With the release of the battle alarm, the resigned personnel on the "Markensen" jumped out of the bed as fast as possible, opened the cabin door and rushed towards their respective combat positions. The numerous and tortuous passages on the warship, which were as numerous as a maze, were immediately filled with footsteps, but in just a few minutes, the cabin passages became empty, leaving only the broadcast of the battle alarms repeatedly.

On the deck, four huge main turrets slowly moved, and the black holes pointed neatly in the direction of the leaping flames. In the deep ammunition compartment below the deck, the sailors were ordered to load armor-piercing or high-explosive bombs into the bomb lifting machine at any time. The gunners were always ready to complete the next shot of the relay competition.

From the beginning of reversing, it took nearly an hour for the "Markensen" and the two accompanying light cruisers to sail out of the minefield. This time it took longer than Bainke originally expected, and the whole process was undoubtedly proud. The deep night sky constantly reflected the flames of naval gun shooting. Although the No. 9 coastal defense fortress built during the war learned some profound lessons from the Battle of Texel, the Allies did not have enough time and manpower, nor enough capacity and confidence to build a large coastal fortress again. In fact, all the coastal defense fortresses built later on San Miguel are comprehensive uses, and their absolute defense can only withstand medium-strength attacks.

The severe weather with wind and rain has a great impact on the operation efficiency of short-wave pulse radar. Knowing that the enemy ships are in the southeast, the ship-based radar of the USS Markensen has not detected the target for a long time. Instead, the land-based radar station deployed to the east of the port of Ponta Delgada continues to send reports: In the southeastern waters of San Miguel, a fleet of two large ships and four small ships, which were originally transported on a route parallel to the coast.

When they were attacked by shore artillery, they quickly turned to the south, took the initiative to open the straight line distance from the coast, and then turned to the east, as if they were going to end the battle and evacuate here. However, after just a quarter of an hour, they turned to the north, and the firepower of the artillery fire on the other shore suddenly became strong... By the time the "Markensen" and the two armies withdrew from the minefield to form a battle formation, the land radar station had stopped working, and the damage level of the entire No. 9 coastal defense fortress had exceeded 40%.

The attackers' purpose was obviously not just to destroy a medium-sized coastal defense fortress. After losing the threat to the No. 9 coastal defense fortress in the southeast corner of San Miguel Island, they quickly turned the attacking fire to the No. 8 coastal defense fortress closer to the port of Punta Delgada. If it could be destroyed, the attackers' next target would definitely be a harbor where Allied ships were moored, so all the long-range heavy artillery deployed at No. 8 coastal defense fortress were put into counterattack.

Although the battle situation was not good for us, Bernke, who had removed his position as commander of the Allied Fleet, had no longer had the heavy psychological burden he had earlier. He ordered the communications officer to send his combat intentions to the theater command in the form of a secret telegram, allowing them to coordinate their radar stations and fortress firepower to distinguish the enemy and us, and then directed this "small and exquisite" fleet to attack the enemy fleet's southern wing.

20 minutes later, Bernke finally obtained an enemy situation detection report from the radar room of the ship. Six enemy ships of all sizes were located at a distance of 24,000 meters 14 degrees northeast. According to this, the enemy warships were 20 kilometers apart from the coastal defense fortress of San Miguel Island. However, when neither side could accurately observe the opponent's position and the radar ranging data was not accurate enough, the shore artillery was undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

Bainke immediately ordered the whole army to prepare for the fight.

Ten minutes later, the radar room sent another report, the distance between the two sides was closer to 18,000 meters, and the pulse warning instrument sent out an early warning signal, which means that the opponent has discovered the whereabouts of its own ship.

Bainke picked up the telescope. At this time, the sea was still dark. Unless the moment the cannon flames flashed, there was even half a ship shadow in his sight, but the strong enemy was there. Winning would have a good chance to decide the world in one game, but losing would not have fallen to an irreversible level, which gave Bainke enough confidence to challenge his opponent.

At 7:41 that night, Bainke ordered fire and the target pointed directly at the enemy ship closest to his side on the radar.

In the majestic thunder, the fire from the muzzle lit up a large area of ​​sea in an instant. Even if it was more than ten nautical miles away, people could still clearly hear the roar that broke the silence. The first heavy artillery of the two German battleships was slightly apart, and then the sea almost fell silent. Only the special sound of heavy shells passing through the air was left in En's ears.

More than ten seconds later, a more intense thunder came from the sea in the distance, which was the sound of shells falling into the sea and exploding. Bernke could imagine how the sailors on the enemy ship would react to these sudden large-caliber shells.

The other party quickly answered with the sound of artillery. Although the shells fired from 16,700 meters away were somewhat lacking in accuracy, Bernke and the officers on the ship were still able to judge from the momentum when the shells exploded: they were shells fired by the 16-inch naval gun.

The power of the naval guns with two caliber 15 and 16-inch caliber seems to be one level different. With the kinetic energy of the shells, the person who came from the guns was at least 130% of the former, and the depth of the armor piercing increased by 20. However, the brilliant victory of the previous war gave German naval officers and soldiers enough confidence and arrogance to despise this gap. The tactics and technology performance can indeed make up for it to the greatest extent. The German Markensen class and British Admiral class, which attracted much attention in the early 1930s, are the best examples.

It is proved that in the first Battle of San Miguel, the Markensen-class equipped with 15-inch naval guns performed much better in the strong dialogue than the 16-inch admiral-class. The deduction objectively and impartially, the odds of winning and losing between the two face-to-face matches are half the chance of the admiral-class main gun armor-piercing shells can effectively penetrate the opponent's main armor belt, and the Markensen-class armor-piercing shells can also threaten the opponent's core parts. The key lies in who can take the lead in firing a decisive blow.

After the second round of tentative main gun fires of the Markensen, the radar chamber reported that two light ships from the enemy were turning and four other warships maintained their existing course and speed.

Since leading the main fleet of the Allied Powers to the Azores, Bainke has fought 11 large and large naval battles with the US and British navies, and has experienced various tactical routines of enemy generals. With this response, he knew that the two light ships were sent to "light the lights and fish". So he ordered the main gun to attack the opponent's large warships and the secondary guns to deal with the small warships.

Like all German main battleships built at the same time, the Markensen-class battlecruiser was equipped with a turret-type 150mm dual secondary gun, which was characterized by high accuracy, high range, long-range and fast firing speed, and had strong lethality against light cruisers and ships of the following levels. Shortly after Bainke's instructions were conveyed, a good news came from the radar room: one of the two enemy light ships that turned around suddenly stalled sharply, quickly distanced from their companions.

Regardless of whether the enemy ship was really injured or falsely injured, Bainke adjusted the deployment very decisively. The firepower of the "Markensen" and the two accompanying light patrols immediately concentrated on the enemy's "single arrow". Gradually, Bainke could already use the rough outline of the fire ball rising from the opponent's warship. It was a typical double-chimney destroyer. Although the enemy was extremely powerful and the naval guns were still firing unremittingly, every time they were hit, it would have one or two artillery briefly stopped firing. The combatants in the non-enclosed turrets suffered much more losses in such a battle than the closed turret. But soon, the fired naval guns fired again, but their shells never really threatened the thick armored "Markensen".

At 8:11, just 20 minutes after the firefight began, the destroyer belonging to the US and British camp disappeared from the sea with most of its crew. Its only contribution was to let the opponents open fire one after another, thus providing convenience for the sighting and shooting of its main battleship.

Under Bainke's command, the "Markensen" temporarily stopped shooting. Although heavy shells shot from the northeast fell one after another on the nearby sea, stirring up huge waves of water. It was like a cunning and patient fox, quietly changing its course and adjusting its posture.

During this period, two German light cruisers crazily ravaged another enemy light ship that was stalled due to injuries. It fired flares in despair towards the Allied ships, but found nothing because of the gun range.

With about a bag of cigarettes, the "Markensen" and the accompanying light patrol moved quickly to the southern wing of the US and British ships. When they learned that the two light ships suffered one after another, the commander on the opposite side had realized that the situation of the battle was very unfavorable to him, so he took the initiative to retreat, which made Bainke very puzzled whether the opponent did not even have the courage to fight with more or less?

No matter how confused the fighter planes were sent to the front, Bainke would not miss it easily. At the firing position 12,000 meters away from the enemy, the "Markensen" who had made sea supplies in the early stage opened the blasting state without hesitation. After three and half volleys and six volleys, the long-lost fireball finally broke the dark rule of the sea. The rising fire ball illuminated a large area of ​​sea and also made the true face of Bainke's first opponent who used a fixed high-power telescope in the commander's tower to observe: a tall three-legged mast and a tall bridge similar to a cylinder, a huge main turret with two fronts and one back, and two thick and high chimneys. Even if the entire body of the hull was shot, the warship facing this side with its port side was still firing shells.
Chapter completed!