"Boom, boom, boom......"

The powerful naval fleet of the Tang Empire was launching a large-scale artillery bombardment of the forts on the coast of Batavia, and the 305mm main guns of the Duke-class battleships roared angrily, and the rumbling critical sound shook the heavens and the earth.

The coastal batteries did not show weakness, and bravely returned fire with their old guns, pouring artillery fire on the sea, stirring up high columns of water.

When Governor Pos and his entourage arrived, the east bank battery, which was attacked by the sea fleet, had been caught in a sea of fire, and the violent explosion destroyed the east bank battery, and the black mushroom cloud produced by the explosion was dozens of meters high, which could be clearly seen from more than ten miles away.

Dongguan Fort is over!

General Michels's face twitched violently a few times, and his heart felt like a knife, and it was difficult to accept the situation in front of him for a while.

Generally speaking

The condescending coastal batteries, which have absolute superiority over the incoming local fleet, stand tall, shoot accurately, and have a long range, are the greatest threat to expensive warships.

The fleet will not choose to bombard the coastal batteries unless it is forced to do so, because it will be too much of a loss and too great a loss.

The reason why the Royal Navy Task Force of the Tang Empire dared to attack the batteries unscrupulously was that it had conclusive information;

Most of the two batteries on the east and west coasts of Batavia are equipped with old breech guns, but there are 8 German Krupp 25 times caliber 305 mm breech steel hoop guns imported at great expense, with a maximum range of 7.8 kilometers, and each coastal battery is equipped with 4 guns.

This series of 305 mm main guns was also equipped on the Zhenyuan and Dingyuan giant ships introduced by the Qing Dynasty, but unfortunately failed to play a decisive role in the Battle of the Japanese Navy.

In the face of general maritime threats, these eight 305-mm shore guns have sufficient range and firepower.

The coastal fort was built higher along the coast, and the firing range was also increased, reaching a maximum range of 9.2 km.

In addition, the advantage of the permanent coastal batteries has marked the shooting elements for the sea area to be guarded, and the attack on the invading fleet is more accurate, deadly, and powerful.

But I'm afraid to compare everything;

The Duke-class main battleship of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire is equipped with the world's first-class main ship gun, which is also 305 mm in caliber, but has a 40 times diameter, that is, the barrel is longer and the firing range is longer.

For example

The German Navy was armed with a Type 1890 280 mm 40x caliber gun for battleships of the "Brandenburg" class.

Its muzzle velocity is 715 m/s, the effective firing range is 11,000 meters, the maximum firing range is 15,090 meters, and the shell weighs 240 kilograms. refers to 25x diameter artillery) is better.

The Type 1893 305 mm 45 times diameter gun of the French Navy, which was used on the ironclad ship "Bouvet", was also excellent.

Its muzzle velocity is 815 m/s, the maximum firing range is 12,000 meters, and the power and penetration of shells are much higher than those of low-caliber guns.

The main ironclad ships of the Duke class of the Tang Empire lined up in a combat queue, aiming at the coastal batteries on the sideboards, and it can be seen that the huge 305 mm twin armored turrets in the bow of the ship, with long barrels spewing flames, fired deadly shells far away, with a range of up to 13.5 kilometers.

After rounds of earth-shattering shelling, the fort on the east coast of Batavia was blown apart, and the surrounding area was submerged in a sea of fire.

Such a scenario

General Michels, who watched it, was like a knife, his face turned iron-blue, and he saw that the royal fleet of the Tang Empire had stopped shelling one after another, and the fleet had sailed west......

General Michels awoke suddenly, and hurriedly shouted loudly; "Quick, quickly pass on my army today, let all the personnel of the West Coast batteries withdraw, leaving only the gun crew operating the 305mm main gun, and all the others withdraw."

"Yes, sir."

His officers immediately flew off and went to the West Coast Battery to deliver the order.

The East Battery was tragically destroyed by the enemy fleet, and the West Battery was about to face the same tragic fate, and now the officers and men in the West Battery were facing the danger of total annihilation.

In the face of the enemy's powerful artillery fire, those small and medium-caliber guns in the West Battery, ordinary combatants could not play any role.

Governor Pose was speechless with a blushing face, and his eyes flashed with sadness as he looked at the dozen or so Royal Dutch fleets in the harbor of Batavia.

For the glory of the Royal Dutch Navy, the officers and men of these Royal Navy fleets could not abandon their ships and land to avoid the battle, but could only face a strong enemy to the death.

These old warships with fluttering sails represent the glory of the Royal Netherlands Navy, a time when the blood-pumping era was long gone, and the afterglow of the empire is now trampled under the feet of the enemy.

The Royal Dutch East Indies fleet, which had taken refuge in the harbor, was now like a shivering chicken, powerless in the face of the villains who broke through the door.

A sad mood rose over him, and before he knew it, Governor Poce's eyes were blurred......

On the sea

The five Duke-class main ironclad ships like a giant mountain of steel were lined up, showing a rigorous battle line, and the main gun emplacements in front and behind the battleships were turned to the side in unison, and the long huge barrels revealed the breath of crazy destruction.

On the deck of the battleship, the heavy smell of gunpowder smoke filled the air after the launch, and the sailors on the ship pushed the propellant packets with small carts and urgently delivered them to the turret.

The officers commanded in an orderly manner, and the orders came and went, and there was a tense state of pre-war readiness.

The artillery battle has already achieved a complete result, and the next round of shelling is about to begin......

On the wide main bridge of the Duke of Hawaii

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, Prince of Pingxi, was standing on the gangway at this moment, holding copper monoculars in both hands to observe carefully, and several senior officers were also holding binoculars to observe the movement of the fort.

"Report to the marshal, it seems that some of the enemy officers and soldiers of the West Fort have withdrawn." A naval colonel put down the binoculars in his hand, pointed ahead and hurriedly reported.

The telescope in the hand of His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin, Prince of Pingxi, turned in that direction, looked at it for a while, put it down, nodded and said;

"That's right, the enemy is cold, which shows that the Dutch have a deep understanding of the greeting gift we have sent. That's a good sign! ”

His words caused a proud laugh from the senior officers around him.

Strong self-confidence comes from strength, the enemy battery's counterattack artillery fire is several kilometers away, but it explodes countless water columns on the sea, which looks amazingly powerful, but in fact it is lonely.

The nearest artillery shell was also 1 kilometer away, and it did not pose any threat to the fleet.

The fierce artillery bombardment of Fangcai, the shelling level of the five main ironclad ships must be evaluated after the war, two of which can be excellent, and three can be good+, and the performance is quite good.

Every training is a real battle, and every actual combat is a test.

no doubt

The Imperial capital ships have withstood a severe test, and the captains of the three ships who performed well in the shelling of the East Coast Battery+ are now showing a hundredfold spirit, and are loudly scolding their officers to cooperate with all their efforts, and be sure to hit the "first hit" in the next round of shelling.

The engine power output is more stable, the ship is more meticulous, and the guncrew is more closely coordinated, striving for better performance.

Marshal Tang-Li Xin, Prince of Pingxi, ordered; "Raise the battle signal flag, keep an eye on the movements of the Dutch fleet in the harbor, and order the Second and Third fleets to be ready for battle to prevent the enemy from jumping over the wall."

"Yes, handsome." The herald immediately ran to carry out the order.

On the surface of the sea

Far ahead of the other battleships of the main ironclad fleet, a cruiser fleet of seven ironclad cruisers and a guerrilla fleet of smaller displacement ironclads, immediately discharged the battle formation after receiving the order, forming a death flare outside the port of Batavia.

The two fleets swam slowly in a figure-eight shape, and the guns on the side of the board were invariably aimed at the open sea.

If the Royal Dutch East Indies fleet wanted to break through, it had to pass through the dead sea with its artillery, which almost doomed them to complete destruction.

If you don't fight, then obediently tie your hands and take it.

And this was obviously a great humiliation that the officers and men of the proud Royal Netherlands Navy fleet could not accept, so when the rumbling guns sounded again, the Royal Netherlands Navy fleet launched a death-defying counterattack.

in the bay

One after another, the sail warships raised their sails, nimbly left the dock, formed two battle formations in the bay, and began to break through under the leadership of four 2,300-ton ironclad ships.

This is an extremely tragic scene, and it is also an unprecedented tragic scene.

The Dutch fleet split into two columns, about 3 kilometers apart from each other, and began to assault towards the sea area of Death Trumpet, surrounded by wolves, and soon increased its speed to about 12~13 knots.

Behind the ironclad ship was the Royal Dutch Navy sail cruiser, a sloop sail frigate, the sailors on the ship were full of sails, the sides of the battleship were exposed with black holes, and all the combatants were already in position.

Between sea and sky

The battle line, composed of five small mountain-like ironclad giant ships, was pouring artillery fire on the West Coast batteries in a rhythmic manner, blowing up the huge West Coast batteries with raging flames and collapsing the rocks, as if the end of the world.

The Dutch batteries on the west coast were also fighting back, but unfortunately all the shells fell into the sea, blasting high columns of water and not causing any damage to the enemy fleet.

The main ironclad ships of the Royal Fleet of the Tang Empire, with a five-minute round of artillery bombardment, steadily poured artillery fire on the west coast battery, pouring 40 rounds of 305 mm shells per round, and the defensive wall, warehouse, barracks, auxiliary battery and main battery of the west coast battery were all affected, and the flames were blazing.

After only five rounds of shelling, three of the four 305-mm 25-caliber Krupp guns of the West Coast battery had been destroyed, and only the last one was still stubbornly counterattacking.

At this time, the most tragic scene happened

After the assault Royal Dutch fleet entered the Death Flare Sea area, with a command, a rain of cannonballs covered the face, and immediately turned the sea area into a boiling soup pot.

The dense firepower coverage area formed by the 29 warships of the Tang Empire had already beaten the leading 4 2,300-ton ironclad ships into flames in just a few minutes, and the flames of the explosion rose high.

The battleships of the Royal Dutch Fleet also fired a counterattack, but unfortunately they counterattacked 29 battleships with 4 warships, and they were still in a state of accelerating breakthrough, and the sea area after the explosion of the surrounding shells boiled, shaking the high-speed Dutch ironclad ship.

God knows where these counterattack shells went?

The bloody battle didn't last long

The "General Van Campbell" ironclad in the right column was hit by two 280-mm shells and exploded as if it had been hit by a sea giant, and the huge force of the explosion knocked the "General Van Campbell" ironclad sideways.

After the mist and debris of the explosion fell, it was discovered that the bow of the "General Van Campbell" had been blown off, and there was a laceration more than 7 meters long on the amidship.

A large amount of seawater quickly poured in, and the entire hull of the ship was seriously tilted to the right, and in just over two minutes, the ironclad ship "General Van Campbell" had completely disappeared from the sea.

The ironclad ship "General Ian" that followed closely behind drove by without stopping, firing frantically and counterattacking, while speeding at high speed to try to break through.

Its hull shook violently in the raindrops of exploding seas, braving artillery fire, as if dancing in the dead sea.

The ironclad ship "General Ian" was lucky, in the dense artillery fire, only a few small and medium-caliber shells were hit, and no fatal wounds were caused.

A three-masted sail cruiser that followed it was no good luck when its stern was hit by a 280 mm large-caliber shell.

As if struck down by a sea giant, the stern of the three-masted sail cruiser sank violently, the bow of the ship was all raised high, and a dozen sailors were thrown into the sea by a huge concussion.

The 280-millimeter shell blew the entire stern of the ship into a mess, stunned by the wooden planks torn by the huge explosion, and killed and wounded countless officers and men on board.

The violent explosion swept through the tall and mid-mast, and the back-mast was blown off, and the tall mid-mast made a tooth-aching cracking sound before toppling down.

After this heavy damage, the sail cruiser, which carried more than 830 people, was already weakly paralyzed on the sea, and the long mast fell down, and it was carried on the sea, dragging the sail battleship to death.

Shells continued to rain down, and the battle at sea entered an unprecedented and tragic phase.

The Second and Third Detachments of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire used intensive artillery fire to weave a sea of death and deadly strangled the assaulting Royal Dutch fleet.

Naval battles with clear distinctions between the strong and the weak turned into one-sided slaughter.

The Royal Dutch Navy, which rose to the occasion and bravely assaulted, was wiped out in the dense artillery fire, and burst into brilliant and magnificent fireworks, which was witnessed and moved by everyone on the harborside.

One Dutch warship after another exploded under intense artillery fire, and the flames filled the sea, announcing the end of the Royal Dutch Navy's former glory.

It's so miserable, it's a charge that never goes back......

Under the dense artillery fire of the Dead Sea, the Royal Dutch Navy fleet tried to break out of the siege in vain, and finally disappeared in the flames.

Not a single battleship rushed out, and all the glory and glory of the past sank to the bottom of the sea, turning into a futile struggle.

In the face of absolute superiority of naval power, all resistance is like a joke, which can be broken with a slight poke of the hand.

(End of chapter)