Battle of the Third Reich

Now it was the turn of the York who taught the terror that Orion encountered ten seconds ago.

The first officer's screams had not disappeared from the panic-stricken officers and soldiers standing on the bridge. A shocking roar had already echoed around them.

Two huge water columns suddenly appeared in the terrified eyes of the British navy officers and men, so large that people could not believe their eyes.

A huge water column roared into the sky, and the edge of the water column was only less than ten meters away from the side of the York, as if it stood like an iceberg.

No one can keep himself calm in front of such a miraculous scene full of violent momentum. Some people standing on the open bridge are screaming and looking for concealed objects that they think are safe. Others Grab everything he could grab and pray to God loudly, and more people were astonished by the sight in front of them like Nicholson, they stood on their original positions with their mouths open Staring blankly at this spectacular scene.

No one can tell what the height of those water columns at that time was, because they were so close to the York, so close that it felt as if they could reach it with a hand, they were too large, so large that it was involuntary. In awe.

The great power shown by the water columns and the death threats behind them exerted a powerful psychological pressure on the witnesses, so that no one dared to raise their heads in front of them.

The pillars of water stood abruptly around the battleship, giving people the illusion that they might stand like this forever.

There was no sign of being hit by the York, but the hull seemed to lean slightly to the right, but the sailors standing on the deck already felt that huge energy, the hull made a horrible moan, and the deck was full due to the violent shock And the sailors who were unstable.

It wasn't until the water column began to fall slowly that the officers and soldiers reacted from that extreme fear. Everyone was relieved in their hearts for a long time. It seemed that everything had passed.

But two seconds later, the British officers and men knew they were wrong, and the nightmare had just begun.

The force of hundreds of tons of seawater pouring back into the sea is immeasurable. When the seawater began to smash into the water around York, the huge surge generated almost lifted the ship’s hull. Sea surface.

The warship leaned sharply to the port side, and the speed made people feel that she was about to turn over like this, which made the sailors on the battleship utter a desperate cry again.

Just as everyone was anxiously looking at their warship's hopelessly leaning and helpless, the warship's rapid left tilt miraculously stopped.

Those horrified sailors had to thank God for this in the future, and found themselves caught in another nightmare.

It wasn’t God that prevented the tilt of the York, but the same huge surge on the left side of the battleship.

The waves slammed into the hard port shell of York, and the splashing waves formed a tens of meters high water wall standing in front of the British sailors, and then slammed on the port deck.

The sailors on the port deck did not have time to fix themselves. They were rolled up by the waves and smashed hard against the hard bulkhead behind them. There were even a few poor guys who were thrown high by the waves and then wailed into the sea.

The tremendous force pushed the York towards the starboard side. The huge hull of the York made a scream of protest under this terrifying torsion. The battleship was swaying back and forth, and the bitter metal twist sound echoed over the entire battleship.

It took only half a minute from the first shell to fall into the water next to the battleship until the york stopped the terrible swing dance, but these half minutes are actually more than half a century in the minds of those British naval officers and soldiers. It's tough.

Brigadier General Nicholson finally recovered from the shock. For a while, there was a feeling of time and space disorder in his mind, and the seemingly familiar scene in front of him evoked a painful memory in his heart that could never be forgotten. The picture that appeared in his nightmare appeared in front of him again. The shock that all these things brought to his mind could not be understood by others.

He can never forget how similar the scene he saw last before the sinking of the destroyer he served in the epic battle of Jutland.

"Report the loss! Captain! Captain! Wilson!"

Nicholson struggled to get up from the deck of the bridge, he shouted loudly after holding the guardrail on the compass to stabilize his body.

"Captain Wilson!"

Unable to hear the subordinate's answer, Nicholson couldn't help but feel a anger rising from his heart. He looked around and wanted to find the figure of the captain who had been standing beside him in the front, but the result was in his eyes. A face as pale as letter paper filled with fear and panic.

"Are you still like a glorious royal navy, and what a panic! Where is the captain? Where is Wilson?"

Nicholson reprimanded the frightened subordinates angrily.

"Ah, Captain! The Captain is injured!"

With a scream, everyone found Captain Wilson paralyzed at the corner of the bridge. They also saw a blood-red liquid slowly flowing down the captain's forehead.

"Quick, take him to the hospital immediately."

Nicholson ordered urgently. Four sailors quickly lifted the unconscious Wilson with seven hands and ran down the bridge. Looking at the blood stains left on the smooth and shiny teak floor of the bridge, Nicholson felt a chill.

"Mr. Kotst!"

Nicholson turned his head to look at the first officer standing aside.

"Ah, yes, Your Commander."

The first officer was staring at the position where the captain was lying, and Nicholson's cry startled him. The first officer violently fought a cold war and then stood up to the cold-faced commander.

"Don’t forget that you are a glorious royal navy officer. You look like a frightened quail now."

Nicholson said coldly.

"Sorry, Lord Commander!"

The first officer bowed his head in shame.

"Now Captain Wilson is injured, and I order you to take over the position of the captain. You are now commanding this battleship, and I hope you will not let me down! Lieutenant Colonel Koster."

"Observe, Your Commander, I will not let you down."

The first officer quickly answered loudly.

"Immediately search for the position of the enemy fleet, there must be more than two large battleships. Investigate the fleet loss immediately!"

Nicholson ordered loudly.

"The entire fleet is ready to fight! Send a report! Everyone is in the combat position! We are generating electricity to the Admiralty. We are under attack, probably a large German warship."

Nicholson finally recovered his calmness, and his rich combat experience prompted him to immediately enter the fighting state.

The orders were quickly communicated one by one. Nicholson picked up the telescope and searched anxiously from the sea.

In addition to the two cargo ships following the last fleet, almost every battleship has been shelled to varying degrees.

However, the situation was not as bad as Nicholson expected at first. In addition to a shell in Orion, the Jade and Sheffield were also shot, but the damage did not seem to be very serious.

Although the explosive power of the enemy's shells was amazing, none of them could penetrate the main deck of the battleship. Although the three battleships were now full of smoke and looked harmless, the fire was actually controlled.

The York has caused part of the hull damage under the waterline due to the near-missile bombardment. There are several places where the rivets of the outer deck are broken, causing water in some cabins, but they are not serious. These water inflows have been controlled after the damage.

Those injuries are only skin injuries, and the fleet is still fighting. What is most depressing to Nicholson now is that he still doesn't know where the enemy's shell came from.

None of the reports reported by the various warships are the same, and they are in all directions. Nicholson is a little bit at a loss now. He has never fought such a depressing battle. After being smashed by the enemy with large caliber shells, he can't find the enemy's position.

What's even more strange is that the shelling ended as suddenly as it appeared, and a full five minutes passed, and no more shells flew towards the fleet. Who is the enemy, why stopped the attack, and where did those shelling come from? The situation made those navy captains feel an ominous hunch.

Nicholson prefers that the shells come from the sea on the right side of the fleet, because the left side of the fleet is Sand Island, and further forward is the Skoplan Strait. After that ten kilometers wide strait is the master of the Faroe Islands Island.

He also contacted the Garrison Commander of the Faroe Islands half an hour ago. The Faroe Islands are still under the control of the British ** team, not to mention that no idiot would arrange such a large-caliber heavy artillery on an island away from the mainland.

Nicholson now believes that he has encountered a large German assault ship. According to that firepower, there are at least two large warships.

"It won't be our own fleet accidentally hitting."

Although Nicholson had such doubts at first, he was immediately denied by himself. I’m sailing on a secret route. There should not be a Royal Navy battleship in this area, and according to that kind of firepower, it definitely surpasses heavy cruisers. It is either a battleship or a battle cruise. Now no fleet of the Royal Navy can meet this standard.

"Is the German fleet secretly leaving the port, or..."

Suddenly an idea that made him feel terrified appeared in Nicholson's mind.

"Does the German know his mission and deliberately ambush himself here?"

But the next second, he rejected this idea again. The level of confidentiality of this operation is unimaginable to ordinary people, and the Germans cannot obtain any information on this operation in any way.

"It seems more like an accident. Maybe the Germans wanted to avoid the Royal Navy's patrol ship and chose this sea area. It seems that the idiots of the Naval Intelligence Department have been tricked by the Germans."

Nicholson affirmed his guess in his heart, and he began to curse the incompetence of the Naval Intelligence Service secretly.

If this is the case, then everything can be reasonably explained. The German navy has always been accustomed to sneak attacks, and their attack ships have very fierce fire and very long range, which can explain why they were attacked without warning.

The German naval assault ships have always been reluctant to engage in frontal battles with the Royal Navy Fleet. Once they find themselves likely to suffer losses, they will abandon the attack and choose to escape even if they are powerful, which may explain why the shelling did not continue.

The Germans must have discovered that their fleet was not so easily eliminated, so they gave up and continued to fight. Now those enemies must have retreated, and they have run out of their sight.

Nicholson was satisfied with his inferred conclusions. He felt that this must be the case.

"Order the fleet to maintain its formation, pay attention to the search for the sea surface, the course remains unchanged, we go to Torshavn to repair."

Nicholson put down the telescope in his hand and ordered coldly to the acting captain. Nicholson has now decided to dismiss the combat report if no trace of the enemy can be found after fifteen minutes or if he is no longer attacked.

"Should we still call Torshavn? Your Excellency Commander."

The acting captain asked hesitantly.

"Of course, we have wounded people and we have to go to shore for treatment. However, our whereabouts have been discovered by the Germans. We can't stay too much time. We must speed up the loading and unloading. I dare to guarantee that the sea will be crowded after dark. The German submarines that arrived at the news are like tuna. So we must seize the time."

"Observe, sir!"

"Enemy ship! Right... A German battleship was found right in front!"

The watchman standing by the bridge suddenly roared insanely. At almost the same time, the signal lights of the two pilot destroyers began to flash madly against the York, and found that the enemy's flag was on the mast of the two destroyers at the same time. Rise slowly.

"what!"

Nicholson quickly picked up the telescope and looked forward. At this time, the British fleet was almost approaching the Scapland Strait. The two nearest pilot destroyers were less than five kilometers away from the exit of the strait, and the flagship York, which was converted to fleet one due to the injury of Orion, was 7,000 from the exit of the strait. Meter.

On one side is the 30-meter-high cliff of Mulberry Island, on the other side is the vast North Atlantic Ocean. A huge rock stood alone on the corner of the island and the exit of the strait. The fleet could see the situation in the strait as long as it turned over the rock.

And now a huge ship shadow was rushing out from behind the rock, the towering mast was far beyond the height of the rock, and the fiery red iron cross flag flying on the mast clearly appeared through the telescope head. In front of Nicholson.

"German battleship! Battle preparation! Damn, why didn't the radar find the enemy ship in the strait! Battle report!"

Nicholson almost threw the telescope in his hand. He can no longer regret or blame himself. The enemy has entered such a close distance. This is definitely a **** battle.

"It's Scharnhorst! God, I recognized that ship emblem! It was the battlecruiser Scharnhorst!" the acting captain yelled.

"We actually brought Scharnhorst close to 10,000 yards, damn, immediately aim at the enemy ship and fire!"

"Order the destroyer to attack immediately, we are too close, my God."

The Scharnhorst had already rushed out of the strait, and the British Navy was terrified that she seemed to have already prepared, and the three huge turrets had already turned to the direction of the British fleet.

Now the British fleet could not fire immediately anyway, everyone held their breath and waited for the fierce battleship to launch its first attack on itself.

But what surprised the British was that the Scharnhorst traversed the British route in such a magnificent way but did not fire. The British suddenly rekindled their fighting spirit. The Germans’ contempt angered all the British. Naval officers and soldiers, the main gun of the cruiser began to slowly turn towards the huge enemy ship, they want to let those stupid Germans know how expensive it would be to underestimate the Royal Navy.

But a few seconds later, the fanatical fighting spirit of the British once again extinguished as quickly as when they ignited. They could hardly believe their eyes, and another equally large ship shadow appeared behind the rock.

"Ge... Ge... The Gneisenau! We met the German battlecruiser formation!"

Nicholson listened to the exclamation of his ears, his heart was cold.

According to theory, Scharnhorst is enough to let her fleet drink a pot, even if she has entered her own range, it is enough to cope with all her attacks.

Now with the addition of Gneisenau, Nicholson no longer wants to estimate anything. The distance is too close, only to fight.

It seems that it was these two warships that attacked themselves before. Although they do not know how they aimed at themselves, this is no longer important. What is important now is how to get rid of the current predicament.

When he thought of the cargo on his fleet and the meaning of the cargo to the empire, Nicholson turned his heart, and now he is desperate.

In the current situation, it is good for the fleet to be able to run away, and even if it sacrifices half to keep the other half, it is a victory. It is better than the full account.

However, before waiting for Nielsen to give orders, the Germans gave him a heavy blow to his already overburdened heart!

Another German warship rushed out from behind the rock. This battleship is a full circle smaller than Scharnhorst, but the superstructure is designed to be smoother and more beautiful than the former, and the shiny hull is painted with black and white fragment camouflage.

"Admiral Hipper!"

The acting captain almost groaned.

"No, it's not Admiral Hipper! This is obviously a new ship, the Prince Eugen of Germany!"

Nicholson is very familiar with the warships of the German Navy, whether it is under construction or already launched.

"We met the main force of the German navy..."

Nicholson murmured that suddenly he seemed to remember something. He took the arm of the agent captain and shouted loudly: "Quick, signal, the whole fleet turns, turns right 90 degrees, and orders the destroyer to use torpedoes. Attack, the Germans occupied our T-headed position! Why the main gun has not been aimed, command all warships, design immediately after aiming, zi lure to shoot!"

Nicholson finally thought of the most famous tactic in the battleship tactics, which occupies the crosshead. He blamed him for too long as the commander of the destroyer fleet. The destroyer has no chance to use this tactic again.

"Look, it looks like a flag is raised on the mast of that battleship."

Nicholson quickly picked up the telescope and looked.

"This... this is, my God, the captain of Prince Eugen must be crazy!"

I saw a black flag fluttering across the tall mast of Prince Eugen. The middle of the black flag clearly depicts a grinning skull with a pair of crossed thigh bones behind it.

This is the most familiar flag of the British Royal Navy. This flag flew more than once on the ships of famous British naval generals.

This is a very well-made pirate flag with a very standard ratio and a flawless ratio.

The black skull flag hangs on the cross of the mast and hunts and flies, and it contrasts with the blood-red iron cross flag on the top of the mast. The German navy showed their strength for the first time before the British navy and even the entire world navy. The kind of elegant madness that shocked the whole world.

;