Chapter 725: True Intent (seeking a monthly ticket)

The captain of the "Kasuga" armored cruiser, 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 confidently. 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 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 254 mm 40-caliber gun and a 203 mm main gun with a 45-caliber dual mount. 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 five 150mm secondary guns and six 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 consecutive 150mm shells hit the armored cruiser Kasuga. 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.

"Hachi!" 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 cruisers is 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 all 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 Mao Fu said.

Lieutenant General Spei nodded, now he had 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 completely 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 it! The ammunition depot of the 'Karlsruhe' was hit. The light cruiser's armor has never been able to withstand the 203mm main gun!" Major General Mao Fu sighed.

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

Originally, Lieutenant General Spei 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, the islanders don't want to get rid of our cruisers and destroyers first, do they?" Major General Maofu said suddenly.

Lieutenant General Shi Pei also had a flash of inspiration in his mind. 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 face also turned livid.