Tyranny of Steel

While Hans and his fellow pilots fought in the skies above the ocean's surface. The German warships continued to unload their large bore guns onto the Japanese fleet. However, it became abundantly clear that the Kriegsmarine was heavily outnumbered. Within thirty minutes of the entire display, the 6th CSG had lost all six of its destroyers, what remained of their crew, had hit the lifeboats and entered the water as their large steel vessel sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

However, it was not all fun and games for the Japanese Armada, as the German battleship and cruisers focused their fire on the enemy's fleet. In these thirty minutes, the Japanese had lost a total of two battleships, four cruisers, and six destroyers. 

How was this possible, you might ask? Well, for starters, the German battleships had vastly superior accuracy over their Japanese counterparts. The reason for this was the computers on board, which were used to make the calculations necessary to fire a precise shot. 

The second reason behind why so many Japanese vessels had been sunk by a single carrier strike group was because of the thirty torpedo bombers who had taken to the sky and done their best to drop their payloads in a way that accurately hit their targets.

And while the Japanese AA had eliminated roughly half of these planes, with most of their pilots ejecting, enough torpedos had struck the Japanese warships to cause significant damage to their armada. 

The echo of naval guns roared through the oceans as Admiral Nolthe Schriber gazed through the bridge of his carrier, and towards the distant ocean, where he could make out the shapes of his reinforcements. It had been thirty minutes, and all he needed to do was hold out for another fifteen before the 8th and 10th CSGs arrived to support him. 

He gazed up through his binoculars and saw something terrifying. A Japanese floatplane was heading right towards the carrier's deck. There was no knowing how much damage such a thing would cause if it were to impact the ship. He was quick to shout his commands as his heart nearly exploded with fright.

"Brace for impact!"

However, just as the Japanese plane was about to crash upon the deck of the carrier, a crimson plane came out of nowhere and shot off the enemy's wing, causing it to veer off course and into the water's surface. 

As respectable and dignified as the Admiral was, he could not break out into a hysterical laugh as he saw the Crimson Prince pull off a mind shattering feat.

"Holy fuck! That little bastard just saved us all!"

It took several seconds for the Admiral to realize that he had just called the Kaiser's eldest and most beloved son a bastard, which caused him to quickly cover his mouth, and look around to see if anyone else had heard him. 

Luckily, nobody appeared to have done so, or at the very least, they were being polite enough to pretend that they didn't. However, the joy of seeing the carrier saved came to a sudden end, when a German Cruiser was struck in the center by a Japanese battleship. 

The explosion rocked the cruiser however; it did not outright sink it. Yet it did appear to have devastated the vessel's engines, as it immediately became dead in the water. German sailors were quickly abandoning ship, as they knew it was only a matter of time before another barrage sank them entirely. 

With only two ships left to protect the carrier. Things were looking grim, however, that was until the Japanese flagship was struck from behind by a full barrage of the German Battleship attached to the 8th CSG. All twenty guns had fired their shots, and accurately hit the Japanese flagship across its entire surface, blowing it into smithereens before it even had a chance of properly retaliating. 

With another battleship in the game, along with two more cruisers, and six more destroyers, it would appear that the German Fleet now had a fighting chance against the Japanese Armada. Soon enough, the thirty additional torpedo bombers took to the skies and got down to their business, doing their best to avoid the Japanese flak guns while dropping their payloads into the water. 

As much as the Japanese tried to fight back, it would appear that with each passing second, an explosion rocked one of their ships. Whether it was from a torpedo or a naval gun, nobody could really tell. 

Within another five minutes, another Japanese Battleship was sunk, meaning that Japan had effectively lost half of their greatest warships. Shortly thereafter, another Japanese cruiser had been blasted apart. 

It was only after losing so much of its Armada, along with the flagship which housed the highest ranking admiral, that the Japanese Navy realized they were not going to win this battle. Swiftly an order to retreat was given, but the only way out was through the gap where the 10th CSG lied in wait for them. 

Of course, the Japanese, who lacked long range radars, did not know that they had effectively become surrounded, and thus broke away from the battle, while firing off as many shots as they could towards the enemy ships which had begun to pursue them. 

Soon enough, the Air Wing on board the carrier which belonged to the 10th CSG had launched into the skies, and in doing so brought with them more torpedos, which struck the Japanese warships over and over again, sinking what remained of their destroyers who had been deployed with the fleet. 

Now all that left were two battleships, and a handful of cruisers, which, if the Japanese could not escape their encirclement, would soon sink beneath the ocean's waves, just like the rest of their comrades. 

On board one of the two remaining Japanese battleships, the Admiral was quickly reporting what was happening to the Japanese mainland.

"I repeat, we have been walked into a trap! The German fleet led us to the Marshal islands, where they had another fleet lying in wait for us. We have lost most of the Armada, and are now retreating."

A shrill voice erupted on the other end, which the Admiral knew belonged to the young Empress. There was a very heavy tone of anger, along with an overwhelming sense of panic in her tone.

"How? How did you lose so many ships? I sent eight battleships with you! Eight! Along with enough cruisers and destroyers to wipe away the ten or so ships the Germans had. Explain to me how almost 2/3s of my navy is gone!"

The Admiral was practically sobbing. After receiving such a verbal lashing, in truth he didn't know how the Germans had so much firepower, he could only make educated guesses, which he was quick to voice.

"I don't know for sure, but their battleships and cruisers are far too precise. Every shot they fired landed on one of our vessels, whereas even our most experienced gunners had missed a fair portion of theirs.

Then there were the planes. We thought they were mere dive bombers, like we have seen in Borneo and Korea, but they were equipped with torpedos. No matter how many of our AA killed, they just keep coming and coming. And finally, I think there are a few submarines beneath the surface. But they have never surfaced, so I can't say for certain! Oh dear god what is-"

However, the communications stopped there, as the Japanese Battleship was struck by another twenty guns belonging to its counterpart, which was attached to the 10th CSG, who had finally shone themselves. 

After being surrounded by three German carrier strike groups, the Japanese Armada, which composed of 2/3s of the entire Japanese Navy, was completely sunk beneath the surface of the Pacific. Those who survived the ordeal had been taken aboard the German ships, and captured as Prisoners of war, where they would be treated with the utmost humanity by their German captors. 

The battle of the Marshall Islands had achieved what the Americans had displayed in Midway during Berengar and Itami's past life. Proof that the battleship was effectively obsolete, and that the carrier strike group had become the basis for all modern naval tactics. 

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