Just as the two Dandong-class battleships were preparing to support the friendly forces in front of them, several slender figures suddenly rushed out from the smoke screen in front of the right. Because the superstructure of the French battleship was too large, in order to ensure the safety of the turn, the efficiency of the steering gear was specially limited, and the turning radius was relatively large. So at this time the Russian battleship was closer to the smoke. Several light cruisers rushed out with rapid-fire guns with sideways to hit the two behemoths, although the 6-inch high-explosive shells could not destroy any place with armor protection, but the dense shrapnel and flames could already turn the ship into a sea of fire!

And as the Danton-class 12-inch turret turned with great effort to attack these fast, blade-wielding assassins. Immediately following the light cruisers, several more torpedo boats rushed out. The four torpedo boats formed a single column on the sea gate almost without interference, and then began to turn at a distance of less than 3 km from the Voltaire, exposing their side-chord torpedo launchers, and firing Italian bald torpedoes aimed at the wide side of the Voltaire like hideous sharks!

Although the distance was a bit far, the 4 torpedo boats still made a beautiful fan. As many as 12 torpedoes spread out at certain angles and intervals, forming a web of death and rushing towards the Voltaire. In a short time, the exclamation of "torpedo found" resounded throughout the battleship, and Voltaire did not care about attacking the light cruiser, and immediately killed the rudder and turned sharply to the right, and under the action of the rudder and propeller, the giant ship with a displacement of nearly 20,000 tons began to turn with difficulty. Maybe it was because the launch distance was a little far, maybe it was because Voltaire's luck was too good. All 10 torpedoes dodged, then two more went through the bottom of the ship, and the other hit. But the fuse broke, and the torpedo did not explode!

"God bless Russia!" The Russian officers and men on board the Voltaire couldn't help but roar when they saw that they had dodged a deadly salvo, dodging 12 torpedoes at once, which is almost rare in the history of naval warfare. However, it seemed that their cheers were a little earlier, just after the first wave of lightning strikes from the four Huaxia lightning strike ships, the other four Huaxia mine strike ships approached the Voltaire from the side and rear, and then fired another round of torpedo salvos, and the two lightning strike fleets entered the battlefield at an almost 120-degree angle. In this way, the torpedoes fired from two directions exactly crossed into a lightning net. No matter how the opposing ship dodges, there will be a side that will become the surface of the projectile. If the opponent's speed is relatively fast, it can still fight for a glimmer of life, but this condition is obviously not available on the Russian battleship!

In fact, this kind of cross-lightning attack tactics was most prosperous in the second battle, and it was a tactic that torpedo attack aircraft had to master at that time. Because the plane is faster. It is more convenient to adjust the posture. Moreover, the range of the on-board torpedoes is very close, so it is difficult for the opponent to dodge once launched. However, this tactic also has an advantage when used on lightning strike ships, that is, a torpedo will be fired in a large amount, and the strike sector will be larger.

If Voltaire's ability to dodge the first wave of lightning strikes was a combination of strength and luck. Then the second wave of cross-attack Voltaire will not be able to dodge even if it is killed! Look at the dozen torpedoes fired in a staggered manner. The eyes of the Russian officers and men aboard the Voltaire were filled with despair. The huge warship has run out of power in multiple turns, and its speed continues to drop. And the servos were also beaten to the limit, and the entire battleship began to tilt outward. But in the end, the Voltaire was not able to escape its doom. On the left side of the battleship, two loud explosions were heard almost simultaneously in the bow and amidships, and the two columns of water pushed the battleship in the opposite direction. Immediately accompanied by the squeezing and tearing of high-pressure and high-temperature bubbles, two huge holes appeared in the sidechord deck of the Voltaire!

Two large holes of more than ten square meters make the plugging completely delusional, if the layout of the watertight compartment of this battleship is reasonable and the damage is properly managed, it can be tried. But one of the torpedoes exploded almost at the bottom of the ship. The depth of lightning protection is the weakest here, in less than a minute. Hundreds of tons of seawater poured into the hull from the two breaches. The entire battleship instantly appeared with a 15-degree tilt. And that's not all, another torpedo hit the rear of Voltaire's hull from the other side. The propeller shaft was blown up, and the entire battleship instantly floated on the surface of the water as if it had been broken, and then a succession of torpedoes followed, and finally the battleship that the Russians bought at a large price sank to the bottom of the South China Sea in just 3 minutes!

After the sinking of the Voltaire, the Huaxia Navy originally planned to continue to sink the Danton in front of it, but at this time Essen had already boarded the Varyag. Although the Varyag was not suitable for a duel between battleships, it was enough with 8 10-inch guns and a large number of 4.7-inch guns to destroyer torpedo boats and light cruisers.

Originally, it was planned to send both Dandong-class ships into the sea, but now in the face of the Varyag that was killed halfway, the Huaxia Navy could only give up. After less than half an hour of firefighting, the Huaxia fleet almost completed its strategic goal and crippled the Essen fleet. The Catherine and Voltaire were sunk. The Seventh Provincial was hit hard, the Amsterdam was hit, and the Dandong class was fine. The Chinese Navy, except for the loss of 2 torpedo boats, the combat effectiveness of other warships was well preserved.

When Essen discovered that the Voltaire had sunk, he immediately ordered the fleet to release smoke and evacuate. This battle cannot be fought, and in another 30 minutes at most, the remaining few battleships will definitely be crushed by the opponent who has an absolute advantage. As for whether the release of smoke can avoid the opponent, Essen is not sure in his heart, after all, without the threat of torpedoes from auxiliary warships, the smoke screen is not so reliable.

"Makanov is here." Just when Essen was worried about his fleet, Yang Yonglin found another fleet coming quickly from a distance. Five almost identical warships appeared in Yang Yonglin's field of vision. You don't need to look at it to know that this fleet is Makanov's main fleet. "Let's stay out of the way." Yang Yonglin estimated the distance, at most a quarter of an hour, he was afraid that he would enter the range of the opponent's naval artillery, at this time, it was impossible to defeat the Essen fleet in such a short time, and if he didn't leave, he would fall into passivity. After weighing it repeatedly, Yang Yonglin still decided to avoid the opponent first and wait for the arrival of the two Longxu-class battle cruisers. Until then, just follow your opponent.

"Let's go, our war is over." Looking at the collapsed fleet of Essen, which was beaten in less than half an hour, Makanov's last ambition was wiped out by reality. Having worked in the navy all his life, until now, Makanov never thought that his fleet would lose and not have the slightest strength to fight back. The Russian fleet had not fought the Chinese fleet before, and the battles between the two sides were usually fierce, and the winning side usually suffered heavy losses. But I didn't expect that now, in just half an hour, the Russian fleet could completely lose the chance to win.

"The Russian Navy has lost the Far East, and I don't want to lose the Baltic again." Just when his generals wanted Makanov to continue fighting, the battle-hardened veteran said.

"General Essen asked us what to do next?" A herald asked.

"The fleet sailed in the direction of the British colony on the island of Kalimantan." Makanov thought for a moment and said. He gave this order after careful consideration, and if the Chinese navy continued to pursue, it was possible that he would lead the fleet into British ports to seek refuge. At least the lives of the battleship and most of the people can be saved. If the other side does not catch up, the Russian-Dutch fleet can still think in the long run.

But not long after this order was issued, the Dutch side actually raised objections. They refused to allow the Dutch ships to sail to the ports of the British. For the Dutch knew perfectly well that if the fleet sailed to the British ports, the result of waiting for the Dutch fleet would be to disarm until the end of the war. And what will happen to the Dutch colonies that lost their navy? Naturally, let Huaxia control it all. And this result is unacceptable. Although Admiral Harvey knew that the Dutch fleet would fail to fight any longer. But they would rather die in battle than spend time in the harbor.

The answer of the Dutch was simple: either the fleets of the two countries would turn around and fight with the Chinese fleet again, or they would go their separate ways. The Dutch fleet will leave by speed. For the Huaxia fleet, whether to chase the high-speed Dutch fast battleships or the slow Russian battleships, this choice is clear at a glance, the average speed of the Huaxia fleet cannot catch up with the seven provinces. Therefore, if the seven-provincial battleships run away, the Chinese Navy will not catch up, but will take advantage of the infighting between the Russian and Dutch navies to attack the weak Russian fleet. Yang Yonglin has no reason to give up this opportunity.

"Damn the Dutch! Damn Harvey! They want to die, they have to pull us! When he saw the Dutchman's callback, Makanov was extremely angry. Although Makanov did not disclose his deal with Britain and France to the Dutch, it is clear that the Dutch were more or less aware of it. The Dutch East Indies are gone, and the biggest loss must be the Netherlands, followed by Britain and France, which has little to do with the current Russia. So Harvey is forcing Makanov to accept the reality of the decisive battle. Without the Russian fleet, the Dutch fleet would sooner or later be killed by the Huaxia fleet, which had absolute superiority. Rather than such a Taoist, it is better to drag the Russians to die together!

And at this time Makanov really had nothing to do. Yang Yonglin's fleet followed behind him, and the distance between the two sides was not far away. According to the analysis of the condition of the Russian fleet itself, the speed of the entire fleet is now a little more than 17 knots. And the Huaxia fleet, which has just been maintained, can run at least 20 knots or more. If the other side drives rapidly, in half an hour at most, the Russian fleet will be included in the range of the naval guns of the Huaxia fleet!

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