The Rise of the Empire

The beginning of the war is somewhat the same as in history, but also somewhat different. The same thing is that the Beiyang Fleet is on the way back after completing the escort mission to the transport ship. The difference is that the incident of this naval battle was delayed until September 1894, and when the Japanese fleet fired its first shot at the Beiyang At the time of the bombing, there was still no declaration of war between Japan and the Qing Dynasty!

September 15, 1894! It is a day worthy of being recorded in the annals of history! Because on this day, the largest naval battle in the world since the Lisa naval battle broke out! More than 20 warships from both sides launched a 6-hour battle in the Yellow Sea! The scale of the battle and the intensity of the battle shocked the world!

In this grand drama carefully choreographed by the God of War, apart from the two protagonists, the Beiyang Fleet and the Japanese Fleet, audiences from the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Russia witnessed or partly witnessed the battle! This battle had an extremely far-reaching impact on future generations, and some tactics and concepts were even used in the Russo-Japanese War!

The first to find the opponent is the fast troops of both sides. When the seven warships of the Beiyang Fleet were ready to set sail and return after completing the task of covering the landing, a fast fleet of three fast cruisers headed by Kaiyuan (the new name of the armored cruiser Mainz) was cruising in the open sea .

At 10:30 in the morning, the lookout on the Mainz spotted a cluster of smoke plumes approaching rapidly from the southwest! According to the size of the smoke column, the watchman quickly judged that the opponent should be a squadron, and the number of warships owned would not exceed 5!

"Merge with the main fleet immediately! We may be in trouble!" Based on the principle of caution, Yang Yonglin ordered the fleet to move closer to the main fleet, and the three warships drew a huge U on the sea and sailed towards our team. At the same time, the Japanese fleet also discovered the smoke column of the Beiyang Fast Fleet. In this case, in this place, the Japanese also judged based on intelligence that the opponent should be the Beiyang Fleet! At this time, the Japanese fleet is blocking the Beiyang Fleet's way back! A big battle is inevitable!

"Get ready to fight!" Ding Ruchang, who received the information, issued a battle order! At this time, Ding Ruchang was more confident in the Beiyang Fleet. The 150MM Krupp artillery at the bow and stern of the two armored ships in Dingzhen was replaced by a new type of rapid-fire gun, and six 4.7-inch rapid-fire guns were installed on both sides of each battleship. And some 88MM anti-lightning guns from Germany.

All the remaining cruisers have replaced the original 150MM guns with rapid-fire guns, and added 88MM guns or 75MM anti-lightning guns. The old 210MM guns have also replaced their mounts. Although they are not comparable to the new battleship turret guns, they are still The rate of fire is still significantly improved, and with the 210MM picric acid high-explosive bomb imported from Germany, the lethality has been raised to a higher level!

The specific tactics of the fleet were also formulated before the war. The Kaiyuan, Zhiyuan, and Jingyuan formed a fast fleet to guerrilla and intercept the periphery. And the remaining 9 warships form the main team, divided into 4 small teams, to attack the Japanese fleet in order to lead the battle into chaos! Because there were only 7 ships, Pingyuan was included in Dingzhen's team, Jingyuan and Laiyuan were a team, Chaoyong and Yangwei were a small team, and Guangjia and Guangbing were another team!

While Beiyang was preparing for battle, the Japanese fleet was also making final preparations. Similar to history, the Japanese fleet was also divided into two fleets, fast and slow. ), Takasago (Second Class Chilean Cruiser), Yoshino and Akashi (Brave), these four cutting-edge cruisers are the essence of the Japanese fleet! All fast boats fast guns! The speed is above 20 knots!

However, the Japanese fleet has changed a lot. The Japanese fleet is stronger and more numerous than in history! The three Sankei ships and the Takachiho constitute the sharpest spearhead of our team! Then came the armored cruiser Chiyoda, the old ironclad ships Fuso, King Kong, and Hiei.

What is different from history is that this time the Japanese fleet has two more unprotected cruisers, the Kaohsiung and the Chikushi!

In the end, the Japanese fleet has a total of 10 warships! The strength and quantity far exceed history. You must know that in history, the Japanese fleet also had such scum as the Akagi gunboat and Xijing Maru! In addition to these first-line warships, both sides have a certain number of torpedo boats, but they have not been put into battle because they are too small!

14 warships of the Japanese fleet versus 12 warships of the Beiyang Fleet! There is a slight advantage in quantity, but a great advantage in tonnage! This tonnage ratio is almost 3 to 2! And when the big show was about to start, the actors were already in place, and the audience began to enter the stage one after another!

"It's the British!" Colonel Ingenuel, who had already returned to the team, stood on the deck of the cruiser Hamburg bored. At this moment, his warship had been sold to Beiyang, and he seemed to be waiting for the crime. On other people's warships, the colonel felt very uncomfortable. When he was bored and scanned the sea with a telescope, he unexpectedly discovered that there was a fleet approaching from the south!

This time the Germans did not act alone. Not only did the Russians send a cruiser to act with the Germans, even the American cruiser Chicago was also in the formation! After all, the visit of the German fleet to the United States is a show of goodwill, and the Americans who are about to enter the Far East also intend to establish a good relationship with Russia and Germany, so the three left together! And next to the fleet, there are two French ships!

"What do you mean by British?" Lieutenant General Makanov, the nominal commander of the fleet, picked up the binoculars in his hand and took a closer look at the British fleet on the opposite side. The number of the opponents was really small, but they were all elites! The leader is the second-class battleship Centurion, the flagship of the British China Fleet, followed by two Edgar-class cruisers! This scale is already stronger than the three fleets of Britain, Germany and the United States! In this case, the meaning of the British team is very intriguing! Not only the Russians think so, but also the United States and Germany!

"What do these three countries mean?" When the British fleet commander Fremantle saw the three fleets of the United States, Germany and Russia, the British were also taken aback! Is this TM planning to form a team to brush the Far East? When did Americans mix with Germans and Russians? The British are confused and ready to challenge the whole world in the Far East? Of course, in fact, the Americans are just a partner, without thinking too much. The British think a little too much!

When the battle between the Beiyang and Japanese fleets was about to break out, mutual suspicions arose among a group of spectators themselves. This effect is even greater than the combat effect! The Americans suspect that the British are firmly supporting Japan, while the British suspect that the Americans are getting closer to Russia and Germany! And once this kind of suspicion arises, it may not be that simple if you want to get rid of it!