"General, the Wilhelm the Great has been sunk." On a German Navy light cruiser, a staff officer reported to Lieutenant General Walter Walzecha.
Lieutenant General Walter Walzecha could not help closing his eyes in anguish. The aircraft carrier Wilhelm the Great had been the flagship of the Indian Ocean Fleet's Aircraft Carrier Formation! Yet in this great battle, it had been sunk before it could accomplish anything. For the German Navy, this was undoubtedly an exceedingly heavy blow.
At the same time, it showed that although aircraft carriers had become the absolute main force in naval warfare, under certain circumstances they could still be sunk with great ease. Although aircraft carriers could readily use Carrier-based aircraft to sink Battleships, once an enemy closed in, the main guns of Battleships could likewise easily send aircraft carriers to the bottom.
"Do everything possible to rescue the sailors in the water. Also, order the other carriers to escape as best they can. As long as we can hold out until dawn, it will be time for our counterattack," Lieutenant General Walter Walzecha ordered.
"Yes, General."
Everyone knew that the hours before dawn were undoubtedly the hardest stretch for the German Navy Indian Ocean Fleet's Aircraft Carrier Formation. With the Battleship formation gone, facing the Island Nation Navy's Battlecruisers, they had no choice but to flee. But the Island Nation Navy's Battlecruisers were simply too fast, leaving their carriers without even the ability to strike back.
"Ha ha! Yoshi! Well done. We have finally sunk one of the Germans' aircraft carriers. Keep it up and sink their other aircraft carriers too. Then we will have won this naval battle!" Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō's face was wreathed in smiles. The Island Nation Navy's heavy cruisers had been effortlessly slaughtered by the German Navy's heavy cruisers,