The 2nd detachment's incomparably smooth attack sank El Nest? At the same time, the Renan also made the French react. Compared www.biquge.info German light cruisers that were shooting at each other in the dark, the destroyers rushing up from the other side were the assassins who would kill in the dark. The French didn't care about revealing their position at this time, and the beams of searchlights that were still available on the 2 armored cruisers illuminated the sea again.

Although the light cruiser decisively turned on the searchlights in an attempt to interfere with the French's line of sight, and the 150-mm naval guns were more accurately smashed on the French, the 3rd detachment was still under heavy fire from the armored cruisers.

The angle of the 3rd detachment's assault at this time was not very good, and the French armored cruisers, except for the 4 main guns that were firing at the light cruiser, were almost all aimed at the 3rd detachment with intact starboard fire.

However, the 3rd detachment must also charge forward at this time, because this Jules in front of him? The armored cruiser USS Michelet blocked that Edgar? The firing angle of the Guine-class armored cruisers, but as soon as the French start to turn to the right, the horizontal formation will become an oblique wedge formation, so that the French armored cruiser that was originally basically in a parallel state will be pulled to the left rear position and thus get the firing angle!

Therefore, it would be a waste of time to adjust the course now to get a better angle of attack, which would only lead the whole detachment to a worse situation of being set on fire by two armored cruisers!

The French were apparently aware of this, and the two armored cruisers began to deflect their bows in the hope of firing all their power across the hull.

The fierce artillery fire of the French streaked across the night sky, and looking at these strips of light, the officers and men of the 2nd detachment in the rear could imagine what kind of situation the comrades of the 3rd detachment in the front were facing.

On the Z-119, Captain Novotini gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, and his comrades in front of him were charging with 5 164-mm naval guns and at least 10 or more rapid-fire guns! Soon more naval guns will join the ranks of the 3rd assault detachment, can you just watch like this now?!

Captain Novotini was clearly not alone.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The fire of the 5th Regiment on the Z-114 made Captain Novotny shout excitedly: "Worthy of Major Heckner!" I knew he would! Fire! Beat the damn French guys for me! ”

Detachment 3, which was located in the rear of the 2nd detachment, did not block the angle of friendly fire in front of Jules? The Mishleigh, after firing at the exposed position, means that Edgar? The Kene-class armored cruisers will point their guns at themselves! However, at this time, all the officers and soldiers of the 2nd detachment still made the same reaction!

Z-115 and Z-120 opened fire almost at the same time as Z-119, and the gunners, who had been suppressing their emotions and waiting for orders, vented all their anger with shells!

The firing of 20 105-mm naval guns immediately attracted the French to return fire. The pillar of light of the Kene-class armored cruiser swept over the position of the 2nd detachment, and then the shells of 4 194-mm naval guns and several 65-mm rapid-fire guns came at us.

Detachment 2 was attacked, but Captain Novotini was still more worried about Detachment 3 in front, Edgar? The 194-mm naval guns of the Kinet-class armored cruisers are indeed powerful, but the rate of fire is not fast, and it is not very useful against small targets such as destroyers, and the more threatening ones are the 65-mm rapid-fire guns, but at this time the 2nd detachment and Edgar? The distance between the Kinet-class armored cruisers was more than 9000 yards, and the French were not much better. And the 2nd detachment attracted that Edgar? The attention of the Kine level, believing that the 4th detachment in the rear will not waste this opportunity.

But the 3rd detachment faced Jules? The situation with the Mishlai is not encouraging, Jules? The rate of fire of the 164-mm naval guns on the Mishlai was not very fast, but the threat of 5 164-mm naval guns was still much greater than that of 4 194-mm naval guns, and the 3rd detachment and Jules? The Mishlai is also closer.

Jules? The searchlights of the Mishley were firmly locked on to the 3rd Squadron, and Captain Novotini could see the four destroyers weaving through the French fire like dolphins jumping on the sea, threatening to be hit at any moment.

Suddenly, only a violent explosion was seen erupting from the lead ship of the 3rd detachment, and orange-red fire balls rose from the middle of the destroyer's hull, and the dazzling fire eclipsed the French searchlight columns. Her torpedo tubes were hit, and the explosion of 3 550-mm torpedoes instantly engulfed the battleship. It was Z-121, the seat of Major Stematt, the commander of the 3rd detachment.

The captains of the four detachments knew each other well, and Captain Novotini knew that Major Stmatt's hometown was in Königsberg, East Prussia, but he was assigned to serve in the Mediterranean Fleet, and the distance between the troops and his hometown stretched almost the entire length of the empire.

This year, before he could get on holiday, war broke out, and immediately after East Prussia was invaded by the Russians, he only learned from letters home that his family had gone to live with relatives in Dresden, where it was safe and far from the battlefield. When we had been drinking together, Major Stematt had also said that he would go to Dresden to see his family on a leave of absence for meritorious service, but now he may not be able to go.

When the smoke cleared, a huge gap appeared in the middle of the Z-121 hull, the horizontal deck was missing, a huge gap appeared in the side hull, and the large hole torn by the explosion reached the boiler room. Completely out of power, the Z-121 collapsed on the surface of the sea with a huge gap in the middle of the hull, making it look like the ship was about to break in two at any moment. The superstructure was almost bulldozed, two chimneys were missing, the bridge in front was unrecognizable, and the officers and men in the bridge were more than lucky.

The tragic situation of Z-121 not only did not frighten the officers and soldiers of the 3rd detachment behind her, but made them even more fierce! Three destroyers passed past the almost wreckage of the Z-121 and continued to pounce on Jules in front of them? USS Michelet!

8000 yards!

7000 yards!

6000 yards!

Just as the destroyers of the 3rd detachment were about to rush into the torpedo attack range, a 164-mm shell pierced the waterline behind the hull of the second destroyer, and the shell that exploded inside the hull instantly destroyed the entire engine room. With a standard displacement of only 1,100 tons, the Z-124, unarmored and unprotected underwater, suddenly lost power and immediately began to enter the water and tilt.

The Z-124, which was paralyzed at sea and began to tilt, did not withdraw from the battle, and the ship's five 105-mm naval guns continued to fire at the French. In order to avoid the torpedo being hit, let their battleship hold out for a while longer, and by the way, by the way, the torpedo team switched the torpedo to the long-distance mode as fast as possible and fired all 6 torpedoes.

The new 550mm torpedo has a range of 28 knots and 15,000 yards in long-range mode, which is best if it can be missed, and even if it misses, it can scare the damned French.

The French were really frightened, and the searchlight illuminated 6 tracks that appeared on the sea, Jules? The Mishlai began to turn in a panic, and behind the 6 torpedoes, there were 2 destroyers that continued to pounce on her! The French gunners did not know for a while who to attack first.

While the French were scrambling, two destroyers finally rushed into the ideal attack position.

5000 yards!

The Germans did not spare their hands, 2 destroyers shot out all the torpedoes, and 12 torpedoes pulled out 12 snow-white tracks on the sea!

Jules? The French officers and men aboard the Michelet also knew that this was the moment to decide their fate, and the huge hull tried with all their strength to point the bow in the direction of the torpedo attack, and the ship's guns fired wildly at the track on the sea.

But Jules? The rapid-fire guns on the Mishlai were only 47 mm in caliber, and the shells were far less powerful than the 65 mm rapid-fire guns on other armored cruisers. The kinetic energy of the shell is quickly exhausted after entering the water, and the force of the explosion cannot destroy the thunder body passing underwater.

Jules? The French officers and men of the Michelet, like the officers and men of the German battlefleet that had previously been elsewhere in the Ionian Sea, could only watch as the snow-white track weaved through the blast and then got closer and closer.

Jules? The Mishley had good luck tonight, as the Z-122 destroyer fired six torpedoes that were as good as her bow, and she had already dodged 18 torpedoes tonight, including the previous torpedo attacks from German light cruisers. However, when the best of luck ran out, two of the six torpedoes of the Z-123 plunged into the rear of her hull, causing her power system to shut down and her speed to plummet. And the hit of the Z-123 also brought an unexpected effect, if Jules? The Mishley continued to sail, and she would be able to dodge the torpedoes fired by the Z-124, but Jules? The Mishley was actually hit by one of the six torpedoes fired by the Z-124.

Looking at Jules? The Mishley tilted its hull and began to sink slowly, and the Z-124, which was also tilting, suddenly turned on its searchlights and shone on Jules? The sinking figure of the Michelet.

The Z-124 was unsustainable, its engine room was completely destroyed, and it was powered by backup diesel generators alone, and the ship's pumping engines could not prevent seawater from filling the entire boiler room. The Z-124 could not escape the sinking result, and the captain gave the order to abandon the ship.

However, even if you want to abandon the ship, let the officers and men who fought bravely look at the sinking figure of their enemy and abandon the ship with the joy of the victor! The gunners, who had been firing desperately, finally left their gun emplacements and huddled together with the other crew members who had also stepped onto the deck, watching the sinking of the French battleship by the light of searchlights.

The lifeboat on the ship had been put into the sea early to pick up the wounded on the Z-121, so the officers and men on the ship were not in a hurry, and gathered together to face the sinking Jules? The Mishleigh trumpeters danced and judged as if they were watching a riveting movie in a movie theater.

It was not until finally stopped at the urging of the officer, and many people were facing Jules? The figure of the Mishlai spat hard before jumping into the sea with a relaxed and proud look.

In the light of a searchlight, Jules? The Mishley slowly sank into the sea, and soon the Z-124's searchlight was extinguished, and the sailors soaked in the sea knew that their battleship had come to an end, but even with the ups and downs of the waves, there was no frustration or sadness on the faces of the sailors, they were victors. And the victory of their own fleet is assured, and they will soon be rescued.

The moment when the victory was completely certain, the complete end of the entire French armored cruiser fleet, did come very quickly. Edgar, who had already been beaten into a fireball by 7 light cruisers and was also attracted to the attention of the 2nd detachment? The Kenay did not spot the torpedo fired by Detachment 4 until 3,000 yards away, and although it immediately began to turn to evade, it was too late.

4 torpedoes hit Edgar? The bow of the Keener, a violent explosion detonated the forward main turret ammunition depot, a huge fireball lit up the entire night sky, and flames spread out in all directions, even beyond the top of the main mast, Edgar? The huge hull of the Keane was snapped off at the waist, and the bow sank quickly, while the flaming rear hull still stubbornly floated on the surface of the sea, like a flame beating on the surface of the sea.

Under the light of the fire, the German officers and men who were immersed in the water saw that their destroyers were slowly approaching, and cheers suddenly rang out on the sea.

At the same time, 20 nautical miles to the southwest, Captain Trapp looked at the sea level that seemed to be burning red in the night, and also heard the explosion that had been heard for tens of miles. After thinking for a while, he turned to his deputy and said, "Get ready for battle, let's go over and have a look!" ”