Chapter 1257 Adventure

Although the "Ki-class" battleship can be regarded as the best-performing battleship currently in service with the Japanese navy, it is essentially a fast battleship. In other words, the entire design idea still follows the previous design concept of emphasizing firepower and speed and despising defense.

This makes the firepower of the "Ki-class" battleship very powerful, and its speed soars to an astonishing 29.75 knots. But the armor defense is not high. If four "Ki-class" battleships are used to attack at high speed and intercept the German fleet, although the German fleet can be intercepted. However, there is no doubt that it will be besieged by the eight capital ships of the German fleet. With the defensive power of the "Ki-class" battleship, it is very difficult to say whether it can persist, or it will be severely damaged or even sunk.

The original design intention of the "Ki-class" battleship is to accompany the aircraft carrier in combat. A battleship that is too slow cannot follow an aircraft carrier to fight at all. That's why the "Ki-class" battleship will abandon defense and pursue speed and firepower. However, such a design concept makes it impossible to take advantage of any advantage in the duel of battleships, and it is even at a disadvantage.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo simply did not dare to take these "Kii-class" battleships to take risks. Once there is another loss, he doesn't know how to win this naval battle. Once the naval battle fails, he will definitely not end well. Waiting for him, I'm afraid there is only one way to apologize by harakiri.

"Another way?" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo asked.

"General, as another way, we can only organize destroyers to launch lightning strikes. Relying on lightning strikes to force the German fleet to turn around, or even disband the formation. However, the German fleet also has a lot of small and medium-sized warships for protection, and now it is sailing at high speed. , It is very difficult for a lightning strike to hit the target." Said Colonel Fukushige.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo nodded, although the night environment is more suitable for launching lightning strikes. However, when the enemy's battleship is under heavy protection, it is undoubtedly very difficult to succeed.

Whether to take the risk or not, Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo has not yet made a decision. After all, once you choose to take risks, it's okay if you succeed. But if it fails, the consequences will be very serious.

This naval battle is related to the national destiny of the island country. This makes Yoshida Shingo must try his best to ensure victory when making a choice. He is certainly not afraid of death, but if the island country loses the war, or even perishes, then he will become a sinner for the entire country and nation of the island country.

"What should we do? The current situation is very unfavorable to us. If this continues, we will not be able to win this war." Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo was expressionless, but he was already very anxious up.

"I still underestimated these old warships of the Germans! Otherwise, we would not have fallen into such a disadvantageous situation." Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo is now somewhat regretful. If he had known that these old warships of the German fleet were so difficult to deal with, he would not have proposed such a tactic. However, there is no one who regrets taking medicine in the world. It is useless to say these now.

"boom!"

A 380mm shell hit the conning tower of the battleship Kaga. Although, the armor of the conning tower of the battleship "Kaga" is as thick as 356 mm. However, it still failed to withstand the armor-piercing projectile.

After the shell tore through the armor of the conning tower, it exploded inside. The violent explosion killed all the officers, including Captain Nishi Shinzo. For a while, the command of the battleship "Kaga" fell into chaos.

"General, the conning tower of the battleship 'Kaga' was penetrated, and Colonel Onishi Shinzo and others were all killed!" a staff officer reported.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo's expression suddenly became even uglier. He knew that the situation of the battleship 'Kaga' was undoubtedly more dangerous. If it's not done well, I'm afraid it won't last long.

"Damn it! Let the 'Kaga' continue!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered.

This passive state of being beaten made him very aggrieved. However, he has no choice.

"Yes, General!" Colonel Shigeru Fukuro nodded.

Only two minutes later, the battleship 'Kaga' was hit again.

A 380mm artillery shell hit the midship of the battleship "Kaga". After the shell tore through the armor, it exploded inside. The violent explosion caused problems in the boiler room of the battleship 'Kaga'. High temperature and high pressure steam leaked from several boilers. These high-temperature steam instantly killed the island sailors in the boiler room. The deaths of these sailors were miserable, and they were all steamed.

At the same time, the leakage of high-temperature steam directly caused the power of the battleship to start to lose, and the speed continued to drop.

At this moment, the commander on the battleship "Kaga" is a chief engineer. After the death of Dazuo who built Daxi Xinzang, his military rank was already the highest on the battleship. Faced with such a situation, he had no choice but to order to contact the flagship and request to withdraw from the battle.

After all, in such a fierce naval battle, loss of power means that the battleship cannot keep up with the battle line. It may even be besieged by the enemy and easily sunk. Therefore, it is undoubtedly the best choice to withdraw from the battle and return to the country for rest. In addition, the battleship "Kaga" was hit continuously in the previous battles, and now it is covered with injuries. If you continue to fight, there is a high possibility of being sunk.

After Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo learned of the situation of the 'Kaga', his expression became even uglier.

"Send a telegram to the 'Kaga' and let them withdraw from the battle!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered. He has no right to let the battleship "Kaga" continue to fight under such circumstances. In that case, he would let the battleship "Kaga" die.

"Yes, General." Colonel Fukuro Shigeru nodded, and immediately went to give orders.

The battleship "Kaga" turned immediately and broke away from the battle line. Their speed is getting slower and slower, and it is not easy to escape back to the mainland of the island country.

The German fleet did not pursue the departure of the "Kaga". Instead, send a telegram to the base, asking them to send a submarine to see if they can pick up the leak. The current task of the German fleet is still the island fleet.

After the battleship "Kaga" left the battlefield, the situation on the battlefield became even more unfavorable for the island fleet. It is very difficult for them to reverse the situation. Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo knew that it was impossible not to take risks at this time.