Chapter two hundred and sixty eight fierce battle at sea
Since Zheng Sen and Zheng Zhibao were considering a focused attack, the deployment of their forces was to deploy large ships with a large number of artillery pieces to the front, and only ten large ships were placed behind them as support. {/Update uploaded by book friends} In this way, when they were attacked
Tu Hai and the others were unable to react to the sudden attack, and they became a mess after being hit.
Maritime warfare is very particular about the coordination of battle formations. A suitable formation can make full use of the firepower of each ship. The Zheng family fleet, which was in a mess at the rear, did not react for a while and was caught off guard.
In less than a cup of tea, two small boats were hit in the rain of splashing bullets. Since the boats were not large and their ability to withstand strikes was not strong, their hulls quickly filled with water and they had to retreat.
Go to the back to escape the hail of bullets.
"Good! Good fight!"
At this time, Mo Hui had already arrived on another large sailing ship to direct the battle. It was his warship that hit the two Zheng family ships just now. Although it was a matter of luck to hit the enemy ships at a distance of five to six hundred meters.
Although he had won the first battle, he was so happy that he was dancing for joy. He who was a little worried before the war started had now integrated into the atmosphere of the war.
"Everything..."
"Everything..."
There was another continuous stream of white mist and loud noises. The twelve-pound and twenty-four-pound cannons on one side of the three Spanish galleons lined up roared one after another, and hundreds of black iron pellets were fired.
When the black powder burned, the energy that instantly burst out pushed the gun out of the barrel, roaring forward.
"Pah, pah, pah, pah..." The heavy projectiles fell into the sea, causing large splashes of water. Unfortunately, this round of shelling failed.
"How could this happen?" Mo Hui, who was puzzled by the fact that all the shelling hit empty space, turned to ask the North Korean Navy Commander Li Xiaojun who was stationed beside him and asked loudly: "Commander Li, we were all firing from so far away just now.
I hit two enemy ships, but now that the distance is closer, why can’t I hit them?”
Li Xiaojun shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Commander Mo, just now we were a blind cat and a dead mouse. It was pure luck that we were able to hit the enemy ship. Now it is normal if we can't hit it. I have said these things before.
,Have you forgotten all about it?”
Mo Hui then remembered that instructor Li Xiaojun had said before that the generally effective combat distance in naval battles is between seventy and one hundred sixty steps, that is, between one hundred meters and two hundred meters. This distance is
The distance at which the artillery of both sides can actually aim. """ () In this era where aiming depends entirely on the naked eye and the gunner's experience, there is no way to expand this distance. After all, it is on a constantly bumpy platform. To aim
And how difficult it is to hit a fast-moving enemy ship.
For example, in the famous Battle of Trafalgar in later generations, the French ship "Vergaux", which was the first to fire at the British army, only fired its first shot at a distance of 250 meters, because no matter how far away it was,
If so, it would be basically firing cannons. When the fighting was at its most intense, the distance between the two fleets was less than a hundred meters. Both sides were basically furious. When such a distance was hit with one shot, if
If you hit an enemy ship, basically no matter how hard the wooden ship is, a big hole will be punched out. It can be said that the bayonet will see red.
Admiral Horatio Nelson, who was hailed by the British as the "Soul of the Royal Navy", was killed in this battle. At that time, Admiral Nelson was standing on the flagship "Victory" commanding operations when he was approached.
The sailors of the nearby French ship "Awe" were hit by musket bullets and died from their injuries. This shows how close the warring parties were at that time.
Soon, the distance between the two sides had shortened to 300 meters. At this distance, the shells fired by the gunner were somewhat accurate, although they were still a little low. But everyone wanted to try their luck.
This time, it was the Zheng family's fleet that opened fire first. Taking advantage of the large number of ships, they raised their sails and sailed towards the Qingzhou Navy's fleet at full speed. They opened fire as they advanced, and with the sound of shelling, shells continued to fall.
A row of drainage columns splashed into the water.
"Rush over, get entangled with them, and prepare to join in a gang fight." At this time, Zheng Zhibao, who had already rushed from behind, gave an order to the flag men on the side with a gloomy face.
The Zheng family is a pirate, and gang-hopping (ship-jumping) warfare is one of their most familiar fighting methods.
Zheng Zhibao carefully told the flag bearer beside him, "Remember, let the Cangshan ship entangle those big ships, and then order the Fu ship to get close to them as soon as possible. As long as we can get to their ships, we will win."
"Yes!" After receiving the order, the flagman quickly ran to the bow of the ship, waving the flag and giving orders to the surrounding ships.
The Zheng family is indeed a veteran pirate force, and maritime warfare is their strength. As Zheng Zhibao's warship continued to issue orders, there were immediately forty Cangshan ships (small ships) and twenty No. 2 Fu ships (larger ships).
The large warships) divided into two echelons and rushed towards the Qingzhou Navy.
Looking at the Zheng family's fleet that was approaching, Tu Hai's face darkened. He could tell that the Zheng family's fleet was about to engage in gang-hopping warfare. This was also one of the best tactics of the Zheng family, who was a pirate.
Thinking of this, Tu Hai quickly ordered the flag bearer to raise the flag, and ordered the fleet to immediately increase the firepower and distance them to prevent the enemy ships from approaching.
"Everything, everything..." As the distance between the two sides continued to close, the hit rate of the artillery began to gradually increase, and the Qingzhou Navy also began to suffer casualties.
Today is the first battle of the Qingzhou Navy. Almost all the sailors of the Qingzhou Navy have received the baptism of actual combat for the first time. When encountering such a situation for the first time, they are naturally a little confused. At this time, those on the same ship
The role of North Korean sailors is reflected.
Although they have shortcomings of one kind or another, it is undeniable that it is under the leadership and example of these experienced sailors that the sailors of the Qingzhou Navy can better muster the courage to fight the enemy.
This is actually a process of gradual adaptation. With the encouragement of various captains and the leadership of experienced North Korean sailors, the sailors who went to the battlefield for the first time gradually overcame their fear and began to slowly exert their due combat effectiveness.
.
Although people around them fell down from time to time, they could still encourage each other. The gunners were working hard to fire cannonballs at the enemy, and the sailors were also working hard to control the sails to maintain the best speed of the ship.
At this moment, they all understand that fear, panic and fear are just superfluous things to them. There is an essential difference between the navy and the army. The army can still escape after defeating the battle. If you are lucky, you may be able to escape.
On the other hand, this is not the case for the navy. Once the navy is defeated, the ship may be destroyed and people will be killed, because in the vast sea, you have no place to escape.
"Live and die with the battleship!" This is certainly a heroic slogan, but it is also a helpless slogan. Therefore, sailors on both sides of the enemy and ours have the deepest feelings for the battleship, because they know that the battleship is their home.
, is also their shelter. They will only be there if the warship is there. Once the warship is gone, their fate can be imagined.
"Brothers, give me a hard beating!"
"Fire! Send them all to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish!"
The commanders on the gun emplacement raised their voices and shouted with all their strength, while the sailors on the gun emplacement also worked hard with sweat on their backs to control the artillery and pour out the shells.
Suddenly, there was a loud "bang", and a shell hit the baffle on a gun emplacement. The flying wood chips hit the two loaders who were loading the shells. The thick cotton clothes could not block the flying wood chips.
, the two loaders screamed and fell to the ground.
The commander of the artillery position glanced at the loader who was lying on the ground and screamed miserably, and then said: "Quick, two people will help them down. The reserve personnel will take up their positions immediately, and the others will continue to fire!"
"Everything..."
Another volley of artillery fire was fired, and three of the more than ten shells hit the side of the Cangshan ship that was rushing ahead. Three large holes immediately appeared under the waterline of the narrow side of the ship.
The turbulent water flowed into the hull along the big hole, and the ship's originally fast speed immediately slowed down. At this time, the distance between the two sides was already very close. Tu Hai, who was in the middle of the fleet, could even see the sailors on the ship.
A panicked figure.
"Order the starboard side to increase firepower. The rest of the sailors will get their rifles and prepare to go to the deck to meet the enemy! Let the gun emplacements be replaced with grape bullets." Tu Hai, who saw through his opponent's plan, immediately gave another order.
"Everything..."
As the distance has shortened, the five Dafu ships rushing at the front have been equipped with grape bombs. Densely packed small projectiles are flying towards the enemy ships like rain. The so-called grape bombs are many small iron pellets as big as a thumb.
It is loaded into the barrel and fired.
Because when they fire out a large bucket of small projectiles, the densely packed hundreds of projectiles rush toward the enemy ship like a rain, driven by huge kinetic energy. Such small projectiles are of course insignificant in terms of damage to the warship.
Yes, but the damage caused by this kind of projectile to people is extremely huge.
This thing rarely hits the target alone. Once a person is hit, three, four or even seven or eight pellets are hit at the same time. Once the person target is hit by grape bullets, basically no one is left alive. This is the same as
The principle of shotguns or iron sand guns in later generations is the same, relying on quantity to win.
"Everything..."
The rain of bullets, like raindrops from the sky, fell on the bow of the Zheng family navy's ship, followed by screams that continued to sound on the ship.
The screams of the Zheng family's sailors came one after another, and sailors continued to fall on the deck. The originally clean plywood was filled with small rolling iron pellets... (To be continued...)