Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 310: Action is worse than argument
The British and French fleets circled the Tongzhou Islands, and seeing that there was nothing to gain, they could only take some benefits and then withdraw, bypassing the Cebu Islands and heading straight to the north.

This look
Just like a pack of spotted hyenas circling a herd of buffalo on the African grasslands, unable to bite, they are reluctant to leave but have to find new prey.

Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips, commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French allied forces, finally gave up his original plan of deliberate revenge. His crazy plan of engulfing all the important cities of Chu State in a sea of ​​fire was unrealistic and impossible.

There are two goals that must be accomplished
The first was to capture Singapore and re-establish the British Empire's control over this important city in the Strait of Malacca. This plan was mainly carried out by the infantry of the British and French Allied Forces.

The second is to break through the defense of the Manila coastal fortress and pose a substantial threat to the capital of Chu, just like breaking through the Dagu Fort in the northern Shenzhou and then threatening Beijing and Tianjin.

This important task fell on the powerful Anglo-French fleet.

As the mighty fleet headed north, more than a dozen sailing ships joined the fleet.

some of

Seven of the ships were from the British sailing warships in Ceylon (Note: Sri Lanka) and Chennai, and five were from the French sailing warships from the Red Sea and East African colonies, which further strengthened the momentum of the Allied fleet.

Also arriving were 37 supply and transport ships and 31 troop ships, carrying 7951 white soldiers from French Liberia and Morocco, as well as 11550 red-headed Indians who were subsequently reinforced by the British Indian Corps. These red-headed Indians all came from the brave and warlike North Punjab and were part of the troops mobilized subsequently.

A task force of more than 140 large sailing ships arrived at the waters outside Manila and immediately split into two groups.

They attacked the Corregidor Fort at the entrance of Manila Bay directly, trying to capture this fort in one fell swoop with the overwhelming firepower advantage of the battleships.

They forced their way straight into the Mindoro Strait, trying to detour to Ford Island. After breaking through, they captured Badayan, an important industrial town of the Chu State, and landed there. They marched north all the way to the outskirts of Manila.

The first railway of the Chu State has been built from Batangas to Manila, and the distance between the two is only 179 kilometers. There are more than ten important towns along the way, with a population of more than 126 million. It is one of the core areas of the Chu State.

An unprecedentedly fierce naval battle officially began.

Lieutenant General Calvin Phillips, commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, personally led a large fleet composed entirely of main warships of the British Royal Navy and directly attacked the Corregidor Fortress.

This main fleet consisted of 9 of the 8 armored battleships and 19 of the 12 sailing battleships (note, including the former), accompanied by 27 sailing cruisers and a large number of brigs. It was extremely powerful and unmatched in the entire Indian Ocean and Western Pacific region.

When the main fleet of the British and French allied forces arrived at the designated sea area, they observed the situation ahead through telescopes and immediately felt that something was wrong.

why?

On the 3-kilometer-wide main channel of Manila Bay, there are clearly several long wooden poles exposed above the sea surface, with clear horizontal masts on the long wooden poles. What did the British understand in an instant?
The damn Chu people have already sunk several large sailing ships in the main channel, which is obvious without any hesitation;

These large sailing ships made large boxes with steel bars and wire mesh, and filled the boxes with large stones. These ships transported the stones to the main channel of the strait and sank them at predetermined locations to block the channel.

Although it is not clear how much it is blocked?

But from the few lonely masts exposed above the sea, it can be seen that at least half of the main channel is blocked, and it is the half away from Fort Corregidor.

This means
The main channel, which was originally 3 kilometers wide, is now only 1.5 kilometers or even narrower, and is completely within the artillery range of the coastal artillery.

If they wanted to rush into Manila Bay, it would be impossible to pass through the side away from Fort Corregidor.

On the inner side of Manila Bay, about 1.5 kilometers inside the entrance to the main channel, there are three huge armored ships anchored. Two of them are clearly from the French Far East Fleet, the "Machine Gunner" with a displacement of 3600 tons, and the "Nemesis" with a displacement of 2344 tons.

The last one was the "Wuyishan" sailing cargo ship with a displacement of 1720 tons. It was also temporarily equipped with black iron armor and heavy artillery, and fixed at the mouth of the bay with several iron anchors.

These three heavy ironclad ships were all unable to move. The front ones were obviously fixed to the sunken ship in the strait with long iron chains. The rear ships were fixed into a column one after another with iron chains and fixed with iron anchors on the left and right, making it impossible for them to move significantly.

This formed a mobile heavy artillery battery at sea, with the huge black muzzle pointing towards the navigable waterway, forming a crossfire with the Corregidor Fortress artillery battery, tightly sealing this navigable waterway.

Seeing this scene
All the British naval captains couldn't help but gasp, feeling their scalps tingling and their backs chilled, realizing that the problem was too serious and far from as simple as they had expected.

The Chu State's defensive measures were very effective. In Manila Bay, the Chu State's five sailing battleships, ten sailing cruisers and eight sailing frigates moved back and forth in battle formation from time to time, forming a subsequent firepower network.

It is clearly a trap that is sure to kill you. It depends on whether you dare to step into it.

Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips, the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, hesitated for a long time and had to summon the captains of all the battleships to the flagship "Pearl of Calcutta" to collectively decide what to do.
The arrow has been shot and there is no turning back. We must attack. Otherwise, how can the face of the British Royal Navy be preserved?
But how to attack is worth discussing. These hateful Orientals did not leave any opportunity for them to take advantage of, which made the British and French forces extremely worried.

Fort Corregidor blocks the entrance to Manila Bay, and it is a checkpoint that cannot be bypassed.

There are two channels on the left and right of Fort Corregidor. One is a secondary channel of more than 1800 meters with a water depth of about 7 to 15 meters. It has now been completely blocked by sunken ships and there is no hope at all.

The main channel is three kilometers wide and 11 to 40 meters deep. Judging from the current situation, at least half of it is blocked. The remaining channel is about 1300 to 1500 meters, and it may be narrower.

To be cautious

The attacking Anglo-French fleet could only force its way through the middle of the deepest water, which meant it had to withstand the double blow of fortresses and floating artillery batteries, an unavoidable severe test.

After rushing into Manila Bay, they had to face the firepower attack of the enemy's sailing fleet. This was really a very tricky naval decisive battle.

There is no room for tricks. If we fight...how should we fight?
In the officers' mess on the flagship

These British captains argued very fiercely, completely disregarding the gentlemanly manners of the Royal Navy. They shouted loudly with red faces and thick necks, waving their hands frantically in the air to emphasize their points and try to convince each other.

There are two extreme opinions. The hardliners on the one hand believe that there is no room for retreat when the time comes, and they have to rush in and fight a fist-to-flesh offensive and defensive battle with all their might.

The other side also supports fighting, but says that one cannot rush in so recklessly.

At least we need to understand the existing navigation channel in the strait and how wide and deep it is.
How thick was the armor on the three enemy armored warships used as mobile artillery batteries? How many guns were they armed with? Were they equipped with the deadly 15-inch Dahlgren bombardment?
If equipped with a large number of 15-inch Dahlgren bombardment guns, then other wooden sailing ships, except for armored sailing battleships, would not have the basic conditions to force their way in.

One goes, one dies, there can be no accidents.

Fighting against fortress artillery with a sailing warship requires incredibly high technical skills, which is not as simple as imagined.

The beginning of the naval battle
The artillery bombardment from both sides would rain down like raindrops. The coastal fortress batteries remained motionless, simply delivering a steady barrage of fire within the pre-determined bombardment area.

It is different for sailing warships on the sea. When shells fall near the warships, they will stir up a large amount of waves and turbulence, causing the warships to have unexpected states such as large roll, pitch, etc.

If the sailing speed is faster, then the accuracy of the ship's guns cannot be expected, even a god cannot shoot accurately.

So in naval battles

The speed of sailing warships must be slowed down to minimize the impact of sea mines on the gun deck, and the normal speed must be reduced to below three to four knots.

The problem is that when the speed drops, the stress on the sails will also decrease sharply, making it difficult to maneuver the sailing ship and impossible to sail in a straight line.

In such moments of intense battle, uncontrollable deviation can often lead to fatal consequences.

If the British warships forced their way into the strait and were blown off course by the side wind at the entrance of the strait, and uncontrollably rushed towards the artillery forts or the armored warships of the Chu State, the consequences would be catastrophic.

In the officers' mess

The two parties with different opinions were arguing fiercely, each one speaking louder and louder than the other, expressing their opinions emotionally, trying to win over the other in momentum.

"Okay, okay, gentlemen, stop the meaningless argument." Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Calvin Phillips finally spoke up to stop it.

Now that the commander had come forward, the arguments in the restaurant immediately quieted down, and the captains sat back down, becoming elegant gentlemen again.

Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips looked around at the captains, paused for a moment, and said;
"Gentlemen, actions speak louder than words. I command..."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officers stood up in unison, stood at attention with their legs together, and waited for orders with respectful expressions.

"Order Sir Harry Clarke to lead his 2nd Battleship Squadron to attack first and break into the bay to see how strong the enemy's firepower is.

I would like to remind General Clark that it is best for your formation to move along the center line of the channel, close to the floating battery, but away from Fort Corregidor."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief. The Second Battle Squadron is at your service." Major General Harry Clark saluted gracefully and accepted the order without hesitation.

No matter how much we argue, once an order is given, we must resolutely execute it.

The British Royal Navy has never lacked a spirit of sacrifice, and has established a fine tradition of valuing honor over life. This is the precious spiritual core of the Royal Navy's dominance over the seven seas, and it was fully displayed at this moment.

After Major General Harry Trak saluted, he gracefully said goodbye to the officers present and turned away without hesitation.

He was going to return to his own ship and lead the Second Battle Squadron to break into Manila Bay and carve out a bloody path for the expeditionary fleet.

All questions will be answered after the battle. The commander is right when he says, "Action is worse than argument."

(End of this chapter)