On the flagship of the 1st Heavy Cruiser Detachment of the German Navy, "Prussia", Rear Admiral Leo wanted to cry without tears. In this battle, which lasted just over an hour, his reconnaissance fleet suffered heavy losses. Eight heavy cruisers, two were sunk and two more were heavily damaged. The remaining four ships were also slightly damaged. The eight destroyers that launched the attack were even more severely damaged, either severely damaged or sunk, and almost all of them were spared.

And by this time, fortunately, the 3rd battleship detachment of the German Navy had already arrived. Otherwise, he really didn't know what to do. If you continue to fight, you will probably have to die. As a last resort, I am afraid that the only choice is to retreat.

The 3rd Battleship Detachment of the German Navy, consisting of four 'Braunschweig-class' battleships and four 'Wichelsbach-class' battleships. Among them, the 'Braunschweig-class' battleship is a behemoth equipped with three triple 356 mm guns. The 'Wichelsbach-class' battleships were also huge battleships armed with three triple 343 mm guns. In the face of heavy cruisers, these battleships had an overwhelming advantage.

On the battleship "Braunschweig", the flagship of the 3rd Battleship Detachment of the German Navy, Vice Admiral Hepburn, the commander of the detachment, was holding a telescope and looking at the 1st Heavy Cruiser Detachment of the Chinese Navy that was turning.

"Humph! Do you want to run away now? It's over. Order the fleet, accelerate the turn, shorten the distance between the two sides! Lieutenant General Hepburn ordered.

Eight battleships of the 3rd battleship detachment of the German Navy, began to turn. On the right side of the battleship faced the 1st heavy cruiser detachment of the Chinese Navy. The main guns of all the battleships were already pointed at the 1st heavy cruiser detachment of the Chinese Navy. The distance between the two sides is shrinking, and now, the distance between them is less than 15,000 kilometers.

On the heavy cruiser 'Minjiang', the flagship of the 1st heavy cruiser detachment of the Chinese Navy. Major General Wei Xingfeng's forehead couldn't help but beads of sweat. After all, this is a confrontation with the battleships of the German Navy! That shell weighing hundreds of kilograms. It only takes one shot to be able to inflict heavy damage on the heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy. If it hits a vital position, it is even more likely to sink a heavy cruiser with a single shot.

"Where did the 2nd and 3rd battleship detachments go? Sue sù them. The detachments of heavy cruisers of the Germans had already appeared, four battleships of the 'Braunschweig-class' and four battleships of the 'Wiecchersbach-class'. Major General Wei Xingfeng ordered.

"Yes, General." The staff officer nodded, and immediately went to telegraph. In the face of the battleships of the German Navy, if the heavy cruiser formation confronted it, it would undoubtedly be looking for death. So, the best thing to do is to run away and leave it to the battleships that are rushing to deal with it.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The battleship detachments of the German Navy opened fire. Eight battleships began to conduct calibration firing with shells weighing hundreds of kilograms. Whistling towards the 1st Heavy Cruiser Detachment of the Imperial Navy. The shells fell into the sea and exploded, splashing up columns of water that soared into the sky.

At this moment, the distance between the two sides is only 14,000 kilometers. The 1st heavy cruiser detachment of the Chinese Navy is turning, and it is not so easy for the huge battleships to turn, and it often takes a long time. Especially in the case of a battle line, there is more time to turn. And this also fell on the heavy cruiser detachment in the face of the battleship detachment of the German Navy from the southeast, and the distance was constantly shortening.

At this distance, the German Navy clearly had a low hit rate. The point of impact was still far from the heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy. However, no one can guarantee that with the further reduction of distances, the hit rate of the German Navy will not increase.

A few dozen kilometers away from the 1st heavy cruiser detachment of the Chinese Navy. The 2nd and 3rd battleship detachments of the Imperial Navy were approaching at high speed. Having received a telegram from the heavy cruiser detachment, the 2nd and 3rd battleship detachments immediately moved separately. The 2nd Battleship Detachment continued to approach the 1st Heavy Cruiser Detachment, and the 3rd Battleship Detachment began to turn. Prepare to draw a large arc on the surface of the sea and detour behind the battleships of the German Navy. Completely block their back road. Make sure that in this battle, the battleship detachment of the German Navy will pay a heavy price.

In order to ensure that the German Navy would not discover its intentions. The light cruisers released seaplanes, ready to drive out the seaplanes of the German Navy. After all, if it was discovered by the seaplanes of the German Navy, it was possible that the battleship detachments of the German Navy would have escaped ahead of schedule. In this case, it will be a failure.

"Boom! Rumble! "Two loud explosions rang out, and in between, the heavy cruiser 'Yalongjiang' at the rear of the queue burst into flames. The whole battleship seemed to be lifted from the sea, and then fell heavily on the sea.

"General, the heavy cruiser 'Yalongjiang' has been hit. Two enemy 356-mm guns hit the 'Yalongjiang'. A staff officer reported to Major General Wei Xingfeng with red eyes. Who knows, the consequences after the fragile heavy cruiser was hit by two 356-mm guns. One 356-mm gun can seriously damage a heavy cruiser, and two of them are enough to kill the 'Yalongjiang'. Even if the 'Yalongjiang' was lucky, it was not sunk. However, after suffering such a heavy blow, it is clear that the 'Yalong River' has not been able to escape.

"General, the 'Yalongjiang' has been telegraphed. Their bow was shot, and the bow was blown off. In addition, the power compartment will blow up. The captain asks to abandon the ship. A staff officer reported.

"Permission to abandon the ship." Rear Admiral Wei Xingfeng did not hesitate and directly agreed to the request of the 'Yalongjiang' to abandon the ship.

The officers and men of the navy on the heavy cruiser "Yalongjiang" began to evacuate one after another. However, the battleship sank too quickly. After the sinking of the battleship, only more than 100 people managed to escape. Hundreds of others sank into the sea with the warship, including the captain. The heavy cruiser Yalong River also became the first battleship of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy to sink in this naval battle.

Although the 'Yalong River' was sunk. However, the heavy cruiser formation finally completed the turn. The speed of the ships began to increase, and the battleships of the German Navy, although thickly armoured, had huge main guns. But in speed it simply could not be compared with a heavy cruiser. So much so that they could only watch the heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy go farther and farther.

"Damn! Rear Admiral Leo was ordered to pursue the enemy ship and find a way to keep the other side behind. Lieutenant General Hepburn said with some annoyance. Originally, he thought that with the firepower of the 3rd battleship detachment, he would bully several heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy, which should be at his fingertips. When the opponent turns, at least several ships can be sunk. However, in the end, only one was sunk. This result made him very dissatisfied.

After receiving the order of Vice Admiral Hepburn, Rear Admiral Leo was worthy of leading the remaining four heavy cruisers to pursue the heavy cruiser formation of the Chinese Navy at high speed. Although, there are still six heavy cruisers in the Chinese Navy, Rear Admiral Leo is not afraid. There were eight battleships behind him, and if the heavy cruiser formation of the Chinese Navy dared to stay and fight, it would undoubtedly be self-defeating!

However, Major General Leo's pride did not last long, and soon the pride turned to horror.

At 1:12 p.m., columns of pitch-black smoke appeared on the western sea. This suggests that a large fleet is approaching.

"Generals, battleships, Chinese battleships are approaching at high speed." The lookout on the mast spotted the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the Chinese Navy and immediately issued a warning.

"Bastard, order the fleet to turn at once. Also, report to General Hepburn that the Chinese battleships are coming. Major General Leo shouted in horror. In the face of the sudden appearance of the battleships of the Chinese Navy, if his heavy cruiser detachment did not turn around, it would undoubtedly be self-defeating.

The remaining four heavy cruisers of the 1st heavy cruiser detachment of the German Navy immediately abandoned the pursuit and turned desperately.

In the rear, Vice Admiral Hepburn, commander of the 3rd battleship detachment of the German Navy, was also shocked. However, when he learned that the other side also had only eight battleships, Vice Admiral Hepburn was relieved.

"Send a telegram to Your Excellency the Commander, we have encountered eight battleships of the Chinese Navy. Ask the main fleet to come and respond quickly. Lieutenant General Hepburn ordered. Since the number of battleships on both sides was the same, it was naturally unnecessary for him to flee again.

"Yes, General." The communications officer immediately went to send a telegram.

Under the command of Vice Admiral Hepburn, eight battleships of the 3rd Battleship Detachment of the German Navy formed a battle line and began to turn north. Prepare to seize the T-head in front of the 2nd battleship detachment of the Chinese Navy.

It's just that Vice Admiral Liu Ziqian, commander of the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the Imperial Navy, is not a fool either. After discovering the intentions of the battleships of the German Navy, a turn was also made.

As a result, both lines of battle began to sail northward, and the distance between the two sides was constantly decreasing.

Although in naval battles, seizing advantageous positions helps to bring out the firepower. However, in actual combat, it is very difficult to do this. More often than not, the two sides lined up in battle lines and bombarded each other. Especially when the strength of the two sides is similar, this method is undoubtedly the fairest and most appropriate.

The strength of the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the Imperial Navy was faintly stronger than that of the 3rd Battleship Detachment of the German Navy. Because the eight battleships of the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the Imperial Navy were all battleships armed with 356-mm guns. The 3rd Battleship Detachment of the German Navy was armed with four ships with 356-mm guns, and the other four with 343-mm guns. (To be continued......)

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