In the early morning of July 23, 1915, a British patrol fleet commanded by Brigadier General Bell was sailing on the Norwegian coast about 220 nautical miles northeast of the Faroe Islands. At about 4:30, the entire fleet maintained the dawn combat formation and was sailing eastward at a speed of 14 knots. In order to deal with emergencies, the naval fleets of most countries in this era would adopt combat formations at dawn, and all boilers were also operated in parallel, so that warships could enter full speed as soon as possible after discovering the enemy.

At the same time, the Austro-Hungarian fleet commanded by Major General Cromwell gradually left the Norwegian coast and turned its course to northern Iceland. The formation was driving at a speed of 18 knots. If nothing unexpected happened, they would pass by the British fleet commanded by Bell, and no one would find anyone.

The sky was still dark, but the starlight in the sky was gradually disappearing. Looking down at the front deck from the tall bridge, you could only see the vague outlines of the two main turrets, which was the darkest moment before dawn.

Major General Cromwell just got up and entered the combat room with a cigar in his hand. "Where are we now?" Major General walked to the chart table and bent down.

"This location, District 53, General!" The nautical staff on duty pointed at the Norwegian waters marked with the number.

"Well, it seems to be a dangerous sea area. Order the fleet to increase its speed to 23 knots. We have to pass here quickly before dawn." The major general took a cup of hot coffee handed over from the staff officer and calmly gave the order.

The "Radetsky" flashed light signals to the "Grand Duke of Franz" behind him, so the two warships began to accelerate slowly. Looking back from the "Radetsky", you could see the blurry gray shadow of the warship behind you. A milky white halo was already shining in the sky in the east.

The dark gray hull gradually became clear against the black sea water. On the distant sea surface, a white celestial water line appeared at the junction of the sky and water, and it was almost dawn.

After giving the order, Major General Cromwell went to the cabin below, and he had to wash and have breakfast. Major Conte, the staff officer on duty, ordered the gun command above to pay attention to strengthening the search on the sea through the sound tube. The gun command is located behind the top of the bridge, and is the highest position on the warship except for the watchtower set on the mast. Except for the lack of the main gun, it is like a rotating turret, wrapped with a layer of armor plates that are not too thick.

After receiving the order, the gun command tower began to rotate slowly. The sailors on duty returned to their posts under the command of the officer on duty. Six large monobore high-power telescopes set up in the command tower began to search along the sea surface. In the distance, the waterline on the sea surface was shining brightly, and the sun would float out of the water at any time, and it was about to dawn.

At around 7 a.m., Major General Cromwell returned to the combat command room, everything was peaceful, and the officers and soldiers who had breakfast began to change shifts. Colonel Clemens walked in from outside the bridge with a cigar, "It's another bad weather, Major General." He said to Cromwell.

Indeed, through the porthole, you can see the clear sky outside, the rising sun hanging in the east, and the black sea surface is filled with red waves. The breeze is gently blowing, and it is another sunny day.

"We have almost passed two enemy blockades, Colonel." A smile appeared on the corner of Cromwell's mouth, and soon they would enter the vast ocean.

At this time, Major Conte, the combat staff member, turned his head and asked, "Nothing was discovered, sir."

Cromwell glanced at the sea in front, nodded at him and said, "Well, turn to level 3 alert."

Conte then ordered the fleet to transfer to the 17th cruising state to the navigation officer and the communication officer, and the personnel in the combat position were disbanded except for the on-duty personnel.

Everything has returned to normal.

But after three hours of acceleration, the entire fleet ran forward for an additional 15 nautical miles, and it was inevitable that it would meet the British fleet commanded by Brigadier General Bell.

At 9:17 am, Major General Cromwell sat on a chair in the navigation room with Colonel Clemens and staff members chatted about the Battle of Dogers at the end of January. In that battle, the Germans seemed to fall into the trap of the British, and Lieutenant General Hippel suffered a great loss.

Major Conte criticized Lieutenant General Hippel for his frivolous command without any mercy. He easily attacked without any reconnaissance, leading the fleet to pursue the British destroyer fleet that seemed to be a fleeing, and fell into Betty's trap.

"Shhh, whisper, he's behind us, don't let him hear it!" Cromwell joked easily.

Lieutenant General Hippel is currently leading the Seedlitz and the Deflinger around thirty nautical miles behind them. Since they have been keeping radio silence, they are actually just roughly guessing where the Germans are currently.

Major General Cromwell stood up and gave a few words to the staff on duty. He seemed to be preparing to return to his cabin below to rest. At this time, a shout of looking at his hands suddenly came from the transponder: "Peak, 22 o'clock, I found the smoke pillar!"

Soon, the signal officer also confirmed the situation.

"Turn right, try to avoid it and prepare for combat!" Major General Cromwell thought for a moment before giving the order, and the battle alarm on the warship sounded.

What was discovered was the British destroyer "Lizard" searching in front. Due to altitude problems, the Austro-Hungarian fleet was not discovered at this time. However, the British G-class destroyer was very fast and kept approaching Cromwell's fleet. When the Austro-Hungarian fleet completed its turn, the destroyer seemed to have discovered them, and then sailed towards them at a higher speed.

As a last resort, Cromwell ordered the fleet to turn left again. He had found that he could no longer avoid a battle: "Be careful, prepare for the battle! Send a telegram to General Hippel, and we have been discovered!"

With the issuance of the combat order, the huge main turret on the deck slowly turned, and the muzzle began to point to the direction where the enemy ships were discovered. The sailors had done artillery operations hundreds of times, but there were not many real battles, and the combat instructions made people excited and nervous.

"High explosion bombs, prepare!" The artillery commander issued instructions to each turret to deal with a destroyer or light cruiser. High explosion bombs are more effective than armor-piercing bombs. In the ammunition compartment below the fourth floor of the deck, the sailors packed the high explosion bombs and launching medicine into the bomb lifting machine according to the order. The gunners were also ready to complete the final procedure at the other end of the bomb lifting machine.
Chapter completed!