Chapter 729 Lightning Strike

"Boom! Boom!"

The battlecruisers of the German Expeditionary Fleet were firing fiercely, shells roaring and smashing towards the protective cruisers of the island navy. At this moment, the protective cruisers of the island nation's navy seemed to have become frightened birds. They had no courage to confront the battlecruisers of the German navy, and fled in all directions.

This also made the battle line of the German expeditionary fleet no longer maintainable. The battleships had to disperse and chase the protective cruisers of the island navy.

A protective cruiser has a displacement of only three or four thousand tons, which is only a fraction of a battlecruiser. How can it fight against a battlecruiser? Facing the pursuit of the battlecruisers of the German Navy, they seemed to have no other choice but to flee.

Of course, even if they escape, it is difficult for these protective cruisers to escape. Because, in front of the battlecruisers of the German Navy, their speed undoubtedly seemed too slow.

"boom!"

A 380mm artillery shell fired from the battlecruiser Derfflinger exploded on the side of the protected cruiser Tsushima. The place where the explosion occurred was less than ten meters away from the protected cruiser Tsushima.

Although the shell did not directly hit the protected cruiser Tsushima, the damage caused to the protected cruiser Tsushima was not small at all.

After the shell exploded underwater, the huge pressure generated rushed to the surroundings, and instantly opened a big gap in the underwater hull of the protected cruiser 'Tsushima'. Sea water began to pour into the battleship frantically.

A protected cruiser with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons is naturally much inferior to those huge battleships in its anti-sinkability. This caused the protected cruiser to sink directly because of the near-missing bomb.

The light cruisers of the navies of other island countries were also struggling to support under the attack of the battlecruisers of the German Navy. When they couldn't fight or run, all they could do was pray that the German shells wouldn't hit them. Apart from that, there is no other way.

"Boom!" A 343mm artillery shell hit the protected cruiser 'Kasaki'. The entire stern of the ship was exploding, and it was blown to pieces. Not only did the speed of the battleship begin to decrease continuously, but it also lost the ability to turn. At the same time, the seawater pouring into the battleship frantically caused the tail of the battleship to sink continuously, and it seemed that it was about to sink into the sea.

In front of the battlecruisers of the German Navy, these protective cruisers of the island navy had almost no power to fight back. Their 152mm main guns, at most, smashed some superstructures. However, the 380mm and 343mm artillery shells of these battlecruisers can easily injure them, and even directly kill them.

'Akashi' had the worst end for the light cruiser, being hit in the ammunition depot. The violent explosion almost tore the entire protected cruiser 'Akashi' into pieces. All of the more than 300 island navy soldiers on the battleship were killed.

On the protected cruiser "Otowa", the conning tower was penetrated by a 380mm bomb, killing not only the captain but also the officers. Even the entire bridge was blown up. Subsequently, a 380mm artillery shell blew a large hole in its hull, which ended the life of the protected cruiser.

The protected cruiser 'Chikuma' also did not end well. First, a 343mm shell hit the boiler compartment, causing the high-pressure steam in the boiler to leak, scalding the sailors inside to death. Then two 343mm artillery shells hit the port side of the battleship almost simultaneously, blasting a large hole in the bow and midship respectively. With such an injury, the so-called loss control is useless at all. The captain directly issued the order to abandon the ship.

Immediately afterwards, the two sister ships of the protected cruiser 'Chikuma', the protected cruiser Yahagi and the protected cruiser Hirato, were also attacked by the battlecruiser 'Goeben' and the battlecruiser 'Hindenburg' respectively. Shen.

This caused the combined fleet of the island nation navy to lose more than half of its protected cruisers in a short period of time. It can be seen that under the massacre of the battlecruisers of the German Navy, these protective cruisers had almost no other fate except being sunk.

On the battlecruiser 'King Kong', Rear Admiral Gentaro Yamashita gritted his teeth and reported the loss of the Japanese navy to Admiral Ijuin Goro. At this time, the three "King Kong-class" battlecruisers were still chasing after the German Navy's battlecruiser formation.

"Your Excellency, Commander, we can't go on like this anymore. If the Germans are allowed to massacre, our protective cruisers will be lost!" Major General Gentaro Yamashita said with red eyes.

General Ijuin Goro nodded, but unfortunately, they are still chasing the German navy, but it is difficult to catch up. Under such circumstances, even if they wanted to help, it would be difficult to do so!

"Order those protective cruisers and let them approach us! In this case, the Germans may be attracted. Then, launch a lightning strike!" General Ijuin Goro ordered.

At this time, he still pinned his hopes on the lightning strike of the destroyer, hoping that the lightning strike would work and defeat the German expeditionary fleet in one fell swoop.

After the order was issued, the remaining six protected cruisers of the fleeing island nation's combined fleet had to turn around and go to join the flagship. In the process, it was once again hit by the battlecruiser formation of the German expeditionary fleet. The protected cruisers 'Soya' and 'Suma' were sunk. The number of protected cruisers that sunk the joint fleet of the island nation's navy rose to nine, leaving only four.

Such a loss made General Ijiin Goro feel as if he was bleeding. He knows very well that after the loss of the island nation's navy, if it wants to recover again, it will take how long it will take. And, the battle is still going on! Perhaps, by the end of the battle, they had lost more warships.

"Lightning strike! Order the destroyer formation to launch a lightning strike immediately. All destroyers, all attack and sink the German battlecruiser, that is victory!" Admiral Ijuin Goro gave the order with a grim face.

General Ijuin Goro now regards lightning strikes as his only chance. If the lightning strike fails, then the island navy will lose this time.

More than 30 destroyers of the island navy began to speed up and rushed into the battlecruiser formation of the German Navy. Although the enemy is strong, the naval officers and soldiers of these island countries are not afraid at all. They only want to defeat the enemy, even if they are loyal to the country, they will not hesitate.