Soon after the battle started, it reached a climax. In this battle, both sides have only one intention, and that is to try every means to sink the enemy's warship. Therefore, both sides abandoned the probing at the beginning of the battle and directly began to attack each other.
The duel in the battle line is like the ancient knights wearing heavy armor, riding tall horses and charging with lances in hand. It makes people's blood boil, and at the same time it is very tragic and bloody. After all, once hit, the consequences will be very serious. If the armor can withstand the Armor-piercing Shell fired by the enemy, there won't be much of a problem. But what if the armor fails to withstand it? That would be troublesome. Especially if important compartments, such as ammunition compartments and power compartments, are hit, it will be a disaster.
The battle at the rear of the battle line was far more intense than the battle in the first half of the battle line. Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy's four 'Radetzky-class' Battleship, under the advantage of German Navy's Capital Ships's Encirclement Offensive, can be said to be full of dangers. Although, the main gun of 'Radetzky-class' Battleship also kept firing back. However, it doesn't seem to be of much use at all.
"Boom!"
A 380mm Shell launched from German Navy's 'Westfalen**' number Battleship hit the 'Tegetthoff' number Battleship. The 48 mm thick deck armor was torn apart in an instant as if it were made of paper. The shell directly penetrated the bow deck and exploded internally. Fire and shock waves swept around, leaving the cabin under the bow of the Battleship's Tegetthoff in a mess.
"God! We were hit." The construction surface of the 'Tegetthoff' number Battleship was ashen.
"Sir, it's not fatal. It's just that we need to find a way to put out the fire now. Otherwise, the trouble will be even greater." The officer in charge of damage control reported.
The captain breathed a sigh of relief and asked the damage control personnel to put out the fire as soon as possible. At the same time, the warships were also ordered to launch a counterattack, and the Germany people must be given a taste of their power.
Two minutes later, the 'Tegetthoff' No. Battleship retaliated and successfully smashed a 305mm Shell into the waterline of the 'Nassau' No. Battleship.
However, it is a pity that the waterline armor of the "Nassau" Battleship is 350 mm thick. The Armor-piercing Shell launched by the 'Tegetthoff' Battleship was not able to penetrate the waterline armor of the 'Nassau' USS Battleship. This greatly disappointed the Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy officers and soldiers on board the Battleship number 'Tegetthoff'. If it were Capital Ships that didn't have such a strong defense, I'm afraid it would have been severely damaged by them.
The German Navy officers and soldiers aboard the 'Nassau' Battleship also had lingering fears.
"Counterattack, counterattack! Kill the Austro-Hungarian Empire warship. If instead of sinking their Battleship, we were severely damaged or even sunk by them, that would be a shame!" the captain of the 'Nassau' Battleship also shouted with a dark face.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The 'Nassau' Battleship and the 'Westfalen**' Battleship were both pouring shells at the 'Tegetthoff' Battleship at their maximum rate of fire.
One after another, the shells continued to fall around the 'Tegetthoff' number Battleship, exploding, and splashing water columns into the sky. Making 'Tegetthoff' number Battleship feel like being in the middle of a storm. Although it did not sink, the battleship shook violently, which greatly affected their shooting.
At 9:48, the 'Nassau' No. Battleship hit the 'Tegetthoff' No. Battleship. A 380mm Shell hit the waterline armor of the Battleship number 'Tegetthoff'. The waterline armor, which was only 280 mm thick, was unable to withstand 380mm Shell. The waterline armor was torn apart in an instant. Sea water began to pour into the battleship. This is definitely a fatal blow to the 'Tegetthoff' number Battleship.
However, the 'Tegetthoff' number Battleship was still not the first Capital Ships to sink in this naval battle. Another ship, 'Radetzky-class' Battleship, stole his limelight and became the first Capital Ships to be sunk.
The 'Saint? István' Battleship, located at the end of the battle line, is among the three 'Blücher-class', Battlecruiser and Encirclement Offensive of German Navy. Although, from a normal perspective, the defense of Battlecruiser seems to be much worse than that of Battleship. But in fact, the main armor of German Navy's 'Blücher-class' Battlecruiser is much stronger than that of Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy's 'Radetzky-class' Battleship. Coupled with the sharp 50 times caliber 380mm Main Gun, German Navy's three 'Blücher-class' Battleship, it can be said that Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy's 'Saint? Istvan' Battleship was beaten to death.
The captain of the 'Saint István' Battleship also knew that if they really fought, they would be no match at all. Therefore, his goal is to delay as much time as possible, trying to buy enough time for other Capital Ships.
However, the 'St. István' number Battleship among Encirclement Offensive obviously did not have such good luck.
Just when the 'Nassau' No. Battleship hit the 'Tegetthoff' No. Battleship, the 'Blücher' No. Battlecruiser also hit the 'Saint? Istvan' No. Battleship. A 380mm Shell hit the stern of the Battleship of the 'Saint István', directly blowing away the steering gear and propeller at the tail. This is undoubtedly a fatal injury to the 'St. István' Battleship, which is in the middle of a fierce battle.
Immediately afterwards, the 'Von De Tann' No. Battlecruiser and the 'Lothringen' No. Battlecruiser seized this opportunity and poured artillery shells at the 'St. Istvan' No. Battleship.
In less than five minutes, at least ten 380mm Shells were hit on the 'Saint Istvan' Battleship. This is undoubtedly fatal to the Battleship, a ship with a displacement of just over 20,000.
Soon, the Battleship, which was bombed with holes everywhere and filled with water, sank into the sea. It became the first Battleship to be sunk in this naval battle.
Not long after the 'Saint Istvan' Battleship was sunk, German Navy's 'Nassau' number Battleship and 'Westfalen**' Battleship, also joined forces to send the Battleship 'Tegetthoff' to the bottom of the sea, making it the second Capital Ships to be sunk in this naval battle.
Of course, these two Capital Ships are both the 'Radetzky-class' and Battleship of Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy. This directly caused Austro-Hungarian Empire Navy's other two ships, 'Radetzky-class' and Battleship, to fall into the even more dangerous Encirclement Offensive.