The flagship commanded by Tropp and Leint was quite lucky. Although a huge gap was blown on the right side, fortunately, it did not cause damage to the structure of the entire warship, and the location of the gap
It is also above the waterline, so there is no intrusion of sea water, and there is no worry of rolling over or even sinking.
Of course, the most important reason is that the flagship is at the front of the entire fleet.
Because it was at the forefront of the entire fleet, and the Ming warship opened fire only after the fleets of both sides had completely converged, the flagship of the Netherlands Navy only had to withstand the firepower of one Ming warship.
However, the more than 50 sailing battleships and more than 200 armed merchant ships that followed later did not have that luck. Even if they were lucky enough to escape the gunfire of the first Ming warship, the second, third and even nth warships that followed later
The naval gun firepower was enough to smash the Dutch warships into rubble.
In the final analysis, the Dutch sailing battleships were only wooden-hulled ships without armor.
Needless to say, the armed merchant ships that coordinated the expedition were not only smaller in tonnage, but also thinner in hull thickness. The Ming Navy's 6-inch caliber cannon could easily destroy an armed merchant ship with just one shot.
Therefore, what is presented to the Dutch Navy at this moment is a hellish scene.
Tropp and Le Yinwu were stunned on the spot. Looking at the battleships that were being torn apart and sunk under the fire of the Ming army, their eyes were dull and their consciousness seemed to be frozen.
After a long while, Leint finally came back to his senses.
"Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, we must quickly disengage our fleet from the Ming Dynasty's fleet."
After coming back to his senses, Leyint shouted at the top of his lungs: "If we don't break away from contact, our entire expedition fleet will be destroyed by the Ming Dynasty navy, and it will be all over!"
After speaking, without waiting for Tropp to respond, Leint turned around and shouted at the flagman on the mast.
"Quickly signal, cancel the two-ship tactic, and the warship under attack immediately moves to the center to engage in a boarding battle with the Ming Dynasty Navy. The follow-up warships turn left and right and disengage from the Ming Dynasty Navy..."
The semaphore soldiers guarding the mast quickly called out the semaphore. This order was a bit too complicated, and they were busy for a while.
Before there were radio stations, communication at sea was originally a big problem. In naval battles, communication failures often occurred for one reason or another, causing the warships in the fleet to misread or even fail to receive orders from the flagship.
This is the current situation. The battleship that can receive the flagship order cannot be seen because the smoke blocks the view, while more battleships that follow up are blocked by the battleship in the middle, because the Dutch Navy adopts a two-ship tactic.
, the two columns on the left and right are in a line, and only the second battleship can clearly see the orders of the flagship.
The third battleship can barely be seen, and the battleships behind it can't see anything.
Therefore, there is basically no difference whether Leint's order is given or not, and it is difficult to see the warships behind.
However, as an emerging naval power, the Netherlands Navy does have a team of high-quality sailors. After all, naval battles in this era still rely more on single ships.
Because of this, even if no order is received from the flagship, the warships behind will respond quickly.
Discovering that the firepower of the Ming Navy's naval guns was far more ferocious than imagined, more than fifty sailing battleships and more than fifty armed merchant ships that had already intersected with the Ming Navy decisively moved towards the center to harass them.
The Dutch knew very well that they would not gain any advantage by continuing to fight against the Ming Navy.
Only by approaching and engaging in a boarding battle could they have a chance to turn defeat into victory and seize the Ming Dynasty's warships.
All those behind were armed merchant ships. Seeing the armed merchant ships in front abandon their formation and move closer to the middle, the captains of each armed merchant ship immediately realized that the battle situation must have changed and the two-ship tactic had failed.
Therefore, the subsequent armed merchant ships moved closer to the center in advance to prepare for the boarding battle.
I have to admit that the quality of sailors in the Netherlands Navy is really good and their response speed is very fast.
After paying a heavy price for more than twenty sailing battleships and more than fifty armed merchant ships, the remaining twenty or so sailing battleships and more than fifty armed merchant ships finally approached the cruisers of the Ming Navy from the left and right sides.
Immediately, the flying claws were thrown to the top decks of the Ming Dynasty's cruisers.
Immediately afterwards, hundreds of Dutch sailors held daggers in their mouths and climbed up along the zipline like ants.
However, it is very regrettable that the Ming Navy was also prepared. They had already prepared multiple heavy machine guns.
The Dutch sailors had just climbed halfway when multiple heavy machine guns were pushed onto the decks of each cruiser, and then pushed onto the sides. The black muzzles of the guns were pointed at the Dutch sailors.
Furthermore, groups of army soldiers also stood behind the sides, raising their rifles.
In this expedition, not only the three fleets of the Ming Navy came, but also the 3rd Army Division.
Immediately afterwards, intensive gunshots rang out, and fiery bullets poured down toward the Dutch sailors climbing on the zip lines. The unsuspecting Dutch sailors were severely beaten.
Oh my god, this is a 128-caliber multi-barreled heavy machine gun.
A heavy machine gun of this caliber can shatter a person with one shot.
In an instant, the body of the Dutch sailor in front was beaten into pieces of meat. The body, which had lost its life and support, fell into the blue sea like rain.
When the Dutch sailors who followed behind saw this situation, they were immediately frightened to death.
The firepower of the Ming Navy is too brutal, and there is no way to fight this boarding battle!
With a shout, the Dutch sailor behind him turned around on the zip line and climbed back hastily.
Unfortunately, the Ming Navy's heavy machine gun fire quickly chased them, tearing apart the Dutch sailors behind them one by one.
Not only were the Dutch sailors torn to pieces, but even the decks and sides of the Dutch Navy's sailing battleships and armed merchant ships were torn to pieces by heavy machine gun bullets.
…
Through the portholes installed with thick glass, admirals such as Chongzhen, Jiang Tianyi and Zheng Zhibao could clearly see the tragic scene of the Dutch naval warship being torn to pieces.
However, Lu Jiude was worried about Chongzhen's safety and advised: "Long live Lord, it is too dangerous to stay here."
"Danger? Where is it not dangerous to stay?" Chongzhen said, "I went out with the three major fleets of the navy. I took a huge risk. Besides, the glass on the bridge was thick.
Even a cannon shot may not break into pieces, so there is no need to worry about my safety."
Lu Jiude's worries are really unnecessary.
Because Chongzhen was aboard the flagship of the 1st Fleet, the Zheng He, with a displacement of 5,000 tons.
For such a large cruiser, the height of the bridge is much higher than the deck, and the Dutch Navy's naval guns are horizontal guns installed on the sides, making it difficult to shoot from high places. Therefore, as long as the Zheng He is not sunk, the ship
The safety of the bridge is guaranteed.
Otherwise, Chongzhen really wouldn't dare rely on glass alone. After all, there is no bulletproof glass now.
Chongzhen's attention returned to the warships of the Netherlands Navy again. Sure enough, after realizing that boarding a battle meant death, the Netherlands Navy adjusted their sails one after another in an attempt to break away from the Ming warships.
But it was easy to come back but difficult to go back. How could the Ming Navy let them do what they wanted?
The Ming Navy's naval guns fired again, and the masts on the Dutch Navy's battleships were broken one after another.
Although the masts of some battleships were not broken, the sails hanging on the masts were destroyed by the Ming army's artillery fire. They could no longer provide driving force to the battleships and completely broke down.
Zheng Zhibao laughed evilly and ordered again: "Leave a detachment to clean up these battleships that have lost power. The main force of the fleet will continue to go south and completely defeat the Dutch Navy!"
"Zheng Qing, it seems that a battleship escaped just now."
Chongzhen pointed behind him and reminded Zheng Zhibao not to forget the Dutch warship that he just passed by.
"Your Majesty, don't worry too much." Zheng Zhilong said with a smile, "After the Dutch navy is completely defeated, I will send a light cruiser to pursue it. This battleship cannot escape."
…
Tropp and Leint were indeed planning to run away.
Naval battles are like this. Once you suffer a loss, the wisest choice is to leave the battlefield as soon as possible, run to a safe place, and then regroup to try to defeat your opponent in the next naval battle.
And if you choose to be tough, your entire army is likely to be destroyed in the end.
Tropp has experienced hundreds of battles, and Leint has also been in battle for a long time. This truth is naturally very clear.
For this reason, after realizing that the naval battle was lost, Leint decisively issued an order to leave the battlefield and go to the Port of Relanja to rest and standby, and at the same time gave orders to other warships through semaphores.
As for whether other battleships had received his orders, LeYint couldn't care less.
Unfortunately, not long after they ran, a Ming warship spewed billowing black smoke and quickly caught up from behind the flagship Holland.
"God, this is impossible!"
"How could the big black ships of the Ming Dynasty navy run so fast?"
Seeing the Ming Dynasty's big black ship quickly catching up, Tropp and Leint were both a little dumbfounded.
At this speed, it was impossible for them to run away, because the flagship Holland was now sailing against the wind and had to move forward in a zigzag line, but the large black ships of the Ming Dynasty Navy could pursue them in a straight line.
What's more, the speed of the Ming Dynasty's big black ships was already faster.
"Shit, since you can't run away, then you might as well not run away."
"Turn to starboard to meet the enemy, and prepare your starboard guns."
A large hole was opened on the port side of the Holland, and several naval guns were destroyed.
However, the starboard side was still intact, and the more than 50 cannons on the three decks on the starboard side were also undamaged.
The Holland quickly turned its course and faced the overcoming Ming Dynasty warship with its starboard side. More than 50 cannons on the triple deck were also ready.
At this time, an incredible scene suddenly appeared.
The two sides were still three or four nautical miles apart, that is, six or seven kilometers, but the Ming Dynasty warships actually fired their guns in advance.
Seeing this, Tropp and Leint were stunned for a moment. Are the North Korean navy all fools? Their naval guns can hit six or seven kilometers away? Are you kidding me?
After a while, several water jets suddenly rose from the sea ahead.
"What?" Tropp and Leint's faces fell.
Damn it, could the Ming Dynasty navy's naval guns really hit that far?
