"Haha! Sixteen inches! Then we'll have to keep our eyes open! Someone from the secondary gun position said to an lookout.

"You'd better keep your mouth shut for me!" The lookout said with annoyance. At this moment, his binoculars were swaying back and forth with the swaying of the swivel chair. "As soon as the Germans show up, I'm sure I'll see them!"

At this time, the cruiser sailed through the English Channel with difficulty, braving the bitter cold wind and rolling waves, and continued to patrol.

"The guys at home are comfortable." One of the men on deck said, "They wouldn't have thought it would be so cold and so bumpy." ”

"Without us, they are not comfortable, the German artillery will wake them up! Ha ha! “

"Twenty-eight hours have passed since our main fleet went to sea last night. Where can the Germans be? "I don't think it's likely to be here anyway."

"Yes, what do the Chinese say? Yes, the Germans have water in their brains. ”

Hearing this man's words, there was a burst of laughter from the deck, but it was quickly interrupted by the wind and waves.

"I don't know if the Germans' brains are in water, I just know that our brains are about to get into the water.

Someone let the sudden wave get soaked and said there self-deprecatingly.

At this time on the cruiser "Nottingham", the lookouts were changing shifts. The new lookouts took the binoculars, sat in the swivel chairs of one of their office workers, and began to rock in the bitter sea breeze. Daniel is one of them. After a while, he felt as if he had seen something. He watched it carefully for a while. On the water antenna, there was a vague thing that was rapidly approaching.

"Starboard wrinkle! Discover the warship! ”

At this time, the outline of the target is getting larger and larger. The figures of the four large warships looked particularly powerful under the gray sky.

Hearing Daniel's shout, a dozen pairs of binoculars looked towards starboard side in unison.

Daniel

"Enemy ship spotted on the starboard side! More than six! Someone else noticed something new and screamed hoarsely.

At this moment, the figure of the battleship "Kaiser Wilhelm" was getting closer and closer.

The moment he saw the "Kaiser Wilhelm", Daniel's breath stopped.

At this time, the sea fog was still very strong, and it was difficult to see the situation on the German battleship", but Daniel seemed to feel that the main turret of the German battleship was turning, and the huge gun barrel was slowly pointing at him.

Suddenly, a dark red glow flashed through the fog, followed by a thunderous roar.

The side of the "Nottingham" instantly rose high columns of water, and the sea water poured down like a waterfall, and Daniel and his companions staggered one by one, and before they could stand firm, the German battleships began to shoot again.

In the wheelhouse under the bridge, "Hands are standing there." Suddenly, from the barrel above his head came a hurried helm order: "Left Man! He immediately spun the wheel of the wheel, and "Nottingham" immediately changed course sharply. As the cruiser began to make a quick turn with an unprecedented movement, many people in the cabin were caught off guard and fell together.

"What's going on?" A sailor asked, frightened.

"What else could it be? We've got a German! Someone replied.

"Send a report to the Admiralty!" At this time, on the bridge of the cruiser "Edinburgh", the captain said in a trembling voice, "Express: discovered" Wilhelm the Great and "Platoon the Great, the great, headed south, longitude,...... Latitude ............"

"I wish we hadn't been hit by the telegrams before they sent..."...... Looking at the flash of the German gun's muzzle flame in the fog in the distance, someone said in the same trembling voice.

And just as he finished speaking, a huge fire suddenly flashed in the distance, followed by a deafening explosion.

"Nottingham, Horn!" Nottingham, the number was hit! Someone shouted.

Looking at the "Nottingham", which had broken into two and quickly disappeared into the sea of fire, the bridge stopped and suddenly became a mess.

"Quick! There is fog on the port side! Let's take refuge in it! The captain said anxiously.

Under the captain's loud orders, the "Edinburgh" quickly sailed into a thick fog that looked like a thick wall. In an instant, a thick fog covered the bow and bridge of the ship to the stern of the ship. In just a dozen seconds, "the cruiser was completely hidden in the thick fog." With the sharp turn of the warship, the stern of the ship set off a tumbling wake. There was no need for an order, and all the officers on duty remained silent at their posts. ,

At this time, in the newspaper room, with the "click" of the electric keys, the news of the discovery of the "Wilhelm the Great" and the main forces of the German fleet arrived.

In the war room of the British Admiralty in London, an officer reported to Vice Admiral Frederick Situdi, Chief of Staff of the Navy: "Sir, the radio is copying an express telegram. ”

"Send it over as soon as you're done!"

Vice Admiral and Second Sea Lord, Lord Hamilton, waited anxiously at the chart table. Although it was only a few minutes from the time the radio was copied to the time it was delivered, they felt as if they had been waiting for hours.

Soon "the telegram came, and the vice admiral glanced at the telegram" and his face immediately changed.

"The German fleet was discovered." Edinburgh, who spotted them in the Strait of Dover, is on track. The location is longitude......... Latitude ......"...... He pointed to the charts and said, "Here it is." ”

Hearing the words of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, some people in the combat command hall actually cheered, and many people had smiles on their faces. But when they heard the Chief of Staff of the Navy say in a deep tone that the "Nottingham" had been hit and sunk. After that, the hall fell silent again.

"So they ran right under our noses...... "The Second Sea Lord pointed to the direction of the German fleet on the chart, "and their purpose was to cross the English Channel, was it?" ”

"I think so. The Vice Admiral's face was slightly gloomy.

"What are they trying to do?" Hamilton asked.

"I guess their target is the landing ground in Brest......," Studi said in a deep voice, frowning.

Hearing Studdy's answer, Hamilton's brow furrowed.

"It's not a good thing, our main fleet has already departed, and we probably don't know about it yet......" Hamilton asked the officers around him, looking carefully at the charts, "What other large warships can we use to intercept the Germans?" ”。

Several officers hurriedly checked and replied with some hesitation: "There are still two American battleships in Popmouth there. There were also two Japanese battleships in Cherbourg......"

"Tell me their names......" Hamilton asked, apparently unhappy with his answer.

"The American battleships were" Delaware, and "North Dakota, ......" the officer replied, "the Japanese battleships were" Katori, and "Kashima, ." ”。

"They're all old guys......" Hamilton said to himself, tapping his fingers on the table with some annoyance.

"Yes," said Delaware, and "North Dakota, in terms of age, are both old ladies, and they are too old," and "William the Great, who is almost their granddaughter." "Not to mention the two Japanese battleships." ”。

"To ask them to intercept the new capital ships of the Germans is to send them to death. Hamilton said sarcastically, "even if we had given such an order, the Japanese would probably not have complied with it." ”。

"But we can't let the Germans just pass through the English Channel...... "Studdy's eyes were fixed on the position of Brest on the chart, "it's true that they will intercept it, but if the German fleet reaches the landing site, there will be an even more terrible massacre." And we may well lose the war. …”

Listening to Studdy's words, Hamilton's face also became extremely ugly.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to make a sacrifice......," Hamilton said, "but what if the Japanese refuse to obey orders?" ”

"They'll go......" Studdy couldn't help but be very annoyed when he remembered what the Japanese had done since they entered the war, but his face was unusually calm at this time, "I'll let them go." ”。

"As long as they can hold back the enemy's footsteps and let our main fleet catch up......" Hamilton knew that Study was thinking about them, and he did not ask Study how to get the Japanese to go.

"Send a telegram to Betty at once, telling him where the Germans are, and asking him to bring back the battleship of the Chinese at once...... " Studdy said to one of the officers.

The officer took the order, and Studi thought for a moment, called another officer, whispered a few words in his ear, and the officer nodded, turned and walked away quickly.

Just then, another officer sent a telegram: "Sir, this is" York, and "Scharnhorst, the position, course, and speed." …”

"The battle cruisers of the Germans also sorted. "I think they were going to use this method to seduce Betty." ”。 ,

"Tell Betty to leave the German battlecruisers alone and go to the English ......Channel at once," Hamilton said with some anxiety.

Studdy nodded, and gave the order again, and the atmosphere in the hall changed significantly, and there was excitement and tension everywhere. Except for the two vice admirals, who were a little worried, the other officers were all very excited.

A series of radio signals are being sent outward:

"Send a signal to" the commander of the Republic, Grand Fleet. …”

"To" Delaware, signal.

"Signal" to the monarchy, the trumpet. ”。

A short time later, the officer who had just received Studdy's orders returned, and reported to Study that his account had been done.

"You know that now that we have learned about the latest developments in the situation, we can explain to them later how urgent the situation is! Study smiled self-deprecatingly and said to Hamilton.

Hamilton gave Study a knowing smile: "I'm sure they'll understand in the future." He looked up at the clock on the wall, "I guess it won't be long before the prelude to the battle begins." ”。

"Delaware." Battleship, bridge.

Commander Tari, commander of the American fleet formation, Rear Admiral Seahouse, and his staff were leaning over a chart. The naval officer was marking and drawing on the chart with a two-legged gauge and a ruler.

"Sir, our interception course is 310 degrees...... "The navigator looked up and said, "We are now in danger of encountering the German cruisers at any moment." ”。

"I don't understand why the Germans would want to cross the English Channel......," said Rear Admiral Simmons, "though they are a few cruisers, but I don't want to engage them here, so you can calculate the course and speed of the meeting an hour before ...... of dayrise."

The navigator continued to draw with a ruler and a two-foot gauge so that the two routes intersected at another point. ""The course is 125 degrees, and the speed is 16 knots. So we're going to meet them here......" He then drew a black X on the intersection of the two hops with a pencil as an important marker.

"Good. Captain, you can now report the situation to the crew on full leave. …。 Rear Admiral Simmons instructed the ship's commander, Colonel Wheeler, to "inform the North Dakota, of all this." ”。

The captain made a gesture, and the sergeant on duty outside the war room blew the naval whistle into the loudspeaker. Then the captain began to speak: "I am the captain, and now I will give you some information ............".

In the overcrowded cabins below deck, the crew was resting leisurely. The clothes hanging there swayed rhythmically back and forth with the swaying of the warship.

"Hey! Who knows where we're going? Someone said.

"You've always wanted to know where we're going." Someone elsewhere replied, "Can't you just be honest for a while?" ”。

"I know where we won't go. Another person said, "That's Italy, and I yearn for beautiful Italian girls!" ”。

"Chinese have already gone to Italy and we will be there soon......"

At this time, they suddenly heard the naval whistle of the sergeant on duty and the voice of the captain:

"I'm the captain, so I'm going to give you some information. According to the intelligence we have received, the Germans have already made sorties, a fleet of large armored cruisers, and have already been discovered by us. Now, "the cruiser Edinburgh, is following them, and our ship is on its way to intercept them, and according to the plan, we will meet them in two hours." Of course, we hope to get rid of them all with the cooperation of the North Dakota. Let each of us remember our responsibilities. For a while you must all stick to your posts. Now, except for the staff on duty, they must seize the time to rest. This is our first battle since we came to Europe, and we wish all the best of luck. ”。

The captain's speech quickly spread throughout all the ship's departments, including engine rooms, ammunition rooms, turrets, dining rooms, galleys, and storage rooms. "Good luck to all of us" echoed in the watertight compartments. And for this sentence, everyone is very excited.

For "Delaware. "It is quite difficult for an old battleship like this, which performs some miscellaneous tasks, to encounter such a battle.

Of course, at this time, they don't know what awaits them. ,

On the dark bridge of the battleship "Katori...", several Japanese officers also received a telegram from the British Admiralty in London.

"Go and ask the captain to come up and ......," said Takemoto, the commander of the formation.

After a while, Captain Yamauchi came to the war room.

"There's a long message from the British Navy Newspaper, and this is the first page......" Takemoto handed him a thick telegram. While Captain Yamauchi was reading the message, someone sent the next two pages.

"That's exactly what we're looking forward to." Captain Yamauchi said, "We should go right away, and we can't let the Americans get ahead of us." …”

"But don't you think it's strange? What did the Germans send cruisers to the English Channel for? Takemoto asked, frowning.

"The German raid ships always act out of the ordinary...... Captain Yamauchi replied without thinking, "and they often do things that seem clever but are actually very stupid, and I don't think this time will be an exception." ”。

"You mean we should go?" Takemoto thought for a moment and asked.

"Of course we should go, we can't always let Chinese be in the limelight......," Yamauchi replied, "and this is a good opportunity for us to show our strength." …”

"Chinese............... Hum! They left the aid of the Americans, nothing! Takemoto sneered.

The officers and men of the Japanese Navy have always been indignant at the six large Chinese battleships built by the Americans for the Chinese Navy, which have become the main force of the Allied Navy.

"When the war is over, the Chinese will not have the money to maintain the operating costs of these warships." Yamauchi confidently said, "Chinese can only sell them to the Americans......"

"Let's go now......" Thinking of the honor of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Takemoto finally made up his mind and walked towards the path of death.

"We've crossed the Strait of Dover, sir.".

Admiral Lutter and Captain Frank stood on the bridge of the USS Wilhelm the Great, looking into the distance in high spirits, and through the mist they could already see the sun beginning to show.

An officer in charge of communications came to report to them.

"Sir, the British cruiser is still regularly sending out reports every fifteen minutes, and it has not stopped."

"Can you guess the contents of those telegrams? …”

"Sir, I think this is some report on our course and position. …”

"That's for sure...... Admiral Lut said to Frank with a smile, and then asked, "Any other useful information?" …”

"I recognized it from its call sign as 'Edinburgh, 'Edinburgh'. The one we destroyed was "Nottingham." ”。

Listening to the communications officer's answer, a staff officer opened the identification manual and reported the data on the two British cruisers. (To be continued.)