Published at 13th of February 2023 07:04:25 AM

The captain of the armored cruiser Kasuga, Sakamoto Shigekuni, is the commander of the armored cruiser formation of the United Fleet. The order he received was to lead the armored cruiser formation and the protected cruiser formation to deal with the cruisers and destroyers of the German expeditionary fleet. Clear the way for combined fleet destroyers to launch lightning strikes.

"The Germans only have 8 light cruisers and 21 destroyers. With the strength of our armored cruiser and protected cruiser formation, there is no problem in solving them!" Sakamoto Shigekuni said with confidence. After all, armored cruisers and light cruisers are not of the same class at all. The main gun of an armored cruiser can easily shred a light cruiser. However, the main guns of light cruisers can hardly cause fatal damage to armored cruisers. As for destroyers, it goes without saying.

"Order the formation, close the distance to 8,000 meters, and then open fire!" Commander Sakamoto Shigekuni ordered.

"Hey, sir. But what about the protected cruiser formation? I'm afraid they need to get closer!" A staff officer made an opinion.

"Let them wait for the protective cruiser formation. With our armored cruisers, it is enough to eliminate the small and medium-sized German warships." Sakamoto Shigekuni seemed very confident.

Seeing this, the staff officer had no choice but to say nothing more.

"Fire!" With the order of the gunner, the armored cruiser "Kasuga" began shelling with a single 40-caliber 254mm gun and a dual-mounted 45-caliber 203mm main gun. In addition, the seven 40-caliber 152mm single-mounted guns on the side also started firing.

The other seven armored cruisers also launched an attack immediately after. The 203mm main gun and the 152mm secondary gun began to pour shells.

The eight light cruisers of the German Navy, all equipped with 150mm main guns, also began to fight back. Unlike another time and space, the German navy in this time and space has a soft spot for triple-mounted main guns. Therefore, even these light cruisers use three triple-mounted main guns instead of four dual-mounted main guns in another time and space. At the same time, the diameter ratio of the main gun has also been increased from 45 times the caliber to 50 times the caliber to further enhance the armor-piercing capability of the main gun.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The cruisers of the two sides fought fiercely, but the light cruisers of the German Navy faced the armored cruisers of the island navy, and they were inherently at a disadvantage. This makes them very disadvantaged in the battle.

Fortunately, the 5 150mm secondary guns and 6 120mm rapid-fire guns on the side of the battlecruiser can provide them with support. In addition, the main guns and secondary guns of the armored cruisers of the Japanese Navy are far inferior to the German Navy. You come and go, the two sides fight almost equally.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two 150mm artillery shells hit the armored cruiser Kasuga in succession. Even though its main armor is as thick as 150 mm, it is still a bit difficult to resist the 150 mm main gun fired by the 50-caliber main gun. Especially the superstructure, which was easily penetrated and ignited a raging fire. Although such an injury is not fatal to an armored cruiser with a displacement of more than 8,000 tons, once the fire continues to spread, it will also cause great damage to them.

"Haga!" Senior Sakamoto Shigekuni gritted his teeth after seeing such a situation. He never expected that the eight armored cruisers of his own side would still not be able to gain an advantage against the eight light cruisers of the German Navy. If that's the case, how can this battle go on?

The battle between the cruisers was undoubtedly even more tragic. After all, capital ships generally have thick armor, even if they are hit, they may not be able to penetrate the armor. But the cruiser is different. The armor of the cruiser is very weak. Once it is hit, it may be broken down, causing a lot of damage to the battleship.

"Boom!"

A 203mm artillery shell hit the bow of the cruiser "Karlsruhe". Only 60mm thick armor was in front of the 203mm artillery shell, which was no different from paper paste, and it was pierced at once. After the shell exploded, the cabin under the bow caused a raging fire.

Soon, more and more German cruisers were also hit. Although, during the battle, they also hit the armored cruisers of the island navy many times, and those armored cruisers they hit ignited raging fire. However, it was still unable to sink those armored cruisers.

"General, our light cruisers are really at a disadvantage against the armored cruisers of the islanders." Major General Maofu said.

Lieutenant General Spee nodded, now he has to make a choice. Should we deal with the capital ships of the island navy first, or deal with their armored cruisers. If you choose to deal with the armored cruisers of the island navy, you have to temporarily let go of the battleship of the island navy. However, if you choose to deal with the capital ships of the island navy first, then your own cruiser formation will definitely suffer heavy losses. If it is not done well, it will be sunk by the navy of the island country.

"Boom!"

There was a huge explosion, and the light cruiser "Karlsruhe" was shrouded in smoke and flames. When the gunpowder smoke cleared, the light cruiser 'Karlsruhe' had become tattered, and began to sink rapidly.

"Damn! The ammunition depot of the "Karlsruhe" was hit. The armor of the light cruiser has never been able to withstand the 203mm main gun!" Major General Maofu sighed.

"This is the first warship we lost in this battle!" Lieutenant General Spee's face was also frighteningly dark.

Originally, Lieutenant General Spee hoped to defeat the island navy without losing a single warship in this naval battle. However, the sinking of the light cruiser "Karlsruhe" completely defeated his hope. This made Lieutenant General Spei very dissatisfied. However, Lieutenant General Spee knew that this was war. There will always be casualties in wars, and it is almost impossible to truly achieve zero casualties.

"General, don't the islanders want to get rid of our cruisers and destroyers first?" Major General Mao Fu said suddenly.

Lieutenant General Spei's mind also had a flash of inspiration. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have missed something.

"Damn it, the islanders know that the capital ship is not our opponent, so they want to take a slant. They plan to deal with our destroyers after our cruisers are dealt with. In this way, they can use a large number of destroyers to deal with our destroyers. The battlecruisers are under siege!" Lieutenant General Spee said.

Major General Mao Fu's complexion suddenly turned livid.