The battles between destroyers were often very tragic, even more tragic than the duel between battleships. The small tonnage of destroyers means that there is basically no decent defense, and even most destroyers do not even have armor, and they run naked, even if they are small-caliber rapid-fire artillery shells, they will cause damage to them.

The destroyers of the 'B-class' of the Imperial Navy were much larger in tonnage and more equipped with weapons than the destroyers of the 'R-class' of the British Navy. As a result, the British Navy was in a suppressed state as soon as the battle between the two sides began.

"Sir, the Romora has requested a retreat. They were hit one after another by the Chinese's small-caliber rapid-fire guns, and the entire superstructure of the destroyer was already burning. The casualties were even heavier. The communications corps reported to Major Kevins.

"Hell! Let the Romora hold on a little longer. If they retreat at this time, we will be at a numerical disadvantage. When the time comes, there will be even greater casualties. Major Kevins ordered.

"Yes, sir." The communications man nodded and went to telegraph.

However, at this moment, the destroyer Romora is indeed in limited danger. The Imperial Navy's destroyer 'B 3' closed to a distance of 1,000 meters from the 'Romora' and continued to bombard the hapless destroyer with rapid-fire guns. The dense vitality directly made the destroyer burst into flames, as if it were a torch burning on the sea.

"Sir, our retreat order has not been granted." On the destroyer Romora, the communications corpsman reported to the captain.

"Bastard! Kevins guy, he's going to murder us. The captain said angrily.

"Boom!" At this time, a violent explosion sounded. The entire destroyer Romora shook.

"Damn, report the loss! Where was it hit again. The captain shouted.

"Sir, the stern of the ship has been shot. A 105-mm shell from the Chinese hit us. The stern guns were destroyed. The damage management officer reported.

"Damn!" The captain scolded, he probably never thought that in a one-on-one battle with the Chinese Navy, the destroyers of the British Navy would be suppressed so badly.

"Boom! Rumble! "The twin 105-millimeter guns in the bow of the Chinese Navy's destroyer Yi-3 once again hit the destroyer 'Romola'. One shell hit the bow, another shell. then hit the command tower. As a result, all the officers, including the captain, were killed. Blood, sprayed everywhere.

After losing command, the destroyer Romora suddenly found itself in a difficult situation. The counterattack became more and more powerless, as if it had reached the end of its life.

Two minutes later, the destroyer Romora was hit by several shells again, which directly killed the Romora. The destroyer, with a displacement of more than a thousand tons, capsized on the surface of the sea due to excessive water ingress. Soon sank into the sea. This destroyer also became the first destroyer to be sunk in this naval battle.

"Sir, the Romora has been sunk." The communications corps reported to Major Kevins.

"Bastard, how is this possible? Less than twenty minutes into the start of the battle, did we lose a destroyer? Major Kevins could not have imagined that this would be the case.

The remaining five destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Detachment of the British Navy were also hit and set on fire, and they were seriously damaged. On the other hand, the 7th destroyer formation of the Chinese Navy suffered much smaller losses. At most, there were only minor injuries.

"Boom!" Suddenly. A loud explosion came, and I saw it. The British Navy's destroyer INA was enveloped in an orange-red fireball. By the time the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the destroyer Ina on the sea, leaving only pieces of broken wood and the bodies of the sailors who had been killed.

"Hell!" Major Kevins couldn't help but curse. He knew that the destroyer "Ina" was more unlucky and was hit by the ammunition depot. The shell inside exploded, which killed Ina.

After the loss of two destroyers in succession, the situation was undoubtedly worse for the 1st destroyer formation of the British Navy. The remaining four destroyers want to compete with the six destroyers of the Chinese Navy. That's almost impossible.

"Retreat! Retreat now! Send a telegram to the flagship, we need reinforcements. Major Kevins ordered.

"Yes, sir." The communications corps immediately went to send a telegram.

Subsequently, the four destroyers of the British Navy, making an emergency turn, wanted to flee the battlefield. However, under the heavy fire of the destroyers of the Imperial Navy, it was not so easy to turn and flee. In the process, it is extremely vulnerable to attack.

In the end, the four destroyers, in addition to the 'Radstock' and the 'Strict', were severely damaged by the destroyers of the Chinese Navy, and finally sank during the siege. Even the 'Radstock' and 'Strict' suffered heavy losses. If you want to continue fighting, it will be absolutely impossible.

After dealing with the destroyers 'Intruder' and 'Uneasy', the 7th Destroyer Detachment of the Imperial Navy tried to pursue the escaped 'Radstock' and 'Strict', but it was too late. The two destroyers of the British Navy, although they suffered heavy losses, did not suffer much in speed. And, in order to escape, the British did not hesitate to ventilate the boilers under strong pressure, overloading the boilers so that the battleship could escape at maximum speed. However, even if they escaped, the two destroyers would need to be overhauled, and even the boilers would need to be replaced. It is difficult to say whether it will continue to serve or not.

The first meeting between the Chinese Navy and the British Navy ended with the Chinese Navy winning. Only three destroyers of the Chinese Navy were slightly damaged, which did not affect the continuation of the fight. The 1st destroyer detachment of the British Navy was sunk four ships, two were heavily damaged, and the entire detachment had lost its combat effectiveness.

While the destroyers of the two navies were fighting each other, reinforcements from both sides were also rushing to the battlefield. When Field Marshal David Beatty received a telegram from Major Kevins on the flagship battlecruiser Hood, he was furious.

"Bastard! How so? The battle of the destroyer detachments on both sides will actually be such a result? Field Marshal David Beatty was completely shocked by this result.

After all, the two sides were also six destroyers, but after half an hour of fighting, the British Navy sank four destroyers, and two more destroyers suffered heavy damage. In the Chinese Navy, on the other hand, at most a few destroyers were slightly damaged.

"Damn, is there such a big gap between our destroyers and the destroyers of the Chinese?" That's all David Beatty can think about. After all, he did not think that the quality of the British Navy would be inferior to that of the Chinese Navy.

"Send a telegram to Major Kevins and ask him to go directly to India to fix it." Marshal David Betty ordered. The two battered destroyers of the 1st Destroyer Detachment were left with little combat power. If you keep it, it will drag down the fleet.

"Yes, Marshal." The communications officer immediately went to give the order.

"Order the fleet, speed south, search for the location of the Chinese, find them, sink them all, and avenge the dead Royal Navy!" Marshal David Betty ordered.

"Yes, Marshal."

Under the orders of Marshal David Beatty, the fleet, consisting of eight battle cruisers, three heavy cruisers, six light cruisers, and six destroyers, began to speed southward, increasing its speed from the initial ten knots to twenty knots. The heavy losses of the 1st Destroyer Squadron annoyed David Beatty, and his heart was full of thoughts of revenge.

At the same time, on the battleship 'Longxing' of the Imperial Navy, Vice Admiral Li He also received a telegram from Major Li Shijia.

"Haha! Well done the 7th Destroyer Detachment! In one fell swoop, a destroyer detachment of the British Navy was eliminated. What a victory! Lieutenant General Li He was very happy.

"Lao Li, the 7th destroyer detachment knocked out a destroyer detachment of the British, although this is a good thing. However, the British will surely be annoyed. Perhaps, the main fleet of the British was already heading south. We'll have to hurry up to catch up. Alternatively, it would be okay to let the 7th destroyer formation withdraw a little south. Major General Lin Jianzhang suggested.

"Hmmm! Let them retreat. Then the fleet was ordered to increase the speed to 18 knots. All ships are combat-ready. Lieutenant General Li He ordered.

"Okay, by the way, we can send a telegram to the 2nd battleship detachment and ask them to come to support. If you catch the main force of the British, you can bite them hard. Major General Lin Jianzhang said.

"That's right, send a telegram to the 2nd battleship detachment. Hopefully this time I can catch a big fish. Don't forget to send a telegram to the marshal. Lieutenant General Li He commanded.

"Hmm!" Major General Lin Jianzhang nodded.

On the battleship 'Fuxi', the flagship of the Imperial Navy, Marshal Cheng Biguang was very satisfied with the Imperial Navy's victory in the first battle. Although only four destroyers of the British Navy were sunk and two were seriously damaged. However, this is undoubtedly a good sign! At the same time, this also means that the warships of the Imperial Navy are better than those of the British Navy in terms of performance. If a battleship of the same class were to have a one-on-one duel, it would most likely be the Imperial Navy that would win. This shows that the Imperial Navy was inferior in the number of capital ships to the British Navy. However, in terms of overall strength, it was not inferior to the British Navy. If it is grasped well, it may not be impossible to inflict heavy damage on the British Navy and win this naval battle at a small cost. (To be continued.) )

PS: The thirty-fourth update is here, ask for a monthly pass and a reward!