Published at 13th of February 2023 07:04:27 AM

At the tail of the battle line, the battlecruiser "Seydlitz" of the German Navy is heroically fighting against three with one enemy. Moreover, the three battleships of the island navy were beaten into a panic, and they were almost overwhelmed.

Not because of other reasons, but because the three battleships of the island navy are really bad.

The "Fuji" battleship is the first pre-dreadnought ship equipped by the Japanese navy. It is a pre-dreadnought ship purchased from the United Kingdom. gun and 10 40-caliber 152mm secondary guns and 24 47mm guns. Among the former dreadnoughts, such firepower can be regarded as powerful. In terms of armor, the armor of the battleship "Fuji" is also very thick, with a side armor thickness of 457 mm, a deck armor thickness of 102 mm, a conning tower armor thickness of 356 mm, and a turret armor thickness of 356 mm. Such armor is undoubtedly very thick.

But alas, these armors are old fashioned armor. The old-fashioned armor with a thickness of 457 mm is probably not as good as the new-style armor with a thickness of more than 200 mm. Therefore, in front of the battlecruiser "Sedlitz", the battleship "Fuji" is like a lamb to be slaughtered.

As for the battleships "Sagami" and "Zhoufang", they were even more ignored. Even if the battleship 'Seydlitz' does not fight back, let the battleship 'Sagami' and the battleship 'Zhoufang' shoot, its 254mm main gun with 45 times the caliber will never attack the battleship 'Seydlitz'. what a threat. At most, the superstructure of the battleship 'Seydlitz' was riddled with holes. It is simply impossible to sink the 'Sedlitz'.

Therefore, the battlecruiser 'Sedlitz' was able to use all its firepower to attack the battleship 'Fuji', and after it was ready to sink the battleship, it would teach the 'Sagami' and 'Zhoufang' a lesson.

"Boom!"

A 343mm artillery shell hit the armor of the conning tower of the battleship "Fuji", although the armor of the conning tower was as thick as 356 mm. However, the defense of the old-fashioned armor was not strong in the first place, so it was easily penetrated. The shell exploded inside the command tower, and more than a dozen officers, including the captain Aranishi Kagetaro, were all killed. This caused the battleship "Fuji" to lose its command immediately.

Immediately afterwards, in less than two minutes, the battleship 'Sedlitz' scored another hit. A 343mm artillery shell hit the stern of the battleship "Fuji". The shells pierced the deck armor and exploded inside the battleship. The huge power blows up the entire stern of the ship. A transmission shaft was also blown off. This caused the battleship 'Fuji', which was originally not fast, to begin to decline again.

After the speed slowed down, this made the battleship "Fuji" easier to be hit. In the next five minutes, the battleship "Fuji" was hit as many as 4 times. Four 343mm artillery shells caused fatal damage to the battleship "Fuji". Even the keel of the battleship was blown off. In the violent explosion, the battleship was broken into two pieces, and the head and tail sank into the sea respectively. None of the more than 700 island navy sailors on the battleship survived.

After sinking the battleship 'Fuji', the battlecruiser 'Sedlitz' immediately turned its guns and launched an attack on the battleship 'Sagami'. Although the battleship "Sagami" is listed as a first-class battleship, this is mainly because it has a displacement of 13,500 tons. Its two 45-caliber 254mm main guns are not the main guns that a battleship should have anyway.

During the battle, the battleships "Sagami" and "Zhoufang" also hit the battleship "Sedlitz" many times. However, it basically didn't cause too much damage to it.

On the contrary, the 343mm main gun of the battlecruiser "Sedlitz" can easily damage these two battleships. A 343mm shell can severely damage it, and if it hits a vital position, it can also sink it.

Under the onslaught of the battlecruiser 'Sedlitz', the battleship 'Sagami' persisted for eight minutes before being sunk. The performance of the battleship 'Shoufang' was a little better, but it only lasted for 13 minutes.

When the battleship "Shoufang" sank into the sea, the battlecruiser "Sedlitz" began to attack the battleship "Mikasa" of the Japanese Navy.

The battle has progressed so far, and the navy of the island country has lost a full four battleships. This made them face the advantage of the capital ship of the German expeditionary fleet, and they were constantly losing. In the beginning, they had more than twice the numerical advantage. But now, even the double advantage could not be maintained. The consequence of this is undoubtedly the balance of victory, which once again tilted towards the German Navy's expeditionary fleet.

"Hachi! Your Excellency, Commander, we have lost four capital ships so far. If this continues, what will happen?" Major General Gentaro Yamashita's face was livid. His previous ambitions had completely dissipated, replaced by deep worries about the upcoming battle situation.

General Ijuin Goro nodded, he also felt this. Although, the battle is still in full swing. However, almost all the German expeditionary fleet, whose capital ships were at a disadvantage, suppressed them. It won't be long before their battleships are sunk. Although the capital ships of the German expeditionary fleet will also be hit, they can only cause some negligible injuries to them. There is still a very long distance from a serious injury, let alone a sinking.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, an earth-shattering explosion sounded. The bow of the battlecruiser Haruna swelled up. Immediately, flames and smoke erupted from the entire bow of the ship.

When the smoke cleared, everyone discovered that the bow of the battlecruiser "Haruna" had disappeared.

A 380mm artillery shell fired from the battleship "Prince Frederick" hit the No. 1 main turret on the front deck of the battleship "Haruna". The main turret armor, which is only 230mm thick, naturally cannot withstand 380mm shells. The shell not only penetrated the main turret, but also exploded after penetrating the armor of the ammunition depot. At the same time, hundreds of 356mm shells in the ammunition depot were also detonated. That's why it exploded with such great power.

After the explosion, the battlecruiser Haruna began to sink. Such trauma cannot be saved at all, and everyone can only watch the battlecruiser sink into the sea quickly. What sank into the sea at the same time seemed to have the confidence of General Ijuin Goro. He knew that this time there was no chance of winning.