Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several battlecruisers opened fire fiercely, heavy shells screaming down upon the Island Nation fleet's Battleship Suruga. Shells continuously fell around the Battleship Suruga, throwing up towering columns of water.
The Island Nation officers and sailors aboard the Battleship Suruga were all trembling with fear. The Kii-class Battleships had pursued firepower and speed too excessively, leaving their armor far from formidable and their defenses weak. Their belt armor was only 280mm thick, while their turret armor was merely 300mm. Even the most heavily armored command tower was only 356mm thick. Once struck by the German fleet's 50-caliber 380mm Main Guns, their formidable armor-piercing capability could undoubtedly punch straight through it with ease.
"Damn it, return fire!" Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō viciously gave the order to attack.
"Commander, at this engagement range..." Major General Suzuki Yoshio was somewhat worried. After all, the distance between the two sides was still a full eighteen kilometers. Without the assistance of Fire-control Radar, the Island Nation fleet's Battleships had virtually no chance of hitting their targets at such a range.
"Open fire first! If we don't return fire, it will deal a very heavy blow to the troops' morale!" Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō said.
Major General Suzuki Yoshio nodded and immediately went to relay the order.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Battleship Suruga was the first to begin firing. Its five twin-mounted 45-caliber 410mm Main Guns roared fiercely, one-ton-plus Armor-piercing Shells screaming toward the German fleet.
The Battleship Ōmi, the Battleship Mutsu, and the Battleship Ise followed suit and began firing as well. The targets of these Island Nation Battleships were all the first warship in the German fleet's battle line—the flagship Battlecruiser Blücher.
For a time, both sides traded blow for blow, continuously hurling heavy Armor-piercing Shells at one another. Cannon fire thundered