Another World: Naval Storm

Chapter 124 Hard Fight

The remaining officers and men on board the Broad saluted it solemnly for the last time from the lifeboat.

"The Broad has completed its mission, and we will continue ours!" Manwen controlled his emotions and said with relief.

After Leo joined the First Reconnaissance Fleet, he brought different ideas with him.

My great military strategist and teacher grandfather once said, "If you save the land and lose the people, you will lose both the people and the land; if you save the people and lose the land, you will save both the people and the land."

Leo ordered everyone to preserve their manpower if possible and not to sink with the ship.

In war, talent is the key to victory. If there are not enough soldiers, it is difficult to win. There must be enough soldiers to constantly replenish the manpower, but not to consume too much manpower. Otherwise, the number of soldiers will decrease and morale will become lower and lower.

Especially for a technical branch of the military like the navy, unlike the army which can fight immediately after picking up a rifle, it is impossible to form effective combat capability without a few years of training. It is not a good thing to send trainees to the war in advance.

The Drake battlecruiser has always been inferior to the Tarens in terms of naval gun performance, which is a great disadvantage.

At this time, the hull of the Moltke was taking on more than 19 tons of water. The heavy burden caused the Drake battleship's cruising speed to drop to knots, and it no longer had the strength to escape the pursuit of the Royal Princess.

As the distance got closer, the secondary gunners of the Royal Princess could no longer hold back and operated their 102mm rapid-fire guns to fire at the Moltke.

At 19:25, Leo stepped out of the command tower protected by armor and came to the starboard side of the Moltke battlecruiser amidships.

With Dawson's personal efforts, the fierce fire was brought under control after a large amount of water was poured into the turret. He and a dozen Draken men who had also taken off their military uniforms and left only shorts and vests were busy near the starboard side of the midship, throwing flammable oil drums and coke into the sea.

Many bodies were neatly laid out on one side. They would be buried at sea in lifeboats after the battle.

"General, you can actually leave if you transfer to the Von der Bella in time..."

"You want me to desert?" Leo interrupted Dawson. He couldn't possibly abandon them.

"Commander, the Moltke will never regard you as a deserter!" The sudden appearance of the Moltke's captain, Colonel Koro, scared Leo. Like Dawson, he did not want the naval hero Drake to die in Ship Bay.

"Colonel Koro, the Tarens didn't kill me, but you almost scared me to death! It's too late to say anything now, let's just concentrate on dealing with the Tarens!" Leo left the two of them and returned to the command room. The difficult battle had to continue.

The 2VS2 battle did not change the precarious situation of Moltke and Seydlitz. At 19:28, the dreadnought HMS Thor arrived to provide support, leaving the dreadnought HMS Conqueror to fight with the von der Bella. The two fleets crossed each other under the blurred moonlight, with the closest distance being only 2900 meters.

The angle between the two fleets narrowed as Liam's First Battlecruiser Squadron moved in a small arc. The main guns of the Royal Princess Battlecruiser, the Monarch battleship, and the Thor battleship amidships and stern were finally able to fire freely.

Having dominated the ocean for a hundred years, the top brass of the Talen Navy attached great importance to the gunnery training of the Royal Navy. In the Battle of Shipwreck Bay, if it weren't for Leo's own skills to bless the Drake battleship, the Talen gunners could be said to have performed above their level in the naval battle, and the advantage of the 343mm main gun firepower was fully demonstrated in their hands.

The dreadnought HMS Conqueror hit the battlecruiser HMS Seydlitz continuously. At 19:31, a 343mm main gun behind the midship chimney of the HMS Conqueror hit the stern of the HMS Seydlitz with an armor-piercing explosive shell. It penetrated the thick upper deck, exploded in the ammunition loading room, and then detonated the ammunition depot under the stern turret of the HMS Seydlitz.

The tragic explosion blew up the stern of the Seydlitz, and dozens of officers and soldiers were torn to pieces and thrown into the sea. Its fate was already doomed.

"The Seydlitz has also arrived now, Leo, will we succeed?"

In the command tower, Captain Goodman slowly tidied up his military appearance. He did not intend to leave. He did not want to leave the battlecruiser Seydlitz. Even though Leo had strictly ordered the First Reconnaissance Fleet that no officers and soldiers were allowed to sink with the ship, there were still many people who did not want to leave at the last moment.

"Send a telegram to the Ocean Fleet Headquarters!" Colonel Goodman looked towards the Drake Empire with longing, and hurriedly told the signalman his farewell message: "At 1916:12 on December 19, 19, the stern of the Seydlitz was hit and it is about to sink. The Seydlitz will launch a desperate counterattack. Long live the navy! Long live the empire!"

"? Why haven't you left yet?" He came alone to the last main turret that could still fire. There were still several sailors inside who had not obeyed the order to evacuate. There were also a dozen sailors under the turret who had not evacuated either. They would continue to supply ammunition to this turret.

"Colonel, we can't bear to leave the Seydlitz and want to stay with it forever!" Goodman glanced around. These sailors were veterans who had followed him for many years. They were all over 35 years old. The young ones who wanted to stay were beaten and kicked and driven away.

Those people will be the seeds of the future Drake Navy and will one day support the maritime power of the Drake Empire.

"Well, let Seidlitz roar for the last time!"

At 19:45, the burning Seydlitz refused the Conqueror's request to surrender and was sunk by two torpedoes from the Conqueror. Until the last second before sinking, the only remaining 280mm main gun of the Seydlitz was still firing!

At 19:48, the two fleets quickly distanced themselves from each other after passing each other. The battlecruiser HMS Royal, the battleships HMS Conqueror and HMS Thor attacked the severely injured HMS Moltke, while the HMS Monarch continued to chase the HMS Von der Bella.

At 19:50, the tragic Battle of Shipwreck Bay had been going on for more than two hours. Leo's flagship, the battlecruiser Moltke, suffered heavy damage, the armored cruiser Broad sank, the battlecruiser Seydlitz sank, and the battlecruiser Von der Bella was slightly injured; Liam's First Battlecruiser Squadron suffered even more heavy losses, with the battlecruisers Lion, Tiger, and Queen Mary sunk, and the dreadnoughts Conqueror and Thor slightly injured. Even if Leo's fleet was completely wiped out at this time, Liam would not have a good time if she returned to Talen.

The naval battle had become a mess, and the wonderful tactics of the warships of both sides were played out one by one in the wide and narrow Ship Burial Bay.

Liam and the Royal Princess were relentlessly pursuing Liam's battlecruiser Moltke, followed closely by the Conqueror and Thor; the Monarch was still playing a cat-and-mouse game with the battlecruiser von der Bella. The seven pre-dreadnoughts were still approaching in the distance, and by the time they arrived, the battle might be over.