In order to prevent the combined fleet of the island nation's navy from escaping back to Ise Bay when the war was unfavorable, the battle line of the German expeditionary fleet was to sail eastward. In this case, the battle will be fought in the Pacific Ocean. At that time, the capital ships of the German expeditionary fleet can rely on the advantage of speed to firmly suppress the capital ships of the combined fleet of the naval forces of the island countries.

General Goro Ijiin has a clear understanding of the thoughts of the Germans. However, he had no choice but to order the fleet to turn along with the German Navy. Otherwise, if the German fleet is not destroyed in this naval battle, then what awaits them is probably a crushing defeat. The German fleet will take advantage of the performance advantage of the warships and gradually eliminate all the warships of their combined fleet, little by little. So, they have to seize this opportunity.

"Eighteen thousand kilometers away!" The officer in charge of the distance measurement is reporting the distance between the two sides.

"Sixteen thousand kilometers away!"

The distance between the two sides is getting closer.

"When the distance is reduced to 15,000 kilometers, start firing! Cross fire as far as possible and don't give the islanders a chance to shorten the distance! Lieutenant General Spee ordered.

As an experienced general who had fought several naval battles, Lieutenant General Spee knew exactly what to do to his advantage. By giving full play to these advantages, we may be able to help them defeat the islanders at the lowest cost.

"Yes, General." Rear Admiral Maugf immediately transmitted Lieutenant Admiral Spee's order to all the warships under him.

Soon, the distance was 15,000 kilometers.

The battlecruiser "Mackensen", the flagship of the German expeditionary fleet, was the first to open fire. Three triple 50-caliber 380-mm guns began to rain shells on the battlecruiser "King Kong", the flagship of the combined fleet of the island nation's navy.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

Orange-red flames shone in the muzzles, and one after another, shells roared and smashed into the "King Kong" battlecruiser.

The firing of the battlecruiser "Mackensen" undoubtedly gave a signal to the other battleships. Other warships also opened fire.

"Yaga! At such a distance, the Germans opened fire? Do they think they can hit at such a distance? Major General Gentaro Yamashita scolded.

"Yamashita-kun, this is the gap between the Imperial Navy and the world's first-class navy. According to the information we have obtained, the naval battles that have broken out in Europe have generally been fought at a distance of more than 15,000 kilometers. Unfortunately, the Imperial Navy lacked first-class capital warships, so there was no way to conduct relevant training at all. A hint of closure flashed in the eyes of General Goro Ijiin.

This is the gap in the background! Although Germany was not unified until after the Meiji Restoration of the island nation. However, the previous Kingdom of Prussia has always been one of the world's powers, and compared to before, the island country is much worse. Coupled with the fact that the industry is underdeveloped and at the same time relatively poor, this makes the island country have a huge gap with the world's first-class powers in many arms that require huge investment. In contrast, the army needs to invest less money, coupled with the poison of the bushido spirit, so that the combat effectiveness of the army of the island country is passable.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

Nine battle cruisers of the German Navy, opened fire one after another. Heavy shells smashed into the battleships of the island navy. Although, in terms of the number of capital ships, the German expeditionary fleet was completely at a disadvantage. However, judging by the situation on the battlefield, they were on the contrary the attacking side, and from the moment the battle began, they took the initiative.

"Boom!"

A 380-mm shell exploded less than fifty meters from the battlecruiser 'King Kong'. The splash of water fell, drenching several island sailors on the deck.

"Your Excellency, Commander, why are the Germans so strong in artillery?" Major General Gentaro Yamashita's face changed.

"The quality of the German navy has always been very strong, and it is not inferior to the British navy. Compared with them, there is a certain gap between the Imperial Navy and them. What's more, the battleships of the Germans should have a lot of new technologies, the latest ranging equipment, sighting equipment, etc., which are better than our battleships. If the Imperial Navy could be equipped with such advanced warships, our performance would not be much worse than theirs! General Ijiin Goro's face was full of regret. Their battle with the German Navy was completely weak against strong! If you want to win, you can imagine the difficulty.

Gentaro Yamashita nodded and said no more.

"Order our battleships, strike back! If this continues, maybe a battleship will be hit soon. In that case, it will be a serious blow to the morale of the fleet. General Goro Ijiin ordered.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander!" Major General Gentaro Yamashita immediately conveyed the order.

The four twin 456-mm guns of the battleship 'King Kong' were the first to fire. Their target, too, was the battlecruiser "Mackensen", the flagship of the German Navy's expeditionary fleet. Eight heavy shells whizzed towards the battlecruiser "Mackensen".

Other capital ships of the combined fleet of the island nation's navy also opened fire.

Because the combined fleet is superior in the number of capital ships. Therefore, in terms of the distribution of the battle line, Admiral Goro Ijiin placed the two 'Sagami-class' battleships last. And when allocating targets for strike, two capital ships were also used against one of the battle cruisers of the German Navy.

'Kongo' and 'Hiei' against 'Mackensen'. 'Haruna' and 'Kirishima', against 'Prince Frederick', 'Kawachi' and 'Settsu', against 'Frederick? Karl'. 'Satsuma' and 'An-Ui', against 'De Fringer', 'Katori' and 'Kashima', against 'Lützov', 'Iwami' and 'Hizen', against 'Hindenburg', 'Tango' and 'Shikishima', against 'Moltke', 'Asahi' and 'Mikasa', against 'Goben', 'Fuji', 'Sagami' and 'Shubo', against 'Seydlitz'.

It can be said that the combined fleets of the navies of the island countries are all two-on-one or even three-on-one, which makes them seem to have an absolute advantage in the battle. However, in fact, except for the 45 times the 356 mm guns of the four 'King Kong-class' battleships, which seemed to have a certain threat, the 305 mm guns of the rest of the capital ships were not so powerful.

Of course, the battle was still unusually fierce when the battle lines of both sides opened fire fiercely.