When the Bernie squadron was attacked by the main dreadnought group of German naval forces, in the north of the battleground, a British support fleet of 22 large and small ships was heading south at four columns at full speed. Compared with the later dreadnoughts, their "full speed" was simply a leisurely stroll. For the old main battleships built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was already a stamina to run at a speed of 17 knots without overhaul.

Among these second-tier ships incorporated into the British Fleet, eight Edward VII battleships and one Duncan-class fast battleship are combat forces of value and significance. They are equipped with 40-dial 12-inch naval guns, which are almost the same as the main guns of the dreadnought built in the early days. The second-class guns with a 3-mm caliber second-class guns are stronger than the 170-mm rapid-fire guns of the German Brunswick and German-class. Moreover, their standard tonnage reaches 16,000 tons, which is only two or three thousand tons less than the early dreadnoughts, and the armor protection level is comparable, so they are also called "quasi-dreadnoughts".

As the telegrams for help were sent by the Bernie squadron flagship were more and more urgent than the other, in order to distract the opponents and make their commanders worry about the battlefield situation, several Edward VII-class battleships located in the front of the column opened fire early on at the German fleet outside the maximum range. At a distance of more than 20,000 meters, the shooting accuracy can be imagined. Even so, these old British battleships still maintained a shooting speed of one shot per minute. In more than 20 minutes, the 12-inch main guns of the "Republic", "New Zealand", "Africa", "Britania", and "Kangwali" fired more than 50 shells, and the consumption was close to one-quarter of the combat stock.

In terms of absolute speed, the German Fleet has a huge advantage of 6-8 knots over these old-fashioned British battleships, but they are not racing in the same direction after all. The British support fleet has always been on the battlefield. The German Fleet has adjusted its course several times in order to achieve tactical intentions, and the route is basically in a state from west to east. When they sink the "Courage" and pursue the "Forward", the British support fleet is still 12,000 meters away from the battlefield. If both sides maintain their current navigation state, in about ten minutes, these old-fashioned British battleships can launch effective attacks on Germany's main dreadnought!

Due to radio equipment failure, the "Forward" failed to promptly send out the news of the "Courage" war sinking together with Lieutenant General Bernie's farewell words. Jelico's 1st battleship squadron, which was not yet intimate, suffered an extremely loss. The British 3rd battleship squadron, which had the flagship "Edward VII", was also unclear about the changes in the battlefield situation. It rushed to the battlefield with a thoughtful intention under the command of Lieutenant General Bradford, intending to cooperate with the

Our own fleet formed a siege against the German main fleet. However, the frequent explosions flashed under the night sky still made Bradford and his staff officers deeply uneasy. Recalling the farewell tone of Bernie's last telegram, they couldn't help but worry about the situation of their companions. Bradford sent telegrams to Bernie and Jelico one after another, but only received a reply from Jelico: I have defeated the old German battleship formation and are sailing north at full speed.

As for the situation of the Bernie fleet, Jelico did not mention it at all.

When Bradford once again cast his worried eyes on the sea with the flashing lights ahead, the guard ship on the right wing of the fleet suddenly sent a light signal: several ship shadows were seen on the starboard sea, and the signal was sent to verify their identity.

The atmosphere on the bridge suddenly became tense.

The naval battle began with the battle between the two sides' patrol squadrons. It lasted for more than six hours from dusk to now. At night, there were faint starlight on the sea surface, and then the wind and clouds changed color, and the waves were roaring and waves were wild. At this moment, it was even more rainy. The complex natural environment caused the naval battle situation to be strange and unpredictable. The Betty fleet suffered heavy damage because it fell into the enemy's trap, but there was no exact information to indicate their losses. It was not surprising that there were residual ships retreating on their own; Jelico and Bernie's formations fought with the German fleet one after another. During this period, it was also possible that ships withdrew from the battle due to injuries, or light ships carrying out lightning missions were in circles in the dark. Because of various situations, it was possible that ships on the starboard sea surface were enemies or friends.

Within two minutes, the sentry sent another report. Seeing the content of the light signal, the officers on the "Edward VII" immediately breathed a sigh of relief. They turned out to be several remaining light cruisers from the Betty fleet.

Since the German main ships were fighting fire with the Bernie fleet in the waters ahead, Bradford was planning to adjust the nine battleships in the two rows into single-line battleships or to form ladder battleships, and he was not cautious for a moment. Not long after, a searchlight suddenly lit up in the starboard direction. The originally dazzling artificial lighting was greatly weakened during the process of penetrated the rain curtain. It was very soft when it shone on the "Edward VII", but turning on the searchlights to one's own ships on the battlefield was extremely abnormal. Bradford felt that something was wrong with the "British light cruisers" then fired a row of shells, and the water columns rising high on the sea on the side surprised everyone.

Before he could think about how the enemy ship had mastered the verification signal of his side, Bradford quickly ordered the ship to turn on the searchlight. The distance between the two sides was very close at this time. With sufficient preparation, the first round of shooting of the German warship was unusually accurate. Before several water columns on the side fell, the hull of the "Edward VII" was shot. The explosion at the waterline armor belt made the entire warship tremble violently, and the wet air suddenly filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.

Immediately afterwards, the protective cruiser "Edward VII" was also hit. The old ship, which had a displacement of 3,000 tons and had been in the Royal Navy for 12 years, was unable to withstand the bombardment of German large-caliber naval guns. After the violent explosion, only one of its three chimneys arranged neatly on the deck of the deck. The explosion smoke, the black smoke that burned enough fuel and the steam that gulf guttered from the boiler were mixed together, and it rolled in the rain with a strange color.

After a while, his searchlight finally penetrated the darkness and shone on the target. When he saw the enemy ship clearly, Bradford was so surprised that he couldn't speak: it was a German formation composed of five warships, each showing the complete starboard side in sight. The three fronts had a majestic hull and slender ship shape. If the conventional dreadnought was compared to the sharp and heavy swords of infantrymen, then these three warships were like the elegant swords of the knights. The four main turrets they were equipped with were separated from front and rear decks, and the superstructures including two chimneys were all assembled.

In the middle part, the hull structure appears concise and compact; the two behind are smaller versions of the three in the front. Although they are conventional light cruisers, they are equipped with double main guns like battleships. The main turret adopts a back-loaded structure, the bridge is set as a barrel building, and there are only two chimneys. This appearance is completely different from the light cruisers of most countries during this period, so that during the battle, they are easily mistakenly considered by their opponents as large warships in far-reaching positions, thus miscalculating their actual distance.

At this moment, the black holes of the five German warships pointed at the "Edward VII". Obviously, they had just been spying on the British fleet's every move and constantly sending command signals. The "Edward VII" is naturally the core of the fleet.

Realizing this, Bradford felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness. He was ready to exchange fire with the German main fleet at any time. The front main guns of nine battleships, including "Edward VII", were facing the bow. Faced with the sudden attack of the starboard enemy ship, the heavy main turret was still trying to turn to the right. Although some starboard secondary guns fired at the fastest speed, they rushed to fight. Their aiming effect was not very ideal, and the threat to German battlecruisers could be basically negligible. In contrast, the close-range shooting of the five German warships seemed very accurate.

Before the large-caliber main gun showed its second power, the small-caliber rapid-fire gun fired at an astonishing frequency. The beating firelight was like a signal light sending intimidating messages. In less than half a minute, the hull and superstructure of the "Edward VII" were shot continuously. The war damage news reported from various battle positions made the officers exhausted. Bradford stood motionless in front of the porthole and stared at him. He was waiting for the next round of artillery attacks of the three German warships. At this moment, he had a strong premonition in his heart that the British Navy would lose this crucial naval battle.

The second hand of the clock turned half a circle, and the German warship, which ranked third, took the lead in firing. Unlike the two in front, its main guns are equipped with triple-mounted configuration, and each side of the side can be fired up to 12 main guns, and they are coordinated by the unified shooting command system of the entire ship. The artillery fire is dense and accurate, which is an absolute deadly killer for old battleships like the Edward VII class!

At a combat distance of only two thousand meters, the artillery shells fired by the German battle patrol arrived in a flash. The "Edward VII" was hit by four 11-inch armor-piercing bombs in one breath. The old-fashioned British battleship trembled uncontrollably like leaves in the wind, with rushing flames and overflowing smoke everywhere. The bombarded bridge was killed and injured, while Bradford miraculously unscathed. But when a surviving officer stepped forward to persuade him to evacuate the precarious warship, he sighed. Before he could speak, the two German warships in the forefront of the fleet were said, the two German warships in the forefront of the fleet were not allowed to say anything.

The fire opened, and three 12-inch armor-piercing shells added the last straw to the severely damaged "Edward VII". The explosion invaded the ammunition depot at the stern of the ship, causing 196 unused 12-inch shells and a large number of launching medicine bags to explode. An earth-shaking explosion instantly swallowed the second half of the battleship. The huge flame rose to a height of 100 meters in the rain and almost crashed into the low rain clouds. After such a violent explosion, the first half of the battleship was difficult to be intact. The bridge that was hit by the shells again disappeared, and the commanders inside also disappeared...
Chapter completed!