The Australian Revolution of 1828

December 2, 1828, Java Sea.

Five merchant ships flying the Xia Kingdom flag sailed on the sea, heading towards Lanfang Kundian Port with the help of the wind, to deliver a full range of military equipment to Wei Guochang.

When the fleet reached the Karimata Strait, it was unexpectedly attacked by the Dutch.

The encounter between armed merchant ships and naval warships was clearly not a war of equal scale. The total number of cannons on just one warship was equivalent to that of five merchant ships, not to mention the dozens of armed merchant ships that the Netherlands had assisting them from the side.

Seeing the situation was not good, the captain in charge of the transport mission decisively chose to retreat and head towards Xunyang Island.

The Dutch warships and armed merchant ships tasked with the encirclement and suppression mission were unwilling to return empty-handed and chose to pursue the Xia Kingdom merchant ships, following them to the Java Sea.

The Java Sea contains many uninhabited islands. The Xia Kingdom's navy, which has been hiding on one of these islands, possesses superior forces and awaits the Dutch navy and merchant ships to fall into its trap.

At this moment, the naval soldier responsible for observing the situation at sea came to report the latest intelligence, saying: "Report, targets spotted, a total of 2 third-class battleships and 17 armed merchant ships, will enter the predetermined firing range in about half an hour."

Naval battles typically involve occupying advantageous positions and then ambushing or launching surprise attacks.

As for direct confrontation between warships, it is a desperate tactic, a strategy that results in heavy losses on both sides.

Xia Kingdom does not have the resources for this at the moment, and it cannot afford to lose its warships. It can only use a clever strategy to lure the Dutch naval forces to a designated area and then subject them to comprehensive artillery fire.

Upon hearing that the Dutch warships and armed merchant ships were about to reach their designated positions, Grand Admiral Meng Xiong, who was in charge of overseeing the naval battle, issued the battle order, saying, "Commander He, now that the Dutch have arrived, proceed with the attack according to the pre-arranged plan!"

"The first wave of attack must be decisive and hit the target, crushing the arrogance of the Dutch and completely reversing the naval power of the two countries."

To coordinate naval and land operations, Han Qingyun dispatched Grand Commander Meng Xiong and Minister of Military Affairs Li Guochen to the north. Meng Xiong was in charge of naval warfare, while Li Guochen was in charge of land warfare.

Once the navy eliminates Batavia's naval forces, the Xunyang Garrison Command will send troops north to threaten areas such as Machin and Makassar, completely disrupting Batavia's operations and forcing the Netherlands to make concessions.

At this time, Meng Xiong was serving in the naval fleet, responsible for carrying out strategic missions at sea, with priority given to ambushing Dutch Navy's third-class battleships.

The third-tier battleships posed too great a threat, having three decks: the lowest deck had at least 28 32-pounder guns, the middle deck had 30 24-pounder guns, and the uppermost deck had 16 9-pounder guns.

This is the standard configuration for Tier 3 battleships at this stage, and the differences are generally not significant.

Even if there is a slight difference, it is the weight of the guns on the middle and upper decks, while the bottom decks all have 32-pound guns.

Navy Commander He Zhibang was fully aware of these data and immediately relayed the battle order to the fleet, saying, "Order the fleet to set sail, lure the enemy merchant ships over, and then immediately occupy the 'T'-series ships and begin bombardment."

In the age of sailing warships, warships had cannons on both sides. When going into battle, they would choose one side of their hull to face the enemy ship, which formed a "T" shape.

The horizontal line at the top of the "T" shape is the best position to launch an attack.

The Xia Kingdom, being part of the ambush force, had made the necessary preparations long ago. Once the five merchant ships used to lure the enemy had passed, six naval warships and 27 armed merchant ships, hidden behind the island, directly cut off the Dutch ships' path.

Nearly 33 ships suddenly appeared in front of them, and the Dutch officer in charge appeared very flustered.

Fortunately, this man was also a soldier who had experienced battles. He immediately realized that he had been ambushed. He wanted to turn around but it was too late. He then ordered all the ships to fight back, saying, "Order all ships to immediately seize the 'T' formation and drive the enemy back."

Seizing the "T" prefix means, simply put, deploying a bombardment formation. Because they were in pursuit, their broadside guns had not been directly aimed at the merchant ships used to lure them in.

Now that their path forward has been cut off, Xia's warships and merchant ships have deployed into attack formation, while the Dutch ships' broadside cannons are unable to fire due to a lack of targets.

In this chaotic situation, the Xia Kingdom's ships arrived one by one and launched the first wave of attack. At the same time, the six 68-pound bronze cannons deployed on the island also began to fire.

Thus, the First Summer-Dutch War officially broke out.

Some of the solid shot hit the water, splashing up more than 3 meters high. Others landed on the ship's deck, instantly killing several sailors.

A ship taking a few hits isn't a big problem; it happens all the time.

The crux of the problem was that the Dutch navy and armed merchant ships had never conducted joint operations, resulting in poor coordination. In addition, the need to seize the "T" prefix made the entire fleet appear very chaotic.

Either this merchant ship was adjusting its attack formation when it ran into that ship, or that merchant ship collided with this one, throwing the fleet, which initially had a slight advantage, into chaos.

Moreover, the Xia Kingdom's ships and the island's artillery did not cease firing; instead, they continuously supplied solid shot to the Dutch naval camp, causing significant damage to the Dutch ships.

Warships and merchant ships were bombarded one after another, and the armed merchant ships were the first to succumb.

These armed merchant ships had a limited number of cannons, which meant they could neither adjust their formation in time to launch an attack nor had enough firepower to counter the warships, resulting in heavy losses for the merchant ships.

Given this chaotic situation, merchant ships that realized the situation was dire chose to flee, but unfortunately, some of their sails were hit by solid bullets and they were unable to escape.

The two warships were also subjected to concentrated artillery fire, resulting in damage to their sails and cracks in their decks, requiring repairs.

The ambush lasted until 3 p.m. The Dutch had hoped to hold out until nightfall and escape under cover of darkness, but their sails malfunctioned, making it impossible for them to get away.

After much deliberation, the Dutch fleet commander chose to surrender by raising a white flag.

This decision to surrender completely destroyed Batavia's already weak naval power. Without warships to escort them, the armed merchant ships became lambs to the slaughter for the Xia Kingdom.

The naval commander tallied the surrendered ships, took the report to Meng Xiong, and then reported the results of the battle, saying, "Reporting to the Grand Admiral, in this ambush, we sank 2 enemy armed merchant ships, 6 escaped, and captured * merchant ships."

"In addition, two third-class battleships of the Batavia Navy have been hit by artillery fire and are now immobilized, requiring to be towed back to Xunyang Port for repairs."

Meng Xiong, who was both the supervisor and the person in charge of the battle, was very concerned about the casualties on both sides and asked, "What are our casualties?"

All the relevant statistics have been reported. He Zhibang knew the situation and said, "One of our merchant ships sank, and seven sailors were killed. The other seven merchant ships suffered varying degrees of shelling and need repair."

"The naval warship has not been hit!"

Compared to the results of this battle, the casualties were acceptable, so Meng Xiong was relieved and said, "Immediately tow the immobile ships back to Xunyang, repair them, and replenish our troops."

"Also, inform Lanfang that the maritime threat from Batavia has been temporarily lifted, and warn Wei Guochang to be aware of the threat from Singapore!"