Empire Conquest
Chapter 430 - 426: Breaking Through the Encirclement

Chapter 430: Chapter 426: Breaking Through the Encirclement

The situation in the war changed once again on January 10.

When the Communication Advisor brought the telegram, Bai Zhizhan was discussing with Zhou Yongtao about the fleet’s operational actions, whether it was necessary to enter the Fan Flame Ocean ahead of schedule, and the risks involved.

After reading the telegram, Bai Zhizhan immediately asked Zhou Yongtao to convene the staff of the headquarters.

Yesterday evening, the Tiaoman Fleet, which had already entered the North Sunset Ocean, was spotted by an armed merchant ship about 500 kilometers northeast of Iceland.

It wasn’t bad luck, but an inevitable outcome. To find the "Prime Minister," the Bulan Royal Navy had dispatched all available armed merchant ships.

At that time, there were about 30 armed merchant ships on the North Sunset Ocean.

To put it bluntly, this was also the last time the armed merchant ships would demonstrate their value.

In escort actions primarily focused on anti-submarine warfare, the escort aircraft carriers were the main force, and the armed merchant ships that once sailed the oceans alongside the convoy had no role to play in warfare.

Although more than ten minutes later, a 280mm shell fired from the "Gneisenau" hit the target directly, blowing up the ship’s ammunition store, those ten minutes were enough for the lookout to recognize Tiaoman’s battleships and send out a telegram reporting the finding of the "Prime Minister."

A few hours later, a patrol plane that took off from Iceland discovered the Tiaoman Fleet proceeding westward.

In fact, it wasn’t the entire fleet. Aside from the "Prime Minister," there were only 2 destroyers and 2 fast oilers. 2 large cruisers, 1 destroyer, and 1 fast oiler had parted ways with the "Prime Minister" after their positions were exposed in the evening and were now heading east.

To be more direct, the 2 large cruisers were preparing to return to Tiaoman’s homeland.

Since their positions were already exposed, the "Prime Minister" would end its raiding operation in the North Sunset Ocean and proceed to the South Sunset Ocean as per the backup plan.

The key was to avoid the Bulan Royal Navy’s Domestic Fleet.

Three days ago, the Domestic Fleet had already left the North Sea and entered the North Sunset Ocean.

Although there’s no intelligence on the Domestic Fleet for the time being, the Tiaoman Navy inferred that the Domestic Fleet was likely on standby near the Shetland Islands.

This being the case, the "Prime Minister" couldn’t head directly south.

To avoid the Domestic Fleet, it had to navigate through Denmark Strait to the west of Iceland.

This was also the key reason for the two large cruisers to return home.

It was not that the large cruisers weren’t fast enough, but rather, there wasn’t enough fuel.

The "Prime Minister" had to travel at full speed to pass through Denmark Strait before the Domestic Fleet arrived, which would definitely require a substantial amount of additional fuel consumption. If the 2 large cruisers were included, the fuel carried by the 3 fast oilers wouldn’t be sufficient to support the fleet’s entry into the Fan Flame Ocean or the East Ocean.

Sending the 2 large cruisers back home could also serve to deceive the Bulan Royal Navy when necessary.

In short, by yesterday evening, the "Prime Minister" was already sprinting at full speed towards Denmark Strait.

Unfortunately, luck was really too bad.

Had it not been detected by that patrol plane, within a day, by the night of the 10th, the "Prime Minister" would have been able to break through Denmark Strait.

Entering the vast open waters of the Iceland Basin, the "Prime Minister" could rely on speed to shake off the chasing Domestic Fleet.

As for whether there was a chance to reach the Fan Flame Ocean or the East Ocean after reaching the South Sunset Ocean, and whether it could get to the Liangxia Empire, that was another matter altogether.

But now, it was uncertain whether the "Prime Minister" could break through smoothly.

According to a message from the Navy Commander’s headquarter, the Tiaoman Navy had basically determined that the Domestic Fleet had entered the North Sunset Ocean and was near the Faroe Islands.

The basis was a telegram from a submarine.

Indeed, the battlecruisers and fast battleships of the Domestic Fleet would reach the southern side of the Denmark Strait by the afternoon of the 10th. Even the slower old battleships should arrive by the night of the 10th. If the Domestic Fleet had carriers, even just one small carrier, the ship-borne aircraft it carried would have a very good chance of locating "Prime Minister" still inside the Denmark Strait during the daytime of the 10th.

Based on this estimate, the battle could erupt as early as the afternoon of the 10th.

If subjected to bombing, the odds for "Prime Minister" would be perilous.

Even if it were not sunk by the bombings, just being damaged and unable to travel at full speed would result in it being overtaken by the Domestic Fleet’s Fast Main Battle Ships and then sunk.

Even if the battle unfolded at night, there was little chance of victory.

The Domestic Fleet had at least three Fast Main Battle Ships, with at least one of them being a Fast Battleship, while "Prime Minister" was fighting alone.

As the saying goes, a fierce tiger cannot defeat a pack of wolves.

No matter how capable "Prime Minister" was, it could not face three opponents of equal status at the same time.

Around noon, the Navy headquarter sent the latest news.

The predictions made earlier by the Tiaoman Navy had been confirmed: the submarine that had spotted the Domestic Fleet managed to stay hidden for several hours, avoiding the Anti-submarine Destroyers, then surfaced to send a telegram claiming it had found the Domestic Fleet, with at least three Fast Main Battle Ships traveling at full speed.

This report completely matched another piece of intelligence.

Embedded within the Domestic Fleet were three Fast Main Battle Ships: the battlecruiser "Hude," and the Fast Battleships "George V" and "Prince of Wales."

As for the two "Reputation" class battlecruisers, there was intelligence to prove that they had all gone to the Land Heart Sea Fleet and even participated in the bombardment of the Locke Fleet. "Reprisal" had returned to Nara Fortress a few days earlier, flying the Sub-fleet Commander’s flag and now serving as the flagship of the West Land Heart Sea Sub-fleet. "Reputation" had not appeared and was likely integrated into the Expeditionary Fleet commanded by Cunningham.

This deployment was aimed at "Prime Minister."

In order to cope with what was so far the largest battleship ever built and commissioned, the Royal Bulan Navy had incorporated its most capable main ships into the Domestic Fleet. Apart from the three Fast Main Battle Ships, there were also two "Nelson" class battleships armed with 16-inch main guns.

Unfortunately, the "Nelson" class was too slow and could not even match the "Queen Yisha" class.

However, the Tiaoman Navy had also made adjustments.

Last night, after "Prime Minister" was exposed again, the Tiaoman Navy headquarter ordered the two "Scharnhorst" class Large Cruisers to change course.

According to the new orders, the two Large Cruisers would accompany "Prime Minister" during the breakout.

To be precise, they would cover for "Prime Minister" as it burst through the Denmark Strait and then turn back.

The reason was simple: "Prime Minister" fighting alone was unlikely to fare well against the Domestic Fleet.

With the assistance of two Large Cruisers, the chances of a successful breakout increased significantly.

That is to say, the 280mm main guns of the two Large Cruisers were not just for show; they posed a significant threat, especially to the thinly armored battlecruisers.

Just a few months ago, the two ships had combined forces to sink one of the Royal Bulan Navy’s fleet carriers.

To allow the two Large Cruisers to catch up and rendezvous with "Prime Minister" by noon on the 10th, "Prime Minister" would need to reduce its speed to 22 knots.

That meant extending "Prime Minister’s" time in the Denmark Strait by three hours.

Consequently, "Prime Minister’s" departure from the Denmark Strait would be delayed from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Because January is the month with the shortest daylight hours in the northern hemisphere at high latitudes, it would be nearly dark around 4 p.m.

That was why the Tiaoman Navy thought that a delay of three hours would not be a major issue.

By storming out of the Denmark Strait at dusk, there would be a night’s time to break through the encirclement of the Domestic Fleet. By the time dawn broke again, they would have traveled several hundred kilometers south.

But would things really go that smoothly?