The British fleet departed from Uruguay was led by Admiral Stodat. The ships include the armored cruiser of the Defense, the Kanafon, the Cornwall heavy cruiser, the Bristol light cruiser, and several armed cargo ships.

Such weapons and equipment are no longer advanced in the context of the general construction of super battleships in the world today. Whether in terms of ship type or basic speed firepower, it is all-round backward.

The reason why the British still kept these guys in hand and deployed them to act as powerful thugs is based on their invincible deterrence of the world's number one power. It can be said that without a full-scale war, basically no country would dare to sink them without any trouble.

However, once the war enters the war, the results will be completely different. Not to mention the battleships of various countries, the battleships that European countries are now building are now hard-working. Any one of them can be used to take them all in one go.

In view of this, when the British Admiralty finally made a slow decision to intercept four German battleships, it also sent instructions to the Uruguayan squadron at the same time, requiring them to do a good job of defense and wait for the local battleship formation to arrive there before launching a strike together.

However, the slow decisions of the British government and the navy led to a fatal mistake. The arrogant Major General Stoddat was not happy to wait for others to come. When he learned that Major General Cradock, who was about to be transferred back to the country last year, led the North African-Mediterranean squadron to come over and incorporate them into the unified command of the combat sequence, Stoddat was not very satisfied. So he asked the Royal Navy to send power to the Royal Navy to take the initiative to monitor the German fleet, and at the same time he took the fleet to the road first.

This made Lieutenant General Frederick Stedy, who was appointed as the commander of the General Attack Fleet, very angry. But getting angry at this time was useless, and he had to take good care of the generals' emotions, right? He just gave a reserved advice and then led the main fleet to accelerate to the South Atlantic Ocean.

Perhaps in Lieutenant General Stody's idea, Major General Stoddat should respect his opinions. At the least, with his rigor and high quality, he can maintain enough calmness and caution after knowing the strength of the German fleet so as not to cause any trouble.

Even if the other party takes the lead and takes the lead, it is not a bad thing. It is not uncommon for the generals of the Royal Navy to have their own personality. After all, once the big task of intercepting the German fleet is done, the great contribution cannot be swallowed by one or two people.

The Lieutenant General believes that the Major General must be aware of the overall situation and he does not have much to worry about.

However, Lieutenant General Stedi obviously forgot the most critical issue. The Germans would not listen to his arrangements!

If the Stodat squadron wants to monitor the German fleet nearby, it must enter the other party's observation distance. Once the target is discovered, will the Germans ignore it?

If it is a war period, it is definitely not possible. As long as both sides face each other, they will definitely kill someone to the death.

However, Lieutenant General Stedy, like most of the British upper-level bureaucrats today, believes that Germany will not easily launch a war. Although everyone was nervous before, it seemed that they were about to start a fight at any time, but they were actually very clear and not ready. The consequences were so serious, who could afford it?

Even under such a lucky mentality, or most British upper class are actually unwilling to fight, so they can hold on to a safe and stable situation. They use political or alliance means to force the Germans to submit and hide the war invisibly. What a good thing.

Even though the Germans had actually obtained four powerful battleships, the British still held the mentality of luck of fate - let the Germans see the British's determination and strength, forcing them to return the warships or retract them to China, and do not want to break the balance between the Atlantic and Europe.

The idea was biased, the decision was wrong, and the result was very fatal!

The first thing to pay is Major General Stodat, who also holds the idea of ​​"I am the best in the world" and "Germany dare not go to war".

He took the fleet alone to bypass Cape Horn and enter the Pacific. He kept maintaining information with Chile along the way, knowing that the German fleet had always been repairing at a neutral port, and it took a full week. It was not until two days after learning that the Uruguayan squadron was dispatched that he began to board the ship and leave the port.

In other words, the Stodat squadron has taken the lead and blocked the front. As long as they can hold on for a while, they can get their first blood merits.

Major General Stodat ordered the fleet to accelerate its advance without hesitation. As expected, two days later, they found traces of the German fleet near the Coronel Sea.

From the high mainmast, the Major General saw four majestic figures through the optical rangefinder with his own eyes, and his expression was particularly solemn.

He once saw the four battleships in the Chinese visiting fleet from afar last year. Some spies with great power even took relatively clear photos. Therefore, he is very familiar with the appearance characteristics of the "Hebei-class" battleship.

With a look, he could see that these four warships with the German navy were almost the same as those of China. If it really doesn't make sense, the difference is small and it makes people almost unable to see it.

Only in this way did he feel fear from the bottom of his heart. Based on the principle of lenient prediction for the enemy, the warships on the opposite side should be at least 80% of the combat power of Chinese warships. In this way, the combat power of a single ship is enough to exceed any active British battleship!

The largest main gun caliber in the UK is 13.5 inches, while the other party may be 14 inches! Because British naval officers are aware of the Germans' conduct, they are also pursuing the main gun caliber! Some information believes that they are also building a super battleship with 31mm main guns, and there is no reason to buy the 12-inch 35mm gun from China ten years ago.

This is already a life-threatening gap. As we all know, China's self-made artillery has maintained the advantages of fast firing speed, high accuracy and great power since the day it appeared. In this regard, Britain, the founder of the naval army, has been constantly surpassed by various countries in the manufacturing of cannons.

It's simply a shame! I'm ashamed of my ancestors!

The second is speed. So far, all British battleships have difficulty reaching more than 22 knots. It’s not that they don’t want faster, but that they are technically difficult to achieve.

However, since the Chinese Navy built warships, it seems that it is directly aiming for more than 25 knots - this has been seen by many navies in previous battles. What is particularly fearful is that they can fire fires in fast maneuvers, which has more opportunities than others.

So, will the warships obtained by the Germans lose these advantages? It is impossible.

There is no need to discuss the thickness of the armor. The British can count the ones that are superior technical equipment, and they are all the possibility of being surpassed by others without exception.

Major General Stodat sank for a while and ordered the entire fleet to "maintain the optimal speed and be ready to maneuver at any time."

The so-called "will be destroyed when the enemy is seen" in tradition is also a scoring situation. Now is not the era of sailing warships. With superior command and control, you can defeat the strong with the weak and the more with the few.

Unless the level of the crew of the two sides is too different, the key to victory or defeat depends on their respective main guns and armor performance. In real hard battles, there are few exceptions. At least now, the torpedo levels of various countries have not yet fully kept up. If they do not have the ability to release through 7 meters, don’t expect to use that thing to kill the battleship. The success rate is too low.

Major General Stodat calculated that none of his own ships was qualified to be provocative, and the current optical rangefinder observation distance was extremely dangerous! Once the Germans came, it would be a problem for them to escape!

Several armed cargo ships were simply ordered to retreat first. They were just adding to the battle.

In addition, Stoddat could only watch from a distance and was ready to follow and track when the Germans forcibly break through, rather than intercept them hard.

At this time, the German fleet had also discovered the existence of the British.

The optical rangefinders of the four battleships have been significantly reduced compared to those used by the Chinese. However, they have considerable advantages over those produced by the Germans themselves.

Similarly, it is much better than the British now. In addition, the towering battleship bridge has a height advantage. It is clearer to see the British.

The four battleships saw the British fleet, and the German officers were immediately excited and generated electricity to the flagships, asking whether to launch a battle against the enemy immediately.

Major General Spee only thought for a while and then decided to make a decisive decision: "Start an attack on the enemy in front of you!"

Deep down, he felt a little bit of a big deal. He bullied a bunch of gadgets with his four powerful battleships, and the largest armored ship of only 14 tons was simply a slaughter.

"I hope the British people across the street will get to know each other and get out of the way."

Major General Spey thought so in his heart. He ordered the battle flag to be raised.

A shrill alarm sounded immediately on the restless sea surface, four battleships raised their flags one after another, officers and sailors rushed into their posts, the majestic main guns showed off their hideous figures, the steam turbines sprayed out thick smoke, and an unprecedented tension and excitement permeated every battleship.

This scene suddenly changed the face of the British in the distance!

Major General Stodat only felt a sense of anger rising, burning his chest so much that it hurt!

For so many years since he joined the army, he never expected that one day, someone would dare to challenge himself openly like this!

Yes, he decided that the German guy on the other side was deliberately making him ugly! Although he was leading only a bunch of old, weak, sick and disabled ships, this was the world's number one warship of the British Empire, after all, and the invisible divine light bonus was definitely much stronger than the real combat power.

How dare the Germans be so arrogant and presumptuous when the two countries have not declared war? Do you think that you can really be invincible in the world with just four super-large warships?!

joke!

The British stubbornness immediately gained the upper hand, and the originally unwilling feeling of giving in was immediately thrown into Java. The naval spirit passed down from the Nelson era cannot give in because of its timidity when facing a powerful enemy. It is a shame that he cannot escape in his life! He disdained it.

Since the Germans are so arrogant, even if their fleet is defeated, they must at least let them know that there is something more precious in this world, that is, the unyielding will and the spirit of never giving up!

Major General Stodat gave a calm order and sent a telegram to the British Navy first: "The enemy ship raises the battle flag, and I will lead the fleet to welcome the battle."

Then, the battleships were ordered to set up combat formations and accelerated their attempts to seize the dominant position according to the sun's orientation.

In response, Major General Spee sneered contemptuously and criticized without hesitation: "The British are still self-righteous, and they have always refused to recognize the reality. This world is no longer an era for them to lead in all aspects. The German Empire will surely become the king of the world! Today, let us help them see clearly the real world, what exactly is!"

The four battleships separated from a column left and right, forming a parallelogram in front and back, and increased their speed to 22 knots. All four main machines of the eight-seat boiler were running, and the sharp bows slashed the waves, coming like giants in the wilderness!

After taking over, the Germans had renamed these four battleships, using the earliest names of the General Election Emperor, Brandenburg, Wiesenburg and Wools. It looks very familiar, right? It was the one who ran to the East China Sea to find fault with each other. The most powerful warships in Germany were all sunk and destroyed. The Germans did not feel any taboo at all, and used the four names again.

I really don’t know if they deliberately disgusted the Chinese.

In any case, the four warships were powerful and undisputed. After the speed of 22 knots was soaring, the British warships on the opposite side were no longer enough. Take the T head? That's all! The two sides changed from confrontation to seizing positions with each other, and it didn't take long to distinguish the level.

The British lost a game first and were forced to the backlight position, which was very unfavorable for the battle.

At this time, the sun was also very strong. Looking from the opposite side, it seemed that the entire waves had turned into shattered mirrors. The light made people unable to open their eyes, let alone standard shooting.

What's more, the British used the latest optical rangefinder on new battleships, but these old battleships were still using their original things. It would cost old things to fire a shot, and their deterrence is greater than actual combat. Used to challenge battleships? They are purely self-inflicted.

Major General Stodat didn't feel that way. He decided that he had to leave the Germans no matter how he had no choice but to see if the dignity and glory of the British Empire had such strong persuasion.

So, he was in a tragedy.

When the warships on both sides had just crossed a 1-kilometer boundary and all the main guns of the British warship could not hit the target, the German warships fired first! The four battleships each aimed at one opponent, tested a single shot, and corrected the range.

The whistling shells in the sky and the explosion after falling into the water shocked the British people to the silence of their faces.

At this time, Major General Stodat finally understood that the Germans were not bluffing, they really did not care about the seriousness of the consequences and wanted to kill them!

But so what if he knows, he can't shrink back and lose that face!

Gripping his teeth, he decisively ordered all ships to move in at full speed. If he could break through the German strike from the front, it might be a chance to get rid of it.

The idea is beautiful, but the result is bad.

After more than ten minutes, the first casualties appeared. The "Cornwall" accidentally was hit by an armor-piercing bomb and penetrated directly. The explosion caused a fierce explosion and exploded in half!

Sinking! (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!