In a country's fleet, there will always be a mix of advanced and backward warships. How to properly arrange backward warships and give full play to their role is always an issue that the navies of all countries must consider. In the Battle of Jutland, the reason why Scheer brought a few Dreadnoughts was that he was reluctant to give up the dozens of 11-inch main guns, but because of the speed of Dreadnoughts, the speed of Scheer's fleet was slowed down. So much so that some people think that if Scheer didn't bring the dreadnought battleship, would it be possible to keep a few of Thomas's Queen-class battleships? The jury is out of here. It can only be said that the benevolent see the benevolent and the wise see the wise.

And now the Huaxia Navy is obviously also stuck in the trade-off between firepower and fleet mobility, and the firepower of 5 armored cruisers and 3 quasi-dreadnoughts is powerful. As many as 18 12-inch guns and 20 10-inch guns, plus 4 11-inch guns, firepower was absolutely important in a head-to-head engagement. But at the same time, the speed of these 8 battleships could not keep up with the all-dreadnought main fleet, especially the 5 armored cruisers, because of the aging of the equipment...... A top speed of 18 knots would be nice. But what if it is incorporated into the main fleet? It is certain that the brand new fleet that will not be able to catch up with the Russians. Maybe if Makanov saw that the situation was not good and ran away, the Chinese fleet would not be able to do anything. What Huaxia wants is annihilation, not expulsion. Nor can the strategic objectives be achieved. The action lost its meaning.........

When the problem came out, neither the top management of the Huaxia Navy nor Xu Jie thought of a solution, after all, this was a gap in the physical performance of the warship. Although I didn't think of a suitable solution, the top brass of the Huaxia Navy had reached a consensus, that is, the former dreadnought warships were grouped together. The dreadnoughts were grouped into a separate group. The advantage of this grouping is that the dreadnoughts can give full play to their performance advantages, and the armored cruiser will not be eaten by the opponent after adding 3 quasi-dreadnought battleships. After all, the 3 quasi-dreadnoughts are better defensively than the Russian fast battleships except for their slower speed.

The meeting went in no conclusion. At least for a short period of time. It's not that there is no way, it's just that no one is convenient to speak, at least in public. This method can be thought of by a considerable number of people, that is, the former dreadnought fleet is used as bait, and after entanglement of the opponent, it will win the opportunity for the main fleet to annihilate the enemy. This method has been talked about in private. But Xu Jie still hesitated. Xu Jie is not an indecisive person, if he can really let the former dreadnought entangle the opponent, then Xu Jie is willing to do so. But in fact, for the Russian high-speed avant-garde fleet, it is difficult for the Chinese Navy's dreadnoughts to slow it down. If the weather is good, the smoke column of the main fleet of Huaxia can be seen more than ten kilometers away. People can get out of ......... as soon as possible.

What if the weather is bad? Whether Thomas carried the German High Seas Fleet into victory. It was Siperl who launched the death charge. can be head-on, even if it is at a distance from the hand, as long as one of the parties is reasonably protected, then it can get rid of the opponent. And the opponent also has a large number of auxiliary warships to consume. So the chances of catching your opponent are really low! As for the Chinese Navy, there are also fast dreadnoughts to catch up. Please, isn't it uncomfortable for you to fight four dreadnoughts plus 4 large armored cruisers with your five dreadnoughts?

Even if it is delayed, as long as the other party finds it in time. Then it can be smoothly transferred, and it is even possible to beat the former dreadnought fleet of the Huaxia Navy first and then leave. The opposing fast fleet will definitely not be able to catch up. Of course, you can't catch up. Then the Chinese Navy must consider how to concentrate superior forces to strike at the slower Russian battleship formation. But according to the conventions of naval warfare, the distance between the avant-garde and the main fleet of the Grand Fleet was about 15 nautical miles. (The distance between the German avant-garde fleet and the main fleet in Jutland was about 20 to 40 nautical miles) If you can't catch the opposing avant-garde fleet, then the main fleet is even less likely to be caught. …………。

"Problems are everywhere, it's difficult." Xu Jie couldn't help but sigh, the purpose of forcing the Russian fleet to come out can be achieved, but if you can't give a heavy blow after coming out, then it is pointless to lure the snake out of the hole. Looking at the somewhat messy information and charts on the table, Xu Jie couldn't help but feel a fire of ignorance in his heart. To be honest, Xu Jie hasn't encountered such a tricky thing for a long time. The crisis facing the Chinese Navy this time was even more serious than that of the First Sino-Japanese Period. On the first day, as long as it can be delayed until Luang Weili returns to China, then everything will be OK. But now, as long as Makanov dragged the Danton-class battleships in place, the Huaxia Navy could only dodge.

"In fact, the main fleet can be deployed on the flanks and rear of the former dreadnought fleet. When the front dreadnought fleet is entangled with the other side, how about we enter the battlefield from the rear to cut off the retreat of the opponent's avant-garde fleet? At this moment, Yang Yonglin's voice sounded in Xu Jie's ears. Xu Jie turned around and looked at the chief guard standing at the door with a helpless expression and Yang Yonglin next to him motioning for the other party to come in.

"That's a great idea...... But the question is how to circumvent the search fleet of the opposing side? From the last engagement, we can see that the other side is already very sophisticated, although the troops are divided, but the entire arc cordon still finds our fleet in time, and the entire large fleet cannot avoid the reconnaissance of the other side at all. In addition, the distance between the opposing avant-garde fleet and the main fleet is said to be about 20 nautical miles, but if the other side tries to get closer, it will take a maximum of 45 minutes to meet. Then there is a high probability that our main fleet will fall into the flanking attack of the opponent, and if the former dreadnought fleet cannot keep up, our chances of winning in the case of 12 against 9 are too small. Xu Jie said with a sad face..........

"First of all, a hidden problem is very difficult to solve. The second is that once you fight, you are very likely to fall into passivity. Thirdly, the speed of the opposing fast fleet was too fast, even if Makanov's main fleet did not catch up at the first time. In order to intercept the opposing fast fleet, 5 Dreadnought fast battleships must act separately, and then the result is 5 to 8 ....... Xu Jie didn't continue, everyone is in the navy, all the situation has been explained very clearly, Xu Jie found that the Russians made a series of mistakes in time, and his chances of winning were still very small. But in fact, if the Russian-Dutch fleet with Makanov and Essen can make a mistake, it is already the favor of heaven to Huaxia, because these mistakes are too low-level!

The superiority of the Chinese Navy is based on the premise that the fleet is deadly pinched. 4 Dreadnoughts and 3 Quasi-Dreadnoughts of the main fleet of China beat the Russians, 6 Dreadnoughts and 2 Dreadnoughts. Then 5 fast battleships took 5 cruisers to fight the remaining 4 fast battleships and 4 armored cruisers of the Russian Navy. Plus the quantity and quality of auxiliary warships. The Chinese Navy is not afraid of frontal hard fighting. But if you get rid of all the slow ships. The Huaxia Navy is actually still at a disadvantage. The First Battle of Java did not fundamentally change the ......... of the balance of power on the battlefield.

"If the speed of the opponent's avant-garde warship is slower, I can try this plan." Xu Jie said with regret. "Huh?! Slow? Suddenly, Xu Jie's mind flashed with inspiration. What if we attacked not the fast fleet of the Russians, but the main Russian fleet? The main fleet was inserted directly into the flank rear of the Russian main fleet. Just like the first Sino-Russian war. Xu Jie felt his mouth open. A new plan gradually took shape in his mind.

What if the Chinese fleet went around in a large circle and 9 dreadnoughts attacked the main Russian fleet from the rear? The main Russian fleet consisted of only 8 battleships. On the battle line, the Borodino-class battleships could not defeat the standard battleships of Longxing Longtai, and the other two quasi-dreadnoughts could be handed over to the Longxu-class battlecruisers to clean up. Coupled with the huge number of auxiliary warships, the Huaxia Fleet is absolutely superior. Whether in terms of fleet hardware or quality, the Huaxia Navy has the upper hand! …。

Maybe you will say what if the Russian fleet finds out? How to say it, historically. Since entering the era of steam ironclads, it seems that no fleet will have a guard fleet. Even if Jutland is the size of Jutland, the elites of the two sides are at the time of a collision of millions of tons of steel. Have you ever seen a rearguard fleet on both the British and German sides? Avant-garde is a must, if you disperse the precious capital ships again, won't it be for people to break down? In addition, the Russian-Dutch navy lost a large number of auxiliary warships in the last engagement, and it was not enough to carry out lightning strikes and counter-lightning strikes, so how could they continue to disperse the fleet? . …。

Therefore, the reconnaissance capability of the Russian fleet in its own rear is definitely quite poor. It is simply impossible to put up a complete cordon. If the Huaxia fleet is using all fuel oil. Smoke exposure is then minimized. The two sides will be very close to each other. Maybe a distance of more than ten kilometers, but you must know that after entering 10 kilometers, the Huaxia fleet can attack. The slowest Longxing-class battleships of the Huaxia Navy are generally about 2 knots faster than the other side. And more importantly, the Chinese fleet stood in the way of the Russian-Dutch fleet going home...... The Russians have no choice but to fight with their backs!

Of course, the Russians could also try to quickly join up with the avant-garde fleet, but this is at best a matter of thinking. After all, there are also 3 Ninghai-class dreadnoughts in the avant-garde fleet. If the Russians want to leave, they will definitely not be able to stop it. But if you want to eat it quickly, it's also impossible. And then what can the Russian fleet do after the convergence? Although the dreadnought is a little slower. But with the two sides moving in opposite directions, it will not take too long to go into battle. The Russians now have only two paths, one is to break out. The other is the collision of the main forces. If you choose the first method, you must forcibly break through the battle line of the Huaxia Navy in a non-combat formation, and the second way is to fight to the death with the Huaxia Navy, then Xu Jie is not afraid. Or rather, I wish it ..........

And it is more likely that the Russians will abandon the convergence with the avant-garde fleet. Because if it is a marching formation, the five fast dreadnoughts of the Huaxia Navy can completely follow the flank and rear of the Russian capital ship and concentrate firepower to attack the opponent's battleships at the end, while the Russian fleet has a close effective range due to fire control problems, and the Huaxia fast fleet is in the flank and rear, so it is difficult to give full play to the firepower and cannot effectively hit the Huaxia fast fleet.

As for throwing off the enemy, it is even more of a dream, the average speed of the Huaxia fast battleship is more than 4 knots higher than that of the Russians! Moreover, the protection and firepower are all at the level of battleships, so it is very likely that before the convergence with the avant-garde fleet, the battleships behind the Russian main fleet have been seriously damaged, and the purpose of concentrating forces after the convergence has become meaningless. So the Russians had no choice but to stumble and wait for the fast fleet to return.

If Makanov does not die, then the result will be that the 9 dreadnoughts of the Chinese Navy will defeat the 8 dreadnoughts and quasi-dreadnoughts of the Russians. The result was that the 78 main guns of the Huaxia Navy beat the opponent's 56 main guns and 8 10-inch guns. No matter how you look at it, it's a big advantage! Of course, considering the firing range, 8 out of 78 main guns depend on the situation, but even if it is 70, it is an absolute firepower advantage! …。

Of course, on another battlefield, the former dreadnought fleet of the Chinese Navy was more miserable, if the Russians repaired all the warships, the result would be 12 12-inch guns, 16 274MM guns and 32 10-inch guns against the 18 12-inch guns, 20 10-inch guns and 4 11-inch guns of the Chinese Navy. How do you look at it, it's not optimistic. It's okay to say that there are 3 Ninghai-class battleships, but I'm afraid there are not a few left of the 5 old patrols, right? Not a lot of words

The essence of war is the attrition of the strength of both sides, and how to exchange as little loss as possible for greater attrition of the other side is the key to the art of war. It was impossible to win without losses, and the Beiyang Fleet at that time in the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle also fought almost all the old Beiyang warships to achieve the final victory, so the loss of a few armored cruisers when necessary was a loss that had to be borne. Of course, the premise is that it must be exchanged for a greater loss from the other party. …。

The middle of the battlefield can almost be locked, that is, the 8 battleships of Makanov commanded his team to block the 9 dreadnoughts of the Huaxia fleet to the death, and then wait for the fast fleet to return. At this time, Essen should have two possible options, the first is to destroy the former dreadnought fleet of the Huaxia Navy before returning home. The second is to flash people immediately. Judging from the situation of the engagement, it stands to reason that the Russian fleet is more likely to choose the second option...... After all, in the contest of the main fleet, how to look at the firepower of the Russians is not enough..........

However, if the losses of the Chinese navy are too great, it is also possible for Essen to take risks. After all, in the order of engagement, it is certain that the Russian-Dutch fast fleet and the Chinese former dreadnought fleet will fight first. And then the main fleet fought. If the former dreadnought fleet had collapsed before the main fleets of the two sides had split up, then this exchange ratio would have been quite unsatisfying. Therefore, it became an important issue to preserve the former dreadnought fleet as much as possible.

Although there are various problems with this plan. But overall, the problems are solvable. From the initial lure of the snake out of the hole to the final decisive battle, Xu Jie already has an almost complete battle plan, so all that remains is to slowly fill in these loopholes until the final plan is released! (To be continued......)

Chapter 652: Trade-offs.

Chapter 652: Trade-offs. ，。