Soon after the battle began, it went straight to the **. In this battle, both sides have only one attempt, and that is to try to sink the enemy's warship. Therefore, both sides abandoned the temptation at the beginning of the battle and began to bombard each other directly.

The battle line duel is like the ancient knight wearing heavy armor, riding a tall horse, and holding a spear to charge. It makes people's blood gush, and at the same time it is very tragic and bloody. After all, once hit, the consequences will be very serious. If the armor withstands the armor-piercing shells fired by the enemy, then there is not much of a problem. But what if the armor doesn't hold up? That's a problem. In particular, 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 on the front half of the battle line. The four combined-forces battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were in danger when they were besieged by the superior capital ships of the German Navy. Although, the main guns of the combined-force battleships are also constantly returning fire. However, it doesn't seem to be of much use at all.

"Boom!"

A 380-mm shell fired from the battleship Wester of the German Navy hit the battleship Tegerhof. The 48 mm thick deck armor, as if it were papier-mâché, was torn apart at once. The shell directly penetrated the bow deck and exploded inside. The flames and shock waves swept in all directions, directly causing the compartment under the bow of the battleship Tegerhof to be blown into a mess.

"Oh God! We were hit. "The battleship Tegerhof was built like ashes.

"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 management reported.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief and asked the damage management personnel to extinguish the fire as soon as possible. At the same time, he also ordered the battleships to launch a counterattack, and the Germans must taste their strength.

Two minutes later, the battleship Taghoff returned the color and successfully smashed a 305-mm shell into the waterline of the battleship Nassau.

It's just a pity that the waterline armor of the battleship Nassau was up to 350 mm thick. This armor-piercing projectile fired by the battleship Taghoff was not able to penetrate the waterline armor of the battleship Nassau. This was a great disappointment for the officers and men of the Austro-Hungarian Navy on the battleship Tegerhoff. If it were replaced by other capital ships that did not have such a strong defense, I am afraid that they would have been severely damaged.

The German naval officers and men aboard the battleship Nassau were also apprehensive.

"Fight back, fight back! Take out the Austro-Hungarian warships. If, instead of sinking their battleships, we were severely damaged or even sunk by them, it would be a shame! The captain of the battleship Nassau also roared with a dark face.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

The battleships Nassau and the West, both pouring shells at the battleship Taghoff with maximum rate of fire.

Shells continued to fall around the battleship Taghoff, exploding, and splashing columns of water into the sky. The battleship Taghoff was like being in a storm. Although it did not sink, the battleship shook so badly that their shooting was greatly affected.

At 9:48, the battleship Nassau hit the battleship Taghoff. A 380-mm shell hit the waterline armor of the battleship Tegerhoff. Only 280 mm thick waterline armor did not withstand 380 mm shells, and the waterline armor was torn apart at once. Sea water began to pour into the battleship. This was definitely a fatal blow to the battleship Tegerhoff.

However, the battleship Taghoff was still not the first capital ship to sink in this naval battle. Another Combined Force-class battleship stole the limelight and became the first capital ship to be sunk.

The battleship St. Istvan, at the very end of the battle line, was under siege by three Blucher-class battlecruisers of the German Navy. Although, judging by normal, it would seem that the defense of the battlecruiser should have been much worse than that of the battleship. But in reality, the main armor of the Blucher-class battlecruisers of the German Navy was much more powerful than the combined-forces battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Coupled with the sharp 50 times the caliber of 380 mm guns, the three Blucher-class battleships of the German Navy can be described as beating the battleship St. István of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

The captain of the battleship St. István also knew that if there was a real fight, they would not be an opponent at all. Therefore, his goal is to delay as much time as possible, to buy enough time for the other capital ships.

However, the battleship St. Istvan, which was under siege, apparently did not have such good luck.

Just as the battleship Nassau hit the battleship Taghoff, the battlecruiser Blucher also hit the battleship St. István. A 380-mm shell hit the stern of the battleship St. István, blowing up the tail steering gear and propeller. This was undoubtedly a fatal blow to the battleship St. Istvan, which was in the midst of a fierce battle.

Immediately afterwards, the battlecruisers Von der Tann and Leopold, seizing the opportunity, poured shells on the battleship St. Istvan.

In less than five minutes, the battleship St. István was hit by at least ten 380-mm shells. This is undoubtedly fatal for a battleship with a displacement of only more than 20,000 heads.

Soon, the battleship, which was bombed with holes everywhere and flooded everywhere, sank into the sea. It became the first battleship to be sunk in this naval battle.

Shortly after the sinking of the battleship St. István, the German Navy's battleships Nassau and Wester also joined forces to send the battleship Taghoff to the bottom of the sea, making it the second capital ship to be sunk in the naval battle.

Of course, both capital ships were combined-force class battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. This directly caused the other two combined forces of the Austro-Hungarian Navy to fall into an even more dangerous siege.