Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 311 Marine Light Cavalry

On March 3, the Shangsi Festival, Lin Hai left the Guangdong Navy and the Portuguese fleet to guard the Fanguitang Water Fort, and took the Dingyuan to the North Waterway of Lantau Island.

After the cleanup work on the main battlefield was completed yesterday, the Guangdong Navy and the Portuguese fleet arrived in Tai O, and Lin Hai sent four frigates to reinforce Wei Xiaodong.

In addition, two reporting ships that ran aground in the Dangan Channel also rushed over. At about 7 o'clock last night, the two ships escaped from danger when the new and full moon tides reached their highest water level.

The other three ships that ran aground were not so lucky, and all sank after damage control failed. However, most of the naval officers and soldiers on board survived, and they swam to the four-foot reef, and some of them who were good at swimming even salvaged a wrought iron four-pound cannon.

Therefore, the North Waterway of Lantau Island now gathers all the existing Western-style sailing ships of the Admiralty, including 1 cruiser, 4 frigates and 17 reporting ships.

At the other exit of Kap Shui Mun, at the northern end of the Sai Pok Liau Channel east of Lantau Island, the six old lock ships of the Hui You Company and more than 6 ships of Li Zhongguo's army were still there. However, after the arrival of the Chen Tang, Zheng Tingqiu ordered to stop the active attack and changed from intermittent feints to blockade.

After the Dingyuan arrived at the front line north of Lantau Island, Lin Hai called the captains of each ship to a meeting on the flagship. This time, he did not follow the usual practice of letting everyone express their opinions, but directly arranged the tactics.

The North Channel of Lantau Island runs roughly from east to west, shaped like a trumpet with its opening facing west. It becomes narrower towards the east, with sandbars such as the Big and Small Modao lying across the middle.

The wind direction on that day was northeast by north. The Dingyuan was sailing against the wind in the open waters to the west. Four frigates were lined up on the south and north sides, guarding the flagship like guards.

"Commander-in-Chief, the pre-war instructions you just issued sound a bit like the cavalry's semi-turn tactics to me." Shibi said to Lin Hai on the Dingyuan. He had been in charge of coordinating Jinhe's national defense many times when Lin Hai went to Ming Dynasty, and he also had some understanding of the tactics of the Vanguard Division.

"You're right. The dispatch ship is flexible and maneuverable, just like the light cavalry on the sea. However, the use of light cavalry tactics at sea is not my original idea. Someone did this as early as forty years ago..."

Lin Hai looked at the attacking fleet that had just set sail, and saw that the seventeen reporting ships were arranged in three columns, sailing against the wind towards the eastern throat of the trumpet-shaped strait, where was the Jishuimen.

Wei Xiaodong was still the commander of the fleet. The wind direction shifted slightly to the east at this time. The fleet sailed against the wind and after a quarter of an hour, it had approached one kilometer west of Jishuimen.

"The second and third squadrons stop advancing." With Wei Xiaodong's order, the flagship Lubode, which was sailing at the front of the center, hoisted the signal flag. The squadrons on the left and right sides dispersed to the north and south respectively according to the pre-war training, and then dropped anchor and stopped sailing.

The six reporting ships in the middle continued to approach Jishuimen in a column. The pirates quickly sent out more than 30 warships to fight. These warships were of various types, large and small, and it was not known whether there were incendiary ships among them.

The rumbling sound of cannons soon rang out. Those were the bows of the Guang ships and Fu ships in the pirate fleet, firing from their bows. The caliber of the cannons was roughly equivalent to the broadside guns of the Admiralty's reporting ship.

Water splashed in front of the fleet. Wei Xiaodong did not order a counterattack. The six reporting ships continued to move forward in a column. Finally, a shell hit the hull of the Lubode, but it failed to penetrate it. The distance between the two sides was still too far, and the diameter of the pirate ship's bow shell was also a bit short.

"Turn left and turn!" Wei Xiaodong ordered to turn the ship after the shot. The sailors of the Lubode immediately turned the sails and rudder, and the ship soon turned sideways under the control of the steering wheel and the sail pole.

"Starboard salvo!" Wei Xiaodong seized the opportunity and gave the order decisively. The Lubode finally opened fire. The four four-pound cannons on the starboard side spewed flames at the same time, instantly destroying the deck of a Fu ship on the opposite side. After the Lubode turned around, it fled westward with the sidewind. The five reporting ships following behind turned around one after another, and fired a round of broadside salvos at the opposite side when the ship was sideways.

After more than 20 rounds of firing, most of the pirate fleets chose to turn back to the port, and only a dozen ships continued to pursue. Wei Xiaodong led these dozen ships into the ambush of the left and right fleets, and then turned back to attack. The pirates' pursuit fleet was immediately surrounded by crossfire on three sides.

Lin Hai also sent out two frigates to provide support at the right time, and soon the pirates' pursuit fleet was crippled. In the end, only two of the dozen or so stubborn enemy ships managed to escape.

The first round of fire ended here, and then Yang Pu led the second squadron to attack.

This time the pirates learned their lesson and simply did not send any ships to fight back. The six ships with the Yangpu light approached the pirate fleet and turned around one by one, exchanging fire with the enemy with broadside guns. The brief artillery battle did not cause any major casualties, and Huiyou Company only had a slight advantage.

However, when the Second Squadron completed its turn, the Third Squadron began to act again, still delivering a round of artillery fire to the pirate fleet, and of course it was also hit by several shells itself.

In this way, the three squadrons took turns attacking, constantly firing harassment from the periphery, but they were always unwilling to get too close to prevent the pirates' incendiary ships from getting too close.

The pirates were annoyed and organized hundreds of warships to give chase at noon. However, they were led to open waters, giving the Dingyuan's gunners a chance to have a good time.

"Boss, you are amazing. I never thought that cavalry tactics could be used at sea. Even if Grandpa Qi were alive again, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to come up with this idea." Shibi flattered Lin Hai.

"That's not necessarily true. Master Qi has fought more than a hundred battles in his life, both in the south and the north, on land and sea, and never lost a single one. What he is best at is adapting to local conditions. If the Qi family army had our communication ship, they might use the same tactics."

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"Then he is not as good as the chief commander. The Navy Department's notification ship was not designed by the chief commander." Shibi continued his flattery.

Lin Hai coughed twice in embarrassment. He couldn't say that this was copied from the ship model drawings of later generations, right?
Shi Bi then asked, "The commander just said that forty years ago someone used the semi-turn tactics in a naval battle?"

"Yes, that was a famous naval battle that took place in Thailand. The Ingguili used similar tactics..."

The naval battle that Lin Hai was talking about was the Battle of Gravelines in 1588, the battle in which the British defeated the Spanish Armada and became the overlord of the sea.

Thanks to the Anglo-Saxon propaganda machine, the significance of this war was infinitely exaggerated in later generations. The Spanish's position as the hegemon of the sea was not shaken by this battle, and their defeat was largely due to bad luck.

However, in this naval battle, the British tactics that were adapted to local conditions were indeed remarkable. As to whether they were influenced by the newly emerging pistol cavalry semi-turn tactics, it is unknown.

(End of this chapter)