John Dewey, commander of the U.S. Navy's Asian Fleet, planned to attack the Spanish-Philippine colonial fleet in Manila Bay on Christmas Eve, but he didn't dare to make it.

Dewey knew that Wang Chenhao was planning to launch a surprise attack on Guam on Christmas Eve, so before leaving Hong Kong, he sent a secret telegram to the Qing Imperial Admiralty, requesting the assistance of the Qing Imperial Navy. At the beginning, Wang Chenhao said that he would raid Guam on Christmas Eve, but he didn't tell the truth to Charles, and Guam had already fallen into Wang Chenhao's hands at this time, and the outside world didn't know about it.

Wang Chenhao had an agreement with Charles, so he ordered five large armored cruisers of the Second Navy's Combat Squadron stationed in Guam to sail to Manila to assist the U.S. Navy in attacking the Spanish colonial fleet.

Du Xigui led the second team of five warships to Manila, and when they arrived, it was already night, and in the dark night, Du Xigui did not go directly to meet Dewey's fleet, fearing that the enemy and the enemy would be injured by mistake at night, and at the same time, Wang Chenhao's order to Du Xigui was to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, so that the US Navy and the Spanish Navy would fight each other, dog eat dog. Therefore, Du Xigui ordered the fleet to stay in the open sea.

Dewey waited until the evening to see the Qing Imperial Navy arrive to converge, and the reconnaissance ships he sent out reported that the Manila Shore Defense Army and the Spanish-Philippine Colonial Fleet were celebrating Christmas and that their defenses were lax. Moreover, the U.S. consul in Manila also sent out the route of the Manila Bay channel, which marked the location of the mines laid out by the Spanish in Manila Bay.

After getting this information, Dewey decided that he could not miss the fighter, so he did not wait for Du Xigui to carry out a sneak attack plan.

At twelve o'clock in the evening, while the Spaniards were immersed in the Christmas Eve revelry, Dewey led his fleet to quietly bypass the minefield and enter Manila Bay, and began to search for the Spanish colonial fleet.

Dewey's U.S. Asian fleet consisted of 4 cruisers: the flagship USS Olympia (5,870 tons), the USS Baltimore (4,413 tons), the USS Raleigh (3,640 tons), and the Boston (3,319 tons); two gunboats: "Petrel" (892 tons) and "Concord" (1710 tons); and the coal carrier "McCulloch". The ships had a total tonnage of 20,000 tonnes and carried about 100 guns, only half of which were larger than 4 inches, and could fire 3,700 pounds of shells in a single salvo.

At this time, in the Philippines, 600 nautical miles away from the American fleet, Patricio? Admiral Montejo commanded the Spanish Philippine Colonial Fleet, and when he learned that Spain had declared war on the United States and China at the same time, he was immediately anxious, because he knew that with the Philippine fleet in his hands, it could not compete with the Qing Imperial Navy, or even inferiorly the American Asian fleet.

Montojo had at his disposal the new cruiser Reina Cristina (3,500 tons), the 3,342-ton Castile 1st class wooden-hulled cruiser, the 1,160-ton Don Antonio de Uloa 2nd class unprotected cruiser, the 1,130-ton Don Juan-de-Austria unprotected cruiser, the 1,030-ton Cuba Island 2nd class protective cruiser and the 2nd class Luzon Island protected cruiser, the 1st class gunboat Marquis Duaro, the torpedo gunboat USS Leso, the gunboat Velasco and the USS Mandano transport.

The only modern ship of the Montojo Navy that can start the role of the starting point is only "Rena? Christina". It has a displacement of about 3500 tons and carries a naval gun of 6.2-inch caliber. The other cruiser, the Castilian, was an old wooden ship that could not be driven by its own power. In addition, 5 warships of 500 to 1100 tons, full firepower of the fleet, one salvo of l273 pounds.

Estimating that he would not be able to defeat his opponent in mobile combat, Montojo planned to resist at anchorage, using his warships as a fortified fleet to support coastal artillery. In this case, the Spanish-Philippine colonial fleet was docked in shallow waters near the coastal fort of Cape Krabi.

Just after midnight, the U.S. Navy fleet searched all the way to the depths of Manila Bay, and the visibility was extremely low in the night, and they did not dare to turn on the searchlights for fear of exposing the target, and they moved slowly like a black blind man.

Guided by the flagship "Olympia", the American fleet slowly advanced in a "one" formation. Despite the fortifications on both islands, the Spaniards were celebrating Christmas Eve, patrols were lax and the US Navy was not found.

At about 5 a.m., the U.S. Navy finally discovered that the Spanish fleet was anchored in the waters of Krabiti, 10 nautical miles from the city of Manila, near the coastal fort of Cape Krabi.

The morning fog was hazy, but the sky was already bright.

On the sea, the Spanish ships lined up from east to west. The Spanish Navy is asleep.

Dewey originally wanted to shoot close to the Spanish battleship, but the opponent was in shallow water, and Dewey did not dare to take risks, so he could only attack at a distance of about 4,000 meters.

The USS Olympia opened fire first, followed by five other American ships lined up in turn, and they also opened fire.

For a while, the cannon roared on the sea, and huge water columns rose and fell.

The sleeping Spanish Navy was suddenly attacked and panicked. And the commander of the fleet, Montoho, was no longer in the fleet, and returned to the Philippine Governor's Palace last night for Christmas Eve. For a time, the Spanish Navy was leaderless, and there was a great chaos.

However, the US Navy had no experience in naval combat, and after shelling for more than ten minutes, it failed to inflict heavy damage on the Spanish Navy on the opposite side. Invisibly gave the Spanish Navy time to breathe, and soon, the officers and men of the Spanish Navy restored order and began to counterattack.

Although the quality of the Spanish naval sailors was stronger than that of the American army, the weapons on the Spanish warships were too backward, the firepower was not strong, the range was not far, and the guns of the counterattack were fierce, but not a single heavy artillery hit the opponent.

The main warships of the United States and Spain are 6:7 each, all lined up in a long snake formation, shooting at each other, as if returning to the medieval naval battle.

The artillery rang out in unison, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air.

The main target of the strike of the American ships was the Spanish flagship "Reina? "Christina" and the cruiser "Castile". The US ships have an absolute advantage in firepower and speed, and the firepower of the US side in a salvo is three times that of the Spanish Navy, and the deck of the Western ship is full of Christmas trees, wine barrels, cream, firewood for bonfires, coal, and other flammable materials used in Christmas celebrations.

Half an hour after the engagement, the U.S. Navy gradually gained the upper hand.

Subsequently, the US fleet formed a column, and under the command of Dewey's flagship "Olympia," relying on the advantages of the new warships in hard armor, strong firepower, and fast speed, they opened fire while heading eastward. When it was about to move away from the position of the Western Fleet, it turned to the east. After approaching the berth of the Western Fleet, it turned the rudder to the west. After several maneuvers in this way, the Spanish detachment, which was outdated and untrained, was completely in a position of being beaten passively. After several voyages, the distance got closer and closer, until at a distance of 1,700 meters, several Spanish warships were heavily damaged.

Just after 8 o'clock, the flagship of the Spanish Navy "Rena? The "Queen Christina" was sunk. Then Montojo rushed to the fleet and boarded the "Cuba Island" to continue the operation, but there was no way to save the defeat.

After Montojo arrived, he held out for only twenty minutes before the Cuba Island was sunk, and after being wounded, Montojo fled into the coastal fortress in a small boat.

At half past nine o'clock in the morning, all of the fleet of the West Spotted Tooth was sunk, and the whole army was destroyed.

Dewey won the first battle and won the Battle of Manila Bay. This naval battle was a complete "massacre" of the old Spanish warships by the new American warships. As a result, all seven Western Spanish warships were sunk, and the Western army suffered 381 casualties, with only seven minor casualties on the US side.

After Dewey eliminated the Spanish sea power, he dropped anchor in the sea near Manila because he had no army support, on the one hand, he tightly blocked Manila and waited for the arrival of the domestic army troops, and on the other hand, he prevented other powers from infiltrating the Philippines.

Since the United States and the Qing Empire declared war on Spain, the great powers knew that Spain must have finished this time. Unwillingly, Britain, France, and Germany immediately sent fleets to the South China Sea and the Caribbean Sea after the two sides declared war.

On the morning of 25 July, the German consul in Manila immediately informed the German Asian fleet in Papua Guinea after learning that the US Navy had destroyed the Spanish and Philippine colonial fleets.

This German Asian Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral Dietrich of the German Navy and was specially brought from the Baltic Sea to the Far East and incorporated into the German Asian Fleet. With the rapid rise of Germany's economy and military power, Germany's calls for overseas expansion have been rising one after another. Germany had already completed the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island in Far East Korea and the construction of a fortress on Jeju Island, so Vice Admiral Dietrich would lead this fleet to be stationed there to maintain German interests in the Far East.

After Dietrich arrived in Papua Guinea with his fleet, it was just in time for tensions between the United States and Spain, China and Spain, and war was about to break out. The German General Staff instructed Dietrich to take advantage of the fire and loot the Philippines, or take a piece of the pie. So Dietrich waited for his time in Southeast Asia.

On the 27th, Vice Admiral Dietrich led the German fleet to Manila Bay, ready to get a piece of the pie.

Dewey, commander of the US Asian Fleet, of course, would not agree, and immediately refused Dietrich's request to enter the fleet. At this time, Dietrich's fleet had seven warships, including the armored cruisers Deutschland and Queen Catherine Augusta, and the cruisers Gehion, Caesar, Prince Henry, Arcana, and Cameroon, with a total tonnage of 28,000 tons, which was slightly higher than that of the American Asian fleet.

Dietrich immediately refused to buy Dewey's account and led the fleet to Manila Bay. Dewey immediately led a fleet to intercept and block the main channel of Manila Bay.

A tense military confrontation broke out between the fleets of the United States and Germany immediately, and for a time there was tension and the smell of gunpowder was full.

Dietrich then ordered the German fleet to conduct demonstrative military exercises in an attempt to force Dewey to back down. Dewey observed that the German Navy was well-trained, stronger than the US Navy, and at the same time the German warships also had an advantage, and in the event of a fight, I was afraid that they would suffer a loss.

At this time, Dewey remembered the Qing Imperial Navy anchored in the open sea. Originally, Dewey was angry and dissatisfied with the Qing Empire's navy's dragging its feet and not coming to help, but the American fleet won a brilliant naval victory in Manila, so he was not so angry. However, Dewey also allowed the Qing navy to enter Manila Bay, fearing that the Qing Empire would not keep its promise and wanted to get a piece of the Manila pie.

However, at this time, the German Navy obviously wanted a piece of the Philippine issue, and it would take a month and a half for the US Army Expeditionary Force to arrive in the Philippines. Therefore, Dewey had no choice but to put down his subordinates and beg Du Xigui, the commander of the Second Combat Squadron of the Imperial Navy.

Du Xigui then asked Wang Chenhao for instructions on whether to help the American fleet stop the German fleet.

Wang Chenhao then held a meeting with Charles, the US minister to China, and after Charles promised to owe Wang Chenhao a favor, Wang Chenhao gave Du Xigui an order to lead the fleet to help.

On the 30th, Du Xigui led the fleet to Manila Bay and joined Dewey's fleet.

The five large armored cruisers of the Qing Imperial Navy lined up, dwarfing the Dietrich fleet and the Dewey fleet.

Then, Du Xigui invited Dietrich and Dewey to board the battleship Yu Yong, expressed the position of the Qing Empire to Dewey and Dietrich, and asked Dietrie's fleet to leave.

Dietrich saw that Du Xigui had a clear position, and knew that China and the United States had already discussed the war against Spain, and if he did not leave, he was afraid that he would cause trouble. Dietrich then reported the situation to the German political axe.

On January 3, 1898, the German political axe replied to Dietrich, asking him to abandon his plan to meddle in Philippine affairs. On the same day, Dietrich met with Du Xigui and Dewey, saying that this time it was a misunderstanding, and the German fleet just wanted to fill coal in Manila and rush to Jeju Island. In the evening of the same day, Dietrich left Manila Bay with the German fleet.

As soon as the German fleet left, two ships of the British Far East Fleet, the Cardinal and the Shooter, also came from Singapore to join in the fun. At the same time, a number of warships of the French Far East Fleet sailed out of Cam Ranh Bay and cruised in the South China Sea. On the one hand, it is to warn the Qing Imperial Navy and the US Navy, and on the other hand, it is also to see if there is an opportunity to intervene in the Philippines and get a piece of the pie.

However, Britain and France did not have as much urgency as the Germans in their claims to colonies, and Britain and France would not easily offend the United States and the Qing Empire unless they had sufficient interests.

The destruction of the Spanish Philippine colonial fleet immediately alarmed the Spanish political axe.

The whole country was in a panic, claiming that the U.S. Navy would hit the Spanish mainland, merchants from various countries evacuated Spain, and Spanish citizens began to loot supplies.

In order to stabilize the people's minds, the Spanish Minister of the Navy immediately issued an order to the Navy. Commanded Admiral Pascual, who commanded the home fleet? Severa is ready to destroy the American base in Key West and then blockade the American coast.

Severa was not optimistic about the matter, and in his opinion the order was extremely absurd, since his combat strength consisted of only 4 dilapidated cruisers and 2 destroyers, while the new warships of the Spanish Navy were at the moment in the shipyards, and the fastest ships would not be completed until June 1898.

He believed that his own navy could not compete with the US Navy and the Qing Imperial Navy. On the other side of the Atlantic, Spain did not have a strong military base, so it was likely that his fleet would not be adequately logistically supported in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Similarly, in the Pacific, the Battle of Manila Bay had wiped out the Spanish Philippine colonial fleet. He said the Spanish navy's most practical course of action should be to preserve its strength to protect the country. He also stressed that if Spain assembled a maritime alliance that could help with equipment and supplies, his fleet would be able to make the American coast a profitable military target. The Cabinet revised its directives accordingly, but insisted that the naval forces should at least defend Puerto Rico. Severa still sees his mission as hopeless, but has to carry out his orders.

On 2 January 1898, he set sail from Cádiz to the Cape Verde Islands with his fleet, but once in Cape Verde he stood by and waited for the situation to develop further.

The news of the departure of the Spanish home fleet caused a great panic of war on the east coast of the United States. Citizens everywhere imagined the bombardment of the coast and the invasion of the enemy on the basis of hearsay. Both the army and navy heard the frantic cries for the defense of the coastal defense. The urgency of the call for immediate action by the War Department against the incoming Spanish fleet caused the U.S. [***] Department to complain. Telegrams, letters, and politicians representing threatened areas poured into the military headquarters. Everywhere there was a demand for the issuance of guns and for all rivers and ports that could be found on the map to be mined. Even more neurotic are the Boston financiers who relocated 50 miles inland for fear for the safety of their investment bonds.

All this shows that the United States, a country with a strong economy, still has a very low level of perception of its military strength.

Under the strong pressure of public opinion, the US political axe has no choice but to appease the American people. The U.S. political axe generously sent a batch of old-fashioned Civil War-era guns to the coast, which were senselessly aimed at the vast Atlantic.

However, as soon as the American people had subsided, the American Cooking Party proposed a fleet to protect every area of the East Coast, and the call for it rose again.

This time, the U.S. Navy was depressed, and the battle between the Republicans and the Cooking Party spread to the Navy. Because as far as the fleet's mobile surname is concerned, it is an offensive weapon, and even if the fleet's mission is defense, its ships will never degenerate into immobile batteries. The U.S. Admiralty was well aware that the North Atlantic Squadron would have to act as a unit, and that even if Severa did not strike in the Caribbean Sea, where the Americans were waiting for him, but in other areas, the fleet would still be able to strike the enemy a-for-tat with its preserved whole. If the fleet were to be deployed scattered along the coastline, it would be militarily tantamount to self-destruction.

However, even then, it is necessary to somehow satisfy the cries of coastal cities for naval protection. In the end, the US Navy Department solved the problem with a compromise - the North Atlantic Squadron was divided into two large units: one was formed by the acting commander, Rear Admiral William Brown. Commanded by T. Sampson, stationed in Key West, he was prepared to deal with the Spanish provocations against Cuba and Puerto Rico. The other is the so-called "Flying Squadron", assembled in Norfolk and composed of Commodore Winfield? Scott? Schleih commanded, guarding the Atlantic coast as an active sea fortress. There is also a small northern patrol detachment of old, mostly decommissioned ships, guarding the coastline north of Cape Delaware.

Just when the Americans were nervous, on January 12, 1898, the 20,000-strong Chinese American Expeditionary Force completed the landing in Puerto Rico.

Under the command of Feng Guozhang, commander of the expeditionary force, and Duan Qirui, chief of staff, the Chinese expeditionary force crossed the Carolina River and rushed straight to San Juan.

(To be continued)