The two battleships of the Dutch Navy were purchased from the Swedish Young Shipyard. They are the type of coastal defense battleships specially designed by Yang Feng for the Swedish Navy. If they were to fight against the Edward VII class alone, they might not be able to fight. After all, this kind of battleship
The small boat with a standard displacement of only 9,000 tons is equipped with eight 10,000-horsepower diesel engines. Its speed is almost as fast as the Hongwu-class battle cruiser. The power of the 280 main gun is also not weak, coupled with the centralized fire control of the junior version
, the rate of fire of a single gun is close to three rounds per minute. Although there are only six guns, the firepower projection is no less than that of the Edward VII class with ten main guns.
But the problem is that there are thirty-two battleships and battle cruisers on the opposite side, more than forty heavy cruisers, more than sixty light cruisers, and more than one hundred destroyers. Once opened fire, there is no doubt that the entire Dutch navy will be torn apart in an instant.
And it was so broken that not even the dregs were left.
"Wait for the order!" the Dutch Navy Commander gritted his teeth and said.
The captain said nothing, raised his telescope and continued to admire the suffocating fleet in the distance.
Time passed by, and the hands on the clock were pointing to the time stipulated in the British ultimatum. At this time, the whole of Germany was in complete chaos. William was directly stunned by the British stick, including the General Staff.
Count Schlieffen and Moltke were also dumbfounded.
The initial plan originally included taking over the Netherlands first, but later after evaluating the gains and losses, the country was removed from the target. In addition, Moltke was making good progress in Belgium, so it was not mentioned again. After all, if
If the Netherlands were neutral, it would not be a bad thing for Germany, but I didn't expect that the British would do the work they didn't do now. If they had just wiped out the Netherlands together, there would be no such trouble. Now both William and his chief of staff regret it.
Out of reach.
Of course, there is no point in making such an afterthought at this time. What is important is how to deal with the current crisis. The High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven immediately dispatched, and all eighteen battleships attacked. Even if it was a decisive battle, the British would never be allowed to land.
At the same time, the Sixth Army stationed in Ghent immediately moved north. Once the British troops landed in Rotterdam, they immediately entered the Netherlands to fight. They also urgently mobilized again at home to form the 15th Army to prepare for the defense of the German mainland. The frontline airship troops were withdrawn to Dusseldo
Husband, prepare to bomb and land the British troops. Of course, these will take time. No matter how fast the High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven is, it will definitely not be able to reach the mouth of the Rhine before the ultimatum time.
Similarly, no matter how close the Sixth Army is, it will not be possible to enter the Netherlands before the British troops land, and it is also impossible for them to enter before the Netherlands has made a decision. In that case, it will become a German invasion of the Netherlands, but once the Netherlands makes a decision
It was decided that the British would immediately land and block all roads of the Sixth Army heading north to Rotterdam.
Going north from Belgium to the Netherlands requires passing through a lot of bridges and large rivers below. The British only need to casually drive a few gunboats into these rivers to make the Germans stunned.
For William, the only thing he can do now is to pray to God and pray that the Dutch can fight to defend their homeland. But obviously his wish failed. After learning that the British Home Fleet had all arrived, the ultimatum time had not expired.
, the Dutch government gave the navy that was facing off at sea an order to break out immediately and evacuate north to neutral Sweden or Denmark once a war broke out. Of course, it had to fire a cannon to show off before that.
In addition to the navy, the Dutch army units in Rotterdam also received similar orders. Once the British troops landed, after a symbolic resistance, the frontline generals were allowed to surrender when they deemed it appropriate.
The British ultimatum time soon came, and the huge fleet at sea began to move forward into Dutch territorial waters. The confronting Dutch fleet immediately issued a warning, and the British fleet did not care at all and continued to move forward. The flagship of the Dutch fleet, the coastal defense battleship Rotterdam, opened fire with a single gun
Warning, the British fleet quickly sounded the battle alarm, and then the Dutch fleet also sounded the battle alarm.
The two sides were getting closer and closer and gradually entered the fighting distance. The Dutch sailors began to target the invaders with all their artillery with sad and angry faces, but the destroyers and torpedo boats began to retreat. They had already received the order, and this battle was just a symbol.
Sexually, it is forbidden to use heavy weapons such as torpedoes. It would be bad if they really attack the sinking British warships and make enemies. And once they make enemies, it is hard to say whether the British will let them go!
But no one noticed at this time that just between the two fleets, a periscope was quietly watching the British fleet. On the underwater German Navy U-9 submarine, the captain was aiming the periscope's sight line at the distant
The British battleship Duncan was a battleship with a displacement of nearly 20,000 tons and ten 305mm main guns.
This submarine was actually here before the British fleet arrived. Although this is Dutch territorial waters, submarines generally don't care about this. Its goal is to go south along the Dutch coast and enter the English Channel to ambush those who are heading to France.
Unexpectedly, the British merchant ship transporting supplies suddenly found a huge British fleet approaching in the distance when it arrived here. The captain was so frightened that he quickly ordered it to sink to the bottom of the sea. It has been sinking to this day. During this period, it also contacted Wilhelmshaven by radio.
And he received an order from the German Naval General Staff to attack the British.
Although he knew that attacking such a huge fleet was no different from committing suicide, the brave captain decided to obey the order. Little did he know that his bravery saved his country to a large extent.
The two fleets continued to move towards each other. After the second warning shot and the final warning to the British through semaphores, the coastal defense battleships Rotterdam and Amsterdam first opened fire on the Edward VII and the Sovereign opposite them.
In the first salvo of the main guns all deployed at the bow of the ship, one round hit the Sovereignty. The Bofors-produced 280mm piercing bomb instantly penetrated a secondary turret of the Sovereignty. Amidst the huge explosion,
The twin 152mm turret was completely blown to pieces.
Not to mention the British, even the Dutch themselves were shocked by this scene. No one expected that this kind of artillery was so powerful. You must know that the distance between the two sides is now seven kilometers. It can directly penetrate the turret armor at such a distance.
Even the armor of the secondary battery turret is appalling enough.
Of course, the retaliation that followed was also appalling. In addition to the Sovereignty, which was busy extinguishing the fire, the remaining thirty-one British battleships and battlecruisers opened fire almost simultaneously. The explosion of fire instantly drowned the Rotterdam and Amsterdam, two poor ships.
The entire boat turned into a sea of flames. However, the next scene almost made the British eyes pop out. Although they were beaten and scarred, the two boats obviously did not suffer any fatal injuries. Obviously, this
Even the British's 356 main guns cannot penetrate the main armor of this small battleship.
Of course, this was not enough for the Dutch to continue fighting. Immediately after the second round of shelling, the two coastal defense battleships immediately began to accelerate and prepare to turn. Taking advantage of their small tonnage and shallow water, they headed north from the shallow water area with the
The fleet fled the battlefield at high speed.
But at this moment, the captain of the German submarine caught in the middle suddenly gave the order to launch torpedoes. Two Bofors-made steam gas torpedoes instantly jumped out from the torpedo tubes, dragging two obvious torpedoes.
The track line goes straight to the Duncan, which has been locked.
"Torpedo!" A series of screams immediately alerted Admiral May, commander of the British Home Fleet, who was on the Edward VII. He held up his telescope in astonishment and looked at the two ships rushing towards the Duncan at a high speed of 45 knots.
trace, while the Duncan, which was firing at the Amsterdam, was desperately turning to try to avoid these two deadly torpedoes.
It is a pity that these two torpedoes fired from only three kilometers away came too suddenly. The huge and slowly advancing Duncan did not escape even one, and they all hit its starboard side under the waterline almost at the same time.
A thunder head with a charge of 200 kilograms of antimony exploded, tearing two large holes tens of meters long under the waterline of this giant ship with a full load displacement of nearly 20,000 tons. The seawater went crazy under the pressure of its own weight.
poured in, and soon the Duncan began to list on the sea.
During the tilting process, a series of explosions occurred somewhere inside the Duncan, which accelerated the terrible process. In less than three minutes, the Duncan capsized on the sea like a dead fish.
Admiral May was almost stupid. He never expected that this purely demonstration mission would actually cause him to lose a battleship. After he woke up, both he and the officers and soldiers of the entire British Home Fleet were all humiliated by this humiliation.
The scene was infuriating. The light and heavy cruisers that had not participated in the battle immediately outflanked the Dutch fleet from both sides and blocked the escape route of the Dutch fleet. At the same time, the four battleships aimed their guns at the submarine that had been discovered, even though the submarine had already re-engaged.
It sank under the water, but the 305mm artillery bombs still hit its head crazily, and the water pressure of the explosion instantly tore it into pieces.
Looking at the oil on the water, the British stopped shooting, but they directed their anger at the Dutch. All the guns on the warships were aimed at the surrounded Dutch warships, and at the same time, the Edward VII issued a semaphore: "
Surrender or sink them all!"
On the Rotterdam opposite, the Dutch fleet commander was almost crying at this time. He never expected that such a thing would happen.
"Send a report to the Admiralty!" Looking at the dense muzzle in the distance, he said to the chief of staff next to him with a bitter look on his face.
A few minutes later he received a reply from the Dutch Admiralty, leaving it to him to decide.
"Okay!" His Excellency the Fleet Commander took a deep breath, straightened his military cap and said: "I decide to fight!" (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!