However, it was said that Brigadier General Lin Taizeng, commander of the Qing Army's detachment, had discovered that the main force of the Japanese warship squadron had circled his own ship formation, so he ordered him to stop pursuing the fleeing ships of the enemy's third group, "Yamato" and "Musashi," and the entire ship formation turned around and faced the column composed of the first and second groups of the Japanese warship squadron with the bow of the ship. The Qing warship formation took the flagship "Dingyuan" as the center of the circle, drew a nearly 90-degree fan on the sea, and turned to the opposite direction before the war, but because the ships at the far end of the string line of this sector only had to travel more distance than the flagship to maintain a horizontal formation, the four squadrons on the left flank of the ship's formation, "Jiyuan", "Zhiyuan", and "Jingyuan", failed to complete the turn synchronously with the flagship, and happened to encounter the four elite armored cruisers of the Japanese First Guerrilla Squadron that had just eliminated the three ships of the fifth squadron on the right flank of the Qing warship formation.

V1V2V3T1T2B1B2V4V5T3V6V7

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Schematic diagram of the naval battle off Incheon 1 (due north of Xiangshang):

Description: This is a map of the situation when the naval battle has just begun and the 1st Guerrilla Group of Japanese ships is accelerating to turn left. The upper line is a detachment of the Qing Army's Zhenyang Fleet, and the B1 and B2 in the middle are the armored battleships "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" of the first squad, of which "Dingyuan" is the flagship; The V4 and V5 on its left flank are the cruisers "Gale" and "Gale" of the second squad; T3, V6, and V7 are the armored cruisers "Jiyuan" and the cruisers "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan" of the fourth squadron; T1 and T2 on the right flank of the first squad are the armored cruisers of the third squad "Jianbei" and "Jianzhong"; V1, V2, and V3 are the "Pingyuan", "Laiyuan", and "Jingyuan" of the fifth squad.

A1, A2, A3, and A4 are the four armored cruisers of the 1st Guerrilla Force of Japanese ships "Yoshino", "Takachiho", "Akitsuzu", and "Naniwa"; J1 to J11 were the long columns of the Japanese ship's main group, heading towards the Qing flagship, followed by the first group of armored cruisers "Matsushima", "Itsukushima", and "Chiyoda" (J1 to J3, of which Matsushima was the general flagship), the second group of armored cruisers "Hashidate" (J4, group flagship), cruisers "Kongo", "Hiei" (J5, J6) and gunboats "Fuso" (J7), and the third group of cruisers "Takao", "Katsuragi", "Yamato", "Musashi" (J8 to J11, with Kaohsiung as the flagship of the group); J12 and J13 were the gunboat "Chisei" and the substitute cruiser "Saikyo Maru", respectively, and were located in the left rear of the column, mainly for Vice Admiral Shikiri Kayama, the deputy commander of the Admiralty, to watch the battle.

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Schematic diagram of the naval battle off Incheon 2 (due south of Xiangshang):

Description: At this time, the fifth squadron on the right wing of the Qing fleet has been annihilated, and the armored battleships of the first squadron "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" (B1 and B2) have completed the turn, and together with the armored cruiser "Jianzhong" (T2) of the third squadron on the right flank, they will face the enemy with the bow; The cruisers "Hurricane" and "Gale" (V4 and V5) of the second squadron on the left flank, the "Jiyuan" (T3) of the fourth squadron, and the cruisers "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan" (V6 and V7) have not yet completed their turn.

The 1st Guerrilla Group (A1 to A4) of the Japanese ships encountered the 3 ships of the 4th Squadron of the left wing of the Qing fleet after destroying the 3 ships of the 5th Squadron on the right flank of the Qing fleet, while the 1st to J7 group of the Japanese fleet completed a 360-degree turn and plunged straight into the flagship of the Qing fleet.

The T1 at the upper end is the Qing military patrol "Jianbei" that broke away from the ship's formation, and the J12 next to it is the trophy of "Jianbei" - the Japanese ship "Chicheng".

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Seeing the rare opportunity, Rear Admiral Tsuboi Hangsan, commander of the 1st Guerrilla Group of the Japanese ships, immediately ordered the left rudder to be turned to the right and inserted between the 3 ships of the 4th Squadron of the Qing Army's left flank and the main ship formation, in an attempt to repeat the old trick and encircle the 4th Squadron of the Qing Army, "Zhiyuan", "Jingyuan", and "Jiyuan", and annihilate them separately. At this time, the "Jiyuan" warship, which was at the right end of the fourth squad of the Qing army, was in a relatively prominent position and happened to be exposed to the concentrated gunfire of the ships of the first guerrilla group of Japanese ships. But with solid armor protection, "Jiyuan"

No fatal injuries were received, the main gun and cabin were intact. Just as the "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan" on its left accelerated towards it and came to provide support, the "Jiyuan" suddenly accelerated and turned sharply to the right, broke away from the array, and fled to the southeast at full speed.

Seeing this humiliating scene, the crews of the "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan" ships were indignant, but they were helpless, and now they lost the cover of the only armored cruiser in the squad, and had only two thin cruisers with a displacement of 2,300 tons against the four elite armored cruisers of the Japanese First Guerrilla Squadron with a displacement of 3,150 to 4,200 tons.

Seeing that "Jiyuan" had escaped, Pingjing Hang ordered not to pursue it, but to first besiege "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan," and the four ships of the First Guerrilla Force opened fire together, and the two ships of "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan" were immediately shrouded in red light and black smoke.

At first, the Japanese gunfire was concentrated on the "Zhiyuan" ship that was slightly ahead, but as the position of the two sides changed and turned, the "Jingyuan" entered the area where the gunfire on the side of the Japanese ship was concentrated.

Tsuboi Kozo ordered: "Concentrate fire and bombard the enemy ship in front of the right side of the gunwale!" ”

In the next 10 minutes, the "Jingyuan" was hit by more than 200 shots, its hull ruptured and flooded, and sank at 4:16 a.m., and among the 230 people on board, 201 people below the captain of the ship, Lieutenant Commander Ye Zuqi, were martyred.

Taking advantage of the Japanese warship's siege of "Jingyuan," the first three ships of the Japanese ship column and the "Qiujinzhou" ship at the tail were separated by the hull of the "Jingyuan," and they were unable to help each other for a while. One of the shots blew through the bridge and killed the enemy captain Hikoyuki Uemura, while the other hit the right torpedo compartment of the enemy ship, causing a torpedo explosion and killing more than 50 crew members on the spot. At this time, Tsuboi Hangzo had already determined that the "Jingyuan" would undoubtedly sink, and hurriedly ordered the "Yoshino" and other ships to turn to the port side of the "Zhiyuan" to concentrate fire and attack to cover the "Akitsu Island"

Exit the battlefield.

Lieutenant Commander Deng Shichang, the captain of the "Zhiyuan" ship, had just witnessed the "Jingyuan" being surrounded and sunk, and knowing that his own ship would surely die with one enemy and three enemies, he said to the first mate, Major Chen Jinhua: "I originally told all the officers and men that if there is an accident, I swear to sink with the Japanese ship!" Now that the situation has come to this, I see that the Japanese ship is relying on Yoshino, and if we can sink the ship, our army will still have a chance to win.

I am ready to die with them to ensure the victory of the whole army! ”

Chen Jinhua was deeply moved, and said: "Obey the captain's orders!" Then he turned on his full power, shook the steering wheel, pointed the bow of the ship to "Yoshino", and charged quickly.

Deng Shichang turned to the herald again, and his voice was as majestic as iron: "Fellow sailors, my generation has been in the army to defend the country, and life and death have long been out of the way, and today's events are just death!" Our ship is rushing towards the enemy ship Yoshino, and I just want to sink with the enemy! ”

After a while, a thunderous roar rang out from the whole ship: "Sink Yoshino!" Kill yourself! ”

Such heroism can be seen in the sky.

Tsuboi Kozo saw clearly on the "Yoshino" ship, and the "Zhiyuan" rushed straight over like an arrow, making it clear that he was going to fight hard, and hurriedly ordered to turn the rudder to evade, and at the same time passed the flag order: "Bombard the enemy ship with all your might!" ”

The Japanese ships "Takachiho" and "Naniwa" fired heavy artillery fires, and the "Zhiyuan" was hit by numerous bullets, and the flames of the bow of the ship flew, but they still broke the waves and moved forward, clutching the "Yoshino" tightly, and the distance between them and the enemy ship was shortened to 1,000 yards in an instant.

At this time, Tsuboi Kozo completely ignored the commander's prestige, waved his arms and shouted: "Open fire!" Put a torpedo! Stop it for me! ”

In a hurry, he only roughly calculated the advance angle, then pressed the launch button, and a 36-centimeter torpedo in the left torpedo tube of the stern was bombed into the water by a fire gas blast, drawing a white slender track on the sea surface and heading straight for "Zhiyuan."

Deng Shichang saw the deadly white track on the bridge and hurriedly ordered: "There are torpedoes!" Right full rudder! ”

The first mate, Chen Jinhua, turned the rudder in time, and the torpedo grazed the port side of the ship's hull.

The second torpedo came on his heels, and Chen Jinhua could not turn the rudder in time, and the hull was hit by a mine, and it immediately tilted to the right of the ship at 4:28 a.m.

"Zhiyuan" was hit hard by this, and then capsized, and the ship sank first, and then the thrusters appeared in the air, and they still rotated until they sank. The captain of the ship, Lieutenant Commander Deng Shichang, the first mate Major Chen Jinhua, and the second officer, Major Zhou Jujie, were sunk in the sea at the same time.

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Moreover, when the 1st Guerrilla Squadron of Japanese ships was besieging the 4th Squadron on the left flank of the Qing fleet, the Japanese Fleet approached the flagship of the Qing detachment, "Dingyuan," in an attempt to launch a torpedo attack.

Brigadier General Lin Taizeng commanded two armored ships, "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan," to block the Japanese ships with powerful main gun fire, and to fire torpedoes first, intending to disrupt the formation of the enemy ships.

At the same time, the armored cruiser "Jianzhong", which was on the right flank of the flagship, was at full speed and approached the flagship at full speed to reduce the threat of enemy ships to the flagship.

At about 4:05 a.m., a 32-centimeter shell hit the flagship "Dingyuan" amidships, penetrating the belly of the ship and catching fire. The "Dingyuan" ship was forced to concentrate manpower to extinguish the fire, and the offensive weakened, but the fire became more and more fierce, and there was no sign of extinguishing it for the time being. At this time, the Japanese warship squadron seized the opportunity to pounce on the "Dingyuan," and the shelling became more and more frequent, and they successively entered the effective area of the torpedo attack, and the Qing flagship was in extreme danger.

The commander of the Combined Fleet on the "Matsushima" Ito Yuheng silently chanted, "God willing, this battle will be won" and ordered: "All torpedo attacks!" ”

Matsushima, the flagship of the Japanese warship, first fired two torpedoes from its bow launch tube, and then turned to break away from the attack position.

Commodore Lin Taizeng, commander of the Qing detachment, was calm and calm, and let the captain of the ship, Colonel Yang Yonglin, personally operate the ship to evade, and he still braved the fire to stand on the bridge command platform to observe the battle situation.

The bow of the "Dingyuan" ship drew a light white water trail, and Colonel Yang Yonglin successfully avoided one or two torpedoes with his skillful steering skills—a total of eight torpedoes, but the last two were—

The Qing army's "Jianzhong" suddenly inserted from the right front of the flagship, blocking between the speeding torpedo and the flagship, which was on fire.

After two loud bangs, the "Jianzhong" tilted sharply to the right, and then the hull of the ship broke in half from the amidship, flipped and sank to the bottom of the sea, leaving a huge whirlpool of broken wood and debris in several places on the surface of the sea.

The captain of the ship, Lieutenant Commander Hu Siwu, and 293 officers and men defended the flagship with their own lives.

On the flagship "Dingyuan", Commodore Lin Taizeng, commander of the detachment, was moved to tears by this heroic scene, angrily pulled out his command knife, pointed at the Japanese ship "Matsushima" and shouted angrily: "Order! Target the enemy flagship, concentrate fire and attack! ”

The main artillery fire of the Qing army's "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan" armored ships was concentrated on "Songdao" at once, and at this time, the cruisers "Hurricane" and "Gale Wind" of the second squadron of the Qing army's left flank completed their turn, and they opened fire together as ordered.

At about 4:12 p.m., a 30.5 cm heavy cannon shell from the "Dingyuan" hit the starboard lower deck of Matsushima and exploded, destroying the No. 4 rapid-fire gun, destroying all its port gun mounts and causing the ammunition piled up on the deck to explode. In an instant, it was like a hundred lightning and a thousand thunderbolts cracked, making a miserable and terrible loud sound. Then the hull of the ship shook violently and tilted to the right, and the flames scorched the sky, and the white smoke covered the sea. Eighty-four people were killed and wounded, including the captain of the starboard artillery team, Captain Kiyoshi Shima, and the squadron leader, Second Lieutenant Ito Mitsukaki, who were killed in battle. The corpses were scattered, or they flew to the bottom of the sea, scattered on the deck, the bones were broken and bloody, and the stench was unspeakable. Suddenly, the fire engulfed the hull of the ship, and the smoke covered the air, and the state was critical. Although the whole ship tried its best to extinguish the fire, and the minor and seriously injured jumped up to rescue, the sea breeze was very fierce, and the fire did not fade, like a big sea of fire. (Note 1)

Seeing that the situation was critical, Ito personally commanded the extinguishing of the fire, and at the same time ordered "to immediately replenish the gunners with survivors, military bands, etc.", and reluctantly returned fire with the remaining artillery. At the same time, the ships then fired artillery bombardment at the Qing ship to divert the attention of the Qing ship. By 4:40 p.m., although the fire on Songshima had been extinguished, the ship's facilities had been completely destroyed, and the 32-centimeter gun tether and hydraulic press had failed and could not fire, and the command and combat capability had been lost. As a result, Ito issued a flag order for "all ships to move at will," and immediately tried his best to get rid of the two ships "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan," and led the other six Japanese ships to escape to the southeast.

Commodore Lin Taizeng ordered the pursuit at the beginning, but because the Dingyuan ship was too seriously injured and the speed of the Dingzhen Second Ship was too low, he ordered the pursuit to be stopped and the whole team assembled.

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In addition, after the 1st Guerrilla Force of the Japanese ships finally sank the "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan" and eliminated the 4th Squadron on the left flank of the Qing warship formation, Tsuboi Hangzo originally wanted to attack the Qing armored ships "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan" that were engaged with the Japanese warship from the rear, but he ran into the Qing armored cruiser "Jianbei" that was rushing back to the ship formation.

Lieutenant Commander Liang Xuezhi, captain of the "Jianbei" ship, knew that he had left the ship's formation without permission to grab merit, made a big mistake, and was preparing to clear his sin with merit.

When Tsuboi Kozo saw the lone ship of "Jianbei" coming, he thought that it was another good opportunity to encircle and annihilate it, so he ordered to "concentrate on attacking the enemy ships."

At this time, the "Akitsu Island" had already withdrawn from the ranks of the battle, and the First Guerrilla Force still had three ships, "Yoshino," "Takachiho," and "Naniwa," all of which did not suffer serious damage.

Lieutenant Colonel Liang Xuezhi couldn't think so much, his plan was to ignore other enemy ships, specialize in the flagship of the First Guerrilla Force "Yoshino", and aim to sink "Yoshino", and do whatever it takes to do so.

Therefore, as soon as he entered the firing range, Lieutenant Commander Liang Xuezhi immediately ordered to "concentrate fire on the enemy's flagship" and personally steered and turned around until he sailed side by side with the enemy's "Yoshino" ship, so as to give full play to the fire of its medium-caliber rapid-fire guns on its side and stern.

On the other hand, the main firepower of the "Yoshino" can concentrate on either side is two 15-centimeter guns and four 12-centimeter medium-caliber rapid-fire guns. However, behind the "Yoshino" there were two ships, "Takachiho" and "Naniwa", and their main firepower that could be concentrated on either side was a total of four 26-centimeter main guns and six 15-centimeter rapid-fire guns.

Lieutenant Colonel Liang Xuezhi actually fought the enemy with the determination to die.

The 30.5 cm shell of the "Kenbei" first hit the bow of the "Yoshino", and the front main gun of 15 cm was cut off at once, and the shrapnel swept across the bridge, knocking off the white naval cap of Kozo Tsuboi, and killing the herald next to him.

Then came a series of fifteen-centimeter grenades, which caused the "Yoshino" deck to burst into flames and scatter the corpses, and the "Yoshino" crew extinguished the fire with all their might, and the artillery fire of the counterattack weakened.

However, "Jianbei" itself has been dealt a more serious blow.

Several 26-centimeter shells hit the "Jianbei" in succession, one of which pierced the armor and blew up the sailors' quarters, causing a large fire. The crew immediately transferred the captain to the infirmary, and Captain Liang died of excessive blood loss.

Major Yang Yan, the first mate of the "Jianbei" ship, took over as the captain of the ship and commanded all the officers and men of the ship to continue the battle.

At 4:40 p.m., "Yoshino" suffered heavy losses because it had withstood all the firepower of the "Kenbei," and Tsuboi felt that the situation was not good, and suddenly saw the flag of the general flagship "Matsushima" raising the flag order that "all ships move at will," so he pushed the boat down the river and ordered the first guerrilla group to withdraw from the battle.

Major Yang Yan saw that the enemy suddenly turned away and detached, and in view of the fact that the loss of his ship was not small, he did not pursue it, and raised the liaison flag to move closer to the flagship.

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The naval battle off Inchon came to an end.

In the two-hour fierce battle, the first detachment of the Qing army's Zhenyang Fleet suffered serious losses, including the sinking of the cruisers "Jingyuan", "Laiyuan", "Pingyuan", "Zhiyuan", and "Jingyuan" and the armored cruiser "Jianzhong"; the armored cruiser "Jianbei" was severely damaged, the armored battleship "Dingyuan" was wounded, and 1,417 officers and men were killed or wounded.

The cruisers "Takao" and "Katsuragi" were sunk, the gunboat "Chisei" was captured, and the armored cruisers "Matsushima," "Akitsuzu," and "Yoshino" were severely damaged, with 673 officers and men suffering casualties.

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The sun gradually turned blood-red on the western sea, and under the sunset sky, a wisp of black smoke rose from the sea level.

In the black smoke, a golden dragon battle flag with a red background faintly appeared.

Under the battle flag, the armored ship "Yongwei", the flagship of the second detachment of the Jinyang Fleet, was plowing through the sea and leading ten brand-new warships to the port of Incheon.