"Damn it! Kii has sunk. It's three against seven now—we're at an even greater disadvantage!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo's face was so dark it seemed ready to drip water. To fall from heaven into hell took only a few short minutes, and Yoshida Zengo could hardly accept it.
When they had sunk the German fleet's Battleship König, he had briefly thought that luck was on their side, that perhaps they could turn the tables. But then Kii was sunk, making Yoshida Zengo realize that they were still at a disadvantage—and that the disadvantage was becoming ever more obvious. Defeating the German fleet would likely be even more difficult now.
"General, Tosa is on its way. Mutsu, Ise, and Hyuga are all rushing here at full speed as well. As long as we hold out for a while, they'll arrive. Then we'll be able to defeat the Germans!" Captain Fukudome Shigeru said.
Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo said nothing more. They had battleships rapidly coming to reinforce them, but didn't the German Navy have reinforcements on the way as well? Once the German Navy's reinforcements arrived, they would have even less chance of victory.
"Order every ship to concentrate fire on the lead ship in the German battle line! This time, we must sink them in the shortest possible time!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered.
"Yes, General." Captain Fukudome Shigeru nodded.
But he knew that would be exceedingly difficult. They could now only concentrate the firepower of three battleships against the enemy, while the enemy could concentrate the firepower of seven battleships against them. They were utterly at an absolute disadvantage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The main guns of the three Kii-class battleships fired madly. Shell after shell shrieked through the air toward the German fleet's battleship Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm. Shells continuously fell