Chapter 192: die or run
Before the battlecruiser 'Royal Princess' arrived on the battlefield, the battlecruiser 'Lion' took another shot. However, with luck, it is not fatal.
Seeing the arrival of the battlecruiser 'Royal Princess', Lieutenant General David Betty's heart has finally returned to his stomach. If the Royal Princess doesn't arrive in time, they will be sunk sooner or later. After all, luck cannot be so good all the time. Once hit, it may be sunk directly.
"Let the 'Royal Princess' join us in besieging the Germans. This time, we must sink the Germans!" Lieutenant General David Beatty gritted his teeth and gave the order. The battlecruiser 'Lion' was forced into a panic in the previous battle and was almost sunk. For him, this is a great shame and humiliation.
"Yes, General." Colonel Kevin personally issued the order.
The arrival of the battlecruiser 'Royal Princess' instantly changed the situation on the battlefield. With the strength of the battlecruiser 'Moltke', there is no problem at all to suppress the British battlecruiser 'Lion'. However, with the addition of the 'Royal Princess', the situation is different. No matter how you say it, it is hard to beat four hands with two fists.
"Order all artillery positions, regardless of the British reinforcements, concentrate firepower, and sink the battlecruiser 'Lion'." Lieutenant General Spee issued an order. Under such circumstances, they can regain the initiative only by sinking a battlecruiser of the British Navy first.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The three 50-caliber 343mm main guns of the battlecruiser "Moltke" continued to fire violently. The rate of fire is actually a little higher than before. This made the shells falling on the battlecruiser "Lion" more intensive.
Lieutenant General David Beatty also guessed Lieutenant General Spee's plan. However, he is not afraid. After all, it is not so easy to sink a huge battlecruiser. Now they have reversed the situation. When the 'Royal Princess' joins in, victory will be within easy reach.
"Open fire and attack the German warship!" The captain of the battlecruiser "Royal Princess" gave an order. Seeing the embarrassment of the battlecruiser 'Lion' being beaten, the British naval officers and soldiers of the battlecruiser 'Royal Princess' also put away their contempt.
The battlecruiser 'Royal Princess' and the battlecruiser 'Lion' are ships of the same class, and all performance indicators are the same as those of the battlecruiser 'Lion'. If these two battlecruisers confronted the battlecruiser 'Moltke' one-on-one, they would definitely not be opponents. However, the combination of the two ships immediately put the battlecruiser 'Moltke' at a disadvantage.
"Boom! Boom!"
Shells continued to explode around the battlecruiser 'Moltke', splashing jets of water into the sky. Sea water fell from the sky, drenching the hull of the battlecruiser 'Moltke'.
"Boom!"
A violent explosion sounded, and the battlecruiser 'Moltke' was shaken all over. Many sailors on the battleship fell because they did not stand firm. Even Lieutenant General Spei, who was directing the battle in the command tower, couldn't help but fell a shit.
"Report the loss!" Getting up from the deck, Lieutenant General Spei asked immediately regardless of his embarrassment. He knew that the shock just now must have been caused by the battleship being hit. He was even more praying to God in his heart, praying not to be hit. Otherwise, it's all over.
"General, the No. 1 main turret was hit. However, the British shells did not penetrate our turret armor and exploded outside the turret. But the gunners inside the turret were all shocked to death."
Lieutenant General Spei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard this. Although, a group of gunners were killed, which is certainly a relatively large loss. But it's better than the turret armor being penetrated and the entire turret being destroyed! Even, if a martyrdom explosion is caused, the entire battlecruiser will be destroyed.
"Let the backup gunners immediately enter the turret to fight, and restore the design as quickly as possible!" Lieutenant General Spee ordered.
"Long live! Long live the British Empire! Long live the Royal Navy!"
When the No. 1 main turret of the battlecruiser "Moltke" was hit, the British sailors on the battlecruiser "Lion" and the battlecruiser "Royal Princess" couldn't help cheering. They have been suppressed for too long, and now they finally see a turning point.
However, when the gunpowder smoke cleared and the No. 1 main turret of the intact battlecruiser "Moltke" was exposed, they were all dumbfounded.
"Son of a bitch, what's going on here? Is the German defense so tough?" Lieutenant General David Betty couldn't help cursing. Originally, he thought that the battlecruiser 'Moltke' could be severely damaged. However, now it seems that he is simply thinking too much.
At the same time, Lieutenant General David Beatty also felt a little uneasy. The defense of the German Navy's battlecruisers was so strong, at least much stronger than that of the British Navy. Doesn't that show that the defenses of the battleships of the German Navy are also stronger? In this case, in the decisive battle in the future, the British Navy may suffer a disadvantage. After all, you can't penetrate the enemy's defense, but the enemy can easily penetrate your own defense. This is simply being beaten passively!
At 3:04, bad luck struck. The battlecruiser "Moltke" fired a crucial shot in this round of salvo.
A 343mm artillery shell hit the port side of the battlecruiser 'Lion'. The shell easily penetrated the waterline armor, which was only 229 mm thick, and blasted a large hole in it.
The seawater poured into the battleship frantically, causing the battleship to gradually tilt.
Even if the sailors of the battlecruiser "Lion" closed the watertight door immediately, they still couldn't prevent the battlecruiser "Lion" from further tilting and sinking.
After confirming that the battlecruiser 'Lion' was doomed to be sunk, Lieutenant General David Beatty immediately rushed to the battlecruiser 'Royal Princess' in a transport boat and continued to command the battle.
However, when the battlecruiser 'Lion' was unable to return to the sky, and the battlecruiser 'Moltke' of the German Navy fiercely chased up, Lieutenant General David Beatty became timid and gave an order to retreat . He was afraid that if the battle continued, even the battlecruiser 'Royal Princess' would follow in the footsteps of the battlecruiser 'Lion'.
The battlecruiser 'Queen Mary', which was entangled with the battlecruiser 'Goeben', also received an order to retreat and accelerated its withdrawal from the battlefield.