On September 22, major European newspapers rarely published the same news on their front pages: New York was bombarded by the Spanish fleet.
The United States has shown its face in front of other countries in the world. Although this is not what the United States wants to see, some things will not change according to its will. News of this kind of thing spreads very quickly, not to mention that New York is still
It is also the node of the Atlantic telegraph cable. If you want, any news that appears in New York can be transmitted to Europe in an hour.
As for the willingness of European countries to report on it, it is easy to understand. The United States has surpassed European countries in industrial scale, and its products have already competed with European countries. In addition, the United States is far away in North America, and there are not many ways for other countries to take advantage of it. This is rare.
When you see someone in bad luck, if you don't take the opportunity to publicize it for him, why don't you keep this news for the New Year?
Therefore, newspapers from various European countries are ridiculing the United States on this matter.
Taking the Times as an example, it asked a senior British Navy general to comment on the bombardment of New York. The bombardment of New York and Newport News fully demonstrated the strategic deficiencies of the U.S. Navy, which did not consider the strength of Spain.
In his eyes, he made the mistake of underestimating the enemy.
The Spanish fleet took advantage of this and bombarded New York and Newport News one after another.
In addition, the general also pointed out that the U.S. Navy currently has no good way to harass the Spanish fleet on the east coast. Because of the speed gap between the two, it is difficult for the U.S. Navy to capture the Spanish fleet.
He is right. There are currently only three Indiana-class battleships that the United States can rely on. Their maximum speed of 15 knots is completely out of step with the times. And if these three battleships are not included, then the U.S. Navy's fleet will lack battleships.
The core battleships of the battle, relying solely on the four Pennsylvania-class battleships to lead the other battleships, cannot be the opponent of this Spanish fleet.
So at the end, the British Empire general said that for the U.S. Navy, the main problem at present is how to force the Spanish fleet to fight with itself. Otherwise, if there are a few more such attacks, the United States will be unable to withstand it.
This Times report is quite pertinent. Those newspapers that want to attract attention have long ridiculed the performance of the U.S. Navy. The performance of the U.S. Navy is a complete disaster. It is better to just ask Italy for help. As long as
If Americans are willing to spend money, Italians will definitely not refuse.
Okay, this also includes Italy.
But no matter what the European media thinks, for the United States, the most important thing is to stop the Spanish fleet from plundering the east coast unscrupulously.
On the Atlantic Ocean, a group of battleships is moving quickly. Judging from the flag, this is a US Navy battleship. The four battleships headed by it are tall and mighty. Their shapes are different from other US battleships. It is obvious that they are Pennsylvania-class cruisers, and
Following the Pennsylvania class was the Brooklyn class, which was the same class as the New York class.
Compared with the New York, the Brooklyn is larger and has a standard displacement of 9,200 tons. It has eight 203mm main guns arranged in a diamond shape at the front, rear, left and right. In addition, there are 12 127mm secondary guns. The maximum speed is
Section 20.
In addition to the Brooklyn cruiser, this fleet also includes the Columbia-class protected cruisers, Columbia, Minneapolis, and Olympic protected cruisers.
These eight warships are also the eight fastest warships in the United States. This time, because of the Spanish fleet's harassment of the northeast, Rear Admiral Samplin personally led the team to come for support.
"Report to the general, we are still forty nautical miles away from Newport News. We have received news from Hamilton Naval Port. A telegram from Rhode Island found no trace of the enemy. A telegram from the Boston garrison said they have completed the evacuation of the residents.
work and asked when we could arrive. New York sent a telegram asking us to arrive as soon as possible."
On the flagship Pennsylvania, Major General Samplin listened to the communications officer's reports one by one.
"Tell Hamilton Naval Port that we will stay there for three hours to refuel and hope that they will be ready. Also send a telegram to New York City that we will arrive in two days. Tell the Boston garrison that they cannot let down their guard. Spain
The fleet is very likely to attack them, so they should be more vigilant."
After Major General Samplin finished replying one by one, he looked at the sea and fell into deep thought. Will the Spanish fleet continue to attack the port? Where did they come from and where are they now? These questions were weighing on his mind.
to disperse.
Of course, for Major General Samplin, he knew that something was not good after getting Spanish supervision to attack Newport News. They underestimated the enemy, thinking that if they besieged the island of Cuba, the Spanish Navy would rush to send a fleet.
Relieve the siege, and then he can lead the waiting American fleet to easily destroy it.
Unexpectedly, the other party did not follow common sense and ignored the safety of Cuba. Instead, they went to the east coast to cause trouble.
It has to be said that the Spanish Navy is still capable, and it can see the weaknesses of the U.S. Navy at a glance. So as soon as it heard the news that the east coast was being attacked, Washington sent a telegram asking him to lead the fleet back to defense. Yes,
Rather than seizing Cuba, it was more important to protect the East Coast from attack.
Rear Admiral Samplin also immediately collected eight battleships and personally led the team over. As for the other battleships, they headed north together with the three Indiana-class battleships.
The eight warships led by Rear Admiral Samplin were also carefully selected. The eight warships could reach a maximum speed of 20 knots at a minimum. And along the way, Rear Admiral Samplin led the warships galloping and galloping, and the speed never dropped.
After 17 knots. That's why we were able to get all the way to Newport News the day after the Spanish fleet bombarded New York.
Now he just needs to wait for the Spanish fleet to attack Boston so that he can catch the opponent. Of course, his eight battleships cannot defeat the opponent, but this time he can rely on speed.
According to intelligence, the Spanish fleet has two Garibaldi-class cruisers with a speed of 23 knots, three Maria Theresa-class cruisers with a speed of 20 knots, and then three Turin-class battleships, all with a speed of 18 knots.
Two Venice-class ships patrol.
It was found that there was no problem. The speed of Spanish battleships was divided into three levels. In the formation led by Major General Samplin, the battleships had a maximum speed of 20 knots at worst.
As long as he can find the Spanish fleet, he will not let them run away from him. As long as he waits for them, the Spanish fleet will lack the most important concealment. At that time, he can entangle the opponent and wait until other warships arrive to force them
Decisive battle, this is also the most effective method currently thought by Major General Samplin.
But it’s already the afternoon of the next day. Why hasn’t the Spanish fleet appeared yet? Where are they?
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I can't express that feeling because it's a matter of my level. However, the waters of New York are as easy to defend as a gourd and difficult to attack. It's really impossible to enter.
