ch14

The naval battle between the two fleets continued even after the sun had set beyond the horizon.

Each side relentlessly shone dazzling searchlights upon the other.

“Fire!”

Explosions echoed from all directions,

but they had yet to land any significant blows on each other.

This was due to the perilous, yet meticulously precise and artistic maneuvers orchestrated by Admiral Graf Spee.

“All ships, turn 15 degrees to starboard, following the Scharnhorst.”

Following Admiral Graf Spee’s command, the warships began to move in perfect unison, guided by the beams of the searchlights visible beyond the bridge.

Watching their movements from afar, the British admiral, Doubtin Study, clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“It seems we need ‘a bit of luck’ to hit them.”

The observation equipment of this era was so inferior that expecting it to perform like modern radar would be foolish. Using such equipment to engage an enemy that was constantly moving and changing direction in the middle of the night was virtually impossible.

Of course, this applied equally to the Empire’s Battlecruisers.

‘But visibility is on our side.’

The Cruiser Fleet boasted a formidable fourteen high-speed battleships and Battlecruisers.

If this overwhelming mass were to anchor itself in the ocean, the return of the Empire’s colonial fleet would be as good as impossible. Considering that the objective of this operation was to intercept their colonial fleet returning to the mainland… merely stalling for time would be as good as achieving the goal.

He believed so.

Admiral Graf Spee felt the same. He bit his nails anxiously, lost in thought.

‘We’ve barely managed to buy some time. But buying time is just that, buying time. If we stay like this, we’ll be stranded and die in the middle of the ocean. A solution… we need a solution… there must be a solution somewhere…’

KWA-AA-ANG!!

“Kugh…”

A deafening explosion and a sickening sound of steel scraping against steel erupted right beside him.

“H, hit by enemy fire!! We’ve been hit!!”

As mentioned before, the Battlecruiser’s armor was unreliable. It was a vessel that compensated for the slow speed of existing battleships by reducing armor and installing a larger engine in its place.

They had been fortunate enough to withstand this one hit, but whether that luck would continue…

“Shit…”

Crack, the sound of a fingernail breaking echoed.

Along with it, red blood splattered onto the map spread out on the desk.

“A, Admiral…”

“Turn 15 degrees to port!! Don’t stop, keep evading!!”

Bang. He slammed his hand on the desk and quietly pressed his forehead.

‘We have to break through this somehow. This is dangerous. We need a way…’

Flicker, flicker. The lights flickered.

“That’s it. That’s the answer.”

“Hmm?”

Doubtin Study let out a questioning hum and peered at the Empire’s Eastern Fleet through his binoculars.

The searchlights of the Empire’s battleships were blinking one by one.

“Are they trying to hide in the darkness?”

What advantage would they gain from that? Nothing. It would only disrupt their formation and, in the worst-case scenario, lead to collisions and sinkings.

So why are they turning off the searchlights…?

“Aha. They’re running away. Admiral Graf Spee.”

The commander of the Eastern Fleet, Graf Spee, was planning to flee to New Spain. No. He was going to flee to New Spain.

He must have thought that if he managed to put enough distance between them and New Spain, they could escape using their superior speed.

“Ha! What a coward. I can’t believe a man who has risen so close to the pinnacle of the proud German Imperial Navy is such a coward.”

He had a relatively high opinion of the German Imperial Navy, at least as an organization. Despite its rapid expansion, it had grown into one of the most efficient and agile navies among the great powers.

His interest in them had peaked when he witnessed the Dreadnought battleship developed by the Empire at the naval review in New York.

This feeling, yes. It could be described as rivalry.

But the sight they were presenting now was utterly disappointing.

“No matter how famous an orchestra is, if it encounters a pathetic conductor, it won’t be able to perform to its full potential. It seems your level was only that much, Spee! All ships! Turn to starboard! Pursue the fleeing enemies!”

“But Admiral! This could be a trap!”

Indeed, there was a possibility of that. If they recklessly charged in and fell into a trap… it would be the end.

But they couldn’t just let the enemies fleeing to New Spain get away.

“Indeed, you have a point. In that case, send the light cruisers forward as the vanguard. And all ships, shine your searchlights straight ahead! To prepare for any possible ambush.”

Following the admiral’s orders, the battleships advanced in perfect formation towards the German Empire’s fleet, which could be anywhere, while several light cruisers bravely broke away from the formation.

Watching their movements, Admiral Graf Spee gritted his teeth.

‘They noticed…’

“But it’s too late. Escape is impossible.”

Large, thick cylindrical objects were speeding towards the British Navy from the flanks.

“F, from the starboard side!! Four torpedoes!!!”

“Torpedoes from the port side as well!!”

“What?!”

Admiral Graf Spee grinned at the approaching enemies.

“From the very moment you turned to starboard, you were caught in a trap from which there was no escape.”

The moment they turned off the searchlights. At that very moment, the Eastern Fleet had deployed all of its meager escort force of light cruisers to the enemy’s flanks.

In other words, a giant revolving door created on the ocean.

“What are you doing?! Break formation immediately! Evading the torpedoes is the priority! Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers!!”

Perhaps thanks to the results of their grueling training, they successfully executed evasive maneuvers despite their limited visibility.

But the impact of formation in naval warfare was absolute.

“Enemies with broken formations are nothing more than simple prey. Just like in the era of Line battle! All ships! Illuminate them with searchlights!”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Along with the sound of trash cans rattling, bright lights shone upon the British fleet.

“They are very visible. Very visible.”

The enemies with their formations twisted and tangled, the sight of the enemies exposing their weaknesses, their soft underbellies, was very clear.

“All ships!! Commence firing!! We must annihilate the enemy in this place!”

Twenty-four 280mm cannons, eight 250mm cannons, and other miscellaneous small-caliber guns simultaneously unleashed fire upon the enemies.

Although the 280mm cannons used by the Empire were slightly less powerful than full-fledged battleship cannons like the 12-inch guns, they still possessed enough power to tear apart most battleships.

The Pre-dreadnought battleships, which should have retreated to the second line, could not withstand their firepower and were annihilated.

This was also true for the Dreadnought battleships.

No matter how much the Dreadnought battleships were praised as invincible, they could not remain unscathed after being hit by large-caliber 280mm cannons at close range.

The scales of the battle had already tipped to the point where it was impossible to reverse.

A red mushroom cloud created by the explosion of a Dreadnought’s ammunition depot adorned the night sky.

However, the situation was different for the African Fleet.

“It’s the British fleet from South Africa!”

“Even the Indian Fleet!”

“The Cruiser Fleet stationed in South America has also appeared!”

The foundation of the Holy Roman Empire’s African colonies was the vast territory of Central Africa, centered around the Congo, stretching from the South Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

However, South Africa, which connected the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, was a long-standing British colony.

Naturally, their forces had to be divided into two fleets.

Furthermore, British South America and the Oceania Federation blocked the exits of both oceans.

In the end, the African Fleet was forced to hole up in port to avoid annihilation.

“This is troublesome…”

The Eastern Fleet had successfully joined the American Fleet while preserving most of its forces. However, the African Fleet’s joining had become distant.

With this level of strength, breaking through the divided Cruiser Fleet and returning to the mainland was nearly impossible.

But at this point in time, when every single unit of strength was precious, they couldn’t just leave these forces, which included five Battlecruisers, stationed in the American colonies.

From the perspective of the colonial fleets, it was necessary to escape to the mainland as soon as possible rather than withering away in the colonies.

The Imperial Naval Staff was being forced to make a decision.

And

The Empire’s ambassador arrived at the Stockholm royal palace in the Kingdom of Scandinavia.

It is often said that diplomacy is war without bloodshed.

In that sense, the parliament building in Stockholm, the political center of the Kingdom of Scandinavia, could be said to be the greatest battlefield, where a more intense war was being waged than anywhere else.

Tap. Tap. The Holy Roman Empire’s ambassador to Scandinavia, Helmut Lucius von Stotten, walked down the hallway.

Outside the window, a beautiful landscape untouched by the black stain of war was visible.

The Kingdom of Scandinavia was still living in a vibrant era.

If these people were to point their guns at the Empire… the burden felt by the Empire would increase even further.

He reaffirmed his determination to bring this country over to the Empire’s side, no matter what means he had to use.

Knock, knock, knock.

A short knock.

“Come in.”

Immediately after, a deep male voice was heard from inside the door.

“I have been waiting for you, Ambassador Helmut Lucius von Stotten.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Prime Minister Niels Eden.”

No matter what means he had to use.