Chapter 423 Battle of the Sea, is he afraid?

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April 11th is the morning.

At six o'clock sharp, a trace of local fish penetrated through the porthole, and Hippel was already dressed neatly.

The aisle outside the hatch is still quiet. There is only a unique rumble of power echoing. Although the bell for getting up has not yet rang, Hipper and six other German naval interns living in this reading cabin are very clear that the whole warship has actually woken up.

After the commander of the fleet gave the order to go to bed at 10 o'clock last night, he knew that the battle would break out today.

In the room, all the partners did not say anything and were busy with their own preparations, and Hipper also opened the oblique telescope bag and took out the latest eight-fold telescope brought from Germany.

This is the latest achievement of German optics. It can not only see more clearly than the old telescope before, but also adds a scale line up and down on the lens for the first time, which makes it easy for the observer to calculate the distance of the target.

Opening the lens, Hipel carefully wiped the lens. He was proud of Germany's achievements, but he also knew Li Mo's attitude towards the navy through this small telescope.

Because in the past few days, he found that even the observers of the destroyer of the Xinhua Navy have been equipped with the same telescope as himself. It is not produced by Xinhua itself. Although they have obtained all the optical manufacturing technology of Germany, the subtle gap in technology and technology has made their own eight-fold telescope actually reach It's not required, and the scale is not so clear.

So after learning that Germany had made the latest telescope, Li Mo immediately purchased 500 telescopes from Germany, which is not a small amount. You should know that even if this kind of telescope is calculated with Xinhua blue coins, it has reached a price of 1,000 per piece.

This is the attitude towards the navy and sea power!

Li Mo has never been stingy with equipment. Since the founding of the army, he has always given the best equipment to the navy. Under this kind of concern, the admiral soldiers insisted on strict training and finally came out of the world.

A few years of life in the Xinhua Navy made Hipel really see what strict training is, and he disdain the outside world's statement about luck. The consumption of tens of thousands of training ammunition every year is enough to prove that the rise of this young navy is not accidental.

Hipper breathed at the camera and wiped it carefully. Unable to know all the combat plans of the Xinhua Navy this time, he took the initiative to choose to be an observer, because on warships, only observers can have a panoramic view and see clearly the various mobile tactics and the choice of the two sides. Choose.

Of course, he is not very interested in Russian tactics. Roger Windster has not even learned all the tactics of the sailing era. He is more concerned about how Xinhua will use the eight latest capital ships under his feet!

The bell finally rang. When he opened the hatch, the Xinhua sailors around him had already crowded into the aisle. One by one, wearing neat and clean white navy uniforms, they squeezed into the narrow sink, and then took the meat pie, steamed buns and kettle from the chef, and then fought one after another. Take a walk.

Following the ladder, Hipper quickly climbed to the front mast. When he was about to climb on the mast, a big hand stretched out. Looking at the yellow black pupil and smiling face, he also smiled and squeezed his big hand into the narrow mast.

The narrow mast squeezed into the two big men seemed a little crowded. The two telephones were pressed against the bulletproof steel plate on the inside of the mast, and the telephone line passed through the hollow mast and connected to the bridge.

Like the Xinhua observer, Hiffel hung the kettle on the bulkhead, sorted out and count the telescope again, the sextant and other equipment, and then put out the steamed buns and meat pie and bit it, but neither he nor the one next to him rarely drank water.

There are 16 observers like this on the Jilin, on the front and rear masts and bridge respectively. Don't think that the observer is an easy job, especially when the war is about to begin. Sometimes you even stay on it for a whole day. If you drink too much water, it will cause trouble if you climb up and down and go back to the bathroom, so many times The observers have to endure thirst.

Biting the meat pie, Hipper observed the fleet. The size of the fleet was more than half smaller than when it was set off, especially the capital ships. After leaving six and two ships in a row, there were only twelve left.

Why did they leave? Is it the bait thrown out, or is it ambushed somewhere? Does Xinhua have to rely on these 12 capital ships to fight against the Russian fleet with a total of 65 ships?

Hipelle thought deeply that the eight destroyers around him suddenly began to accelerate. Although it was impossible to know the specific data of these enlarged destroyers, the speed of at least 28 knots still made him a little stunned.

Suddenly, the destroyer froze the air. The veterans all know that this is the call for the fleet to start searching for the target, indicating that the formation has entered the war zone, and the enemy may appear at any time!

Half an hour later, Huppert found that eight Jinghai-class cruisers with four destroyers suddenly caught up from behind, and almost no preparation scattered around the front and back of the capital ship, like a strictly trained hound. This speed and navigation skills made him excited.

It took 17 hours to soar 460 nautical miles, allowing everyone to see the speed advantage of the Jinghai-level light patrol. At the same time, they also understood why the light patrol is so valued by the navy, because when there is an emergency or long-distance high-speed support, only these guys can do it at present.

The return of eight light patrols made Long Guozhang put down his last trace of worry. With these guys, the large number of second-class cruisers and destroyers and even torpedo boats in the Russian fleet could not break through their attack and disturb the capital ships.

As for the eight capital ships that blocked the Strait of Malacca, attacked Dili and seized the island of Dutch Guinea, they have been determined to be unable to participate in the naval battle due to speed and tasks.

At 9:15, Long Guozhang regrouped the fleet.

The first battleship detachment, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Guangxi and Guangdong, Commander Long Guozhang.

Second Battleship Squad, Duke, Prince, Akashi and Tsugaru, Commander Lin Taizeng.

The third patrol team, Dalian, Dandong, Fengtian and Harbin, commander Ji Rushan.

The fourth light patrol team, Jinghai, Dinghai, Ninghai, Pinghai, Anhai, Sihai, Yanghai and Zhenhai, Commander Lefei.

Destroyer detachment, 16 defense class, commander Lan Jianshu.

With the appointment, the commanders of each detachment quickly divided and fine-tuned the ranking and shelling order of the battle team according to the situation of their own formations. These small-scale adjustments made Hipper stand up straight.

At 10: 05, the destroyer Garret sent a telegram to get in touch with the Golden Eagle. At the same time, according to the radio navigation, it was determined that the main force of the Russian fleet entered the sea off the Mingtawi Islands, 75 nautical miles away!

While the alarm sounded endlessly over the main fleet of the Royal New China Navy, in the flagship Alexander III, Roger Stern was restless and always felt that something was wrong.

Because the radios all failed!

Yes, as long as all the radios are turned on, they are all noisy and harsh sounds. This situation began in the early morning last night. Although the radio often suddenly has intermittent surnames from the North Sea, no less than a hundred times, but the longest is only one or two hours, and it will disappear quickly, so everyone only thinks it is nothing. It's just a wire-electric failure, especially the inventor Ji Fuchenko did not follow up after the diagnosis, which strengthened his idea.

But now the situation seems to be a little strange. No matter which one, it immediately fell into a scream when it was about to turn on, which made him very anxious. You know, the radio is not only the biggest trump card in his hand, but also has played an important role in the ten-mile voyage. When it was about to enter the enemy area, it suddenly all failed. It seems that It's a little too strange.

"Does the opponent also know that he has a radio?"

At the same time, the idea was immediately suppressed by Roger Stern himself. Jivchenko has been in the sight of the Admiralty since he invented this thing, and the radio was not manufactured on a large scale. It was all made by Jivchenko alone, so the leaked name may be very small.

And Jifuchenko and the Kamchatka repair ship were also sunk in the chaos that night. Everyone also found the bodies of some sailors on the Kamchatka, and this phenomenon occurred as early as the Kamchatka was still there. Will it really be a failure?

Roger West Winster wanted to figure out this matter, but at this moment, he could not allow him to continue to delay. There are still 150 nautical miles away from the Sukhta Strait, which may be intercepted in the end. It is an important strait for the Southern Ocean to enter the Indian Ocean. Whether the enemy comes from the Strait of Malacca or from Luzon, it must pass through. There.

It doesn't matter whether the Azov and Aphroar sent yesterday can escape back. The important thing is where the main force of the Xinhua Navy will definitely stay last night. Even if it was found abnormal this morning, there are 400 nautical miles from Malacca to the Sukda Strait, and it will take 22 hours at a speed of 18 knots, and it will take me to cross the Xuntar. The strait only takes 12 hours. Even if the remaining six duke-class ships have not yet appeared, it is impossible for the six ships to stop themselves!

10:40, in view of the chaos when it was previously attacked by the two Jinghai-class ships and the need to arrive in the most dangerous area, Roger Stern also adjusted the formation.

The first battleship detachment, Commander Roger Stwinster, the flagships Alexander III, Borodino, Duke Suvorov, Eagle and Glorious, these five Borodino-class battleships with two double 305mm guns and four 210mm guns with a full load of 15,200 tons were his hands. In addition to the strongest power, the prototype of Borodino, the legal crown prince, has also been incorporated into the detachment, so that not only the bloodline is unified, but also the surname will not be much worse.

The second battleship detachment, the commander of the fleet, the deputy commander of the fleet, the flagship Victory, the Peleswit and Osriabia are both first-class battleships of the Peleswit, plus the Chesalević, as well as the Retvijan and Tavrya purchased from the United States. Juebo Jin also has two double 40-caliber 305mm main guns, with a minimum displacement of 12,700 tons

The third battleship detachment, commander Nebogatov, the flagship Petropavlovsk, Sevastopol, Poltava, the great Sisoy, and two former fast-class Peter the Great and St. Petersburg sold by the United Kingdom, although the first four main guns are 305 mm and the last two are 254. Millimeters, but these six are all second-class battleships, especially the latter two. Although the caliber is low, the rate of fire is fast, and the 14 190mm secondary guns are even more arrogant.

These 18 battleships are the core strike force in Roger Stern's hands. In addition, he also divided into three cruiser fleets.

The first cruiser fleets are Gromboy, Russia, Saints, Navalin, Alexander II and Nicholas I. Although the latter two are second-class battleships, they have been in the cruiser fleet for more than ten years, so they have been incorporated into the cruiser fleet.

Second Cruiser Team, Rurik, Bayan, Parada, Diana, Varyag, Warrior,

The third cruiser team, Kagur, Olegg, Askold, Usakov, Shenyavin and Novick.

As for the remaining second-class cruisers, large gunboats and destroyers, they were organized into two other sub-teams, which completely solved the chaotic scene, and the Russian fleet was tidyed up for the first time.

With the slow completion of the formation of the fleet, Roger Stern's long-lost confidence finally returned. When even the Russian sailors on the ships began to be proud of the majestic and huge fleet, a small destroyer suddenly drilled out of the horizon like a ghost.

"Enemy ship!"

The sad sound of sirens and the sudden rushing destroyer made the nerves of the Russian army, which had just relaxed, suddenly tightened. Looking at the little guy in the sky, a trace of gloom rose in everyone's heart.

Export him?

After thinking about it, it was strange that he did not order the cruiser to go or even change its course, but ordered to speed up the passage.

His order made Fisher and Seymour frown on the USS USS Senegal, which had been sailing outside the Russian fleet. Obviously, the Russian lieutenant general made the same mistake as himself and did not realize that the Xinhua Navy had a mysterious means of long-distance communication.

Twenty minutes later, two more destroyers appeared on the north side of the fleet at a lightning speed, which attracted Roger Stern's attention. Just as he continued to hesitate whether to send a second-class cruiser to destroy, the three observation ships of Britain, France and the United States began to accelerate with observers from various countries and took the lead in leaving the Russian fleet. .

At 11:30, when the number of enemy destroyers increased to seven, Roger Winster finally realized that something was not good, and his heart kept sinking. He thought that the Duke's class, which had not appeared, might be in front of him, and immediately ordered the ships to abandon the coal bags on the deck.

With a package of heavy coal being thrown into the sea, the speed of the fleet has increased from the original 12 knots to 14 knots, especially after getting rid of the shackles, a capital ship no longer has to suffer from low-lying turfed waves.

At 11:45, when the last bag of coal was thrown into the sea, Roger Stern Wünster suddenly made a move that stunned everyone.

Order to turn right!

Not to mention Fisher and others who watched the battle, even the Russian military commanders such as Nebogatov did not understand this order. Only some later researchers believed that Roger Stern realized that he was about to encounter the enemy's main force, so he was afraid.

Is it true? No one knows.

Whether it is experience or ability, Roger Stern doesn't think it is the best person to master this huge fleet. What he has learned before is the experience of sail naval warfare, and he is not familiar with ironclad ships at all, so this order becomes more and more complicated.

According to Fisher's later memoirs, he did not think that Roger Stern was afraid, but he wanted to use his maneuver to get rid of the oncoming enemy, but the problem was that the inexperienced commander forgot the most important thing.

Speed!

After sailing around the world for 15,000 nautical miles, the average speed of the Russian fleet has dropped to an unbearable 14 knots, and some logistics and old warships are less than 12 knots. Perhaps his motivation is good, and it is right to avoid its edge, but the problem is that he forgot that such an uneven speed and mobility. How difficult it is for a huge low fleet to turn.

In the end, it took 20 minutes for Roger West Winster to complete the whole fleet to turn and reteam, but it was too late, and dark clouds of smoke had appeared in the sky

(to be continued)