Knock knock!

The Chinese naval fleet fired a volley of fire, and shells smashed into the "Devonshire", the flagship of the British Navy's right-wing detachment, and the bullets rained down in an instant.

The "Devonshire" was soon hit by several large-caliber shells, and the hull of the ship exploded one after another, mushroom clouds rose into the air, and thick smoke billowed out.

The cruiser "Devon", which lacks armor protection, is as fragile as paper paste in front of the ironclad ship.

However, fortunately, even though the "Devonshire" has no armor protection, it is also a hull made of wrought iron, which is a little stronger than the wooden iron-hulled cruiser five years ago, and will not be blown up and disintegrated in an instant, but it has also suffered heavy damage and lost its combat effectiveness.

Chen Shaoyi led the first detachment of the Chinese Navy to continue to approach the enemy fleet and destroy another British cruiser.

At this time, the main force of the British fleet commanded by Klaus completed a big turn and hurried over to the rescue.

"Fire!"

Klaus roared, and seven British ironclad ships fired a salvo of guns.

Chen Shaoyi also did not flinch, and ordered the five ships Dingyuan, Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, Hairong, and Haiyue to return fire.

The fleets of the two sides fired at each other, and the battle instantly became white-hot, and the sea water also boiled.

Although Chen Shaoyi's first detachment had only five warships, its firepower was very ferocious, and the twelve 305 mm main guns of the three ironclad ships of Dingyuan, Zhiyuan and Jingyuan were incomparably powerful, and the armor-piercing shells fired directly pierced the 200 mm wrought iron armor protection on the side of the British ironclad ships.

The three ships at the front, the Iron Duke, the Sultan, and the Agile, suddenly left terrifying holes on the hulls, and billowing black smoke came out.

The Hairong and Haiyue ships were not to be outdone, because of tonnage limitations, it was impossible to install heavy guns like 305 mm in the tonnage of the main guns, but they were also equipped with twin main guns with a caliber of 203 mm, and each battleship was equipped with six, one twin main gun in the front and rear bows, and one 203 mm single main gun on the left and right side of the ship's amidships.

Although the armor-piercing shells fired by the 203-mm guns were not enough to directly penetrate the wrought-iron armor protection of the British ironclad ships. However, it can attack the superstructure of the British ironclad ship, and then cooperate with the secondary gun group blasting shells on the side to destroy the superstructure and kill and injure the relevant personnel on the British ship with salvo fire.

The superstructure of many British ships, including the flagship of the Iron Duke, was hit one after another, a large number of British sailors were killed and wounded, and a fire broke out on the island, and thick smoke billowed from the island.

The British Navy is also struggling to fight back, and the artillery fire of the seven capital ships is still very fierce, the ship's waist guns, dense artillery fire, and a salvo can fire five tons of shells.

However, this does not work.

Despite the excellent artillery of the British Navy. The hit rate of shells was very high, and the warships of the Chinese Navy were shot one after another, leaving depressions of different depths on the side armor of the hull, and the strong armor protection was reflected at this moment. In particular, the ironclad ships of the Chinese Navy cannot be directly penetrated even if they are protected by 120-pound (roughly 305 mm) armor-piercing shells fired by the main guns of a British ship.

Even the British ironclad ships Furious, Sovereign, and Hercules in the rear team aimed at attacking the two cruisers of the rear fleet of the Chinese Navy from the beginning, and the 120-pound armor-piercing shells fired several times hit the Hairong, and as a result, a scene that surprised the British army happened.

Since the cruisers of the Chinese Navy are also protected by armor, and they are protected by dome armor. The middle bulges, like the beveled armor of a tank, or the steel helmet of a soldier, if not a 90-degree vertical hit. It usually bounces off. The shell that hit the Hairong was accidentally bounced off, although the angle of the bounce was not large, it canceled out most of the kinetic damage, and the remaining lethality was no longer enough to penetrate the Hairong's armor protection.

"What? Can't even get through? ”

Klaus saw the result from the telescope. I was taken aback.

"I can't imagine that the armor protection of the Chinese Navy's ironclad ships is so powerful?"

"Even the district cruisers are equipped with armor!"

"The order was given to the main guns of each ship to abandon the use of armor-piercing shells and switch to blasting shells. Attack the enemy ship superstructure! ”

Klaus is worthy of being a famous admiral, although he has been repeatedly humiliated by the Chinese Navy, it does not affect his naval combat ability.

Since 120 pounds of armor-piercing shells cannot penetrate the broadside armor of the capital ship of the Chinese Navy, it is even more impossible for other small-caliber secondary guns to do so.

No matter how thick the armor of the Chinese battleship is, it is impossible to cover the entire superstructure, so the use of explosive shells to attack the superstructure only needs to destroy the superstructure and kill and injure the sailors inside, which can also make the battleship ineffective.

The order was given, and the British ships quickly replaced with blasting shells and concentrated their fire on the superstructure of the Chinese warships.

The British Navy, as the strongest navy in the world, is not in vain, and the British gunners are still very good, and the hit rate is quite high.

Shells fell on the Chinese battleship and exploded with a bang, wreaking havoc on the superstructure and killing and wounding people.

A 120-pound shell hit the bridge of the Dingyuan and exploded, instantly destroying a third of the bridge and injuring more than a dozen people.

"Medic!"

Once someone is injured, the medical staff arrives as soon as possible, quickly carries the wounded away on a stretcher, and sends them to the operating room for treatment.

Fortunately, Chen Shaoyi did not command on the bridge, but stayed in the command tower.

The tower was the first of its kind in the Chinese Navy to cover its front with 280 mm of armor and easily withstand British 120-pound armor-piercing shells.

Seeing that the British ship's artillery fire had changed its tactics, Chen Shaoyi snorted coldly, and immediately ordered the fleet to turn around and reopen the distance between the two sides.

As the distance between the two sides became farther and farther away, the accuracy of the British ship's guns dropped dramatically, and it no longer posed a major threat to the Chinese navy.

The Chinese Navy, in turn, once again played the tactics of going around in circles, preparing to look for the next opportunity for a surprise attack.

Faced with this situation, Crowston gritted his teeth and scolded his mother in anger, but there was no way.

In the first round of the Sino-British naval battle, the British cruiser "Devonshire" was heavily damaged and lost its combat effectiveness, and the "Shropshire" raised the command flag and took over the command of the right-wing detachment. More than a dozen British ships were hit by bullets and caught fire, killing and wounding more than 200 people. Although all the ships of the Chinese fleet were shot, they were insignificant, only a dozen people were injured, and there were no deaths.

The Iron Duke was the flagship of the British fleet. Received three 305-mm armor-piercing shells, although the armor was penetrated, it missed the vital point and saved a life. However, because it was the flagship, the superstructure was heavily bombarded by the secondary guns of the Chinese Navy, and the island was damaged in many places, at least four fire points, but they were all extinguished in time.

The deck was blood-red, and in the operating room of the inner cabin, British doctors were operating on wounded soldiers.

"This can't be saved. Take it to the morgue! ”

The doctor waved his hand and asked a British sailor to be carried away, covered in blood and dying.

"This one needs to be amputated!"

"No, I can't live without legs!" The British sailor lying on the operating table shouted that he did not want to have his leg amputated, which would mean the end of his military career and the problem of his future life.

At this time, the sailors of the British Navy and even other European and American navies were recruits, not compulsory soldiers, and did not enjoy the opportunity to transfer jobs arranged by the government, once disabled. will be ruthlessly abandoned by society.

The doctor sympathized with the sailor, but shook his head and said, "Your wound is infected, and if you don't amputate it, you will die." ”

The sailor said unwillingly: "Isn't there a little Dan? I heard that that thing can suppress wound infection! ”

The doctor shook his head. Said: "That thing only has one box on this ship, but it is not for you ordinary soldiers, but for the use of officers above the rank of colonel, you don't have that qualification." ”

When the sailor heard this, he immediately cried and cried. But no matter how much you ask the doctor, it doesn't work.

The naval battle continued, and a large number of wounded were waiting for the doctor to operate, so the doctor would not give this sailor much time.

Ten seconds later. The sailor had to undergo amputation, became crippled and would leave the British Navy after the war and fend for himself.

The same doctors, in the operating room of the inner cabin of the Chinese Navy's Dingyuan ship, the situation is diametrically opposite.

A Chinese sailor, who was also seriously injured in the leg but did not have to have his leg amputated, was given a box of Xiaohuandan anti-inflammatory medicine after the operation.

"Remember, eat one pill in the morning, noon and evening, don't be reluctant to eat it, if I know that you secretly left it for your family to mail back, be careful to send you to a military court!"

"Got it! What a nosy! The sailor agreed angrily, he was really reluctant to eat Xiao Huandan, and thought that he would send it home for his parents and relatives to keep for backup, or take it out and sell it for money, which would also be a lot of income. It's a pity that the doctor saw through his mind and had to give up.

If the amputee sailor on the British ship saw this scene, he would probably be jealous and hateful to death.

In the corridor outside the operating room, a second lieutenant officer with an injured arm finally got his turn to be treated.

It was a female nurse, very beautiful, and instantly made more than a dozen injured male soldiers in the aisle in a daze, and they usually managed to get a little injured and ran over to find this beautiful nurse for treatment.

"The arm was pierced, the shrapnel was not left inside, there was no need for surgery, it was sterilized!" After the female nurse judged, she skillfully picked up a cotton swab, dipped it in alcohol, and went directly into the wound on the inside of her arm, passing through the back of her arm.

"Ah!! You tap! It hurts Lao Tzu to death! The second lieutenant officer was so pained that his forehead was bruised, and he howled like a pig.

"What's your name! Are you still not a man? The pretty nurse immediately rebuked fiercely.

The second lieutenant officer was stunned for a moment and said: "Lao Tzu is in pain, what does it have to do with whether Lao Tzu is a man or not?" ”

The beautiful nurse snorted coldly: "As a soldier, blood, sweat and tears, what is your name?" This is the ironclad ship, the men on the ironclad ship should be men who stand up to the sky, crying out like a girl, don't serve on the ironclad ship anymore, get out of the way as soon as possible! ”

The "......" second lieutenant officer was immediately speechless and ashamed.

The other fighters on the side burst into laughter, knowing that they would never have one less competitor.

"What are you laughing at? If you don't want to heal your injuries, get out! ”

In China's Shence Army, the profession of doctors is very special, as long as it is within the jurisdiction of doctors, such as in the medical room at the moment, the rank of doctors is the rank of senior officer. So not only did the second lieutenant officer in front of him dare not do anything to the beautiful nurse, but even the commander of the fleet had to be honestly trained.

Therefore, these warriors who were waiting to be wounded suddenly shut up, but they still forced a smile.

The next moment, the beautiful nurse took out another cotton swab and continued to dip it in alcohol and poke it in the wound hole in the second lieutenant's arm, while glaring at each other, which meant to say, "You call me the pain again!" ”

Sure enough, the second lieutenant officer was silent, gritted his teeth, and endured the severe pain of alcohol killing, but he was thinking in his heart: "Uncle, Lao Tzu is on a par with your little pepper, and when Lao Tzu marries you home, he will train you well, and let you be arrogant for a few days!" ”

After the disinfection and bandaging, the beautiful nurse gave the second lieutenant officer a box of small pills, and after some advice, she drove him out directly and continued to treat the next wounded.

Wounded people are constantly being sent to the infirmary, where minor injuries are treated simply by nurses, and serious injuries are handed over to other surgeons for surgery.

According to the concept of China's Shence Army, it is better to spend more medical expenses to save the lives of wounded officers and soldiers, because it is not easy to train a good naval soldier.

This philosophy proved to be correct and was widely adopted in the future. It's a pity that the British Navy hasn't noticed it yet, and by the time they did, it was many years later, and at that time they felt the huge gap with the Chinese Navy in this regard.

There was still a fierce battle outside.

In just half an hour, the first and second detachments of the Chinese Navy took advantage of their speed advantage to constantly look for loopholes in the British Navy's defenses, and then sank three British cruisers one after another with an all-out blow.

When the British fleet counterattacked, the Chinese fleet quickly broke away from the entanglement and continued to play a game of cat and mouse with the British army.

Chen Shaoyi's tactic was to concentrate on attacking the British cruiser formation first, and this tactic was quickly seen through by Klaus.

Klaus was so angry that he vomited blood and had to adjust his tactics to deal with it.

"We underestimated the strength of the Chinese fleet, although their capital ships are not many, they are very advanced, and our warships are completely backward in terms of speed, armor protection and firepower."

Carter frowned and said: "If the Chinese Navy keeps using this tactic to wear down with us, we will eventually be exhausted and played to death by them." ”

Klaus had to admit that his opponent was very powerful and experienced, he couldn't imagine that there would be such a commander in the Chinese Navy, he didn't even pay attention to Lin Jiyun, but he had to admire the opponent at the moment.

"We're just going to have to shrink our defenses now, but is there anything else you can do?"

Switching from offense to defense, Klaus never dreamed of today's results. How confident he was to destroy the Chinese navy, only to find out that it was his own whimsical in the end. Now he does not expect to destroy the Chinese Navy, but prays not to be wiped out by the Chinese Navy.

Carter thought for a moment and replied, "If it's just a contraction of defenses, then we'll need to hold out until dark and withdraw from the battlefield at night before we have a chance to return to Singapore." ”

Klaus looked at the sky, it was at least six hours before it got dark.

Damn the sun, why not go down quickly!

Yesterday Klaus scolded the sun for setting too early for him to continue attacking Manila Bay.

Today, I am scolding that the sun has set too late.

The sun, that is, the sun, so lie down the gun! (To be continued.) )