"The old King-class battleships are definitely not good, they are too slow and the firepower and protection are also very problematic, and the related supporting facilities are also very backward, and the cutting-edge Bismarck battleship and Tirpitz battleship are to be used as the flagship and command ship of the detachment, and they can also not be moved lightly, Bavaria-class battleships and York-class battleships, you can choose one. "Count Spee's promise was fulfilled, but Lindemann had few options, and he had to choose from Bavaria-class battleships (formerly Bismarck-class battleships) and York-class battleships (Russian Izmail-class battleships captured in World War I). Although the former had only eight 15-inch guns, it was faster, and after removing one turret, the maximum speed reached 31 knots. Although the latter has 8 16-inch guns, the space left for power is obviously smaller. The maximum speed is only 28 knots.

"I'll still use Bavaria-class battleships, against transport ships, there is no difference between 15-inch guns and 16-inch guns. In addition, I need the fleet to assign us a dedicated air guide who will be responsible for coordinating the actions of the escort aircraft and the detachment. Lindemann thought for a moment and said.

"This requirement can be fulfilled. The key is not the transport ship for us, the key is the location of the opposing fleet, I will replenish you with the best seaplanes, find them, and then tell us! The Count patted the other man on the shoulder. Your courage is not inferior to that of your predecessors who fought in the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in World War 1, take good care of yourself, and return to me victoriously. ”

Immediately after Lindemann's return, he moved the command structure to the new flagship, the Bavaria, which once made great contributions to the German Navy in World War I, once again raised the command flag symbolizing the commander of the detachment. It would lead the heavy cruisers Berlin, Lübeck, Munich and Wiesbaden to form a night battle squadron.

And in order to ensure the safety of this fleet, Count Spee also specially let Count Luknall's detachment be responsible for the air defense of Lindemann's fleet, and he will have nothing to do with the attack on the Entente transport fleet for a period of time in the future, and he will do his best to protect this night battle fleet! The Germans can't be blamed for being too careful, now there are only 8 heavy cruisers brought by the German High Seas Fleet! It's half out in one go!

At about 4 p.m. the next day, Lindemann's small flotilla began to move towards the target line of defense under the cover of carrier-based aircraft, and according to the German reconnaissance, their first target was a small flotilla to the south behind the Allied transport fleet. In the early morning, German naval aviation launched a feint. The other side reacted quickly, and at the same time that the Germans had just visually spotted the fleet, a group of Skua fighters appeared in the distance, indicating that there was a Huaxia aircraft carrier nearby. Lindemann's mission tonight was to attack the fleet, and then use the cover of night to release seaplanes to search the nearby seas.

While the Germans were actively planning for a night battle, Summer and Nimitz were also not idle. To be honest, the successive attacks of German naval aviation did cause some trouble for the Entente, except for the first time in the case of luck and the Germans made two tough mistakes. After Huaxia's Skua fighter taught the opponent a hard lesson, the subsequent battle between the two sides can be described as having their own wins and losses.

After this, the Germans abandoned the plan of a super-large group of aircraft to attack, which was easily detected flying at medium and high altitudes. It turns out that the Entente countries are not afraid of large-scale toughness. The Germans then resorted to small and medium-sized squadron attacks, combined with the tactics of electronic warfare aircraft.

A squadron generally does not exceed 20 aircraft. Among them, the general aircraft carried 500kg bombs, the other 4 aircraft carried rockets, and the rest of the aircraft were pure air combat. Such small waves are difficult to detect when flying in airspace below 3000 meters, and when approaching about 100 kilometers, they have a high cruising speed of FW190. It will soon be able to fly over, and even if it encounters a patrolling F6F fighter, it will be enough to deal with it, at least if you don't die, you will have no problem if you want to go.

The idea of the Germans' attack was to steal, all kinds of stealing! Piecemeal. And if it succeeds, it could mean that one or two Liberty ships will be destroyed. Although proportionally speaking, it is only a drop in the bucket for the entire fleet, but if you convert it into numbers, it is still terrifying! A ship of thousands of tons or even tens of thousands of tons of supplies, just gone!

After the Germans changed their tactics, China and the United States also reacted quickly, long before departure. The top brass of the two navies have already drawn up relevant plans, and Xu Jie, as a traverser, naturally knows that when the high-altitude and high-speed penetration of a large group of aircraft cannot be successful, it is a very good way to use the radar blind spot and the low-altitude penetration of a small group of aircraft. At the end of World War II, when the U.S. imperialists besieged Okinawa and other places, the U.S. imperialists, who were the world's strongest and most technologically fierce at that time, were a little overstretched in the face of attacks by Japanese suicide planes coming from low altitudes. The aircraft carriers Franklin and Bunker Hill were also heavily damaged in the final battle and almost made it back. Under Xu Jie's personal supervision and care, Huaxia specially drew up a plan for medium and low-altitude air defense.

A large number of mobile air defense posts consisting of individual destroyers and escort carriers were deployed on the periphery of the fleet, and the entire transport fleet shrank inward. In this case, in the face of the radar warning and the shield composed of escort aircraft carriers outside, the scale of the operation of the German naval aviation in squadrons was somewhat limited, although the small forces were difficult to detect. But at the same time, the attack force is weak, and in the face of a defensive unit composed of two escort aircraft carriers and four destroyers, it is difficult for a squadron of aircraft to achieve results. The blockade formed by these aircraft carriers greatly reduces the intensity of the opponent's attack.

It was precisely because of the change in the defensive layout that the Chinese and American fleets had increased their perception of the periphery, and Lindeman's fleet movements were quickly captured. However, this situation did not receive high-level attention at first, so that the two sides were almost caught off guard and engaged in an encounter.

Just as Lindeman's detachment was heading towards the target, the Longwei, the last battleship of the Chinese era, was also moving to the edge of the transport fleet under the cover of the American cruisers, but this action was definitely not decided by Huaxia and the United States after learning that Lindeman's fleet was going to launch a night attack, but because the air control was too cumbersome, and the navigation equipment and personnel on the escort aircraft carrier were somewhat unable to make ends meet. So let the battleship, which is the flagship of the fleet, take on part of the huge volume of communications and command and control. And because it is the Huaxia Skua fighters that provide cover, then it is naturally the best choice to use the Huaxia guide personnel and equipment.

The Chinese fleet came with elite warships, aircraft carriers and battleships were first-class, but the heavy cruisers did not bring a few, and the Americans readily provided 2 heavy cruisers and 6 destroyers to provide cover for the battleship Longwei. Heavy cruisers provide air defense and seaplanes, and submarines are responsible for anti-submarine. So, unexpectedly, the two fleets began to get closer. And as night fell, the situation on the entire battlefield became even more chaotic!

As the last first-class battleship in China, the Longwei is a relatively alternative existence in the entire naval system, and the Longwei-class battleship, which was born at the end of the big ship and the eve of the rise of the aircraft carrier, has become a little embarrassed, from the perspective of the timeline. This class of battleships was started at the end of World War 1, and it was commissioned not long after the signing of the treaty, and the subsystems are now somewhat behind the German Bismarck-class battleships built later and the Americans' North Carolina-class battleships, although they have undergone some improvements in the long period of more than ten years, such as the replacement of new boilers, radars, and various command equipment. However, the overall structure has not changed much.

9 16-inch guns have been in service since the present, and the armor protection has not improved much except for adding a bomb-proof deck above the main level, and in general, it can be compared with other last battleships in terms of firepower and protection, but the speed is even worse. The maximum speed is only 29 knots. This is due to the better ship type. But it's not a big deal. Because in use, this battleship is more used as a flagship and for ground bombardment, and night battles are mainly used to cover the aircraft carrier fleet, and the speed requirements are not very high.

"We are about 240 kilometers away from the nearest convoy, and according to the data provided by aerial reconnaissance, the American planes should have spotted us, but it is now approaching dusk. They won't be out again today. If our intended course is correct, then we can bring the target into our range of attack in about 5 hours, and after destroying this convoy, we will release the seaplanes, and then the fleet will withdraw to the rear. When the time comes, the seaplane will be retrieved at the predetermined location. According to aerial reconnaissance, no trace of the opponent's large warship was found in the sea near the target, and what we need from the other side may only be a few small shrimps. The adjutant said.

"Very well, I hope there won't be any surprises." Lindemann took a few deep breaths to relieve the pressure in his heart, the situation was far from being as easy as the staff officer said. With the fleet getting closer and closer to the Entente fleet. Lindemann could feel the eyes of the sky, the sea, and the water staring at him, like wolves hiding in the night, ready to come up and tear himself and the fleet to shreds.

According to Count Spee's initial instructions, the main task of Lindemann's fleet was to find the target of the other side. The attack on the transport fleet was discretionary, but Lindemann did not want to pass up this opportunity. And not just because he was one of the few BB parties in the entire German Navy. What's more, the supplies of these convoys themselves were important to the Battle of England. As a qualified military man, he considered it a dereliction of duty to abandon the prey in front of him!

And just when the Germans were rushing towards the transport fleet numbered TD16, under the command of Rear Admiral Deng Yu of the Huaxia Navy, the battleship Longwei with his younger brother was also heading in the direction of the TD16 transport fleet. This is not to say that the Entente thought of the German plan, but because the German naval aviation was so involved in covering Lindemann's fleet during the day that Nimitz and Suem thought that the other party's breakthrough point might be here the next day, so they decided to transfer the Longwei to use it as a mobile tower!

So, by mistake, the two fleets began to approach each other! Thus began the first night battle of the Second World War, and neither side expected to meet each other's fleet in this moonlit field, and then engage in a fundamentalist artillery battle under the moonlight!

The Germans had a smooth first half of nightfall, successfully penetrating the outer destroyers' cordon, while at the same time being lucky enough to avoid the submarine blockade. Before approaching the target, several seaplanes carrying radars were released to find the target transport fleet, and the light control of the TD16 transport fleet was still not in place, with the help of radar and lights, the seaplanes discovered the target fleet and informed Lindemann of the position and course information, and it all went very smoothly, at least until the report was sent! And with the radio waves that pierced the night sky. The good fortune of the Germans has come to an end!

"We've just intercepted a radio communication that is in a completely different band from ours." The information sent from the Radio Department made the atmosphere in the command tower of the entire battleship Longwei suddenly become solemn. In order to avoid mutual interference, the wireless communication bands between various units are strictly limited. And this telegram is good, it appears directly on the band that has never been used, and there is no problem in it! Because it is almost impossible for this band to be sent out with Chinese or American communication equipment!

"The Germans ran in! And it's not far from us! In an instant, a thought popped out of Deng Yu's mind. Unfortunately, he could only determine that it was a German telegram, but he could not determine whether it was sent by an airplane, a submarine, or a warship.

"Tell the General Command about this. The fleet was put on alert. I was given light control and radio control. After sending this alarm telegram, I did not allow the fleet's long-distance communication equipment to show a little electromagnetic radiation! Deng Yu immediately ordered. And then the entire fleet went into a state of alert, especially anti-submarine work, which was a top priority. It is difficult for the German aircraft group to pose a threat to the capital ships at night, and Deng Yu did not quite believe that the German battleships would rush to a position close to the depth of the Allied fleet, and in his first reaction, he thought that it was a signal from the submarine! At night, the most difficult opponent to defend against is the submarine!

Deng Yu's fleet gradually melted into the night, they were like killers hidden in the night, looking for the traces of the intruder, and at this time the Germans did not know that there was a fleet with battleships around them, and the reconnaissance planes sent out had locked the position of the convoy to attack, and the continuous telegrams not only allowed the German fleet to quickly approach the target, but also revealed their own position. Through the uninterrupted radio sideways, the extension line in the direction of a series of polygons points straight to the meeting point of the TD16 transport ship!

Thank you for the reward of zhouyu1976~~~, (to be continued.) )