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Part One Twenty Years Chapter 12 The Fall of the Star-Spangled Banner (8)

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    (There will be something going on at school starting tomorrow, and the procedures for leaving school will be super troublesome. I will code out a chapter today and talk about the rest later)

    "("King of the North Atlantic" Section 8, American Tragedy

    'The Revenge looked bad. It completely lost power and was besieged by more than a dozen German dreadnoughts. The A turret on the bow was pierced by an armor-piercing shell. Fire, thick smoke and toxic gases spread all over the upper deck. There were stored in the hull  A large amount of sea water caused this battleship with excellent protection to tilt to the left.  (None., pop-up windowThere is nothing we can do about the plight of the Revenge, but we can only wish the Revengegood luck.'

    ¡®The destruction of the Revenge is inevitable, long live the Revenge, God bless my king!  ¡¯

    On the afternoon of June 21, the British Naval Headquarters, which is known for its serious and conservative internal atmosphere, was once again paralyzed due to the influx of war information.  1915.  News of the tragic defeat in the Skagerrak naval battle came, and the naval headquarters was also so dead and depressed. In 1917, news of the defeat in the Orkney Islands naval battle came sporadically. Although it has not been completely confirmed, the confused British were able to sort it out.  After getting some clues, several old brick-red buildings of the London Naval Headquarters were filled with an unspeakable defeatism and self-abasement that was even more solemn than after the defeat in the Skagerrak naval battle in 1915.

    On the eve of the naval battle, the Germans used tactics to deceive and play on the whole of Britain as always. The fast fleet was like a clown, running back and forth in the North Sea in vain; the main fleet of the Grand Fleet, which gave up joining the American battleship squadron, went south in advance to respond.  As a result, they ran into the German T-shaped crosshead very close to the Royal Navy's home base.

    Nothing is more demoralizing than being manipulated over and over again by Silem.  After the outbreak of the naval battle, except for the brilliance of the German First Division, the Royal Navy's fighting spirit was shattered: all seven battleships of the First Battle Fleet were destroyed, and the Fourth Battle Cruiser Fleet lost two old-fashioned battle cruisers, except the Indomitable.  The battle cruiser ran aground on the beach and narrowly escaped; in the Second Battle Fleet, only the battleship St. Vincent, which escaped without authorization, survived.  The remaining seven battleships were all sunk, as was the most elite Fourth Battle Fleet.  Four capital ships, including the flagship Revenge, were sunk; the fast fleet was first attacked by German underwater wolves in the southern part of the Firth of Forth.  The battle cruiser King Kong was lost, and the battle cruiser Renown and Resistance were lost one after another in the subsequent cover operations.

    Twenty-three battleships is not the final loss figure of the Royal Navy. Although the London Naval Headquarters subjectively does not want this number to continue to expand, objectively speaking, there is a difference between losing twenty-three battleships in one go and the annihilation of the entire army.  the difference?  !  The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets is a typical maritime power, and the Royal Navy is not positioned as a Tirpitz-style fleet.  Having lost the sea control and maritime transportation lines that it relies on for survival, what if the British Island has a few capital ships that cannot leave the harbor and cannot be escorted?  !

    In the past few hours, the naval headquarters in London was in panic and confusion. To be precise, the entire British island did not know where they should go.  The year is now 1917.  Even the most arrogant John Bull would not dare to say that they still have the energy and time to rebuild a large fleet. Without a large fleet, how can the sun never set on the Empire?

    From 14:45 to 15:25, the emergency call from the U.S. battleship squadron was naturally drowned in the tons of telegrams at the London Naval Headquarters. It was not until the panicked Americans on the other side of the ocean contacted the naval attache stationed in London.  Admiralty Headquarters, London.

    Until then, the British did not remember that there was an American battleship squadron on the battlefield.

    Since even the Royal Navy, which has more than 30 battleships, has not been able to get an advantage from Sealym, the British will naturally not expect a mere four American battleships to turn the tide. Gentlemen with dark minds are even thinking about what to do.  Whether to betray the US battleship squadron to ignite the anger of the United States and completely drag the United States into the water, or to 'save the US battleship squadron to avoid Americans' resentment towards the Allies and maintain sincere cooperation among allies'.

    Of course, before the British Lord of the Admiralty Balfour can show his heroic nature, the British still have to figure out the status of the American battleship squadron and the battlefield situation in the Forth Gulf, and decide whether to let Vice Admiral Lampard's fast fleet respond.

    ¡®Damn it, what was the last order we gave to Americans?  ¡¯ This is the question that the staff officers at the London Naval Headquarters wanted to ask most at around 15:30 on the 21st.  Because of the unfavorable war situation for the Royal Navy, the incompetent British did not pay enough attention to the American battleship squadron. Therefore, when the senior navy officials sorted out their clues to reestablish order at the naval headquarters and realized that there were Americans on the battlefield, they discovered that the naval headquarters did not pay enough attention to the American battleship squadron.  The fleet knew nothing.

    ¡®How aboutlet the Americans evacuate to Scapa Flow first?  ¡¯

    In Balfour¡¯s office, Admiral Jellicoe, who was conservative by nature, was the first to put forward a very pertinent opinion, and was later interrupted by the staff officer.

    ¡®General¡¯??The Americans reported the sighting of four seriously damaged German battleships in waters 42 kilometers east of Hatton'

    ¡®South by east of Hatton, what the hell is that place?  !  ¡¯ First Sea Lord Gough Calthorpe cursed and threw himself on the chart, then froze.

    On the chart full of data, the red line representing the U.S. battleship squadron hit four seriously injured battleships that had separated from the German battle line. Directly to the north of the Americans was the stranded USS Indomitable, to the southwest  On one side is the Fourth Battle Fleet, which barely escaped, and the German battle line that has returned. On the northwest side is the fast fleet retreating northward against Peterhead. The eight battle cruisers of the German First Reconnaissance Group are roughly located on the American side.  and the fast fleet, the specific whereabouts are unknown.

    ¡®Do you think Americans are lucky or unlucky?  ' asked Balfour.

    No one could answer Balfour¡¯s question. Rear Admiral Rodman, the commander of the U.S. battleship squadron, just relied on his intuition and ordered the fleet to maintain the established course, attack the opponent at high speed, and refuse the opponent¡¯s entanglement.

    Compared to the British Naval Headquarters, which was able to piece together the maritime situation from the fragmented reports of battlefield commanders, the Americans were completely blind to the naval battle in the Orkney Islands. Especially the complex sea conditions with intermittent gusts of wind prevented the Americans from being able to fly on the water.  aircraft to reconnoiter the battlefield.

    After encountering four damaged German ships, the first reaction of the Americans was that the German main fleet was nearby. The reason was obvious. Since the Germans were wealthy enough to kick the four injured main ships out of the battle line and form a separate fleet,  The situation at the Battle of the Orkney Islands must have been settled. In this way, the German main fleet would not be too far away from the disabled detachment even if it was not near the disabled detachment.

    21471 <;Tender and delicious battle results, loudly cursing John Bull for not being indifferent to the general's orders. The subordinates unanimously adopted an attitude of appreciation: Americans care more about their lives than fighting. Of course, the Japanese have three in their hands.  With fifty battleships, they didn't mind fighting the Germans to the death.

    In the crisis-ridden northeastern waters of the Firth of Forth, U.S. navigators issued orders one after another to "take stock and move forward at full speed." Soon, the U.S. New York-class and Nevada-class battleships soared to a high speed of 20.5 knots in the North Sea, which they had never visited before.  , rushing towards the German disabled unit.

    The Americans planned to use high-speed impact to force the opponent to turn south to temporarily avoid the edge, so that the Stars and Stripes flagship fleet could calmly cross and leave the battlefield. Unfortunately, the Germans who were more than 20,000 yards away did not understand the style. Not only did the disabled team not turn, but they performed better.  The Americans boldly maintained course and sent encrypted telegrams to the Americans one after another.

    At 15:45, the captain¡¯s yelling came from the command tower of the Bayern again, because the watchtower reported that ¡®the four large warships on the northeast side have a strong American style¡¯.

    Facing the four U.S. battleships charging menacingly, it was too late for the disabled squadron to turn, and the battleships, whose power systems and side protections were damaged to varying degrees, maintained their speed&#x90fd;It's a little troublesome, let alone making dangerous emergency turns.

    <;The final battle of the Islands Naval Battle has officially begun.  Although the Americans' gunnery skills were appallingly poor, the battleship Westfalen sank tragically five minutes later.  "(To be continued.)
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