"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The 'König' number Battleship of the German fleet fleet and the 'Kii' number Battleship of the Island Nation fleet became the key targets of attack by both sides, and all the artillery shells were directed at them. Under such circumstances, even Battleship, no matter how powerful it is, cannot resist it. At this time, the battle is luck and the bet is character.
"Boom! Boom!"
Two 380mm Shell hit the 'Kii' number Battleship in succession. A shell hit the middle part of the ship of the 'Kii' Battleship, destroying the No. 3 main gun turret, causing the firepower of the 'Kii' Battleship to drop by one-fifth again.
Another shell hit the side of the 'Kii' Battleship. It only had 292 mm of side armor. In front of the 380mm Shell, it was simply vulnerable and was easily penetrated. Moreover, the location where it was hit was just near the waterline, blasting a big hole. Sea water began to pour into the battleship.
"General, the No. 3 main turret has been destroyed. In addition, a hole was blown out on the port side, and damage control is being carried out!" Captain Fukudome Shigeru reported.
Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo's face suddenly became even more ugly. Including the No. 5 main turret that was lost previously, they have lost two main turrets, and the battleship's firepower has dropped by a full 40%.
"Damn! Are we really going to lose this battle? Order damage control and plug the loopholes. As long as we are not sunk, we must persist!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered.
Now they only have four Battleships against the eight Battleships of German fleet. They are already at an absolute disadvantage in terms of quantity. If the 'Kii' number Battleship is sunk again, it will be three to eight. By then, they will be even more unable to defeat German fleet.
"Hi, General. However, the general should evacuate the 'Kii' first and retreat to the 'Suruga' or 'Ōmi' to command the battle. It would be too dangerous to stay on the 'Kii'!" Captain Fukudome Shigeru suggested.
The current number 'Kii', Battleship, has been severely traumatized by being hit one after another. If it continues to be hit in the next battle, it will most likely be sunk. It can even be concluded that if the battle continues, the 'Kii' number Battleship will be sunk before long. Therefore, Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo and others had better evacuate as soon as possible.
Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo frowned. If possible, he certainly didn't want to die. However, he did not want to lose this naval battle.
"It's too early to evacuate now! Keep fighting! If the 'Kii' is destined to sink, I will evacuate!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo said. Although it would be a high honor to sink with the ship, he still had to continue to command the fleet in combat.
Captain Fukudome Shigeru nodded and said nothing more.
"Let the 'Tosa' come as soon as possible." Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo said. If the 'Tosa' Battleship could arrive as soon as possible, they would have added a powerful combat force, and perhaps they would not be defeated so quickly.
However, the speed of the 'Tosa' Battleship is three knots slower than that of the 'Kii-class' Battleship. It will take some time to get there.
"Boom! Boom!"
German fleet's luck seemed to have run out in the previous naval battle. During this round of salvo fire from the Island Nation fleet, two shells actually hit the 'König' number Battleship.
A shell hit the side of the 'König' Battleship. Although the waterline armor was 350 mm thick, its defense power had dropped a bit, perhaps because it had been in service for too long. It was unable to withstand the shell fired by the Island Nation fleet, but it was actually penetrated. What's even more terrible is that the place where he was hit is two meters below the waterline. After a big hole was blown here, sea water suddenly poured into the battleship crazily.
Another shell hit the tail of the "König" number Battleship. It not only blew up the steering gear, blew away a propeller, but also tore a large hole. The sea water followed there and poured into the battleship crazily.
"General, we have suffered heavy damage. A large amount of water has entered the starboard side and stern of the ship. Although damage control is being carried out, it may be difficult to plug the loopholes." The captain of the Battleship of the 'König' reported.
Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi's face suddenly became very ugly. Will they finally pay losses in this naval battle?
"General, evacuate the 'König'! The battle is still going on, and we still have an absolute advantage!" Major General Felix suggested.
Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardy nodded. "Okay, evacuate the 'König'. If it is really impossible to save the 'König', I allow you to abandon the ship and retreat!" Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardy said.
"Yes, General!" the captain of the Battleship number 'König' replied.
Of course they will do their best to rescue the 'König' number Battleship. Even if it loses all its combat effectiveness, as long as it can not sink, it is possible to drive it back to a nearby port and then tow it back to the mainland. With Germany's shipbuilding capabilities, it can be repaired very quickly.
Of course, if it's impossible, they won't insist. German Navy attaches great importance to the lives of officers and soldiers. Losing equipment is not terrible. As long as the personnel can be saved, it is a victory.
Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi and others evacuated the Battleship number 'König' and moved the command structure to the Battleship number 'Crown Prince'.
The rescue of 'König' number Battleship only lasted for more than ten minutes before the rescue was judged to be ineffective. The captain gave the order to abandon the ship, and the others fled in an orderly manner in lifeboats. A nearby destroyer also came to rescue them.
The Island Nation fleet cheered when they discovered that the 'König' was getting slower and slower and no longer fired. Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo shouted excitedly, as if they had won the naval battle.
However, less than five minutes after the 'König' number Battleship sank, the 'Kii' number Battleship suffered heavy damage. It was hit by two 380mm missiles in succession, and both of them tore large holes near the waterline.
A large amount of seawater poured into the battleship, making it impossible to plug the loopholes. Even if Watertight Compartment is turned off, it still cannot prevent the battleship from tilting due to excessive water ingress. Moreover, as the tilt becomes more and more severe, the capsizing of the battleship will be inevitable.
This may be the result of extreme joy leading to sorrow!
With no other option, Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo and others had no choice but to evacuate to the Battleship 'Suruga', using this Battleship as the flagship to continue fighting.