At this time, the total number of warships participating in the battle on both sides was close to 30, and neither side had a clear command ship, so they were all mixed together regardless of the formation of the queue, and the entire battlefield was also chaotic. I can only hear the roar of artillery, drilling, and ships of all sizes shuttling back and forth, and the fighting is very fierce.

However, after about 30 minutes of fighting between the two sides, the KPA fleet had a clear upper hand, the two cruisers Royal Arthur and Bedford were sunk, the Baller, Monmouth, and Grafton were also heavily damaged, and 3 of the 8 destroyers of the two detachments were also sunk, while only one destroyer was sunk on the KPA fleet's side.

First of all, there are three battleships in the People's Army fleet array, while the British fleet has only one battleship, and it is also a second-class battleship, so the People's Army has a relatively obvious advantage in combat power; although the People's Army fleet does not have a command ship, it can rely on the Yueyang ship to directly command, and the Yueyang ship has God's perspective, and its control over the entire battle situation is clearer than every warship on the battlefield, and it can directly communicate with the warships and command them remotelyAs the main force to strike at the enemy ships, the cruisers were arranged on both sides of the battleship, responsible for interfering with the enemy ships and driving out the enemy destroyers, and the destroyers were sandwiched between them, waiting for the opportunity to move and protect the battleships.

In addition, with the Yueyang ship providing shooting parameters, the result was that the People's Army fleet naturally became more and more courageous, while the British fleet suffered heavy casualties and had no ability to resist at all, plus at this time the battleships had already retreated, so the captains of the other warships also ordered to retreat, and the People's Army fleet took advantage of the situation to pursue for a while, catching up with the three destroyers that were heavily damaged and had a reduced speed due to heavy damage, and carried out a jump melee battle.

The two sides engaged in a close battle for about 10 minutes, and the Seal chose to open the submarine valve and sink itself, while the Spitfire and the Swordfish did not sink because the captain was killed and there was no unified command, so they did not sink themselves, and finally lost the attack of the People's Army, and the dead and wounded were exhausted, and finally the remaining remnants of the army could only choose to surrender.

In order to capture these two destroyers, the KPA fleet paid the price of 21 killed and 17 wounded, but the capture of the enemy warship was significant, so it was worth it.

At this time, the naval battle was all over, and the whole battle lasted about 2 hours and 35 minutes, and the fleet commander Wang Hailong was also very satisfied with the result of the naval battle, and laughed in the command room, saying: "Happy, happy, this battle is enjoyable." This was the first time we had fought with a battleship as the main force. ”

Chen Xiaojiang said: "Lao Wang, the battle is won, and it is worth being happy, but we can't get carried away, although this battle is fought with battleships, but in fact, it still relies on the guidance of modern warships, so it can't be said that we can really gain a foothold in the armament of this era." ”

Wang Hailong said with a smile: "Step by step, at least now there is no need for modern warships to fight, this is a progress, I think that the day when we really rely on warships in this era to take the lead is not far away." ”

Chen Xiaojiang nodded and said, "That's right, it is estimated that after this war, it will be almost over." By the way, now that the battle is over, although the results have not yet been counted, it should be reported to Qingdao. ”

Wang Hailong patted his forehead and said, "Yes, yes, I almost forgot, you immediately draw up a telegram, and I will send it back to Qingdao after reading it." ”

About an hour later, the statistics of the results of the battle also came out, and the British Far East Fleet had sunk or captured a total of 14 ships, accounting for one and a half of the total number of fleets, including three battleships, the Old Man Star, Goliath, and Centurion, the armored cruiser Bedford, the protective cruisers Edgar and the Royal Arthur, the destroyers Rocket, Shark, Thresher Shark, and Seal, two reconnaissance and communication ships, and the destroyers Spitfire and Swordfish captured by the KPA; a total of 1,838 soldiers killed and 873 captured. The other warships that escaped were also badly damaged, among which the two battleships HMS Balrell and HMS England were the most severely damaged, and they could not be repaired at the Singapore station and needed to be towed back to the British mainland for major repairs.

However, the East China Government's overseas Chinese evacuation fleet was only sunk by three destroyers, 187 soldiers were killed, and 154 were wounded, and judging from the impact of the battle results on the war situation, after the end of this naval battle, before the arrival of the British and French expeditionary forces, the entire Far East, including Southeast Asia, did not have a sea force that could compete with the East China Government, so no matter from that point of view, the People's Army Navy won an indisputable victory.

Early the next morning, the East China Government officially announced the results of the naval battle of the Natuna Islands and the results of the evacuation fleet, which were soon sent back to China by reporters from various countries.

But at 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, Britain was not allowed to admit the result of the defeat in the naval battle of the Natuna Islands, after all, the British media industry is very developed, and the press is relatively free, such a big defeat, it is impossible to hide it.

After getting the confirmation of the British, it suddenly caused a huge shock in the world, because the cornerstone of British hegemony is the navy, and since the Battle of Trafalgar for more than a hundred years, the British Navy has almost rarely been defeated, and the countries of the world have almost acquiesced to the title of the British Navy invincible, but this defeat is the first time that the British Navy has been defeated after the Battle of Trafalgar, and it is also an indisputable defeat when the two sides are evenly matched. It was the East China government, which had only recently emerged in recent years, that defeated the British Navy, and such sensational news naturally attracted the whole world.

The Washington Post of the United States published a commentary article saying: Although the victory in the naval battle of the Natuna Islands did not allow the East China Government to ensure victory in the battle against the British and French expeditionary forces, the result of this battle is still of great practical significance, that is, the British Navy is not an invincible force, and excellent and technologically advanced warships, effective organization and command, strict training, and brave and tenacious will to fight are the conditions for defeating the British Navy. The KPA Navy has done exactly that, and if the navies of other countries can do these things, they will be able to defeat the British Navy.

Compared with the more neutral evaluation of the United States, the German [Rheinische Zeitung] It obviously carried a lot of private goods, saying that after 100 years of the Battle of Trafalgar, Britain finally paid for a Trafalgar-style defeat, and Britain was able to dominate the world for nearly a hundred years, and the cornerstone was the British Navy, but the Battle of the Natuna Islands showed that the cornerstone of British hegemony had been shaken, and it also showed that the British Navy was not terrible, and the East China Government, a force that was not yet a formal country, could defeat the British Navy, so other countries could also do it, and Guan Jian did not have the determination of the East China Government.

The French have mixed feelings about this naval battle, Bi Jing is now in the best time in history of the relationship between Britain and France, and this time the two sides jointly formed an expeditionary force, and there is some hatred for the enemy, but Britain and France have been hostile for hundreds of years, and it is not an overnight thing to change the bad attitude of the French towards Britain, so the French can't help but gloat over the defeat of the British Navy, [Paris Times] The commentary said: The Battle of the Natuna Islands was the most serious defeat in the history of the British Navy, and 60 years ago, it was Britain who knocked on the door of the ancient Oriental country with strong ships and cannons, and 60 years later, the glory of the Royal Navy was ended by them, which has to be said to be a very wonderful thing. However, when the expeditionary force reached the Far East, it might be able to save face for Britain.

Italy is purely the mentality of the people who eat melons, [Rome Daily] said: The British Navy has suffered the most painful defeat in history, so when the Far East Expeditionary Force fleet with the British Navy as the main force arrives in the Far East, we will wait and see whether it can save this face for Britain.

Japan and Russia reacted to the naval battle with a chill, and both countries strictly ordered their media not to report any news about the naval battle in the Natuna Islands.

In fact, Britain was most shaken by it, after all, Britain was one of the parties to this naval battle, and the major media in Britain without exception criticized the British Navy and the Far East Fleet, severely criticized the incompetence of the Admiralty, and even criticized the Navy Secretary Fisher's naval reform plan that led to the decline of the British Navy's strength, and so on.

In the face of such surging pressure of public opinion, the British Admiralty was also forced to hold two press conferences in succession, saying that the loss of the naval battle of the Natuna Islands was just an accident, and that it did not mean that the Far East Expeditionary Force, with the British Navy as the main force, would lose the war, but on the contrary, the honor and dignity lost on the battlefield would definitely be recaptured by the British Navy on the battlefield.

In addition to public pressure, there is also a political threat, and now Britain's ruling Liberal Party has been strongly attacked by the opposition Conservative Party, demanding the resignation of the government, which has also made Prime Minister Henry Campbell Bannerman anxious. Therefore, the prime minister summoned the Minister of the Navy Fisher again and asked him whether the expeditionary force would be able to win if it reached the Far East.

At this time, Britain has always been the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party in turn in power, before that, the Conservative Party has been in power for 10 years, the Liberal Party only regained power in December 1905, and now it is not hot, naturally I don't want to lose. Although the defeat of the Natuna Sea Battle will not bring down the ruling party, if the expeditionary force cannot achieve victory in the Far East, then the ruling party will definitely not be able to retain the prime minister's position.

Originally, Prime Minister Bannerman had full confidence in setting up an expeditionary force to go to the Far East to participate in the war, but since the formation of the expeditionary force, it has not been smooth; first, Russia suffered a major defeat and basically withdrew from the Far East battlefield, so it could no longer provide any help to the expeditionary force; and the Japanese mainland was attacked by the People's Army, so I am afraid that it would not be able to help the expeditionary force; now the British Far East Fleet has suffered another crushing defeat, so Prime Minister Bannerman has no bottom and must ask for clarification.