Longsdorf felt something was wrong. His single attack ship was in a position where he was attacked by two British fleets. "Right 15!" He ordered the warship to turn slightly south, and then asked his communications officer,
"Where is the Chinese?"
"They are in the northeast, about 70 nautical miles, sir!" the communications officer replied.
"We have to hold on for two hours!" Longsdorf said to himself, staring at the chart, thinking quickly. The British fleet ahead obviously discovered them, and followed them.
Turn.
"Left rudder 20!" Seeing that he could not get rid of the enemy, Longsdorf simply ordered the warship to rush towards the British ship in front. It would be better to just make one, "Send a report to the outside world that we are about to exchange fire with the British!"
At this time, both sides could see each other on the water again.
At 7:00 a.m., the Spee main gun first tested the fire. After a slight adjustment, the two main guns began the first round of volleys. The rumbling sound of guns sounded on the sea, with the orange-red fire.
Shining, two huge black smoke erupted from the front and back sides of the warship. The shells flew into the air with a sharp whistling sound, which made people feel disgusting.
McClade commanded two heavy cruisers to approach the enemy ship at a speed of more than 20 knots, hoping to narrow the distance with the enemy as soon as possible. The two cruisers shuttled quickly between the waves, and huge waves aroused at the bow.
A bunch of water mist. A few minutes later, the shells fired from Spey fell on the sea, stirring up several water columns of more than 100 feet at the port side of the London.
Two British heavy cruisers also began to fire, and the two sides launched an artillery battle at a distance of 15,000 meters.
The sound of cannons rumbled on the sea and smoke filled the guns. A fierce artillery battle started between the three warships. Taking advantage of the opportunity that the Spey was using all his strength to deal with the London, Hampshire was approaching about 11,000 yards from the armored ship.
Location, exhaling anger at the German ship.
Longsdorf had to order the main gun to turn it over to deal with the approaching Hampshire, which further dispersed the firepower, and the two British heavy cruisers made him very difficult to deal with.
The Spee was first hit, an 8-inch shell fired from Hampshire hit the back of the bridge, blowing up a speedboat tied there and falling into the sea more than 20 meters away.
.
The sound of cannons on the sea was shocking, and half an hour later, Harwood's fleet also joined the battlefield.
The Spey was hit several shells in succession, but none of them hit the vital part. The German armored ship seemed rough and thick, but it lost two secondary guns and its power remained unabated.
Suddenly, there was a rolling smoke rising from the front turret of the London, and then another explosion occurred on its front deck. The heavy cruiser was hit twice in a row, and the poor warship was ignited by the front.
The fire was so loud that the entire ship was surrounded by thick smoke.
The London Counter, which was being beaten, could only turn to the left, intending to stay away from the battlefield.
"Left 10! rush over from there!" Longsdorf, who was always watching the situation on the battlefield, immediately ordered that the British dodged a path, and he had to protrude from there.
The German ship rushed towards the gap that flashed out of the London space, and the Hampshire also began to turn, trying to block the direction of the Germans' escape.
The Spey had to turn all the artillery around and deal with the Hampshire, which was rushing forward, which gave the London a chance to breathe.
The "Ajax" and "Achilles" were approaching quickly, and their front main guns were constantly firing. Both sides have now brought the distance of 10,000 meters. The naval battle continued, with two ships.
The 6-inch main gun on the approaching British light cruiser caused greater trouble to Longsdorf. Although the 6-inch main gun cannot cause fatal damage to it, the radar and communication antenna of this German warship have made
These two small warships were destroyed.
The naval battle has been going on for more than an hour. After extinguishing the fire, the London returned to the battlefield. Now it has only six main guns left. The second front turret located in the front of the bridge is tilted on the deck.
, there was a mess there.
Bang! A shell fired from London hit the base of the front turret of Spe. Although it did not penetrate, it stuck the main gun!
"Kill it, the Germans are finished!" Brigadier General Hawood, standing on the bridge of the "Cornwall", shouted excitedly when he saw this situation. After losing a main gun, the Earl Spey immediately lost the loss.
Half of the firepower.
Smoke was emitting from the Spee, fleeing quickly on the sea, and using the only three remaining main guns and secondary guns to fight back at the British.
"Where are we now?" Longsdorf asked the sailing officer in the command room of the Earl Spey.
"Sir here!"
"Very good, let's hold on for a while!" said Longsdorf. "Turn the main gun to those two little guys. If they fire torpedoes, it will be troublesome." He is still mainly worried about the enemy's torpedoes, and the facts prove that this one
The armored ship is strong enough, and the Germans' excellent armoring craftsmanship is perfectly reflected on this warship. As long as there is no major damage, he is confident that he can escape from the enemy's siege.
The Spee turned the target from Hampshire to the two approaching light cruisers, forcing the two warships to widen their distance.
"Oh my god!" A 280mm shell hit the bridge of the Achilles. Its antenna was blown away, and a large piece of the telegraph room was blown down.
But the Germans were not having a good time. The 203mm shells fired from the "Cornwall" and "Exeter" hit the rear of the Spey one after another. Its two secondary turrets disappeared, and dozens of them appeared.
Human casualties.
"What is ahead? Two warships!" At this time, the lookout hand on the "Hampshire" first discovered two large ships on the sea, the thick smoke rising from the northern sunshine and the Earl Spey.
Under the interference, two heavy cruisers led by Song Shijie rushed to this battlefield with artillery fire.
"Report to the commander, the 'Guangxi' is currently passing through the thunderstorm area and cannot take off to fight!" In the combat room of the "Li Jing", the communications officer reported to him the latest situation.
"Grandma!" Song Shijie cursed. If the aviation ships could take off the bomber, he would be sure to make dumplings for these British ships today. "Can you tell the warships of both sides?"
"The German ship at the forefront should be the one at the forefront, but it is impossible to confirm that the communications of the other party are currently interrupted, sir!" said the combat staff to him.
"Let's go straight and get closer!" Song Shijie said. Two heavy cruisers of the Republican Navy rushed into the battlefield at high speed, and the radars on the two warships locked on the outermost two warships.
The British people on the battlefield were also urgently adjusting their formation, and the British Empire's navy retreated before they encountered a strong enemy.
Admiral Harvey's performance during the Battle of Ceylon was mocked by the entire navy. The admiral was under pressure from all sides. If it were not for the new Navy Minister Churchill, he might have been forced to resign.
Hawood now has six warships on his hands, and he has no reason to be afraid of the Chinese.