.

The emperor's concerns are not unreasonable. Although they have dozens of battleships, the ships are outdated, and their adolescence was all scrapped in 1908, but they cannot match the latest battleships.

After the war started, because of overestimating its naval strength, the German Navy attacked from all sides, hoping to cut off British maritime transportation cleanly. To this end, the German Navy not only invested in a huge submarine force and auxiliary cruisers disguised as merchant ships, but also dispatched the most elite large surface ships to carry out this mission.

For example, in 1916, the battlecruiser "Earl of Spel" sank nine transport ships in three months, with a total tonnage of 50,000 tons. For example, in 19,164, two battlecruisers entered the Atlantic Ocean and began a maritime raid battle code-named "Four-wheeler". The two ships moved on the turbulent ocean for more than two months, sinking a total of 22 British transport ships with a total tonnage of more than 115,000 tons.

However, these adventure plans were soon rewarded, and all of these ships sank. If we consider the battleships they sank, then it can be said that these battleships were in vain. The total tonnage of their sank was less than 4 tons, which was only equivalent to one Earl of Spell.

In fact, if these dozen battleships gathered together, they would definitely achieve better results, rather than being dispersed and defeated by the British one by one. However, the Germans believed too much about the British, so they did not dare to send a fleet. They could only go to sea one by one, and then be killed one by one. The morale of the Germans was reduced to the lowest point after the war began.

In 1917, Germany faced a more recent situation.

William III (h39), William III (h40), Frederick II (h41), Frederick the Great (h

The German army planned to transfer the battleship "William III" and the battleship "Frederick the Great" anchored in the Baltic to Spain, joining the battleship "Frederick II" and "Frederick the Great" to form an unprecedentedly powerful fleet to enter the Atlantic Ocean, and the combat code-named "Rhine Exercise".

As a preliminary preparation for this large-scale maritime raid, Redel sent two supply ships and five oil tankers to the Atlantic Ocean, and disguised German transport ships as neutral ships to collect intelligence on the Atlantic route. Unfortunately, the damage of the "William I" in the raid has not been repaired, and Frederick II was injured by British aircraft during the 2 air strike. The original plan for the four ships to jointly attack was not realized. Redel had to make a slight adjustment to the plan and only invested in the "William III" battleship and the "Frederick the Great" battleship. The two ships first sailed to Bergen, Norway, and then used heavy fog to penetrate into the Atlantic Ocean from north of Iceland.

The "William III" battleship. As the first warship named after the current German emperor, it is the pride of the German Navy - 277 meters, the waterline is 266 meters long and 38 meters wide. The draft is 9.. meters, and the draft is 11.

The standard displacement is 42,000 tons, the speed is 30 knots, and the military equipment is amazing. 4 seats dual > main guns, 12 seats dual 150 mm secondary guns, 16 seats>5.>mm anti-aircraft guns, 98 seats quadruple 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, 2 seats quadruple 633 mm torpedo tubes, 6 ship-borne seaplanes. The crew is 2,400 people. = Da, radar warning instruments, radio direction finders and other advanced electronic equipment, and adheres to the traditional tradition of German warships to pay attention to protection. The waterline on the side is 400 meters thick, and the main deck armor is also 150 meters thick. In addition, the watertight cabin is exquisitely designed, it can be called a "no-sinking sea fortress"!

Admiral Gunther Lukins, who once commanded the "four-wheeler" war, was the maritime command site. As an expert who was proficient in naval tactics, he carefully studied the situation of both sides and believed that although Britain was at a disadvantage from the perspective of national strength, the British navy's strength was far superior to the German navy, especially in the North Atlantic, the British navy had an absolute advantage.

With the two ships "William III" alone and "Frederick the Great", they are alone in their power and will be besieged by the British superior forces. Therefore, it is recommended to postpone the battle and wait for the "Frederick II" and "William I" to be restored before they can be dispatched together. However, Raidel believes that on the one hand, it is currently a critical moment when Germany is in a difficult and difficult situation, and the morale of a serious victory is sluggish in consultation. On the other hand, William III also hopes that the navy can make achievements as soon as possible and has a great pressure on the navy, so he rejected this correct suggestion.

319th,

The III and the "Frederick the Great" quietly came from the Port of Gdynia in Poland. William III also personally rushed to the military port to drive for the officers and soldiers. The German ship left the Baltic Sea through the Katgat Strait, heading north along the Norwegian coast, and drove into the Colesfjord southeast of Bergen on the 321st. Just as the German ship crossed the Katgat Strait, it was discovered by a cruiser of the Swedish Navy and immediately informed the United Kingdom.

As early as the beginning of the 3rd, German reconnaissance planes appeared frequently between Greenland and Jan Mayen. Admiral John Tovey, commander of the British local fleet, keenly judged that this rare situation must be a precursor to the attempt of large German warships to enter the Atlantic Ocean! Then, surveillance of waters near Iceland was strengthened.

On the 321st, after receiving a notice from Sweden, the British Navy and Air Force dispatched all aerial reconnaissance forces to reconnaise the Norwegian coast. In the afternoon of the same day, the "Spray Fire" fighter jet piloted by Lieutenant Mitchell Seklin finally discovered the target in Bergen, Norway, and took clear aerial photos. The intelligence officer accurately determined from the photos that these were two William III-class battleships.

The British Navy knew very well that if these two warships broke into the Atlantic Ocean, it would bring great disaster to the Atlantic Ocean's maritime transportation! Therefore, it decided to sink these two ships at all costs!

Early in the morning of the 322nd, British reconnaissance planes braved the German intensive air defense firepower to visit Bergen again. The experienced veteran observer Lieutenant Colonel Rotheram was surprised to find the harbor empty and the German ship was gone!

The British Navy immediately realized that the German ship must have sailed, and its intention was to enter the Atlantic Ocean without any doubt, so it handed over all the warships on the Atlantic Ocean to Tovey to command and organize a sea encirclement and annihilation battle. At that time, the British army's main ships on the Atlantic Ocean were: the "British King Henry III" in Scapa Bay, the "Queen Elizabeth" battleship, the "Strike" battleship, the "Victory" aircraft carrier and the "Counterattack" battleship, the "War-weary" battleship, the "Ark of Royal" aircraft carrier and the "Default" battleship, the "Revenge" battleship in Halifax, and the "Furious" battleship; and the "Empressive" battleship in the Atlantic Ocean

The battleships "Rodney" and "Ramiy" of the mission. Tovey invested forces to monitor all channels entering the North Atlantic to ensure that there was no accident. The waterway between the Orkney Islands and the Faroe Islands was the worst, and Tovey only sent planes to monitor it. Three light cruisers were deployed in the waters between the Faroe Islands and Iceland. Tovey personally commanded the "King of England Henry III" and the "Victory" and "Counterattack" as support. In the Danish Strait between Iceland and Greenland, two heavy cruisers, "Suffolk" and "Norfolk" were deployed, and Lieutenant General Holland led the "Shock" and "Queen Elizabeth" as support.

The German ship sailed from Bergen at 20:00 on the 321st and was preparing to break into the Atlantic Ocean through the Denmark Strait. It was originally planned to refuel at sea before entering the Denmark Strait, but Lukins believed that the British army had noticed this battle and had to race against time to break into the Atlantic Ocean before the British army completed its response and deployment, so it canceled the refueling at sea and rushed to travel.

Tovey raised his flag on the "Henry III" and personally led the main force of the local fleet to a plane carrier, a battleship, five light cruisers and six destroyers to sail at midnight on the 322nd. He also commanded other ships on the Atlantic to participate in the battle to encircle and annihilate "William III".

In the early morning of the 32nd, the German ship sailed into the Denmark Strait, which is the waterway in the Arctic Circle. Although it is more than 3,000 kilometers wide, it is only more than 80 kilometers. The German ship is sailing carefully while the rain and snow are mixed.

At 19:22, the radar of the British cruiser "Suffolk" discovered the target, and while following closely, he reported to Tovey. Tovey ordered Holland to lead the "Shock", "Queen Elizabeth" and four destroyers to quickly intercept, and the other ships also moved closer at full speed, forming a siege. At 20:30, another cruiser in the Denmark Strait, the British army also arrived and followed the German ship with the "Suffolk". The German ship radar also discovered the British ship following behind and tried to look for battle. The British ship cast smoke and tried to avoid the battle. They followed behind without leaving, constantly informing the direction and location of the German ship. Holland received the order from Tovey and commanded the formation to attack the southwest waters of Iceland at a high speed of 2 knots.

Early in the morning of the 32nd, the German ship sailed out of the Denmark Strait.
Chapter completed!