The Rise of the Empire

The Melbourne was finished, and the Sydney could not jump for long. After the increasingly thin smoke screen of the smoke can dissipated, a 350mm shell fired from the Gneisenau easily blew the Sydney's steering gear to pieces. The Sydney, which had lost most of its artillery and power, simply chose to sink the warship and transfer the people on board. Originally, at this stage of the battle, the two sides were fighting in a polite manner. If you surrender, I won't beat you. If your ship sinks, I will help you move your personnel.

We are the navy, and most of the captains are nobles. Naturally, we are different from the army's bumpkins. We pay attention to the spirit of chivalry. Since the other party can no longer fight, then we can help. When the sound of gunfire gradually became sparse and the smoke gradually dissipated, the attack ship Swordfish stepped forward to help the Sydney transfer the injured. The captain of the Swordfish also paid tribute to the captain of the Sydney and expressed his gratitude to them for their ability. I express my sincere admiration for struggling until now in such a disadvantageous situation. You look at how high-level and harmonious you are!

If that was all it was, then this battle wouldn't be called the Sea of ​​Blood! It is true that although there were many casualties among the combatants from both navies, it was definitely not tragic. But those army bumpkins in Australia and New Zealand are different! With one's own escort warships being killed by the Super Dreadnought, and auxiliary cruisers hunting and killing them on the sides, these dozens of troop transport ships were completely in chaos, and once they were in chaos, something would easily happen!

What's even more unexpected is that it was Colonel Harris's telegram that directly triggered the ensuing chaos! Get through the strait quickly! This telegram is not asking these ships to escape. It is simply asking them to die! After all, the British didn't know the exit in front, so the Germans frantically dropped 500 mines!

"The British transport ship is coming!" Listening to the hazy sound of cannons in the distance, and then looking at the British transport fleet that gradually became clearer in front of him, Cuarón leisurely took out a cigar from the cigar box. This was from Havana. After cutting the top-grade cigar with a cigar, Caron skillfully lit it for himself. The Nautilus's mission was to block the other side of the port, catch any fish that might have slipped through the net, and be wary of the British fleet that might be coming from the Red Sea.

Boom! A British transport ship in front was suddenly cut in half by a water column. The explosive power of the mine was truly amazing, cutting the 6,000-ton merchant ship in half. Before the personnel above could react, the flames and vortex caused by the explosion took 2,000 Australian soldiers into the seabed!

And when the sound of the explosion was still echoing on the sea and the flying debris was gradually falling, the next movement of the British fleet stunned Caron! The remaining British ships began to speed through! It seems like they are completely ignoring the minefield in front of them!

"I'm going! The transport ship rushed into the minefield?! These crazy people!" Caron's eyes widened when he saw it! What happened next could be called the bloodiest scene in the history of naval battles. Within one minute, three huge fireballs shot up in the entire British transport fleet! As if the doomsday was coming, the plume of smoke and gunpowder smoke generated by the explosion quickly spread across the narrow strait, and there were flames and struggling people falling into the water everywhere. They struggled in the water stained red with blood, trying to grab a piece of wood.

Broken corpses and dark red blood were everywhere on the sea. In just one minute, at least 4,000 people died after striking a mine. The direct cause of this tragedy was Harris's telegram, requiring the fleet to pass through the strait quickly. When the first ship exploded, some people thought of mines, but it might have been killed by artillery shells. It was normal for the situation to be chaotic and misjudgment to occur. So the sinking of the first ship did not cause alarm.

The rear guard collapsed, and Harris's telegram ordering the fleet to quickly pass through the strait pushed the entire fleet into the abyss!

Some ships rushed forward in a panic, and then struck a mine again. With every shining fire and water column rising into the sky, it heralded the disappearance of hundreds of lives from the world. Such a tragedy made Caron feel a little bit sad. It’s unbearable, after all, soldiers are not butchers. After hesitating for a moment, Caron ordered the flag officer of the Nautilus to signal that there was a mine ahead and warned the British with a clear telegram.

"There are mines ahead. Don't pass through. Stop the ship and surrender. We guarantee your safety!" This telegram was sent several times, and even neutral merchant ships in nearby waters received it. But in the chaotic and narrow strait, the fleet's situation did not improve much because of this telegram.

Ships are not like cars that can be stopped with just one brake. After the merchant ship that struck a mine in front caused chaos and fear, the entire fleet was in complete chaos. Order and sanity became a thing of the past. Every ship was trying to escape. In this Shura field, many ships hit mines again, or sadly collided with other ships trying to avoid...

The explosions that came from the sea from time to time made Caron's hand holding the cigar tremble. He wanted to help the Australian and New Zealand sailors on the opposite side who were already in trouble, but there was a prerequisite: don't get involved! Although Caron has Breton and can find a safe route to pass through, if the Nautilus enters at this time, can it guarantee that it will not be hit by the crazy Australian and New Zealand transport ships? So he could only inform Su Xiong of the situation, let him handle it, and then continue watching the show here!

As time went by, the entire strait became a purgatory of blood and fire. The seawater was dyed red with blood. The smoke, death and blood made most people lose their minds. The recruits who had never experienced fighting finally Crazy, they jumped from the ship into the sea regardless of the officer's dissuasion. The strait was not wide, and they thought they could always reach the other shore with their water skills.

However, it turns out that their plans are broken! Under the influence of ocean currents, ship debris floating on the sea and explosions from time to time are absolutely disasters for those who fall into the water! A piece of wood may be a savior, or it may be a heavy hammer. Many people had their heads smashed by the rushing wood as soon as they jumped into the water. Even the transport ships scurrying around in a hurry became a harvester of life, passing through the dense crowd of people who fell into the water, and then plowing out a bloody trail!

At least 17 transport ships hit mines, collided or ran aground in less than 40 minutes. Nearly 15,000 Anzac soldiers on these 17 transport ships died in this sea before they could land on the European continent. In addition to the merchant ships killed by 2 dreadnoughts and 4 auxiliary cruisers, the number of ships sunk and damaged in the entire 38-ship transport fleet was as high as 28! The total number of casualties and injuries is as high as more than 20,000! And the time has only passed less than 2 hours!

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