The Denmark Strait is sandwiched between Greenland and Iceland, with its narrowest point being only about 180 nautical miles.

There are large areas of icebergs in the northwest direction of Greenland, as well as countless hills floating on the sea.

Close to the Iceland side, after British occupation, a vast minefield was laid out along the coast.

Ice floes and minefields occupy almost half of the width of the strait, making the originally not spacious strait even more congested.

As the sky became darker and darker, Lütjens issued a combat readiness order to the entire fleet, and at the same time ordered all ships to try to avoid collisions with ice and mines as much as possible.

The sky is getting darker and the vision is getting worse.

The battle between the Luzov and Admiral Scher pursued British cruisers was becoming increasingly difficult.

The two armored ships fired three rounds of volleys, and then gave up on this waste of shells.

If you can't see the other party, you can only judge the distance based on the fire control radar, and the hull is still shooting under the conditions of violent sine wave motion. If you want to hit two erratic heavy cruisers, the probability is comparable to winning the first prize by buying a lottery ticket.

The two heavy cruisers, Suffolk and Norfolk, did not fire a single shot, but used the night to play hide-and-seek with the enemy opposite, and sent each move to the headquarters.

The night in high latitudes comes extremely late, but it will eventually come.

At about two o'clock in the morning, the sun finally completely set to sea level, and the night clouds obscured the sky and the vast sea.

Chen Dao hurried back from the communication room and handed the telegram to Lütjens.

"Sharnhorst and Gneisenau are advancing into the pre-determined waters, and it will take at least eight hours to arrive, and everything else is ready."

"At least eight hours? Why is it so long? They are likely to not be able to catch up with today's decisive battle. They can only be used as reinforcements." Lütjens looked at the telegram in his hand with a calm face.

The engine compartment of the Schanehorst Turbine failed, resulting in a sharp drop in speed.

Although the fault has been eliminated, it has been delayed for a full four hours.

"In the past three months, they have been fighting continuously, and they have not been able to keep up with maintenance. It is reasonable that the ship has malfunctioned. We cannot blame them." Chen Dao said.

"Since they cannot arrive in time, we will use them as surprises, which may have a better effect, but we will be under greater pressure." Lütjens narrowed his eyes and didn't know what he was calculating.

"You are the commander of the fleet. Everything is subject to your command, as long as you can lead the fleet to victory. But what I am worried about is not that the Shane two ships cannot arrive, what I am worried about is the weather." Chen Dao said looking at the dark night.

"Why is the weather?" Lütjens asked in confusion.

Chen Dao pointed to the turbulent sea outside and said, "This weather and this sea condition, the plane on Zeppelin cannot take off. In this decisive battle, the Navy Air Force became a spectator and as the commander of the Navy Air Force, I feel very sad."

Lütjens smiled once a rare time.

"The victory or defeat on the battlefield will still be determined by the big ships and giant cannons. At least this is the case in this decisive battle."

The German High Sea Fleet is about 100 nautical miles southeast, and the local fleet of the Royal Navy is sailing through the wind and waves, approaching rapidly towards the southern entrance of the Denmark Strait.

In the battle room of the battleship Nelson, Sir Somerville and his staff surrounded the chart.

A major adviser used a compass and a ruler to mark the speed and direction of the German high seas fleet on the chart, and then marked the speed and direction of his own fleet.

After some calculations, the staff officer said: "The intercepting course is about 290 degrees, and at most three hours, we will encounter enemies."

Somervilmer counted the time and then said: "It should be five-fifteen in three hours. It is not bright enough and the vision is not good enough. The Germans are likely to use the cover of the sky to escape the battlefield, recalculate the course and speed, and push the encounter time one hour later."

The navigator set up a compass and a ruler and quickly worked on the chart, and quickly changed the intersection of the two routes on the chart.

"The course is 275 degrees, the speed is 26 knots." said the staff officer.

Somerville glanced at the chart and said lightly: "Order the fleet to turn."

Somerville pressed his hands on the table, controlling his body to offset the center of gravity shift caused by the Nelson's steering, and asked, "Where is the Prestige and Hood?"

"The Radar Room reported that they had captured the Reputation and Hood on the radar, and they could join our fleet in an hour at most."

Somerville subconsciously touched his heart.

That's great. Although these two battlecruisers are not as protective as George V-class battleships, they carry fourteen fifteen-inch main guns.

In order to deal with the battleships of Bismarck and Tirpitz, the fifteen-inch cannon is definitely more beneficial than the fourteen-inch naval guns on the George V-class battleship.

Somerville silently calculated the comparison of troops on both sides.

If the messages sent by the Norfolk and the Suffolk heavy cruisers are accurate, the Royal Navy has a numerical advantage in cruisers and destroyers.

The Nelson, Prince of Wales, the Prestige and the sixteen-inch, fifteen-inch and fourteen-inch guns on the Hood, totaling thirty-three.

The opponent's two battleships and the fifteen-inch and eleven-inch naval guns combined on the two armored ships, with a total of twenty-eight gates.

The Royal Navy has an absolute firepower advantage.

In this battle, you must kill at least half of the German warships and then chase the other half.

If you win this battle, you will become the second Nelson of the British Empire and leave a glorious page in the British Empire and even the history of the world.

Somerville was infinitely fantasizing about the glorious scene after his victory and triumphant victory. The communication room ruthlessly hit him on the head and instantly pulled him from heaven back to earth.

"Reported, the Suffolk sent a telegram, and the German high seas fleet disappeared on the radar, and its whereabouts were unknown."

They actually lost their target? It was at such a decisive moment!

Somerville suddenly became furious and said in a deep voice: "If they want them to find the German high seas fleet again at all costs. Immediately. Immediately."

The Suffolk and Norfolk also knew that they had made a big mistake. After receiving somerville's urge, they immediately split into two groups and searched frantically in the direction where the German high seas fleet disappeared.

If the German high seas fleet fails to intercept and allow them to enter the Atlantic and join the Italian Navy, it will be a fatal consequence for the British maritime transportation line.

If the German High Seas Fleet cannot be found, what awaits them will be a harsh trial of the military court.

Hard work pays off. Under strong psychological pressure, the searches for Norfolk and Suffolk finally came to fruition.

The communication rooms of the two warships successfully intercepted a continuous radio wave, located in the southwest, which was the direction where the German high seas fleet disappeared.

The two heavy cruisers turned the bow and rushed towards the direction where the radio signal appeared. About ten minutes later, a burst of cheer came from the radar room.

Joy quickly spread to the Nelson through radio, and Somerville's frown was relaxing again.

The battlecruiser of Reputation and the Hood had just joined the queue, and the whereabouts of the German High Seas Fleet were found. He was indeed a lucky person favored by God.

The eyes fell to the end of the telegram and a smile appeared on the corner of Somerville's mouth.

What is the reason why the German high seas fleet actually slowed down and drove at only about 18 knots?

Could it be which ship failed and slowed down the fleet?

Somerville thought about it, and this is the only reason that can explain it.

In any case, it is a good thing for the Germans to slow down, no more speed...Sumerville glanced at the slightly bright sky.

It was soon dawn, without speed and no night as a cover. Let's see where the Germans ran to?

Adjutant Captain Sachy gave Somerville a steaming cup of coffee, according to his usual taste, without sugar.

After a mouthful of hot bitter coffee, Somerville felt more energetic.

Somerville issued a new order to change the course and speed, and the fleet changed direction to ensure that it encountered the German high seas fleet when the sky was completely brightened.

The light outside the bridge was brighter, and Somerville soon discovered that the waves on the sea surface had become much smaller, and the bumps on the battleship Nelson were not so violent.

"The weather is no longer so bad. Ask the aircraft carrier Kewei, can it send a reconnaissance plane to take off?" Somerville said.

Behind the fleet, the USS Kewei aircraft carrier quickly sent back and forth calls. The weather was bad and the plane could not take off.

"It's a pity. It would be easier to destroy the Germans with the help of the air force." Captain Saatchi said.

"It's no pity. Our aircraft carriers cannot play a role. The German aircraft carriers will also be invalidated due to weather reasons, so we will be even. Even if there is an aircraft carrier, it doesn't make much sense. The outcome of a naval battle will still be determined by the big ships and giant cannons." Somerville said.

The radar chamber sent a report just right, and the ship signal was found about twenty nautical miles northwest.

Under the guidance of radar waves, ships of all sizes of the local fleet were like a group of hungry wolves, spitting out the black smoke soaring into the sky and heading west.

On Prince Eugen, the sound of an alarm almost pierces the eardrums.

Chen Dao and Lütjens stood solemnly on the bridge, looking at the port side of the ship.

Through the radar, they learned about the location of the British local fleet almost at the same time.

"Z17 and Z18 have escorted Zeppelin from the fleet. We can feel at ease to fight the British without distracting our energy to protect it." Lütjens said.

Chen Daomu nodded without saying a word, then said, "The British will appear soon, raise the flag."

Lütjens was stunned at first and then gave an order in a state of laughter and cry.

Five or six minutes later, a pair of black flags were raised on the main masts of all ships in the German High Seas Fleet.

The black flag clearly depicts a chilling skull with exposed fangs. Below the skull, a pair of crossed swords were drawn.

Chen Dao stared at the pirate flag fluttering in the wind on the mast and said with satisfaction: "This is the flag of the British ancestors. This flag will witness the demise of an old empire and the rise of a new empire at the same time."

As soon as Chen Dao finished speaking, the phone ringing suddenly sounded.

Captain Eugen Prince Brinkman picked up the phone.

"I'm the bridge."

He repeated as he listened: "Black smoke was found on the port side, about fifteen nautical miles away."

Ten minutes later, a group of ship shadows appeared on the endless sea-sky division line.

Putting down the telescope, Lütjens shouted loudly: "Tail 220 degrees, seize the t-head position, target, Hood, fire."

************
Chapter completed!