The two fleets were interspersed at a relative speed of about forty knots, and the formations of both sides were in chaos in the smoke and darkness. Gorshkov's flagship Tallinn inserted between the Japanese ships Myoka and Hachino, while Baku shot fiercely with the top, while Riga and Vilnius were surrounded by Kumano, Suzuka and Mikuma.

As for Murmansk, it almost hit Chunyu, which had been severely damaged before, and had to turn urgently to avoid it. The Kokang destroyer at the end of the queue also took it off. They had to circle around to return to the battlefield.

In the midst of chaos, Takeo Takagi tried to reorganize his formation. He ordered to turn on the searchlight to see what was going on around him. Who would have thought that the Tallinn, two thousand meters away, had just turned on the light.

At that time, the bridge of Tallinn was illuminated like daytime. Captain Colonel Kaganov saw that it was not good and immediately ordered to shoot the enemy's searchlight. However, it was obvious that the Japanese were moving faster. A few seconds later, the Miaogao attacked first, and a 203mm grenade hit the bridge of Tallinn.

Even many years later, Gorshkov was a little scared. The entire bridge was shaking, and the portholes were almost shattered. The flying shrapnel flew in from the portholes and killed many officers. What's even more fatal was that the shrapnel damaged the fire control radar on the bridge, making the Tallinn lose the ability to continue firing for a while.

Fortunately, there were four fire-controlled radars on the Tallinn. Three minutes later, another fire-controlled radar quickly took over, allowing the Tallinn to avoid the passive situation of being beaten and not fighting back. However, in just a few minutes, the Tallinn suffered heavy losses. Because it was attacked by the Miaogao and Yuhei on both sides, the ship's superstructure was frequently shot, the flames began to ignite, and a twin-mounted 76 gun in the middle was also destroyed. The only thing for the Tallinn was that the Japanese dared not fire to fire torpedoes, otherwise they would have to explain at that time.

After passing through the middle of the Miaogao and the Oxha, Tallinn immediately began to turn the rudder. He bombarded the tail of the Oxha with precise firepower, and destroyed a main gun at the tail of the Oxha.

At this time, the Riga and Vilnius, which were "surrounded" by three Japanese heavy patrols, were much lucky because they occupied a relatively favorable shooting position. The three Japanese heavy patrols did not have much advantage at the beginning of the shooting, and were swept miserably by two Soviet heavy patrols with precise firepower.

The Asahi destroyer, which was urgently repaired behind Mikuma, witnessed a scene: people were constantly thrown out of the Mikuma's hull by explosions, dancing in the air, like a kite that broke the line. One shell knocked the captain Qiyama Shifu into two sections on the spot, and another grenade that exploded on the mainmast killed all the remaining people in the bridge.

Under such a fierce bombardment, all the main guns of the Mikuma were dumb. Twenty-five parts of the ship ignited fires, the servo failed, and 500 tons of sea water were poured in. The officers and soldiers of the ship were fighting to rescue the warship under the command of Major Inoue, who was temporarily acting as the agent.

However, Mikuma's luck was also good. Because of Riga, Vilnius's attention was quickly attracted by Kumano and Suzuka in front of him, and he had no time to continue to beat the fallen dog.

The Baku fights against the top on the other side in a difficult situation. The strength of both sides is half a dozen, and their luck is almost the same, so the battle is particularly fierce. The two ships fight from a distance of three thousand meters to 900 meters. In the fierce shooting, all the weapons that can be used are used. Both sides first use the main guns, then the secondary guns, and finally use the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns and even heavy machine guns. In the recent period, the sailors of both sides even picked up rifles and started firing at each other.

In this tragic attack, the hulls on both sides were riddled with holes above the waterline. After the war, the Baku found that there were 500 bullet holes on and off the ship. After the top of the ship struggled and fled back to Japan, it also found that the holes on the hull made patients with dense phobia crazy.

The two ships had more than 400 officers and soldiers killed in this battle. When Nimitz boarded the Baku, he found a layer of blood floating on the deck of the warship in the fire. The dark red semi-dry thick blood could stick to the leather shoes when stepped on, which shocked the admiral. He solemnly saluted every surviving crew member of the Baku.

As time goes by, the distance between the two sides becomes closer and closer, and the battle becomes more and more tragic. Whether it is the Red Navy or the Japanese, every gunner has fallen into a state of fanaticism. Crazy stuffing shells into the barrel of the gun, and the fierce battle directly leads to the rifle of the guns on both sides being bald.

But what is surprising is that the firecracker was so fierce, but no warship was sunk on the spot, which seemed very unreasonable. However, this is actually very normal, because the distance between the two sides was too close, and almost all artillery fired flat. Most of the warships on both sides were above the waterline, especially the superstructure, which were hit harder.

As we all know, if you want to sink a warship, you have to break through the waterline or the part below the waterline. It is precisely because the majority of flat shootings are the ones that it is difficult for both sides to sink their opponents, which makes the battle more cruel.

This fierce hand-to-hand combat lasted for twenty minutes. It was not that the two sides would call for the gold and withdraw their troops after the twenty-minute battle. But twenty minutes later, the superstructures and gun positions of both sides were either destroyed or most of the gunners were killed, which means they could not be hit even if they wanted to. Moreover, these twenty minutes were enough for the main Japanese forces to catch up.

The first thing that caught up was the Xuefeng of the 16th Destroyer Detachment. Yes, you read that right, it was the famous auspicious ship, the famous Wu Zhixuefeng. The ship is temporarily serving as the flagship of the 16th Destroyer Detachment. Navy Colonel Shibuya Ziro was sitting on this auspicious ship.

At that time, the ship led three other friendly ships to the battlefield, but because of the bad vision and the Red Navy released a large amount of smoke, they lost their direction for a while. Just as Shibuya Ziro ordered the lookout whistle to open his eyes and search carefully, a warship that kept spitting out flames and thick smoke was rushing straight towards him.

Shibuya Ziro initially thought this was a severely damaged destroyer, and was wondering, "Why did that boy rush to the center of the firepower zone?" Then he suddenly realized that this was an "American cruiser". In a hurry, Shibuya Ziro screamed and ordered: "Fire!"

The Snow Wind immediately launched all torpedoes at the American cruiser without hesitation! Eight torpedoes rushed towards the American cruiser like sharp arrows off the string. So which "American cruiser" is this?

Judging from the post-war battle log, this should be Gorshkov's flagship Tallinn. In the fierce battle before, it suffered heavy damage. The two main guns in the front were horrified and the secondary guns were almost completely destroyed. Even the servo was damaged and basically lost its steering ability. He could only float on the sea while using the remaining tail guns to hit the Miaogao. Before that, the Tallinn had forced the Yuhei to withdraw from the battle and was currently dealing with the Miaogao.

The thunder strike of the Snow Wind was quite accurate. All eight torpedoes hit the Tallinn. Logically speaking, with the power of the nucleotide, not to mention the eight hits, even if one hits the Tallinn half-dead body, it would be very difficult to hit.

But on this magical night, the Tallinn, which had eaten eight torpedoes, was nothing, and no one on the ship noticed the attack. He was still attacking the Miaogao with all his heart.

Why is the Tallinn so lucky? The reason is very simple. Whether it is a torpedo or a shell, its fuse is insured, which is to ensure that the torpedo or shell will not hurt its own people. For example, the torpedo only works beyond the range of the killing of the thunderhead charge, while the shell must reach a certain initial speed before it can unlock the insurance.

As mentioned earlier, the Snow Wind did not find Tallin at the beginning. The Tallin suddenly broke into it. At that time, the distance was quite close, and the fuze insurance for the Type 93 torpedo was not lifted. In other words, these eight torpedoes were stopped after being inserted into the Tallinn hull. For Tallinn, this damage was really unaware of.

Shibuya Ziro was depressed by why the lightning strike did not respond. He was shocked again. Just as he was about to attack the Tallinn with his main gun, two "cruisers" suddenly appeared from the other side of its hull.

Mitsui Taro, who was on the bridge of the Snow Wind at that time, recalled: "The sudden appearance of the enemy ship scared my blood to solidify. Before we could react, the enemy opened fire. Two shells hit the bridge just in time, one killed most officers, including Colonel Shibuya, and the other air wave caused by the explosion threw Mitsui Taro out of the bridge and threw it heavily on the deck on the other side.

I have to say that the Xuefeng was really lucky. Although it was hit by the bridge, except for the death of these dozen officers, it had no more casualties on this terrifying night. The reason is that the Xuefeng, which had no headless dragons, went straight to the battlefield, and it was quickly forgotten by the busy Red Sea soldiers.

Which warship was attacking the Snow Wind? In fact, it was Murmansk and Kokang who had left the battlefield after taking a long journey. The two of them were in a circle and were about to return to the battlefield and collided with the 16th Japanese destroyer team. They immediately started fighting without saying a word.

The Kokang opened fire first, and the two bombs that hit the Xuefeng were fired by her. The Murmansk was not willing to fall behind. The Tianjin Feng aimed at the behind the Xuefeng and had a fierce hammer. The twelve main guns swept through the superstructure of Tianjin Feng in minutes.

This scene was clearly seen by the RO-2 reconnaissance plane above the battlefield. Pilot Alexander recalled: "The fiery red shells are like stars. They rise from the sea. Tracer bombs are like comets, dragging their long orange-red tails. From the cockpit, the sea surface is as smooth and calm as gorgeous obsidian. The warships are like chess pieces dotted on them, and the ripples are constantly aroused around them, as if a few pebbles have been thrown into the pond."

The four destroyers of the 16th Destroyer Detachment were quickly driven away by the Murmansk and Kokang. However, what made Yulisic very depressed was that all five torpedoes that he had just loaded were drifted. At that time, he ordered the Snow Wind to fire and fire torpedoes at the opposite side. The five torpedoes quickly hit the Snow Wind, but just like the Snow Wind's lightning strike against Tallinn, the Russian torpedoes were not unlocked, so it was naturally impossible to destroy the Snow Wind.

The 16th destroyer team here retreated, and the real crisis of the Red Navy on the other side had just arrived. On the other side, Kondo Nobutake's flagship Atoto took the Torishima heavy cruiser and Mikawa Junichi's King Kong, and Hiei arrived at the battlefield!

These two heavy patrols and two combat patrols can completely become the last straw that broke the camel's back, because the situation of Gorshkov's fleet was really bad at this time. In the fierce battle, the Tallinn and Baku were already severely damaged and had almost no combat power, especially the Tallinn was difficult to even go straight in a steady and straight line. The remaining Riga and Vilnius were only in a slightly better situation, and a main gun of Riga was destroyed. Part of the hulls of Vilnius tilted five degrees to the left. Anyway, it looked like a group of disabled people. As for Murmansk and Kokang, although the two ships were not that severely injured, their strength was limited. Shooting against the heavy patrol and the combat patrol was almost like seeking death.

Anyway, Gorshkov was very anxious and called his battle cruiser over and over again. So where did the Red Navy battle patrol go?

Lieutenant General Mikhail Sergeevich's battle cruiser fleet encountered some minor trouble before and was suddenly attacked by torpedoes during his voyage. Although the newly installed sonar at the last moment discovered these devils, this also disrupted Sergeevich's formation. What's more important is that Sergeevich couldn't figure out where these torpedoes were shot.

Is it a submarine or an enemy destroyer?

This lieutenant general dared not be careless at all, because behind him is the most precious aircraft carrier of the fleet. If it is just an enemy submarine, it would be fine. If it is an enemy destroyer, it means that the main force of the enemy fleet may not be in the direction of Gorshkov. If Gorshkov is just a bait, the purpose is to lead the four battle patrols away, the consequences are simply unimaginable!

Sergeevich was a little embarrassed. Should I go to reinforce Gorshkov first, or turn the rudder to check what was going on with the torpedo?

After some thought, the conservative one chose the latter, and he ordered the fleet to turn the rudder and search in the direction of the torpedo attack. So what happened to these torpedoes? In fact, it was a Japanese submarine. Naturally, Sergeevich's search was meaningless and wasted precious time. In the end, Kronstadt, who received the order, arrived at the battlefield with the Storm and Unforgettable.

Gorshkov looked very ugly when he saw several new light groups appearing in the sea search radar, especially the huge light groups. He fought against the enemy with his weak forces for more than half an hour, and paralyzed and severely damaged many enemy cruisers and destroyers, which was considered to have exceeded the task. However, the four damn battle patrols were not seen yet. Now that the enemy's big guys have appeared, how can he fight?

Gorshkov is not the kind of reckless man who only knows how to fight hard. On the contrary, he is very good at calculating. The difference between the enemy and us is too huge. If we fight hard, we will joke about the lives of the soldiers. Moreover, the aircraft carrier formation has already headed north. He has stopped the enemy from rushing forward to carry out night lightning strikes. It can be said that he has completed the mission successfully. Why are you still fat?

"Order all ships. Retreat immediately!"

Gorshkov said he would run away, but the Tallinn clumsyly turned around the sea. Then he accelerated as much as possible and cast smoke again. The Baku was retreating with the Tallinn, which was almost staggering at that time. But what is interesting is that although the pair of brothers in difficulty were extremely inflexible, the retreat was smooth sailing, and the Japanese seemed to have not noticed them at all.

Yes, the Tallinn and Baku were ignored by Kondo Nobuju's main force because Kondo Nobuju believes that these two lame cruisers cannot run far, so they give priority to the enemy's cruisers that have combat effectiveness. When they turn around, they want to pinch Tallinn and Baku into rounds, and if they want to beat them into flats, they will beat them into flats.

At that time, most of the firepower of Atago and Torihiro were concentrated on Riga and Vilnius. As for the King Kong and Hiei, they had not yet joined the attack because their vision was blocked.

For a time, the USS Ga and Vilnius were under great pressure. Not only were the two newly arrived enemy ships attacking him, but Keno Kurita, who was staying on the battlefield, also continued to fire, but also four destroyers of the 18th Destroyer Detachment were firing torpedoes at them.

Riga and Vilnius could not turn around and ran away. The reason was very simple. They found that the flagship Tallinn and Baku had suffered heavy losses. If they accelerated, Gorshkov would definitely not be able to escape. The Tallinn had shared a lot of pressure for them before and had been fighting for two. At this time, it was their turn to repay them.

So the two ships struggled to deal with the enemy ships and cover Tallinn and Baku as much as possible. This was a great act on the battlefield. However, on that night, not only Riga and Vilnius were great, but also a destroyer. She was the Kokang.

It should be said that the Kokang performed quite well this night. It was the first to discover enemy ships, the first to fire first, and the first to achieve results. Moreover, with her small body, she has been staying on the battlefield and insisting on fighting, so she really can't ask for more.

However, Yulisic repeatedly did things that others dared not think of. When receiving the order from Gorshkov, the Kokang did not flee, but accompanied the Murmansk to accompany the Riga and Vilnius to cover the Tallinn and Baku. He fought and retreated.

And on the way to retreat, I suddenly discovered the Primordial of Zhonglei, which had been mentioned earlier. The bow of the destroyer was blown off and was almost dying. Let's put it this way, the Primordial of the Primordial was completely ignored at that time. After all, she was a clay Buddha who crossed the river and could not protect herself. However, Yulisic did not do so. After discovering the distress signal of the Primordial, he decisively ordered to move closer to the Primordial and cast smoke... (To be continued.) Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotian.net
Chapter completed!