Just as the "Frederick Caesar" fleet was targeted by the opponent before departure, the US-British escort fleet code-named z-0720 was tracked by German submarines before leaving the Floris waters. The cunning lurker quietly followed the fleet until the battery was exhausted and he could not continue to submarine. He extended the antenna and the periscope out of the sea to convey the target position, whereabouts and the discovered composition.

After receiving the accurate enemy situation, William Maschar, who was appointed as the pioneer, immediately formulated the attack route with his colleagues, and sent two He-60 water reconnaissance aircraft for the first time three hours later to confirm the location and escort force of the US and British fleets. Later, Maschar received a very detailed aerial reconnaissance report, which was slightly different from his premonition. Among the ships escorted the fleet, there were only one Wyoming-class battleship, and the remaining ships had the largest tonnage of two Northampton-class heavy cruisers designed and built in the mid-to-late 20s, and there were two light cruisers, destroyers and minesweepers. Such escort troops were more than enough to deal with the harassment of enemy submarines, and they were also easy to fight against enemy combat power at the cruiser detachment level.

The commander of the z-0720 fleet is the US Rear Admiral Harold Stark, who is famous for his outstanding organizational capabilities. He also serves as the commander of the 4th Atlantic Patrol Fleet. He has two Wyoming-class battleships, two Northampton-class heavy cruisers and multiple light cruisers and destroyers. The Wyoming-class battleship is a standard dreadnought, equipped with 12 305mm caliber main guns, and six turrets are arranged in pairs of load-bearing methods. This arrangement of main guns **** wind has little impact on the superstructure of the hull. This class of battleships has built two, namely the Wyoming and the Arkansas, and the sister ships were both in service in 1912.

According to the terms of the Limerick Navy Treaty, the Wyoming class of the US Navy, the Florida class, the Hullgrand class of the German Navy, and the Nassau class must retire from active service. However, in the situation of opposing camps, no one gave up his guard and truly weakened his strength. The two Wyoming class and the two Florida classes were converted into training ships after the main guns were removed. When the international situation became increasingly tense and the war was about to break out, the Americans quickly restored these training ships to their active service, and at the same time made small technical modifications to them, installed new sight-seeing and fire control equipment, making them competent for the second-line tasks under the current situation.

The Wyoming-class standard displacement is 26,000 tons. According to the original design requirements of the US Navy, it is a warship that can match the German King-class dreadnoughts. However, when the war of the last battle dissipated, the Americans suddenly found that their main battleship was in a very awkward position like the British: if it was a single ship, the Wyoming-class protection was obviously not enough to withstand the precise punch of the German main battleship; when the fleet was in war, the Americans had neither aircraft carriers to provide combat reconnaissance and air cover, nor lacked strength.

Effective ship-based air defense weapons resist enemy air strikes. After countless wargame deductions and strategic calculations, the US Navy was convinced that it could not fight against the German Navy alone, so before the mid-20s, the Americans only dared to do some tricks secretly, and even the "Iowa" was sunk in front of the neighbor's house. In the end, it only adopted economic sanctions. However, the major event that shocked the whole United States and sensationalized the world strengthened the Americans' determination to participate in the war, and then the US-British Alliance and Azores strategy came into being.

The plan of the US-British Joint Combat Command was to allow the Wyoming and Arkansas to escort the z-0720 fleet of 44 ships to form a marching z-0720 fleet back to North America, but just two days before the fleet set off, the Arkansas unfortunately hit a mine while cruising in the waters near Floris Island, causing a large amount of water in the bow, and then returned to the port with difficulty. The mission was led by the Wyoming alone.

The "Arkansas" was absent from the escort force due to the injury. In addition, the US and British aircraft carrier formation had just encountered a destructive blow. Harold Stark and his officers and soldiers drove away from Floris Island with heavy and uneasy mood. Because they returned to North America from the war zone, most of the ships were empty-loaded, and only the troop carriers carried wounded back to the rear, so the speed was faster than when sailing for full load. Stark hoped that the trip would be smooth, but the commander's intuition told him that it was difficult to go smoothly. When the enemy's water reconnaissance aircraft appeared over the fleet, this feeling came true. While sending water reconnaissance aircraft carried with the ship for alert reconnaissance, he reported his prediction to the coalition combat command set up on Texel Island.

In the afternoon, the originally sunny sea surface suddenly changed its face, and the fierce sea breeze rolled up more than one meter high waves and rushed over. The power from the ocean can be felt on the 10,000-ton warship. The overseas seaplanes could not find the enemy and hurried back. Facing the surging sea, Harold Stark's mood was also fluctuating.

At around 4 p.m., the figure of the enemy fleet finally appeared on the radar screen.

Stark issued a battle alarm without hesitation and dispatched the US destroyer Clark to reconnaissance the enemy situation. About half an hour later, the large cruiser sent a telegram. According to the visual observation, the enemy fleet consisted of two combat patrols and two light patrols. Then, in order to further explore the enemy situation, the Clark, equipped with a double-equipped 127mm naval gun and a quadruple-equipped 533mm torpedo tube, launched a tentative attack. However, the strength difference between the two sides was too great. After several rounds of volleys, the US destroyer was shot and caught fire. The Germans had no intention of pitying the brave. The two light cruisers quickly approached about four thousand meters away from the Clark and sent it to the bottom of the sea with accurate volleys.

Almost as the Clark battle sank, General Stark also received a secret telegram from the Texel Island coalition command: the support fleet is coming, and no matter how it is, it will drag the Allied fleet for at least 10 hours.

Holding this telegram, Stark's hand was trembling slightly. Ten hours were nothing for a person's long life, but in front of the Allied fleet, which was like a wolf and a tiger, this fleet might only be enough for them to fill their own lives. However, the situation was not allowed to be considered. The US Rear Admiral reluctantly asked his subordinates to issue orders to the entire fleet: "Keep the formation and beware of enemy submarines raids!"

Soon, the rumbling sound of cannons echoed on the undulating sea surface. When the high-explosion shells left the barrel at a speed of more than twice the speed of sound, a large amount of smoke generated by the incomplete combustion of the launching medicine gushed out in an instant, forming a mass of irregular huge smoke screens on the starboard side of the two German battle patrols.

With poor sea sight, William Mashal still used the famous "Joachim tactic", which was to launch artillery fire outside the range of conventional combat. In the next nearly an hour, two DeFringe-class battlecruisers fired more than 400 shells at the US and British fleets at an average rate of fire of three minutes and two rounds...

“God saves us!”

Looking at the white water column raised high on the sea a hundred meters away, many sailors on the Wyoming battleship were tirelessly slashing crosses on their chests. This distance was safe enough for them, but a cargo ship nearby was different. When the shell explosion was provoked, it also meant that danger followed. The 12-inch shell was obviously a high-explosive bomb. The shock waves generated during the explosion and the shrapnel flying around could easily kill people on a freighter without any protection measures. In the previous shelling, many freighters had already suffered personnel losses due to the shells falling from such close range. Although so far, no ship in the entire fleet was hit directly by the shells, people were already praying for God not to abandon themselves in this distant sea.

"I'm really worried about the next shot... Oh, my God! It happened!" The young sailor covered his face with his hands, and at this moment, a row of new water columns were raised in his sight. Although their power was slightly less in height and thickness, they landed unbiasedly on the edge of a cargo ship less than 10,000 tons. The gray cargo ship was instantly suppressed by the white water column, which made people think of the scene of someone being attacked by a group of evil men. Experienced sailors would think of a deeper question at this time how the hull of an ordinary cargo ship could withstand the destructive power of the near-missile bomb? The sea water was probably pouring into the cabin through the broken wall of the ship. If the leakage could not be blocked in time, the situation would probably deteriorate quickly!

After a while, the seemingly powerful "Wyoming" also fired a salvo on its port side with all 12 main guns. The 12-inch cannons were inspiring, but anyone with a little knowledge knew that such blind shooting could not be expected to hit the target.

In two minutes, before a cigarette was finished, the enemy's shells arrived as scheduled. The sound of their whistling was simply the bagpipe of the god of death. In the entire fleet, only the "Wyoming" was not afraid of the 12-inch shells that were fired from a distance, but the Germans seemed not interested in this American battleship at all. The shells avoided the area where it was located, and the rear of the fleet became the Germans' focus of attack targets.

Whenever the enemy's shells fell into the water and exploded, Stark always stood calmly, but was extremely concerned about the first reaction of the officers around him. The voice of "Thank God" can always slightly relieve the pressure in his heart. When someone shouted "My God", it means that the German shells were close enough to cause losses to a certain cargo ship. At this time, his face muscles would always twitch inadvertently, and his heart seemed to be directly whipped by the enemy.

In the torture of one or two minutes, Stark felt that his body and mind were aging rapidly. He would rather walk onto the arena like a samurai and let fate decide the final winner than suffer as much as it is now. At the same time, in his heart, he longed for a heroic mistake by the Germans, because it was entirely possible that he would greatly reduce the navigation ability of German warships, so that the US and British fleets at full speed would have the opportunity to wipe out their opponents. Even if the fleet was severely damaged or even boarded the Wyoming, it would still be a strategic victory.

When the tenth two minutes arrived, Stark received very bad news from his staff officer. Shortly after the completion, the Leicester, a troop transport ship that had been rushing to the Azores theater for the first time, was injured by enemy shells. The crew members were trying to block the damaged bulkhead of the bottom cabin. If the damage failed, the more than 600 wounded American soldiers on the ship might face a tragic fate.

On the swaying sea, it is extremely difficult to see dozens of shapes with simple optical equipment, unless there is a big and special thing that exists, such as a large amount of thick smoke generated when the object is not burned sufficiently. The vague black smoke in the telescope, which does exist in the direction of the US and British fleet, immerses the entire Allied fleet in a speechless relief.

The rumbling cannon still sounded every two minutes, and the two German battle patrols had already cut across the route of the US and British fleets with their huge advantage in speed.

Seeing that the time had arrived, Mashar decisively ordered: "The fleet turned left 10 degrees, with a speed of 24 knots, and prepared for small-scale S-type tactical maneuvers!"
Chapter completed!