"Damn it, how are we supposed to explain this to the Commander?" Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō felt like crying, yet had no tears. Of the four Amagi-class battlecruisers, three had been sunk in two rounds of attacks by the German Navy. The sole remaining battlecruiser, Takao, had also been hit by numerous bombs and torpedoes. Though it had not sunk, it had undoubtedly suffered severe damage.
Together with the losses of other light cruisers and destroyers, the Island Nation Navy's 2nd Capital Ship Squadron had suffered devastating losses this time. Moreover, all twenty-four Zero fighters that had come to provide them with air cover had also been shot down by the German Navy.
Although the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron had sunk two German Navy aircraft carriers in the earlier battle and severely damaged the remaining two, compared with the losses on both sides, the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron had gained no advantage at all! After all, they had previously lost four heavy cruisers to the heavy cruisers of the German Navy Indian Ocean Fleet.
It could be said that the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron now existed in name only.
"General, no matter what, we sank two German aircraft carriers and severely damaged another two. That is already an excellent result. Otherwise, if the carrier-based aircraft from those four German aircraft carriers had attacked as well, our losses would have been even greater," Major General Suzuki Yoshio said.
Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō nodded. He could only console himself in his heart.
Aboard a light cruiser of the German Navy Indian Ocean Fleet, Admiral Alfred Saalwächter, the Indian Ocean Fleet Commander, and the others also learned that carrier-based aircraft from the Pacific Fleet had sunk three Amagi-class battlecruisers and severely damaged another. This delighted the Indian Ocean Fleet's senior officers.
"Well done!