Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 245: Wind Movement (I)

As the order of Gomez, commander of the Spanish task force, was issued, the warships that were struggling to fight against the port artillery immediately turned their heads and hurriedly headed out of the harbor.

The sea was filled with the smell of gunpowder and smoke, the sound of cannons was deafening, and the shouts of the sailors and the groans of the wounded were intertwined, forming a tragic battle scene.

We really can't continue this battle. We are no match for the enemy's coastal artillery!

The enemy's artillery fired quickly and accurately. In almost every round of salvo, several shells would hit their own ships, causing varying degrees of damage to the hull.

The moment the shell hit the hull, wood chips flew everywhere, flames shot into the sky, and the hull shook violently, as if it would disintegrate at any time.

Although they tried their best to fight back, firing shells like raindrops, it seemed that they failed to suppress the counterattack of the artillery. The enemy continued to output firepower and bombarded their ships.

It was obvious that the enemy's artillery must have undergone a lot of calibration in advance, and it was even possible that all the landing areas of the shells were marked, so that their shooting accuracy was ridiculously high, and the shells seemed to have eyes and landed accurately on their warships.

As for the effect of our own artillery bombardment, there may be some, but it is definitely not as big as previously expected.

The sailors on the ship struggled to load shells amid the gunfire, but their shooting accuracy was far inferior to that of the enemy. Many shells fell on the sea, stirring up columns of water but failing to cause any substantial damage to the artillery position.

Even if the fleet commander did not issue a retreat order, all their warships had already begun to retreat, and did not want to compete with the coastal artillery to see who would suffer greater damage.

The sailors had been thrown into battle immediately upon reaching the pirate stronghold, without even having a chance to rest. Now, after a powerful counterattack from the enemy's artillery, not only had their ship been severely damaged, but they had also suffered numerous casualties, and their morale had plummeted to its lowest point.

Many people have begun praying, hoping to survive this battle or leave this hell as soon as possible.

However, just as the ships were struggling to turn around and prepare to retreat out of the harbor, someone discovered that the "Light of Dawn" was lying still, still staying on the sea in the front, bearing the continuous attacks from the coastal defense artillery.

This majestic warship has now become a sitting duck for artillery fire.

The poor "Light of Dawn" was the most advanced ship and received special attention from the enemy's artillery. The forecastle was smashed to pieces by several rounds of artillery fire, with wood blocks scattered everywhere and large patches of bright red blood oozing out of it.

The sailors on the ship fled in all directions under the gunfire, trying to find a safe shelter, but the intensity of the gunfire left them nowhere to hide.

The second-floor gun deck was also struck by several shells, several guns shattered, and more than a dozen bodies lay sprawled inside. The bodies of the gunners had been torn apart by the shells, their blood staining the deck red, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

A secondary mast was hit by a chain bullet and broke into two pieces, falling diagonally on the deck and leaning against the side of the slipway.

The sound of the mast breaking was like the wailing of a dying man, announcing the fate of the battleship.

The triangular sail on the mizzenmast was torn into several pieces by the shells and was so tattered that it could no longer be used.

Several holes were also penetrated in the poop, and the control crossbar in the steering wheel cabin was severely damaged, making it impossible to adjust the direction easily.

The sailors on the ship tried to repair the steering wheel, but the continuous bombardment made it impossible for them to operate effectively.

Just as the ships were retreating in a hurry, the coastal artillery fired another round of salvos, all aimed at the severely damaged warship, trying to keep it.

The other party used a large number of chain bullets and hot bullets, apparently aiming to take its life.

In this round of shelling, although several chain shells failed to hit the mast of the "Light of Dawn", three shells accurately hit its port side, suddenly scattering the sailors crowded there, and breaking two sailors in half on the spot, and then waded through the crowd with huge potential energy, leaving two bloody trails.

The sailors' screams sounded particularly shrill and sharp amid the gunfire.

More shells hit the buildings and sides on the deck. One of the shells penetrated the planking above the waterline, causing the ship to sway from side to side and flood with seawater.

Not only was the "Light of Dawn" unable to move, but it also tilted slightly to the left, making the sailors on board even more frightened and panicked.

Some desperate sailors, seemingly unable to endure the baptism of shells, jumped into the sea without caring about anything, holding a wooden barrel. Many sailors floated on the sea, struggling in the turbulent water, trying to escape from the ship that was about to be destroyed.

Oh, God, the Dawnlight is finished!

As the Spanish fleet began to slowly withdraw from the harbor, the coastal artillery batteries stopped firing after firing the last two salvos.

The only thing left on the sea was the lonely figure of the "Light of Dawn", which was parked there crookedly, having completely lost its ability to move.

Around it, broken wooden boards, canvas and the bodies of several sailors were scattered around, rising and falling with the impact of the waves, as if witnessing the final fate of this 500-ton battleship.

"What a pity!" Commander of the coastal artillery battery, Wang Jiarong, put down the telescope in his hand, smacked his lips, and looked like he was still unsatisfied.

After such a long period of careful preparation and firing so many shells, only one Spanish warship was left.

This result is somewhat disappointing!

Maybe the Marines will laugh at me again.

Their coastal defense forces have the largest number of artillery pieces in the entire Xinhua, including heavy artillery pieces with a caliber of 165 mm (32-pound guns). In terms of firepower, it is definitely unique among all branches of the Xinhua military.

What made the Marines even more jealous was that in order to determine the firing parameters and firing range in the harbor, the coastal artillery fired artillery at sea every few days, and the "wasted" ammunition accounted for more than 50% of Xinhua's ammunition consumption.

As a result, when the Spaniards came to attack, they managed to destroy a Spanish warship with a fierce bombardment, which was really "disappointing"!

You said that if half of the Spanish warships could be saved, the war would basically be over.

Pity!
"Messenger!" Wang Jiarong shouted, "Report immediately to the city! The Spanish fleet has evacuated the port and is nowhere to be found. However, our coastal defense forces estimate that the Spanish will seek another landing site and launch an attack on Xinhua."

"Yes, sir!" After repeating the order, the messenger saluted and rode excitedly towards Shixing City.

In the first battle of the Western Barbarian invasion, our coastal defense forces won the battle!

After receiving the information about the Spanish movements from the coastal artillery, the decision-making committee and the marines immediately divided the cavalry squad into several groups and sent them out to patrol along the coastline in order to discover the landing place of the Spanish fleet as soon as possible.

However, the Spanish fleet seemed to suddenly disappear without a trace when it was hit head-on by the coastal artillery in the harbor and lost the first round.

The cavalry team searched the coast for several days but found no trace of the enemy ships.

Fearing that the cavalry squadron was too small and might cause omissions, the decision-making committee also ordered the Indian tribes scattered along the coast to dispatch a large number of people to patrol the coast day and night to ensure that they could detect the movements of the Spanish fleet.

The Spaniards prepared for this invasion war for more than half a year and crossed more than 5,000 kilometers of sea routes before finally reaching our Xinhua doorstep. They would not choose to return home after encountering a minor setback in Shixing Port, right?
If that's the case, you Spaniards probably can't afford to lose this person!

The decision-making committee speculated that after the Spaniards experienced the strength of the Xinhua at the port, they may have become a little afraid and dared not to display their troops openly and launch a landing operation under the noses of the Xinhua as before.

In order to prevent a strong counterattack from Xinhua during the landing, they would definitely secretly choose a secluded coast to complete the landing operation.

You know, beach landing is an extremely complex and dangerous military operation even in later generations, let alone in the 17th century when the technical conditions and military organization were even lower.

If you are not careful, you may be driven into the sea by the defenders on land, or they may take advantage of the extremely chaotic situation when you first land and surround and annihilate you in one fell swoop.

Five days later, a group of Indians came to report that they had discovered a large number of Spanish troops landing on a beach more than ten kilometers northeast of Shixing City.

(End of this chapter)