Chapter 363: The End of the Spanish Navy

Over the waters of Alvoran, thick smoke billowed and gunsmoke filled the air.

It was only half an hour after the sinking of the Gagou that the battleships of the Mediterranean detachment of the Third Detachment of the Spanish Armada belatedly arrived.

From the mouths of the surviving sailors, it was learned that the two battleships were magnificently sunk by the opposing warships, and at the same time, the place of battle was at the doorstep of the Spanish Empire, under the nose of the Spanish Navy, which made the Spanish Navy extremely annoyed.

Originally, they thought that dispatching the entire Mediterranean Fleet to attack five warships of the Imperial Chinese Navy was a bit of a victory, but now it seems that the other side can easily sink two fourth-class battleships, and the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire is not in vain, and it should be treated with caution.

However, the commander of the Spanish Navy, Vice Admiral Cachenla, did not take it to heart and ordered the large and small warships of the Spanish Navy to hunt down the Mediterranean Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

In the vast Mediterranean, the Spanish Navy seemed to have gone mad, searching everywhere for the shadow of the warships of the Imperial Chinese Navy.

Yang Chen commanded the fleet to avoid the main channel, and after passing through the Alvoran Sea, it made a detour to the west side of Palma Island and took the Balearic Sea.

During this period, the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire conducted reconnaissance of the enemy fleet with the Guò Sea Sparrow communication ship, so that it was able to avoid the formed Spanish naval fleet first. However, trade in the Mediterranean was still relatively strong, and most of the passing ships did not dare to offend the Spaniards, so it was inevitable to provide intelligence to the Spanish navy.

However, in this era of backward communications, it is difficult to find each other when the two sides are more than forty or fifty miles apart on the vast sea.

Of course, although the Imperial Chinese Navy chose to avoid most of the enemy ships in the remote seas, it could occasionally encounter some small Spanish warships. It's just that these Spanish warships could not pose a threat to the warships of the Imperial Navy, and they did not even dare to get too close for fear of being destroyed. However, there were also some daring Spanish warships that approached, only to be beaten flat, and either sunk or fled in disgrace.

However, there are too many places in the narrow Mediterranean Peninsula to cross the sea, resulting in many narrow choke points like Gibraltar, so that the Mediterranean Fleet of the Chinese Navy does not dare to swagger forward during the day, and can only choose to pass Guò at night.

The Spanish navy remained on the main shipping lane, and although they could not catch their prey for a while, they knew the destination of the other party, so they waited for the rabbit in the sea of Marsala, at the end of the Sardinian Peninsula.

This is the last narrow stretch of the sea, and only through the Guò Marsala Sea can you enter the wide expanse of the Mediterranean hinterland and return to Port Said in Egypt.

The Mediterranean Fleet of the Chinese Navy descended near a small desert island in the northern part of Sardinia in the Tyrrhenian Sea, preparing to quietly navigate the Sea of Guò Marsala at night.

However, for several days, the sea of Marsala was clear, and at night the moon was full, and the Spanish navy was so tight that it was difficult to pass through it safely.

Finally, on a cloudy night, Yang Chen immediately commanded the fleet to advance along the Tunisian border on the east coast.

The sea breeze was howling, the battleship was sailing on the dark sea, and the Sea Sparrow communication ship in front would send out several safety fire signals every half an hour to guide the fleet to move forward safely.

However, the sky is unpredictable.

Three hours later, just as the Sea Sparrow communication ship was sending another safety signal, it was unexpectedly discovered by a Spanish Navy cruiser.

The Spanish warship was no longer patrolling here, but because of food problems, the captain of the ship, 77 people below the captain of the ship, suddenly suffered from abdominal pain, and the ship's doctor could not solve it, so they had to return to the port station for treatment.

While taking a shortcut to return home, the ship's sentry spotted the signal from the Sea Sparrow 26. They didn't know what the signal meant, but they knew it wasn't the Spanish Navy's night signal.

At this time, in the nearby waters, the Spanish Navy had forbidden any ships to sail at night, so the other party was obviously the Mediterranean Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy that the Spanish Navy was searching for.

The second officer of the Spanish warship was in urgent need of medical treatment for the health of the captain and other sailors. Therefore he did not lean over for interrogation, but could not sit idly by, so he ordered the opening of the cannon and informed the nearby Spanish warships with the sound of cannons.

Knock knock

The sound of cannon fire suddenly pierced the silence under the night sky.

On the battleship Youjia, the sudden sound of cannons suddenly alarmed Yang Chen.

"What's the situation?"

Yang Chen walked quickly to the outside of the bridge, and under the guidance of the shipmaster, he used the binoculars to look at the enemy ships that were firing guns in the distance.

The artillery fire at night illuminates half of the sea and the sky, and the thunderous sound of artillery can be heard hundreds of miles away.

"They're a warning"

In a flash of light, Yang Chen already understood the other party's intentions.

Liu Jing walked over and said, "We have just reached less than half the distance of Guò, and we will not be able to pass the Guò Strait until the Spanish Navy arrives."

At this time, the Sea Sparrow reported again that a large number of Spanish warships were approaching this direction.

Yang Chen had no choice but to order the fleet to turn around and retreat.

However, just as the fleet was returning home, a large number of unknown enemy ships also appeared on the retreat route, and the situation suddenly became tense.

"Damn it's a trap"

In fact, the Spanish Navy has also known about the fast communication ships equipped with the Royal Navy fleet of the Chinese Empire, and they know that where there are sea sparrow communication ships, there must be a main fleet.

Obviously, the Sea Sparrow communication ship had already been spotted by passing ships nearby during the day when it was cruising around the strait during the day. It's just that the other party's ships are not as fast as the Sea Sparrow communication ships, so they can't reach the dust.

However, the Spanish fleet had clearly judged that the Mediterranean Fleet of the Chinese Empire was nearby, and was anxious to pass through the Guò Strait. This is the last choke point in the Mediterranean, and beyond this is the very open waters of the Mediterranean, and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack to find this fleet.

Vice Admiral Cachenla, commander of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet, was an excellent commander who judged that the Chinese Navy would open the Guò Strait at night. Today happened to be the first cloudy night, so he had been prepared for a long time.

In order not to startle the snakes, Kaichenla deployed the usual sentry ships in the front sea area to guard it, and in the middle and rear sea areas, he sent twice as many ships to patrol. Therefore, even if the Spanish battleship just now did not fire, the navy of the middle hand ~ machine will not be able to pass.

On the other hand, the sudden fire of the Spanish battleship did the Chinese Navy a great favor, otherwise it would have been in danger.

In this way, the Mediterranean Fleet of the Chinese Empire is still in danger. The thin clouds could not completely block the moonlight, and the dark shadow of the huge warship could still be seen within two miles of each other on the sea. If you look through a telescope, you can see it from a greater distance.

The distance was getting closer and closer, and Yang Chen didn't dare to turn around at this time, because he knew that there were more enemy ships behind him, and it was more difficult to deal with.

At this moment, suddenly a cannon rang out, and the Spanish fleet in front suddenly turned around.

It turned out that at a critical moment, the sea sparrow was a second cannon.

Obviously, the aim was to attract the attention of the Spanish fleet.

Sure enough, in the darkness of the night, the Spanish Navy was not sure. The sound of the guns of the Sea Sparrow communication ship immediately diverted the attention of the Spanish fleet.

Knock knock

In the darkness of the night, lightning and thunder and gunsmoke filled the air, and the ships of the Spanish fleet opened fire on the Sea Sparrow in the distance, and they did not notice that the other side fired only two shots at a time.

"It's Sea Sparrow Twenty-Six"

Liu Jing breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Yang Chen and said, "It seems that the Spanish fleet on the other side has no experience in night battles."

"The black light is blind, and we are the same"

Taking advantage of the fact that the Spanish fleet on the opposite side was diverted, Yang Chen hurriedly ordered the fleet to avoid and quickly withdraw from the strait.

Soon, when the Spanish Navy discovered that the target of their attack was the Sea Sparrow communication ship, it immediately knew that it had been fooled. However, when you want to turn around and pursue the other side, where is the shadow of the enemy fleet?

More than 30 Spanish warships immediately began to besiege the Sea Sparrow 26, because they knew that even if they failed to meet the main force of the Chinese Empire's Mediterranean Fleet, sinking or capturing their communications ships would be a great achievement.

The all-steel Sea Sparrow communication ship has always been a coveted warship of the navies of various European countries, so they have always played the idea of a Sea Sparrow communication ship.

Now was a good opportunity, and the Spanish fleet was suddenly dispersed into five or six fleets, intending to seize the Sea Sparrow communication ship.

However, the Sea Sparrow communication ship was extremely fast, up to eighteen knots, and like a ghost in the middle of the night, it was difficult to get close.

A sturdy shell made of all-steel, it was difficult for the Spanish Navy's naval guns to penetrate her armor. Coupled with the poor accuracy of the night shelling, dozens of warships were helpless to take the Sea Sparrow communication ship.

Soon, the communication of the Spanish detachment divided into arrays was chaotic in the dark of night, and when one detachment pursued the Sea Sparrow, it accidentally hit the warships of the other detachment, causing confusion.

The Sea Sparrow communication ship escaped from the gap between the opponent with its steel-hulled hull and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Twenty minutes later, Kaichenla led the main fleet to arrive, only to see that his own warships were almost fighting each other, and he was immediately furious and punished the relevant commander.

At dawn, the Mediterranean fleet of the Chinese Empire retreated into the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Looking at the rising sun on the sea, Yang Chen said worriedly: "This time is really dangerous, we were almost made dumplings and couldn't come back."

"Isn't it?"

Liu Jing nodded, thinking of the situation last night, a trace of cold sweat oozed from his forehead.

At this moment, they only have some charts of the Mediterranean Sea in their hands, and the Imperial Chinese Navy is not ready to intervene in the traditional sphere of influence of the Europeans.

For the Chinese Empire, this place is still a blank space, and you need to go into the water to test it.

"It seems that the Spaniards know their backyard very well, otherwise they would not have been able to set up an ambush on the sea at night."

Yang Chen nodded and said, "It's not safe for us here, they'll find it soon."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Liu Jing asked, Yang Chen shook his head, he didn't have a clue. The Sardinia Peninsula divided the Mediterranean into eastern and western parts, with the western part completely under the control of the Spanish and the eastern part under the hands of the Turkish Empire. At this time, the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet was in the back garden of the Spaniards, and the situation was very dangerous.

"They're blocking the strait, and we have to lure them away if we want to get there."

Liu Jing thought for a while, and suddenly said, "Why don't we go and attack the seaports of Spain?" ”

Yang Chen looked at Liu Jing and understood what he meant after a while.

"Are you going to divert the tiger from the mountain?"

"That's the only way to do it right now."

Liu Jing unfolded the chart, pointed to Fiumicino next to the city of Rome and said: "This place is close to the location of the Holy See, if we shell here, we will definitely be able to attract the Spanish fleet." ”

Then Liu Jing pointed to Sardinia and Corsica and said: "When the Spanish fleet comes, we will go around the other side of one of the islands, and then take the opportunity to go straight to the strait, as long as there is a time difference of half an hour, we can safely pass through the Guò strait." Once we get to the western Mediterranean side, we're safe. ”

Yang Chen thought for a while and asked, "But judging from the situation last night, the other party's commander is not an easy character to deal with, I think he will definitely see our purpose."

Liu Jing smiled and said, "Then we will fake it and send the marines to land in Fiumicino, and the Holy See will definitely be shaken, and I am not afraid that they will not come back."

Yang Chen turned happy and said: "Okay, just do as you say"

Subsequently, Yang Chen led the Mediterranean Fleet to shell the port of Fiumicino, and at the same time sent the Sea Sparrow communication ship to guard it.

The port of Fiumicino is the only port in Rome that goes to sea, and a large number of ships gather here every day. As the shelling of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy began, there was a sea of fire here.

The Holy See was shaken and immediately demanded that the commander of the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet, Vice Admiral Kechenla, lead the fleet to be immediately reinforced.

Sure enough, when Lieutenant General Kaichenla learned the news, he immediately understood the other party's intentions.

Opposite the port of Fiumicino there are two large islands, Sardinia and Corsica, with three very wide waterways that extend in all directions. If the fleet passed, it could be divided into two sub-fleets at most, which would not be enough to hold off the Imperial Chinese Navy. If it is divided into three sub-fleets, once it encounters the Mediterranean fleet of the Chinese Empire, it will not be able to stop each other at all. Even with all the delays, the other two fleets arriving for reinforcements would need to bypass the Big Island and take more than two hours to arrive. In this time, there is enough time for the other party to escape.

Kechenla knew that in the Mediterranean, the warships of the Chinese Empire could only be replenished in Port Said, Egypt, so he chose to consume, he knew that the Mediterranean fleet of the Chinese Empire could not run out of shells, so the bombardment of the port would not be long. As a result, Kechenla refused to go for reinforcements.

Three days later, there was a sea of fire on the pier of the port of Fiumicino, stretching for more than ten miles, and the thick smoke billowed like a torch, obscuring the sky and the sun. Everywhere there were ruins after the shelling, hundreds of ships were sunk near the harbor, and the losses were untold to the eye.

The Holy See was annoyed, but Kechenla just didn't come.

As a result, Yang Chen and Liu Jing implemented the second set of plans and sent marines to land and operate.

The Mediterranean Fleet was equipped with a thousand marines and ten guns, and the seat of the Holy See was not allowed to garrison, so there were only a few hundred policemen to maintain law and order, and they were not at all opponents of the Imperial Chinese Marines.

Liu Jing personally commanded the landing of the marines, and only burned and looted near Fiumicino, turning a wealthy small town into a living hell in just one day.

The Holy See was furious, and the Spanish officials in the Holy See repeatedly urged Kechenla to reinforce him, but the pressure on Kechenla increased, and finally he had to sigh and curse his opponent for being too shameless and had to send a fleet to reinforce him.

A day later, the Spanish Mediterranean fleet arrived in the waters near Fiumicino and was overwhelmed. As Kechenla had predicted, the Mediterranean fleet of the Chinese Empire fled from another waterway.

Kaichenla smiled helplessly, and was about to return to continue the pursuit when he suddenly received bad news, the main force of the Spanish Imperial Armada was annihilated by the unknown Dutch Navy on March 17, the ninth year of Shenwu, the main force of the Spanish Imperial Armada was completely annihilated by the unknown Dutch Navy in the northern port of Hamm in the Holy Roman Empire, losing hundreds of warships, and the main force of the Invincible Armada was completely wiped out except for the third squadron in the Mediterranean. The Dutch Navy spent only a modest price of three hundred and seventy arsonist ships and seven cruisers of the first rank.

Previously, the Spanish Imperial Armada had been defeated by the French Navy.

On February 8, the ninth year of Shenmu, more than 100 main warships of the Spanish Imperial Armada went north to attack the French navy, and cooperated with the Spanish army on land to deliver the final blow to France. At this time, the Spanish Imperial Army was victorious, encircling the French army in Paris and the western coast of France, and King Felipe IV of Spain demanded that the army must take Paris. The Spanish Navy's Invincible Armada, in order to coordinate with the army to launch the final blow, went north to attack the French navy, intending to destroy the British and Dutch supply lines from the sea to support the French operation.

On February 11, the ninth year of Shenwu, on the northwest coast of France, near the southern tip of the English Channel, near the Le Trepble Sea, defeated the world-famous Spanish fleet in one fell swoop, becoming the second country to defeat the Spanish Armada after the British Navy.

The Battle of Le Trepol was unprecedented in both sides, but as soon as the battle began, a violent storm ushered in it, so that the casualties and losses on both sides were not large, and the French Navy paid the price of a cruiser, killing one hundred and three people. The Spanish Navy suffered more than 700 casualties on a fourth-class battleship and a cruiser, so naval experts from various countries decided that the French Navy had won. Because strategically, the Spanish navy retreated, so the French naval defense was victorious. Tactically, the Spanish navy suffered more losses and casualties than the French navy, hence the victory for the French navy.

After the Battle of Le Trepol, the Spanish Navy had to leave due to a storm. The Spanish navy did not have any safe haven in the English Channel, and both Britain and the Netherlands refused to accept the Spanish fleet, so the Spanish fleet had to brave the storm and continue north to take refuge in the Holy Roman Empire's port of Hamm.

Along the way, the Spanish Armada was beaten by the wind and rain, and it was very wolf. But there was no such storm as the fierce battle with the British Navy decades earlier, and the strength of the Armada was not damaged, but it arrived at the port of Hamm very badly.

The port of Hamm in the Holy Roman Empire was not a military port and had no defenses. The battleships of the Armada had to dock at the Mingang dock.

The Spanish Navy was very annoyed by the disadvantage, and it was also very depressed that it encountered a storm, which made the French Navy take advantage.

The storm was light, but it was still raining heavily. The Spanish navy remained in the port of Hamm, but the guards relied on the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire.

Apparently, the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire did not have the consciousness to take care of the warship, and hid in their rooms to play cards and chat.

However, while the Spanish sailors were sheltering from the storm, the main fleet of the Dutch navy from The Hague quietly headed north.

That night, in the middle of the night, the Dutch navy arrived outside the port of Hamm.

By this time, the rain had gradually stopped.

The Dutch navy was dispatched mainly because the Netherlands were at war with Spain, and in order to gain the final independence, the Dutch navy had to defeat the Spanish Armada.

When it was discovered that the Spanish fleet was crusading against the French Navy, the Dutch Navy chose to support the French Navy. However, just as the Dutch Navy was preparing to rush to the aid of the French Navy, a storm came.

The Dutch naval commander thought it necessary to wait until the storm had passed, but received reports that the Spanish fleet had headed north and had arrived at the port of Hamm to take refuge from the storm.

This was a golden opportunity for the Dutch Navy to prepare for a surprise attack on the Spanish fleet in the port.

Fire attack, the Dutch Navy's forte.

In the second half of the night, the rain had just stopped. The Dutch navy released numerous sloops, loaded with all kinds of gunpowder, oil, sulfur and other flammable and explosive materials, and rushed into the harbor downwind.

Just as the Dutch East India Fleet burned the Spanish Philippine fleet, half an hour later, there was a sea of fire in the port of Hamm, and a large number of Spanish warships were burned.

Some of the Spanish navy that remained on the battleship quickly raised their sails and rushed outward, waiting for the Dutch navy to immediately open fire on them.

However, the Spanish navy was like crazy, knowing that if it remained in the harbor, it would surely die, and that there was a glimmer of hope if it rushed out. As a result, some of the warships of the Spanish Navy burst out with unprecedented combat effectiveness and willpower. Rush out to fight the main force of the Dutch navy.

The Dutch navy lined up in several lines of defense and fired steadily in a horizontal formation, which immediately inflicted heavy damage on the ships of the Spanish navy. The Spanish warship, which had just set sail, could not keep up its speed, was hit by countless cannons, and soon sank into the harbor.

Of course, there were also several Spanish second-class battleships, which, with their huge size, rushed out. But the battleships of the Dutch Navy did not give way, so they collided and sank together.

In this way, the two sides fought fiercely until dawn, and the Spanish Armada was completely annihilated. X