Bismarck

Besides, Tovey on the left is now charging towards this side!

Although the fleet over there was beaten to a pulp at the beginning and was about to launch a suicide charge, the German army was suddenly unable to react and their threat re-emerged.

Tovey, who was on the Duke of York battleship, saw that Warspite was suppressing Hindenburg with fierce firepower. He reacted very quickly and immediately issued an order to change the target of attack - Duke of York used the six remaining 356mm main guns on its bow to suppress Ludendorff not far behind Hindenburg. And the Howe battleship, which only had four rear main guns left, began to turn, and copied the retreat of the German battleships behind Hindenburg and Ludendorff, while using its last four main guns to start shelling the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, which was trying to turn to intercept Warspite!

After all, they were the overlord of the sea for three hundred years, and their rich combat experience and well-trained skills were not exaggerated! The British fleet quickly redistributed their firepower, and in less than two minutes the order of attack had been rearranged: Warspite was beating Hindenburg, Duke of York was holding Ludendorff back, and Howe also began to bombard Scharn.

Very embarrassing situation.

----

"This..." Kumets and his headquarters were completely stunned as they looked at the water columns rising and falling around them and heard the explosions of shells hitting their ship.

They don't even know which ship is coming.

Especially... in the face of such a turn of events, some people have already screamed out in fear:

"...Eight... They have eight main guns... and a speed of thirty knots... Who is this... Could it be... Hood? This is impossible..."

Some people even remembered the sunken battleship, which was once the nightmare of the German Navy.

"Are you kidding? How could it be the Hood... The Hood sank a long time ago!" Kumets, who was also somewhat at a loss, turned to look at the man - it turned out to be the man he had chosen before, Eugen's former deputy captain, and now his adjutant.

But now, this former confidant of his was now in a state of panic. However, Kumets didn't have the time to think about it - his own panic was no better than this person's...

"But...but their speed is thirty knots! The British have eight main guns and can only reach thirty knots (boom!!)... Ouch!"

The deputy captain turned around and wanted to say something, but before he could finish his sentence, there was another violent vibration on the hull. The deputy officer didn't have time to stand firm, and rolled to the ground in the violent movement!

However, Kumets, who had just stood up in an awkward manner, was in no mood to curse. A terrifying thought flashed through his mind...

"Such a long distance, such an accurate bombardment... Could this be..."

!!!

I'm really shaking now...

My goodness, he is so lucky!

In an instant, Kumets broke out in a cold sweat!

Raeder also told him, and Lütjens also mentioned in his report, that Britain has two ship girls!

One of them was the Hood that the adjutant mentioned just now, which had already sunk in battle. But... when he heard the name Hood, Kumets immediately realized who the other side could be...

Besides, no matter what, Prince Eugen was his subordinate for a while, and he also knew the actual combat performance of Prince Eugen in the Battle of Bear Island!

Especially the speed that exceeded the design target by at least 5 or 6 knots, the unscientific search range, and the strong hit rate - he had even forced Top to take Eugen out as a reconnaissance ship during the Battle of Bear Island, how could he not know?!

"Turn around! Turn around now! There are British ships and people on the opposite side! Let's retreat quickly!!!"

Kumets, who was shouting at the top of his lungs to turn the warship around, had only one thought in his mind at the moment: run! The farther the better!

----

In the chaos, the Hindenburg had no time to signal or send orders, and turned around and prepared to run! The Hindenburg was the flagship, and once she turned, the Ludendorff behind her had no choice but to follow suit. The main gun that had just turned with great difficulty and the firing parameters that had been calculated with great difficulty were now all invalidated...

Kumets was now completely at a loss, but Warspite didn't care! Driven by hatred, Warspite, who had gone mad, reloaded at the maximum speed and fired at the Hindenburg, which was turning around in a panic in the distance!

"Avenge the Renown. Let me defend the last glory of the Royal Navy!"

In the deep night, the red tracers fired by the main guns of the Warspite covered the Hindenburg like a meteor shower! In just three minutes, the Hindenburg battleship, which had just barely completed its turn, had been hit by six or seven 381mm shells in a row, and its two main turrets had lost their combat effectiveness! The Ludendorff, which had just completed its turn and had not had time to reset its fire control data, was also hit by three or four shells from the six front main guns of the Duke of York, which was commanded by Tovey on the other side of the battlefield, at almost the same time when it turned - although the loss was not large, it was also injured!

After all, although the 356mm main gun of the King George V class is small in caliber, it is also a 730kg heavy shell and a 23kg charge of hard-hat "Green Boy" armor-piercing explosive shell! If the armored area of ​​the German battleship was not divided into several layers, and the bottom dome armor provided defense for the core area, I am afraid that the damage would not be so small now...

As for the Germans on the other side, except for Major General Erich Bey who led the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, they had already turned around and organized a counterattack. Scharnhorst had already started to bombard the Warspite, and Gneisenau, who was following Scharnhorst, also started to fire at the battleship Howe. However, the distance was too far, and the bombardment of Scharnhorst was not a big threat to the Warspite...

As for the distribution of firepower between Hindenburg and Ludendorff at this moment, it is still in chaos because Kumets has completely panicked!

As the damage accumulated, even the German-style full defense, which featured a large armored defense zone and a dome-internal armored isolation zone, high survivability and high HP, was not truly unsinkable! Due to the water ingress, Ludendorff's speed had now dropped to a dangerous level of 28 and a half knots!

In this kind of chase, a reduction in speed can be fatal.

The Hindenburg, whose two main turrets had been jammed, had not yet slowed down and had begun to fire back at the Warspite, but it was already showing signs of being exhausted!

But the Warspite over there kept a distance from the German warships, slowly avoiding the German warships' return fire, while continuing to bombard the Hindenburg, which was already at a disadvantage, with ease!

In an instant, the German fleet went from having an absolute upper hand to being at an absolute disadvantage! For a moment, the Hindenburg was in a mess, and even the command tower of the Hindenburg was hit hard by a 380mm armor-piercing shell!

Amid the violent explosion, the armor in the command tower was shattered and fragments flew everywhere!

Although Kumets was lucky enough to be safe, his trusted adjutant, the deputy captain who had previously tried to frame Top and "train" Eugen, and was finally forcibly fired by Eugen himself, suddenly stopped being hysterical, and right in front of Kumets, he was suddenly beaten into a hornet's nest by the flying debris, oozing thick blood, and fell down in front of Kumets without a sound!

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Kumets, who was completely frightened, was shivering in a corner behind a cabinet in the command tower! The German fleet, because of the commander's fright, completely lost command and fell into a dangerous situation of being attacked from three sides by the British fleet from the air and the sea!

Even the British aircraft in the sky began to form a line, intending to attack the besieged German fleet in the middle. The remaining German destroyers, led by the Hipper, desperately dragged smoke and, under the guidance of radar, threw anti-aircraft shells into the sky without cost, driving away those deadly torpedo planes!

But... a very important feature of air strikes is that they are active attacks!

The anti-aircraft guns' intercepting fire could not stop the threat from the sky, and the torpedo planes finally swarmed down. More than 37 torpedo planes were divided into two formations and surrounded the German fleet from the left and right sides! Although Hipper and the primary school students fought hard, under the double-layer fire net of long-pole fragmentation VT high-explosive bombs and mm anti-aircraft guns, they actually shot down four planes including the leader of one of the squadrons, and broke up the formation of the British fleet, resulting in the torpedo attack not hitting the four German battleships, but the primary school students once again paid the price of one ship sinking and one ship severely damaged and losing combat effectiveness...

Hindenburg and Ludendorff were already in crisis, the battleship Warspite was unstoppable, and even the Duke of York and Howe, which had been badly beaten before, showed the level of the Royal Navy in front of the already helpless German fleet! The most important thing is that if the Warspite, which still has a speed of 30 knots and is extremely powerful, and may even have a ship girl, cannot be delayed, the consequences for the German fleet are self-evident! !

However, at any time, there will always be someone who will stand up and become a hero...

Chapter 590: Salute to Scharnhorst

On the bridge of the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, Erich Bey looked speechlessly at the radio microphone in his hand, with an expression that said, "I don't know what I should say."

I called the flagship many times to inquire about the current tactical arrangements, but I got no response!

It seems that Kumets has given up command...

This guy……

As a capable commander who came from a destroyer background, Bey knew exactly what kind of person his immediate superior was. He had great ambitions but little talent, and his mental quality was very unstable.

Two years ago, during the Battle of Norway, Kumetz, who was only a major general at the time, led the fleet to attack Oslo on the cruiser Blücher. Because he looked down on the Norwegian army, he actually thought that the fjord of more than 100 kilometers off the coast of Oslo, the capital of Norway, was an undefended place. He arrogantly led his fleet to force his way in, but was severely damaged by an ambushed shore artillery. In a panic, he sent his flagship, the heavy cruiser Blücher, under the Norwegian's shore-based torpedo launch position, and even became a prisoner of the Norwegians for a time. Although he was rescued by the airborne commandos in less than two days...

Many people in the navy knew about this incident, and it basically became a laughing stock, not to mention Erich Bey, who also participated in the Norwegian campaign and was a colonel destroyer captain at the time. Although Bey was with his former boss Bonte in the Battle of Narvik and successfully broke through the encirclement of the British main fleet. But how could he not know that the friendly forces had made such a laughing stock?

Although Kumets was able to gain the favor of Marshal Raeder due to his good communication skills and was promoted even after the defeat, he also participated in the Battle of Bear Island after he became the captain of Scharnhorst! Speaking of which, at that time, Bey himself felt a little sorry for Top, who also came from the destroyer fleet! So when the investigation team came to investigate Top's "desertion" in the Battle of Bear Island, he spoke directly to him.

"It seems that Kumets' mental instability has recurred this time..."

Putting down the phone, Bey shook his head and sighed.

He no longer expected his superiors to provide any tactical guidance.

The situation is very critical now - if Warspite cannot be contained, the German fleet is likely to suffer a devastating blow in the face of the front and back attacks of the British ship girls and the Tovey fleet. However... it is clearly four against three, but the result of having such a useless boss is that a good hand is beaten by him alive...

"Speaking of which, Top still owed me a drink from the time he was with Eugen!" Shaking his head, Major General Erich Bey raised his head. He had a fierce look on his face, but his eyes showed the determination of a true soldier: "Now it seems that only I and Gneisenau can command... If Kumetz is scared, I'll do it!"

Looking at the burning flagship Hindenburg five kilometers away, which was suppressed by the Warspite, Bey made up his mind without hesitation! Even if it was an ordinary warship under his command, the opponent he was going to challenge was the legendary powerful ship girl!

"Gunner, how far is Warspite's position from us?" Bey asked calmly.

Hearing that Bey's tone of voice seemed a little off, the gunner turned back in surprise, only to see that the normally hot-tempered Major General Bey had a face as calm as an iceberg in the Arctic Ocean. With a jolt in his heart, the gunner, who dared not neglect it at all, immediately replied: "Report, the distance is still 25 kilometers!"

"Twenty-five kilometers? That's enough!" Feeling the gunner looking at him, Bey glanced at him calmly and ordered without any emotion: "Give up evasion, all ships keep sailing in a straight line, and send the bombardment parameters to Gneiseno, ordering them to concentrate their firepower and attack War-weariness like us."

"Understood." The gunner responded out of habit after hearing Bey's order, but suddenly felt that something was wrong...

Wait…give up evasion? Sail in a straight line? Attack with all your might? The gunner was shocked!

The battleship that gave up evasion could have the highest accuracy of artillery fire because the ship itself was not affected by the turning! However, this attack power was gained at the cost of a sharp increase in the ship's hit rate...

Captain, are you going to burn your boats?

The gunner looked at Rear Admiral Bay again, only to find that his captain was also looking at him calmly.

That feeling of calmness made the Gunner's heart palpitate! Although it looked as cold as an iceberg, in fact, the Gunner could see that it was not an iceberg, but an active volcano that was frozen and could erupt at any time!

There is a word for this kind of look...

See death as home!

"Why are you looking at me? Follow orders!" Seeing the gunner looking at him in confusion, Bey frowned slightly - he was totally unlike his usual straightforward but bad-tempered self. But even so, one could see his determination to face death head-on!

It seems that I will have to explain myself here today...

"Yes! Captain!" The gunner, who had figured it out, responded straightforwardly and put his eyes back on the periscope:

"If the enemy ship is highly maneuverable... fire a half-volley! Open fire!"

Following the Scharnhorst's bombardment, the Gneisenau also opened fire. The 380mm shells from the two battlecruisers were fired one after another, hitting the direction of the War-weary!

It turns out that like commander, like soldiers!

------

"The bombardment is coming... huh? Does it look like Scharnhorst and Gneisenau have organized their firepower?"

With a frown, War-weary slightly changed his course. The three shells fired by Scharnhorst flew past him, but the next three shells flew in front of War-weary's possible course change! Although War-weary easily changed his posture to avoid the attack with his ability, there were still two and a half volleys from Gneisenau!

After Gneisenau fired two and a half salvos, Schaan started again...

"Tsk, are you planning to use this coordinated bombardment tactic to restrain my evasion? It seems that the Germans are not all a bunch of idiots."

After dodging several rounds of half-volleys, even War-weary found it difficult to dodge continuously. After all, the evasive maneuvers of the warships actually come at the cost of reducing speed...

"Be careful, the German half-volley is not easy to dodge!" Cunningham reminded his battleship with a frown. Knowing that the German half-volley tactic is similar to the British Z-shaped tactic, which is specifically aimed at maneuvering and evasive targets, he could not help but remind his battleship wife.

You can't take it lightly just because you are a special person.

"Don't worry, I'm here!" He turned sideways to avoid a shell that could have hit his mast directly, and said with a leisurely smile: "I've seen their half-volley clamp at Jutland. The entire High Seas Fleet's 22 battleships couldn't do anything to me! The combined number of the main guns of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau is only half of the number of battleships of the German High Seas Fleet at Jutland! Besides, with their artillery, the firepower density at each predicted point is only three salvos, I can dodge it!"

"Just don't underestimate the enemy. They come with ill intentions." Holding the radio headphones and looking out the window at the nautical chart on the table, Cunningham was still looking out the window with some worry.

After all, the speed of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau was slightly faster than that of his own warships. Regardless of their combat effectiveness, when Kumetz was already panicking, the two battlecruisers dared to abandon their original targets and turn to suppress the biggest threat from the beginning, trying to cover the transfer of their flagship. With such decisiveness and the courage and adaptability to abandon the original mission, it seems that the captain of the opposite side might be a big shot! At least much stronger than Kumetz, who was suddenly attacked by himself and has not yet recovered his spirit.

Moreover, a captain with such ability has most likely participated in the Battle of Bear Island together with the "Black Storm" Prince Eugen, and must have a certain understanding of ship girls. It is possible that there are some special arrangements targeting ship girls.

and……

It seemed that under the influence of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and also because of the passage of time, the battleship Ludendorff seemed to have recovered. Tovey's fleet also began to face the threat of 406 main gun salvos again. As a naval veteran and the husband of the battleship Warspite, Cunningham knew very well that the Ludendorff alone was enough to fight the Duke of York and Howe in good condition at the same time. Not to mention the Duke of York and Howe, who were now seriously injured and had their firepower directly reduced by half! It was only because the Ludendorff itself was also injured, and Tovey's command was proper, and the morale of the British fleet was high after all, that the combined firepower of the two ships was evenly matched with the Ludendorff.

The power of the battleship's artillery fire is very strong, even the 356mm main gun cannot be underestimated! Now, the outcome of this battle depends on who can be the first to make a decisive hit and change the situation of the battle!

The navies of both sides fired endless barrages of bullets, flying back and forth in the dim and moonless night sky of the first half of the night under the waning moon, interweaving to form a gorgeous firework, just like the flowers of the other shore, rushing towards their respective targets with the beauty of death!

Under the brutal attack of Warspite, the panicked Hindenburg battleship, which had lost half of its main gun firepower, was already covered in wounds and had lost most of its combat effectiveness.

However, now Warspite had to start shifting his firepower and attacking Scharnhorst!

After all, the opponent's speed was two knots faster than hers, and the distance between them was getting closer and closer. The Germans' half-salvo crossfire was another artillery technique in which each salvo aimed at two coordinate points and fired, with each main turret firing only one barrel of shells at each firing point, and then after a slight adjustment, it fired another main gun at the next aiming point.

This tactic can quickly measure the distance of the opponent and influence the range of the opponent's turn to avoid! Besides, the opponent is two battlecruisers of the same model! The same warships are of course more handy when they cooperate. After the German firepower organized the tactical coordination, it was really difficult to avoid!

Fortunately, the veterans with rich combat experience had also rich battlefield evasion experience. So far, except for a few near misses that caused some skin breakage and water intrusion, the combat effectiveness was basically not affected. On the contrary, the Scharnhorst, which had been sailing in a straight line, was quickly hit by two shells in the bombardment of Warspite!

But if you walk by the river often, you will get your shoes wet...

"The fire control director has locked onto Warspite - full force bombardment!"

With a roar from the commander's tower of the battleship Scharnhorst, the firepower of the battlecruiser Scharnhorst suddenly changed! In the previous cross-fire shooting, the six 380mm main guns of the Scharnhorst, which had accurately measured and corrected the artillery errors and predicted the possible evasion of the British ship girl on the opposite side, suddenly turned into a fierce full-gun burst shooting!

German naval tactics - clamp positioning and burst shooting!

---

A round of artillery shells, as accurate and deadly as a sniper killing a target, enveloped War-weary, who was no longer able to make evasive moves, right in the center of the artillery fire!

"Oh no! I can't get out of the way... Cunningham, hold on tight!"

Before War-weary finished speaking, a violent tremor shook the battleship so much that everyone was almost unable to stand! Soon, a cloud of smoke rose from the porthole!

"How are you?"

Cunningham stood up in a panic, and the first thing he was concerned about was how badly his wife was injured.

"It's okay...it's just that the starboard gun turret was destroyed by a high-explosive shell...wait! Another shelling! Hold on tight!" War-weary, covering his arm, only had time to grab Cunningham firmly and slightly adjust the course before another round of shelling blew up a tall column of water not far in front of his bow!

"Wife! How are you?"

"It's nothing serious. The shell that almost hit our bow just now was a high-explosive shell. Some water got into it and broke some skin. It's not a big deal...but it seems we have to deal with Shane!" Looking at the Hindenburg, who was already covered with scars and fleeing in a panic with smoke and fire, War-weary sighed.

As experienced warships and admirals, Warspite and Cunningham could guess what was going on. Was it because when the firing mode was changed, the shells that had already been transported to the turret and loaded into the barrel were too late to change?

However, if this is the case, the German fleet probably does not have many armor-piercing shells left, and has begun to use high-explosive shells to carry out semi-volley crossfire measurements.

In this case, I'm afraid that Tovey's armor-piercing bullets may be almost gone...

The Hindenburg on the other side was, after all, a 60,000-ton battleship, and the German-style comprehensive protection's damage reduction and health bar length were not for show. Although the Hindenburg had lost its combat effectiveness now - looking at its return fire, Cunningham, Warspite, and even Tovey were sure of one thing: Kumetz had lost his will to fight! Even so, the Hindenburg battleship could still maintain a speed of nearly 30 knots...