The formation of Basilev's fleet was a bit strange. In name, it was said that it was the Red Flag Baltic Fleet, but in fact, except for the four Gangut-class ships, most of the main forces of this fleet were German goods.

At the forefront is the reconnaissance cruiser formation, which consists of four battlecruisers and four light cruisers. As we all know, the Izmael class, the only first-class battlecruiser of the polar bear, is in a state of suspension. Since the October Revolution, the 356mm main gun originally planned to be equipped on the Izmael class has been out of stock by the British. Only ten guns have been delivered before, and these ten guns are not enough for one Izmael (triple-mounted four-turret).

So this reconnaissance cruiser fleet is a whole of German goods, including the Hindenburg, De Fringer, Seedritz and Moltke. The flagship is the Hindenburg.

This formation of battlecruisers is Basilev's eyes and tentacles, acting as a sudden reconnaissance mission, responsible for searching for traces of the British and American joint fleet's masters - the wrong forces. Of course, they do not need to work hard at all now. With the effective reconnaissance of the Air Force, they only need to move towards their targets.

Behind the battlecruiser formation is Basilev's main formation, including Bavaria, Baden, King, Electoral Emperor, Governor, Crown Prince William, German Emperor, Empress, King Albert, Frederick the Great, Peter Bapulovsk, Gangut, Sevastopol, and Poltava fourteen battleships. It can be said that the main force of the entire Red Flag Baltic Fleet has been dispatched in full swing.

Fourteen battleships, four battlecruisers, and several front-facing ships that were slowly rushing on the tail of the fleet, looked like this fleet was unprecedentedly powerful. However, compared with their opponents, it was a bit too much to see. Although Jackson was caught off guard by the air strike and lost some of the main battleships, this attack was a drizzle for the wealthy British and American combined fleet.

For example, the battlecruiser formation that was also in the sudden front, the Royal Navy was the super fearless reputation and the counterattack. The 381mm giant cannons carried by these two battleships are two levels stronger than the 305 cannons of Hindenburg. Following the two r heroes are the Tiger and the Lion. Although these two are not brothers, they are also real super fearless. The main cannon is 343mm caliber.

Of course, the Lion is quite tragic. It has been sank, so although the power balance of the battlecruiser formation in the sudden outbreak is 3 to 4, the Royal Navy is still very ahead of the main gun caliber, that is, firepower.

However, the German Battle Cruise is not without its advantages, that is, the Jingfu. Although its speed and firepower are lagging behind the British brothers, it is much stronger in defense. For example, the two R heroes (reputation and counterattack, these two were originally ordered as R-class battleships, but under the interference of Fisher, who likes Battle Cruise, they were changed to Battle Cruise). Before the transformation in 1921, these two goods were only 152 mm in main armor, which was almost the level of a heavy cruiser. The weakest German Moltke also had a 270 mm thick main armor, and the remaining 300 mm battleship level was 1.

If these two formations confront each other head-on, it is likely to evolve into a contradictory dispute. It is hard to say whether the British, with the advantage of firepower speed, wins, or the German ship with a tortoise shell wins.

Of course, there is also a prerequisite for this, that is, they can meet, and if Jackson runs away directly, everything will be empty talk.

So did Jackson run away? No! The Marshal was determined to bet on his luck. If he just left like this, his black hat would never be able to be kept. More or less he would have to achieve some results, otherwise he would really be unable to explain. So soon he ordered two destroyers to cover the seriously injured New York to retreat, and the remaining fleet continued to move towards Szczechin.

Among them, the two R heroes, the separate tigers, and four new Caledon-class light cruisers. Four Caledons suddenly explored the way, and three battle patrols were slightly behind to cover.

It seems that Jackson is also very cautious and dare not let the entire fleet take risks casually. He is a throwing stone to ask for directions. If he doesn't encounter much resistance next, he will continue to insert strongly. If the situation is not good, he will hurry up and rush.

The flagship Caledon, the formation's flagship, took the lead in front under the command of Colonel Baloni, and the other three sister ships lined up in fan shape to search and move forward. The poor Major General Baloni did not know that the battle patrol formation of Samekov was already rushed towards him with great courage, but because of the cloudy and cloudy weather, neither of the two commanders found the existence of their opponents.

Until ten o'clock in the morning, just as Sukhoi was preparing to launch a second air strike, the British light cruiser collided with the German battle patrol's leading formation, and four German light cruisers met with four British light cruisers.

It seems that everyone's four-on-four seems fair, but in fact it is not fair at all. Caledon-class light patrol standard displacement is 4,200 tons, maximum speed is 29 knots, five 152mm main guns and 76 mm waterline armor. Their opponents Cologne and Dresden have a standard displacement of 5,620 tons, full load of 7,500 tons, maximum speed is about 28 knots, eight 150 mm main guns, and the waterline armor is slightly thin but also 60 mm. The technical parameters of Fort Collins and Emden, which cooperate with the Cologne, are also half a pound.

Let me put it this way, the four British light cruisers have no advantage in front of their German counterparts, and are even an absolute disadvantage in terms of firepower density!

However, the Royal Navy's style of fighting will still make Colonel Baloni choose to fight, and the two sides launched an artillery battle at a distance of 8 kilometers. However, Baloni soon found that this choice was very problematic. His four warships had a total of 20 152mm main guns, but his enemy had 32 150mm main guns, which could be said to be a considerable loss.

15 minutes after the battle started, Colonel Baloni woke up. He could not fight the enemy head-on with such a fool, and there was no benefit at all. It would be better to turn around and retreat and let the three elder brothers behind him come to deal with the enemy.

Immediately, Baloni ordered a rudder and retreat at full speed. But what surprised Baloni was that even though his formation was speeding up to 28 knots, the enemy behind could still hold it tightly, so he made a difficult decision, ordering Calypso, Caradoc, and ndra to retreat, and he personally led the Caledon to cut off the back cover, hoping to hold the enemy and buy time for friendly ships.

Then the Caledon began to sail in a tortuous manner with the z-shaped route, and released smoke, constantly firing frantically at the chasing Cologne with five 152mm main guns. It even fired four torpedoes.

However, no results were achieved in both artillery and lightning strikes. The Cologne, Dresden, Collinsburg and Emden were in groups in two groups, surrounding the two wings and chasing them from each other.

The Caledon twisted left and right under the command of Colonel Baroni, constantly maneuvering to avoid the pouring rain of bullets. I don’t know if Colonel Baroni’s character is good or the Russians’ incompetent art of artillery, and after fighting for twenty minutes, he did not hit once. At this time, 15 rounds of volleys had been fired.

It was not until the 16th round of volley that the Cologne drove Hu, and a 150mm grenade hit the center of the starboard side of Caledon. The steel fragments produced by the explosion penetrated the head of a torpedo in the torpedo tube of the ship. Fortunately, the death of the explosion did not occur. Despite this, Colonel Baroni, who was scared into cold sweat, immediately ordered a rudder to evade.

The seventeenth round of volleys still fell off the target, and the eighteenth round of volleys achieved excellent results in cross-fire. Just as the Cologne was about to give the British a little bit of color in the 19th round of volleys, Caledon took the lead and hit the Cologne's bridge 6,400 meters. The shrapnel produced by the explosion made the Cologne's bridge scramble, killing the first mate and the navigator of the Cologne.

This gun immediately interrupted the good situation of the Cologne. In order to avoid artillery attacks, the Cologne had to start turning around and avoiding the rudder.

Fortunately, the battle was 4vs1 instead of 1vs1. When Cologne was adjusted, Dresden and Emden took over and soon avenged the Cologne.

At 10:11, Dresden scored the first hit, and four minutes later Emden also opened successfully. Colonel Baron and Caledon still tried to resist in the following battle, but as the distance got closer, the Russians' accuracy became better and better.

By 10:25, the Caledon was already covered by flames, with only one of the five main guns able to fight back, and the hull was riddled with holes. At the last moment, facing the fierce artillery fire, Colonel Baroni paid tribute to all the crew members who were on duty and refused to abandon the ship to escape. Half an hour later, the new light cruiser, which was only in service in March 1917, slowly sank into the seabed, and 320 officers and soldiers on the ship were killed.

When the Caledon sank, her other three sister ships had successfully escaped the pursuit and met with the three battle patrols. The Russians who were celebrating victory did not expect that fighting the small would cause three big ones. At this time, they were still immersed in the joy of victory.

However, for the commander of the formation, Akinfeyev, although the victory is worthy of joy, there are many problems. The most serious problem is the consumption of ammunition. In the previous battle, his four light cruisers actually consumed nearly 4,000 rounds of 150mm shells!

It can be said that on average, each ship fired nearly 1,000 shells! This is not a small number! You should know that after taking over the High Seas Fleet, the fleet made a statistics. The light cruiser's 150mm shell reserve is an average of less than 300 rounds per cannon. In other words, the Cologne has only 2,400 150mm shells. A short-term naval battle consumed 1,000 rounds. In addition, the part consumed during training was consumed, and there were only more than 1,000 shells left on the ship. At this consumption speed, I really can't hold on for long!

In fact, the most fundamental problem reflected by the large-scale consumption of shells is the artillery problem. If the gunners have a high hit rate, they will naturally consume less. On the contrary, a large amount of shells will naturally be wasted.

Of course, at this time, Akinfeyev was not in the mood to manage artillery problems. This thing could not be improved for a while. What he was most worried about was that it would be so hard to hit the enemy's main force. It would be so difficult to fight a Caledon. If you encounter the enemy's main force, then you shouldn't be fooled?

However, many times, you will come whatever you are afraid of. Akinfeyev's worries quickly became a reality. Soon after, a large amount of black smoke rose near the water antenna, and the smoke was so "stout" and dense. All fools knew that everyone was coming!

The brothers of Reputation and Counterattack rushed to the front. When Akinfeyev saw the tall three-legged mast and the black-hole main gun from the telescope, he was scared and sweated. Almost without thinking, Akinfeyev ordered a rudder to retreat, and immediately called Samekov behind him.

However, it is not that easy to run. The British Battle Tour is a speed champion. It has no other characteristics, it is famous for being fast! (!). It is not a big problem for them to catch up with the German light cruiser that can barely reach 28 knots.

Of course, the British fired faster, and the Reputation and Counterattack could not wait to open fire at a distance of 18 kilometers. Four 381mm shells roared around the Cologne, and the water columns that stirred up were poured onto the deck of the Cologne.

This is not the most scary thing. What's even more scary is that the British gunner refreshed the ultimate fire rate of the 381mm main gun with a caliber of 42 times. From a distance, the poor Cologne is simply a small boat in the storm.

Moreover, the British not only fought fast, but also had a very good accuracy, which left a deep impression on Akinfeev. In the post-war report, he wrote: "The Cologne was almost immediately shot violently and fell into a cross-fire... The ship had to frequently adjust its course to avoid the enemy's cross-fire firepower!"

At 11:02, a 381mm grenade from the counterattack to pieces the rear mast of the Cologne together with the observation post, and the scattered shrapnel almost made the deck of the Cologne into a sieve!

However, Akinfeyev's fleet performance was not so ideal. Like the previous battles, they still couldn't find the correct ones, and most of the shells deviated from the target. Even for a long time, their main guns could not reach the enemy and could only be beaten and could not fight back.

To be honest, that situation is quite painful. The speed disadvantage completely made Akinfeev's fleet lose the initiative. The British could choose their favorite distance to fight and could use the tactics of flying kites to beat Akinfeev.

In fact, the British did the same. They controlled the combat distance to about 16 kilometers, which was exactly beyond the maximum range of the 150mm main gun of the Akinfeev fleet, and the distance of 16 kilometers was nothing to the 381mm giant cannon.

If it weren't for the frequent turning of the Cologne to delay the propulsion speed, which shortened the distance from the British, the Cologne wouldn't even have the chance to fire and fight back. At this time, it was Akinfeyev's turn to do multiple-choice questions. The situation he encountered now was exactly the same as before Colonel Baroni (or even worse). His formation could not escape or defeat. Should he also make sacrifices as bravely as Coloni, sacrificing the Cologne to cover the other three light patrols to retreat?

Akinfeyev made a completely different choice. He did not choose to stay alone, but chose to continue to escape. He believed that there was no need to make sacrifices at all, and even believed that Baloni, who had made sacrifices before, was a big fool!

Why? It's very simple. Baloni's fleet can't beat him, but Baloni's fleet is not without support, okay? There are three battle patrols behind him. If four light patrols stay together, it will definitely delay more time, right? Maybe you can wait until the battle patrols follow, and then maybe even a ship doesn't need to be sacrificed.

Akinfeyev chose to escape, or run straight towards his battle patrol formation. He knew that if he persisted, he would definitely be rescued!

Of course, whether you can hold on is a big question. After all, for the 381mm cannon of reputation and counterattack, it is fully capable of killing Cologne in seconds. As long as Cologne is hit directly, it will go to the west in minutes.

This period of time was simply torment for Akinfeyev. Every time he saw the enemy's cannon flashing through the telescope, his heart would pound, and he even had the impulse to order to immediately turn to avoid. Fortunately, he restrained this fear well and did not give random orders.

"Recently missing bullets!"

"Far-bomb!"

"Span!"

"The enemy turned again!"

In fact, for the Reputation and Counterattack, this period of time was also a torment. Although the enemy was obviously very weak, they locked the enemy tightly for a while, but they could not obtain a decisive and fatal blow. Even the enemy was very slippery after the last shot, and they turned immediately if there was a slight mistake in the limelight. This was simply a destruction for mechanical computers of this year and month, and they could not solve the target of frequent turning.

Moreover, it is not only a problem with fire control, although the firepower of the Reputation and Counterattack seems to be very powerful, and the 381mm cannon is very powerful, it is undeniable that the firepower density of the Reputation and Counterattack is not very good. The main guns of the two ships are only six, four in the front two in the back. When chasing the enemy, many times only four in front of the main guns can play a role. There are only four shells at a volley, and the two ships have only eight in a volley. This fire density is really too low!

This also made it difficult for the Reputation and Counterattack to get a hit. At one point, they both wanted to speed up and catch up and get closer to kill the opponent. Fortunately, the British were not completely confused. Betty also thought so in the Battle of Jutland, but ended up hitting the enemy's main force. Fortunately, Betty was carrying an elite and solid queen-level team. If she had been replaced by the British thin-skinned battle tour, she would really be fucked into a scumbag.

Anyway, the British did not dare to take risks and could only continue to maintain this way of flying kites. The situation did not change until Samekov's battle patrol formation rushed to the battlefield... (To be continued...)

ps: Bow and thank you for holding Polunzi, Mr. Jane and Comrade Juventus!
Chapter completed!