Chapter 903: Trade-offs
"Tycho! It's the best decision of your life! Just when the Spee fleet was entangled and could not hold on, two battleships appeared behind the fast fleet, and Tycho personally commanded two Caraciono-class battleships to support the fast fleet, and with the help of 20 350 guns, even a battleship as strong as the Vengeance class only seemed a little difficult to resist.
Although there was no support from the fast fleet, the Italian fleet still sent the Emperor to the bottom of the sea, this sad battleship was directly penetrated through the armor of the ammunition depot to ensure that it was not enough to face the guns in close combat, plus a little bad luck, this battleship was also directly blown up the ammunition depot, to the bottom of the sea to accompany its brother! After the settlement of 2 British super-dreadnoughts, the numerical superiority of the British was completely wiped out. But before Tycho could catch his breath, another problem arose, although the four Italian Super Dreadnoughts easily defeated their opponents with the support of the fast fleet, it did not mean that the other warships were equally optimistic.
The fast fleet, which had already been scarred by 2 battles, had already fallen under Betty's blows...... In addition to the three foreign trade fast battleships in China, in addition to the Gneisenau and Caesar the Great, the other two Turkish battleships have lost about half of their firepower, and even so, the Julius Caesar is still being taken care of by the Revenge and New Zealand at close range, the Julius Caesar has destroyed 2 capital ships in a row, the ammunition consumption is serious, and the battleship itself has also suffered some damage, although it is temporarily supported by heavy armor, but after a long time, something will definitely happen..........
At the same time, the three Earl Cavour-class battleships and the Austro-Hungarian fleet were also resisting the attacks of the British and French fleets, and the three super-dreadnoughts of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were okay, and the three French provincial-level super-dreadnoughts were tied, but the three Earl Cavour-class battleships were obviously not the opponents of the British super-dreadnought. Although the British are almost the least fearless among all countries, they are also super fearless! The 10 12-inch 45L guns on the Count Garfort can't do anything to people at all. And the L45 heavy gun, which was replaced with armor-piercing shells, posed a real threat to the latter.
Now Tycho had a very difficult choice. Will it help the fast fleet out of danger, or will it help the Count Cavour-class battleship behind you? Things are not going well on both sides. The fast fleet has been fighting continuously for a long time, and it is in danger of being suppressed by a strong enemy. And the three dreadnoughts in the back are the Italians' own battleships! Faced with such a choice, Tycho hesitated for only a minute before deciding. Aid the avant-garde fleet and defeat the annoying Betty's fleet first.
It turned out to be the right thing to do, and the reason was simple. In terms of value, the remaining 4 battleships of the Fast Fleet are clearly more important than the next 3 Count Cavour. Not to mention the fact that among them is the only 15-inch gun capital ship in the Italian Navy. For the sake of the most powerful of warships, Tycho could have given up two Earl Cavour-class ships. In addition, if Betty really defeats the avant-garde fleet, then Betty's fleet will cut in front of the main fleet of the Entente, and the scene that the Allied fleet suffered just now will be staged again, but this time the Allies will not have the extra combat power to organize the opponent, once the fast fleet is defeated. Then the entire Entente fleet will be in danger, and the two 15-inch naval guns of the Revenge class are very powerful! …。
"Damn fellow!" Betty's eyes lit up looked at the Caraccino and Roma, which were killed halfway through. It was these two guys who turned the victory in hand into a floating cloud. Betty is really unwilling. The opponent's fast fleet has reached its limit, and it seems that it will be hit hard after a while, but at this critical moment, two disruptors came out. Let it all come to naught. Betty figured that she wouldn't be able to take advantage of her side if she continued to fight. But the result of melee combat is that it's not easy to get out, and even if you can't beat it, you have to go hard! …。
I have to say that the last super dreadnought designed by Vittorio Kuniberti is really strong, and the defense is slightly stronger than that of the king level, and the firepower is not considered if you don't consider the slightly worse walk. And the king is about the same. At close range, the two battleships had as many as 20 guns, putting Betty under tremendous pressure. With the addition of two Italian battleships, it has directly become 6 to 4, and the two revenge-class battleships have become the focus of care! Two Turkish warships, already heavily damaged, attacked the Australia, the Gneisenau against the New Zealand, and the Julius Caesar and two Italian battleships attacked the two for revenge.
Although the Revenge-class battleships are very strong, there is no guarantee that they can face three powerful capital ships at the same time in close combat. The armor protection of the revenge class is not as good as that of the Longxiang, and the fact that the Longxiang can resist does not mean that the revenge class can resist! But fortunately, because of the proximity, most of the shells of the two Italian battleships were shot against the superstructure..........
The turret lives up to its name as a cannonball magnet! The Revenge's frontal turret was under the heaviest assault since the start of the battle. Turrets 1 and 2 were constantly being hit by shells...... Although the thickness of the main gun in the face of the 15-inch turret was slightly insufficient, the revenge's firepower was quickly lost due to repeated impacts.
"Our situation was critical after the two Italian battleships joined, and the Revenge was like a fighting hoplite, constantly attacking the opponent with its own cavalry, while at the same time protecting the opponent from the attack with a shield against the ground, a cannonball hit the front of the No. 1 turret, thank God, the shell was bounced off, and then exploded on the deck next to it, and the turret was still slowly turning. While we were cheering, two more shells hit the No. 1 turret, one of which blew one of the barrels into the sky, while the other hit the junction between the turret and the turret, and with the loud explosion of the turret No. 1 was completely stuck. Soon, the same situation fell on turret No. 2. It took the Italians less than 10 minutes to lose half of the Revenge's firepower! An officer aboard the Revenge recalled.
The situation on the Royal Oak is not very good either. Although the Vengeance helped him block many guns, the dense rain of bullets still turned the superstructure of the Royal Oak into a giant torch. The rangefinder located at the top was smashed to pieces at the first moment. The lower fire control room was also pierced by a single artillery shot, and the personnel and equipment inside were directly integrated. The British tried to counterattack with the sighting equipment equipped on the turret, but with the continuous knocking of the heavy artillery, although the turret violated the penetration, the parts on it were almost completely scrapped..........
However, at the same time that the two Revenge ships were besieged, these two battleships deserved to be the first-class capital ships of the British Royal Navy, and the two Revenge ships also left some gifts for the Caraccino and Roma! One of the twin turrets of the Roma was pierced by 15-inch shells. Although it did not shine as a detonation of ammunition, the entire turret was completely destroyed. A triple turret of the Roma was concentrated, and the deformed turret stuck the turret and was temporarily unusable. The superstructure was also cut enough, but it was clear that the other side did not have as much projection as its own, and in this counter-fire, the Allied fleet relied on the dual superiority of numbers and firepower to gain the upper hand. In this local battlefield, the Allied Fast Fleet was finally retained because of the addition of Tycho.
"A pyrrhic victory. A real pyrrhic victory. "After continuous battles, in addition to the battleship Julius Caesar, the remaining three Huaxia foreign trade fast battleships have almost lost their combat effectiveness after experiencing high-intensity battles and tragic close-hand combat, and the 27 main guns of 9 turrets have reached the end and even 6 can not be used! The best capital ship has 2 and a half guns on it that can be used, two of which are really usable, and the other half has something wrong with the pitch servo, and it seems that the gun muzzle is only raised to no more than 11 degrees. Completely scrapped. For these three warships, the battle was nothing for them. …………。
The Allied Rapid Fleet was beaten enough, the British suffered heavy losses, and after a bloody battle, two Avenger-class battleships with the Australia and New Zealand finally escaped the chaos after sacrificing a large number of destroyers and torpedo boats. Betty pressed her wounded abdomen with one hand, squeezing to contain the pain caused by the wound, while looking effortlessly at the fleet in the distance! "Fortunately, the remaining battleships are still floating on the sea." Betty smiled wryly. The battleship in the distance could no longer be seen from the appearance of the heroic appearance when it set sail...... The twisted brackets, the broken bridge, and the deck after the fire tell the people how fierce the battle has been. The Australia and New Zealand was completely scrapped. The two battleships leaned about 12 degrees to the left. The Revenge class is better, the watertight structure of the hull remains intact, but the part above the waterline can already be called a garbage heap!
Did the battle be won? In the first half of the hand-to-hand. At the cost of losing one battleship, the Allied fleet successively defeated four super dreadnoughts of the opposing side, and successfully saved the fast fleet that had been in danger. Such a battleship is enough to be called a miracle, so much so that in the eyes of outsiders, the remaining thing is to crush the remaining battleships of the other side. But in reality, this is not the case. Because when Lin Yongsheng, Spee and Tycho beat each other violently, the other part of the Allied warships had already been crushed by the opponent! Thomas's remaining ultra-dreadnoughts and the French are happily cleaning up the Italian dreadnoughts and the Austro-Hungarian fleet! Tycho saved the fast fleet, but at the same time, the other fleet was abandoned, and they had already paid the price in blood! War is in a way an exchange! …。
Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward, as well as the book friend Light Nazi and the book friend recruitment monthly ticket support ~~~