Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 226: Trash among the Natives (Part 2)
"Commander, please allow our fleet to move closer and clear a clean landing area for our army."
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Duke, I can't carry out your order."
"Why?"
"Because the Spanish have fortress artillery! Its range is much longer than ours, at least a thirty-two-pounder. I must be responsible for my fleet!"
"Oh, coward commander, didn't the Spanish cannons only fire two or three times?" After saying this, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, pushed the fleet commander away: "In the name of the king, I order the entire fleet to continue forward and fire at close range!"
“Boom~Boom~Boom~”
Following George's order, half of the sixty British ships that had already faced the land continued to fire, while the other half began to turn again. After that, they slowly approached the coastline. When they were about 300 meters away from the coastline, Fleet Commander Johnson could no longer bear it: "Sir, we must stop our army from approaching further! It's high tide now! Although it will reach its peak in an hour, no matter how you calculate it, it will start to recede in three or four hours at most. Our fleet is too close to the land. If the battle is not over by then, it is likely to run aground!"
"Hahaha, isn't there still that much time? Commander, look, the Spanish troops on the coast are retreating. Our troop transports have already started lowering their boats!"
And on the other side.
"Your Majesty, the British are beginning to land."
"This distance is not deep enough. Pass the order down, let our army protect the residents in the city and continue to retreat!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
So, with one side advancing rapidly and the other side retreating deliberately, the battle started at around 7 o'clock in the morning. At around 11 o'clock that day, the British successfully landed in Bilbao and gradually began to advance towards the city center. At this time, the tide in the nearby sea had reached its maximum. Next, the ebb tide was about to begin.
"Osvalles, I remember that the sea in Bilbao should start to ebb at twelve o'clock every day, right? "
"Yes, Your Majesty. When the tide is at its lowest, the coastline will extend forward by at least 500 meters."
"Hahaha, that's about it. Although the Duke of Buckingham is indeed an idiot, I don't expect him to be so stupid as to not understand the laws of tides. Where's the signal gun? My Prime Minister, please blow the horn of the counterattack."
"It's my pleasure."
"Bang~~" After Duke Osvalles fired flares into the sky, flares quickly rose up from many places throughout the city. This relay was so persistent that even on the hills outside the city, a large number of flares rose up.
"Subyugar~!"
As the signal flares were launched, the entire city of Bilbao sounded the charge. The Spanish new troops, who had been holding back their anger for a long time, rushed out from the back streets and alleys under the guidance of the local citizens and began to counterattack the British soldiers!
At this time, the British soldiers were still equipped with medieval style rather than modern style equipment: about 60% to 70% of the soldiers were armed with cold weapons such as spears and swords, while the remaining 30% of the soldiers were armed with muskets, all of which were smoothbore rifles.
Then, the British soldiers who were unfamiliar with the area were killed in large numbers by Spanish soldiers who appeared from alleys and even windows!
"We've been fooled! The Spaniards have been prepared for this! Damn it, blow it quickly... bang~~!"
It's not that no British officers reacted, they also tried to gather the soldiers around them to gather around them so that they could retreat together. But since they were new troops trained by time travelers, how could there be no snipers? Moreover, time travelers in the 21st century don't care about chivalry, and the soldiers they trained naturally gave priority to firing at the officers of the other side.
“Bang~Bang~Bang~”
Rifled guns have a long range, and Minié bullets greatly shorten the reloading time. The well-trained Spanish army suddenly broke out, and immediately beat the British army to a pulp. The original rapid advance turned into a tide-like retreat!
At this time, the five Spanish fortress guns on the port hill began to roar again!
"Oh my God! How can the Spanish cannons reach so far? Retreat! Let our fleet retreat!"
"Sir! Please calm down. Our soldiers are still on the shore and we need to bring them back!"
"Oh, oh, yes. But, Commander, we can send out small boats to pick up our soldiers. Our warships, especially the Elizabeth, must stay away from the coastline!"
However, before the British fleet changed direction, a trembling voice came from the mast: "A large number of warships were spotted at eight o'clock in the southwest!"
"Southwest? Is it a Dutch or French fleet?"
"Sir, we have been fooled. This is a trap."
"Ah? Why do you say that?"
"The Spanish Atlantic Fleet has blocked the English Channel. The Dutch fleet and the few pathetic French sampans can't possibly get here. What's coming over now must be the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet!"
As if to confirm Johnson's inference, the masts on the sea level gradually rose, and a large number of white sails appeared in everyone's sight. Through the telescope, the British generals clearly saw the Viscount flag of Barudis, commander of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet!
"Hahaha, your majesty's strategy is really brilliant. Now, the British army is retreating, and our fortress artillery is constantly bombarding them. And in another half an hour, the tide will begin to recede... What should the British do?"
On a super-giant ship named Philip IV, with a displacement of up to 1,500 tons and three-story gun towers with a total of 20 24-pound guns, 60 18-pound guns, 10 12-pound guns, and 10 6-pound guns, the commander of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet, Barudis, began to give orders with high spirits: "Order the King-class battleships to follow the flagship, and the Madrid-class (modified galleons, displacement of 300-500 tons) battleships to follow the Valencia, in two parallel rows, with the King-class at the back and the Madrid-class at the front, to advance to the northeast with all their strength and seize the T-head!"
"Sí, Senor!" The captains of the Spanish warships began to issue orders in an orderly manner according to the flag signal of the flagship. The well-trained sailors on the warships acted in their own way. Soon, the Spanish fleet, which had five King-class ships and forty Madrid-class ships, smoothly completed the formation change while moving. After that, the entire fleet hoisted full sails and, led by the flagship, rushed to the northeast!
"Order the entire fleet to follow the flagship, line up in a line, and head due north to seize the T-head!"
The British naval commander was no fool, and he responded immediately after discovering the Spanish fleet. This fleet, which had made great progress and development in the era of Elizabeth I, was greatly weakened in the early reign of James I, and only slowly recovered after Charles Stuart came to power, still responded quickly to the commander's orders.
The two fleets moved quickly in the same direction, closing in on each other. When the two sides were about 2,000 meters apart, Barudes gave an order and the 24-pound cannon on the Philip IV opened fire on the British fleet first.
