Xinshun 1730

Chapter 705 Naval Battle ([-])

With the entry of the main force of the Dashun fleet, the two Dutch warships on the left and right sides of the Tianyuan soon lost their combat effectiveness.

Eight battleships passed through the same position, and the cannons on both sides fired at the two sides in turn, forming a very good fire concentration effect.

Nearly 600 shells were poured on the two Dutch warships in just 5 minutes, almost spitting at each other, and the advantages of the battleship's heavy artillery were brought into full play.

This is not the debut of the new French 74-gun battleship, but it is the first successful debut.

Because the real first show happened a year ago, the first show of the French 74-gun battleship was played off, and was captured by several British cruisers, and has since been imitated, becoming the main force of the British battleship.

After all, this type of warship has assembled the best talents in France.With a single mast, at the age of 27, Euler won the second prize in the application of mathematical design, and won the first prize of the "Mathematics Application of Ship Design of the French Academy of Sciences" set by Colbert before his death. Father" by Pierre Bouguer.

These warships that Liu Yu did not hesitate to exchange for mini bombs, wooden shrapnel shells, buying French wool every year, and even donating French American ginseng and mink fur trade, now it seems that the exchange is very worthwhile.

The Dutch did not expect that the heavy battleships in their impression could actually reach this speed.

The admiral of the Dutch fleet did not make a big mistake, judging from experience, especially from years of experience, that the speed of the battleship could only bite the tail of the fleet.

But I didn't expect that the battleship, which had been pressing for speed before, could achieve such a speed and was inserted into the queue of the Dutch fleet.

The two Dutch battleships had lost their combat effectiveness, and the stern and bow were severely damaged. The heavy artillery at close range directly reimbursed the masts of the two ships, making the two ships only afloat at sea.

As for sinking, that is impossible.Maybe eight battleships bombarded around for half an hour, maybe they could almost sink.

But a warship that has lost its power is equivalent to losing its ability to fight, and it is a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

After the Tianyuan passed through the Dutch fleet, it continued to move forward and did not turn immediately.

As the lead ship, it can turn south with a large radius to ensure that the seven battleships behind can pass the distance.

The speed of the battleship is relatively slow, and the headwind is even more unsuitable, so it has to turn south and still bite the Dutchman's tail on the open sea side.

If the Dashun warship is 1 and the Dutch fleet is 0, the cruiser led by Chen Qinghai in the front of the Dutch fleet also passed through, forming a 01010 situation.

The main force of the battleship led by Tianyuan bit the last 0, and the main force of the cruiser led by Chen Qinghai bit the first 0, and the Dutch fleet separated in the middle didn't care for the time being.

Because of the positions of the two columns of Dashun, the part of the Dutch fleet that was separated in the middle could not easily turn around. Whether it was to escape or continue to maintain the battle formation, it was very troublesome.

No matter which way they turned, they had to face the blockade of the side-string artillery of the two columns of warships in the front and back of Dashun.

At the moment when the Tianyuan passed through the Dutch fleet, the Dutch fleet commander turned pale.

In fact, when the Tianyuan suddenly accelerated with full sail and was about 400 meters away from the Dutch fleet, his face was already pale.

Only then did he understand the significance of Dashun's strange formation.Battleships are resistant to attack and are slow, so they are ahead; cruisers are fast, so they are behind.

Changing from one column to two columns, relying on the speed difference between the battleship and the cruiser, can ensure that the two fleets penetrate the Dutch fleet almost at the same time and completely divide the Dutch fleet.

The battlefield was out of control, and the Dutch fleet could no longer maintain a line, and the fleet divided in the middle could not turn at all at this time.In an instant, the entire Dutch fleet fell into chaos.

Fighting each other is the most nonsensical order. The role of the fleet commander is almost zero when fighting each other.

But now, the formation has been broken, and there is no remedial measure other than fighting each other.

The flagship of the Dutch fleet, the St. Michael, from the point of view of the inheritance of the ship name, all the warships of Dashun must be regarded as great-grandchildren.

During the Tianqi period of the previous dynasty, it was this ship that robbed the Manila ship, attacked Macau, and robbed Zhoushan.More than a hundred years have passed, and it has become a ship of paradox: the St. Michael, which has basically changed all the wood on board, is still the St. Michael.

The flagship is at the rear of the fleet, within range of eight battleships including the Tianyuan.

Fortunately, the Tianyuan was interspersed and attacked the warships on the left and right sides, and the St. Michael was not damaged for the time being.

However, the fleet on Dashun's side can focus on the nearest left and right sides, while the Dutch side has lost command and control, and is in a state of fighting on its own. The few artillery pieces scattered in Dashun's huge fleet Suddenly, it became a tickle.

The difference between focusing on fire and not focusing on fire is very, very huge.

The commander of the Dutch fleet knew that he might have failed, but he hoped that the defeat of honor would at least result in a victory, so that Dashun would know that the Dutch's more than [-]-year-old naval tradition was not so easy to bully.

"Turn! Attack the Chinese flagship with all your strength!"

The fleet has fallen into chaos, and the commander of the Dutch fleet issued an order to his flagship. He hopes that he can become a standard bearer, so that those own warships who are at a loss know what they are going to do.

He can no longer control the warships that were divided in front.The Dutch's semaphore technology is not mature, and the shelling caused a lot of smoke, and it was impossible to convey the message at all.

The only thing that can be done at this time is to use the flagship as the standard bearer, rely on the Dutch naval tradition and excellent senior captains, spontaneously counterattack in this chaos, and fight for a little honor of defeat for the honor of the Dutch Navy.

St. Michael's movement to get closer to the Tianyuan is very obvious. The Tianyuan is still moving forward for the time being to prevent the following fleet from being impassable and must turn around a huge radius.

Therefore, the St. Michael can catch up with the Tianyuan with a faster speed and easier turning.

I have to admit that the Dutch naval tradition of more than [-] years is indeed effective. The courage of the Dutch to dare to see the bayonet in naval battles also played a role at this time.

Even though the smog filled the air, even if the fleet was in chaos, the four surrounding ships spontaneously supported their flagship immediately after seeing the flagship's movement.

There is no command, but these senior captains know what they should do by virtue of their own experience.Fighting on their own, still need to cooperate.

On the sea off Cirebon, a tragic picture of the Dutch was staged.

With a certain death belief, the two Dutch warships lined up in front of the battleships behind the Tianyuan, blocking the view of Dashun's battleship fleet firing salvos at the St. Michael.

They knew that they were shooting at each other, not to mention seven battleships, even one, they might not be able to shoot.

But only in this way can we create an opportunity for the St. Michael and the Haarlem next to it to get close to the Tianyuan and board the ship for hand-to-hand combat.

The right string artillery of the seven battleships on Dashun's side fired at the two 800-ton armed merchant ships, the fastest salvos of the entire world navy at this time.

The blessing of the flintlock cables and the gunners trained with krypton gold gunpowder made the speed of fire of these battleships in Dashun unrivaled in the world.

But at this time their shooting angles were blocked by these two warships, and the Haarlem relied on its lightness to try to get stuck between the Tianyuan and the follow-up warships, creating a local situation where more shots were fired.

The auxiliary ship behind the Haarlem also realized the intention of the St. Michael, and quickly and spontaneously moved towards the Tianyuan.

Because the Tianyuan had to pull out the distance for the subsequent fleet to pass, the turning radius was a bit large, so it seemed that the St. Michael did have a chance to approach.

But in fact, even if they got close, it was useless, and the battle had already been lost.It can even be said that the moment the Tianyuan hit the Dutch fleet, it had already failed.

However, even if it fails, it is necessary to retain a little bit of the dignity of a naval power and a little bit of decency that has not been defeated in Southeast Asia for 120 years-Travangol was in India a few years ago, and it was not like fighting Zheng Zhilong earlier. In Southeast Asia, the Dutch can still say that they have not been defeated for 120 years in Southeast Asia.

The Dutchman's intentions were too obvious. On the Tianyuan, Liu Yu and Li Yan watched the Dutchman's movements and couldn't help sighing at this tragic scene.

If the Tianyuan is like a 200-jin strong man, the St. Michael is like a half-aged child of twelve or thirteen years old, and the auxiliary ships behind are completely children of five or six years old.

After the formation was disrupted by Dashun's side, these five or six-year-old children and twelve or thirteen-year-old half-grown children surrounded Tianyuan, a 200-jin strong man without hesitation.

It's like the fool who rushed to the windmill giant in the western story; it's also like the courage of the oriental culture saying that although there are thousands of people, I will go.

"Actually, there is a truth that the Dutch should know best. Under the material advantages of strong ships and guns, the so-called courage is not very useful. If courage is so useful, then it is impossible for the Dutch to rely on 5000 Humans have occupied Nanyang for so long."

Looking at the Dutch ships approaching this way with courage and consciousness, Liu Yu smiled, and did not respect the courage of the Dutch, but only slightly sighed for their consciousness.The centuries-old tradition of naval warfare is still useful in the end.

Li Yan said with a smile: "It seems that they want to help me fight?"

"Your Highness is right. It's useless to surround them and let them bombard for an hour. Those two ships blocked the line of sight, and it won't last long. The Dutch must want to fight close to hand. Only in this way can it be possible In the little time we are fighting for, seize our flagship. Guns have no eyes, Your Highness will take shelter for now, and let the boys fight."

However, Li Yan shook his head, knowing that this was an opportunity to build his prestige and truly be recognized by the naval officers, so he touched the short gun on his waist and said: "I lost one eye since I was a child, but it saves me from closing my eyes when shooting." The archery skill is not unique, but it is not bad. I want to be on the deck, so that the Dutch will know, and I will not lack courage."

(End of this chapter)