Before nightfall on this day, the cruiser "Brave" commanded by Colonel Louis Mountbatten had a tentative battle with two German light cruisers. It took 57 minutes from the exchange of fire to the departure from the battle, and each consumed hundreds of shells. Judging from the results of the battle, the "Brave" which was one against two seemed to be the winner. It injured the German ship "Regensburg", causing it to ignite a fire on the sea. It was only slightly injured and no crew members were killed. However, the battle process was not as optimistic as the British expected. From a long-range shooting range of 22,000 to 18,000, the main gun of the "Brave" fired 20 shells.

More than 0 shots, none of them hit the target, but were hit by the opponent once. The large cruiser's length-width ratio and poor longitudinal stability exposed a fatal weakness in actual combat. At a medium and long distance of 18,000 to 12,000, the "Brave" scored two hits, causing near-loss damage to the enemy ships. At this stage, the artillery fire of the two German light patrols was quite accurate, and their main guns fired continuously to cross the British ships, but they were not lucky. The only few hits either penetrated the chimney or hit the bow. In addition to bringing psychological pressure to the British ships, they only left the bow anchor of the British cruiser.

After nightfall, the "Brave" tried to use the help of radar to avoid its opponents, but the Fiona-class light cruiser serving in the German Navy was also equipped with pulse radars. Although its detection accuracy was not enough to guide artillery to fire, it could at least allow the Germans to keep a close eye on their targets in the dark. After that, the two sides launched a silent electronic warfare, and the British ships kept interfering with the opponent's communication. The German cruiser blocked the British ship's contact with their bases in the same way, but the two sides were too familiar with each other's usual tricks, and no one succeeded.

After a walk around the sea, Colonel Mountbatten wanted to seize the opportunity to get rid of the German ship entanglement. As long as he could successfully arrive at the preset minefield outside Forth Bay, he could end this exciting journey safely. However, at this very critical moment, four enemy ships suddenly appeared between the "Brave" and Forth Bay. The British could not accurately judge the opponent's ship type through radar detection data. It might be just light cruisers and destroyers, or there might be heavy cruisers that the "Brave" could not confront head-on. Louis Mountbatten did not lead the ship to break through, nor did he escape. Instead, he carefully dealt with the pursuit and interception, waiting carefully for the arrival of the reinforcements. The North Sea Squadron Command, established in Edinburgh, had previously given a clear reply to the "Brave"'s request for help and would immediately dispatch a fleet to support him.

Soon, the "Brave" received encrypted telegrams from two British submarines, which indicated that they had been waiting for an opportunity outside Forth Bay, but this did not relax Colonel Mountbatten and his officers. The night battle environment was conducive to submarines' fishing in troubled waters, but their speed was slow, their night vision ability was poor, and their firepower control range was too small. Previous combat experience showed that it was difficult for them to play a role in fleet-level combat.

As Mountbatten was worried, less than a quarter of an hour after the two submarines sent telegrams, flares, searchlights, muzzle flames and rumbling explosions appeared on the sea. Given that there was no new ship shadow in the radar detection range, the battle should have been launched between German surface ships and British submarines. Judging from the situation of the battle, it is not known whether the German ships found the British submarine through radio direction finding or radar detection. In short, they took the lead and proved as fierce as ever that they were the overlords of the North Sea.

Colonel Mountbatten and his "Brave" were too busy to take care of themselves, and they had no ability to help their submarines to rescue them. Moreover, the situation here was continuing to deteriorate over time. Two warships arrived at high speed from Germany. Based on time and speed, they should have driven directly from the German coast after the German cargo ship "Pasau" issued an alarm.

On the radar screen, enemy ships had formed a clamping attack on the "Brave" from three directions. Although there were also ship shadows in the Forth Bay at this time, the strength of the British North Sea Squadron was there, and the commander could not let this extremely strategic maritime force come out without absolute certainty. If the four German ships in the southwest had strong combat power, the support fleet would probably not even be able to get out of Forth Bay. In that case, Mountbatten would not be able to count on reinforcements.

Seeing that the enemy on three sides were advancing step by step, Mountbatten made a quick decision and led the ship to turn north. The two German light cruisers that had fought at dusk quickly noticed the abnormal movement of the target. They adjusted their courses, as if they wanted to block the northward journey of the "Brave". The "Brave" continued to go north. Under Colonel Mountbatten's order, all the combatants took their place, and the light and heavy artillery and torpedo launch tubes were all waiting to be launched.

When the two sides were more than 5,000 meters apart, two German light patrols took the lead in projecting flares. As soon as the British ship appeared, they could not wait to fire and fire. Water columns of all sizes immediately jumped on the sea around the "Brave".

Colonel Mountbatten calmed down and the warship continued to travel north at high speed. In the few minutes of being completely passively beaten, the atmosphere on the ship was suffocating. Fortunately, all the shells fired by the enemy avoided this brave warship, and a handful of nearly missing bullets were directly ignored by the high-spirited soldiers.

2,500 meters away from the enemy, Mountbatten suddenly ordered all searchlights to be turned on, and six dazzling light columns pierced the enemy ships, exposing them to the sight of British gunners.

The suppressed power was instantly released. The "Brave" poured out anger at the two German light cruisers close by with a 203mm main gun, 105mm secondary gun and even a 2-pound anti-aircraft gun. The German light cruiser "Ningfu" in front was immediately shrouded in dense bomb rain, and the rising waves almost wrapped the entire ship, with only the lone wild goose's main mast and the only chimney exposed outside.

After two rounds of main guns fired, the "Brave" has gained an absolute advantage in this hand-to-hand combat. The torpedo soldiers seized the opportunity to use deadly killers. Two sets of four-unit torpedo launch tubes gradually fired torpedoes, thus forming two flawless attack fans. The torpedoes sped under the water, shells roared on the sea, and the enemy's eyes magnified due to fear...

With Colonel Mountbatten's excellent command, the "Brave" made a beautiful climax. The two German light patrols fled in panic and almost collided on the way. If there was enough time, Mountbatten and his "Brave" would have a chance to achieve greater results, but the two enemy ships that appeared in the southeast were chasing behind them. The technical officers inferred from the radar's display that one of them might be a large ship that might be the enemy, so the British were not interested in fighting and left the defeated general and heading north.

When the Brave stopped shooting, the two German light patrols were still rolling in black smoke and their tongues of flames were rushing, and they were obviously severely damaged.

Soon, Mountbatten received a telegram from a friend's ship, saying that they had fired with the German warship at the entrance of Fors Bay. The two sides had similar strengths, but the Germans might have stronger support forces to join the battle at any time, so they suggested that the "Brave" retreat to the northern base.

Going to the Marie Bay in northeast Scotland, Cromerdi Bay or Donoch Bay is not the best strategy, at least it can preserve its strength. Now the "Brave" stays at sea for a moment, and it is one step closer to the destruction of the disaster. Before being bombed by German fighter jets, it does not mean that the enemy aviation forces are doing nothing in this sea area. After half a day and a night of preparation, the German pilots are probably already resting their energy and are just waiting for dawn to embark on their journey!

The night was windy and the sea was in good condition. The "Brave" host reached full load operation and its navigation speed increased to 33 knots, gradually distanced from the pursuers behind him. However, as midnight approached, there was about an hour left to the Northern Bay. The radar on the ship once again warned: Two enemy ships were found in front!

Previously, the damage to the "Brave" hull has been increased, and casualties have increased a little, but it has no problem with ammunition, no problem with fuel, and morale is not a problem. After two small victories, Colonel Mountbatten was full of energy. Since the enemy in front of him strangled his route to the northern base, he resolutely led the ship forward and decided to try the depth of the opponent before making plans.

At midnight, the flares rose slowly in the northeastern waters of Scotland. The incandescent light dispelled the darkness and shone the outline of the opponent's warship in sight. When you see the opponent's face clearly, Colonel Mountbatten was shocked: the enemy is a combination of a heavy cruiser and a destroyer. The heavy cruiser himself could not mess with it. The destroyer's combat power is not as powerful as a light patrol, but it is fast and good at torpedo attacks. If you are not careful, you may be defeated by this pair of vicious and abnormal combinations.

Fearing from the excellent ability of the German heavy cruiser in protection and damage pipes, Mountbatten had no idea of ​​challenging his opponents head-on. There was an insurmountable gap in front of him, and there was no way out of turning back. He decisively chose the second way beyond the glorious battle: adventure to the east.

To the east, it is the vast hinterland of the North Sea. You can reach the Norwegian coast and avoid the deserted fjords for a few days. You can find an opportunity to sneak into the Shetland Islands and avoid enemy plane searches in the maze-like waterways, but Mountbatten has other ideas. If the "Brave" escapes into the cold Norwegian Sea and then heads to the Barents Sea to the north, you will have a great chance of successfully avoiding the German navy's siege and interception.

The Barents Sea is the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union.

During the last war, Mountbatten did not get the opportunity to participate in actual combat, but whether it was his royal status, his experience in studying at the Royal Naval Academy of Osborne and the Royal Naval Academy of Indartmouth, he had a profound impact on the friendship between Britain, France and Russia in that era, especially his ambition to fight against the enemy together in the early stages of the war. During the two wars, Russia underwent earth-shaking changes. The ideology pursued by its new regime made the British government intentionally alienate it, but with the threat of the Allies
Chapter completed!