Chapter 361

What kind of waiting is the longest waiting? Others are in the toilet and you are outside? Well, that's not what I'm talking about. The feeling of German admiral lutjans and British admiral Holland may be that they are waiting outside the toilet for a long time.

There are many funny coincidences in history. For example, now, although both countries have admirals, in such an important naval decisive battle, it happens that the leader is not the top commander of the Navy - coincidentally, both of them have the same rank of general.

On the carrier Empire, the flagship of the high seas fleet of the German Navy, the bridge was busy. Some people were confirming the position of the fleet and the guard circle, while others were asking if the rear guard ships had found the position of the British navy.

Lutjans raised his head and looked at the clock hanging in the command room, striking the table anxiously, his face tense and expressionless. Only he knew how anxious his heart was. The pressure to make this decision is driving him crazy now.

The Admiral lowered his head, looked at his fingers, and saw that his once determined hands were shaking slightly at this moment. He knew that if he opened his mouth now, his lips would tremble and his voice would be out of tune. He was not afraid of the responsibility on his shoulders, but of the dream of destroying an empire.

He has a kind of impulse, want to clap the case, turn the bow to fight with the British opponent with cannons. Unfortunately, he knew he couldn't do it because he didn't even have the qualification to fight for death. He had to run away, only to fight for his life.

I don't know how many times, he raised his head again, looked at the wall clock, looked at the minute hand, dazed. He prayed for the dawn to come soon, but he was afraid of it. The contradictory mood lingers in my heart, which makes me suffer every minute.

Because dawn is the moment when he begins to attack, the carrier based aircraft in the hangar has already hung up the bomb and torpedo, looking forward to the moment when dawn comes; However, he did not dare to look forward to the dawn, because the moment before the dawn was dark, it might be the moment when the British warships were firing with thousands of guns, and he died.

On the British fleet's flagship hood, lieutenant general Holland kept pulling out his pocket watch and frowning at the time. If there is one person in the world who can understand the feelings of lieutenant general lutjans, the commander of the German fleet, it is undoubtedly Holland.

The same anxious waiting, the same nervous hesitation, the same urgent expectations, the same fear and confusion. They are really two brothers in need at this moment, each enjoying their own depression and fear. As the flagship of the fleet and the core of the whole fleet, lieutenant general Holland's Battlecruiser, the Hurd, is at the forefront of the whole fleet. Next to him is another huge ship on the sea, also the prestige of the Battlecruiser.

Lieutenant general Holland put down his pocket watch because he found his hand shaking. If this over tense detail is seen by others on the bridge tower, it will affect morale to a certain extent - any detail, lieutenant general Holland wants to be the best.

He had a obsession in his heart, which was the obsession of the Royal Navy of the British Empire for 100 years; There was a figure in front of him, which was in the heart of every sailor in the Royal Navy of the British Empire. He wants to compare with the hero Nelson. He wants to create his own legend of Holland!

The sea was still dark, and nothing could be seen in the distance, but Holland knew that the German fleet was there, not far away. The hands of the clock have pointed to the number in my heart. It seems that God is on the side of the British this time.

"Command the fleet, speed up!" Standing in front of the bridge at a window, lieutenant general Holland could see the two powerful turrets in the fore bow of the USS hood and the four 381 mm main guns that made him confident. This is the capital for him to win the dawn, and also the guarantee for the future of the British Empire's sea power.

Just now came a message, hiding in the Netherlands near the port of the British submarine sent a telegram, confirmed that the German Navy did not find the news. This intelligence greatly increased the confidence of lieutenant general Holland, and also let him know that the German naval fleet must be in front of him.

So at this moment of destiny, at 2:41 a.m., Holland gave his offensive order: "turn on the boiler and add force! The whole fleet sprints at top speed! Pull in the distance from the German Navy! "

At 2:41, the German Navy received bad news that really made lutjans dizzy. At the end of the line, the destroyer who was in charge of guarding sent back a message with a signal light. At 2:37, the guard ship radar found the following British ship formation. It seemed that the distance was more and more unfavorable to the German Navy.

Lutjans took out his handkerchief and wiped it twice on his forehead. Then he propped himself up and went to the chart table again. He used the ruler he had used for many years to measure the distance between the two sides again.

"It seems that the other side is speeding up. Even if our escort ships turn around and release torpedoes, it may not work." Lutjans dropped his ruler, looked at the chart and said, "can we only give up? Give up a few escort ships and go to the trouble of the British navy? "

He knew that destroyers would not work. No matter how many destroyers there were, it would be impossible for the huld to slow down and launch torpedoes? If you don't get into the range of 10 kilometers, you will be sunk, or even can't get to the farthest distance to release the torpedo. Even if it is lucky enough to get into the distance, it will be killed by the destroyers and cruisers rushing up. It is estimated that the real body of the hood will not be seen at all“ Report An officer came in, not looking very well. He handed a telegram to lutjans, and then he told him in pain, "the armored ship in the rear, count Spey, Admiral, is turning."“ Count Spey, Admiral. I'm going to cut it off! Please continue to lead the army north. Long live the leader! Long live the great Germany Lutjans took the telegram, looked at the words in silence, and suddenly felt something burst out of his eyes. These naval officers and men did not lack courage, but they did not dare to let the Empire's maritime future become a bubble because of their courage. When disaster strikes, the soldiers of the Imperial Navy never lack courage, as did the predecessors who carried out the rainbow project, and so do the soldiers who are now preparing for the battle of the English Channel. Along with the Admiral Spey, there were two destroyers and a cruiser in the rear. These warships, which were only equipped with small caliber anti-aircraft guns, did not hesitate when turning. They silently turned their bow and blocked the British Navy's big ships with their weak bodies“ Fleet speed up! Speed up to 24 knots! Every effort must be made to postpone the war until dawn! " Instead of using his handkerchief, he wiped his face with his hand and gave his command in a trembling voice. All the warships began to accelerate, and the tragic atmosphere spread. Some Navy fighter pilots even asked to take off ahead of time. They would rather crash into the sea than carry out a wave of air strikes on the British * ships. But lutjans rejected the request. He wanted to preserve every part of his fighting power to meet the dawn that belonged to him. Soon, the sound of artillery battle came from the rear. The German Navy relied on radar technology to fire first, but it seemed that these shells had no effect on the British Navy's battlecruisers. But preemption did cause trouble for the British navy, which had to reduce its speed to 24 knots. At close range, the British Navy's battleship hood then fired back. The first volley hit the sea near the German battleship because of the aim at night. However, the British Navy Gunners showed their superb aiming skills in the second volley and directly hit the German cruiser who was coming to launch the torpedo, The German cruiser was smashed in two. Knowing that he was doomed, the German Navy armored ship Earl Spey, Admiral Hao did not flinch. He left behind the British warships and ignored them. He seized the cruisers on the left wing of the British fleet and the destroyers opened fire fiercely, sinking a British light cruiser at one go. However, he was paralyzed on the sea at the same time and lost the ability to continue fighting. The main gun of the counterattack hit the rear main turret of the Admiral Speyer and directly cut the rear of the warship into two pieces. The former main turret of the German warship was also hit by a British cruiser. Within ten minutes of the battle, the 10000 ton warship was hit and set on fire, and the whole warship began to tilt violently. Desperate German naval officers and men are still fighting back, the ship's 150 mm caliber guns until the end of the cast iron is still firing. However, the British navy had no spare time to waste time on such a small fish, leaving only one cruiser to continue shelling the German ships to clean up the mess. Hearing the sound of gunfire farther and farther away, and watching the sky still dark, lutjans began to feel a sense of despair. Can we say that dominating the sea is just an unattainable dream of the German Navy? Is the invincibility of these days just a spring and autumn dream? Is it true that he will be remembered as a criminal of the German Navy? Why? Lutjans clenched his fist. He clenched his teeth and asked in his heart: why? Why don't I have a battleship?