Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 147 Pirates and Navy ([-])

The twenty or so matchlock gunners on the deck of the "Warrior" were completely unable to resist the volley of guns fired by 82 regular troops.

After only one round of salvo, these arquebus shooters were broken up; after two rounds of salvo, they were basically beaten to the ground.Of course, the army soldiers were not without injuries. An explosive bomb fired by a British 4-pound iron gun exploded in front of the army's dense formation, killing and injuring dozens of people in an instant.

The fierce battle continued.Seven or eight soldiers in full body armor, under the order of Ensign John Ston, held a metal bomb weighing several kilograms in their hands, ignited the fuze, put it in their hands for a few seconds, and then threw it at the right time.

The hand-throwing bomb exploded on the deck of the "Warrior", and a large group of British sailors who were crowded together and prepared to jump to the gang could not avoid it. They were hit by broken iron pieces and nails flying around, causing heavy casualties. dyed red.

In addition to the tragic battle between the soldiers, the main role was also the broadside artillery on the decks of both sides.

The two 24-pound guns, four 18-pound guns, and four 12-pound guns on the side of the "Beagle" displayed super power. A net bag of small buckshot is stuffed into the barrel and then rammed.After the preparations were ready, the gunner ignited the primer at the fire door, and only heard a "boom", and the small lead bullets flew out in all directions, causing terrible casualties among the densely packed crowd on the opponent's deck.

The enemy's counterattack also came soon. Grape shells fired by the 8-pound gun wiped out half of an army platoon on the deck of the "Beagle", and a 12-pound solid iron bullet hit the command bridge on the top floor of the poop.

This huge iron ball pierced through a bulkhead, shot obliquely from the window at the rear right of the poop, and landed in the sea.Chen Tumu woke up suddenly, jumped to the fence and observed the battle situation.

At this time, the first attack by the sailors on the British merchant ship "Warrior" has been completely disintegrated under the impact of spears, musket salvos and artillery shells. None of them can even board the deck of the "Beagle" alive. .Two of the four cannons on the opponent's side had been destroyed, and only two small 8-pound cannons remained.However, none of the ten guns on the side of the "Beagle" were destroyed, and they were still ravaging the opponent with shells at close range, but it seemed that the gunners suffered a lot of casualties.After all, it is an unshielded open-air artillery, and it is fired at close range, so it is inevitable that the gunners will suffer heavy casualties.

Chen Tumu made such a rough estimate that nearly 208 of the 40 combat officers and soldiers on his ship, including the army, had been killed or injured.Although they almost caused 80 British casualties, this is the unprecedented tragic casualty of the East Coast Republic Navy in a single battle.Moreover, the battle is obviously not over yet. The three British ships behind have already completed their turn and are approaching quickly with the wind.

The situation was so bad that it couldn't get any worse, but now Chen Tumu calmed down, and he was no longer so worried about gains and losses.

It is meaningless to stay on the bridge to command anymore. He took guards, orderlies and other entourages to put on breastplates, picked up muskets and sabers, and went to the right side of the deck of his own ship to command the battle. The British behind him were about to come. It's over.As for the port side, leave it to John Ston, an Englishman. He commands very well, is very calm, and is also very heroic. After returning, he can ask the Joint Chiefs of Staff to promote his rank.

Due to the heavy casualties of the sailors on the British merchant ship "Warrior" on the port side, they had no extra strength to organize a threatening offensive, so the army commander Staff Sergeant Hans transferred 48 fusiliers to the starboard side for reinforcements.There were only a dozen musketeers and a small number of sailors and spearmen left on the port side. They and artillery alone on this side were enough to suppress any ambitions of the English who had suffered heavy casualties.

The noise mixed with the roar of artillery, crisp gun salvos, dull bomb explosions and soldiers yelling and fighting was clearly transmitted to Guo Zili's ears through the sea fog, which made him very worried.

The tall hull of the "Beagle" loomed in the mist, and the muzzles of the 24-pound guns on the ship were still spraying flames non-stop. It seemed that the situation was not bad, at least they blocked the attack of the British.Think about it too, there are 96 gunners, 82 army musketeers, and a large number of sailors and officers on the "Beagle". How many people can the British have on an armed merchant ship?

An ordinary merchant ship of four to five hundred tons can be easily controlled by twenty or thirty sailors. With the addition of some officers, gunners and handymen, a ship can have seventy crew members.These British merchant ships probably had to sail in complicated waters, so each ship was equipped with a few more fighters, but there were only a little over 100 people, and there could be no more.With only this manpower, it is difficult to capture the "Beagle" with complete facilities and powerful firepower. The only worry is that I don't know how many ships the British still have nearby. This is the biggest variable in this battle. .

The situation of the British merchant ship "Lemon" desperately stopped by the "Red Trout" is obviously not optimistic at this time. The five cannons on the port side have misfired, and the sail surface was also hit by chain bullets at close range, causing extensive damage. The mizzen mast was even cut off in the middle.What is even more tragic is the loss of personnel. In the confrontation with as many as 12 large-caliber naval guns on the starboard side of the "Red Trout", more than 20 gunners and sailors on the deck were killed or injured, and the rest were also destroyed by fierce artillery fire. I dare not look up.

God!God knows why there are so many large-caliber naval guns on the boats of these devils!The Englishman cursed through gritted teeth.

Clifford led his ships "Lucky Jenny", "Bird" and the half-damaged "Prosperity" through the fog and quickly chased them up. Their primary goal was to entangle with the "Warrior" The chatter of the Beagle.As for the "Red Trout" which was in a fierce exchange of fire with the "Lemon", the remaining armed merchant ships in the rear had already caught up one after another. Today, these two ships that appeared out of nowhere could not escape without their wings.

But after talking for so long, even though the sea was filled with fog, Clifford still found that the two ships had dense firepower, both in terms of artillery and personnel, and they looked like they were completely configured as warships.No, maybe there are not so many artillery on a warship of this tonnage in the UK!

Basically, the two merchant ships on my side may not necessarily have the upper hand against the previous one.The previous battles have confirmed this point. The merchant ships "Lemon" and "Prosperity" were severely damaged, and many artillery pieces were destroyed; as for the poor "Warrior", Clifford did not want to recall just seeing That's when the tragedy came.The corpses of sailors were lying all over the deck, and the starboard artillery was basically destroyed. It can be regarded as losing most of its combat effectiveness at present.

The "Asuka" took the lead and leaned heavily on the starboard side of the "Beagle". Some sailors on both decks couldn't stand still, screaming and falling into the sea.John Hill's bosun roared, taking advantage of the moment of confusion when the two ships collided, armed with a pistol and a dagger, grabbed the rope net on the side of the "Beagle" and jumped onto the deck.Behind him, more than a dozen veteran sailors also rushed forward.

"Bang! Bang!" A platoon of army soldiers on the gun deck raised their guns and fired a volley, knocking down a few people, but the rest still took out their weapons and rushed forward.

Chen Tumu was wearing breastplate and gauntlets, holding a Model 1633 flintlock pistol in his hand, and a saber pinned to his waist.Seeing an English sailor in tattered clothes rushing towards him fiercely, Chen Tumu subconsciously wanted to back away, but he had experienced several battles anyway, so he quickly realized that he was on the battlefield and couldn't make a "no" Appropriate" action.

Seeing that the enemy's dagger had been delivered in front of him, Chen Tumu hastily raised his gun and pointed it at the person who came. He was about to shoot, but unexpectedly, his military boots stepped on the blood on the deck and staggered.

However, this slip also allowed him to narrowly avoid the inevitable knife of the Englishman.The English sailor turned around in rage and wanted to continue stabbing, but when he heard a loud "bang", his body suddenly paused, and then a large amount of blood gushed out of his chest.

It was Chen Tumu who reacted quickly and fired the flintlock pistol in his hand, and the English sailor fell unwillingly.Chen Tumu panted loudly, as if he still hadn't recovered from the scene of dividing life and death just now.

The enemies are still coming, and everyone is fighting.At this time, the musketeers had been organized. They formed small groups and fired salvos, killing many enemies.And the gunners also did their part. After recovering from the initial confusion, they stuffed strings of small grape-like lead balls bound in net bags into the gun barrel, and then fired at the deck of the "Bird". go.Especially the grape shells fired by the 24-pound heavy artillery can cause great casualties to the opponent every time.

Under the cover of the musketeers, the armored grenadiers ignited the bombs made of cast iron and threw them far away on the opponent's deck, creating a rain of blood.Of course, the sailors on the other side were not to be outdone, and some small hand-thrown bombs were also thrown over, killing many sailors and army soldiers on the "Beagle".

The fierce battle continued.

Soon, the "Lucky Janney" finally landed on the poop of the "Beagle". The English sailors cheered and connected the two ships tightly with a hook, then put the gangplank and net ropes, and under the supervision of the officers, The subordinates of the organization rushed over shouting slogans.

A platoon of army soldiers on the gun deck of the poop quickly turned their guns and fired, but the number was too small. After knocking down a few English sailors who were rushing the fastest, they had to abandon their guns and draw their knives and entered a melee state.Some officers and handymen in the poop also picked up sabers and muskets to join the battle, but their efforts were so pale and powerless in front of the tide of English sailors, and the balance of the battle seemed to be gradually tilting towards the British.

Chen Tumu was a little desperate, he was even thinking about whether he would be captured.

At this moment, "Boom! Boom!" The sound of several artillery firing came from the fog not far away.

"God! 32-pound gun!" An English officer exclaimed.

(End of this chapter)