4:10 p.m. The 50th minute after the two sides switched to the final battle of the battle line. "Kirishima" capsized. The dark red underside of the ship, dotted with sporadic barnacles, was revealed. It is destined to become the first capital ship to be lost by the East Asian Combined Fleet in this desperate battle. Before that. The "Haruna" against the "Fortitude". As well as the "Thunder" against the "Revenge". They were also forced to withdraw from the battle due to serious injuries. The "Nanyue", which was at the very end of its battle line, was also severely attacked by the enemy "Balham". Stalls are left behind. Life and death are uncertain.

In contrast to that. On the side of the Entente, the four ships "Conqueror", "Royal Princess", "Orion" and "Tiger" were sunk in a splendid explosion. The "Lion," the flagship of the reconnaissance unit, also fell out of battle due to a sharp tilt in its hull.

The result was 5 to 4. The battle turned into 20 capital ships of the East Asian Army against 1 Allied Army. At first glance, it doesn't seem like much of a gap. However, the specific situation is clearly favorable to the East Asian military.

At this moment. The "Revenge", which became the lead ship of the Entente front, had to face the combined attack of three Thunder patrol ships at once; The "Queen Elizabeth" followed after the overturning of the "Kirishima". Finally met an equal opponent - the "Pinghai", which had just ruled out the rotation failure of the two main turrets in the bow and stern; And then behind. The "Gang Yong", which defeated the "Haruna", also immediately encountered a strong enemy - the "Ninghai", which had already added two "Orion" class warships to the battle merit book.

The 1st battleship of the Combined Fleet of the Entente, two "Orion" class "Sovereign" and "Thundering" were under continuous bombardment of 380 mm from "Jinghai" and "Weihai". also gradually revealed its decadence: the "monarch" suffered heavy casualties. Only two of the five twin 13.5-inch (three-four-three-mm) main turrets remained. The "Thundering" lost all of its secondary guns on the port side and the Q turret on the amidships. The ship's hull has been rolled more than five degrees.

With the arrival of Jellico's order to "get closer to the enemy" was indeed carried out. The distance between the two sides was soon reduced to fifteen thousand yards. The East Asian Army's Bozi and Longwei-class warships, armed with 350-mm guns, seem to be putting increasing pressure on their opponents: in addition to Vice Admiral Liao Shengzhen's battleships, the four Bozi-class ships of the Second Squadron continue to play against the four "George V" class ships equipped with 13.5-inch guns. Lieutenant General Yamaya's Yamaya Joint Combat Team flagship "Ise" faced the "Canada" with a 14-inch main gun. The other three Bozi ships of the Japan-North Korea joint combat team and the two Longwei-class ships of Lieutenant General Yi Mingxuan had a theoretical overwhelming advantage over the two French "Kolbe" and "Dandong" classes equipped with twelve-inch guns, as well as the British "Giants...... However, this is only in theory. The unfavorable position of the wind and sun obviously affected the performance of these 10 sub-strong warships. However, the relative backwardness of the fire control system and the lack of quality of officers and men made it even more difficult for the four ships of the Japanese-DPRK joint combat force to show their might in the face of a weak enemy.

Meanwhile. Take advantage of the leeward backlight. On the Entente side, all eight ships finally stopped sporadic ineffective firing. Turn into a hasty potency shot.

Correspondingly. The three Yuezi ships, equipped with 305 mm guns, also really joined the battle. It was only after the "Nanyue" stalled and fell behind. Vice Admiral Gao Long's 4th Sentai of the battleship fell into a disadvantageous situation of 3 to 4. In addition to dealing with 1 Giant-class and 1 Poseidon-class battleship equipped with a 50-fold diameter 12-inch main gun. Forty-five times the diameter of the twelve-inch main gun outside the Javanese-class 1. The defeat of the strong enemy of the "Nanyue" -- the super-dreadnought "Barham" with eight 380 main guns really made Gao Long break out in a cold sweat.

Right now. It was the turn of the sister ship of the "Nanyue". The Empire's first dreadnought-type battleship, the Beiyue, came to bear the vengeful wrath of the "Balham", which had previously eaten two aviation torpedoes, was now like a berserk beast that had been stabbed and bleeding. Bite whatever you catch. And the Dutch, who had already died on the continent of Europa, also took the opportunity to vent their grievances. The only remaining warship of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Sumatra, had already aimed its four German-made twin 305-mm guns on the port side at the "North Mountain". Just wait for the moment when the effective range of the red ship disappears from the sea with a huge whirlpool at the bottom. Dozens of destroyers who were honestly shrunk on the starboard side of the Allied battle line and did not engage in battle. Turn left with the same brush. The sharp bow of the ship flew through the waves. Thrilling passage through the bow and stern of the giant ship - know the way. This speed is steady. I'm not sure. However, a thin ship of 1,000 tons will be shattered and blown away by a capital ship of tens of thousands of tons in an instant......

Before and after. Colonel Ferrey's 3rd destroyer. Colonel Winter's 14th destroyer. Commodore Hawksley's 2nd destroyer fleet. Commodore Campbell's 1st Destroyer Fleet. A total of 2 "Lin Xian" class light cruisers, 2 "Rapid" class destroyers and 55 destroyers of various types. In a matter of minutes, they all crossed their own battle lines. Rushing to the East Asian Army battle line 15,000 yards away—

Providing cover for these 4 "wolf packs" was Commodore Admiral's 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, which was part of the reconnaissance unit. It has jurisdiction over three Bristol-class light cruisers armed with 6-inch and 4-inch rapid-fire guns. As well as the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of Rear Admiral Haas, which was subordinate to the main forces. It has jurisdiction over four Monmouth-class armored cruisers armed with 6-inch rapid-fire guns. Two squadrons of cruisers came out of the front and rear of the battle line, respectively. Cover the destroyer assault from both flanks.

"The enemy destroyer group is out of line. Straight to my front! ”

The watchman on the "Pinghai," the general flagship of the East Asian Army, sounded the alarm in time. Sa Zhenbing breathed a sigh of relief: "It's now...... Ordered the expulsion teams to strengthen the light patrol force and go out to meet the attack. One is to be ready to meet the troops. Smoke screens are released across the board. Start step B. ”

Ye Fei, who was nearby, finally suddenly realized: "I see." Let the other party can't help but launch a lightning strike first. Then use the development of anti-lightning operations to cover the advance of step B to relieve the vigilance of the other side to the greatest extent. Make it difficult for them to see through and take countermeasures in time. ”

Sa Zhenbing crossed his arms and pointed, "Jericho is not a fool. Of course, you can't make a big move right under his nose. But if he had started it first. Then how we deal with it is reasonable. Other than that. Their avant-garde patrols were finally wiped out. There's nothing more to hold us back. ”

Ye Feiji pecked the rice and said, "Yes." Or is it thoughtful by the commander...... But Yuan Feng's losses are not small. said that it was going to change the flagship. I don't know if the remaining two battle patrols can successfully complete the mission......

Sa Zhenbing squinted and smiled: "Yuan Guangtou has completed his mission. From now on. Every minute that the reconnaissance unit held out was a net gain. ”

"Yes. Next, let the destroyer force do a big job. Draw the attention of all your enemies. ”

With the raising of the mast of the "Pinghai" signaled the "expulsion of the enemy's lightning strike forces". The 1st Lightning Strike Team and the 7th Strike Team of the Reconnaissance Unit. and the 3rd, 4th, and 8th Sentai that were part of the main force. There are 2 Leopard light cruisers, 35 Wolf and Yang destroyers. Turn right on the port side of your own line. Drill out of hundreds of thousands of tons of steel with dexterity and precision. On the tiny mast, a huge golden dragon battle flag fluttered. The queue rushed head-on towards the Allied destroyer group coming from the opposite side.

The support forces covering the various expulsion teams included four "Leopard" light patrols of the Zhu 1st Brigade in front of the reconnaissance unit. Brigadier General Li Lingyun, who was located in the rear of the main force, lightly patrolled the 4 ships of the 2nd Squadron with the "Leopard" name. and the six "Kunlun"-class high-speed patrol ships of the Mobile Patrol Detachment of Major General Yang Tianzhi, which were recently transferred from the mobile unit.

The destroyer groups of the two sides, which were attacking head-to-head at a relative speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour, quickly came within the effective range of each other's main guns. The East Asian Army's destroyers of the Wolf and Yang were the first to fire with their standard 120 mm guns. The Allies were the first to use the 6-inch (152 mm) main guns of the "Lin Xian" class light cruisers and the "Rapid" class destroyers to return the colors. Immediately afterward, it was counterattacked by the 150-mm main gun of the "Leopard" light patrol of the East Asian Army. However. In the posture of both sides at this time. For the time being, only a few main guns can be used, pointing straight ahead. Plus that staggering relative velocity. Want to hit accurately. The difficulty is no less than the jackpot in the lottery.

When the 4-inch (102 mm) guns that were standard on Allied destroyers finally began to speak. The East Asian destroyers suddenly turned sideways to port side again. until you go parallel to your battle line. One side sails in the same direction. On the one hand, aim at the enemy ship with all the main guns and torpedo tubes. Time. Dense artillery flames shone more than a dozen kilometers of sea antennas. Dozens of torpedoes with black heads and white bodies were pushed out of the launch tubes by compressed air or gunpowder smoke. Dolphins burrow into the sea as if they were in the water. Paddled a series of snow-white tracks straight towards the enemy ships thousands of yards away—

The Entente destroyers refused to sit still. in order to exert broadside fire. The artillery flames of one after another were intermittently shining into a line. Didn't wait for the torpedo fired from the opposite side to get closer. Dozens of torpedoes rumbled out here. Hundreds of thunder trails are staggered. It resembles a line of fireworks bursting out of the light blue night sky. The end of the radial line. With nearly 20,000 officers and men, more than 100 destroyers and cruisers are running wildly on the road of fate to become sacrifices!

On the other side that is not at war with each other. It's all the same. The capital ships of both sides began to release smoke screens. Dozens of kilometers of white smoke strips stretch and drag. Plus hundreds of puffs of deep black smoke from more than 100 light ships that rushed into the battle line at full speed. and the maroon-gray smoke that fills the eyes. It didn't take long. Even if the lookouts on the mastheads of the capital ships on both sides open their eyes, they can't find the opponent who was still fighting desperately just now.

At this very moment. A small series of radio waves spread throughout the ships of the East Asian military – not including, of course, the Nanyue, which had been confirmed to be "unable to communicate." When the translators in the telecommunications rooms of the ships translated this small truncated surprisingly lightning-fast Morse code. There is only one simple word written on the large white newspaper in the red box-