Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 498: The Final Chapter of the Sail (I)
Shortly after the Ming and Spanish ironclad ships were forced to break away from the main fleet and fight individually due to their own concerns, Alfonso, Sun Guozhen, Inukai Toji and others almost simultaneously led their respective battle lines to charge towards each other.
The generals of both sides had long known that their country had ironclad ships. When they saw the water column stirred up by the shell fired by Fengyang today, they understood deep in their hearts that today's battle might be the last glorious chapter of sailing warships.
Because of this, and because one side desperately wanted to open the bay and rush in to slaughter the other side's transport ships, while the other side was basically unable to maneuver and had to stick to the bay. Therefore, the battle was full of cruelty and blood as soon as it started.
According to the old rules of the sailing battleship battle line of this era, the two sides would start firing from a distance of about 800 meters after arranging the battle line, and then constantly adjust the shooting and gradually close the distance. In the process of maneuvering, they would compete with each other to form a T-head. Finally, when the distance was shortened to within 500 meters, it was the real moment of battle.
But on this day, when Sun Guozhen and Inukai Dongji led the battle line forward, they had no such idea at all. They rushed fiercely into the Spanish battle line, shortening the distance between each other's battle lines to 300 meters!
Such a close distance naturally resulted in both sides having a very high hit rate. For a moment, wood chips flew everywhere due to shells hitting the hull, and screams were heard one after another due to shrapnel cutting people. There were also the roars of the captains and gunners on the ships. The sea outside Manila Bay was boiling in an instant.
According to the idea of the Spanish commander Alfonso, the number of second-class battleships on both sides was equal, and the difference in first-class battleships was only ten. It can be said that the forces of both sides were roughly equal. In this case, he planned to divide his battle line into two columns: 40 first-class battleships and another 10 first-class battleships and second-class battleships in one column, and then the 40 first-class battleships would fight with the opponent's first-class battleships, while the other battle line would try to get into the bay.
As a result, Sun Guozhen and Inukai Dongji's fierce charge caused chaos in their formation! At this time, it was really difficult to separate ten first-level warships to join the battle line of second-level warships.
"Hey, send a signal. After the two rows of the enemy's warships leave our battle line, the first-level warships will move forward to intercept them and stop them on the west side of the harbor. Our second-level warships will complete the formation while moving forward, and then sprint into the bay!"
The order was easy to give, but it was difficult to execute: the Philippine Squadron had been doing well recently, but the overall condition of the expeditionary fleet that came to support them was not very good. In addition, they had to adjust the battle line while the enemy was attacking fiercely, which was extremely difficult.
However, after all, it is the most powerful navy on earth at the moment, and the Castilians of this generation may be the best Castilians in history. Therefore, although it is difficult, the huge Spanish fleet still began to slowly adjust according to the signal of the flagship.
And on the other side.
"My ship is damaged in battle?"
"General, our ship was hit by twelve concentrated enemy cannons, causing varying degrees of casualties to the hull and deck, but the mast, rudder, etc. were intact. Except for three gun positions being knocked out, the rest of the combat power is intact."
"What's the situation of this battle line?"
"Uh, General, please forgive me. Our battle line is too long, and the lookouts in the rear cannot tell the exact situation of the warships. It will take some time to transmit the damage reports of each warship through flag signals."
"Oh, forget it. Send a signal to the warships behind. Those whose speed is not affected, follow our ship to make the next maneuver. Those whose speed is affected and cannot keep up are allowed to leave the battle line."
"yes!"
"Okay, send a signal to General Sun. After this battle line completes its turn, it will turn back from south to north and then turn east again. General Sun, please turn back from north to south."
"Yes, sir!"
In the charge just now, Inukai Toji led his ship, the Shaanxi, to take the lead and rush into the enemy camp first. Although he was in the middle of the enemy ships, the guns on both sides of his side could fire and exert their firepower to the maximum. But he was inevitably hit by the enemy's shells from both sides at the same time. In just this charge, his ship was hit by twelve shells.
His ship was the first to charge, catching the enemy off guard, but it was still hit by twelve shells. The remaining 19 warships behind him were more and more likely to be hit after the enemy reacted. The last warship in the battle line, the Guizhou, was now billowing with smoke, with one of its masts broken, and its speed dropped to less than five knots.
Therefore, when the Inukai battleship turned like this, two of the twenty warships immediately fell behind.
"Yoshi, I thought there would be four or five warships left behind after such a charge, but I didn't expect only two. After all, we just charged all the way, and there were at least thirty enemy ships passing by us on both sides. Oh, sorry, I spoke Japanese again."
The staff officer next to him smiled slightly and said nonchalantly: "General, it seems that we have good luck today."
"Yes, who can resist ? We are the navy of the Ming Dynasty, who is favored by His Majesty the Emperor."
Two warships on his side temporarily withdrew from the battle, while the situation on Sun Guozhen's side was worse: when he charged just now, Sun Guozhen rushed into the cluster of the Spanish Philippine Fleet. The other side had been gathering strength for a long time, and their reaction, morale and hull condition were not comparable to those of the extremely tired expeditionary fleet.
Therefore, after Sun Guozhen's battleship rushed down, he was annoyed to find that three of his warships had to leave the battleship. Another warship was simply trapped in the Spanish formation and could not escape!
"General, the three masts of the Fuguo ship behind us were broken, and the power was completely lost, so it was trapped in the battle."
"Hey, damn it!" Sun Guozhen, who had been Yu Zigao's deputy general in Funing Town in his early years, is now a white-haired veteran in his fifties. But his temper has not changed over the years: "These Koreans are really no good! Look at the Guiguo, didn't it rush out with us? Damn it, compared to the Japanese, Koreans really don't know how to fight ."
Such words that affected unity were not easy for a staff officer to respond to. So after a moment of awkward laughter, the young staff officer suddenly raised his finger and said, "General, the lookout sent a flag signal from General Inukai."
"Hmm? Split up and outflank? Okay. Pass the order down and have the following ships follow ours."
"Yes, sir!"
The two rows of first-class warships of the Ming army began to turn according to the orders of their respective chief officers. Taking advantage of this period of time, the Spanish fleet also began to adjust rapidly. Viscount Alfonso even commanded the first-class warships of the Philippine Squadron that he had led for many years, and quickly formed a horizontal formation from north to south. If Inukai Toji's battleship row rushed forward directly after turning, it would just hit the T-head!
Inukai Touji, who was experienced in battle, would not be so foolish as to run into them. After turning, he saw that his team had lost the first opportunity. He simply ordered his team to turn from north to south again: I can't get the horizontal line above the T, but I will never make the vertical line below the T! Let's fight again in parallel!
But in this way, Alfonso, who had been caught off guard before, achieved his strategic intention: isolating the Ming army's first-class warships on the west side of the harbor.
Now, guarding the entrance to the harbor were the Ming's sixty second-class warships. They were arranged in two rows, thirty ships in each row, firmly anchored at the narrow entrance to Manila Bay.
"Damn it! I'm going to be a sitting duck again!" Zheng Wei fiercely spit out the betel nut in his mouth and looked back habitually: "I remember that the last time we sent those landlubbers of the army to land, it took three days just to unload the cargo, right?"
"Yes, Captain, three days. But this time our transport ship will unload cargo but not people, and there are some simple pulleys and other things at the mooring place, so I think it will not take three days at all."
"It will take at least a day! Oh, don't think too much about it. Unless I, Zheng Wei, die here today, the Western pirates' fleet will never be able to enter the bay!"
