At noon on August 9, it started to rain in the sky, and the fleet was sailing in the rain and fog, making the visibility even lower.

At the same time, Lieutenant General La Perel, commander of the French Mediterranean Fleet, was leading a French fleet composed of four battleships and four cruisers to this sea area in a panic. In order to confuse the enemy, Major General Sorochin first ran to Jena, the North African port of France in Tunisia, and then shot and destroyed the troop transport ships in the port, and then turned east.

The French were eager to catch the "Goben" and took revenge, but they never thought they would encounter the Austro-Hungarian fleet.

Raindrops floated from time to time on the sea. At this time, Admiral Dobrese, the flagship armored cruiser of the British Mediterranean Fleet, was a little hesitant. The Germans equipped with 10 11-inch main guns were much stronger than the armored cruiser in his hand. London's instructions also meant to avoid fighting with the dominant enemy as much as possible, but he could not watch the Germans escape from his nose.

But the staff officers told him this concern: German warships might use their speed to distance themselves from them and then attack him constantly. The British armored cruiser was equipped with a 203mm main gun, while the German 280mm naval gun had a range that was no less than the 305mm main gun.

Although there have been war examples in later generations that four armored cruisers like the Defence were enough to drag a battle cruiser like the Goben, Doblaze did not have such courage and chose to wait. The two battle cruisers led by Admiral Milne were still coming to the direction of the land about 80 nautical miles behind, while the other four old-fashioned front-father dreadnoughts were further behind.

This allowed Sorochin to calmly lead the fleet to escape the British's pursuit.

Milne and Dobrazze were dismissed and never reused again.

"A fleet was found in the waters about 25 nautical miles southeast, General!" The battle alarm on the "United Force" suddenly sounded, and a harsh beeping sound echoed in this sea area.

The communication officer with a rigorous look reported the new situation to Li Haidn. The destroyer "Zara" who was conducting a search on the front right discovered the enemy's traces and sent back a telegram. At this time, he was facing two choices, whether to retreat or to block the enemy's direction.

There was a burst of busy footsteps sounding on the bridge and the deck, and the officers were shouting their soldiers and running towards the battle position. The staff in the war room gave a burst of excited cheers, and the news swept away the depressed atmosphere that had been bothering them for several hours - they originally thought there was no chance of fighting this time.

Many people are worried that they will not be able to find the British at all. The rain and fog on the sea disturbs their sight. And according to calculations, the British have now entered Cape Matapan and it is difficult for them to catch up with them again.

The combat staff were both nervous and worried. Over time, although the rain and fog continued to thin, their disappointment continued to increase.

Until the lookout hand of the Zara saw the target.

This is surprising. Did the British give up their pursuit of Sorochin and are preparing to return?

Anyway, it's a tense thing that they're looking forward to is now a battle at sea that they're looking forward to.

Lee Haydn entered the command room and walked to the chart table. At this time, the staff had placed the model of the enemy fleet in the southern part of the Ionian Sea. It was obvious that the target of the fleet seemed to be aiming at the "Goben".

"Send a telegram to General Negovan, where they are now." Lee Haydn decided to break the radio silence. It was useless now, and the entire fleet continued to move forward along the current course.

"Report, General Negovan calls, they are about 25 nautical miles behind us." About ten minutes later, the communications officer reported to him. At this time, the fleet opposite also discovered their whereabouts and began to turn to their position. The two fleets quickly approached at a relative speed of 40 nautical miles per hour, and in 15 minutes, they would enter each other's range.

"Order cruisers and destroyers to evacuate the battlefield, and the battleship teams are ready to face the enemy! In addition, general Negovan leads the fleet to come here at full speed." Li Haidn made a quick decision. He needed to fight with the enemy. It would be best if he could stop the enemy. If not, he could pretend not to support himself and retreat to the northern part of the Ionian Sea to lure the enemy to pursue him.

"The target distance is about 20 nautical miles!" The communications officer continued to report the information obtained from the "Zara". If the weather was fine, the lookout hand could see the enemy, but the sea was covered in dust and nothing could be seen. Li Haidn felt his heartbeat accelerate. Although he seemed calm on the surface, it was indeed the first time he had experienced this situation.

"Order cruisers and destroyers to evacuate the battlefield, and the battleship teams are ready to face the enemy! In addition, general Negovan leads the fleet to come here at full speed." Li Haidn made a quick decision. He needed to fight with the enemy. It would be best if he could stop the enemy. If not, he could pretend not to support himself and retreat to the northern part of the Ionian Sea to lure the enemy to pursue him.

Although the enemy is still not visible, they will soon appear within their range.

The fleet began to turn and penetrated toward the front of the enemy's heading. The huge muzzle on the warship slowly turned to the direction where the target was discovered. As the distance continued to get closer, the lookouts could already see the target at sea: the other side was a fleet of eight warships, not the previous five!

Lee Hayden easily judged that this was the enemy's fleet. With the current situation in Italy, it was impossible for him to send such a huge fleet. In this regard, the British were the French and the Austro-Hungarian fleet quickly formed a battle formation, and battle flags were raised on each warship, while Lieutenant General La Perel was a little hesitant, would the opposite one be British?

The sea surface became foggy and misty due to the light rain, and the other party's flag could not be seen clearly.

"Target 9100, 12 degrees in front of the right direction!" The artillery commander did not lock the target for the first time until such a close distance and quickly reported the data.

Pachner walked to Lee Haydn, who had been observing the sea, and asked, "Your Excellency?"

At first he did not get a reply, until more than ten seconds passed. Finally, he remained silent, as if he was ignorant of everything happening around him, and raised his right hand: "Notice all ships and fire!"

At 2:37 pm, the two sides were about 9,000 meters apart, and a signal light flashed on the French flagship "Guba" to interrogate the other party's identity.

The answer to them was a rumbling gunfire in the distance. The Austro-Hungarian Navy's flagship "United Force" launched the attack first, and then the ships also started shelling, and balls of fire suddenly shone on the sea.

Water columns soared into the sky near the French warships.
Chapter completed!