"The British fast fleet has only 8 warships, and if we can concentrate the superior fleet, it is not impossible to inflict heavy damage on them." Hipper hesitated for a long time, and made a great deal of determination before deciding to persuade Scheer to change the original battle plan again, and to abandon the tactics of everyone fighting together, but to divide the fleet into two parts, and lead the most elite warships of the High Seas Fleet to defeat Thomas's fast fleet first, and then turn back to support his own team.

"Why did you change it again?" Scheer couldn't help frowning, and there was strong dissatisfaction in his eyes. At first, it was you who said that everyone was on the same page, and now you have overturned the original plan, are you playing tricks? Moreover, it is taboo to change the campaign plan before the battle.

"I promise, give me an hour and I will be able to inflict heavy damage on our opponents, our Bismarck-class battleships and the Mackenson, the Yorke (the German name for the Izmail-class battleships) are stronger than the Queen. I'm sure I'm sure of two Moltke-class fast battleships, 8 against 8! The British relied on the 10 capital ships with 15-inch guns...... Only by destroying them can we achieve the final victory, and the result of evenly distributing the fleet is that any place is vulnerable, and we can only concentrate the strongest warships to form a fist and fiercely attack the opponent's vital points, and there will be a turnaround. ”。 …。

"And the biggest advantage of our battleship is protection, although the firepower of the King-class is far inferior to that of the Vengeance-class battleship, but it has a level of protection that is no less than that of the opponent, that is, even if we can't beat the opponent, at least we can withstand the opponent! Jericho's squad consisted of only 10 super dreadnoughts, 5 revenge-class battleships, and the other 5 crispy 13.5-inch battleships. As for those dreadnoughts? In addition to causing a point fire, the threat to our fleet is leisurely. And your fleet, even if weakened, has 14 super dreadnoughts! There is still half a sentence that Hipper didn't say, that is, even if Scheer can't beat Thomas, then be a meat shield to resist for a while! After cleaning up Thomas's fleet, he turned his head to help Scheer!

Frankly. Scheer was unhappy with Hipper's suggestion. It's going to start, you gave Lao Tzu a temporary change plan, what did you do earlier?! Actually, what Scheer didn't know was. Hipper's final decision to change this plan came only after the reconnaissance submarine had determined that no two Dutch battleships had been found. Otherwise, no matter how conceited Hipper is, he will never think that 8 to 10 will have a chance to win quickly. After all, the battle has been fought to this extent, and the warships on both sides are no longer the crispy ships they were at the beginning, well, although there is still a Tiger on the British side that is more brittle, but the two Moltke on the German side are also not hard!. …。

However, with the two Dutch battleships going to trouble the Italians, the situation changed, as long as two more Moltke-class battleships were added, then the Hipper's fleet would have a certain advantage! And if it is really enough to use this local advantage to break the backbone of the British Navy. Then maybe you can really decide the battle in one battle!

After listening to Hipper's advice. Scheer impatiently looked at the charts, then at the deductions on the table, and occasionally glanced at the commanders of the various detachments next to him, who were also looking at each other. I looked at their opinions, but the results were unexpected. No one dared to put forward their own views on this issue. After all, they are only the commanders of the detachment, or in other words, they can command their own 3 or 4 battleships, and this kind of question related to the overall strategy is still left to the bosses to discuss. More importantly, he is too sensitive at this time, and every word he says will have an extremely far-reaching impact on the future war situation and even the entire war. They don't think they have the level and courage of Hipper.

From the point of view of command, it seems that this plan does not need to be changed much. After all, Scheer's flagship was the King, and Hipper's flagship was the Bismarck. When the plan was first formulated, Scheer gave Hipper the task of smashing the British Queen-class battleships and revenge-class battleships with 4 Bismarck and 2 Mackensen, as well as 4 Caesar-class battleships. The current plan is to fight Thomas Fleet, and the only change is that Scheer will need to take on the attack of 5 revenge-class battleships himself. …………。

"It's abrupt, but it's a feasible plan." After walking for more than half an hour, Scheer agreed to Hipper's proposal. "Lieutenant General Hipper. I now hand over to you the most powerful rifle and the future of the High Seas Fleet, and give the Empire a satisfactory result and a glorious future! Scheer patted the other man's shoulder heavily.

Thus, on the eve of the war, the German High Seas Fleet completed a pre-war adjustment, and the first battleship formation consisting of 4 Bismarck-class battleships and the second battleship formation consisting of 2 Mackensen-class battleships and 2 Moltke-class battleships were handed over to Hipper. Scheer will only have a third battleship formation of 4 King-class battleships and a fourth battleship formation of 4 Caesar-class battleships, in addition to 6 upgraded to the 5th and 6th battleship formations of the Super Dreadnought. The German High Seas Fleet has put together a lineup that can be called the pinnacle since the start of the war! Waiting for the arrival of the opponent!

At the same time, after Jericho led the large fleet south to search unsuccessfully, he also decisively commanded the fleet to go north to prepare to return to the northern anchorage. But when I go back...... Jericho could clearly feel the uneasiness in his heart, or it could be understood as a kind of euphoria. Was it even a gut feeling that he was sure that he would encounter the German fleet when he returned? Jericho didn't know, but it made him remind his men over and over again to prepare for war, because the biggest naval battle in history could break out at any time! …。

On May 7, 1917, off the coast of Forth Bay, the most formidable fleet on the planet was sailing from south to north, and the whole fleet was lined up in a strange formation, with Thomas's fast battleship formation at the front, five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships at the head, then the Tiger, and then two overseas collar-class battleships. These ships were lined up in a single column at the time of the engagement, ready to go into battle at any time. The entire fast fleet and the accompanying escort warships sailed quickly on the surface of the sea like a sharp lance. Make the way for the main fleet behind. And behind it was Jericho's main fleet.

16 capital ships are lined up in a 4x4 box-shaped formation. On the far right are 4 revenge-class battleships. Then there was the Royal Oak, the fleet's flagship in which Jericho was ridden, and then the five remaining 13.5-inch super-dreadnoughts and six antique dreadnoughts. Around this huge fleet, the hedgehog gathered at least 16 light cruisers and dozens of destroyers of various kinds. Although the entire Grand Fleet was divided into two parts, the distance between the two sides was not far, and the distance between Thomas and Jericho was only about 5 nautical miles. In the sky above the fleet is still not hovering some twin or even quadruple aircraft, they provide reconnaissance and anti-submarine for the fleet, under the patrol of these sea eagles, all those who want to do some small maneuvers under the surface of the water can only stay honestly! . …。

Soon, however, the British discovered that an extremely dense smoke screen had appeared in the northeast direction of their fleet, and in this case, they did not have to think about it to know the identity of the other party. "The battle will come, and the British Empire expects every man in the navy to be loyal to the Empire!" Soon, a banner modeled after the Battle of Trafalgar was raised on the Royal Oak, the fleet's main flagship. "God bless the British Empire! Long live the Royal Navy! "After hundreds of years of waiting. Finally, another fleet dares to challenge the sea power of the British Empire head-on! As highly aggressive Royal Navy officers and men, they are looking forward to this era, and even more to being able to surpass their predecessors and defeat their opponents in an unprecedented naval battle! "Admiral Jericho, you will surpass Nelson and become an incomparable presence in the navy of this era!" Thomas's telegram reads. The war is about to begin, there is no point in suffering from gains and losses, and it is the best choice to fight to the end with full morale!

"Our guests are here." As the distance approached, Scheer could already identify through his telescope the approaching British Grand Fleet, protected by aircraft and auxiliary warships, two of the most powerful fleets in the world had been placed on the table, and every beat of the dice would mean the life and death of hundreds of people, and the future of the two superpowers. Under the shroud of smoke, the sea knights of the German Empire, like their ancestors, wore heavy armor and held sharp blades, slowly approaching the target under the blowing of the sea breeze, although the capital ships of the two sides were not much different, but in terms of auxiliary warships, the Germans were still much less than the British. So in terms of scale, the high seas fleet is still worse! …………。

Hipper was the first to raise the battle flag, his fleet, like Thomas, had always been deployed in battle formation, the main fleets of both sides took time to deploy due to their size, but the first two fast fleets were ready to fight. As the saying goes, strike first and strike later, when you see Thomas's fleet turn northeast...... Hipper also quickly commanded the fleet to turn, two straight battle lines quickly pulled out, the two sides were ready for the final preparations before the battle, the majestic battleship, the thick barrel exuded a chilling murderous aura, the huge turret slowly turned, before the battle, the commanders of the two sides determined the battle sequence for the last time, and the smoke from the huge chimney spread in the air. The huge warships looked even bigger against the smoke screen. The most crucial battle will finally begin, and both sides will have a whole day to decide the winner!

"Thomas, let's get started! We'll be very happy to keep up! "Just when the two forward fleets spread out the battle line and the saber-rattling. The main forces of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet also completed the change of formation, one by one the columns slowly unfolded into a battle line, both sides chose the northeast direction, and the two huge fleets sailed to the depths of the North Sea, where there was enough space to fight!. …。

Thanks to the book friends zhouyu1976 and hukaikaka for their tips, as well as the book friends Kuaifeng, Brother Haixiong, and a19690620 for their monthly ticket support~~~