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Part One Twenty Years Chapter 12 The Fall of the Stars and Stripes (1)

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    "("King of the North Atlantic" Section 7, The End of the Union Flag [4])

    ¡®The grand fleet only needs to hold on for another quarter of an hour, just a quarter of an hour!  ¡¯

    The capsizing and sinking of the German battleship K?nig Albert did nothing to save the British from decline. At 13:49, the main fleet of the Grand Fleet had lost nearly half of its battleships.

    The rear of the British battle line, which had seven battleships and three old-fashioned battle cruisers, was completely crippled. As the hardest-hit area, the fifth detachment of the First Battle Fleet was completely wiped out. The Revenge-class Royal Oak, Canada-class Canada, Cypress  Four Lelophon-class battleships, the Bellerophon and the Magnificent, were buried in the sea one after another; the flagship of the Sixth Squadron, the Canada-class South Africa, and the Singapore purchased from Argentina were sunk, and only one battleship, the Hong Kong purchased from Brazil, remained;  The Fourth Battlecruiser Fleet also lost the Indefatigable-class battlecruiser New Zealand and the Invincible-class battlecruiser Indomitable, with only the Indomitable battlecruiser surviving.

    Although the British Battle Line Squadron achieved great results and sank two German Nassau-class battleships, they also paid a high price - the second squadron lost the Joe V-class battleship Centurion and the St. Vincent-class battleship.  The battleship Collingwood, the Neptune-class battleship Neptune, and another St. Vincent-class battleship were also seriously damaged.

    The Fourth Battle Fleet at the forefront has become the last fig leaf for the British. At least so far, they have sunk the German battleship King Albert at the cost of heavy damage to the Revenge-class battleship Resolution and the Iron Duke-class battleship Marlborough.  Gain a slight upper hand in the firefight.

    So far, the Germans have lost three battleships, and the lost tonnage and combat power are enough to create a third-rate naval power similar to the top three abc in South America.  The British are even more terrifying.  The tonnage and combat power of the eleven capital ships has exceeded that of the second-tier naval powers in the Mediterranean such as Italy, Austria-Hungary, and France, and is enough to create another American Great White Fleet ranked third in the world.

    Such a heavy loss almost broke the unyielding backbone of the British. The John Bulls have never been as humble and groveling as they are today, pinning their hopes of survival on General Lampard's fast fleet or the illusory God.  It must be known that even in the most difficult year of 1915, the Royal Navy suffered unprecedented defeats in Jutland and the Skagerrak. The German Navy almost pushed their patrol lines to the mouth of the Thames River and the English Channel. The sun never sets on the Empire.  The Niu Niu can still grit their teeth and pretend to show their teeth and claws, singing "Rule, Britannia!" and shouting to start over.

    Now offshore of the Orkney Islands, in the northern part of the Firth of Forth, the Royal Navy, which was suppressed by the Germans, finally gave up.  They no longer had the heroic aura of the Nelson era, nor did they have the arrogance at the beginning of the First World War, nor did they have the revengeful mood after the Royal Navy was rebuilt in 1917. The German First Division was like a century-old ocean.  It was the last flash of glory before the overlord came to an end, and then it was filled with a sense of desolation and decline.  In the ammunition loading room, the British sailors who pushed the propellant wrapped in silk had dry throats. In the turret, the gunners who controlled the automatic loading of the shells were frustrated. In the boiler room.  The usually highly motivated boiler soldiers suddenly found that they could no longer lift their arms holding the shovels in the observation tower.  Cold sweat slid into his eyes uncontrollably, making the world in the observation mirror blurry.

    Although this maritime battle that shocked the world was not over yet, and General Lampard's fast fleet of ten battlecruisers was infinitely close to the battlefield, the British sailors who fought continuously for nearly two hours had such an illusion that the day would not be over.  The decline of the fallen empire is inevitable, and I feel that after this battle, the British Empire will no longer have a navy!

    ??Would the British Empire still be the British Empire without its navy?  Many people are thinking about this question, but no one knows the answer.

    David Beatty may have anticipated failure, but as the supreme commander of the Grand Fleet.  His professionalism and chivalry would not allow him to show even a single second of frustration in front of his subordinates who stood firm at their posts.  Betty stood in the command tower of his flagship. He turned his back and did not look at the direction in which the fast fleet was about to appear. Instead, he held the pocket watch in his hand. It was not until a few strands of blood seeped out from his clenched teeth that a few words came out of his mouth:  'Just a quarter of an hour!  ¡¯

    Betty¡¯s wish is very simple, but Beihai has no sympathy for the British.  The moderate sea breeze dispersed the gunpowder smoke produced by the artillery fire and the soot dragged out by the battleships, completely exposing the weakness of the British.

    Sealem will not miss the opportunity to hunt down the British, and the German navy is under his delicate command.  He adjusted the formation of the rear group with ease and leisurely, sorted out the spare fire channels, and concentrated more capital ships and main guns to deal with the half-disabled British Second Battle Fleet and the third detachment of the Fourth Battle Fleet.

    The British, who were already exhausted, were completely disorganized under the brutal blows of the Germans. The USS Joe V battleship insisted that they saw the raised periscope of the German submarine.  It later turned out that it was just a misjudgment by the lookout, but in the fierce battle at sea,On the battlefield in full swing, rumors triggered the panic that the Grand Fleet had struggled to suppress; the battleship HMS Benbow was hit by a 305mm armor-piercing bomb, the flybridge and boat deck caught fire, and thick smoke covered the sky, so the British battleship  Line Crazy This Iron Duke-class battleship has sunk.

    At 13:52, the funniest farce happened.  The heavily damaged battleship St. Vincent, without knowing the flagship of the squadron, arbitrarily issued the flag "Our ship is seriously injured and is ordered to retreat to the coastline", and then retreated towards the coastline regardless of dragging the thick smoke.

    Afterwards, the British themselves joked that the St. Vincent stole the role of the sister ship Collingwood. The entire British island believed that if the battleship Collingwood was floating in the North Sea at that time, this battleship had been in Portsmouth.  The battleships that were chasing the German cruisers in the naval battle would definitely desert before the sister ship St. Vincent could escape.

    The great escape of the St. Vincent was not too successful. The battleships along the coastline that wanted to retreat into the Firth of Forth were first stranded offshore. After struggling for several hours, they escaped with the help of the rising tide. Then they were ambushed in the main channel of the Firth of Forth.  The German underwater wolves that passed General Lampard's battle patrol were hit by a dumb bomb before they retreated into the Victory Naval Port. Even in the military port, the battleship did not stop - the military police at the military port immediately detained St. Vincent.  All the senior officers of the USS, the officers tried their best to defend themselves in front of David Betty. As a result, the ashamed and angry sailors betrayed them on the spot, exposing the lies of the officers that "our ship was seriously injured and was ordered to retreat."

    At the Portsmouth Naval Court, the captain of the St. Vincent, who was charged with 11 counts, plausibly claimed that his behavior that violated military discipline and chivalry had to some extent saved the lives of more than 500 officers and soldiers of the St. Vincent. However, when*  *The prosecutor showed photos of the sinking of the battleship Hong Kong, and the captain was speechless.

    On the battlefield, the St. Vincent left the battlefield without permission, causing a huge gap in the British battle line. In this round of firefight, the Collingwood of the British Second Division, the Magnificent of the Fifth Division, and the South Africa of the Sixth Division  The battleships sank one after another, and a four-kilometer gap opened up between the battle line squadron and the rear group. The damaged power systems of the battleship Hong Kong and the battle cruiser Indomitable made this gap continue to expand.  When the battleship St. Vincent, which was being dragged behind by the battle line squadron, left the battle line, the gap had already broken through the sky, so without any psychological burden, Sealem landed on a Seydlitz-class ship of the third team of the first reconnaissance group.  The Moltke-class ship cut inside the British battle line, completely dividing and strangling the British rear group.

    The two meritorious battle cruisers were more than enough to deal with the seriously injured British battleship. At 14:01, the battle cruiser Seydlitz cut into the British battle line at high speed and sank the battleship Hong Kong. More than a thousand officers and soldiers on the ship survived.  .

    Before the Hong Kong battleship exploded and sank, the British squadron's Orion-class battleship HMS Monarch and the front squadron's Revenge-class battleship HMS Resolution failed to withstand the final madness of the Germans and both sank.

    The last widow of the Orion-class battleship was lit by firecrackers. The British Empire's first and only super-dreadnought ship equipped with a 13.5-inch main gun just disappeared into the dust of the North Sea. Maybe some people will still remember and sigh.  But its story is no longer unfinished.

    The battleship Determination, which was hit by a water bomb, gradually lost speed in the dangerous North Sea. Even though its skin and flesh were thick and rough above the water line, it could not withstand the cross-fire of the Governor's 350mm armor-piercing projectile. Amidst the violent explosions  The riddled hull fractured and finally sank in the North Sea.

    At this time, the observation tower of the battleship Bayern could already see several plumes of smoke rising from the sea level on the south-west side. There is no doubt that that is the last hope of the British Empire - Vice Admiral Lampard's fast fleet!

    General Sillem was extremely indifferent to the British reinforcements. Levantezo, then the Chief of Staff of the Ocean Fleet, had such an interesting dialogue in his battle notes:

    ¡®The fast fleet arrived so quickly!  ¡¯ General Silem murmured surprise, but there was no corresponding expression on his face. Instead, he excitedly asked the fleet staff to estimate the contact time and relative angle between the two sides.

    'Taking into account the engagement distance of 15,000 meters and the heading towards each other, the British can fire on the Bavaria within five to ten minutes. Of course, if the British fast fleet wants to do anything more, it will have to wait at least twenty minutes  after.  ¡¯ The combat staff officer found a chart, drew two battle lines with a pencil, circled the Bavaria at the front and the Moltke battle patrol at the end and replied.

    ¡®So, Levantezo, how many British ships have we sunk before?  ¡¯ General Silem subconsciously turned the wedding ring between his fingers and turned his head to ask.

    ¡®Including the Sovereign and the Resolution that just sank, there should be fourteen ships!  ¡¯

    ¡®This is not enough!  ¡¯ General Silem turned around and asked the deputy commander: ¡®General, we still have the ability to continue fighting.???  ¡¯

    ¡®As long as you give the order!  ¡¯

    ¡®Then turn around, one T-turn is not enough!  ¡¯ General Silem raised his arms and shook two fingers.

    At 14:02, the Ocean Fleet Command issued a turning order. The Third Battle Fleet took the lead in turning, while the First Battle Fleet and the First Reconnaissance Group continued to suppress and harvest the British main fleet.  "
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