"Sure enough, there are at least 10 battleships! We meet the main force of the American Atlantic Fleet!"

On the Ludendolph, Admiral Hubert Schmidt was shocked by the huge muzzle flames that kept flashing in the fog.

In fact, he didn't have to be afraid at all, because he had six super battleships, Rudendolf, Bismarck, Barbarossa, Richelieu, Jean Barr and Rome. Although the number was not as large as that of the opponent, these six battleships were all new ships that had been in service, with fast speed, thick armor, and more powerful firepower than the opponent. The Americans only had two South Dakota-class guns with powerful 16-inch (406mm) cannons, and the remaining seven battleships had only 14-inch (356mm) and 12-inch (305mm) cannons, which did not pose much threat to the six new battleships in Germany, France and Italy.

However, in the past 20 years, Hubert Schmidt, an elderly German navy general, has been living in the British Navy and the US Navy. In the shadow of the US Navy, all he thought about was the battle and the battle was broken. He was not used to the happiness of having a huge advantage on his side. He came too quickly.

"How long will the fog spread?" asked Admiral Hubert Schmidt.

"It's 4:05 am now, and the fog will dissipate for one hour at most. Then the plane will be able to attack."

Because the performance of the naval aviation forces in the past was always reassuring, the German Navy gradually changed to aircraft dependence. So the staff members around Hubert Schmidt's first thought was to use aircraft to deal with the enemy.

"The 2nd Air Fleet is nearby and can allow them to send planes. In addition, we are 2,000 kilometers from Brest, and there is a brigade of ultra-long-range bombers."

The so-called ultra-long-range bomber brigade is equipped with ju.288. Although it is not yet full of the process, it is still no problem to send 20 ju.288s.

"That ultra-long-range bomber brigade can't count on... 2,000 kilometers will take at least 4 hours!" Admiral Hubert Schmidt shook his head, "As for the 2nd Air Fleet, let them deal with the dispersed British merchant ships."

Now everyone knows that the military operation to land in the UK is about to begin! So those American warships must be ships carrying important military supplies. If they are allowed to arrive at the Port of Liverpool safely, the difficulties faced by the landing operation will be more.

Moreover, the 2nd Air Fleet has only 120 aircraft, of which only 60 Fokker 100 dive bombers can be used to deal with battleships. It is probably difficult to deal with the US fleet with F4F protection (although no aircraft carrier was found, no one would believe that so many American battleships would not be protected by aircraft carriers). In addition, the 60 Fokker Zero carrier-based fighters of the 2nd Air Fleet have to be responsible for escorting the 2nd Fleet, and they cannot draw out a few to escort the Fokker 100.

Therefore, it is the best choice to let the Folk 100 on the aircraft carrier operate dispersed to bomb the same dispersed cargo ship.

"We will deal with those American battleships!" Admiral Hubert Schmidt said, "The left full rudder! Adjust the direction to 10 degrees. Order Bismarck to measure and calculate the shelling parameters and concentrate firepower to shoot the enemy fleet No. 2. Tell Major General Linderman (Captain Bismarck) that no errors can occur at this time, and the most accurate parameters must be calculated in the shortest time! I require at least one American battleship to be severely damaged within 10 minutes, so that we have the chance to severely damage the American fleet!"

After giving the order, General Hubert Schmidt took out a cigar and stuffed it into his mouth. He didn't ignite it, but just held it in his mouth and bit it tightly. He stared at the flames that kept flashing in the fog in the distance, and his heart was extremely nervous. Although his fleet had 8 406mm cannons and 39 380mm cannons (including 381mm cannons), his opponent had 9 battleships! And it was very likely that there were several aircraft carriers...

Hubert Schmidt was worried that Lieutenant General Ingram of the United States also raised his heart to his throat, because the SG radar on the South Dakota had also discovered that the opponent's formation was accelerating its steering.

This is going to turn around and fight!

"What's the distance?" Lieutenant General Ingram vaguely felt something was wrong.

“24,000 meters.”

At this distance, even with radar fire control, it is difficult to hit the target! Why doesn’t the “Japanese” continue to escape but turn? The situation is very wrong!

"How far is the second team (referring to the other 7 battleships) from us?"

“About 6000 meters.”

"He md," Lieutenant General Ingram cursed, "We may be fooled! They must not be Japanese devils... and there are more than one battleship, this is a trap! The purpose is to keep us away from the seven slow ships."

"Lieutenant General, what should I do?"

"Stop the shelling and let the destroyer set off smoke to cover us to leave!" Lieutenant General Ingram, who felt something was wrong, gave a loud order.

"Boom..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sea surface covered by fog suddenly boiled like a pot, and huge fireballs flashed one after another.

The gun officer of the battleship Bismarck battleship has completed the parameter calculation based on the data of the fire control radar, and the shelling of the battleship of the 2nd Fleet of the European Combined Fleet has begun!

...

"What!"

Lieutenant General Ingram almost fell off his chin. He never expected that there were dozens of gunfires in front of him, and they all looked quite large, either 16-inch (406mm) or 15-inch (380mm).

This is not the Muao, it is simply a whole German fleet!

The Germans actually opened fire on the American fleet under the banner of the Japanese. This was a despicable surrender and a war without declaration!

"God, how is this possible!"

"how so?!"

The officers in the bridge were even more stunned. Although everyone was ready to fight with the Germans, they never regarded the surface fleet of the German Navy as a powerful opponent in their thinking. Unexpectedly, they encountered such a powerful German fleet now!

"Switch the rudder and retreat at full speed, so that the 2nd team will retreat too!" Lieutenant General Ingram turned his mind and knew that he was no match. He decisively ordered the retreat. This was probably the smartest decision he had made in today's encounter.

Because Germany, Italy and France are all new battleships equipped with 380mm cannons, and except for two South Dakotas, they are all old ships. Although they are large in number, their speed is mostly only 20 knots and 21 knots, and they can't grab a favorable position. If you really want to continue fighting, just wait for the Germans to occupy the T-shaped formation and beat them up. Although the South Dakota class is quite reliable, their 406mm and 380mm cannons are not a joke.

"Want to run?" General Hubert Schmidt saw the Americans turn and want to escape, and suddenly became excited and ordered loudly, "Catch up, the target enemy formation No. 2, destroy it first!"

Amid his command, 47 main guns of the six battleships fired a second round of volleys, but still failed to hit. Although the Bismarck was equipped with the same fire control radar as the one on Rudendorf, this was a product from the 1940s, and the accuracy was very problematic and could only be used to assist in aiming.

However, the two A-seaplanes were quickly ejected into the sky. Now the thick fog has begun to dissipate a little. Although the sea surface still seems to be covered with a layer of tulle, this does not prevent the seaplanes from performing observation and correction.

As soon as the seaplane entered the sky, the accuracy of the shelling was immediately increased. At 4:15, a cross-fire was fired in the 8th salvo of five European battleships, and the shells fell like raindrops around the South Dakota.

Two minutes later, the Italian battleship Rome shot a 778.8 kg (full weight of the bullet body) capped armor-piercing projectile that was amazingly powerful, and it could still easily penetrate the South Dakota-class 310mm main armor belt at a distance of 000 meters!

The shell exploded near the No. 1 boiler cabin. Although it did not blow through the bulkhead of the boiler cabin, the huge vibration caused by the explosion still cracked an important pipeline. High-pressure steam ran around in the cabin, making the soldiers in the No. 1 boiler cabin scream in pain, and the power of the entire battleship also lost one quarter of it.

Another minute later, the 406mm armor-piercing projectile fired by the Ludendolph hit South Dakota again. This time the shot was the strongest front of the bow a turret. At a distance of 24,000 meters, the 906.3 kg (full weight of the bullet body) armor-piercing projectile could not penetrate the front armor of the turret with a thickness of 457mm. However, the violent explosion still caused serious damage to the turret, especially the violent vibration caused many parts of the turret to be seriously deformed, and the shell conveying device was stuck and unable to work.

Turret A failed, and the pipes of boiler cabin No. 1 were broken... Although they were all "small breaks", they were very deadly on the battlefield! The South Dakota now has dropped to 20 knots due to partial power loss, and its firepower has also been lost by one-third!

"Order the 2nd Team to disband and evacuate!" Lieutenant General Ingram knew that his flagship was in danger, but the battleship troops of the Atlantic Fleet could not be wiped out with them!

"Let the Indiana go too!" Then Lieutenant General Ingram gritted his teeth and ordered loudly, "Let us hold the enemy!"

This is the second correct decision made by Lieutenant General Ingram in this naval battle! Sacrifice the South Dakota and save the remaining battleships. Although the South Dakota only gets beaten against the enemy's six powerful battleships, the US battleship with a standard displacement of 38,000 tons has a good resistance to sinking. If the enemy wants to sink it, it will definitely take a lot of effort. The main force of the Atlantic Fleet can escape at least part of it.

As for Lieutenant General Ingram himself, because of this decision, he lived forever in the hearts of the American people and in Hollywood films in later generations. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!