World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"What's that sound?" the captain asked sternly.

The lookout swept his searchlight across the sea to starboard. In the beam, they saw a small wooden boat, about the size of a fishing vessel, smashed and sinking rapidly. Several figures struggled on board, but were quickly swallowed by the waves.

"It's a fishing boat," the lookout reported. "Probably a Danish or Dutch fishing vessel fishing at night. They didn't turn on their lights, we didn't see them..."

The captain's face was ashen. Sinking a fishing boat in normal times would be a serious accident, requiring investigation and accountability. But now, on the run, on the edge of a minefield, it was hardly a big deal.

The real problem is that the wreckage of the fishing boat and the people who fell overboard would attract the attention of British destroyers. If there were British ships patrolling nearby, they would hear the impact, see the searchlights, and follow the trail.

"Turn off the searchlights!" the captain ordered. "Continue sailing, don't stop. God bless those fishermen."

Cruel, but necessary. In war, in moments of life and death, mercy is often a luxury.

The Great Elector continued onward, leaving the wrecked fishing boats and those who had fallen into the water behind. Krupp tried not to think about those struggling in the sea, not to think about how they might freeze or drown within minutes. He focused on the sextant in his hand, on the coordinates on the nautical chart, and on getting the warship and the fleet home safely.

After another twenty minutes of sailing, the outline of land could be faintly seen ahead—the German coastline, the entrance to Heligoland Bay, the direction of home.

But at that moment, lights suddenly came on on the port side.

Not just one, but many. The beams of searchlight pierced the darkness, sweeping across the sea in a crisscross pattern. Then, the sound of cannons erupted—not from heavy artillery, but from the rapid-fire of small and medium-caliber guns, as dense as firecrackers.

"British destroyers!" the lookout shouted. "At least four! They're intercepting our lead destroyer!"

Scheer's assessment was correct; Jellicoe had deployed interceptor forces west of the Horn Reef Channel. Fortunately, the British interception line appeared sparse, likely consisting of only a few destroyers patrolling. Moreover, they were primarily focused on the interior of the channel and hadn't anticipated the German fleet sailing close to the edge of the minefield.

Now, the German fleet's lead destroyer squadron encountered British patrol destroyers. A small-scale night battle broke out.

"Do not engage!" the captain ordered. "Maintain course and speed, let the destroyers handle it! We're continuing forward!"

This was a cold but correct decision. The capital ships couldn't linger here, couldn't be exposed. They had to slip past silently amidst the chaos of the destroyer battle.

Krupp saw flashes of light and shells slicing through the night sky a few nautical miles to his port side. The German destroyer was engaged in combat with the British destroyer, both maneuvering at top speed, launching torpedoes, and exchanging fire with their secondary guns. It was a chaotic dance of steel and fire.

On the chaotic eastern side, the German main fleet—fifteen battered but still majestic warships—like a group of silent ghosts, slowly sailed toward the coastline under the cover of darkness and smoke.

Krupp glanced at the nautical clock: 3:10 a.m.

These two numbers struck Jericho like a hammer blow.

Of the 1,009 people, 32 survived.

Of the 1,275 people, 20 survived.

The entire army was almost wiped out.

"And the armored cruisers HMS Defence, HMS Warrior, and HMS Black Prince," Study continued reading the list, his voice growing softer. "HMS Defence: 893 dead, 11 survivors. HMS Warrior: 704 dead, 9 survivors. HMS Black Prince... confirmed sunk last night, 857 men on board, only 34 survivors have been found so far, and all of them were rescued by the Germans."

(The losses on both sides are a combination of those from the historical Battle of Jutland)