Chapter 458： The Beast Will Still Fight (ask for a monthly ticket)

The battle was very fierce. Dozens of light cruisers and destroyers of the British Navy heroically launched a lightning strike to the German Navy in order to cover the retreat of the main fleet. However, they suffered heavy losses under the fierce firepower of the German navy.

The capital ships, cruisers and destroyers of the German Navy are using their main and secondary guns to cause damage to them. Even so, these light warships of the British Navy are still charging bravely.

"Boom! Boom!"

A destroyer of the British Navy successfully rushed to a place only 1,500 meters away from the battleship "Nassau" of the German Navy. Although, the battleship 'Nassau', already aware of the threat, fired at it violently with its main guns and secondary guns. However, unexpectedly, the British destroyer seemed to be very lucky. It easily dodged these shells, fired four torpedoes calmly, and then turned away unharmed.

"Leave and evade!" The captain of the battleship 'Nassau' immediately issued an emergency evasion order.

The speed of the battleship 'Nassau' has increased to 21 knots, but it is undoubtedly very difficult to avoid the four torpedoes coming at high speed. Moreover, the good luck of the battleship "Nassau" in this battle seems to have been used up long ago. So much so that they have been unlucky in the ensuing battles.

Among the four heavy torpedoes, two were missed. However, the other two hit the midship and stern of the battleship 'Nassau' respectively. After the torpedo exploded, two large openings were torn directly below the waterline of the battleship 'Nassau'. Sea water was poured into the hull of the battleship 'Nassau' frantically.

The captain of the battleship 'Nassau' ordered the damage control personnel to conduct damage control immediately. At the same time, request the flagship to withdraw from the battle. Although, the two heavy torpedoes did not completely disable the battleship "Nassau". However, under the current circumstances, if you continue to fight, you will most likely suffer more torpedoes. By that time, the battleship 'Nassau', which had already been severely damaged, would most likely be sunk. It is undoubtedly the safest thing to withdraw from the battlefield now.

Admiral Reinhard Scheer immediately approved their withdrawal from the battle after receiving the request from the battleship 'Nassau'. After all, the severely damaged battleship "Nassau" can restore its combat effectiveness only after returning to the shipyard for repairs. If you continue to fight, once you are sunk, the loss will be great.

The battleship 'Nassau' was hit by a torpedo and had to withdraw from the battlefield. This is undoubtedly a great incentive for the Royal Navy. Especially the officers and men of the light cruisers and destroyers who fought bravely, they have all seen their contributions. Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the Royal Navy continued to attack more bravely. Of course, this also caused more officers and soldiers of the Royal Navy to die on the way to attack.

"Boom! Boom!"

A light cruiser of the German Navy was hit by two torpedoes during the melee. Even a light cruiser with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons cannot withstand heavy torpedoes. Two heavy torpedoes directly killed him.

On another battlefield, a light cruiser of the British Navy is sinking. A battleship of the German Navy learned about his life with sharp gunfire.

At this point in the battle, both sides have forgotten their fear. Everyone has only one purpose, and that is to sink the enemy.

In the melee, except for the battleship 'Nassau' which was severely damaged, the battleships 'Grand Kurfürst', 'Saxony' and the battlecruiser 'Hindenburg' were all severely damaged by torpedoes. up. What was even more unlucky was the battleship "Thuringia", the third ship of the "Helgoland-class" battleship, which was sunk directly because it was hit by too many torpedoes.

It can be said that the German Navy paid a relatively heavy loss under the lightning strike of the British. However, they also achieved great results. Of the 12 light cruisers and 60 destroyers of the British Navy that participated in the lightning strike, 7 light cruisers and 45 destroyers were sunk. The rest of the light cruisers and destroyers eventually collapsed because they saw that their own formation losses were too great. It can be seen how great the results achieved by the German Navy are.

The severely damaged capital ships all withdrew from the battlefield, and under the protection of other warships, they returned to Germany for repairs. However, the fight had to go on. It is absolutely impossible for the eight British capital ships to escape.

"General Hipper, lead the battlecruisers to pursue the British capital ship. They must not be allowed to escape!" Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered with a dark face.

The lightning strike of the British Navy caused them to lose a battleship, and at the same time four capital ships were severely damaged. Such a price is not small.

In particular, the battleship 'Thüringen' became the first battleship of the German Navy to be sunk in this naval battle, which naturally made Admiral Reinhard Scheer full of anger up.

"Yes, General." Lieutenant General Hipper nodded.

Because the remaining capital ships of the British Navy had already escaped in the chaos when their light warships launched a lightning strike. Now, it was twenty or thirty kilometers away from them. Even the battleships of the German Navy are slightly faster than the battleships of the British Navy. But if you want to catch up with the capital ship of the British Navy, it is simply impossible. Especially now, when it was only three hours before dark.

As a last resort, Admiral Reinhard Scheer had no choice but to pin his hopes on the battlecruiser formation.

Lieutenant General Hipper led the remaining 11 battlecruisers to pursue the fleeing British army at a speed of up to 25 knots. In order to ensure that the warship could sail back to Scapa Flow, the British Navy did not dare to keep the boiler of the warship under forced ventilation. So, their speed will soon drop to around 18 knots.

Two hours later, the battlecruiser unit led by Lieutenant General Hipper successfully caught up with the main fleet of the British Navy. Even so, the battlecruiser does not seem to be very suitable for a decisive battle with the enemy's capital ship. However, the defense of the battlecruisers of the German Navy is no worse than that of the British battleships. Especially when they still have an absolute numerical advantage, they have nothing to be afraid of.

Admiral John Jellicoe and Lieutenant General David Beatty also knew that it was almost impossible to escape from the battlecruisers of the German Navy. Therefore, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue fighting.