Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 772 I Want to Eat Alone
At 11:40 pm on September 16, 1647, the sun had already sunk below the sea level. However, there was no storm in the sea that night, as there was the night before. The bright moonlight and the stars in the sky gave the sea a light silver hue.
In this quiet silver light, under the dark sky, the outlines of dozens of steel castles were reflected - these were the battleships and heavy cruiser formations of the Spanish and Ottoman joint fleet retreating towards the Colombo naval base.
In addition to the Umar and Berkel that retreated early, the six heavy cruisers that sank in the battle, and the three heavy cruisers that were abandoned due to complete loss of power, there are now seven battleships and twenty-four heavy cruisers in this formation.
Garcia, the commander of the fleet, arranged the thirty-one warships into a harpoon formation: twenty-four heavy cruisers formed a U-shaped formation, and seven battleships were in a straight line, inserted in the center of the U. The entire fleet, from northeast to southwest, slowly advanced towards Colombo at a speed of six knots.
All the warships strictly implemented a blackout. Except for the first few warships that occasionally turned on their searchlights to check the sea conditions ahead, the entire fleet maintained a distance of more than 500 meters between each other, with the silhouettes of friendly ships reflected in the moonlight, and silently hurried on their way.
On the fleet's flagship, Fernando V, the fleet commander, Vice Admiral Garcia, also conscientiously implemented the blackout order, and no lights were turned on in his commander's cabin.
However, as a commander, Garcia still had a lot of things to do after the war. So at this moment, he was asking his adjutant to hold a flashlight while he wrote a report on the war himself.
“Your Majesty Philip, in this naval battle, our main forces were deployed. After nearly five hours of fierce fighting with the enemy fleet, the specific results are as follows... In general, I think there are several points that need to be noted in this naval battle.
First of all, in terms of the artillery fire of both sides, our soldiers should have performed above their level in this battle, and their hit rate is about 10% higher than that of previous training. However, the firing rate of Chinese warships is about one-seventh to one-sixth faster than ours. Therefore, in this battle, with our army's hit rate obviously superior, the hits achieved by both sides are not much different. Your Majesty, today's hit rate is abnormal, and I cannot guarantee that our soldiers will be able to hit so accurately in every future battle. But if our hit rate returns to normal in the next war, and the firing rate of Chinese warships is still the same as today, then the next battle will become more difficult for us. After all, in a large battlefield with a vertical and horizontal area of more than 20 kilometers in a static state and a movement area of more than 100 kilometers for both sides today, the output of firepower is fundamental. Therefore, I suggest that you instruct the academicians of the Academy of Sciences of Asturias to speed up the research and development of rapid-fire guns.
Secondly, in terms of the speed of the warships, our side was obviously behind. Because the speed could not keep up, our army lost the initiative in the movement to seize the T-head and was forced to turn in front of the enemy. This was also the main reason why our army suffered more losses than the enemy in this naval battle. Therefore, it is crucial to improve the speed of our new generation of warships.
Third, this naval battle was my first time to fight against Chinese battleships. I could clearly feel that the Chinese battleships were not only fast, but also extremely resistant to attacks - especially compared with the two Ottoman battleships, they were extremely strong. Fast, powerful, and strong, the Chinese battleship designer was really an amazing guy.
In short, in this naval battle, the enemy's flagship was hit by at least 10 shells from our battleship's main guns, but the speed and combat capability of the opponent's flagship were basically unaffected. This is of course related to the fact that we did not hit the opponent's vital parts. But the opponent is only about 15,000 tons in size, equipped with six main guns, and can still run at a speed of 16 knots. There is no doubt that this is definitely not a fully armored battleship, but only uses key parts for protection. But it is precisely these key protections that prevented us from achieving a winning effect-so, I really admire the Chinese battleship designer, who designed an extremely excellent battleship.
Fourth, the use of airships. In my opinion, airships are very useful for reconnaissance and trajectory calibration (of course, the above work is limited to daytime and good weather). However, they are extremely inefficient for bombing, and even not worth the cost. If the airship drops the bomb too high, it will be difficult to control the landing point and the hit rate will be close to zero. If the airship drops the bomb too low, its slow speed will make it almost a fixed target. In the future, when the army fights, hundreds of airships can be considered for cluster strategic bombing at an altitude of 3,000 meters.
fifth……"
"Bang!" The heavy iron door of the commander's cabin was pushed open fiercely by external force. A lieutenant colonel staff officer shouted hurriedly at the door: "Commander, we have been discovered by the Chinese destroyer group!"
…
At 11:45 p.m. on September 16 , the twelve destroyers of the Third Destroyer Squadron of the Ming Navy, led by the Qiongzhou light cruiser commanded by Dong Zhining, finally discovered the retreating main fleet of the Western Austrian coalition after searching on the sea for more than three hours.
During most of the day, the light cruiser-destroyer fleets of both sides watched the battle from the sea ten kilometers away. At about six or seven in the afternoon, when the sun began to set in the sea and the main fleets of both sides slowly stopped firing and began to disengage, the light cruiser-destroyer fleets watching the battle from a distance rushed forward.
Of course, the daytime naval battle lasted only more than four hours. Although some heavy cruisers of both sides sank, most of them were still there. So, on the one hand, they wanted to shake off the entanglement of the other side's light cruiser destroyer fleet, and on the other hand, the 150mm guns of the other side's more than 20 heavy cruisers were really not to be trifled with. Therefore, shortly after nightfall, the light cruiser destroyer fleets of both sides lost their targets in the face of the other side's main fleet that strictly implemented a blackout.
But now, after more than three hours of searching, Dong Zhining's third team finally caught the big fish.
"Hehe, I told you so. With so many heavy cruisers being badly damaged, the pirates in the west would definitely not go to Calcutta but head south to Colombo for safety. But Qi Zhenzong, that idiot, didn't believe it and insisted on taking the first team to the north to try their luck."
"Boss, it's great to catch a big fish, but this fish seems to be too big. Just now, when we scanned with our searchlight, we saw at least 20 large ships."
"Yeah, it's a bit big. So why are you still standing there? Quickly invent electricity and notify the friendly forces around to come over and fish!"
"yes!"
The communications officer hurried away to send a telegram. Dong Zhining raised his binoculars and looked at the vague outline of the enemy ships 10,000 meters away. Then he lit a cigarette and took a deep puff: "Order! The six ships of Nanxiong, Huizhou, Chaozhou, Shaozhou, Zhaoqing, and Foshan, follow this ship and circle the enemy fleet counterclockwise. The six ships of Shunqing, Jiading, Fuling, Kuizhou, Baoning, and Luzhou, led by Major Zheng Chenggong, circle clockwise. Keep a distance of more than 10,000 meters from the outer warships of the enemy fleet, and circle first. This captain must first understand the enemy's formation."
"yes!"
Following Dong Zhining's order, the thirteen warships of the Third Destroyer Squadron moved quickly and began to circle around the main fleet of the Western Austrian coalition at a speed of more than twenty knots.
Although they had been discovered by the enemy, Garcia did not lift the blackout order. He only ordered the battleships at the core of the array to fire flares, and the heavy cruisers on the periphery to fire artillery based on the enemy ships' silhouettes under the flares.
Unfortunately, although the Ming destroyer detachment showed a clear figure under the pale light of the flares, Dong Zhining had kept the detachment at least 10,000 meters away from the enemy ships. Therefore, although the heavy cruisers on the periphery of the coalition forces fired desperately, this distance was already the maximum range of the 150 guns - in fact, many shells fell directly into the sea when they were still two or three thousand meters away from Dong Zhining and other ships.
"Boss, we have only received a call back from the Second Destroyer Squadron. However, they relayed our message, and the messages from the other three squadrons were also relayed by them. Specifically, the First Squadron led by Colonel Qi Zhenzong is nearly 100 kilometers away from us, and there is no way they can catch up even if they turn around now. The Fourth and Fifth Squadrons are fighting with the light cruiser destroyer squadron of the Western bandits and cannot get away. The Second Squadron is about 40 kilometers away from us and is rushing towards us at full speed."
"The Fourth and Fifth Detachments encountered the entire light patrol and destroyer detachment of the Western bandits?"
"No!" The communications officer looked down at the telegram: "The Western bandits fighting them only have more than fifty warships."
"More than fifty? This is one against two, right? The situation of the 45th Squadron is also very critical. But it seems that the other light cruisers and destroyers of the Western bandits are also looking for our main force." After saying this, he walked to the outdoor bridge with the cigarette butt in his hand, looking at the flares flashing in the sky. Dong Zhining's figure flickered in the darkness and the brief light for a while, then he smiled gently, and immorally flicked the cigarette butt into the sea, and then returned to the command room with firm steps.
"Brothers, this is what I think. At this moment, the enemy ships are traveling at a speed of about six or seven knots, and it is difficult to guarantee whether they will speed up later. Even if the enemy ships are being dragged down by severely damaged warships, and do not speed up , the Second Squadron will not arrive for at least an hour and a half. Ninety minutes is too long, and there are too many variables. Not to mention that the light cruiser destroyer detachment of the Western bandits may be nearby and will arrive earlier than our Second Squadron. Even if they arrive later than the Second Squadron, what if the light cruiser destroyer detachment of the Western bandits finds our main fleet during these ninety minutes?
So, what I mean is, we should not wait for the second team, but start fighting first. This way, we can force the destroyer fleet of the Western bandits to turn back and rush to help, which can reduce the chance of our main fleet being discovered, and also help our fourth and fifth teams out of trouble. Of course, eating alone like this is not only bad for reputation, but also very dangerous. So, everyone should prepare the suicide note as soon as possible. "
"Hahaha, Boss, shouldn't you prepare the suicide note and other things before going to the battle?"
"Yeah, it's enough to write a suicide note once. If you write it too many times, it will become a bit of a joke."
"Boss, give the order. Our Third Team will eat alone. Those idiots from the Second Team will come slowly and then drool over our victory."
"Okay, inform the entire detachment of our decision. Navigation officer, tactical staff, formulate an assault plan based on the enemy's formation."
"yes!"
After a while, the calls from the ships came back. The captains with upright personalities basically said things like "I will resolutely obey orders" and "I will die to serve my emperor". The captains with more humorous personalities said things like "I will be the first to eat the fresh food" and "Let the Western bandits see how I am the best assassin in the world".
"Boss, all the ships have obeyed the order. In addition, according to our observation, the enemy fleet's formation is that the heavy cruisers surround the battleships in the center. Therefore, our plan is to launch an attack from the north side of the enemy fleet."
“Why the north side?”
"Because among the enemy heavy cruisers on the north side, more were severely damaged by our troops during the day than those on the south side."
"Nonsense, it's pitch dark, we can't even shine a searchlight continuously, how can you see clearly?"
" Boss , who said we can't see clearly? The flares fired by the western bandits show that there is much more smoke on the north side, okay? Besides, if we really can't see clearly, we can still smell it. The wind direction is from the east right now, but the smell of gunpowder we smell on the north side is obviously heavier than on the south side."
"Oh, yes, the lookout Zhang Laosan is gifted. In addition to his excellent eyesight, his sense of smell is sharper than that of a dog! That's it." Dong Zhining raised his hand and looked at his watch: "Order all ships to re-form, with the Qiongzhou in the center, in a cone formation, and increase the speed to the maximum speed of the ship, twenty-three knots. At 12:35 a.m. on the 17th, begin the charge!"
