"General, the islanders are completely wasting shells by doing this!" Major General Felix had a smile on his face.

Theodore? Lieutenant General Bourshadi was equally pleased that the islanders had begun to waste shells, which undoubtedly meant that they could not hold their breath. This was undoubtedly good news for the German fleet.

"Keep closing the distance, and after closing the distance to twenty kilometers, keep the distance! If nothing else is necessary, keep this distance until all these ships of the islanders are sunk! "Theodore? Lieutenant General Bourchardi ordered.

"Yes, General." Major General Felix nodded.

At a distance of twenty kilometers, the German fleet did not have a high hit rate. But at least it is guaranteed to be able to hit the warships of the Navy of the island nation. But if the island fleet were to hit the German fleet at this distance, it would be almost impossible, unless it was a stroke of luck.

This was undoubtedly very advantageous for the German fleet. They can constantly hit the warships of the island nation's fleet while ensuring their own safety. Although the hit rate is a little lower, it can also sink the island fleet as it continues to be decommissioned over time.

"Boom!"

A 380-mm shell hit the battleship Nagato again. The shell hit the armor near the waterline, and the armor up to 305 mm thick could not withstand the 380 mm shell and was easily pierced.

The weakness of the waterline armor has become a fatal wound for the 'Nagato-class' battleships. Of course, the Navy of the island nation is not unaware of this. But there's no way they can add to their defenses. After the displacement increased from more than 33,000 tons to more than 43,000 tons, the speed of the 'Nagato-class' battleships also decreased from 26.5 knots to 24.3 knots. If the defense of the waterline armor is further increased, the displacement may be further increased. When the time comes, the speed of the battleship will inevitably drop further. In this case, it will not be conducive to the warship to go to sea to fight. After all, if you are too slow, you will not be able to keep up with an aircraft carrier.

It is precisely for this reason that the 'Nagato-class' battleships are very dangerous in this battle. The island fleet may not have imagined that such a tragic capital ship duel would be held. Their powerful main guns are not able to destroy the enemy at all, but instead make themselves constantly attacked.

"Your Excellency, the port side waterline has been broken through, and a large hole with a diameter of more than one meter has appeared!" An officer reported with a look of horror.

"Yaga! Plug the loopholes! Tokunaga ordered with a dark face.

After the refit of the battleship Nagato, the displacement increased significantly, which also led to a lot of buoyancy in the reserves, and if there was too much water, it was very likely that the battleship would capsize. This made Tokunaga very worried.

The damage management personnel tried desperately to plug the loophole, but it was very difficult. The hole was finally plugged with steel plates, but in the next second, the battleship 'Nagato' was hit again. The violent shaking caused the steel plate to fall off, and the seawater poured into the hull again.

In the 28th minute of the fierce battle, the battleship "Nagato" finally came to the end of its life. By this time, the massive battleship had already been hit as many as 16 times. With the exception of two hits to the waterline armor, the injuries were not fatal. However, there were too many injuries, and in the end, the battleship was unable to recover from the sky and capsized on the sea.

"General, the 'Nagato' has capsized!" Fukuru Shigeru Osaku reported in horror. He also served as the captain of the battleship Nagato before becoming chief of staff of the 1st Capital Ship Squadron. But he did not expect that the battleship 'Nagato' would be sunk so quickly. At the same time, this also made Fukuru Fan Dazuo feel a little glad in his heart, glad that the captain at this moment was not him. Otherwise, he would have been the one who sank into the icy sea with the battleship.

Lieutenant General Yoshida's face was gloomy, even though he knew that losses would inevitably arise in the war. However, what he never expected was that their losses would come so quickly. Moreover, those old ships of the German Navy were able to sink their capital ships. Originally, he thought that even if there would be losses, they should be besieged and sunk by German naval fighters.

"Damn the Germans, those old battleships of theirs, they're so tough!" Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo couldn't help but scold.

What was thought to be an easy victory now seemed so far away from them, which made Lieutenant General Yoshida very uneasy, as if their plan would really fail this time.

"General, those battleships of the Germans, although they have been in service for a long time, they should also have been modernized. Especially when it comes to radar and ranging equipment, the Germans are already ahead of the rest of the world. That's why they were able to hit the target at such a distance. Fukuru Shigeru guessed.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo agrees with Fukuru Shigeru's speculation, but what's the use of thinking about it now? It's too late!

"Order the ships to start speeding up and find a way to close the distance! If we continue like this, we will be gradually consumed by them! Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered.

"But General, the maximum speed of the 'Fuso-class' battleships is only 22.5 knots, if they accelerate further, I'm afraid they won't be able to catch up!" Fukuru Shigeru Dasa reminded.

"Then let the 'Fuso' and 'Yamashiro' stay, and the other warships will quickly launch a pursuit! The German warships have been in service for more than twenty years, and even if the power system has been improved, the speed is definitely not much faster! As long as we can get closer to them, the final victory will be ours! Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered.

The capital ships of the German fleet are indeed not taking advantage of them in terms of speed. Even if it is refitted, the deconstruction of the hull is too old, and the potential for modification is very limited. Coupled with the installation of a large number of electronic equipment, the displacement was increased to a certain extent, which led to the fact that the speed was affected. If these new warships of the island navy are determined to close the distance, they will not be able to stop them.

"Hey, General!" Fukuru Shigeru Daisa immediately gave the order.

The island fleet began to accelerate further, and the slowest battleships 'Fuso' and 'Yamashiro' were left behind, and they could only catch up from a distance. The other nine remaining battleships pursued further frantically, trying to turn the tide by closing the engagement distance to increase their hit rate.