At three o'clock in the morning, the German fleet began to turn according to the original plan. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe British cruiser Norfolk lost its target, and the British Navy was once again in a state of confusion.

You know, this time, they mobilized seven battleships, two battle cruisers, and five aircraft carriers to form an unprecedentedly large encirclement and suppression fleet.

The German fleet consisted of only two battleships, one battlecruiser, and one aircraft carrier......

Even counting only the British home fleet in the North Sea, the actual combat effectiveness of both sides was about the same, the British had a clear advantage in the number of battleships, and the Germans were stronger than their opponents only in carrier-based aircraft.

Things seemed to be moving in favor of the British, and although the German fleet was temporarily freed from contact with the British warships, with this turn the German fleet was even further away from home.

Moreover, at 3:27 a.m., that is, 17 minutes later, the cruiser Suffolk once again spotted the German fleet, which had completed its turn.

This time, the cruiser Suffolk had better luck, he spotted two German battleships, the battleship Tirbitz at the end of the fleet, and the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen!

However, because of the distance, the other side still could not discern what class the two German battleships belonged to--because Norfolk was so far away that Norfolk mistook these two battleships for the Gneisenau and the Prince Eugen.

At 3:30 a.m., the cruiser Suffolk sent a message to the cruiser Norfolk, which had lost its target, reporting what had happened to him and the German fleet.

A few minutes later, the cruiser Norfolk adjusted its course and then accelerated to the position where the German fleet was located, preparing to resume contact with the German fleet.

At 3:36 a.m., the British cruiser Suffolk sent a telegram to the naval command at home, reporting on the size of the German fleet it had seen, and the current course and position of the German fleet.

On the local side, Dudley in command? Pound was suddenly confused by this new news - how big was the German fleet?

Originally, he speculated that the German fleet had only two warships, and that the smaller cruiser at the head might be the Prinz Eugen, followed by the main battleship Bismarck.

But now, after the turn, the German fleet, after being discovered by the Suffolk, was obviously a large formation in front and small in the back.

That is, the German battleships in front were larger, while the ones that followed were slightly smaller. This means that the German fleet had at least three warships!

By Dudley? Pound's speculation, this large battleship in the middle, could not be the battlecruiser Gneisenau as speculated by the cruiser Suffolk!

The reason is simple - Germany did not have so many small cruisers to squander like this! Even the battleship Bismarck, the German Navy would almost only escort it with one cruiser!

Equipping the Gneisenau with two cruisers to form a fleet is a luxury! The battle cruiser Scharnhorn, which is of the same class as the Gneisenau, went to sea to fight, but did not even bring a cruiser!

So speculatively, Dudley? Pound was almost certain that the larger battleship in the center was a German battleship!

Have to admire Dudley? General Pound's experience is old and spicy. He guessed only by his uncertain speculation that the cruiser Suffolk had found a German battleship.

However, even if he guessed the general situation, there was one thing that could not be accurately deduced - how many battleships did the Germans dispatch?

If Germany had dispatched two battleships for this fleet, then the series of arrangements he had made before would not be enough.

The battleship fleet that surrounded the enemy ships consisted of only three battleships. And of these three battleships, two of them are old ships built in 1917.

Relying on such a lineup, it is really unknown who will win or lose in a decisive battle with two German battleships and a heavy cruiser.

In the case of absolute superiority, Dudley? Pound's most taboo thing is the uncertainty of victory!

As soon as something went wrong, letting the German fleet take advantage of it would put the whole situation in passivity.

"Damn, how many battleships did the Germans dispatch?" An officer complained not far away, saying Dudley? What Pound wanted to say in his heart.

Dudley? Pound thought for a moment and made some minor adjustments—he ordered the Fury to cancel its mission and change course to join the other two British battleships headed north, the Nelson and the Rodney.

He hoped that such a change would slightly strengthen the battleship squadron and avoid a situation in which the fleet would not have enough combat strength to cope with the battle after it collided with the German fleet.

He then adjusted the distance between the two battleship fleets, hoping to echo each other and avoid being broken by the German fleet.

He then ordered the cruiser Dorset to continue northward to join the two cruisers that had discovered the German fleet first, and to confirm the actual size of the German fleet.

By the time all these orders were issued, it was close to 4 a.m. Although the sky was still covered in darkness in the icy North Atlantic, it was not far from dawn.

At a time when Britain was in turmoil to confirm the size of the German fleet, Lütjens was also feeling increasing pressure.

The cruiser Prinz Eugen had just typed Morse code with directional lights when the sad news came: its radar had spotted a British battleship, which was tailing the fleet on the flanks of the fleet.

At the same time, in the northeast direction of the fleet, another British battleship was speeding up - apparently, the other side had spotted the German fleet and was summoning more British battleships to arrive.

If the two British battleships had been following the vicinity all the time, then the route of the German fleet would still have a position, and it would have been impossible to keep it secret.

Well, the result that Lütjans, or all the top echelons of the German Navy, including Raeder, did not want to see, was in front of the eyes of the German fleet!

In this case, his fleet could only meet the British fleet in a certain sea area, and then a decisive battle with a huge disparity of power would occur.

The British fleet would use twice or even three times the strength of the fleet to annihilate his fleet and then leave with victory.

And the German Navy, almost after this decisive battle, ended its World War II journey ahead of schedule. For the rest of the war, regardless of Germany's victory or defeat, the navy could only sit on the sidelines and watch helplessly as everything happened.

Early exit was not what Lütjens wanted, and he did not want to become a sinner for the entire navy, or even for the whole of Germany.

So he could only look at Hines, the commander of the naval aviation, who had just woken up, and asked: "If dawn comes, can you find a way to drive away these damned enemy cruisers?" ”

Hines looked excited, because after waiting all night, and now that he finally had a chance to get him on the court, how could he not be excited?

He nodded and said, "As long as my attack planes take off, I will be able to take out these cruisers!" ”

In Hines's opinion, in front of 28 Stuka C-type attack aircraft, two British cruisers are really not a threat! Even if these two cruisers could not be sunk, it would be more than enough to drive them away.

Hearing Hines's answer, Rutteyans was a little relieved. Still, he decided to change course and try to maneuver to get rid of the British cruisers that were trailing.

So, at 4:11 a.m., Lütjans gave another order to make the fleet correct its course ten degrees to the north, hoping to get rid of the entanglement of the British cruiser to the south.

His steering did work, and the cruiser Suffolk likewise lost its target a few minutes later.

At 4:16 a.m., the Suffolk sent a telegram that it had lost its target, and the cruiser Norfolk could not confirm the position of the German fleet, so it had to slow down.

The two cruisers slowed down their speed, which was shown on the radar of the Prinz Eugen, and then Lütjens was debriefed, and he felt the pressure on his shoulders lessen.

However, because the speed of the formation could not reach the maximum speed of a single ship such as 30 knots, the German fleet was soon discovered by British cruisers again.

After such entanglement, the time had reached 4:47, and the British cruisers, because of the frequent loss of the position of the German fleet, could only narrow the distance between the two sides a little more to ensure that they could maintain contact.

The captain of the cruiser Norfolk, who was following the rear of the German fleet, did not suddenly remember that his position seemed to be very bad until 5:20!

Soon the sun will rise in the east, and the sea in the west will be dark.

The sunlight will completely expose the position of the two British cruisers, and will also illuminate the silhouettes of the two cruisers clearly.

Over time, as long as they avoided the harsh sunlight, the German battleships could aim and shoot and fire at the British cruisers......

"Hell! If we continue like this, we will be sunk by the Germans! The depressed British captain frowned and muttered.

His thoughts also made the Suffolk hesitate, and the two cruisers decided to speed up, one left and one right, and disperse to the sides of the German fleet to find a better position.

At this time, the British cruiser Dorsetshire was speeding up in the south. And to the south of Iceland, a small fleet of British aircraft carriers Dreadnought is also quietly approaching.

Because the speed and course of the German battleships were determined, the British fleet that surrounded them took a shortcut, so they were gradually closing the distance between them and the German fleet.

------------

The seventh is offered! Ask for a reward, ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass!