Chapter 689: Blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
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"Hurry up, lean in! The torpedo is ready to be fired! "A destroyer of the British Navy rushed towards the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing' at high speed, and in the face of the huge and fierce heavy cruiser 'Nanjing', the destroyers of the British Navy really had no way to deal with it, and the only thing that could pose a threat to the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing' was probably only torpedoes.
However, it would not be so easy to launch a torpedo attack on the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing'. On the heavy cruiser Nanjing, in addition to the two twin 305-mm guns, there were six 105-mm guns, six 88-mm guns, and eight 37-mm guns. The destroyers of the British Navy, if they wanted to launch a torpedo attack, had to rush within two kilometers of the heavy cruiser 'Nanking', and in the process, they would be subjected to intensive fire from the heavy cruiser 'Nanking'.
"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Shells kept falling on the destroyers of the British Navy, burning the entire destroyer, and the superstructure was even more smashed, which was very tragic.
At 3:58 p.m., a 105-mm shell hit the bridge of the destroyer, killing all the commanders, including the captain, and after losing command, the surviving British navy immediately fled in the battered destroyer.
Vice Admiral Howard, commander of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, attempted to stop the Chinese fleet with a few light cruisers and destroyers, and the whole thing was to send these warships to their deaths, and under the ferocious fire of the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing', these light cruisers and destroyers of the British Navy would not be able to complete their tasks at all. After the loss of several battleships, the remaining ones were also frightened. They all avoided it from afar, and they didn't dare to lean on it anymore!
"General, the Chinese's firepower is too strong, with only a few destroyers and light cruisers, Gen can't intercept them!" On the battleship 'Dreadnought', a British naval officer reported to Vice Admiral Howard.
Vice Admiral Howard's face was gloomy at the moment, as if he could drip water, watching the Chinese Navy show off its might in front of him, constantly sinking the battleships of the British Navy, and he had no choice. This is a complete shame for him. However, he is helpless now. The Dreadnought-class battleships had a top speed of only 21 knots and could only maintain a maximum of four hours. Then you have to reduce the speed, otherwise you will damage the boiler. However, the Chinese Navy's heavy cruiser Nanjing, which escaped at a speed of 22 knots and seemed to have some strength left, suggests that Vice Admiral Howard wanted to sink several Chinese naval ships. Roots are impossible.
"Damn! These damn yellow-skinned monkeys, are they just going to be able to escape? Lieutenant General Howard cursed viciously.
The other British naval officers in the bridge of the battleship 'Fearful' couldn't help but pout. The Chinese are not fools, facing the encirclement and suppression of two 'dreadnought-class' battleships. If they don't run away, will they stay and die?
"General, our main task is to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and not to sink the warships of the Chinese Navy." Then. Lieutenant General Howard's adjutant also reminded. If possible, sink the warships of the Chinese Navy. That's a big deal, of course. But now it's obviously impossible, so it's better to complete the scheduled task honestly!
"Let all the warships in front of you withdraw! In addition, let the French hurry up, since the Chinese have already discovered us, they will definitely take precautions! "Lieutenant General Howard, although a little unwilling, still made the right choice. They were now only a day's flight from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and they had to get there as soon as possible.
The British battleships, which were fighting fiercely with the Chinese fleet in front, began to retreat one after another after receiving the telegram. They were only forced by order to fight the heavy cruiser 'Nanking', and they were of course desperate to be able to withdraw.
The British fleet abandoned the pursuit of the Chinese fleet and headed south at a speed of 18 knots. The heavy cruiser Nanking, with the light cruiser Linxia and the destroyer Changle, quickly headed south, and at the same time, they also sent back to the Indian Ocean Fleet the information of the encounter with the British Navy in the Red Sea. The command of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy attached great importance to this and immediately instructed the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy, which was cruising in the Arabian Sea, to move westward to find out what the British Navy wanted to do. If the British navy wanted to enter the Indian yoga, they launched a fierce attack on them and drove them back. At present, the squadron is transporting troops and supplies to the Kingdom through the northern route of the Indian Ocean, which cannot be interfered with by the British Navy.
On the afternoon of October 27, Vice Admiral Howard, commander of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, led the fleet to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Once here, the British fleet stopped its southward movement and blockaded the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, dominated by the battleships 'Dreadnought' and 'Resistance'.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is located between the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula in Asia and the African continent, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. After the opening of the Suez Canal, it is a strategic and important place for maritime traffic from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. The strait is about 26~32 kilometers wide, with an average depth of 150 meters, and there are some volcanic islands scattered among them, Pilin Island divides the strait into small gorges and large gorges, the small gorges are about 32 kilometers wide on the Asian side, and the water depth is 30 meters, which is the main channel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait; The Great Gorge is about 258 kilometers wide on the African side, with a depth of 323 meters, many reefs and some small volcanic islands. Therefore, as long as the British navy blocked the main channel of the Strait, ships of other countries would not have to think about entering the Red Sea through the Guò Strait. And with the powerful firepower of the two 'Dreadnought-class' battleships, blocking the three-kilometer channel would not have any problem at all.
The battleship 'Rat' and the battleship 'Resistance', one on the left and one on the right, were hiding on both sides of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and all the main guns on the battleship were pointed to the center of the channel. Several destroyers and light cruisers cruised the waterway, driving out merchant ships from various countries that tried to pass through the Guò Strait. Although this outrageous and unreasonable behavior aroused the opposition of merchant ships from all over the world, no one could resist under the guns of the British Navy, and the entire Bab el-Mandeb Strait fell under the control of the British Navy.
Ten kilometers south of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing' is cruising in this area. After the British fleet stopped attacking them, the heavy cruiser 'Nanking' also slowed down and kept a distance of more than ten kilometers from the British fleet, monitoring the movements of the British fleet while ensuring its own safety. After all, the British fleet appeared in the Red Sea and quickly moved south, such a move is very suspicious.
"What are the British doing here? Why are they blocking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is an international shipping lane? "Colonel Liu Fei, the captain of the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing', was a little surprised. No matter how powerful Britain is, this kind of behavior is the enemy of the whole world! Originally, he also thought that the British navy would go south into the Indian Ocean and then challenge the Chinese navy. But he did not expect that after arriving at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the British fleet stopped, which was unexpected.
"Captain, there's another big guy!" At this time, the lookout reported.
I saw a large dark cloud appear in the sky to the north, which was the scene of the huge fleet sailing, and the billowing smoke from the battleship was accumulated in the sky and formed something like a dark cloud.
It didn't take long for four huge figures to appear on the surface of the sea, like small mountains.
"Lone class, the French lone class battleship! Four of the French' battleships of the 'Lone Class' are here! "The captain of the heavy cruiser 'Nanking' recognized the four battleships, but he couldn't help but exclaim. With the addition of the two 'Dreadnought-class' battleships of the British, Britain and France can concentrate six new battleships, which is enough to pose a threat to the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy.
"Are these shitty Anglo-French forces really ready to fight us?" Colonel Liu Fei said with a stern face. The British and French navies have accumulated such strength, which is enough to challenge the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy. Of course, if a decisive battle breaks out, the final victory will definitely belong to the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy. However, this can also cause some trouble.
However, to Colonel Liu Fei's surprise, these French Navy's 'Lone-class' battleships, after arriving at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, also did not continue to go south, but stayed north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, aimed their main guns at the channel of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and blocked the entire strait with the British Navy!
Six battleships and sixty 305 mm guns are enough to block the main channel of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and no country's battleship in the world can break through such a blockade, even the most powerful 'Qin-class' battleship currently in service in the Chinese Navy, even the 'Han-class' battleship that is still under construction. As soon as they entered the channel, they would be hit hard by six battleships, and as long as the British and French navies did not appear fifteen, within a few minutes, they would be able to sink the enemy battleships that had forced their way into the channel.
"It seems that the Anglo-French forces really only want to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and prevent us from entering the Red Sea! But why would they do it? And six new battleships were also used. Colonel Liu Fei couldn't figure it out. Not only him, but also the top of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy, as well as the top of the empire, could not figure it out.