Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 792: Socotra Ambush
“Boom~”
More than 1.5 million soldiers from the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states surrounded the city of Mumbai. More than 100 artillery divisions gathered together, and nearly 10,000 cannons continuously poured their mighty firepower into the city, and occasionally there would be a chorus of 10,000 cannons... The entire ground of Mumbai seemed to tremble in unison with the rhythm of the Ming Dynasty artillery.
"This is how Muslim soldiers should be used to make it look spectacular. Um, Hou Fangyu?"
"Why did you call me, General?"
"Such scenes, have you filmed them all?"
"It was filmed, not only with cameras, but also with our newly developed video cameras. Not only the artillery salvos here, but also the soldiers' naval battle in the Bay of Bengal, all the way to the large-scale landing of Chi Xiao in Kunyang, we filmed it all."
"Excellent! When you return, you must fully demonstrate the bravery and invincibility of the Royal Master to the people of the Ming Dynasty."
"Of course, please rest assured, General."
By January 5, 1648, with the arrival of the two army leaders Cao and Liu at the front line of Mumbai, the Ming army's bombardment of Mumbai became even more brutal.
"Hey, I've fought battles all my life, and this time I won the most satisfying victory. But Lao Cao, you wasted ammunition like this. When you go back, I'm afraid that Taotie from your Cao family will want to kill you to death, right?"
"Nonsense! Originally, according to the Privy Council's idea, the conquest of India would take at least three to five years. But the emperor deployed the troops so skillfully that he couldn't even spare a mobile force. The war that was expected to last for several years was over in less than a year. So many artillery shells were transported from the mainland, and we also seized countless ammunition from the Western bandits when we were chasing the Western bandits' army in Bengal. If we don't use these things here, can we transport them back? I'm saving money for Cao Sanxi!"
Cao Wenzhao's cost-saving bombardment made the Ming artillerymen feel unprecedentedly happy. But at this moment, Durren, who was defending in Mumbai, was really miserable.
"Sir, the Chinese artillery seems to be endless. The bombardment has been going on for five days. Mumbai's outer defense line has been completely destroyed. The ten Indian divisions on the defense line have either been shattered by artillery or killed by our supervision team. In short, the outer defense line and the defending soldiers are almost gone."
"Got it." Nodding expressionlessly, Durreni turned around and said, "Sir Garcia, how long will it take for the navy to start helping us retreat?"
"We sent a squadron the night before yesterday to escort more than 300 transport ships carrying the Ottoman Boris Group to Persia. We just received a telegram from this fleet. Everything is going well. We will be able to return to Mumbai by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. At the same time, the 420,000 troops in the city have been fully organized, and most of the more than 600 transport ships in the port have also prepared food, fresh water, coal, etc. In short, tomorrow night, all the army units can board the ships one by one."
“Thanks to the Navy for its efficient work, but I wonder where the Chinese Navy is now?”
"Our destroyer with the longest reconnaissance range ventured as far as Colombo. We saw some Chinese destroyers along the way, but we never found the main Chinese fleet. I hope they are still in Yangon at this moment."
"I hope so." After making a cross on his chest, Durenne tapped the table gently. "Everyone, follow the arrangement of the navy. Starting from 8 o'clock tomorrow, January 6th, each unit will board the ship in turn. I will personally lead a German division, a Lithuanian division and a Swedish division to cover your rear. I will give you a heads up first. When boarding the ship, each army must board the ship in order according to the pre-arranged order. Scrambling is strictly prohibited. If there are still people who ignore the overall situation at such a critical moment, I have no choice but to shoot you first. Do you understand?"
"I will follow your orders, sir."
However, just as the EU Army in Mumbai was preparing to escape, Cao and Liu outside Mumbai received a telegram on the afternoon of January 5 .
"This is a telegram sent by Admiral Inukai through the transit station in Goa. They have already crossed the Lakshadweep Islands and will definitely be able to reach the waters near Socotra Island one step ahead of the enemy's fleet. We can start the attack."
"Well, let's drive the enemy into the sea."
Following Cao Liu's orders, the Ming artillerymen who had been bombarding for several days finally took a break. However, this break was a big bad news for the EU troops in Mumbai: it meant that the enemy's infantry attack was about to begin.
"Damn it! It's at this time. Mr. Garcia, we can't wait for the squadron to return from the Persian Gulf. Please allow the army to board the ship immediately."
"Sir Durreny, we have lost one-third of our transport ships. If we board the ship now, the extremely crowded cabin is not a big deal. The key is that there will be insufficient food and fresh water!"
"I can't control that. I only know that there are at least one million soldiers outside the city, and I only have three divisions, less than 50,000 people. Even if there are still a few Indian soldiers on the outer defense line, even if the city of Mumbai is actually on a small peninsula, which is very conducive to defense. But I can buy you three to five hours at most."
"...Well, God bless us, and this trip will go smoothly. If fresh water and food are insufficient, we can go to Socotra Island to replenish them." After saying this, he nodded to the naval officers behind him and said, "Execute the 'Generator Plan' formulated by His Majesty Philip before he returned to Europe."
"As you command, sir."
Following the orders of Durreny and Garcia, more than 300,000 EU troops began to pour into the transport ships in the port like a tide. At the same time, on the sea about 200 kilometers southwest of Mumbai, a huge fleet flying the sun and moon flags was speeding westward.
The main fleet of the Ming Navy had now recovered to its peak lineup of seven battleships, eighteen heavy cruisers, five light cruisers, and fifty-two destroyers. At the same time, there were more than twenty large supply ships of various sizes, and thirty transport ships carrying three marine corps accompanying the main fleet.
In order to conceal its strategic intentions, the Ming Navy sailed directly south from Colombo Port, circled around the Maldives, and then turned west. After replenishing fresh water for the last time in the Lakshadweep Islands, it sent electricity to Cao and Liu, asking the army to exert its strength and drive the EU army into the sea.
Among the current battleships of the Ming Dynasty, the Lian Po, which was hit in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, has been repaired and returned to the fleet, but the severely damaged Cao Sanxi is still in the slipway in Yangon. The reason why the Ming Dynasty Navy still has seven battleships is, of course, because the First Emperor, with a full load displacement of more than 20,000 tons, equipped with 320mm main guns, and a power system changed from coal to heavy oil, finally arrived in Yangon and joined the battle at the last moment when the navy was about to be deployed in a large scale.
However, this warship was too new. Even the so-called sea trial was completed during the process of sailing from Changsha Shipyard. Therefore, after much deliberation, Inukai Tsuji still did not choose the First Emperor as his flagship. He still placed the fleet headquarters on the Lianpo.
"Reporting to the Commander, Captain Cao Bianpeng on the First Emperor sent a signal: 'Everything is normal on our ship', uh..."
"What's wrong?"
"The Emperor's light signal also said, Commander, the air conditioning of this new ship is very powerful, the refrigerator has a large capacity, and the dishes are kept very fresh. You really don't want to sit here..."
"This guy is so boring." After waving his hand to interrupt the staff officer's recitation, Inukai Touji looked at the sea chart and asked, "How long will it take us to reach the waters near Socotra?"
"Commander, we are still 1,800 kilometers away from Socotra Island. At the current speed of 16.5 knots maintained by our fleet, taking into account the latitude difference, we will reach Socotra Island within 60 hours."
"What about the enemy fleet?"
"According to the telegram sent by the commander to the army, it will take the army about three to five hours to drive the enemy into the sea. The enemy will set sail in about four or five hours. They are about 1,950 kilometers away from Socotra Island. Because of the drag of the transport ships, they cannot go fast. If we calculate based on the average speed of 9 knots when our transport ships are fully loaded, the enemy should appear near Socotra Island in 118 hours."
"That means we have two and a half days more than the enemy?"
"Yes, Commander."
"Hmm..." After staring at the nautical chart and thinking for a long time, Inukai Touji said, "The plan that was successfully proposed before was not to fight a decisive battle with the enemy in the waters of Mumbai, but to ambush the enemy near Socotra, on the road that the enemy must pass. Our army wanted to occupy Socotra Island first, and then intercept the enemy. But later, after repeated deductions by the General Staff, we found that if there was a radio station on Socotra Island, it would be easy to occupy the island, but it would be impossible to prevent the enemy on the island from sending telegrams before occupying the island. Therefore, the new plan proposed by the General Staff is: do not rush to occupy the island first, but ambush the enemy first. After the naval battle is over, occupy the island. I think this detailed plan is more feasible."
"Yes, Commander. Although the Marines cannot show their prowess, I also think it is more feasible to fight a naval battle first and then capture the island."
"Well, thank you General Zhang for your cooperation." After nodding to Zhang Hong, Inukai Touji said to the officers below: "Have you calculated the enemy's escort force?"
"Commander, based on the summary after the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, and the intelligence we captured after occupying Colombo, as well as the recent intelligence obtained by destroyers venturing close to Mumbai for reconnaissance, we believe that if the Ottoman fleet does not come to support, the pirates' navy still has five battleships, 18 heavy cruisers (the European Union has added more after the Battle of the Bay of Bengal), and more than 80 light cruisers and destroyers."
"Let's be lenient with the enemy, even if Osman wants to come to support us."
"Yes, since no Ottoman naval officers became prisoners of our army, we have been able to get to know the Ottoman navy through interrogating Ottoman army officers. In last year's Battle of the Bay of Bengal , the Ottoman ships Bakr and Umar were both severely damaged and will not be able to sail in the short term. The only ship that could possibly participate in the battle is the third of the Ottoman Caliph-class battleships, the Ottoman Ibn Affan."
"If you count it this way, the enemy has six battleships. It seems that the gap between them and our army is not that big. But... " Inukai Touji smiled: "The enemy's transport ships may exceed a thousand, right?"
"Commander, our Marine Division is organized similarly to the Army. Four infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and a divisional headquarters, totaling 15,000 people. But with this number of people, plus equipment and so on, we must have ten transport ships of more than 8,000 tons to accommodate them and ensure that there will be no supply problems within 20 days. The number of people the Western bandits are retreating this time must be more than 300,000, right? Even if we don't want to carry heavy equipment this time, but only people, these people need to eat, drink, defecate and urinate on the ship, and they need a certain amount of space to move around. No matter how you calculate it, the transport ships with a displacement of 1.5 million tons cannot be less. If each transport ship is about 8,000 tons, there will be more than 200 transport ships."
"Commander Zhang, according to the intelligence obtained by the navy, the enemy has transport ships over 8,000 tons, but not many. Most of them are 2,000 to 3,000 tons."
"That's even better. You are all in the navy, so you know. If a ship is to be launched, if it is a civilian ship, the number of sailors required for 3,000 tons and 8,000 tons is not much different. That is to say, the carrying capacity of a 2,000-3,000-ton transport ship is actually less than one-third of that of an 8,000-ton ship... By this calculation, the enemy must have a thousand transport ships, right?"
"The enemy's transport ships are too large, and it is actually very difficult for us to take them down." Inukai Touji said in a deep voice: "Everyone, in the upcoming Socotra Island naval battle, sinking the enemy's warships is not our primary task. What we need is to sink as many of the enemy's transport ships as possible. In the foreseeable future, the Western pirates who have lost India will definitely not be able to compete with our Ming Dynasty in national strength. Therefore, even if the main force of the Western pirate navy does not sink a single ship this time, they will sooner or later end up defeated. But we must let as many of these young and strong men in the enemy army go to the bottom of the sea to meet the Dragon King as possible. Therefore, please ask the General Staff to further refine the combat plan based on this goal."
"yes!"
