The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 98 Never dreamed of it
After receiving the bombardment order, the officers and soldiers of the Second Artillery Battalion located high on the Seven Star Fortress immediately adjusted the angle and direction of the bombardment, and then lit the fuse.

"Boom boom boom..."

Several sporadic cannons exploded in the sea one after another, stirring up high and low water columns. The distance was so close that it was only a few dozen yards away from the sailing gunboat of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

It's a few hundred yards away.

If we count it carefully

You will know that a cannon was fired from the top of each fortress hill. This was just a test cannon. When the test is over, all the artillery will start concentrated fire and bombardment according to the accurate azimuth angle obtained.

What the concentrated artillery hits is a coverage rate. One or two rounds cannot hit the target, but three, four or five rounds can always cover it and cause damage to the enemy ship.

Colonel Sluter-Meier had no choice but to watch everything bad happen.

The only thing he could do was to urge the sailors to move faster, faster, and leave the rest to God.

Not long after the sound of artillery stopped, a new round of shelling exploded one after another.

Then the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th rounds of intensive artillery fire came down like raindrops, and the two Dutch warships that were originally moving in the bay completely lost control.

The "Levinsaugus" sailing warship is 47.6 meters long and 13.8 meters wide. It has two-layer artillery platforms on the bottom and deck. It is a typical schooner fast sailing warship.

When the two rounds of gun tests at the Coast Fortress Battery ended, the "Levinsaugus" and the "Olinburg" roared one after another, the muzzle gates flashed with large orange flames, and thunderous cannons exploded. got up.

"As you command, Your Majesty the Marshal."

The sudden vibration caused a sailor who was releasing the sail to fall down. He screamed "bang" and fell to the side of the winch, and blood immediately spattered.

Seeing this scene, Feng Guohui's eyes became gloomy, and he waved his hand and gave an order;

Even from a long distance away, it still made my ears buzz.

A single salvo fired 26 shells, which landed densely on the Dutch warships "Levinsaugus" and "Olinburg". With water splashing, there was also a wailing sound on the Dutch warships.

The Dutch warship was several hundred meters away from the sail cargo ship parked on the pier at the pier. After a salvo was fired, several heavy artillery rounds hit the hull of the cargo ship. In an instant, wood chips flew into the air, and an unpleasant cracking sound of "kara, kara" was made.

I saw the roar of cannons, a row of cannon gates flashing large orange flames, and the dull sound of cannons rang in my heart.

At this time, the third round of test guns on the Seven Star Fortress followed one after another.

when being bombarded

After adjustment, the bombardment hit again, and the impact points were obviously much denser, and one shell even hit the sail.

The deck of a sail cargo ship cannot be as thick as that of a warship. It is often more than half a foot or even a foot thick, and the longitudinal beams are very dense and can withstand the damage of shelling.

The "Levinsaugus" and the "Olinburg" were awkwardly twisting their hulls, aligning their sides with several sail cargo ships moored at the dock.

The sail cables were broken, and large areas of sails were ignited. The shelling on the deck caused bursts of bloody winds. The sailors' arms and limbs were broken by the shells, and the red blood stains had soaked the deck.

Sure enough, it was a large-caliber naval gun. The sound and momentum of the bombardment far exceeded the field artillery on the fortress, and it fired a salvo as soon as it came up.

As the signal flag was waving, intensive artillery fire soon came from the fort of the Seven-Star Fortress.

I don’t know how many guns were hit in this round of salvo?

Under the bombardment of large-caliber naval guns, it was obviously unbearable.

Just over a minute

When it hit the sea, it stirred up high waves. At the same time, the high-temperature iron cannonball boiled violently when it came into contact with the sea, triggering a large cloud of steam.

The fire took advantage of the wind and immediately burst into flames.

The Royal Netherlands Navy sailing battleship "Leevensaugus" is a typical second-level ship. The standard for Dutch second-level ships is to be equipped with 32 to 60 guns. The "Leevensaugers" just meets the minimum standard.

The sail operator who fell from high altitude almost hit several sailors who were working together to stir the winch. When everyone screamed and retreated.

This caused chaos on the gunboat deck, because now the deck was full of sailors and soldiers, some were busy manipulating the sails, some were anchoring, some were operating guns,

The lower-deck guns of the Dutch warships were still roaring, and the strike efficiency was very high. One of the cargo ships under the salvo of heavy guns had been severely damaged, and the mast of the other was directly broken, burning and falling down.

Then there was a numbing sound of bones breaking, and the sailor spurted blood from his mouth. He turned over and fell to the deck. He saw that he was dying.

One of the sailors was slow in his movements and was severely hit in the soft ribs by the fast-moving winch tiller.

It can be clearly seen that both sides are fighting for their own purposes. Although the Dutch warships cannot damage the fortress tower high above, they can vent their anger on the cargo ships in the bay.

The Seven Star Fortress fired another salvo again. This salvo was obviously different from the previous one. The red-glowed cannonballs burned in the charcoal furnace fell like a gust of wind.

The rumble of cannons resounded loudly. Compared with the sound of the large-caliber naval guns of the Dutch Navy, the sound of field artillery sounded crisp and high-pitched, and there was a rain of cannons in an instant.

The most powerful are the 14 24-pound guns on the bottom deck, but like the lead ship, they cannot threaten the coastal fortress batteries high above.

If we squeeze a little, can we equip more than ten artillery pieces?

Two shells landed directly on the "Levin Saugus". One of them hit the stern cabin, and the other hit near the topmast from top to bottom, immediately opening a large hole in the deck.

"Order the fortress artillery to give me a fierce attack. Prepare the first artillery battalion and give them a big gift package at the critical moment."

The violent shaking caused all the dozen or so white sailors around to fall down and turn into gourds rolling on the ground.

However, as the leader of the Dutch colonial fleet, the sailing battleship "Levensaugus" often needs to patrol the vast East Indies waters. Compared with being equipped with more than ten artillery pieces, the need to carry more supplies is more urgent. .

Accompanying the sailing battleship "Levin Saugus" to the Surabaya Strait was the third-class ship "Olimburg", with a displacement of 656 tons and a total of 21 artillery pieces.

When the high-temperature shells hit the enemy ship, the huge explosion pressure caused the shrapnel to shatter. As they fired, they swept down a group of sailors on the deck and ignited the sail cables.

The entire ship has a displacement of 1064 tons and is fully loaded with 355 sailors and soldiers. They are crowded on the long and narrow deck, making it a crowded scene.

Many soldiers slipped and fell after taking only two steps. There were injured and wailing sailors everywhere. The scene was quite miserable.

Although the field artillery on the Seven-Star Fortress has small shells and poor power, they cannot hold up in large numbers!

This round of intensive artillery rain was pouring down. In just half an hour, more than 20 rounds of intensive bullet rain were fired, covering the head and face, and it was unstoppable.

As the battleship lost control, the Dutch battleship lost the angle from which to focus its fire and bombardment, and the bottom deck guns also stopped one after another. The shelling from the fortress fort overhead was still going on crazily.

Raindrops of cannonballs fell, making the Dutch sailors howl like ghosts. The burning sail suddenly fell, shrouding dozens of sailors in a sea of ​​fire...

After another ten minutes
The Dutch battleships "Levensaugus" and "Olimburg" ran aground on the beach one after another. They were not far from the sea originally, but now their sails were destroyed and their anchors were lost.

As expected, they were pushed by the waves and stranded on the beach one after another, unable to move anymore.

Feng Guohui waved his hand, and the first artillery battalion that had been hiding in the woods appeared one after another. They pushed the artillery and quickly set up a firing position on the bay.

Then without hesitation, he started igniting and firing guns, and smashed the dense shells at the trapped Dutch warship.

The pitifully trapped Dutch battleship Dingtou ran aground on the beach. Only one bow gun could fire back, and all other artillery was useless.

He watched helplessly being beaten one-sidedly, but there was nothing he could do.

Even so
These soldiers of the Royal Netherlands and Navy still fought bravely. Many soldiers raised their muskets and fired, fighting to the end.

The first artillery battalion replaced it with shotgun shells, and a shot was fired out in a cloud of black bullets. The Dutch soldiers who stood on the side of the ship and fired their volleys were swept down. The blood holes in their bodies sprayed out like blood mist, and the remaining soldiers were left behind. The severed limbs and arms flew around and fell into the sea.

This kind of battle scene is very tragic.

Feng Guohui ordered with a cold face; "Let the guys from the Eighth Regiment get on the ship and rush forward for me to engage in a boarding battle. I want to capture these two battleships. Let the Seven Star Fortress stop the bombardment and change the first battalion to shotgun shelling. Don't let me The boat was damaged."

"As you command, Your Majesty the Marshal."

The shelling on the Seven-Star Fortress soon stopped. These shells falling from high altitudes are extremely lethal and can often penetrate 2 to 3 decks and kill enemy soldiers in the bottom cabin.

Similarly, the damage to battleships is also great.

Now that Feng Guohui has regarded these two Dutch warships as his own, of course he is reluctant to let his men destroy them, which will make them more troublesome to repair.

He directly sent the newly formed 8th Regiment, took a cargo ship from the dock pier and rushed directly to the stranded Dutch warship, preparing to start a battle to seize the ship.

Even if more people die, it's still worth it.

Colonel Sluter-Meier, who was wounded in the battle, had his head wrapped in gauze and his body was stained with blood. He struggled to stand up and looked at the approaching cargo ship. He was immediately frightened and his eyes were red. .

If the battleship is completely captured by the enemy, it will be a great shame for every Royal Dutch Navy officer.

But there are not many methods he can take now. He can only shout at the top of his lungs and order the remaining soldiers to assemble, prepare weapons to fight back, and defend the battleship to the death.

These sail cargo ships did not slow down, but rammed hard at the Dutch warships stranded on the beach.

Several dull crashing sounds were heard, and several sailing cargo ships sailing downwind hit the Dutch warship one after another, crowded together on the beach, and turned into a large stranded mess.

"Hold the gun straight, aim, fire..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

"Hold the gun straight, aim, fire..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

"Hold the gun straight, aim, fire..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

Wang Erzhu, the leader of the newly formed Eighth Regiment, was not stupid. He directed the soldiers on the cargo ship to aim at the white sailors and soldiers on the enemy ship, raised his gun and started firing several rounds.

The dense rain of bullets pounced on the enemy like locusts, and a few white soldiers also raised their guns to fight back. The two sides fired at each other from a distance of more than 10 meters.

When the intensive gunfire rang out, blood mist flew.

After all, there were more people and more guns. This kind of close-range musket shooting gave the newly formed Eighth Regiment the absolute upper hand, and soon the soldiers and sailors of the enemy ship were beaten to death with corpses all over the place. It was too horrible to watch.

Then, under the officer's order, the soldiers jumped over the side of the ship, raised their guns and began to kill the injured enemy soldiers one by one.

This fierce battle at sea lasted less than two hours and ended with the complete defeat of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The Dutch warships "Levensaugus" and "Olinburg" were captured successively, with a total of 567 sailors and officers and men on board. Except for the 34 officers and men who disembarked with the special envoy Mr. Schneider, most of the rest were shot dead.

Post-war inventory
A total of 491 white Dutch officers and soldiers died in the Surabaya naval battle, 76 were captured, and no one was injured.

The capture of Captain Sluter-Meier, commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy, was the highest-ranking prisoner in the military and a viscount in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which severely slapped the Government House in the face.

On the Nanyang Army side, a cargo ship was sunk, another cargo ship was severely damaged, 43 officers and soldiers were killed, 116 were injured, and two artillery pieces were destroyed, achieving a hearty victory.

victory in this battle

It severely dealt a blow to the prestige of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, and made the Royal Dutch Fleet even worse.

The Royal Dutch East Indies Fleet has only 11 regular battleships in total, and "Levensaugus" has only two second-level battleships of the same class.

One is the "Levin Saugus", built in 1792, with a displacement of 1064 tons. The other ship is the "Hohenstaufen", built in 1765, with a displacement of 1455 tons.

Although the sailing warship "Hohenstaufen" has a larger displacement, it has been in service for 94 years and is an old ship in worrying condition. It starts to leak whenever it goes out to sea and experiences wind and waves.

Both the "Levensaugus" and the "Olimborg" are the main ships of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Fleet. The "Olimborg" was built in 1837 and is only 22 years old. It is very important to the Royal Fleet. It is an out-and-out new ship.

After these warships were captured, the tattered hulls or decks became brand new again as long as carpenters replaced the original parts, replaced them with new sails and cables, and painted them again.

This is the case with sail warships. After a naval battle, as long as there is no problem with the keel, the other ship planks and sides will be repaired, and it will not delay the ship's continued service for decades.

The East Indies Fleet has two sailing warships that are over 100 years old. The longest one is more than 130 years old. Isn't it still making a contribution?
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a small country, and its national power has declined significantly since the 19th century. It is no longer as powerful as the coachmen on the sea in the past.

It’s completely understandable to live a simpler life and search a little more.

However, the disastrous defeat in the Surabaya naval battle hit the Dutch far beyond the psychological level. It even shook the foundation of their maritime rule, which caused huge panic.

They never dreamed that the Nanyang Army would develop to be so powerful while taking a nap?

(End of this chapter)