"Boom, boom, boom!"

Following the order of Lieutenant General Álvaro, the four most powerful 356-mm guns on the Turin fired a salvo, and the four shells flew towards the Yamashiro at the top at great speed.

After flying for a few seconds, the shells plunged headlong, one of which landed right on the deck of the Yamashiri.

"Boom"

A huge explosion sounded on the foredeck of the Yamashiro, and both personnel and supplies were swept away, and the bloody scene made this place a hell.

The Turin was a stroke of luck and hit the first test firing. Of course, this is not only a matter of luck, but also the large number of observation equipment at the top of the turin's tower illustrates the difference.

Thanks to the words of a certain king, the Italian navy spent a lot of energy and time in this regard. This thing is not too expensive to say, mainly various optical observation and calculation instruments, and then the telephone lines are connected to the batteries on both sides, and this rudimentary shooting command instrument is built.

Of course, this alone is not enough, the next thing is to consume a large number of shells, provide the firing standard, how many angles, how many propellants to load, and what shells to load. After such training, a detailed list of shooting commanders was formulated.

Moreover, this shooting table can only be adapted to the same type of warship, and it needs to be remeasured for other types of warships.

This is not a low cost, considering that the cost of firing large-caliber naval guns is very high, so at present, the Italian fleet only uses this instrument on battleships and armored cruisers, and also equips them with elite naval surveying and calculation officers.

Of course, the cost is well worth it, and according to tests by the Italian Navy, a ship equipped with a firing commander has a firing accuracy of about 20% more than an unequipped battleship, which is already a remarkable improvement. Of course, the performance in training still needs to be reflected on the battlefield, and this naval battle is definitely the ideal place to perform.

With the Turin firing first, the Barry and Palermo followed in turn. However, compared to the Turin, the Barry and Palermo did not get their first hits, but it can be seen from the distribution of their bullet points that they are quite close to the Yamashiro Castle. Even the splash from the recent shell landing point exploded on the first class of the Yamashiro.

"Boom, boom!"

In the face of the artillery fire of the Italian fleet, the Yamashiro also fought back, and the two 240mm main guns equipped on its foredeck gave a hard fight.

However, compared to the firing level of the Italian warships, the Yamashiro was far behind, and the shells fired by its two main guns deviated from the target by nearly 100 meters. It was more like a protest, a protest against the bullying of Italian warships.

However, the Yamashiri's resistance immediately led to greater bombardment, and the eight 254-mm guns on the two Venetian Improved-Class, the Venetian and the Brescia, opened fire, and also thanks to the improvised version of the firing commander, two of the eight 254-mm shells hit the Yamashiro.

Of course, the power of the 254 mm shell was much worse than that of the 356 mm, but the damage caused was not small, and a 120 mm rapid-fire secondary gun on the Yamashiro was directly hit, wiping it off the warship, and several Japanese officers and men operating the gun directly turned into a cloud of blood mist. And to make matters worse, as a result of the preparation for the shelling, more than a dozen 120 shells placed behind its gun emplacements caused a chain explosion, and a 57-mm door hit the fish pond and was directly destroyed.

The damage caused by another 254-mm shell was much smaller, and it directly opened a hole in the side side near the first class, breaking several rivet armor plates.

The two cruisers were followed by various cruisers, which were more lively than the previous ones, the one hit by a burst of cannonballs was called lively, and the Yamashiro was hit one after another like willows in the wind. However, experienced naval officers knew that they had caused far less damage to the Yamashiro than the previous five, and of course the casualties among the officers and men would certainly not be small.

However, the remnants of the officers and men on the Yamashiro did not rejoice, and another deafening shelling sounded, and the loaded three Turin-class battleships fired another salvo of main guns.

This time, there was no time for the officers and men of the Yamashiro to pray, and three of the twelve 356-mm shells hit the Yamashiro directly.

One of them hit the chimney of the Yamashiro, and the explosion blew up the chimney of the Yamashiro, and the billowing smoke that lost its restraint not only made the rear half of the Yamashiro unable to shoot, but also caused a lot of trouble for the Matsushima that followed closely behind.

The second shell hit the portboard and caused a large amount of water to ingress it, causing the Yamashiro to lose its speed from fourteen knots to ten knots.

The third shell hit the bow of the ship, causing the bow of the Yamashiro to look as if its nose had been cut off.

The Yamashiro, which was more than 7,000 tons, looked like it couldn't help but fight in front of the three battleships.

This may also show how lethal the Turin-class, as a former dreadnought, is to the ironclad ship. Of course, this also has a lot to do with the 356 mm large-caliber main gun, the Italian Navy is not a Beiyang naval division, and it will not only be equipped with solid shells and flowering shells, as a navy that has the ability to develop its own shells, the Italian Navy has developed many types of shells over the years, of course, more importantly in the charge of the shells.

Also from the guidance of a well-intentioned person, the Italian military has worked the study of TNT explosives, although limited by the quality of steel in this era, the navy did not dare to use TNT as a propellant, but the shells are not affected by this aspect, so it also made the Italian shells fierce during this period, and the Japanese combined fleet became the first victim of TNT.

As one of the victims, Ito Yuhiro, who stayed on the new flagship Yoshino, looked at the Yamashiro that was hit hard in the head and felt worried and happy, worried because the Yamashiro is the only armored ship in the current Combined Fleet that can take out its hands, and now it is not human. Fortunately, it is fortunate that the Yamashiro is used as the first meat shield against artillery bombardment, if it is not for the sake of insurance to put the Yamashiro on the top, then according to the current firepower of the Italian battleship, the Sanjing ship is definitely more than lucky, and it will be difficult to complete the containment task.

So at present, his only hope is that the Yamashiro will be able to withstand it, and even if it is hit hard, it will not lose its combat effectiveness now.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Another round of shelling from the Turin-class battleships caused the Yamashiro to suffer even more. The first half of the current Yamashiro has long been beaten into a human shape. The only thing that is reassuring is that the Yamashiro has not been sunk, it is still at sea, and although the front main gun can no longer fire, it still shows its presence.

"The enemy has turned! Oh my God, how they did it! ”

The shouts from the Yoshino lookout post made Ito Yuhiro quickly take the binoculars.

I saw that in the shot, led by three battleships, the Italian fleet turned to the left. However, the steering is very strong and neat, like a collective turn under an order.

"The enemy's warships definitely have the means of communication to connect the ships."

Izuwa Shigeyuan beside him immediately screamed.

Because this steering is very abnormal, too neat. You must know that the current means of communication of the navy in battle are not very clever, except for the flag, only signal flares and fireworks are available, and they do not see the enemy firing signal flares and using fireworks. As for the flag language communication, it cannot reach the point of such uniformity, because the flag language is a relay communication from ship to ship, and there is a high delay.

Of course, Vice Admiral Ito also saw the scene that Dewa Daisa could see, but now it is not the problem of entangling the enemy's communication, I saw that he immediately ordered.

"The ships were ordered to prepare for an artillery bombardment, and according to the plan of shelling B, the priority targets were the two Venetian Improved class armored cruisers, and then the ships of their follow-up cruisers."

Ito Yuhyung hurriedly gave the order to shell the target, but the worry deepened in his heart, can his intention be realized?

Now there is no way to do it, that's right, Ito Yuhiro's priority is to target two Venetian improved class cruisers, and then other cruisers, as for the three battleships, I hope the torpedo boats can make a contribution.

With Ito's order, the Japanese officers and men were gearing up, and they planned to have a good fight with the Italian fleet.

However, if they want to fight the Venice and Brescia, they still need to ask three Turin-class ships.

No, complete the Turin class with a left turn and target the Matsushima behind the Yamashiro.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Another salvo of three Turin-class battleships enveloped the Matsushima in it.

Twelve huge shells of 356 mm roared like a grim reaper.

"Boom, boom!"

Two loud bangs in a row also announced that the Matsushima had been hit twice.

Matsushima was hit by one shot on the right bow and stern, especially the stern gun, which almost scared the officers and men of Matsushima to death, and if it hit the power room or the rudder or the oars, there would be only one way left for Matsushima to be destroyed. However, the Matsushima was not having a good time, and the large hole in the side of the ship kept flooding, which made the Matsushima's management personnel exhausted, and even closed four or five cabins in succession to stabilize it.

After Matsushima was hit, the Combined Fleet also launched a counterattack, but the Combined Fleet's guns could not do this compared to the uniform concentration of fire of the Italian fleet.

A burst of cannon fire caused the Venice and Brescia to suffer numerous shells.

Among them, the greatest threat to the two Venetian Improved Class ships was to deal specifically with 38 times the 320 mm shells of the Calm 2 ship. However, like the previous battle of Dadonggou, the accuracy of the three Sanjing ships was touching, and not a single shot hit, and the weakness of the small boat's anti-cannon was fully displayed. The performance of the Sanjing ship in this war is hardly satisfactory. It also let the Japanese know that they should not think about opportunism on a warship, as they will only harm themselves in the end.

While the Venice and Brescia escaped the 320-mm guns, the 254-mm shells did not.

The firing from the main guns of the two 10,000-ton cruisers Yoshino and Akitsuzu prevented the two ships from dodging.

A 152-mm secondary gun of the Venice and the side of the Brescia were hit, causing not a small loss.

And in addition to 254-mm shells, 240-mm, 180-mm, 152-mm, 120-mm shells followed. Let the losses of Venice and Brescia increase.

The shelling of Venice and Brescia caught the attention of Lieutenant General Álvaro.

"Something is wrong with the enemy."

From the instinct of an old navy, he sensed that the enemy's intentions were somewhat impure.

"Is it because they're in a higher position, and they know there's no way to deal with our battleships?"

The words from the deputy's speculation did not arouse the approval of Lieutenant General Álvaro. "But they should also know how terrible it is to let our three Turin-class battleships go. Don't even want to interfere, do you think their commanders didn't go to a formal naval school? Order the Eagle to remain on standby in the outer circle, and not to participate in naval battles without my orders. ”

True, although Lieutenant General Álvaro did not know the intentions of the opposing commander, he also kept his back. As the dominant side, Lieutenant General Álvaro was able to keep more of his cards, even if the fastest eagle was not involved in naval battles, but still able to crush his opponent.

This is the conclusion that Lieutenant General Alvaro came to after observing the previous battle, so the opponent must make a move, otherwise there will be no play.

No matter how the two commanders battled their wits and courage, the shelling in line continued.

The two warships were bearing each other's shells, and at the same time desperately hitting their own shells at the other warship.

For a time, there were more rumbling cannons on the sea than firecrackers, and the two sides were inseparable.

And in this round of shelling, the Italian fleet relied on three Turin-class battleships to occupy an absolute advantage. In this naval battle, the Turin-class relied on the ship's strong guns and the existence of a father, and the officers and men of the combined fleet complained bitterly.

In the first round of shelling, it sank the Maya (formerly the Chilean warship Pingdu), broke through the sea gate (the former Chilean warship Condell) and Tateyama (the former Chilean warship Esmeralda), and broke through Matsushima, showing the battleship's ability in naval battles to the fullest.

Of course, the combined fleet was not without results, and the Courage of the Italian fleet suffered a breakdown

As for the Venice and Brescia, which are the key objects of the combined fleet, due to their good armor, they have suffered little damage, except for a few secondary guns, as well as some damage to the deck and rail poles, and the core protection area is still intact.

In the current era when shields are thicker than spears, it is not too easy to sink an armored warship. Unless there is too much difference in the caliber of the naval guns, it is difficult to sink it.

As the lining of artillery approached the tail of both sides, the Combined Fleet began their move.

"Send a red flare and immediately execute Plan B."

On the flagship Yoshino, Ito gave orders loudly.

With his command, a dazzling red flare rose into the sky.

Several warships immediately sped away from the formation, and they did not turn back to the south, leaving the other warships to accept the incoming wrath of the Italian fleet.

"No, they're heading for the transport formation."

Vice Admiral Álvaro, who was on the flagship Turin, immediately observed the movements of the Japanese ship. He only felt a cold sweat at the moment, because of the artillery bombardment with the enemy, so after a circle, the two sides actually changed positions, and now the fleet and the transport formation that needed protection were separated from the Japanese combined fleet.

"Immediately order the Eagle to go around and stop them, and the other ships will immediately speed up, get rid of the entanglement of the enemy ships, and let us slaughter this group of debris."

Lieutenant General Álvaro, who felt that he had been tricked by the enemy, even burst out with foul language, which shows how angry he was. If the enemy succeeds, it will become a stain on his military experience, and it will also make him famous in the history of world naval warfare, and he must not accept such an outcome.

Before Lieutenant General Alvaro could show his anger, Ito's backhand showed first. More than a dozen torpedo boats rushed out of the tail of the formation at high speed and swooped down on them with full malice, aiming at the three leading Turin-class battleships. As long as Lieutenant General Álvaro dared to let the Turin class move forward, they would try it with a torpedo.

In addition, the other remaining warships of the Combined Fleet even turned their bows and wrapped them over, and the intention of blocking its rescue was clearly revealed.

At this time on the battlefield, Vice Admiral Álvaro's Italian fleet was still in a line of artillery formations, while the combined fleet was divided into two parts, of which it was responsible for intercepting and pinning down the formation, and the sparse Lala was stopped in front of the line in a C-shape.

Ito's move looks flawed, and at another time, Lieutenant General Alvaro has a hundred ways to give the opponent a taste.

However, at this time, the last thing Lieutenant General Alvaro can afford is time, and these methods take time.

Of course, Lieutenant General Alvaro also knew that his opponent Ito was gambling that he would have to do his best to rescue.

Lieutenant General Alvaro admitted that the opponent had won the bet, but even if the opponent was superior, he had a way to get it back.

"Order the Venice and Brescia, with the Aosta, Savoa, Barut, and Gasco, at once, to intercept the enemy's attacking formation, led by Rear Admiral Levi, and to stop the enemy before they arrive at the transport formation."

Vice Admiral Álvaro's improvised rescue formation was very strong, except for the two Venetian Improved Class cruisers, the others were protective cruisers, which were enough to compete with the enemy attack formation.

Of course, in addition to issuing the formation of a rescue formation, Lieutenant General Álvaro also had orders. "Send a telegram to the Barry and Palermo, and let them smash a gap with the ship for the rescue formation, so that the enemy can taste the 14-inch cannon again."

With the words of Vice Admiral Álvaro, the naval battle entered a new phase.