The flares hung under the parachute continued to release strong light during their slow fall, illuminating the sea about one square kilometer like daytime. In the German vision, except for those old British battleships that were already seen as in their pockets, several high-speed torpedo boats traveling opposite them appeared.

Since the high-speed torpedo boat troops were often participated in combat training, the people on German warships and officers who learned about the enemy situation at the first time knew how terrible the lightweight opponents were. Seeing these arrows coming, many people suddenly felt numb in scalp, but they were not in a desperate situation. The bridge immediately issued unlimited free firing orders to all the secondary guns. The passage to the rapid-fire gun and machine gun battle positions were full of gunners who carried spare ammunition in advance. The main gun removed the armor-piercing shells and modified the shrapnel. This kind of atmosphere like facing a great enemy was only possible when the enemy's main fleet was approaching.

At this moment, the German dreadnought "Louisport Regent" with the flag of the squadron commander was flying at the top of the slash battle line, with "Thuringian", "Westphalia" and "Moltch". After easily taking advantage of the only battlecruiser of the British fleet, Fonke used these four main battleships to annihilate the remaining six front dreadnoughts of the British. The appearance of a large group of British high-speed torpedo boats changed the situation on the battlefield in an instant. For Fonke and his soldiers, these "short-legged" guys came in this way.

It is not important to have a place at least two hundred nautical miles away from the British port. What is important is whether the enemy's fierce attacks can be overcome in the next period. From 1904 to 1914, the main body of the high-speed battleship attack fleet was held within the German Navy for no less than thirty times. Judging from the results of the exercise, the offense and defense sides were evenly matched, but from a strategic perspective, the group of high-speed torpedo boats with a total value of less than 10 million marks and the single dreadnought cost 30 to 40 million yuan was followed by a single battle cruiser. The latter was undoubtedly the failed side.

The repeated failures of the battleships and the main reconnaissance teams of the High Seas Fleet suffered great psychological pressure from top to bottom, and even seriously affected the prestige and morale of the navy for a period of time. However, the harsh training is undoubtedly much more beneficial than the practical exercises. As the number of abuses was more frequent, the officers and soldiers on the main ship racked their brains to find countermeasures. They found a variety of effective ways to resist the attacks of high-speed torpedo boats at tactical and technical levels, and at sea

With the support of senior military leaders, it was applied to actual combat. Looking at the past ten years of maritime training, the main ship formation of the High Seas Fleet won more than 100 in the first six years. Since 1911, as more and more dreadnoughts and battlecruisers replaced old battleships, armored cruisers took the lead and the proportion of defeating high-speed torpedo boat groups continued to increase. In the four large-scale training sessions held in 1914, the main ship formation won three times, and only once was defeated in an unfavorable situation.

With these preludes, the German fleet entering the Jutland battlefield was more prepared than its opponents. The astonishing victory had laid the groundwork in daily training.

On this cold and cold night, Felix Fonk and his staff officers stood quietly behind the porthole. The four main battleships tacitly reduced their speed to 20 knots and turned left simultaneously, so that all firepower on the ship except the starboard secondary gun can be displayed. After a while, the British high-speed torpedo boat group had rushed to about 5,000 meters from the German fleet battle line. The medium-caliber secondary guns of the German main battleship were the first to fire. After a few seconds, more than ten gun-fire flares burst into light one after another, and the stars embellished the night sky were dimly visible. The clouds floating in the sky reflected a beautiful halo. The British high-speed torpedo groups jumping on the top of the waves clearly appeared in front of the German gunners.

More than 30 large-caliber main guns, more than 100 secondary guns and rapid-fire guns made a deafening roar in less than five seconds between front and back. This airtight artillery fire was like a sudden heavy rain, which caused countless waves on the sea surface of the British high-speed torpedo boats. Under the impact of the waves caused by the explosion, high-speed warships ranging from two to three tons to seven or eight tons were like riders sitting on the back of a bull. Even if their balance is excellent, they were inevitably thrown into pieces. Some were lucky and were directly beaten by the waves, some were hit head-on and suddenly stalled, and were destroyed by shells or injured by shrapnel. Such a scene reminded people of the battle between the entire row of musketeers in the era of flintlocks against the cavalry, which was thrilling, bloody and cruel, and it was difficult to predict which side would be the final winner at the beginning of the battle.

Unlimited free fire is not blind shooting, but is not adjusted and corrected by the shooting command system. The artillery operators directly observe the aiming and shooting, so that the combat mode of firepower output of the warship reaches the ultimate level. Whether it is staggered or disordered, the most critical factor is "people". Since the establishment of the High Seas Fleet, the German Navy, which is determined to challenge the British maritime hegemony, has held live-fire shooting and joint exercises every year, and even the British Navy can only look at it. The hard work and the strictness of the Germans

His strict and rigid character has led to a rapid improvement in the German naval artillery ability. In the last three British-German naval artillery exchanges in 1911, 1912 and 1913, the German warships that appeared had a big advantage in scores. Faced with the British high-speed torpedo boat group that launched a cluster charge, the German gunners in the secondary gun battle position were busy but not in a mess. The horizontal firing angle was determined according to the relative orientation of the ship and the enemy boat group, and the shooting point was set before the front row of the warship. Even if there was a slight error, it would not hinder the linear coverage of the secondary gun fire.

The main guns of warships that are usually used to attack medium and long-range targets have become oversized shotguns after loading shrapnel. The double-mounted 12-inch main guns of the "Regent of Louisport" and "Thuringian", "Westphalia", and "Moltch" fire at a rate of 1:5 rounds per minute and two rounds per minute respectively. This means that before the British torpedo boat group was lucky enough to rush to a relatively dangerous area to launch torpedoes, four German main ships would have the opportunity to launch three to five rounds of fire. The absolute value is not large, but at a distance of three to four thousand meters, the shotgun produced by each shrapnel can cover hundreds of square meters of area. Under overlap, the killing efficiency of surface-shaped coverage can reach a very terrifying level.

The huge number of British high-speed torpedo boats did not need to rush to the theoretical kill distance before launching torpedoes. It was still three or four thousand meters away from the German fleet, and many torpedo boats could not wait to release torpedoes. With the visual conditions of night battles, the hit rate of these torpedoes is of course very low, but the night also provides excellent cover for the torpedo tracks, and it is difficult for German warships to avoid them as early as they were during the day.

Since the German fleet opened fire, nearly half of the British high-speed torpedo boats were damaged or destroyed. The surviving torpedo boats fired torpedo two thousand meters away from the German fleet. When the last British high-speed torpedo boat was projected, the experienced German commander had ordered his fleet to perform large-angle maneuvering, which was also the best way to avoid enemy torpedo attacks in night battle environments. Among the fleet, the largest tonnage "Louipote" among the fleet, the largest tonnage "Louipote"

The Regent had been defeated by the black gun of a British submarine in the first Battle of Flanders, which almost ruined the sea situation of the German navy. This time, it took the lead in completing the 5 quorum points, namely 56:25 degrees, which is of course related to its first tactical command as a flagship. The wheel rudder that used the opportunity of overhaul to improve also played a certain role. Immediately afterwards, the most powerful "Moltch" also turned into place, and then two old dreadnoughts built earlier.

Whether bad luck will come to German warships has nothing to do with this order, because in a blink of an eye, the sea was full of torpedo tracks. Some German crew members suddenly saw a torpedo dragging a white trail out of the darkness, slashing the tail of the ship or slipping past the ship's side, and then disappeared into the darkness, and were immediately shocked and speechless.

Suddenly, a huge explosion sounded from the sea with the rumbling cannons, and a ball of water columns suddenly appeared on the left side of the stern of the "Regent of Louis Potter". Seeing this scene in the light and dark light, the officers and soldiers on other German warships were shocked: Could it be that this Caesar-class dreadnought has an innate attraction to the enemy's torpedoes?

After only a few seconds, another explosion sounded in the German fleet's array. The "Thuringian" was hit. If a British dreadnought was built at the same time, a torpedo would probably become a fatal injury. The German dreadnought was like a heavy cavalry wearing strong armor. As long as the torpedo is not too deep close to the bottom of the ship, the armor belt and lightning protection compartment on the side of the side can absorb most of the power of the torpedo explosion, and the leakage of the ship's wall can also be controlled by the subdivided compartment design and good pipe damage capability.

More than ten seconds later, violent explosions sounded on the sea. First, a large torpedo boat was blown in half by torpedoes, followed by the powerful battlecruiser "Moltch", which became the third and last German main ship hit by British torpedoes this night.

The results of sinking one German light ship and injuring three large warships at the cost of losing more than 20 high-speed torpedo boats were achieved. The character that the British Navy has been trying to accumulate seemed to have a big explosion that night. Although the two German dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser that were hit by torpedoes did not lose their navigation capabilities, the speed that was originally beyond the reach of the former British dreadnoughts had slowed down. The sophisticated optical equipment was very likely to be damaged in violent shocks. Even if the naval gun system was still intact, the combat capability of the ship would inevitably be greatly reduced.
Chapter completed!