"General, our heavy cruisers have been completely suppressed by the Germans. The Kumano has been sunk, and the other ships are in very bad shape as well," Major General Suzuki Yoshio reported.
Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō's face was so gloomy it seemed as though water could drip from it. To the Island Nation Navy, heavy cruisers were also immensely important warships. After all, the Island Nation was not as deep-pocketed as Germany, capable of building heavy cruisers in batches. Losing even one heavy cruiser was enough to make them ache for a long time.
The German Navy's cruisers were almost all new warships, with service lives of scarcely more than ten years. Moreover, whenever the German Navy built cruisers, it built them in large batches, laying down a dozen or even twenty ships at once. Compared with other navies, such extravagance was indeed on an entirely different scale. Of course, Germany could only do this because its naval technology had matured. In naval warfare centered on aircraft carriers, the other warships were more responsible for air defense and anti-submarine duties; the carrier-based aircraft aboard the carriers were the true main force. This meant the other warships did not need exceptionally outstanding performance.
"Tell them to hold on. We'll catch up to the German aircraft carriers very soon," Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered. Even now, his eyes were fixed solely on the German Navy's aircraft carriers. Unless he sank them, he would never rest.
"Yes, General!" Major General Suzuki Yoshio nodded.
The Island Nation fleet had no other choice now. They had to sink the German Navy's aircraft carriers if they wanted any chance of turning the tide, regaining the advantage in the coming naval battle, and defeating the German Navy. All other losses were within an acceptable range.
The Island