Chapter 456: The Burning Ocean (I)
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, there were two main kinds of naval tactics, one was a close-range melee, in which the fleets of both sides charged each other and then became entangled, and there was no tactical content, that is, artillery bombardment, broadside warfare and the like, just like a cavalry melee on land. Second, battle line tactics: in naval battles, the warships of both sides are usually lined up in two columns, parallel to each other or in the same direction, and shoot at each other with gunwales, the advantage of this tactic is that it can give full play to the firepower advantage of the battleship, and the disadvantage lies in simplification, stylization, and naval warfare is like wrestling.
The use of battle line tactics has a great deal to do with the choice of wind direction - a battleship in the upwind direction has a hull tilted downwind, and the horizontal angle of fire of the naval guns on this side is low, which is conducive to attacking the hull of the enemy ship on the opposite side; A ship in the downwind direction had its hull tilted backwards and its gunners had a higher horizontal angle of fire, which was conducive to attacking the masts and sails of the opposing enemy ships. The choice of upwind direction is a strong offensive performance, the purpose of which is to sink the enemy ship; Choosing the downwind direction is a defensive stance aimed at destroying the enemy ship's power system and incapacitating it so that it can get out of the boat.
Generally speaking, the inferior fleet will usually choose the upper hand in order to escape, and the superior fleet will often choose the upper hand, and strive to achieve more results after the start of the war, of course, if it is to completely annihilate the enemy, the side in absolute superiority will also choose the downwind, cut off the enemy's escape route, and when the strength of the two armies is equal, which side can grab the upper hand. Whichever side will have the upper hand on the battlefield. At this moment, the Qing fleet is obviously at a disadvantage in terms of strength, but in the choice of battle position, it does not choose the downwind line of the weak side, but is trying its best to seize the upper hand, with a strong posture, which makes Admiral Nadal quite puzzled, but he does not mind giving up the upper hand line to the Qing fleet, in his opinion, the Qing fleet is killing itself. After all, the English fleet at this time surpassed the Qing fleet by a lot in strength.
"Order: turn, line, no orders for ships not to open fire at will!" Admiral Nadal glanced at the Daqing fleet, which was rushing upwind at high speed, and calmly gave the order to prepare for battle. As the herald on the mast of the British flagship "Great Britain" waved a small flag, the order for preparation for battle was quickly issued to all British ships, but in a few moments, the English fleet, which was already in a state of combat readiness, immediately took action, and quickly formed a battle line corresponding to the Qing fleet. At this moment, the array adjustment of the Qing fleet, which had seized the upper hand, had not yet ended, and the formation was still in chaos. Although the English fleet was at ease and could be adjusted on the spot more easily than on the march, the difference in the level of training of the officers and men of the two sides was self-evident.
This battle is not easy to fight! Qiao Hailong looked at the England fleet that had already been prepared with a grim face, and sighed at the speed of the other party's actions. I can't help but feel a little heavy in my heart, but if it's not good to fight, I have to fight! Retreating without a fight is by no means a guide to action for the Qing soldiers, and it is better to die standing than to live on your knees.
"Commander, look. The red-haired ghost put down a small boat on the other end. A cry from Kominda woke Qiao Hailong from his contemplation, but saw a small ship lowered from the flagship of the English fleet, with only one officer with a white flag and an entourage of soldiers in addition to the four sailors who rowed their oars. The boat rowed very quickly, but in a few moments it crossed a distance of more than 200 meters between the two fleets, and came to the front of the flagship of the Qing army, the "Weilong", and the English officer holding the white flag waved the white flag in his hand and signaled that he wanted to board the ship.
"Bring it on. Qiao Hailong stared at the English fleet not far away. Without looking back, he gave an order to a second lieutenant who came to ask for instructions, and the second lieutenant saluted and promised loudly, ran to the side of the ship, and commanded a group of sailors to lower the rope ladder, and the English officer holding the white flag led his entourage to climb the "Weilong" along the rope ladder, and was escorted by the Qing officers and soldiers to Qiao Hailongdi.
"Your Excellency General, personally. Naval Rear Admiral Joe of Great England; Johnson. On behalf of Commander Sean of the Far East Fleet of Great England; Your Excellency Admiral Nadal, salutes Your Excellency the General. "Joe; Major Johnson gave a respectful military salute and said in English. Standing behind Major Qiao was a man with a Chinese appearance. He quickly translated Major Qiao's words in Chinese.
"What's the matter?" Qiao Hailong asked lightly.
"Your Excellency, Honorable General, in view of our absolute superiority on the battlefield, I recommend that you surrender to avoid unnecessary casualties, and as long as you lay down your arms, our Great England Fleet can guarantee the safety of your life. There was not a hint of expression on Major Joe's stereotyped face, but the pride of the English Navy was evident in his words.
"Fart!"
"!"
"Cut him!"
……
After listening to the translation, the officers and men of the Qing Dynasty who gathered around immediately cursed, and many officers and men either drew their swords at each other, or raised their guns to aim, just waiting for Qiao Hailong to give an order, they were going to break the body of this Englishman who did not know how to lift up.
Qiao Hailong waved his hand, stopped everyone's shouting, and looked at Qiao coldly; Major Johnson said word by word: "I only have a decapitated general in the Qing Dynasty, not a kneeling general, and I will fight when I want to fight!" Drop-off! The crowd was furious and the Qing officers and soldiers rushed up, regardless of Qiao; Major Johnson wanted to say something, but pushed him off the boat, helplessly; Major Johnson had no choice but to fly the white flag and return to his flagship.
"Report, Your Excellency, General, the yellow-skinned monkey insisted on fighting, and his subordinates were incompetent and failed to persuade him to surrender. "Joe; Major Johnson vs. Sean; Admiral Nadal saluted and recounted the results of the negotiations.
"Your Excellency Commander, fight, our army will win!" Rear Admiral Green did not wait for Admiral Nadal to say anything, and preemptively spoke: "Our army is far superior to the other side in terms of strength, tactical literacy, and training level, and this battle is a stable victory. Full annihilation is expected, fight! A group of British staff officers all around them also shouted loudly, and the foredeck of the "Great Britain" was filled with shouts and shouts.
Admiral Nadal raised his hand with a serious face, stopped the wild shouts of the officers, looked at the battle line of the Qing army not far away, and secretly calculated for a long time in his heart - the training level of the Qing army is really not very good, if all the Qing navy is like this, no matter how many people there are, it is not the opponent of the Great England fleet. It seems that the Qing fleet is just the level of a paper tiger, and this battle can be fought, but after the fight, if the Qing fleet comes to seek revenge, it is not easy to deal with, but if the training level of the Qing fleet is like this, even if the Far East Fleet can't beat it, the Qing fleet can't take the Great England fleet. If you go around in a circle on this vast ocean, the entire Qing fleet will have to be dragged down, and at that time, it will be impossible to break through each one and annihilate all the main forces of the Qing fleet in one fell swoop. Wait to annihilate the main force of the Qing navy. It is not impossible for our England fleet to take the opportunity to bombard the coastal ports of the Qing Dynasty and force the Qing Dynasty to sign a covenant under the city. Once the Qing Dynasty opens its ports, the economy, politics and military of our Great England will inevitably take off! This battle should be fought!
"Hang the battle flag, all ships are ready to fight, the flagship cannon is a battle order, be sure to annihilate the Qing fleet!" Admiral Nadal, who had been thinking about it for a long time, finally made up his mind and issued the battle order. As soon as the order was delivered, the fleet of England, which had long been ready, was immediately mobilized, and all the ground gun portholes were already open. The rows of guns had also been adjusted into place, the ignition sticks in the gunners' hands were ignited, and puffs of faint black smoke drifted out of the gunholes, a tense force before the battle was about to start.
"Commander, the red-haired ghost is ready to do something. Ke Mingda's eyes were sharp, and as soon as he saw the black smoke wafting from the English fleet, he knew that the English fleet was ready to open fire.
"The herald: The three ships 'Weilong', 'Weiwu' and 'Weiyi' concentrated their artillery fire on the enemy's flagship, and the rest of the ships attacked freely. Fire! Qiao Hailong estimated the distance between the two fleets. It was keenly discovered that the distance between the two fleets traveling in the same direction at this time was about 250 meters, which was exactly within the range of the Qing army's artillery. And slightly exceeded the range of the power of the English artillery, at this time it was the best fighter to give full play to the advantages of the Qing army's artillery, and immediately gave the order to attack without hesitation - the Qing Navy has never paid any attention to benevolence and righteousness, and has never fired the first shot.
At this time, the battle line of the Qing army was the flagship "Weilong" in the middle of the array, and the two large warships "Weiwu" and "Weiyi" were escorted on both sides, and then every two medium-sized warships were covered by a large warship, and the small warships were at both ends of the ranks, ready to maneuver at any time. The order of the English fleet was that the flagship "Great Britain" was located in the center, the two second-class battleships "Mayflower" and "Dancing Girl" were arranged on both sides as cover, and the remaining three first-class battleships were scattered in the queue, each first-class battleship must be followed by two second-class battleships, and more than a dozen third-class battleships were located at both ends of the battle line, ready to cut off the escape direction of the Qing fleet at any time and prevent the Qing army from escaping from the downwind.
The three battleships "Weilong," "Weiwu," and "Weiyi" were all large warships equipped with 108 guns, while the English flagship "Great Britain," which was far away from them, was only equipped with 104 old-style guns, and as for the "Mayflower" and "Dancing Girl," the two second-class battleships had only 98 old-style guns each.
As the herald on the flagship conveyed the order to open fire, the "Weilong" took the lead in firing, firing the first shot of the first Sino-British naval battle in the Pacific. Qiao Hailong's order was issued in a timely manner, and at the same time that the battleship "Weilong" opened fire, the British flagship "Great Britain" also began firing almost at the same time, and then the ships of both sides opened fire in turn, and the cannons over the ocean roared, black smoke billowed out, and a tragic battle began.
The more than 50 shells fired by the "Weilong" were far less accurate than the "Weilong" due to the angle problems, and most of the more than 30 shells fired in the first round fell into the air, and only 10 or so lucky bombs really hit. The loss of the "Great Britain" was not small, the ship's guns were destroyed three, more than ten sailors were killed and wounded, and the rest of the Qing warships were also captured, the first round of artillery bombardment, the British killed and wounded more than 100 people, and more than 30 guns were destroyed; However, the results of the first round of shelling of the English fleet were very small - in terms of hit rate, in fact, the hit rate of the English fleet was higher than that of the Qing army, but it was a pity that the power of the artillery was not helpful, although it hit the hull of the Qing army, but the shells that could really penetrate the side of the Qing army ship were pitiful, except for a few lucky shells through the gun portholes of the Qing warships, killing and wounding more than a dozen Qing gunners, nothing was found.
"Order: Adjust the distance between the ships and the enemy, lean in, and hit hard!" After the first round of shelling, Admiral Nadal immediately keenly discovered the fatal problem of artillery range, and without hesitation gave the order to adjust, and the ships of the English fleet immediately opened fire while adjusting their sails, and the entire battle line pressed forward almost at the same time, quietly narrowing the distance between the Qing fleet and the Qing fleet to a distance of about 200 meters......
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