Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Liu Buchan's face turned pale, and he said: "I think that even if you can't win, you won't lose."

Guan Xuqing shook his head thoughtfully, "Zixiang, your thinking is too simple. This naval battle came very timely, and it just sounded a wake-up call for the empire. In the past, we only paid attention to building warships with large tonnage and heavy firepower. Regarding the study of naval warfare tactics, this naval battle let us know how advanced the tactical development of Britain and Germany is, and if the empire does not hurry up, I am afraid that they will soon be left behind in this regard.”

"twitter."

"After going down, compile the history of the Battle of Jutland into a book, trigger the entire navy, and study it carefully. According to the current world situation, although the world war has passed for several years, local wars around the world have never It has stopped, and a bigger war is quietly brewing. I can predict that in the near future, World War II will come. Dear friends, I want you to understand that there will be no more wars in the future. It was a one-on-one artillery battle in the past, but it will gradually evolve into electronic warfare, code warfare, and even psychological warfare. Our military theoretical research must not only keep up with the world's development trend, but also lead all countries!"

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

After the establishment of the Weimar Republic dominated by Hindenburg, Admiral Reinhardscher was appointed commander of the German Atlantic Fleet.Facing the powerful British main fleet, Scheer, a "rough and combative" old sailor, believed that although war was a contest of strength, there was only one realistic choice before him, either trapped in the port and doing nothing, or fought to the death. British main fleet.How to fight against a strong enemy with the German navy that is not dominant?After some deliberation, an aggressive and bold plan matured in Scheer's mind: first attack the British coast with a small number of battleships and cruisers, lure part of the British fleet forward, and then concentrate the main force of the ocean fleet to gather and annihilate them, and then defeat them in a decisive battle. British Main Fleet.In order to realize this plan, Scheer spent 4 months dispatching battlecruisers, submarines and "Zeppelins" to attack the east coast of England many times.And implement minelaying and reconnaissance operations.

In the early morning of May 5, Vice Admiral Hipper led a "decoy fleet" consisting of 31 battlecruisers, 5 light cruisers and 5 destroyers out of Wilhelmshaven as planned.According to Scheer's order, this "decoy fleet" will sail north along the west coast of Denmark to the Skagerrak Strait.In this way, many British spies on both sides of the Channel would report the passing position of Hipper's fleet to London.During the voyage, Hipper also let the radio transmitters of each ship keep sending reports to lure the British to take the bait.

Two hours after Hipper's departure, Scheer personally led the main force of the Oceanic Fleet and quietly left Wilhelmshaven.This is a huge fleet consisting of 2 battleships, 21 light cruisers and 6 destroyers, hidden 31 nautical miles behind the "bait fleet" fleet, ready to gather and wipe out the baited enemies at any time.In addition, a reconnaissance and support force composed of 50 large submarines, 16 small submarines and 6 large "Zeppelins" airships has been deployed in British waters and the North Sea in advance to closely monitor the movements of the British navy.

Resurgence: World War II Chapter 499 British and German Classical Naval Battles

Contrary to the high-profile voyage of the Hipper fleet acting as a "bait", the main formation led by Scheer maintained strict radio silence.At the same time, the radio station in Wilhelmshaven continued to use the call sign of Scheer's flagship "Frederick the Great" to communicate with the outside world, creating the illusion that Admiral Scheer and the main force of the Oceanic Fleet were still in the port.Scheer's plan seemed impeccable, but he never expected that the secret of this operation had been leaked.This just proves that war is full of contingencies.

This is because in World War II, after Russia sank the German light cruiser "Magdeburg" at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland, Russian divers accidentally discovered a German navy code book and semaphore manual in the wreckage of the German warship, and copied it Provided to the United Kingdom, the British easily deciphered the radio codes of the German Navy.

On the afternoon of May 5, Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the main fleet of the British Navy, received top-secret information from London: "The German Oceanic Fleet will set sail tomorrow."

After learning the information, Jellicoe worked out a battle plan that was exactly the same as Scheer's overnight: Vice Admiral Betty led the vanguard fleet from Rosyth, Scotland, and arrived in the waters near the Jutland Peninsula east of Norway on the afternoon of the 31st. In order to meet the German fleet.Jellicoe personally led the main fleet to set off from Scapaflo, and arrived at the sea area 31 nautical miles northwest of Betty's fleet on the afternoon of the 60st. If Betty and the German fleet exchange fire at this moment, after actively showing weakness, he should Lead the opponent to the direction of the main force of the fleet, so that Jellicoe's huge fleet will appear behind the side of the German ship.Relying on the huge firepower and speed of the British fleet, Jellicoe believes that he is absolutely sure to annihilate the German fleet appearing in the expected sea area.

This plan was approved by King Edward VII and the cabinet, and it was considered an excellent opportunity to revive the British Empire's naval power!

晚20时30分，杰利科亲率由24艘战列舰、4艘战列巡洋舰、20艘巡洋舰和50艘驱逐舰组成的庞大舰群开出了斯卡帕弗洛港。之后，贝蒂率领由4艘战列舰、6艘战列巡洋舰、14艘轻巡洋舰和27艘驱逐舰组成的前卫舰队驶离了罗赛思港。

A few hours later, the latest submarine developed by Germany and China, which was ambushed outside the port of Rosyth, sent back a telegram to the Atlantic Fleet saying "the enemy fleet is sailing".And Germany's "bait fleet" has long been under the surveillance of the British.The two fleets that almost came out in full force believed that their "bait tactics" had succeeded, and they headed towards the predetermined battlefield.

At this time, neither Scheer nor Jellicoe expected that the opponent's fleet had been dispatched in full, let alone that they would personally participate in the world's largest fleet battle in the near future.

At 5:31 on May 14, the British vanguard fleet led by Vice Admiral Beatty arrived in the waters north of Horn Reef.

At this time, on the sea to the east of the Beatty fleet, the German avant-garde fleet led by Vice Admiral Hipper was also heading north along a parallel route, and 40 nautical miles away was the main force of the German Atlantic Fleet led by Admiral Scheer. .However, at this time, neither Betty nor Hipper knew that the enemy was not far away from them. Seeing that the two hostile fleets were about to pass each other, the mysterious arrangement of fate forced the two rivals together.

At 14:20, a Danish cargo ship "Fjol" blew its whistle as it passed the sea south of the Jutland Peninsula.With a sharp whistle, a thick steam rushed into the sky.The British cruiser "Galati" and the German light cruiser "Elpin" discovered the abnormal steam at the same time, and both went to check.

When the two ships approached the freighter together, they recognized each other soon, and immediately sent a warning signal to their respective fleet commanders: "Enemy ship found!" signal.

At 14:28, the "Galati" first fired at the German ship, and the German ship "Elpin" also fired back. The two sides launched a short artillery battle.After this prelude, a total of 265 warships of various types, including 149 British ships, 116 German ships and about 10 naval officers and soldiers, was launched in the Battle of Jutland on an ocean surface of 400 square miles. The real battle has begun.

After receiving the report from the "Elpin" on his flagship "Lützow" that Vice Admiral Hipper had found the enemy, he ordered all the ships under his command to turn to the southeast and try to lead Betty to the main force of the Atlantic Fleet.Seeing that Hipper was about to slip away, Betty chased after him with a destroyer.His actions were so eager that his four powerful battleships failed to see the signal and fell behind by more than 4 nautical miles. As a result, Betty's original 10:10 strength against Hipper was reduced to 5:6.

At 15:45, on the Jutland sea, the two vanguard fleets of the British and German navies sailed in the same direction and on different sides. Because Betty was slightly faster in speed, the distance between him and Hipper was getting shorter and shorter.At the same time, the main fleets of both sides-Jellicoe is about 20 nautical miles away, and Scheer is about 40 nautical miles away.But under the lure of Hipper, Betty gradually approached the sea area where Scheer was, but he himself didn't know it.Of course, Hipper didn't know that besides the Betty fleet, there was a larger British fleet led by Admiral Jellicoe himself, which was also heading here.

At 15:48, Hipper ordered the ships to fire on the Betty fleet 21000 yards away. With the first batch of shells fired by the German ship, the battle between the avant-garde fleets of the two sides finally started!

Because the German ship adopted an advanced whole-ship unified azimuth shooting command system, the artillery hit rate was much higher than that of the British ship.In addition, the armor-piercing shells of the German army are also superior to the British army.After the exchange of fire between the two sides, the first salvo of the German ship hit Betty's fleet, and Betty's flagship "Lion" was hit frequently.

At 16:[-], an armor-piercing projectile pierced the middle turret of the "Lion" and exploded in the tower, igniting the gunpowder chamber.At the critical moment, Colonel Harvey, the turret commander whose legs had been blown off, struggled to order water to be filled into the ammunition compartment through the sound transmission tube, which saved the "Lion" from being sunk.

Just 5 minutes later, the British battlecruiser "Indomitable" was hit by 2 armor-piercing projectiles, an astonishing explosion occurred, and soon sank together with 1017 officers and soldiers on board.After that, Hipper ordered concentrated firepower to bombard the British battlecruiser "Queen Mary", causing the super dreadnought battleship with a displacement of more than 1275 tons to be hit several times. Only 9 people survived.

In just a few minutes, 10 British battlecruisers were sunk and 2 was injured, while the Germans only lost 1 small destroyers.The balance of power reversed rapidly, and the situation of the British army was precarious.At this critical moment, the 2 British battleships that had fallen behind arrived, roaring with cannons and raining bullets, and finally released Betty from the predicament.

Not long after, under the bombardment of the large-caliber artillery of the British battleship, the German fleet was a little bit overwhelmed. Hipper commanded his warship to fight to the east while retreating, and Betty chased after him.It wasn't until he discovered the main force of the oncoming German Atlantic Fleet that he realized that he had been fooled, and hurriedly ordered his fleet to retreat northward, and at the same time sent a power call to Jericho for help.Seeing this, Scheer ordered the fleet to pursue across the board, but he never expected that the "fish" he caught was also a bait set by others.At this time, Hipper was eager for revenge, turned around and led his fleet to the forefront.

At around 18:24, Jellicoe's main fleet entered the battlefield from the northeast and discovered the position of the German Atlantic Fleet.Jellicoe immediately ordered the fleet to change its battle formation, adopting the usual "T" prefix tactics in naval battles. The 1.5 battleships quickly lined up in a single combat line [-] yards long, and swooped towards the German Atlantic Fleet in the southeast.Betty's fleet also changed course, and fought fiercely with Hipper's fleet.

At 18:20, Hipper's flagship "Lützow" was hit by intensive artillery fire from the British ship, and two old British armored ships were also hit by the German battlecruiser, blowing up and sinking.

Thirteen minutes later, the British No. 13 Battlecruiser Squadron's flagship "Invincible" with a displacement of 1.7 tons was hit by a German ship and was immediately blown into two pieces. The fleet commander, Rear Admiral Hood, sank to the bottom of the sea together with the entire crew.However, the loss of the British fleet did not affect the numerical advantage of the main fleet. In addition, Jellicoe successfully used the "T" prefix tactics to give full play to the firepower of his naval guns.On the other hand, the German warships lined up one after another, because the front ones blocked the firing range behind them, so they were greatly hindered in exerting the power of their artillery.

What's even more unfavorable is that the Betty fleet, which turned ahead of time, has begun to insert into the rear of the German fleet. At this time, Scheer discovered that he was facing the entire British main fleet.Without hesitation, he decisively ordered the ships to turn to starboard.

According to this order, the German ships reversed course, made a sharp 180-degree turn, and withdrew from the battle.However, because the route to the German home base was cut off by the Betty fleet, the Atlantic Fleet had to head southwest. That is to say, the farther the Atlantic Fleet traveled, the farther it would be from the southeastern home base.

Seeing that Jellicoe did not pursue the pursuit, Scheer judged that Jellicoe must have deployed his main fleet on his return route, which was more terrifying than the pursuit!Therefore, Scheer decided to turn around and fight back when the British fleet changed its formation, and made a breakthrough from the tail of the main fleet, breaking the British blockade, fighting a bloody road, and returning to the base.

After some pondering, Scheer once again issued an order for the entire fleet to turn.He wanted to fight back and fight Jellicoe again.

Just after 19 pm, Scheer's fleet appeared on the port side of Jellicoe's fleet.Unfortunately, due to the calculation errors of the staff, the German Atlantic Fleet did not rush towards the tail of the British main fleet, but directly crashed into the center of the British main fleet, forming a "T" favorable to the British fleet again on the battlefield. Combat stance.The oceanic fleet was once again facing away from the sunset, its silhouette clearly visible, while the main fleet was still hidden in the smoke.

Seizing this favorable opportunity, the British battleship fired at a distance of 8000 yards. The German ship could not see the British ship, but only the flash of the distant muzzle.Seeing that the Atlantic Fleet was once again in a critical situation, Scheer immediately ordered the release of smoke screens and torpedoes, and ordered Hipper's battlecruisers to make a "death charge" to cover the main force and turn back.

Rising Clouds: World War II Chapter 500 Ending the Battleship Era

Under the cover of smoke and Hipper, the Atlantic Fleet was once again out of danger.When the last batch of ships rushed out from the chaotic army, the "Lützow", which had made many military exploits, was riddled with holes, unable to continue sailing, and was forced to abandon the ship and sink.The battlecruiser "Moltke" hoisted the command flag of Vice Admiral Hipper.

At 20:[-], the sky was gradually getting dark. Jericho was worried about being attacked by German torpedoes and mines, so he did not pursue. He planned to block the Scheer fleet from the route back to his home base, and wait until dawn. annihilate.In his words, "It's going to be a fantastic day for the Royal Navy".

Scheer also knew that if his fleet failed to break out of the encirclement by night, it would be impossible for him to have any hope after daylight.After careful analysis and calculation, Scheer decided to turn to the southeast, charge from the tail of the main fleet at night, and then return to the base via the Horn Reef waterway.For this reason, Scheer sent all available destroyers to intercept the main British fleet and cover the Atlantic Fleet to break through.

According to Scheer's order, the German destroyers fought desperately, like a pack of wolves, attacking the British main fleet from different directions, causing confusion and misjudgment to the British army, and Jellicoe couldn't figure out which direction the German fleet was in.

At 23:30, the Atlantic Fleet encountered the destroyer serving as the rearguard of the British Army, thus performing the final scene of the Battle of Jutland.

The two sides used flares, searchlights, and the flames of the ship's bullets to conduct aimless shooting and collision.During the night battle, the British battlecruiser "Black Prince" mistakenly thought that several huge black shadows approaching it were friendly ships, and sent a contact signal. As a result, four German battleships fired a salvo, and "Black Prince" immediately into a ball of fire.The old German battleship "Pomaen", light cruiser "Fraunlob" and "Rostock" were torpedoed and sunk by the British destroyer, and a light cruiser "Elibin" was torpedoed by the battleship "Elibin". Posen accidentally collided and sank.In this night battle, the losses of both combat destroyers were: 4 British and 1 German.This close fight also cut off the route between the German fleet and the home base.

At 6 o'clock in the morning on June 1, the German fleet finally broke through the British blockade and rushed towards the waters of Horn Reef.The Horn Reef waters are the only way to enter and exit the base of the German Ocean Fleet - Wilhelmshaven.At the beginning, after the outbreak of World War II, the German Navy laid countless sea mines here in order to defend against the sea attack of the British fleet.The mine array is extremely irregular, like a maze.So far, many British warships that attempted to attack Wilhelmshaven have never returned and were buried in minefields.To pass through the minefield, only a senior German naval officer knows the only narrow waterway in between.

At 3:30, it was the darkest moment before dawn. Scheer checked the compass position, found the entrance of the waterway, and commanded his fleet to line up in a column. One followed by the other passed through the minefield safely, heading towards Wilhelmshaven sails.At this point, the Atlantic Fleet finally got rid of the British main fleet!

Outside the minefield, the main British fleet that came after them could only roar and fire their guns, but did not dare to cross the minefield.

The light gray morning mist gradually dissipated, and Jellicoe returned to the bridge of the Iron Duke.Today looks like a fine day.The destroyers began to reassemble their formation, and the battleship resumed its daytime cruising formation. The gray bow crushed the oil stains on the sea surface, and floating wood, waste paper, and the bodies of sailors on both sides were everywhere. At 3:29, the Admiralty sent a telegram with unfortunate but certain news: As early as an hour ago, the German fleet was already 30 miles southeast, and even if the home fleet went directly through the minefield regardless of the consequences, it would not be able to catch up with Scheer. steps.

Jellicoe came to the deck and watched the bodies of the war dead wrapped in their hammocks and slowly slid into the sea. This is the tradition after the pirate Drake defeated the Spanish Armada 300 years ago. The day became one of the saddest for the Royal Navy.Betty sat in the corner, holding her face in her hands and lost in thought; Hipper looked back at the sea and was speechless, where his flagship had found a permanent bed; Scheer ordered the flagship to slow down and watched the Jasper River lock slowly open One after another, warships re-entered the Kiel Canal; the emperor was rushing in with medals and speeches; the Sea Lord was reviewing the battle report; Germany was cheering, Britain was reviewing, and the United States was watching coldly on the other side of the ocean.

There are also survivors rushing into the telegraph room to comfort their wives and family members, port workers indifferently watching the scarred warships scurrying into the berth, worried family members outside the railing of the Admiralty, women with sad faces and dry eyes. His eyes tried to understand the reality brought by the death notice.Thousands more, who used to be fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, are now buried in the shallow sand beds of the North Sea, becoming witnesses of that great era.Warring parties could not have foreseen.

What Jutland left for future generations is not regret, but only the infinite imagination of that great era!

"Just as the Romans crossed the ocean and ended Carthage, a new era has begun." The Times could only say this in a comforting way.

After the naval battle, both warring parties declared themselves the winners, so that how to judge it has become a famous public case in the history of world naval warfare.In this battle, the British fleet lost 3 battlecruisers, 3 light cruisers and 8 destroyers, with a combat tonnage of 11.5 tons and 6945 casualties; the German fleet lost 1 old battleship, 1 battlecruiser, 4 The light cruiser and 5 destroyers had a combat tonnage of 6.1 tons and 3058 casualties.Britain and Germany lost nearly 2 to 1.

In terms of tactics, the Germans were indeed the victors of this naval battle. The Atlantic Fleet launched a brave challenge to the powerful British main fleet. The Hipper fleet severely damaged the Betty fleet. It made him successfully get rid of the pursuit of Jellicoe, who had a great advantage.

However, in terms of strategy, the German Navy failed to break the British naval blockade. The Atlantic Ocean was still dominated by the British Navy. The German Atlantic Fleet was useless in the port and was still a nominal fleet.As the US "New York Times" commented: "The German fleet attacked its prison guards, but they remained in prison."

On June 6, Guan Xuqing personally inspected the Imperial Navy Department, and said to the senior military officials present with piercing eyes: "Through this British-German naval battle, we have passed on a lot of valuable information. For several years, the Germans have been hiding their own The strength of the British Royal Navy is stronger than we expected. The pace of development of the Imperial Navy has to be accelerated."

"Your Majesty is wise. After a few days of research, we have found that this naval battle is full of chance, and a small mistake may change the entire battle situation. In particular, Britain has lagged behind Germany in maritime intelligence. A two-hour error made them It was the first to suffer heavy losses." Lin Jianzhang calmly made his own analysis.

"Yes, there are also many inconveniences of fighting at night, which caused British and German warships to accidentally injure their own friendly ships. This is also a problem often encountered in naval battles all over the world." Liu Buchan also said.