rear Admiral Weber was seriously injured on the spot.
A shell exploded near the bridge of the "Gloucester" cruiser, and the shrapnel from the explosion knocked down Rear Admiral Weber, who was fighting near the bridge. It was later discovered that it was the vibration of the shell that caused fatal injuries to Rear Admiral Weber's internal organs.
A naval captain and a restaurant waiter found Rear Admiral Weber in the ruins of the bridge, but they did not dare to turn him over easily because there was no stretcher. They hurriedly found a pharmacist to treat Rear Admiral Weber's wounds, relieve his pain, and answer Rear Admiral Weber's questions about the battle. After a few minutes, Rear Admiral Weber could no longer speak.
The British fleet then fired shells at the German ships again, but it can be imagined that they lost the artillery of the aerial reconnaissance aircraft and there were many German fighter planes in the air strafing and bombing them. The number of shells they fired was small and the landing points were scattered, and none of them could hit the German warships that were maneuvering rapidly.
Then the German warships fired another barrage of shells.
This time, the battleship "Maria" was hit by a 130MM shell, which was not very destructive in itself, but it detonated the shells piled up in the anti-aircraft gun turrets of the British army.
The smoke from the shell explosion was sucked into the engine room, and as a result, 4 of the 8 boilers stopped working, and the speed of the battleship Maria dropped from 21 knots to 10 knots within 2 minutes. At the same time, the power supply on the ship was suspended for 30 seconds... This is a common problem for battleships left over from World War I. The aging of its equipment will lead to many unexpected failures, and these failures are often fatal on the battlefield. For example, the speed of the Maria dropped and the power was suspended, which almost meant that the battleship stood in front of the enemy like a target.
Fortunately, the battleship Maria was rushed to reinforce the battle by the C fleet. It was located a few kilometers behind the main fleet. Everyone focused their attention on the British warships in front and did not pursue the victory and concentrate fire on the Maria. Otherwise, the Maria would have been eliminated in this battle.
Then, a bomb accurately hit the bow of the battleship "Sovereign", the bomb blew a big hole in its deck, and caused its No. 1 turret to malfunction and unable to aim. A fighter plane swooped down and accurately shot bullets into the bridge. Fortunately, the commanders lay down in time and survived, but the communication was damaged and they could not effectively command.
The "Warspite" that Vice Admiral Tovey was on was also in crisis. German fighters and bombers were flying around, and the shells hit a position two hundred meters away, raising a water column... In a naval battle, if the explosion point of the shells fell at such a close position, it means that the enemy has accurately grasped the distance of the warship, which is very dangerous for the warship.
So Vice Admiral Tovey realized that this battle could not be fought, and immediately ordered all warships to release smoke and leave the battle.
Raeder ordered the fleet to chase after them... At this time, the German Navy discovered the benefits of French warships putting all their main guns on the bow, and they could use all their main guns to bombard the enemy when chasing enemy warships.
I'm afraid this is how the French warships positioned themselves. They have almost no opponents in the Mediterranean, so it is basically impossible for them to escape after losing. Most of them are chasing the enemy, so they boldly put all their naval guns on the bow.
However, the French were too arrogant. The French fleet in history was indeed unrivaled, but it was not because they were too strong, but because they lost too quickly. As a result, the entire fleet sank before it could play a role.
Due to the guidance of reconnaissance aircraft in the air, the French warships hit several warships in the pursuit, but it was not clear which warships were hit in the smoke. Only balls of fire burst out in the haze... In naval battles, only when warships are hit will fire burst out, otherwise it will be a series of water columns.
After chasing for a while, Raeder stopped the team.
On the one hand, the smoke released by the British fleet had seriously affected the line of sight, and Raeder was worried that continuing to pursue would cause accidental injuries to his own warships.
On the other hand, the air force's ammunition was almost used up, and continuing to pursue would not have much results, but might be ambushed.
More importantly, the flagship "Dunkirk" was hit by a torpedo and took on water. The speed could only barely reach 20 knots. If it continued to chase, the "Dunkirk" would probably be left alone and attacked by enemy submarines.
So, the fleet left the battlefield amid the cheers of the navy soldiers.
"Lieutenant, Colonel!" Although Raeder was a little disheveled and even had a wound on his head, he still walked to Qin Chuan and Colonel Slaine in high spirits and said, "Sorry, I originally came here to ask you to participate in the exercise! I didn't expect..."
"This is much more interesting than the exercise!" Colonel Slaine said, "You fought very well, Marshal, so it is the right choice to hand over the warship to you!"
Raeder couldn't help but smile with shame on his face and replied, "Colonel, if it weren't for the lieutenant here, I'm afraid the 'Dunkirk' would have sunk to the bottom of the sea now!"
"No, Marshal!" Qin Chuan said, "If I tell these tactics to the Italian fleet, I believe it will not have any effect!"
Raeder nodded proudly upon hearing this.
At this time, a staff officer took a telegram to report to Marshal Raeder: "Marshal, a telegram from General Garibaldi, the Italian fleet has left the port to reinforce us!"
"Oh, thank them so much!" Raeder said sarcastically: "I think they dared to leave the port to reinforce us only after knowing that we won the battle!"
Raeder's guess was right. How could the Italians give up this opportunity? You know, this is the British fleet that defeated the British fleet and is known as the world's number one navy... How could the great Roman Empire not play a role in this war that will be remembered in history?
So the Italian fleet left the port and rushed to the battlefield, and even the air force appeared in the sky over the relevant sea areas with old-fashioned aircraft.
It can be imagined that when they return, they can make a big fuss about how many fighter planes they destroyed and how many warships they sank in this battle. Then, these news will cause a sensation and carnival in Italy.