The distance between the two steel dragons was shrinking, and all the main guns were already turning, aiming at the target in the distance. The next moment, these main cannons will erupt into blazing flames, throwing huge projectiles over the opponent's head. The officers and men of the navy on both sides have taken their positions and are sticking to their posts. Perhaps because of the adrenaline, many people are excited. After all, this is a sea battle that will affect the fate of the two countries! Whoever wins, will be able to dominate the oceans.

"Commander, a telegram from the 5th Battleship Detachment asks when they will be put into battle." Admiral Ye Feng, Chief of Staff of the Fleet, said.

"Call them back, the 5th battleship detachment does not need to join the battlefield for the time being. Wait until later to see how things go before joining the battlefield. Admiral Lu Haipeng said. The 5th Battleship Detachment also had four powerful 'Ming-class' battleships. If they had joined the battlefield at this time, they would have scared the Germans away. At that time, the goal of trying to wipe out the main forces of the German Navy will be frustrated.

"Yes, Commander." Admiral Ye Feng nodded. The four 'Mingkai-class' battleships of the 5th Battleship Detachment will be the hole cards of the 5th Fleet.

It's past four o'clock in the afternoon, and it's just over three hours before it gets dark. Can they defeat their opponent before dark and achieve a decisive victory. Admiral Lu Haipeng was not sure about this. Therefore, it is better for the 5th Battleship Detachment to enter the war at a critical moment to play a decisive role.

When the distance between the two battle lines was reduced to 18,000 meters, the battleship "Myeongseonjong", the flagship of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy, was the first to start the test firing. Subsequently, other battleships also began test firing. Time. The sound of artillery on the sea was loud, and the smoke of gunpowder was filled.

Though. At such a distance, the dispersion of shells will be large. Especially the lightweight 305-mm gun. The dispersal of shells will be even more miserable. Therefore, the four 'Eastern Han class' battleships at the end of the battle line were test-fired at this distance, which was no different from wasting shells. And the shells fired by the four 'Ming-class' battleships were much more reliable.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Dense explosions sounded on the surface of the sea, and columns of water rose into the sky, and after the water fell, there was a crackling sound, just like a torrential rain on the sea. Some of the impact points are relatively close to the water column. The falling water drenched the battleships of the German Navy even more. You must know that this is only the first round of salvos, and the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy has such a performance, which has greatly shocked the officers and men of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet. At least, the German Navy could not have fired such a salvo at this distance.

"It seems that the Chinese navy is indeed much stronger than ours. It's ridiculous that we still want to challenge their maritime supremacy, which is simply beyond our means! Admiral Philip, commander of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet, put down the binoculars in his hand and said secretly in his heart. Of course. He didn't say it, otherwise it would have hurt the morale of the fleet a little too much. Now the morale of the High Seas Fleet is already low, if even he, the commander, is so unconfident. So how can this battle continue?

As the distance between the two battle lines became closer, the Chinese navy's artillery shells became more and more accurate. There have even been near-misses. This shows that it has gradually entered the effective range of the Chinese Navy.

"Order the fleet to fire! We can't wait any longer. Otherwise, morale will be completely lost. Admiral Philip ordered.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Twenty battleships of the High Seas Fleet of the German Navy. Then they all started designing. Orange-red flames flashed in the muzzles of the guns, and shells weighing hundreds of kilograms one after another. Whistling towards the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy in the distance.

However, this distance is indeed beyond the capabilities of the German Navy. Except for the 381-mm main guns of the four 'Helgolan-class' battleships, which were better dispersed because the shells weighed more than 800 kilograms, the other battleships were poorly dispersed.

At 4:48 p.m., the Imperial Navy's battleship "Ming Dynasty Zong" was the first to form a straddle firing, and in this round of test firing, four 381-mm shells were fired to successfully clamp the German Navy's "Thuringia" battleship. As a result, the battleship 'Ming Dynasty Zong' immediately switched to concentrated fire. Three 381-mm guns began to fire at the maximum rate of fire.

Although, the armor-piercing shells of the 381-mm gun weighed more than 800 kilograms, which was simply not something that manpower could afford to carry. But with the help of the Lifter, each 381 mm gun was able to fire at a rate of 1.5 rounds per minute. That's an impressive rate of fire. This meant that in less than a minute, the battleship was able to keep more than ten tons of ammunition still on the enemy's head. What a terrible end this is for the enemy! Once hit, it's a complete finish.

As the distance got closer, more and more battleships of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy entered the stage of concentrated fire. However, for the time being, they have not been able to get hits. It's just a matter of time, and with a little more luck, we might be able to hit the target.

It's just that in this decisive battle, the luck of the Imperial Navy seems to be slightly worse. After several rounds of turning to a salvo, he was unable to get a hit. Instead, the German Navy was the first to get a hit.

The battleship 'Oldenburg' of the German Navy, in this round of salvo, a shell hit the battleship 'Ming Xianzong' of the Imperial Navy. Of course, this is just a matter of luck. In fact, the battleship 'Oldenburg' did not form a straddle fire. To be precise, this shell was an unexpected shell, and even the German Navy did not expect this shell to hit the target.

The shells hit the front deck of the battleship 'Ming Xianzong', and the thin foredeck could not withstand the armor-piercing shells weighing more than 800 kilograms. The shell easily penetrated the foredeck and exploded inside. The medical cabin and the sailor's living compartment, located on the foredeck, were swept away by the flames of the shell explosion, igniting a raging fire. Although the flammable materials had been removed before the start of the war, the fire was still burning. The damage management personnel immediately picked up the fire extinguisher and rushed up, fighting against the fire and poisonous smoke. Even when fire extinguishers are worn, many damage management personnel have died in extinguishing the fire. However, no one is afraid. Often, after the death of a team of damage control personnel, the next section immediately rushes into the fire.

It was under the desperate rescue of the damage management personnel that the fire was quickly extinguished without causing much impact on the battleship.

"Hooray! Banzai! Hit the Chinese warship, we actually hit the Chinese warship first. "On the battleship 'Oldenburg' of the German Navy, the officers and men of the German Navy cheered one after another.

Even the morale of the fleet has risen a lot because of this. Admiral Philip, commander of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet, also had a smile on his face. He seemed to see hope for the fleet to turn the tide.

On the other hand, on the side of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy, after learning that the battleship 'Ming Xianzong' had not suffered much damage, Admiral Lu Haipeng was relieved. After all, the four 'Ming-class' battleships are the main force, and if one of them is damaged and has to withdraw from the battle, I am afraid that two subsequent battleships will have to be used to fill it. Although the 'Southern Song Dynasty' battleships, the 'Northern Song Dynasty' and the 'Late Tang Dynasty' battleships are equipped with 356 mm main guns, they can all threaten the opponent's 'Helgolan-class' battleships to a certain extent. However, the armor of this third class battleship, in front of the 381-mm guns, appeared to be much weaker. As a last resort, it is safer to use the 'Ming-class' battleships against the enemy's 'Helgoland-class' battleships.

Although, the German Navy was the first to hit the battleships of the Chinese Navy, however, this did not actually change their disadvantage. Shortly after the German Navy made the first hit, a counterattack by the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy arrived.

In the second half of the battleships, the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy had absolute superiority. Sixteen battleships laid siege to eight battleships of the German Navy. Among them, four powerful 'Late Don-class' battleships were attacking two 'Caesar. Frederick III class battleship. The 356 mm gun vs. the 343 mm gun also had a numerical advantage. Well, victory naturally belongs to the side of the Imperial Navy.

At 5:08 p.m., the battleship 'Tang Zhaozong' fired a salvo that accurately hit the German Navy's 'Caesar. Frederick III's battleship. 356-mm shells, weighing more than six hundred kilograms, hit the 'Caesar. The stern of the battleship Frederick III. The shells, under the action of huge kinetic energy, directly bombarded the main turret in the stern. The armor of the main turret was torn apart directly, and after the shell exploded inside, the entire main turret was destroyed. Thankfully, by the time the turret was hit, the fire door had been lowered. Otherwise, the flames will burn all the way to the ammunition depot, giving Caesar. The battleship Frederick III' inflicted more damage.

After the main cannon was destroyed, making 'Caesar. Frederick III's battleship lost a third of its firepower. This puts the already at a disadvantage' Caesar. The battleship Frederick III's was in an even more critical situation.

Just when the fire on the aft deck had not yet been extinguished, another 'Late Tang class' battleship also hit this unlucky battleship. A 356-mm shell fired by the battleship 'Emperor Don' hit the 'Caesar. The amidships of the battleship Frederick III. (To be continued......)

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