The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 155: Attack
After hearing these words, Lieutenant General Bergkamp Van Holstein, Commander-in-Chief of the Voyage Fleet, his expression became solemn and he no longer looked as relaxed as before.

What is the concept of 17 sail warships?
Judging from its strength on paper alone, it has surpassed the 12 warships of the Dutch Expeditionary Fleet. It is a powerful maritime force that cannot be underestimated.

The sailing battleship "Ruyol" purchased from the Kingdom of Prussia lost its way due to a storm, and the Dutch expeditionary fleet left the sailing frigate "Maguire Henderstensen" to accompany it. Now it is far behind the grand fleet.

The Dutch Expeditionary Fleet currently has only 12 sailing warships, and they are divided into two parts: the vanguard fleet and the rear reception fleet.

Between the two sailing fleets, there were a total of 16 sailing cargo ships carrying a large number of soldiers and supplies. There were also three sailing fireships that were damaged by the storm and were stranded in ports along the way.

"Mr. Henderson, can you guarantee the authenticity of this information?"

"Of course, I am willing to take any responsibility for the authenticity of this information. In Singapore, my Henderson Clothing Company still has 7.2 feet of foreign cloth that has just arrived in the warehouse. They are worth 1.42 pounds. If the information is not true, , I am willing to pay the full amount.”

"Given the high stakes, I would like to be able to wait until the intelligence is confirmed before any payment is made."

"Dear General, you can pay half first, and pay the rest after confirmation. You must know that I took a big risk to warn you, and this money is just a small amount of compensation."

"If this is indeed the case, the Kingdom of the Netherlands Expeditionary Fleet owes you a big favor." Lieutenant General Bergkamp van Holstein nodded in agreement and winked at the officers beside him.

The officer immediately took the businessman Henderson aside, and then quickly took out a thick stack of banknotes, and Henderson also made a receipt.

Then he left the sailing battleship with brisk steps and left on the wooden boat he came on.

Watching the British businessman leave, Brigadier General Gallagher looked very unhappy. He thought that this was a speculator who was just trying to seduce others.

What kind of bullshit Eastern fleet?
In the diplomatic letter sent by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies to the mainland asking for help, the Oriental fleet only had five or six sailing warships at best.

When did a sailing battleship become so worthless and so easy to build, as easy as a hen laying an egg?
It sounds so fantasy.

The world's maritime powers have accumulated hundreds of years of accumulation. Every large sailing battleship is the wealth of the country and a true national treasure. It cannot be built in less than three to five years.

The construction of the USS Constitution, a sailing battleship with a displacement of more than 2200 tons, consumed more than 1500 pieces of precious wood from Maine and Georgia and took six years to complete.

The situation of other maritime powers is similar. The construction of each large sail warship means the destruction of an entire forest, and the price paid is extremely high.

Even a five to six hundred ton sail frigate cannot be built easily.

Brigadier General Gallagher had never thought that there was such a novelty as an armored battleship in the world.

Armored battleships do not exist in Europe, and they do not exist in the Americas. This thing should wait until a few years later, when the American Civil War breaks out.

Who could have expected

In the backward agricultural area of ​​the East Indies, a rising eastern power like the Nanyang Military Government actually appeared. It used iron plates to cover cargo ships with iron armor and transformed them into sailing warships.

Brigadier General Gallagher couldn't hold it back and blurted out;
"Commander, this sounds unbelievable. What are seventeen sailing battleships?

And steamships?
I don’t think a backward colony like the East Indies would produce such an advanced product. This sounds like fantasy. Is it April Fool’s Day?
I know that steam steamers have appeared in countries such as Britain and France, which have very advanced shipbuilding industries, and the 10,000-ton iron-hulled ship "Great Eastern" built in Britain has made its maiden voyage to New York, but that was in the United Kingdom.

I would never believe that such an advanced industrial product could be built in the East Indies. It is simply ridiculous. "

Lieutenant General Bergkamp van Holstein glanced at his deputy and did not rush to make a judgment. He obviously knew much more about the situation than his deputy.

He just nodded calmly and said;
"We will know what the truth is soon, within two or three days.

Put down the signal ship and notify the reception fleet in the rear to catch up as soon as possible and join the vanguard fleet.

In addition, the transport fleet is ordered to keep a distance, and a half-day voyage is appropriate. The main force of the fleet will wait at the southeast exit of the Malacca Strait, and then move south to the port of Batavia after converging.

Let us wait and see whether it is as the British businessman Henderson said. "

"As ordered, Commander-in-Chief, I am here to convey the order." His officers immediately saluted and left.

There were no advanced communication methods at sea in this era, and soon the flagship lowered a small sampan, on which six naval officers and soldiers were seated, one of whom was a messenger officer.

This was the signal ship. After it was put down on the sea, because it had no power of its own, it was quickly left behind by the sail warship that was cutting through the waves.

One sail warship passed by after another, and when the sail transport fleet passed by, the naval officer stood on the signal ship and raised a flag, notifying the sail transport fleet to slow down and keep a half-day distance from the main fleet ahead. Channel exit convergence.

It took a long time until these sail transport ships passed by one after another, and the containment fleet that was far behind arrived belatedly.

The signal ship signaled again, and by the time the receiving fleet approached, all six naval officers and soldiers on board the small sampan were taken aboard. The small sampan was dragged behind with ropes. Several hours had passed.

After receiving the order, the reception fleet quickly became busy. The rigging crew climbed up the tall mast like a flexible monkey and lowered all the sails.

Under the command of the captain, the main sail, jib sail and side sail all adjusted their directions. Under the strong sea breeze, the hull suddenly began to accelerate with the full sea wind pulling it.

In order to obtain a favorable wind angle, the containment fleet did not move forward in a straight line, but drew a clear diagonal track on the sea.

But the speed of sailing was getting faster and faster, and I was catching up all the way through the waves.

Even so
It also took a long time to work, and before dusk was approaching, the reception fleet at the rear was able to catch up with the vanguard fleet and merge together.

After the two fleets merged, almost all the officers of the expedition fleet who were a little worried after hearing the bad news breathed a sigh of relief.

deep in their hearts

I would never think that the Eastern fleet had 17 sailing battleships. At most, they used those sailing cargo ships to make up the number. So what's the point of having a larger number?

With the expedition fleet's 12 sail warships and rich naval battle experience, they can easily defeat and kill these Eastern monkeys. There is no second possibility.

Even Vice Admiral Bergkamp Van Holstein, the always cautious commander of the expeditionary fleet, held the same view, so he did not allow the white officers and soldiers on board the sailing battleship to be transferred because it was too troublesome. .

Operating at sea is simply a nightmare subject, it is too difficult.

It is best to transfer the white officers and soldiers to the troop ship during the rest period in port.

Information in this era was extremely limited. Lieutenant General Bergkamp obtained some confidential information, which was delivered to the Port of Chennai through the diplomatic mail channel of the Dutch Governor-General. On the one hand, he informed the war situation and on the other hand, he urged the trip. As for the details of the Royal Navy's annihilation in the Battle of Semarang, they only briefly mention it. Instead, they emphasize the sneak attack and exaggerate the despicable and shameless behavior of the Nanyang Navy.

The idea is to avoid the important and take the easy and reduce one's own culpability.

Unexpectedly, such Chunqiu writing style really harmed the expeditionary fleet. Vice Admiral Bergkamp and most of the officers of the expeditionary fleet thought so, and easily accepted the diplomatic email's statement.

It is said that during the Battle of Semarang, the Eastern fleet only had nine sailing warships.

Even if the three captured Dutch sailing battleships are included, there are only 12 ships. Just over four months have passed. Where did these 17 ships come from?
I'm afraid it won't be so fast to make a few paper boats, right?
From the northwest entrance of the Strait of Malacca to the waters near the Port of Medan, it takes about a day and a night's journey.

Early the next morning

The officers and soldiers of the Nanyang Navy Fleet anchored in Medan Harbor had a sumptuous breakfast, and then began to lower the sails, weigh anchor, and prepare to cruise in the Strait Channel.

these days
The Nanyang Fleet basically cruised at sunrise and returned to anchor at sunset. Only a few sporadic steamships were dispatched to cruise at night to prevent them from missing the Dutch expedition fleet.

Of course, this is unlikely.

The Dutch expedition fleet was large in scale, and its forward and backward sailing opened up a distance of dozens of miles. It could not be ignored in any case.

No trace of it was found, indicating that it had not arrived yet.

Just when everyone was operating the ship step by step and preparing to set sail, suddenly three signal flares rose high in the sky, then exploded in mid-air, and the bright light flashed away.

This immediately aroused the vigilance of the entire fleet officers and soldiers, "No, this is a warning signal to find traces of the enemy."

The alarm bells of the entire fleet rang quickly, and the sounds of more than a dozen dense alarm bells echoed on the sea, instantly making the atmosphere tense.

The captains of each ship immediately shouted orders: "The alarm bell is ringing, the enemy fleet is coming, all officers and soldiers have entered the highest combat readiness state and are ready to fight."

"Adjust the rigging, port rudder eight degrees, and maintain battle formation."

"Order the artillery to prepare, light the stove, and put the solid iron bullets on the stove for me to burn."

"Prepare for battle, prepare for battle, move faster."

In the large chimneys of the two steamships, the billowing smoke suddenly became thicker and swirled into the air.

Led by two steamships one after another, eight armored warships of varying displacements filed out and sailed out of Medan Harbor in a long snake formation.

Behind the armored strike formation, seven serious sail warships also lined up in a long snake formation, followed closely and filed out, heading towards the strait with great momentum.

The sun was high in the morning and the visibility on the sea was very good.

Marshal Feng Guohui stood on the third-ranked sail-armored sailing warship. The armored sailing warship he was on was the largest one, with a displacement of 1084 tons. It was converted from a Dutch three-masted sailing ship.

The whole body of this large sailing ship is covered with 22 mm thick iron plates, which are tightly connected to the thick ship plates with iron bolts. With the hardness of the iron plates and the toughness of the thick wooden boards, it can withstand the direct bombardment of 48 pounds of fire.

Due to congenital defects, the large sailing ship did not have bottom gunports at this time. All the artillery were arranged on the deck, and the protection against artillery was virtually inferior.

Fortunately, the Nanyang Army was well prepared. In addition to the 162 deck artillerymen, an additional 65 reserve artillerymen were prepared to replace the dead and wounded in naval battles at any time.

This is a similar configuration among the ten armored battleships.

In fact, modern naval warfare is very simple. The two sides are bombarding each other at a distance of two to three times. There is no need to aim at the target. They only need to constantly clean the gun barrel, load gunpowder and shells, and then continue the cycle after firing...

Round after round, until you can't move anymore.

In order to protect its artillery, on the iron-clad sail warship rebuilt by the Nanxiang Army, each deck gun was set in the gun port, and the ship's side was raised to 1.6 meters, all made of iron armor and thigh-thick thick wood.

During naval battles, artillerymen can be wiped out by the opponent's artillery fire by just lowering their heads slightly.

Unless the opponent's artillery shells hit the gun door, it will be difficult to cause damage to your own artillery.

The position occupied by Marshal Feng Guohui is the captain's command position next to the helmsman, located at the front of the poop.

Originally this place was unobstructed, but now it is covered by a long and narrow iron house of about three square meters. Like a knight covered in thick armor, it is difficult to hurt.

This was the wish of the naval officers and soldiers. Rear Admiral Hu Huadong personally supervised the construction of the command building that was completed overnight and was specially used by Commander Feng Guohui. The helmsman and the ship's captain, Major He Chunlai, were both beneficiaries.

Feng Guohui held up a monocular and stared at the Royal Netherlands Navy expedition fleet that was getting closer and closer on the other side of the sea. When he saw that the other side had also adjusted its combat formation, he attacked fiercely without showing any signs of weakness.

The corner of his mouth showed a trace of curvature, he put down the monocular telescope in his hand and said;

"It seems that the Gui Lao fleet is very confident in itself and is ready to fight us hard, so our armored strike formation cannot let them down!
Pass the order and prepare for the battleship bombardment! "

"Yes, Commander." The captain, Major He Chunlai, was now a mouthpiece and immediately left the command building to convey the order.

The bright red battle flag was raised on the tall mast of the "Weiyuan", the flagship of the armored strike formation, which meant that the entire fleet was in combat mode.

"All officers and soldiers must work hard, and the decisive battle and victory will be determined in one fell swoop."

The artillerymen quickly cleaned the cannon bores and loaded gunpowder. The blazing furnace heated the iron ball-shaped shells until they were red, ready to be loaded into the cannon bores and fired.

The other naval officers and soldiers each found a hiding place, preparing to withstand the opponent's intensive bombardment.

After their own artillery shelling, they would quickly rush forward, clean the gun chamber, load gunpowder and shells, push the artillery to the edge of the gun door to reset, and start the next round of shelling.

If there are casualties among the gunners, they will be replaced immediately and fight the enemy to the bitter end.

The victory of several naval battles has not only greatly enhanced the self-confidence of Nanyang naval officers and soldiers, established a sense of honor, but also formed an indomitable naval spirit, and is on the road to becoming a strong maritime force.

Nothing in this world is achieved overnight. While defeating powerful enemies, the Nanyang Navy is undergoing a qualitative transformation, becoming stronger and more invincible.

(End of this chapter)