The Imperial Japanese Navy had set its sight on the Bismarck Sea, baited by a small flotilla consisting of a single German Cruiser, as well as a flank of three destroyers escorting it.
These ships were smaller, leaner and faster than their Japanese counterparts, which were primarily Hyūga-class battleships and Kongō-class battlecruisers.
Shots rang throughout the chase, but most missed their targets horrifically. Meanwhile, the Japanese Admiral in charge of the fleet continued to bark his orders at the sailors beneath his command.
"Do you not have eyes? They're getting away! Aim, you sons of foreign whores!"
The Japanese sailors, used to the abuse within their command structure yet fanatically loyal, tried their best to obey.
But launching an attack on the vertical profile of agile German cruisers was easier said than done. Especially when these ships darted between islands with seemingly preternatural awareness.
What the Admiral failed to realize was that this was not a rout.
