"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The battleship "Song Lizong" flagship of the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy opened fire first. ☆→, three triple main guns conducted the first round of test fire. A total of five shells roared towards the battleship "Brunswick" of the German Navy's 3rd Battleship Detachment, 18,000 meters away. The maximum range of the 356mm main gun is as high as more than 20 kilometers. The distance of 18,000 meters seems to be very far. However, for the 356mm main gun of the Imperial Navy, it has entered an effective range. Of course, at this distance, the shells are spread a little large, and it takes some luck to hit the opponent.

The other seven battleships of the 2nd Battleship Detachment also followed the flagship for test firing. However, the bounce point was also a little far away from the target. This also made the German Navy officers very disdainful of the Chinese Navy's firing at such a long distance.

"Did they think that the timid yellow-skinned monkeys can hit our warships at such a long distance? It's simply delusion. Order the fleet to continue turning, and then close to 12,000 meters before firing!" Lieutenant General Hepburn ordered. Compared with the Chinese Navy, the German Navy often uses within 12,000 meters of fire during training.

The battle lines of both sides were approaching at high speed. Although the German Navy's battleships aimed at the Chinese Navy's battleships, they followed Lieutenant General Hepburn's order and did not fire. They believed that firing at this distance was a waste of shells.

Only the Chinese Navy's battleships were firing continuously, but they were just test shots. The water columns rushed towards the sky from the sea and then fell down. They hit the sea and made a rustling sound, just like a storm.

Faced with the Chinese Navy's fish-fried behavior, the German Navy was very disdainful. However, the disdain on their faces soon turned into surprise and even fear. At 1:38, when the two sides were still 16,000 meters away, the battleship "Song Gongdi" which was second in the battle line of the Chinese Navy successfully formed a cross-fire and clamped the German Navy's "Hesse" battleship.

"Order the battleship and enter the fire-gathering shooting." The captain of the battleship "Emperor Song Gong" immediately issued an order.

Suddenly, the three triple-mounted 356mm main guns of the battleship "Song Gongdi" began to fire violently. This was not that only half of the main guns fired during the volley, but that all the main guns began to fire. Suddenly, the output of the shells was twice as large as before. This directly led to the German Navy's "Hesse" battleship, which was completely trapped in the fierce shelling of the Imperial Navy. The shells exploded around the battleship "Hesse". Although they could not hit the battleship "Hesse". However, everyone knew that this was just a matter of time. After the cross-fire, the "Hesse" was hit, it was only sooner or later.

"Damn it, what's going on? This is 16,000 meters apart. The Chinese warships formed a cross-fire. Could it be that? Is the gap between us really that big?" Lieutenant General Hepburn could not believe everything in front of him. However, the facts were right in front of him, and he couldn't help but believe it! Especially the thousands of naval officers and soldiers on the battleship "Hesse" were still in panic!

As the battleship "Song Gongdi" completed its cross-fire, other battleships also completed its cross-fire one after another. For a time, guns rumbling on the sea surface. All battleships of the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the Chinese Navy began to gather fire.

"No. You can't continue like this, order the fleet to counterattack. Counterattack immediately!" Lieutenant General Hepburn ordered. Although the distance between the two sides is still 15,000 meters, far beyond the effective range of the German Navy. However, Lieutenant General Hepburn has no other way. If he doesn't fight back, the morale of the German Navy may have fallen to freezing point. Although it is almost impossible to hit the enemy at this distance. But as long as the cannons start to roar, it will always make the soldiers feel better.

"Yes, General!" The communication officer immediately conveyed Lieutenant General Hepburn's order.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The prime minister of the battleship "Brunswick" opened fire. The muzzles of three triple 356mm main guns sprayed orange-red flames, and nine shells weighing hundreds of kilograms flew towards the battle line of the Chinese Navy. However, because the distance was too far, it was far three thousand meters away than when the German Navy was training. This caused the German Navy's shells to be spread very much, and even the side of the Chinese Navy's battleship was not touched.

Seeing that the bounce point was still hundreds of meters away from the battleship of the Chinese Navy, Lieutenant General Hepburn's face suddenly turned black like the bottom of a pot. He was like other senior generals of the German Navy. Although he thought it would be not easy for the German Navy to win this time. However, he believed that as long as the German Navy was lucky, there would be no chance.

However, now that the main battleships of both sides began to fight, he found that there seemed to be a big gap between the German Navy and the Chinese Navy. The performance of the battleships of both sides and the quality of the officers and soldiers are still far behind. It is indeed difficult to defeat a strong enemy.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" As the German Navy's battleships also began to fire, the sound of cannons on the sea became even more intense. Water columns soared into the sky, as if the entire sea was boiling.

Lieutenant General Liu Ziqian, commander of the 2nd Battleship Detachment of the Imperial Navy, put down his telescope. Although the German Navy's battleships were also firing desperately, their shells were spreading too much, and it was harder to hit the Imperial Navy's battleships than to climb to the sky. Perhaps only God can show his spirit. On the other hand, the battleships of the Imperial Navy have already formed cross-fires. Soon, they should be able to achieve the results!

At 1:46 pm, the first battle result was achieved. This battle result was achieved by the battleship "Emperor Song Gong". In this round of volleys, the battleship "Emperor Song Gong" finally hit the target. Although only one of the nine 356mm shells hit the target, it was a good start.

The shell weighing hundreds of kilograms hit the ship's Hesse's battleship. The shell exploded a big hole directly on the left side of the battleship. At the same time, two secondary guns were also destroyed. More than a dozen German sailors were also torn to pieces during the explosion. Of course, such injuries were not fatal to the huge battleship.

Two minutes later, the battleship "Song Yingzong" of the Imperial Navy also hit. In this round of volleys, a 356mm shell hit the head of the German Navy's "Vichersbach" battleship. The shell directly exploded a big hole in the fore deck. At the same time, because the explosion point was too close to the No. 1 main gun on the fore deck, the No. 1 main gun was stuck by a shrapnel. After losing the steering function, the main gun can be considered to be abolished. This directly caused the "Vichersbach" battleship to lose one-third of its firepower.

The battleship "Emperor Song Gong" and the battleship "Emperor Song Yingzong" undoubtedly gave the fleet a good start. From this time on, the ships also achieved hits one after another. However, they did not achieve significant results. The battleship was like a cavalry wearing heavy armor. It may not be possible to hit the opponent, but could easily cause minor injuries. However, if you want to cause serious injuries or sinking, you still need a little luck.

The Imperial Navy had completely gained the upper hand in this naval battle. However, what they lacked was only a little luck. As long as they were lucky, they might cause fatal damage to the enemy ships with the next hit.

"Damn it, why is this happening? Order the fleet and continue to get closer." The German Navy's artillery was really terrible. Compared to the Chinese Navy, they were really wasting shells. However, when they were already at a disadvantage, the German Navy had to fire. Otherwise, this would cause the morale of the fleet to fall and thus affect combat power.

Under such circumstances, Lieutenant General Hepburn can only order to further narrow the distance between both sides. If he can enter within 12,000 meters, the German Navy's hit rate will rise sharply. At that time, there may not be no chance of hitting the opponent. However, Lieutenant General Hepburn seems to have forgotten that the distance is constantly getting closer is also very beneficial for the Chinese Navy. The closer the distance, the Chinese Navy's hit rate will also rise sharply.

"Boom!" A huge explosion sounded, and Lieutenant General Hepburn felt the warship shocked violently. His feet were unstable and he fell to the ground in an instant.

After getting up from the ground immediately, Lieutenant General Hepburn didn't care about being embarrassed and asked directly: "What's going on? Where did you get shot? Is it serious?"

"General, the stern of the ship was shot. A 356mm shell hit the main gun at the stern of the ship. Fortunately, the turret armor blocked the shell. However, all the gunners in the turret were killed." Soon, a staff officer reported.

Lieutenant General Hepburn breathed a sigh of relief when he knew that the main gun was fine. Fortunately, the armor of the turret was thick enough, otherwise the German Navy would have to pay a greater price.

"Order the preparatory gunner to enter the turret immediately and continue the battle." Lieutenant General Hepburn ordered.

A few minutes later, the main gun of the battleship "Brunswick" continued to fire again.

"What a pity! It should be because of the bad angle, otherwise, you might be able to tear open the enemy's turret armor and completely destroy the main gun." On the battleship "Song Lizong" flagship of the Imperial Navy's 2nd Battleship Detachment, the commander of the team, Lieutenant General Liu Ziqian, looked regretful. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!