Ten Dragons Take the Inheritance

Chapter 495
Distance is a fatal problem. Due to the advantages of the Qing army's artillery in terms of rate of fire and power range, the English fleet suffered a dull loss as soon as the war started. The artillery fire of the Qing army generally chose easy-to-destroy targets such as the sails and masts of the ships of the English fleet to shoot. Although the accuracy of shooting at a distance of 250 meters is not too high, the hit rate is not too high. It's not too bad, the main masts and side masts of most of the ships in the English fleet have been damaged to varying degrees. Fortunately, the English fleet has already lowered half of its sails at this time, and the speed is not fast, so the adjustment of the battle line is affected. However, they did not fall into chaos, and they were still desperately trying to narrow the distance from the Qing army's battle line.

When the distance between the battle lines of the two sides was shortened to 210 meters, the Qing army had already completed the reloading of the artillery, and the two sides issued the firing order almost at the same time. Thousands of guns opened fire almost at the same time. The rumble of guns on the entire battlefield was deafening, and the smoke was scattered on the sea. Combined with the billowing black smoke from the ships that were shot and caught fire, it covered the sky and covered the earth like a thick fog. Diffuse generally lingering for a long time.

The two lines of battle running in the opposite direction are like two strange snakes constantly breathing fire, constantly throwing deadly shells at each other's heads. The Qing army fired a total of six rounds of salvo, while the British gunners were well-trained, but due to the backwardness of the artillery, they only completed four rounds of salvo. In addition, the number of warships was less than that of the Qing army. In one round, there were some small losses. Although no warships were sunk because of this, all warships were damaged to varying degrees. In particular, the sail system of the main attack target of the Qing army was seriously damaged. This made the English fleet turn around. The U-turn brought some troubles, until the Qing army had completed the U-turn and began to return to the battlefield, the English fleet was still busy coordinating the distance between the ships, and the advantages and disadvantages of the two sides were clear at a glance.

The tactics of a battle line duel, especially a battle line duel traveling in the opposite direction, are extremely simple and rigid. The battle is the total number, quality, and training level of the artillery of the two fleets. For the commander, the main task is to coordinate In fact, there is not much room for tricks in order to maintain the coordinated combat capabilities of the various ships.The Qing fleet has obvious advantages in the total number of warships, the total number of artillery and the quality of artillery. Although the training level of the gunners is slightly worse than that of the English gunners, the difference is not too much. Of course the army could win, but it was nothing more than a tragic victory. If you really want to decide the outcome, it would be impossible without two or three hours of fierce fighting. It was just over an hour. Once night fell, the possibility of the English fleet fleeing in the dark was extremely high. Therefore, although the English fleet was at a disadvantage at this time, it did not mind a protracted battle with the Qing army.

Admiral Nadal stood under the mast of the "New Wales" calmly, and did not interfere with the formation of the chief of staff, Rear Admiral Brown, nor even looked at the Qing army that had completed its U-turn and started to head back. Instead, he set his sights on the two squadrons of the Qing army that were moored not far from the battlefield, and kept guessing the intention of the Qing army's move, but he couldn't understand why the Qing army did this— —The number of these two squadrons is not too large, that is, there are more than ten large and small warships each, and they have already lowered their sails at this time. It may be plugged in at high speed to complete the interspersed action against the British battle line. If the Qing army is too arrogant to fight more with less, Admiral Nadal would not believe it, but he can't figure it out The reason why the Qing army came up with this strange formation.

Yun Yu stood on the deck of the "Weihai" with a smile on his face. He was very satisfied to find that the course adjustment of the English fleet was a bit slow due to the damage to the sail system of each ship. All ships on the front line pay attention to attacking the sail system of the enemy ship. The upper gun decks of each ship will be replaced with explosive bombs to attack the sailors on the deck; order Xiao and Chen to stand by and attack. The main force detours to the right to the upwind and executes the combat mission of cutting off the enemy fleet."

The two lines of battle that were moving towards each other soon started a second exchange of fire. The sound of the guns became one piece, and the smoke on the battlefield became thicker and thicker. Battleships appeared and disappeared in the billowing black smoke. Both sides of the artillery battle focused all their attention on the increasingly fierce artillery battle, and no one noticed that the two Qing fleets that had been moored outside the battlefield quietly set sail, one left and one right. The battlefield is detoured.

In the reverse battle line duel, in order to ensure the hit rate, the warships of both sides can only sail with half sails, and the speed is not much faster. Admiral Nadal of the Qing Army Squadron outside suddenly discovered that the two squadrons had detoured to the other side of the battlefield at some point, and were now adjusting their course towards the windward, and his heart sank suddenly. I wonder why the Qing army desperately attacked its own sailing system in these two rounds of confrontation. Seeing that the two Qing army squadrons are fighting towards their own battle line like two sharp knives, Admiral Nadal His face darkened immediately.

"Keep heading, shrink the formation, and don't leave any gaps between the ships. The whole fleet pays attention to the enemy fleet on the upwind, and fires with all its strength, and must block the enemy's penetration." Admiral Nadal stopped Rear Admiral Brown's order to turn around , and no matter at this time the main force of the Qing army fleet had already started to turn around and fight back, roaring hoarsely.It was only at this time that the ships in England noticed that the two Qing squadrons on the upwind port were approaching at high speed, and they suddenly became chaotic, trying to adjust their formation according to Admiral Nadal's order, but the problem was due to In the two rounds of confrontation just now, the sailing system of the British army was severely damaged, and the sailors who operated the sails also suffered heavy casualties. Although the English sailors desperately adjusted the battleship, it was of no avail. And there was a lot of confusion.

"Order, each ship adjusts its course, [-] degrees northwest, and rushes forward, preparing for a boarding battle, and must wipe out the English fleet here!" Seeing that the fighter plane has arrived, Yun Yu issued an order for a general attack. The main force of the Qing fleet, which had already completed its U-turn, began to adjust its course, and chased after the chaotic English fleet.

Facing the fate of being cut into three pieces by the Qing army, the England fleet began to risk its life, regardless of the main force of the Qing army fleet that was chasing at high speed behind it, and launched a fierce bombardment at Xiao and Chen's two departments.Interspersed tactics play with heartbeats. It is not without risk to attack the enemy's battle line in a one-line formation. For the two squadrons of the Qing army traveling at high speed, due to the course and speed of the ship, it is impossible to fire back at this time. You can only be beaten passively. If you don't have the courage to die, such tactics will not work.

courage?What the Qing army lacks most is courage!Under the fierce firepower of the English fleet, the two leading small battleships of the Qing army quickly turned into a huge burning torch, hovering on the sea surface and sank to the bottom of the sea, but the other warships did not flinch at all. , relentlessly killed the past, took advantage of the wind and entered the English fleet, and cut the English fleet into three pieces. At this time, the main fleet of the Qing Dynasty, which had already caught up, unceremoniously attacked more and less, and was about to fall into a trap. The last two sections of the English fleet in trouble surrounded them and launched a frenzied siege.

Admiral Nadal was also trapped in the encirclement of the Qing army at this time. It was not the first time he had seen the interspersed tactics of the Qing army, and he knew the advantages and disadvantages of it. , Heartbroken, glanced at the two large warships of the Qing army that were approaching the "New Wales" for a boarding battle, and issued the final combat order in a calm voice: "Order: Warships outside the encirclement must not love to fight, immediately Leave the battlefield and return to Shanmasek, and the rest of the ships will fight separately, and God bless England!"

"My lord, the enemy's frontline fleet has escaped and is heading due west. There are two first-class warships, three second-class warships, and two cruisers." The lookout post on the mast of the "Weisheng" discovered the change of the English fleet. The alarm was sounded immediately.

"My lord, do you want to send a fleet to pursue?" Liu Yao, who was standing beside Yunti, asked tentatively.

"Don't worry, they can't escape. When they return to Danmasik, it should be our territory long ago. Order the ships to ignore the leaving British ships and try their best to encircle the main force of the British army in the encirclement!" Yunyu sneered. One Road.

The blood was burning, the sea was boiling, and the sailors on both sides engaged in an ancient boarding battle under the blood-colored sunset. Although the troubled English navy broke out the most tenacious resistance, in the face of the powerful attack of the Qing army, all this But it was futile. When night fell in the battle, as the flagship of the English fleet "New Wales" raised the dragon flag of the Qing Dynasty, the war came to an end-except for a small number of warships in the English Far East Fleet. The sinking of the war fell into the hands of the Qing army. Admiral Nadal died in battle, Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Brown was captured alive, and the deputy commander, Vice Admiral Bradley, led the rest to surrender. So far, the English Far East Fleet as a main body has no longer After that, the Qing fleet won the final victory in the Malacca naval battle.

(End of this chapter)