Chapter 154: Unable to Return to the Sky
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"How many warships of the New China Kingdom have we sunk?" Admiral Fernance asked. The losses of the Spanish fleet were so great that he felt as if his heart was dripping blood. For this expedition, the Kingdom of Spain has sent the main force of its navy over, and if they suffer a crushing defeat, the Kingdom of Spain will be devastated as a result. After the loss of Luzon, the most important colony, the Spanish kingdom has already broken out in a financial crisis, and if the navy suffers another heavy blow, the Spanish kingdom will have no chance to rise again!
"General, so far, we have only damaged five warships of the Xinhua Kingdom! Two of them were damaged yesterday! The staff officer replied in a whisper. The Spanish fleet lost 15 ships today, plus the 22 lost yesterday, for a total of 37 ships, which is more than half of the losses. But in total, only five warships of the Xinhua Navy withdrew from the battlefield with minor injuries, which is indeed very humiliating!
"Bastard!" Admiral Fernance cursed secretly! Now it seems that the defeat of the Spanish fleet is indeed a foregone conclusion. After losing more than half of its warships, it became impossible for the Spanish fleet to defeat the Xinhua navy.
"What about Major General Andres? When will the fleet he leads be able to appear? Admiral Fernance asked. Yesterday evening, Rear Admiral Andrés left the main force with 13 warships in an attempt to outflank the Xinhua Navy. In order to ensure speed, the battleships led by Rear Admiral Andrés were all four, five, or six class ships. However, now the battle has begun for half a day. But Major General Andrés has not yet appeared, which makes Admiral Fernance very annoyed. If Rear Admiral Andrés had not led the fleet to arrive, the Spanish fleet would have been finished. The remaining 15 battleships. It is impossible to withstand the siege of the Xinhua Navy!
"General, we don't know what to do. Perhaps, General Andrés' fleet and we missed it! The staff officer said. In this era, there was no radio communication, and it was almost impossible for the two fleets to split up on a stormy night, and to successfully complete the scheduled plan! Originally. Rear Admiral Andrés Ji Luhua led a fleet of 13 warships to outflank the rear of the Xinhua Navy, when the main force of the Spanish fleet was fighting fiercely with the Xinhua Navy. Suddenly fight from the rear to win the battle. However, now that the battle has begun for half a day, the fleet led by Rear Admiral Andrés does not know where the road is. Maybe. Wait for them to show up. The main forces of the Spanish fleet have been wiped out!
"Damn it!" Admiral Fernance cursed. He felt more and more that the decision to divide the troops was a mistake at all. If Rear Admiral Andrés hadn't left with 13 ships, the Spanish fleet might not have fallen to this point. It's just that it's too late to say anything, and the defeat of the Spanish fleet is already decided. Admiral Fernance prayed to God in his heart, praying for a miracle, otherwise. The Spanish fleet is dead this time!
"Signal the Second and Third Fleets! Steady and steady, don't rush. We still have plenty of time to slowly send those foreign devils to the bottom of the sea! "On the cruiser 'Xinhua', Wei Yong ordered. Now, the Xinhua Navy has seen the dawn of victory, but the more it is at this time, it must be cautious. Otherwise, there is a high chance of an accident.
"Yes, Commander!" The communications officer nodded, and hurriedly went to send the signal.
On the sea, the sound of artillery rumbles, and the smoke of gunpowder fills the air. This sea battle, which is related to the fate of the two countries, will be decided. Once the Xinhua Navy wins, there will be no powerful force in the entire Nanyang region that will be able to confront Xinhua again. Even the British are the same. This victory was enough to deter the British. Although the British were strong, the performance of their warships was not much different from that of the Spanish Navy. If the Xinhua Navy can defeat the strong with the weak, it will also be able to defeat the British Navy. Therefore, without the new warships of the 'Shark class' cruisers of Xinhua, the British should not have clashed with Xinhua.
"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! The fierce sound of artillery echoed on the sea, and the three major fleets of the Xinhua Navy had done their best. Despite the fight until now, everyone is exhausted. However, everyone is gritting their teeth and holding on. Victory lies ahead, and it will soon be there!
While the Xinhua Navy was fighting fiercely with the main force of the Spanish fleet, several masts suddenly appeared in the north. Soon, more than a dozen warships flying the Spanish flag appeared in the north, only about ten kilometers away from the battlefield!
"Enemy Spotting! Due north, thirteen Spanish battleships! The lookout spotted the Spanish warship to the north and immediately issued a warning.
"Humph! It turns out that those missing battleships are preparing to copy our back road! It's just that people are not as good as heaven. I only came here at this time, do you want to collect their corpses? Wei Yong said coldly. At the beginning of the battle, he was a little puzzled about why the Spanish fleet would be missing a dozen warships. Now that these warships appeared from the north, he understood at once. However, these Spanish battleships have only now appeared, and it is clearly too late. The Xinhua Navy has completely laid the victory, and their arrival can no longer change the tide of the war!
"Give a signal to the Second and Third Fleets and let them deal with the main forces of the Spaniards! The sudden appearance of the Spanish fleet, our First Fleet is in charge! Wei Yong gave the order as soon as possible. Now there were only 15 warships left in the main forces of the Spanish fleet, the Second and Third Fleets, which were enough to deal with them. As for the Spanish fleet that suddenly appeared, it was all four, five, or six class warships, and the first fleet could solve it!
The First Fleet began to turn and kill the fleet led by Rear Admiral Andrés. In the case of a tailwind, the speed of the fleet is high. And the fleet led by Rear Admiral Andres sailed from north to south, and in the headwind state, the speed was very slow, and it could not escape the pursuit of the Xinhua Navy at all!
The Second and Third Fleets continued to attack the main forces of the Spanish fleet. The main force of the Spanish fleet was only 15 battleships, although most of them were formidable battleships, but previous naval battles had proven that battleships were no match for the 'Shark-class' cruisers of the Xinhua Navy.
"Major General Andrés has finally arrived, but will he be able to turn the tide of battle?" On the battleship 'Isabella', Admiral Fernance looked at the First Fleet of the Xinhua Navy heading north and muttered. This half-day war completely destroyed his confidence. Powerful battleships are not at all opponents of the new warships of the new country. The number of artillery pieces is no longer an absolute factor in determining naval battles, the speed of the battleship, as well as the range of the guns, this is the most important thing!
It's just that Admiral Fernance understands all this now, and it's too late. The current Spanish fleet is completely at a disadvantage. The Xinhua Navy is taking out the warships of the Spanish fleet little by little, and then winning a brilliant victory!
Rear Admiral Andrés stood on the foredeck of the battleship 'Lorca' and watched the oncoming Xinhua fleet. The battleship 'Lorka' was a fourth-class battleship with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons and 56 guns. The fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Andrés consisted of 4 ships of the 4th rank, 4 ships of the 5th rank and 5 ships of the 6th rank. Originally, he hoped to lead the fleet to the rear of the Xinhua Navy, and when the main force of the fleet and the Xinhua Navy had a decisive battle, he would suddenly come out of the rear, cut off the back of the Xinhua Navy, and cooperate with the main force of the fleet to defeat the Xinhua Navy! However, the current Major General Andrés is full of bitterness in his heart. The damn wind and rain caused his fleet to deviate from the predetermined course, and by the time dawn came, it had already deviated from the predetermined battlefield, and when he finally arrived at the battlefield, the scene in front of him completely made him unable to believe it. The main force of the powerful fleet has already lost almost half of its warships. Most of the remaining battleships were also wounded. And the losses of their enemy, the navy of the new country, were minimal!
"Command the ships! Fight to the death! Major General Andrés ordered. Now he also has no way out, he can only fight to the death, praying that a miracle will appear. Otherwise, the Spanish fleet will lose this time!
"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The two fleets staggered by, and under the deliberate control of the First Fleet of the Xinhua Navy, the distance between the two sides was more than 2,500 meters. In this round of shelling, two warships of the First Fleet of Xinhua were hit, but they were all small-caliber shells and did not cause any damage! However, in the fleet of Rear Admiral Andrés, two battleships were heavily damaged, one of the fifth rank and one of the sixth rank! The two battered battleships then broke away from the formation. However, the two 'Shark-class' cruisers of the Xinhua Navy quickly followed and sank them!
The First Fleet of the Xinhua Navy took advantage of its speed advantage, quickly turned around, and then chased after it. The remaining battleships, lined up in a battle line, at a distance of two and a half thousand meters to three thousand meters, launched a heavy artillery bombardment of Rear Admiral Andrés' fleet.
Fighting, completely presented to the point of one-sidedness. The three major fleets of the Xinhua Navy successfully suppressed the Spanish fleet and inflicted heavy losses on the Spanish fleet. Over time, more and more Spanish warships were sunk, which also caused a sharp change in the balance of power between the two sides. The mighty Spanish fleet was no longer able to recover its decline in this naval battle. When the Xinhua Navy slowly wiped out all the Spanish warships, it was time for the naval battle to end! (To be continued......)