Open an aircraft carrier to fight against Japan

The German fleet, with three Brandenburg-class battleships as the main force, departed from the home port of Kiel, entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar, entered the Red Sea from the Suez Canal, sailed out of the Gulf of Aden, and sailed through the vast Indian Ocean. Pass through the long and narrow Strait of Malacca, enter the South China Sea, go all the way north, and approach Jiaozhou Bay.

German Emperor Wilhelm II, standing in front of the map, looked at the route he had personally chosen, as if he was standing on the flagship Kurfürst Kurfürst, personally commanding this majestic fleet.

William II's left hand was hidden under his right hand. When he was born, due to breech production, his left brachial plexus atrophied, making his left hand look much smaller than his right hand. His mother, Victoria, England The princess is very strict with him and often requires him to exercise more frequently, so he has received strict military training since he was a child, so that he is full of yearning for a powerful army.

Just a few years ago, William II went to England to attend the commemorative ceremony of Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne. He was envious of the grand ship review ceremony of the Royal Navy, so he formulated a huge shipbuilding plan and wanted to pass a huge Fleet, to lay down an immortal world of the German Empire, for this reason, he kicked away Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister who knew how to hide his strength and bide his time.

Three main battleships, five cruisers, plus six transport ships, these are all the battleships of the German expeditionary fleet. Although the Beiyang fleet has nine cruisers including two ironclad ships, it seems that the number is superior. The commander Dietrich is not worried, after all, a naval battle is not a battle that can be won with more.

The Dingyuan ship and the Zhenyuan ship are both old ships that have been in service for nearly ten years. The boiler condition of such a ship can be imagined. The maximum speed of the Dingyuan ship is 14.5 knots, but now it may not even reach 10 knots. However, the warships of the German Expeditionary Fleet, especially the Brandenburg-class battleships, are all warships in service within a year, and their average speed is around 15 knots. Dietrich thought leisurely: "If there is a fight, this It will be a battle of cavalry and infantry!"

On November 1894, 11, the German expeditionary fleet arrived at the waters near Jiaozhou Bay, and asked the Qing government to allow the fleet to enter Jiaozhou Bay, and asked the Qing government to assist the German fleet in evacuating overseas Chinese. After receiving the note, the Qing government replied to the German government, rejecting the fleet’s entry into Jiaozhou At the request of the Gulf, he agreed to assist Germany in the evacuation of Chinese nationals.

On November 1894, 11, the Dingyuan, Zhenyuan and Zhiyuan ships of the Beiyang Fleet arrived at Jiaozhou Bay from the Weihaiwei base to prevent the Germans from forcibly landing. On the same day, the British government sent a note to the Qing government, hoping that the Qing government would take practical measures to protect the For British citizens in the Qing Dynasty, the Russian government issued a statement that if the Qing government was unable to protect the Russians in the Qing Dynasty, Russia would have to take necessary measures to protect the lives and properties of Russian citizens from threats.

On November 1894, 11, the Chaoyong rammed the cruiser, the Yangwei rammed the cruiser, and the Pingyuan Dome-armored cruiser and other ships of the Beiyang Fleet rushed to Jiaozhou Bay to join the previously arrived Dingyuan and Zhiyuan ships.

At 1894 o'clock in the morning on November 11, 6, the calm Jiaozhou Bay welcomed an uninvited guest, the German expeditionary fleet's Brandenburg-class battleship Weissenberg, Captain Const's heart was very heavy.

Unlike Fleet Commander Dietrich, Const is an admirer of the firepower theory. The two two-mounted 305mm main guns on the Dingyuan ship still make him palpitate, while the Weissenberg class only has three What worries him even more is that although the six guns have the same caliber, their barrel calibers are not the same. The one in the middle of the hull is 0 times the caliber, and the front and rear main guns are 35 times the caliber. Different multiples mean that the ballistic data of the artillery pieces are different, which means that the six artillery pieces cannot share observation data!

Const's mission is very simple. Enter Jiaozhou Bay and test the attitude of the Qing government. This is an unusual diplomatic test, but history is often made up of a lot of mistakes and coincidences. Const and Dietrich Xi didn't expect that this trial would lead to the first confrontation of armored fleets in human history!

At 10 a.m., the Zhiyuan Ship and Pingyuan Ship, which were on routine patrol missions, spotted it at a distance of 7000 meters from the Weissenborg Ship, and then sailed towards it, and ordered it to sail out of the Daqing Sea with a semaphore.

From 10 o'clock to 10:30, the German warship ignored the warnings of the Zhiyuan ship and the Pingyuan ship!The Zhiyuan ship and the Pingyuan ship were forced to increase their horsepower to intercept the German warship.

If it was just a diplomatic probing, you should turn your head and leave after being discovered by an enemy warship, but the German warship ignored it. There are different opinions on this matter in history, and historians generally believe that this incident reflects the German warship However, the fact is that the observers of the Weisenborg ship did not find the Zhiyuan ship and the Pingyuan ship at all within half an hour!

This is half an hour that historians cannot understand, but it actually happened! At a distance of 5000 meters, the Wiesenberg ship finally found the Zhiyuan ship. The Wiesenberg ship turned to leave. While turning, a piston steam engine used for propulsion broke down. At 12 knots, we headed towards the Qing army camp in Jiaozhou Bay. When we turned the corner, we could only continue driving at 8 knots.

The Zhiyuan ship increased its speed to 14 knots, and the Pingyuan ship increased its speed to 11 knots, driving away behind the Weissburg ship, but the sudden deceleration of the Weissburg ship, in the eyes of the two ships, undoubtedly It is a provocation!

The Zhiyuan ship issued a semaphore and ordered the Wessenborg to leave the Qing Dynasty at an accelerated speed. This time, the observers of the Wessenborg found out, but the captain Const refused to explain the mechanical failure. He believed that doing so would damage the face of the German Navy. At the same time, he issued an order: order the main guns to open the gun covers, prepare ammunition for each gun position, point the muzzles at the Zhiyuan ship and the Pingyuan ship, and prepare for battle.

Later historians lamented that without this order, nothing would have happened!

At this time, the distance between the two sides was less than 4000 meters. Under the telescope of the observer of the Zhiyuan ship, every move of the Wesenberg ship was clearly seen. The mouth turned to himself to attack himself. After all, both sides were within the range of each other, so they also ordered the main gun to prepare!

During this process, neither the Zhiyuan ship nor the Pingyuan ship slowed down, which made Const panicked. He ordered forced ventilation of the boiler to obtain higher steam pressure, hoping to increase the speed of the ship, but in this way, the boiler Overwhelmed, one boiler could not bear it and had to be temporarily turned off, so that the speed could only be reduced again.

At this moment, two shells were fired from the main gun of the Weissenberg and landed between the Zhiyuan ship and the Pingyuan ship. The German warship opened fire!