Chapter 732 Despair

"Baga! Go faster!" Lieutenant Hasegawa Kiyoshi, the builder of the destroyer "Mikazuki" of the Japanese Navy, shouted loudly. Even though this destroyer with a maximum speed of only 29 knots has already increased its speed to 30 knots under the condition of forced ventilation, he still finds it too slow.

There was no way around it. The battleship was passing through the dense rain of bullets. If it was a little careless, it might be hit. This makes them have to increase the speed as much as possible, otherwise, they may be hit by shells if they are not careful. A destroyer with a displacement of only a few hundred tons could not withstand the fierce shelling at all, and a large-caliber shell could make them reimbursed.

"boom!"

An 88mm artillery shell hit the superstructure of the "Sankazuki" destroyer, blasting a large hole in the hull and igniting a raging fire at the same time. When the battleship was sailing fast, the fire burned even more violently with the help of the wind. No matter how hard damage control personnel tried, they couldn't put out the fire.

Captain Hasegawa Kiyoshi didn't care about the fire at all, as long as the battleship was not hit in the core compartment, he didn't care. What he cares about is whether he can rush to the front of the German battlecruiser and then launch a torpedo to sink it.

"Fire! Sink that island destroyer!" On the battlecruiser 'Moltke', the captain keenly detected the threat.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The three triple-mounted 343mm main guns of the battlecruiser 'Moltke', five 150mm secondary guns on the side, six 120mm rapid-fire guns and two 88mm rapid-fire guns, all poured on the destroyer 'Sankazuki' shells.

All of a sudden, shells rained down, and shells exploded around the destroyer Sanriyue continuously, splashing water jets one after another, making the destroyer feel like it was in a storm, and it might capsize at any time.

However, the destroyer Sanriyue seemed to have better luck, and they seemed to be more dangerous as they walked through the rain of bullets. But in reality, it wasn't hit at all.

Soon, the destroyer "Sankaiyue" rushed to a place only 1,500 meters away from the battlecruiser "Moltke".

"Launch torpedoes! God bless Amaterasu, we must sink the German battleship!" Captain Hasegawa Kiyoshi shouted loudly.

Two 450mm medium-sized torpedoes were launched and quickly attacked the battlecruiser 'Moltke'.

Under such circumstances, the captain of the battlecruiser "Moltke" had to order an emergency evasion.

The first torpedo passed under the belly of the battlecruiser 'Moltke', but did not explode. This made the German naval officers and soldiers on the battlecruiser "Moltke" all mentioned in the air. The second torpedo failed to escape, and a large hole was blown out on the side of the ship near the stern. The waterline armor there is not the thickest, so it does not have the power to withstand torpedo explosions.

Seawater poured into the ship from the big opening, and although the damage control personnel immediately carried out emergency treatment, it still caused considerable damage to the battleship. The hull tilted to a certain extent, and the speed of the battleship was also affected by this.

"General, the 'Moltke' was hit by a torpedo, the hull tilted to a certain extent, and the speed dropped by five knots. The damage control personnel on the battleship are trying to repair it." Major General Mao Fu reported to Lieutenant General Spee .

This news made Lieutenant General Spei frowned.

"Let the 'Moltke' withdraw from the battle!" Lieutenant General Spee ordered.

Major General Mao Fu nodded, he could understand Lieutenant General Spee's meaning. In this war, they have already lost a light cruiser and a destroyer. If they lose another battlecruiser, the loss will be a bit big. Therefore, at this time, it is best for the damaged battlecruiser 'Moltke' to withdraw from the battle. In this case, their safety will undoubtedly be more secure.

After the battlecruiser 'Moltke' received the order to withdraw from the battle, she was a little unwilling. The captain reported to Lieutenant Admiral Spee that their combat effectiveness had not been greatly affected and they could continue to fight. However, Lieutenant General Spee still insisted that they withdraw from the battle. In desperation, the battlecruiser "Moltke" had no choice but to follow the order and withdraw from the battle under the protection of two destroyers and a light cruiser.

"Your Excellency, Commander, it's hit! We hit a German battlecruiser, which has severely damaged them and forced them to withdraw from the battle!" Major Gentaro Yamashita reported excitedly to General Ijuin Goro.

However, he later discovered that there was no joy on the face of General Yijiin Goro.

"Yamashita-kun, haven't you noticed that we have already lost a lot of destroyers? We lost so many destroyers in exchange for a German battleship. This kind of victory is really not good!" Admiral Ijuin Goro sighed road.

Major Gentaro Yamashita didn't know what to say.

Indeed, the loss of their destroyer formation was very large. So far, nearly half of the destroyers participating in the attack have been lost. However, only one battlecruiser of the German fleet was severely damaged. Such a victory is indeed not very good. Compared with their loss, it is completely out of proportion.

What's more terrible is that even if one battlecruiser of the German expeditionary fleet withdraws from the battle, the remaining eight battlecruisers are still very powerful! With the current strength of the combined fleet of the island nation's navy, it is simply impossible to defeat the German expeditionary fleet.

"Your Excellency, our destroyers are still attacking. Perhaps we will achieve greater results soon. It is definitely not impossible to sink the German battlecruiser!" Major General Gentaro Yamashita said .

However, General Ijuin Goro shook his head: "I'm afraid it will not be that easy. The destroyer formation is already difficult to expand the results of the battle!"

The reason is that many of their destroyers have already fired the first two torpedoes. It takes time to reload the torpedoes. For those destroyers, this period of time is undoubtedly the most dangerous. When retreating after launching a torpedo, they aimed their vulnerable broadsides at the enemy. The enemy will seize this moment and violently pour shells on them. There will not be many island nation destroyers that can escape this catastrophe. In the end, the remaining destroyers no longer pose too much threat to the German expeditionary fleet.

Thinking of this, General Ijuin Goro's eyes were full of despair. He knew that there was no possibility for them to win this battle.