Chapter 432: Battle of the Gulf of Siam (8)

In the evening, the originally cloudy sky suddenly revealed a few pale red rays of sunlight, adding a bit of blood to the originally dim battlefield.

With the withdrawal of the cannon fodder fleet on the right flank of the Dutch side from the battlefield, the area of engagement on the right side of the Pacific Fleet was vacated enough space for the main force of the Dutch East India Fleet to deploy the battle formation.

Turner ordered the cannon fodder fleet on the left flank to continue to intensify the attack, while directing the main fleet to attack from the right flank.

At this moment, the Pacific Fleet is heading towards the cannon fodder fleet.

On the flagship Dingyuan, Shi Jianfei had already noticed the changes in the Dutch fleet and understood that Turner was preparing for a decisive battle. However, dozens of Dutch cannon fodder warships on the right flank of the fleet had been pinning down the firepower of the Pacific Fleet, making it impossible for the fleet to fully deal with the main force of the Dutch East India Fleet coming up on the left.

"Order the two teams of Fu Zi and Chen Zi to scatter the enemy from a long distance to prevent them from approaching. The rest of the ships are back in full combat condition, and they will first defeat these cannon fodder on the right flank."

Shi Jianfei's tactics were very simple, using twenty Beiyun-class battleships to carry out long-range blocking shots against the enemy's main fleet, and then concentrating other warships to defeat the Dutch cannon fodder battleships on the right flank.

The battle order was issued, and the two detachments of Fuzi and Chenzi quickly turned to the left, and during the operation, the two detachments formed a straight line and carried out long-range scattering on the main force of the Dutch East India Fleet with port side artillery fire.

"Maximum elevation angle, full combat charge"

With the orders of the gun commanders of each ship, the artillerymen quickly adjusted the Shenwu cannon to the maximum elevation angle and carried out the full battle charge according to the maximum range of each gun.

"Gun Position No. 1, ready"

"Gun position No. 2, ready"

……

"Gun position 28, ready"

Twenty-eight Shenwu cannons on the port side of the Fuwei, the flagship of the Fuzi, were ready, and the salvo preparation took only two minutes. At the same time, the other nine Fuzi battleships and ten Chenzi battleships were also ready, with a time difference of no more than ten seconds.

On the mainmast tower, the shooting staff constantly reported the course, speed and distance of the enemy's main fleet, and all kinds of numbers were gathered on the bridge, handed over to the captain and the bridge staff officer for judgment, and finally the commander of the detachment gave tactical command.

Turner led the main fleet all the way south, taking the "N" route, and kept approaching the Fuzi and Chenzi sub-fleets as they went.

Soon, the perpendicular distance of the fleets of the two sides was nearly four nautical miles. It did not reach the range of the Dutch battleship Westminster cannon, but it entered the range of the Shenwu cannon of the Chinese Empire.

"Prepare - Open the cannon"

The command flag fell, the salvo whistle was sounded, and the gunners at all gun positions pulled the trigger one after another.

The ram slams into the flint, and the spark ignites the primer, which in turn detonates the propellant in the chamber.

There was a cannon bang, and a column of smoke more than ten meters long came out of the muzzle. As the guns recoiled, shells burst out of the smoke screen, whistling into the air, flying towards the enemy fleet four nautical miles away.

Knock knock

A series of roars rang out one after another, and twenty Beiyun-class battleships launched a salvo of firepower, and a total of 560 naval guns opened fire one after another on the port side, and the battle line stretched for more than ten miles of sea.

In an instant, hundreds of shells shot into the air, drawing long parabolas. A few seconds later, the shells fell, causing countless huge waves of water in the formation of the enemy fleet.

With such a long-range scattering, if it is a single ship operation, the hit rate is almost zero. However, with twenty battleships and more than 500 shells scattered in the battle line, the hit rate increased, and about a dozen shells hit the enemy ships.

For the Pacific Fleet, this hit rate is not worth mentioning, because in daily training, this hit rate is far from perfect. But for the Dutch East India Fleet, they were shocked by the volley of fire from the two detachments, the Fu and the Chen.

They were surprised that the Pacific Fleet's shells were able to hit them at a distance of nearly four nautical miles. Such a distance, in the case of gunners of the Dutch Navy, could never have been done.

Both Turner and Rayoz were dumbfounded, and did not come back to their senses until the adjutant asked if they had avoided the enemy ship's shells.

"At such a distance, the lethality of the shell is already very small, and there is no need to make evasive maneuvers"

After Turner finished speaking, he looked more than ten meters away on the left side of the deck, where wisps of green smoke were rising at the moment, and a shell about ten centimeters in diameter was embedded in the deck and did not penetrate the deck.

Rayoz sighed: "I really didn't expect that the artillery power of the Chinese Empire has developed so rapidly, it seems that we underestimate them, the Chinese Empire is so arrogant, and it is indeed capitalized."

Turner thought for a moment, and Tunnel added: "Pass the order, and prepare for defense when the fleet is two nautical miles close to the enemy fleet."

Rayoz frowned and said, "You see that the Pacific Fleet's firepower has suddenly recovered, is it deceiving us before?" I suspect that they have far more ammunition reserves than we estimated"

Turner waved his hand and said, "If they don't fight us with all their might, then I should be careful that they have cheated and reversed, and now they are fighting with full firepower, but they are just returning to the light and making a last stand." My guess is that the Pacific Fleet's ammunition reserves have bottomed out, and they are now just scaring us, with the aim of dragging it out until dark. ”

Then, Turner gave a loud order, and the whole fleet continued to move forward, preparing for a decisive battle.

Turner led the main fleet to continue to approach, and the two sub-fleets of Fuzi and Chenzi on the opposite side continued to carry out long-range artillery bombardment. Although it was unable to inflict fatal damage on the enemy ship, the occasional shell made the Dutch sailors on the ship nervous.

At this moment, the mental blow to the enemy far exceeded the physical damage, and the officers and men of the Dutch fleet were disdainful on the surface, but they all unconsciously approached the vicinity of the cover, and their eyes were aimed at the sky from time to time, staring at the ballistic trajectory of the shells, and the deterrent effect was already quite obvious.

On the other side, Shi Jianfei led the Tianzihao, Haizihao, Fengzihao and Luzihao battle groups to carry out the fiercest attack on the Dutch cannon fodder fleet.

The Pacific Fleet changed its previous passive approach to the enemy, and the battle groups of each detachment advanced at full speed, attacking from all sides, and striking fiercely at enemy ships in an all-combat state.

After many hours of fighting, the Dutch's cannon fodder fleet had suffered in front of the Pacific Fleet, and in the face of the full firepower output of the powerful battleships, a rain of bullets poured down from the sky, and the weak firepower of the cannon fodder battleships was suddenly drowned, and two successive fire salvos tore their battle lines apart.

The cannon roared, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air. With the Pacific Fleet's full firepower output, the battle instantly entered the white heat.

Dingyuan took the lead, and ten Tianqiong-class first-class battleships guarded both sides, and in less than 20 minutes, the battle line of the cannon fodder fleet was scattered, and the three sub-fleets of Haizi, Fengzi and Luzi quickly interspersed among the enemy fleet, dividing the enemy fleet into more than a dozen small pieces, and then breaking through each and annihilating them.

In the face of the sudden outbreak of powerful combat firepower of the Pacific Fleet, the cannon fodder battleships were sunk one after another, and the psychological defense line of the Dutch sailors on the fleet was suddenly broken.

The Dutch were good at playing melee, but the Pacific Fleet was never fooled by them, and each detachment kept at least five warships in a group, relying on the advantage of speed and firepower, repeatedly seizing the "T" position of the enemy ship, and then sinking or crippling the enemy ship in one go, and then looking for the next target.

The Imperial Chinese Navy had already mastered the combat techniques of the battle line, and although the Dutch had begun to study the combat tactics of the Imperial Chinese Navy a few years earlier, they had only scratched the surface and lacked actual combat experience. At the same time, the warships of the Chinese Empire were generally advanced and of the same class as those of European countries, so in naval battles, the warships of the Chinese Imperial Navy could always seize the most favorable "T" head transverse position for shooting, so that the side that could not grab it would suffer a considerable loss.

The thunderous cannon roared through the sky, the smoke on the sea surface rolled up, and the giant * boiled.

At about half past seven in the evening, the Dutch fodder fleet was routed by the Pacific Fleet, the first and second waves were disabled, the third wave was heavily damaged, and the fourth wave fled the battlefield after losing more than half of its losses.

The cannon fodder fleet was routed and scattered, and Shi Jianfei ordered to continue the pursuit of the remaining enemy ships.

Wang Nan asked, "What, don't you go back for reinforcements?" They're fighting against the enemy's main fleet."

Shi Jianfei smiled and asked rhetorically, "You said that if we run away now, what will Turner think?" ”

"I must be chasing desperately" Wang Nan replied with great certainty: "What did Turner sacrifice more than a hundred cannon fodder battleships for?" It's not about depleting our ammunition reserves, and then destroying us in one fell swoop, and seeing that we are about to succeed, how can we let us run? ”

Shi Jianfei nodded and looked at the sky, the sunset just now had disappeared.

"It's dark in less than an hour, and our ammunition can hold up until dark, but I'm going to mess with Turner before retreating."

Wang Nan asked, "What's the way to provoke hair?" ”

Shi Jianfei replied: "Only leave one base ammunition as a night defense, and all the rest will be called to Turner, and we will slip away after hurting him, this guy will definitely chase us crazy."

Wang Nan asked again: "What about the treasure fleet?" As soon as we leave, what if Turner re-attacks the treasure ship? ”

"Don't worry," Shi Jianfei said, "You see that now that the two treasure ships have slipped away, the King of Siam will soon send a sailor to meet them." Turner's main fleet is chasing us, and the remaining cannon fodder battleships are all wounded, and even if the Siamese sailors can't destroy them, they can at least delay for a few hours, enough for the treasure fleet to return to Bangkok."

At this time, Shi Jianfei suddenly found that several airships of the Air Force had reappeared in the west of the sky, and immediately smiled: "Okay, there should be no problem with the Air Force to help take care of the treasure fleet."

Wang Nan looked up and saw that it was indeed the airship unit that had been withdrawn a few hours ago, and he thought in his heart that there should be no problem with the Air Force guarding the treasure fleet. At this time, the Dutch were quite afraid of airships in the air, and in the era of no air defense, wooden warships were powerless to resist the incendiary bombs thrown on their heads.

At this time, the war on the other side has entered the white heat.

Turner commanded the main force of the Dutch East India Fleet, which had engaged in a full-scale exchange of fire with the Fu and Chen fleets left behind by Shi Jianfei. The two sides formed a long fleet formation several hundred meters apart and fiercely attacked each other.

The two sub-fleets of the Fuzi and Chenzi were only fourth-class battleships, with 28 guns on the side of a single ship. The main force of the Dutch East India Fleet consisted of three second-class battleships and twenty-two third-class battleships, and even the fourth-class battleships numbered more than fifty.

Turner put three second-class battleships at the forefront, and formed the first attack echelon with twenty-two third-class battleships, and the remaining fifty fourth-class battleships were divided into the second and third echelons, which had been hidden to the right of the first echelon. As the exchange of fire between the two sides heated up and the distance of engagement narrowed to a few hundred meters, Turner ordered the second and third echelons to bypass the left flank of the Daochen sub-fleet and prepare to flank the twenty Pacific Fleet warships.

At the same time, Turner's other purpose was to delay the main force of the Pacific Fleet, intending to adopt the same tactics as Shi Jianfei, encircling and sending reinforcements to knock out the Pacific Fleet's Fuzi and Chenzi subfleets.

Turner's calculations were very good, but all the officers and men of the Pacific Fleet were battle-hardened officers and men with rich combat experience, which was not comparable to the second-rate naval fleets of the Dutch East India Company.

After discovering Turner's intentions, the Fuzi Squadron and the Chenzi Squadron took the initiative to separate and sail side by side, not giving Turner a chance to attack.

Due to the size of the battleships on both sides, the Dutch battleships were not good at seizing the "T" position, and the tunnel sailed side-by-side with the warships of the Pacific Fleet, one-on-one. The length of the ships on both sides was about the same, so although the Dutch battleships were large in number, they could not achieve group fighting tactics.

For example, the battle line formed by ten Fuzi battleships was about three miles long. The Dutch battleships were shorter than the Beigumo-class battleships, but not much shorter. Ten Dutch battleships formed a battle line of less than three miles, and the rest could be supplemented with the previous battleship. In this way, the ratio of warships of the Chinese and Dutch navies is 10:11.

However, the speed of the Beiyun-class battleships was half a knot faster than that of the Dutch battleships, and when the two sides were entangled in fierce battles, the last battleship on the Dutch side could not shoot at the target at all. As a result, the two sides are in fact one-on-one.

Of course, Turner had a group fight or a scuffle in mind. It's just that the Fuzi sub-fleet and the Chenzi sub-flotilla escorted the left and right, and did not give Turner a chance. As a result, Turner had a numerical advantage but could not play it.

However, the battleships that Turner used to attack the Fu and Chen were second- and third-class battleships, and their firepower was much stronger.

After an hour of fierce fighting, the three battleships of the Fuzi sub-fleet, the "Gospel", "Fufu", and "Fujiang" were seriously wounded, the two battleships of the Chenzi sub-flotilla, the "Servant" and the "Shichen", were seriously damaged, and the other ships were also scarred.

The Beigumo-class battleships were inferior to the other side in terms of the number of guns, but they had more firepower and dealt heavy blows to the Dutch battleships many times, so they did not suffer as a whole. It's just that due to the difference in the class of battleships between the two sides, it is difficult for a fourth-class battleship to sink a second- and third-class battleship.

The sky was getting darker and darker, and Turner had been leading his main fleet into battle for more than an hour, but he had not been able to sink a single enemy ship, much to his dissatisfaction.

Seeing that the Pacific Fleet on the other side had already crushed the cannon fodder fleet and was returning to help, Turner was very anxious.

"It's better to send the remaining warships over to block it and assist us in destroying the enemy fleet in front of us."

Turner glanced at the battleships in the distance behind him, shook his head, and said, "They have been frightened, and expecting them to go up is only to increase the enemy's spoils." Besides, it's getting dark soon, and we'll be ruined if we delay any longer."

Rayoz asked, "The two treasure ships have already run away, why don't you send warships to chase them?" ”

Turner smiled bitterly: "If you can't kill the Pacific Fleet in front of you, what if you control the treasure ship?" We're not trapped in the Gulf of Siam, and the treasure isn't ours."

Rejoz thinks about it, anyway, the treasure ship is still in the Gulf of Siam, so it's better to solve the current crisis first

Seeing that the main force of the Pacific Fleet turned around, Turner was a little anxious and hurriedly made a bold tactical maneuver.

At this time, Turner led three second-class battleships and seven third-class battleships to cling to the Fuzi detachment.

The ninth fire salvo from the port side of the flagship Tara Jersey, with dozens of shells fired at the Fuwei, the flagship of the Fuzi detachment. The fierce artillery fire immediately caused damage to the Fuwei in many places, and the starboard hull was beaten all over the body, and the holes were like a hornet's nest.

On the one hand, the Fuwei organized fire back, and on the other hand, it made a left turn to avoid it, and at the same time formed sailors to repair the damaged parts of the hull.

Suddenly, a heavy shell from the Tara Jersey hit the rear mast of the Forwick, instantly knocking the mast away. The mast, which was dozens of meters high, collapsed to the port side, pulling the hull and tilting to the left. The Tara Jersey seized the opportunity and slammed the Fortune into it. As a result, the hull of the Fuwei was damaged, and water entered many places, which was very dangerous.

Turner was overjoyed, and hurriedly ordered to prepare for the next firepower salvo, preparing to sink the flagship of the Fuzi detachment in one go and boost morale.

However, just as the Fuwei was in danger, the Fuxiang behind quickly caught up and blocked the Fuwei with her hull.

The sailors on board the Fortune hurriedly cut all the cables and saillocks that pulled the rear mast and pushed the mast into the sea, temporarily relieving the crisis, but basically losing its combat effectiveness.

However, the Fuxiang stubbornly blocked a volley of fire from the Tara Zexi for the Fuwei, causing damage to the two gun decks on the starboard side in many places, more than a dozen guns stalled, and fires broke out in many places, almost losing its combat effectiveness.

A few minutes later, the Fuwei and Fuxiang successively sounded the flags and flags of "This ship is damaged and Yan zhòng, and the battle sequence is withdrawn, handing over the command of the flagship to the Gospel." ”

Seeing that the Forwick and the Fuxiang were out of the battle sequence, the artillery crew of the Tarajersey immediately stopped shelling.

"Bastard" Turner suddenly scolded like thunder: "Who told you to cease fire? Chase me right now and sink them."

"But they're out of the fight sequence, according to—"

"According to a fart" Turner's heart had been suppressed for a long time, and at this moment he finally broke out, pulled out a musket and pointed it at the adjutant.

"You're Crazy"

Reyoz immediately pressed Turner's musket and said, "How did you go over and chase it?" Can't you jump over that battleship? ”

Turner was stunned for a moment, only to realize that after the Fuwei and Fuxiang made a sharp turn, the hull of the ship had been blocked by the Gospel coming up from behind. A