On the tranquil Paraná River, the gun windows of the Brazilian fleet's flagship frigate "Amazon" were wide open, and the black gun barrels pointed directly at the river. The other four Brazilian coastal defense ships and four gunboats also pointed their muzzles directly ahead.
"Tell them this is Paraguay's territory and ask them to evacuate immediately!"
Admiral Inacio da Fonseca stared at the small gunboats of different sizes on the river. The commander of the Brazilian fleet who defeated the Paraguayan fleet in the "Battle of Riacuolo" and forced Paraguay to withdraw most of its troops from northern Argentina , after weighing it in my mind for a moment, I came to a conclusion!
"The advantage is mine!"
It is no wonder that Admiral Inacio da Fonseca came to the conclusion that although the South China Army has as many as a dozen gunboats, the tonnage of those gunboats is limited, and even those small gunboats of about a hundred tons have There is no cannon - is a Gatling six-barreled machine gun considered a cannon?
As for the mortars...well, they were not prepared for a naval battle at all!
In other words, they never thought that there would be a naval battle here.
What about the Brazilian fleet?
The flagship "Amazon" is the most powerful warship in the fleet. With a tonnage of 1,500 tons, it is absolutely a giant on the Paraná River. Its hull is extremely strong. During the "Battle of Riacholo" "It turned the tide, clashed inside and outside the river, and used its strong shell to ram and sink four warships of the Paraguayan Navy.
In addition to its sturdy hull, the "Amazon" is also equipped with two 7-inch front-loading rifled guns and two 64-pound front-loading rifled guns. Two of the 7-inch guns are installed on the central axis of the hull. It can fire at any side, and the 64-pound gun is fixedly installed on the side gun port through the gun mount.
The powerful firepower and sturdy ships gave Admiral Inacio da Fonseca enough confidence to become arrogant and even a little arrogant.
"Warn them that if they do not withdraw from Paraguay's territory immediately, we will exercise our responsibility to defend Paraguay!"
"Your Mightiness,"
The adjutant beside Inacio reminded.
"us……"
"We are here to perform our duties and to defend the dignity of Brazil."
General Inacio da Fonseca directly interrupted the adjutant's question and then said.
"Send the signal."
When the Brazilians' warning was issued via flag language, Li Weinan, who was standing on the gunboat, opened his eyes wide with surprise.
"Damn it, a group of bandits who occupy people's land actually want to protect them. This is so shameless!"
"What do you mean, captain, you are just a robber protecting dirt!"
Robbers protect dirt!
This is instinctive!
And it turns out that most of the time, the robbers who protect the dirt are the most effective.
Facing the threat from the Brazilian Navy, Du Guofeng, the captain of the second dispatch team, gave the order decisively.
"Send a semaphore to tell them that this is the Argentine-occupied area and we have the right to take over this area and ask them to get out of the way immediately!"
Without any hesitation, the twelve gunboats of the dispatch team also entered combat readiness.
"Brothers, prepare to fight!"
Li Tao, the gunner on his body, roared and rushed to the gun position. While he was setting up the breech of the machine gun, he had already grasped the rotating handle with his right hand and stared forward. His comrades directly moved the guns in the iron-clad fence. The magazine is open and ready to be loaded.
But they are like a joke in front of the Brazilian fleet - the total tonnage of these twelve gunboats combined cannot catch up with the "Amazon". Moreover, they also have four coastal defense ships of about 1,000 tons and
Four gunboats.
The power disparity of several times is enough to make anyone fear it!
However, under the leadership of Du Guofeng, they still rushed forward without hesitation, without any officer or sailor questioning the order.
After all, the naval spirit has been engraved in their bones from the day they entered the navy.
What is naval spirit?
It is the spirit of taking the initiative to attack regardless of the strength of the enemy and ourselves. In Europe and the United States, this spirit is called the Nelson spirit of "killing the enemy when you see it." Even if you know you are losing, you must attack resolutely, fight to the end, and destroy the enemy with sacrifice and blood.
body and will.
This spirit of fighting when seeing the enemy is even written into the British Navy's doctrine - not to fight when receiving a signal, not to fight when encountering an enemy ship that has the responsibility to attack, and not to lead subordinates to fight bravely if there is a possibility of fighting.
The commander, captain, and commander of the fleet shall be sentenced to death or other imprisonment by a military court. All persons in the fleet who do not fight bravely, are cunning, or surrender like cowards shall be sentenced to death by a military court.
As a good student, the Nanhua Garrison Fleet directly copied the Royal Navy's "Naval Discipline Act". In the education of the Naval Officer School, it also focused on cultivating the naval spirit of "fighting when encountering the enemy". The spirit was not enough... Injection
Rod injection!
"Send a signal to the troop carrier and let them land as planned. Our dispatch team will do our best to cover their landing!"
After the signal soldier on the gunboat sent out the flag, Zhou Ze's expression on the deck became solemn. Looking at the dispatched fleet that had no hesitation to fight, a strange thought came to his mind!
"They're crazy!"
Not to mention the Brazilians, even Zhou Ze, as a colleague, had this idea in his mind at this moment - the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves is too great!
Even as an army officer, he could tell the difference in strength between the two sides. To rush forward like this was to seek death. After all, in a naval battle, it was almost impossible for a small boat to defeat a warship.
But they still won regardless of it,
Why are they so adventurous!
It's to cover the landing of troops!
"The troops landed immediately, deployed artillery after landing, and prepared to assist the fleet in combat!"
When the army troops began to land, the soldiers crowded the side of the troop transport ship. They all silently watched the dispatch fleet heading towards the enemy fleet. They held their rifles tightly and their expressions were full of grief and indignation.
shape.
"Really, I am worthy of being an athlete from Nanhua!"
Tian Zhong, who was crowded on the side with a rifle in his hand, was so crowded that he couldn't even move, but when he saw the twelve escort ships heading towards the enemy ship.
Now facing the Brazilian fleet, whose tonnage is five or six times that of our own, this escort dispatch team is so small that it can be called an ant-like escort dispatch force, and they just face it!
The heartfelt admiration made everyone look a little tragic.
"This kind of courage can only be achieved by even the most heroic warriors! The Nanhua athletes are really role models for our generation!"
For a time, thousands of officers and soldiers of the Second Mixed Brigade were all sighing with admiration in their eyes.
"Your Excellency, Nanhua's troop transport ships have begun landing!"
Inacio did not need the adjutant's reminder at all to see the actions of the Nanhua troop transport fleet. What shocked him even more was that the twelve small gunboats were actually heading towards them.
"Are they crazy!"
Inacio couldn't help but said in shock.
"Don't they realize how vulnerable they are?"
"Oh My God……"
With his eyes wide open, Captain Antonio Valentino couldn't help but make the sign of the cross on his chest. He almost subconsciously thought of - massacre!
Once the naval battle begins, it will not be a fair battle, but a battle with great disparity in strength and no suspense.
"Raise the "z" flag! Get ready to fight the enemy!"
The moment Du Guofeng gave the order, a "z" flag composed of black, yellow, blue and red was raised.
Ever since Nelson raised the "z" flag at the Battle of Tragafar and fought a decisive battle with Napoleon's naval fleet with the determination to fight to the end, this flag has had the special meaning of representing "a decisive battle, good luck and glory".
Meaning. In many battles, there have been examples of flying the "z" flag to boost morale.
When the "z" flag was raised on the small mast of the gunboat, the officers and soldiers of the Brazilian fleet all looked at the flag with complicated eyes. As naval officers, of course they knew the meaning of that flag.
"No matter what the outcome, no one can ignore their courage!"
Standing on the command tower and watching the approaching enemy ships, while sighing, Inacio showed a faint smile on his face.
Not many people knew that this was exactly the opportunity he was looking forward to. What kind of opportunity was he looking forward to?
Only Inacio knows the answer, but the opportunity is right in front of him, how could he not seize it?
"Gentlemen, although the courage of the other party can be relieved, it is for the dignity of Brazil and to complete our mission."
Inacio ordered.
"I ordered the "Excellence" to fire a warning shot to the Nanhua troops landing on land, asking them to stop landing immediately, and at the same time asked the Nanhua gunboats to stop advancing!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
A book club group has been established: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.