How efficient is it for large battleships to break diplomatic relations at sea? Even at the peak of the cruising war, the most successful of the Scharnhorst brothers was only to knock out a merchant ship of more than 100,000 tons, which is not very good for their cost, after all, the Hipper-class heavy cruisers have achieved similar results in more than half a year of cruising time. To a certain extent, in the face of a fleet without escort, there is little difference between an 11-inch gun and an 8-inch gun against a merchant ship. As for the old battleships that escorted merchant ships? Well, the gap between the Scharnhorst-class battleships and the Hipper-class heavy cruisers is not big, and the 8-inch guns can't be penetrated, and the 11-inch guns can also wash and sleep. If you want to run, everyone can quickly turn in.

But it must be admitted that these warships that wandered around the sea did provide great convenience to the specialized submarines who broke the diplomatic relationship, and the British had to concentrate a large fleet to cruise these killers in the vast ocean. This greatly disperses the opponent's forces. And those destroyers that are excellent at dealing with submarines but extremely vulnerable to naval guns must also be dealt with carefully...... Otherwise, if you encounter the opponent's attack ship, it will be the result of an instant kill. When the cruising war was at its best, it was also the most comfortable time for submarines, and it can be said that large battleships even in the case of sea-based aviation rifles in World War 2 (the British were in tears and lay down their guns directly. It is also a great ......... to the opposing navy.

And if this situation is put into the first war, especially the first battle of this plane, three Moltke-class fast battleships plus a large number of miscellaneous warships and submarines rushed to the North Atlantic transportation line without the preparation of the Entente, the impact will be considerable! There is no way to organize the existence of these behemoths on this sea, and any merchant fleet can only end up with death. The old cruisers that were used to deal with raiding ships had to deliver food in the face of these brand new killers.

But even when things were good, Count Spee and the Houthis didn't get carried away. After all, God knows when Magifin will return to the Atlantic with the fleet. The U.S. fleet is not just strong on capital ships. Although the number of destroyers and armored cruisers that can be called against the sky cannot fight you, they can definitely arrange a large net on the sea, although the Moltke-class battleships can be high-speed, but the fuel is limited, and the result of your high-speed all day is a great reduction in range. If the U.S. fleet returned to the Atlantic and was fully fortified, Spain's best option would be to stay out of the way, and the Houthis did not separate the three capital ships in order to ensure the safety of the capital ships. This is because considering that there are still 2 Dutch fast battleships in the US fleet, if they are separated, if a single Spanish-class fast battleship meets two of the other side, it will be really lucky! …。

And when the Spanish fleet reached the North Atlantic, the situation was also quite dramatic, how to say? If the raiding ship is more like a rogue who comes and goes without a trace, relying on high speed and stealth to rob. Then the Spanish fleet is like the city management of the future generations to clean up the unlicensed petty traders! The action was too strong. Even to the point where everyone is using radio to communicate with each other at will. You must know that in this era, there is a radio side, and usually the attacking ship does not contact friendly forces or the mainland because it is afraid that the other side will use it to determine its position and then be beaten. But now, the most powerful existence in this sea area is the three Spanish-class battleships, and when they encounter a large fleet, and the attacking ships can't eat themselves, it is undoubtedly the best choice to tell the boss to come and clear the field.

After receiving a telegram from a submarine. The Houthis rushed murderously with three fast battleships to a transport fleet numbered GH79, which had 30 transport ships of all sizes and a total tonnage of nearly 240,000 tons! And the forces that escorted this fleet were only 4 destroyers and 1 old cruiser, the armored cruiser USS Salt Lake City. (The name was invented by the author, not a historical battleship.) Prior to this, the convoy, led by the old armored cruiser, sank 1 German camouflaged assault ship and drove out a sneak attack by at least 5 submarines. Seeing that he would be in England in two days, Captain Duke, who was in charge of the safety of the entire fleet, relaxed when victory was in sight. This is already his sixth successful escort mission, and after this mission is completed, he can rest for a few months. …………。

But just this morning, his own fleet was targeted again. This is a submarine that has never been seen before. Or that its model number is not registered in the Allied Submarine Quick Reference Manual published by the U.S. Navy. The other party just followed the convoy from a distance. When the destroyer went to drive away, the submarine dived into the water. The two sides have been kept at eye distance. It seems that the visual distance is not far, but the smoke and dust emitted by more than 30 ships can be found by the other party from 20 kilometers away! By the time the destroyers passed, they had already run away, and 4 destroyers were too few for the entire fleet, so God knows if the other side was playing tricks on the other side.

According to the escort instructions of the US Navy. Faced with this situation, the first thing the commander should do is not to destroy the submarine, but to ensure the safety of the entire fleet, and the cunning Allied submarines are likely to cooperate in the operation, and when the escort forces go to pursue a certain submarine, there may be a certain submarine waiting for you in the other direction. So Major Duke abandoned the drive for the submarine after one or two attempts...... Anyway, the other party would not dare to act blatantly during the day. Still, Major Duke ordered the fleet to increase its speed from 8 to 10 knots in order to get rid of the dangerous tracker ..........

Two hours later, the lookout said there were two pieces of news to report, a good news and a bad news. Duke was puzzled and asked what the good news was. "We seem to have shaken off the submarine, and there will be no trace of it for at least 10 nautical miles." Duke then asks what the bad news is. "There is a main fleet approaching us, and the other side is flying the Spanish flag!"

"That's what happened?" On his way, Duke had received news that Spain had entered the war and shelled the port of Saint-Nazaire. According to his estimates, the most likely option for the Spaniards after a successful blow was to return to port or continue shelling other ports, so why would you go to the North Atlantic? And how dare they attack a convoy so close to the UK. Is it true that the Royal Navy is a vegetarian?

The reality is that cruel. The Spanish fleet came, but the main battleships of the British Grand Fleet did not appear. The warships of the Grand Fleet were either anchored at the anchorage in the north at this time, or were being overhauled in the shipyard, which was really inseparable, and the British, like the Americans, did not expect the Spanish fleet to be so bold! In the face of the murderous three fast battleships, Duke decisively issued two orders, the first was to order the transport fleet to be quickly disbanded. The second order was to rush to the powerful fleet in the distance with only 4 destroyers. And when the order was just given, the opponent's first volley had already smashed over the head! . …。

The outcome of the battle can be described as completely one-sided, after reducing the Salt Lake City to pieces in less than 10 minutes. The three Spanish-class battleships did not care about the American destroyers who tried to stick to them to find trouble, but directly hunted the transport convoy that was scattered and fled in all directions, although everyone dispersed, but how far could they go in a few minutes at a maximum speed of 10 knots? Faced with fast battleships with high speeds of more than 25 knots, the fate of these merchant ships was sealed. In less than an hour, 30 merchant ships were destroyed, 24 were captured, and only 3 small boats escaped ascension, with a total tonnage of up to 220,000 tons, and hundreds of thousands of tons of various materials and raw materials on them! This includes a large amount of ammunition and more than 400 vehicles of all kinds!

What karma. More than 200 years ago, the British and the Dutch worked together to raid the Spanish fleet, the most famous of which was the attack on the Spanish golden fleet by the two navies, which directly blocked the latter in the harbor. And now, Drake's children and grandchildren did not expect that this scene would be repeated in the Atlantic Ocean more than 200 years later, except that the two sides had reversed positions. It turned out that the Spaniards robbed the British fleet. Only the person concerned knows what it feels like. People have to sigh that creation makes people. …………。

In less than 5 days, two convoys of transports were annihilated as a whole, which was undoubtedly the masterpiece of three Spanish-class fast battleships. In addition to this, there were a number of lone ships and a few warships. In a few days, the three warships already had a "harvest" of almost 400,000 tons. Because of the presence of the main fleet, the Allied fleet, which was only escorted by light warships, had to be separated to avoid being overwhelmed by the opposing side's fast battleships. And the dispersed fleet naturally facilitates submarines and attack ships. If we add to this the results of other raiding ships and submarines...... Then this data can be described as terrifying!

"The veins of the entire Entente were almost cut at this moment, and the influence of the Spaniards was completely subversive, and we were already in sight of victory, and the navy held off the fiercest wave of German attacks. The Italians were suppressed on their own soil and did not dare to come out, and the combat effectiveness of the army was also growing rapidly, and we were fully sure that we would end this protracted war of attrition at the beginning of next year, but the entry of the Spaniards completely ruined everything, and the newly increased army forces had to be withdrawn to deal with the Spaniards, and the situation on the naval side was even worse, in the case of a greatly reduced strength of the Grand Fleet. The only force that can be relied on is the US Navy, which lacks fast battleships and is very unsuitable for anti-sabotage operations on the oceans. And two Dutch fast battleships were not enough to deal with three Spanish-class fast battleships, our strategic plans were completely disrupted, and everything needed to be readjusted and deployed," Churchill wrote in his diary after receiving the war report.........

Thanks to the book friend hukaikaka and the book friend zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~~