Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 186 The Naval Battle is in Full Swing
While the first squadron led by the Spanish sailing ship "Princess Reina Cristina" suffered heavy damage, another squadron consisting of three sailing ships was also facing great danger.

This squadron was the Second Squadron led by the "Count dos Santos". After the combat alert was issued, it immediately accelerated and fled to the southeast.

Because the Second Squadron is located further back, it has more redundancy in reaction time.

Led by the "Count dos Santos", the entire squadron formed a straight line and drew an arc-shaped oblique trajectory on the sea.

In a hurry, they avoided the three ironclad warships that were attacking from the front. The two sides fired several rounds of artillery fire at each other at a distance of five or six chains, and then quickly passed each other.

From the extreme fear at the beginning, to the hasty response, and then to the hurried avoidance of the head-on fire attack from the armored fleet, he managed to escape alive.

After the second squadron, led by the "Count dos Santos", passed each other, more than 30 minutes had passed. All the white sailors in the entire squadron could not help but burst into warm cheers.

Because the distance is too far
They didn't know yet that their flagship, Princess Reina Christina, had unfortunately been hit by two 68-pound bombardments, marking the end of their glory.

Amidst the violent explosion, a shocking hole had been torn in the flagship's hull. It was floating up and down with the current, and it was only a matter of time before it sank.

Obviously, the "Count dos Santos" squadron was too happy too early.

"Enemy ships, enemy ships. There are two first-class sailing battleships. Oh... Oh my God, there are three of them coming towards us. They have discovered us."

The lookout on the masthead desperately shook the alarm bell, pointed at the distance with fear in his eyes and shouted loudly. His voice was hoarse because of the huge fear.

what……

Lieutenant Colonel Jose Perez, commander of the "Count dos Santos" squadron, suddenly changed expression, his hands trembled subconsciously, and he hurriedly raised his telescope to observe.

On the distant sea horizon, a tall cross-mast jumped out, and then a huge white sail appeared. The clear three-masted structure could be recognized from a distance.

A three-masted sailing ship means a displacement of thousands of tons, a larger and stronger hull, more powerful artillery, more terrifying combat effectiveness, and means death and destruction.

Lieutenant Commander Jose Perez's hands began to tremble. Behind this huge three-masted sailing battleship, a second one appeared, and then a third one...

What emerged in his heart at this moment was complete despair, "It's over", "It's over", "It's completely over".

This is the "Zhenhu" and "Zhenhe" sailing battleship formation, and the third ship following closely behind is the "Guangming" sailing ship, which also belongs to the sailing battleship level.

According to the classification standards of the Royal British Navy, such sailing battleships belong to the third-level sailing battleships. They have two upper and lower gun decks and are equipped with a total of 3 to 36 guns. They are all third-level sailing battleships.

But among the navies of the European powers, it is already a first-class battleship.

In the Luzon Islands fleet of the Royal Spanish Navy, there is not a single ship that meets the standards of a British-standard Tier 3 sailing battleship. The flagship, "Princess Reina Cristina", has a displacement of less than 800 tons and is equipped with 28 guns. At best, it can only be considered a sailing cruiser.

Most other sailing warships weigh from four to five hundred tons to more than three hundred tons, with only one gun deck. They are called sailing cruisers, but are actually sailing frigates.

At this moment

Behind the "Count dos Santos" squadron were two ironclad warships that were slowly turning to pursue, and in front were three sailing battleships heading towards them.

The Chu sailing fleet deployed into a battle formation, forming a horizontal line, blocking the Spaniards' path, and pounced on them with murderous intent.

The fleet in front was about ten kilometers away, and the armored fleet pursuing it was about 3 kilometers away. At this moment, the "Count dos Santos" squadron was in a very dangerous situation with enemies coming from both sides.

Because the ironclad fleet had a slower speed, with an average speed of only seven to eight knots, it could not catch up with the agile and fast Spanish sailing fleet, and the threat it posed to the Spanish fleet was much smaller.

On the contrary, the oncoming sailing battleship fleet posed a greater threat. They were flexible in turning, fast in speed, and the large-caliber naval guns they carried were even more dangerous.

Lieutenant Commander José Perez had few options. As an experienced Spanish Royal Navy officer, he knew there was no escape.

Only by facing the powerful invading fleet and fighting to the death can one win a slight chance of escape and ascension.

Just now, they took advantage of the invading armored fleet's slow movement and escaped from the left and right sides of the enemy armored fleet.

This trick is not effective against sailing battleships. The large-scale turning will cause the Spanish fleet to lose speed sharply.

This reduction and increase almost means handing over the initiative to others.

After quickly considering the pros and cons, Lieutenant Colonel Jose Perez finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind to order;

"Sound the battle alert and prepare for battle."

"Raise the battle flag and form a single-line battle column."

"Broadside guns ready, deck hands ready, this is a battle alert."

"Maintain speed and course, let's fight our way out."

When the order was given, the white sailors on the deck all had tragic expressions on their faces and subconsciously made hasty preparations.

The sailors ran quickly and hid, preparing to be baptized by artillery fire.

The sailboat slowed down, the side gun ports opened, and the gunners nervously cleaned the barrels, loaded gunpowder and shells, and prepared for the bombardment.

The opposite Da Chu sailing cruiser fleet

The commander of this battleship squadron is Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Lei, and his ship is the "Zhenhu". The squadron originally consisted of two sailing battleships, but its strength increased dramatically after the addition of the three-masted sailing ship "Guangming".

Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Lei clearly saw the Spanish fleet's response through the telescope. He couldn't hide the upward curve of his mouth. He put down the telescope and gave the order:
"The foreigners are preparing to engage in a firefight with our fleet. If that's the case, then we'd better obey their orders."

"Sound the alarm bells and raise the battle flag. In this battle, we are invincible. There is no retreat but advance. All soldiers must fight to the death."

"Order friendly ships to come closer to me, form a battle line, and prepare for battle."

"This is about the supreme glory of our Great Chu Navy, spreading its might across the vast ocean. All officers and soldiers of the squadron must unite their efforts and fight to the death."

The order was given, the alarm bells echoed on the sea, and the blood-red battle flag was raised to the top of the mast.

The "Zhenhe" and "Guangming" following behind sounded the alarm bells one after another, raised the blood-red battle flags in response, and quickly adjusted their course and track.

ten minutes later

The two sides formed a straight battle line and moved towards each other. They were approaching each other quickly and were less than 2 kilometers away. They could already clearly see the sailors on the deck of the enemy ship.

The flagship "Zhenhu" fired a signal cannon without loading shells every minute, adding a bit of tension to the solemn sea.

The rumbling sound of cannons echoed across the sea, a signal to the surrounding friendly fleets: "A major battle is imminent, quickly move closer to our fleet."

The sound of artillery could be heard far away on the vast sea. The cruiser fleet more than ten kilometers away could hear it and quickly adjusted its course, rushing towards the war zone at full speed.

On the other side, the sailing battleship squadron commanded by Major General Robert quickly adjusted its course and encircled the enemy after hearing the sound of artillery fire.

There was also a vanguard fleet that was searching for the Spanish fleet in the distance. After hearing the signal cannon, it locked onto the approximate location of the battle zone and was also rushing over with all its might.

On the vast sea

Several fleets of the Great Chu Navy pounced from all directions like sharks smelling blood.

Lieutenant Commander José Perez certainly knew what the enemy fleet's signal guns meant?
It means great danger, means that they may be surrounded by the enemy fleet, and means that the invading fleet is not limited to the few ships in front of them, but there are more powerful fleets.

But Lieutenant Colonel Jose Perez could do nothing. He clenched his teeth, and the tense muscles on his face revealed his inner tension and helplessness. He could only pray for God's help.

Three or four minutes later

The two fleets heading towards each other approached to within two cables, about 350 meters, and the leading "Count dos Santos" fired first.

"Boom boom boom..."

Continuous gunfire rang out, and thick smoke rose from the "Count dos Santos". Large balls of flames flashed on the side of the ship, firing 12 round solid shells.

The shells hit the solid and heavy side of the "Zhenhu", making a head-scalp-numbing cracking sound and screams, and it was obvious that they had achieved corresponding results.

The "Zhenhu"'s artillery fire returned fire within almost 2 seconds. Amid the "boom boom boom" sounds of artillery fire, the exchange of fire produced a thick cloud of gray-black smoke that almost covered the ship's hull.

The Zhenhu fired 22 shells in one go, including one from the ten 32-pounder guns on the lower gun deck. These 32-pounder guns were approximately 1.9 meters long and weighed 871 kilograms. At a firing angle of 5 degrees, they could fire a 25.6-pound shell with an effective range of 1500 meters. After a delayed detonation, they could create a large hole in the enemy ship.

Dense artillery shells fell on the "Count dos Santos", and immediately blasted holes everywhere on the "Count dos Santos". The bouncing solid bullets overturned the gun carriage, knocked down the gunner, and crashed into the next cabin.

The "Zhenhu" sailing warship carries many heavy artillery of large caliber, so the resulting lethality is naturally incomparable.

However, the disaster is not over yet.

After a delay of a few seconds
"Boom boom boom boom..."

More violent explosions occurred one after another. Ten huge fireballs exploded in different places on the "Count dos Santos". The iron rain that swept through like a hurricane brought great damage and set off wave after wave of bloody storm.

The iron fragments after the explosion even made holes in the sails. The irregular iron fragments were deeply embedded in the mast, and the deck was covered in blood.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

"Boom boom boom boom..."

The two fleets bombarded each other without stopping, the rumbling sound of cannons resounded across the sea, and the artillerymen on the gun deck fired desperately, trying to inflict maximum damage to the other side.

Thick gray-black smoke enveloped the scene of the naval battle, and clusters of orange-red flames flickered, as if the god of death showed his hideous face in the smoke, madly devouring lives.

There is no magic in a close-range naval battle.

Both sides are doing their best to pour out artillery fire. In the dialogue of blood and fire, only the brave can win the final victory.

Oh... you are wrong. Only the strong can win the final victory.

The short and fierce sea artillery battle ended after more than twenty minutes.

The fleets of both sides slowly crossed each other and soon emerged from the smoke-filled battlefield, revealing their true appearance after the brutal naval battle.

The Spanish sailing fleet led by the "Count dos Santos" was riddled with holes after being hit by a hail of bullets.

The sides, poops, masts and sails of the three sailing warships facing the enemy were covered with charred scars, and there were countless shocking holes. The corpses lying all over the deck had dyed the deck red.

Driven by the strong sea breeze, you can hear a tearing sound that makes your scalp tingle.

The sails on the mast were already riddled with holes and could not withstand the pull of the huge wind. They were soon torn into rags and lost their sailing effect.

This slowed down the Spanish warships, like an old man staggering.

In contrast, the situation of the three sailing battleships of the Da Chu Navy, led by the "Zhenhu", was much better.

Dozens of holes also appeared on the facing side, which were caused by round solid shells. Each hole was the size of a washbasin, and a large number of thick side panels were broken and damaged.

The sailing battleship fleet also suffered many casualties among gunners and sailors, but that was all, and was far from the miserable state of the other side, which was riddled with holes.

This is because the Da Chu sailing battleships were hit by solid shells, and there was no secondary damage from the more dangerous bombardment shells, so the casualties were much smaller.

A shot fired by the Chu sailing battleship caused a wound as big as a bedside table, while a shot fired by the Spaniards caused a wound as big as a washbasin.

The two sides' sailing warships were fighting three against three. The average displacement of the Chu sailing fleet was twice that of the enemy, the number of artillery was 1.8 times that of the enemy, and the average caliber of the artillery was much larger.

In the mutual harm, the stronger side achieved complete victory.

On board the Count dos Santos

Lieutenant Colonel Jose Perez climbed out of the almost collapsed rear stern in a look of horror. His head was pierced by a flying iron piece, and a seven-inch-long wooden splinter was stuck in his shoulder. Blood stained half of his shoulder, and he looked extremely miserable.

He looked back at the gradually receding battlefield and immediately started shouting hysterically, "Is there anyone else? Anyone still breathing, please get out quickly. We need to throw away all our burdens and escape as quickly as possible."

"Hurry...hurry...hurry up! Throw away everything you can."

"Disband the formation and order each ship to break out separately. May God bless them."

"Throw away those damn barrels, throw away everything, including food, water, and these dead bodies. May God forgive us."

"Cannons? Throw them into the sea, and throw away everything that can be thrown away."

"We need to break out as quickly as possible. Speed ​​is life."

There were less than 30 sailors left on the ship, and almost % of them were killed or injured.

The sailors were busy as crazy, throwing buckets, ropes, food, corpses and even cannons into the sea, shaking the steering wheel frantically, manipulating the sails to fill the sea breeze, and praying for God's blessing in their hearts.

There are more than a dozen sails of various types on a large sailing ship.

Even if a few pieces were broken, it would not be enough to completely destroy the power of the sailing ship, so there was still a chance to escape.

This battle line bombardment completely crushed the will of the "Count dos Santos" to continue fighting, and it did not hesitate to throw all its artillery into the sea just to break through and escape.

In the battle line

The Spanish fleet suffered heavy casualties of 70% to 80% due to the deadly large-caliber bombardments. The main cause was the huge damage caused by the secondary explosion, which killed and injured a large number of white sailors and crew members.

Whether on the upper control deck or the lower gun deck, everywhere was a miserable scene like the aftermath of a bloody massacre, which cast a thick psychological shadow.

In contrast, after enduring dozens of naval gun bombardments, the total casualties of the Chu sailing battleship fleet were between 1% and 2%, with the majority being wounded.

Unless you are hit head-on by a round solid shell, you will definitely die.

The rest of the wounded were mostly injured by flying splinters of wood broken by the artillery fire. As long as they did not bleed to death, most of them could be saved.

In the midst of busy
Lieutenant Commander José Perez heard the terrifying sound of a mast breaking and quickly looked around his ship.

Fortunately...it's not.

The sound of the mast breaking came from the second-ranked warship in the sailing fleet, the "Sir Cardozo".

When turning to flee in all directions, the high-rise main mast had suffered severe damage and many of the pulling ropes had broken. Finally, it could not bear the force and collapsed with a loud bang.

The towering mast broke and fell to one side, and the huge sail on the mast plunged into the water, then caught a large amount of sea water, creating a noticeable pulling effect.

This tug suddenly added dozens of tons of seawater to the "Sir Cardozo", which was eager to escape, and its speed dropped sharply.

After just two or three minutes, it floated quietly on the sea without moving.

The "Sir Cardozo" was pressed down by the tilted mast, and the entire hull tilted severely, exposing the bottom of the other side, and many sailors rolled into the sea.

It was over, the Sir Cardozo was finished.

As soon as this sad thought came to his mind, Lieutenant Colonel Jose Perez shouted orders to push the spare cables and gunpowder barrels into the sea, and to discard all the artillery that could be thrown.

Don’t worry about it, just escape!

"An enemy fleet has been spotted on the port side at ten o'clock, heading towards us."

At this time, the lookout on the top of the mast shouted frantically, and the small bronze bell beside him was ringing so hard that sparks flew.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Turn right 6 degrees, keep steady and increase the speed. We will definitely make it out." Lieutenant Colonel Jose Perez was panicking, but he still tried his best to stay calm and give orders.

Although several sails of the "Count dos Santos" were damaged, it still increased its speed to 13 knots and quickly drew an arc track to the right on the sea.

He didn't dare to make a sharp turn now, for fear that his mainmast would be broken, which would be his death.

As long as the speed is fast enough, the turning maneuvers are continuous, and the enemy warships are engaged on the sea, there is a chance of escape.

(End of this chapter)