Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1295 The Frigate Falls

The combined fleet and the artillery batteries of Algiers are firing fiercely!The sound of gunfire shook the nearby sea area, and the two sides were engaged in a difficult attack and defense that had never been seen in the history of Algiers!

A frigate of the United Fleet advanced greedily and fell into a trap set by pirates. The frigate with a deeper draft was tricked into the waters densely covered with hidden reefs by the fleeing pirate ship, and hit the rocks and entered the water!
The pirates' eyes were full of madness. They wanted to occupy the frigate that hit the rocks, and use the artillery mounted on the frigate and its own wooden armor to build a simple sea fort to strengthen the defense of Algiers.

The United Fleet also seemed to have gone crazy, and began to organize the rescue of the frigate on the rocks by shallow water gunboats!
It is very difficult for large warships to rescue ships on shoals and hidden reefs!

Warships with deeper drafts such as Fubo General, Shuhan, Haiwangwang, and Royal Prince did not dare to approach areas with submerged reefs. Combined with the combined fleet, only 6 sailboats with smaller tonnage and shallower draft were able to rescue.Even so, these 6 sailboats are still big compared to the nimble small and medium-sized galleys of the pirates, and they must be careful when rescuing them to prevent themselves from hitting the rocks because they are not familiar with the water conditions.

The artillery of the two sides suppressed each other's ships, and the focus of the competition has become the frigate on the rocks!
The captain of the frigate knew that he had made a big mistake, and he led more than 100 crew members, handymen, and gang leaders to try to rescue the hapless warship.

On the starboard side of the bottom of the cabin, a three-meter-long crack was drawn by the reef, and sea water poured in through the crack. When the captain came down, the sea water in the cabin had reached the thigh!

"Captain, the seawater is pouring in too fast, we didn't have time to repair the gap, and now we are almost stranded..." The boatmen and sailors in the cabin panicked and climbed up, and the seawater was still pouring upwards.

Considering the cost and erection of naval guns, the frigate built by the Kyushu Army did not design a watertight compartment at all. At this time, the gap is too large, the seawater is pouring extremely fast, and it is in the offshore area, which is equivalent to being completely stranded!

After the captain learned that the situation was not good, his scalp was numb: "It's all my fault that I was greedy for success and was set up by these cunning pirates... For the current plan, I have to fight the pirates to the death..."

The adjutants, sailors, gang leaders, and boatmen on the frigate were all issued with weapons. Some held muskets, and some held swords. They came to the deck one by one with solemn expressions. The pirate's galley came to surround the frigate.

The frigate at this time, like a stranded humpback whale, was regarded as prey!

The frigate's artillery was still ringing, because the sea water was shallow and the seawater had not poured into the artillery layer. At this time, the frigate really became a stranded sea fort, unable to escape this sea area.

"The pirates are approaching! I killed you, but we can't surrender here, we have to fight until the last moment! Listen to my order, and shoot when the pirates are close!" The captain took the frigate All members, rows of muskets aimed at the fast approaching pirates.

Except for the gunner who was still desperately loading shells for the final resistance, the rest were nervously guarding the deck, and their clothes were soaked in sweat.

Hundreds of noisy pirates drove more than 30 sailboats, and under the command of Amur, they were divided into encirclement formations in all directions.

The nimble small galley braved the gunfire on the frigate to find a shooting blind spot.

The stranded frigate had no flexibility at all. The gunners found that they could no longer pose a threat to the approaching galley except for sinking two galleys when the pirates were advancing here. The smart pirates avoided the gun door , Hook the galley and frigate together with an iron hook, and climb up to the taller frigate along the rope.

"Hold on, hold on! Don't rush to shoot!" The captain's tone was trembling, obviously a little nervous.

His subordinates were even more nervous, and the palms holding the muskets were dripping with sweat.

"shot!"

As the pirate ship approached, some pirates began to climb onto the frigate. The captain gave an order, and rows of muskets fired in salvo, and a puff of white smoke rose from the deck.

After a few plops, some of the pirates who were shot fell into the water, splashing a lot of water.

The vicious pirates had obviously experienced similar cruel battles. They were not timid because of the sacrifice of their companions, but continued to climb, while the pirates who stayed on the galley used muskets to fight back and suppress the sailors on the deck.

The pirates had a variety of firearms, including arquebuses, spring wheel guns, and flintlock guns. With their large number, they were on par with the sailors on the deck for a while.

The morale of the pirates was high because the frigate ran aground on the rocks, and gradually some pirates climbed onto the deck, brandishing knives and began close combat with the soldiers on the deck.

The battle on the deck was very cruel, and people fell into the sea from time to time!
Ninety percent of the battles are the probing and shooting of artillery and muskets. If the battle situation develops to the point where hand-to-hand combat is required, it means that the battle will soon end.

The six shallow-water gunboats braved the firepower of the Algiers fort anxiously wanted to rescue the stranded frigate, but the artillery of the two forts was hindering the rescue. One of the shallow-water gunboats was severely injured by the artillery and retreated before it could be rescued. Out of the battlefield.

At this time, the stranded frigate was too close to the coast, which seriously affected the progress of the rescue.

"If this continues, maybe all the ships we used to land on the beach will be wiped out..."

Sir Pennington, who was the admiral of the Royal Navy, carefully looked at Sun Xu, who had a cloudy face beside him.

"Continue to carry out the rescue, save as much as you can, and retreat immediately after saving people." Sun Xu said.

When the remaining five shallow-water gunboats arrived at the stranded frigate, the pirates had gradually occupied the frigate, and the remaining soldiers were either fighting the pirates desperately or jumping into the sea to escape.

The rescue shallow-water gunboat braved the artillery shelling of the turret, and raced against time to rescue the sailors and handymen on the sea.

When they saved perhaps 30 or more men from the water, the pirate flag of Algiers was raised over the stranded frigate - the frigate was lost!
"Retreat!" Facing the harsh situation, the five shallow-water gunboats that were still very useful did not take the risk of being sunk by the fort to recapture the frigate.

When withdrawing to the open sea, another shallow-water gunboat was hit by the artillery of the fort and suffered considerable losses.

"Damn it, I still underestimated the geographical advantages occupied by the pirates. For our Fourth Fleet, which has not experienced many naval battles, it is simply a disaster." Sun Xu felt uncomfortable seeing the stranded frigate occupied by pirates Word.

The Fourth Fleet is really too young. Compared with the Barbary pirates who fought fiercely with the navies of various countries in the Mediterranean, they lack a lot of actual combat experience.

"The pirates occupied that warship, which means they have an extra fort on the sea. We need to change our battle plan." Sir Pennington didn't want to stimulate this ally too much.

"I will organize a small team to destroy it. It must not be turned into a fort for pirates. When we conquer Algiers, we must ask them to pay an additional three times the cost of this frigate, no, five times!" Sun Xu said bitterly.

(End of this chapter)