"Get out. We withdrew ......" successive sneak attacks have already made the British understand the problem. So the submarine could not go any further. In the chaos just now, he sank a British light cruiser, sank a large-tonnage transport ship, and cooperated with other submarines to sink and severely damage a protective cruiser of four or five thousand tons each, making great contributions to blocking the export waterway of Singapore Port.

Singapore, the so-called "Gibraltar of the East", has completely lost its ability to fight back as a naval base after an hour of bombing and sneak attacks.

"Major, look." A sailor suddenly pointed in the direction of the shelling and shouted: "Debris and oil splashes are floating there." ”

Forbes's anger could not be calmed down, and the east of the battleship under his feet, which seemed to be a calm water, was actually silent about a 5,000-ton protective cruiser, more than 300 sailors were killed because of the sudden blow, and only 22 of the officers and men of the entire warship were rescued except for those who did not board the ship.

Forbes hates damned, vile, shameless submarines.

"Very good. Very good. ”

"Keep shooting into the surrounding waters, shoot—"

"These damned, despicable thieves, who have stolen the victorious thieves by shameful means, all deserve hell."

"But Mr. Captain, we should have alerted the Commander. Use the strength of the entire fleet against this scumbag of vile submarines. Our own strength ......, too weak, isn't it? ”

The first mate broke his leg during the battle. Now the second officer is standing by Forbes' side. Forbes, who had lost his cool, had forgotten to report the submarine alert to the highest part of the fleet, which was a very low-level mistake. Forbes slapped himself the head.

Samorville and Phillips were soon alerted, and the submarine? Two high-ranking British naval officers were no strangers. Eight years ago in the United Kingdom, they built the submarine Nautilus, which was propelled by batteries with a speed of 6 knots and a range of about 80 nautical miles. But the two of them had never heard of a submarine capable of firing torpedoes, and the two admirals, who had been overwhelmed by the terrible reality, closed their eyes in despair.

They knew on their toes how badly such a weapon could inflict on the steel battleships of the British Empire.

The airship army before departure. I received a pinch of photos early, which showed the appearance of the 14 capital ships of the Combined Fleet, and these 14 warships were the first targets of their air raids. The airship army is beautifully finished. Sink three. Heavy damage to two HMS Revenge and another British armored cruiser. Although the number and tonnage of the submarines sunk by the periphery far exceeded that of the airship army, it was obvious that they could not be counted in terms of combat effectiveness, and those warships that were sunk outside the harbor and in the waterways were outdated. Old protective cruisers. Light cruisers and small ironclads, as well as transports, frigates, gunboats, and much more. Tied together, there is not a single first-class battleship of the Sovereign class, which is powerful!

But the two complemented each other, so that the effect and influence of this attack swept the whole world like a whirlwind, and also severely destroyed the fighting spirit and confidence of the British army in Singapore. They found that the weapons in their hands could not threaten the monsters flying in the sky at all.

Heavy machine gun bullets can penetrate their airbags, but they can't destroy them!

"Perhaps, concentrate more heavy machine guns. Shoot at an airship and you can do the chance of them. "Alger. Fan. Lieutenant General Sata said. He was the naval commander of the Dutch Far Eastern Fleet. In the midst of today's air raids. As far as the losses of the Dutch fleet were the slightest.

One of their 5,000-ton shore defense battleships suffered minor damage, and their non-capital warships lost only one 3,800-ton Dutch-class protective cruiser.

Yes, fourteen capital ships in the Combined Fleet, that is not a Dutchman thing. Even the equally downtrodden Spaniards contributed an armored cruiser of more than 6,000 tons. This is a warship that the Spaniards have recently transferred from Europe. After the Sino-British conflict broke out, the declining Spain, worried about the security of its own Philippines, pulled out of its teeth and beat the French, bought an armored cruiser that had been in the water for less than three years, named the Madrid, and sent it to Manila. As a result, in the air raid just now, the Madrid gloriously became the first large-tonnage capital warship to be sunk by an air strike force.

Summerville gave such an order in frustration, and he had to do it, and this was the only counterattack that the coalition could do in this battle. "One, as long as we can shoot down one, that's victory." This would restore the confidence of the British army. All it takes is one!

At the same time, the Central Asian battlefield tens of thousands of miles away. Here is the Arkalek fortress that connects the Aral Sea defense line with Omsk. Located in the central part of Kazakhstan, it is rich in bauxite.

After the end of the last war, in order to secure the connection between the Aral Sea and the southeastern ceding area of the Western Siberian Plain, and in order to build a strong defense line in front of the Ural Mountains and the Ural River, Tsarist Russia spent a lot of money, manpower and material resources to build a fortress-type fortification in Alkarek.

The fortifications were very strong. As soon as the Wehrmacht advanced here, the front-line commanders extinguished any attempt to capture the fort. Without leaking new weapons, capturing this strongly-defended fortress would have cost too many casualties.

As a result, the offensive of the Southern Route Army in the Northern Theater of the Central Asian Theater came to an abrupt end. They paused in front of the Alkarek fortress for nearly a month, which means that the more than 100,000 Wehrmacht troops had hardly achieved any decent results since the battle began. The whole of Europe was excited, excited.

The tsarist army held back the offensive of the Chinese Wehrmacht. Even if the Russian army relies on strong fortresses, this also shows that the Chinese defense forces are not truly invincible. They also have opponents who can't cope with it. Especially as the attacks of the armies in the northern and southern theaters have chosen to stop in the face of the Russian fortresses, the whole of Europe will go crazy in this month.

Nicholas II's tsarist throne suddenly became firm and unshakable, and the British munitions, the French and Dutch volunteers, and some of the Russian ones all changed for the better in an instant, and everything was thinking of a good march.

Until today! On the eighth day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese version of Valentine's Day has just passed one day.

If war had not broken out, it would have been an ordinary day for the vast majority of the world's population. However, the appearance of airships on the two battlefields of the north and south on this day made the eighth day of the seventh lunar month in China in 1894 so extraordinarily special.

For example, Morris, a good friend of the British consul in Tianjin, Dick, and a senior writer for the Daily Telegraph. He is still a freelance writer, and every press release is still submitted to the Daily Telegraph, but because he was in the Alkarek fortress of the Russian army on this day, the eighth day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar in 1894 became an unforgettable day for the rest of his life, and in this day, he became a witness to history.

Britain and Russia are very good allies, and when the news spread that the Russian military had blocked the attack of the Chinese defense forces with the fortresses, journalists from Europe and the United States rushed to Russia. It's like coming to China and Xinjiang in a hurry.

The contrast between reality and expectation is too great.

After the start of the war, no one thought that the Russian army would be an opponent of the Chinese Defense Forces. Three or four years have passed, and the Russian army has not changed dramatically, while the strength of the Wehrmacht has become stronger. Their logistical support, their military strength, and the weapons in their hands have all improved to varying degrees compared with the beginning.

However, the news of the successive defeats of the Russian army suddenly turned into a stalemate between the two sides, which made many European journalists excited.

It is never uncommon for the strong to defeat the weak; Only when the weak defeat the strong can they attract the attention of countless people.

This was the case with the battles that took place in Central Asia and the Western Siberian plains. Morris became part of such an army. Because of his high popularity and British identity, he was allowed by the Russian army to enter the front line and enter the core city of the Alcarek fortress.

As a result, Morris was worth the trip. Here he witnessed an epoch-making scene in military history.

On this morning, Morris was woken up by a sudden increase in the noise outside the room, and after getting up, Morris walked to the window and saw the airship army obscuring the sunlight in the sky like a dark cloud. The bright sky darkened, obscuring the sunlight as if a large dark cloud had been blown by the wind. It wasn't a real cloud, it was an airship, a swarm of airships. Huge airships, reflecting the sunlight, flew towards the Alcarek fortress. It's like a flying fortress that has been magically cast by gods and demons. The entire fortress of Alcarek was in a state of panic and tension.

The hotel where Morris is located is one of the few hotels that remain in the city of Alcarek, and everyone who can live here has an extraordinary status, especially at this time, it can be said that the Russian front line is specially used to accommodate distinguished guests. The location is high, the view is excellent, and standing by the window, you can almost see the scenery outside the city. Therefore, the people who can live in this hotel are also people who are absolutely trusted by the Russian army. Otherwise, if anyone clicks here to take a few scrolls of photos, the entire Alcarek fortress will be exposed.

If Morris hadn't had a lot of influence over the Daily Telegraph, he wouldn't have been able to stay in this hotel if he were just an ordinary reporter. The "Daily Telegraph" has a huge influence in Britain and is also a well-known newspaper in Europe, and it is an object that the Russian military wants to win over and take seriously.

"God, it's an airship, it's all an airship."

"What do the Chinese want them for? Is it just scouting? ”

"Machine guns can be placed in the basket......"

"You can also load bombs!"

"That's right, man. It's a good idea. ”

Morris tried to calm his mind, and then he heard countless chatters, enthusiastic discussions. Because very few of the guests in the hotel were Russians, they were all journalists from Western European countries and the United States. They are not worried about the future of the Russian army, these people only see a huge news in their eyes, which is destined to cause a sensation in the world! (To be continued......)