Just as the attack fleet entered Delaware Bay, Mahan also received orders that he must break through the blockade and go north to rescue Philadelphia.
Although he knows that this is very difficult and even unrealistic, President Arison really cannot imagine the consequences of Philadelphia being destroyed. You must know that it was the capital of the United States and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the origin of American independence.
A Continental Congress was held there, the Declaration of Independence was announced there, and the Federal Constitution was born there. It has become a special symbol, not to mention that it is also the main heavy industry base, with everything from steel to shipbuilding, chemicals, machinery, etc.
Waiting for countless factories.
Just after learning that the coalition's target was Philadelphia, a division stationed in Washington began to move north for reinforcements. However, it takes time to assemble troops and dispatch vehicles. Plus, with a distance of more than 200 kilometers, it would still have to be dark even under the best conditions.
It is obvious that this is not safe enough, so the most effective method now is to use the navy to attack and force the enemy to retreat automatically.
Looking at the telegram in his hand, Mahan couldn't help but smile bitterly. At this time, he deeply felt Dewey's helplessness. Facing a powerful opponent, he knew he would lose, but he had to fight.
"Okay, this is our mission, this is also our destination, boys, cheer up, I will educate you to be a warrior, and today I will take you to fight together." He looked at the young people around him.
The officers said with firm expressions.
Most of the veterans sank to the bottom of the sea with Dewey. Now, most of the warships are freshly graduated recruits. These people have begun to feel a little scared after knowing that they will face such a powerful enemy. Fortunately, watching
The principal he had always admired would fight alongside him, and these people gradually recovered from the panic. In fact, this was the main reason why Secretary of the Navy Long appointed Dewey as the fleet commander. He knew that he wanted to keep the recruits who had not experienced the battlefield.
Calmly, the best way is to let someone they trust the most command them.
Following Mahan's order, just as the coalition attack fleet sailed into the mouth of the Delaware River, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet also began to attack the enemy forces blocking the outside. Mahan's goal was clear.
Under the cover of the battleships, high-speed destroyers attacked the coalition battleships in a surprise attack, forcing them to retreat. Then their own main fleet took the opportunity to rush out.
Next, the large battleships will hold back the enemy, and the destroyers will rush to the Chesapeake Bay at high speed. As long as they can rush into this narrow bay, with the advantage of shallow draft, they can completely block the enemy's attack fleet inside. If this is done,
can succeed. Basically, this war should be over, because that fleet can be used as a bargaining chip. The Germans cannot afford the loss of two cutting-edge battleships. Although it is risky, it is indeed worth a try. Unfortunately, the horse
Rear Admiral Han had no intuitive understanding of the performance gap between the two warships. If he had participated in the last naval battle, he would not have made such a decision.
Under the cover of coastal defense artillery fire, four U.S.-made imitation Soryu-class armored cruisers led 20 destroyers to bravely rush toward the enemy battleships in the distance. Their mission was to rush to a range of seven kilometers at full speed and then fire bombs at them.
Foss Torpedoes, followed closely behind this fleet were Mahan's battleships and New York, and six protected cruisers.
Regardless of whether the destroyer fleet's attack was effective or not, they immediately headed north. Within the protection circle of the coastal defense artillery, they headed straight to the Delaware Bay at high speed. Although they would encounter interception by the enemy destroyer fleet, there was not much difference in performance between the two sides.
Next, there should be a sufficient number of destroyers to reach the destination. To be honest, it is only a few hours' voyage away. At this time, the main fleet behind is trying its best to hold back the enemy to ensure that they can enter Delaware Bay smoothly.
However, the next scene left Mahan a little baffled. As if he was frightened by the courage of the US military, the enemy battleships that were originally arranged in an arc ten kilometers away from the coast. When the destroyer fleet rushed out, there were actually no
They opened fire to intercept, but instead turned to the northeast to distance themselves. This was actually equivalent to letting the destroyer fleet go out.
Seeing such a good thing, the destroyers were naturally not interested in attacking anymore. Because of the technical gap, it was actually difficult for the US military to hit moving targets five kilometers away. Anyway, their mission was to reinforce Philadelphia, and there was no need to entangle with the enemies here.
, more than 20 warships immediately turned north without bothering to continue the attack. At the same time, the destroyers hidden behind the main coalition fleet also rushed out, and led by four armored cruisers of the Chinese Navy directly attacked the US destroyer fleet.
"Severa wants to fight us with the destroyer fleet and the main fleet respectively." Chadwick already understood the enemy's intention at this time.
"Then let's have a good fight!" Mahan said with a sneer. After receiving his order, ten American main battleships immediately pounced on the enemy's main fleet.
At this time, the battle between the destroyers had already begun. Because both sides were very fast, it was difficult for torpedoes to hit the target at this speed, so they all chose to attack with naval guns in a tacit understanding. This time, the US military was out of luck. Li Kui
In the battle with Li Gui, just think about it and you will know who will lose. The speed is not as good as others, the range of artillery is not as good as others, and the power of artillery shells is also far behind. What's more, there are eight ships in the coalition specially designed for this kind of battle.
Battleship.
This large destroyer with a displacement of slightly more than 1,000 tons is specially used by Emperor Yang to hunt down Viper-class destroyers. It has a maximum speed of 33 knots and has three twin 130 turrets, two in the front and one in the rear.
Using explosive bombs to deal with small destroyers that should actually be classified as large torpedo boats was simply a one-sided killing. Within five minutes of the exchange of fire between the two sides, an American destroyer sank.
As for the rest, it is equally difficult. Even if it is the same original Viper class, it cannot compete with the American imitation Viper class. The range of the Bofors 75 naval gun is even comparable to the US 120 gun, far exceeding theirs.
The battle between the seven-and-five-gun destroyers was also one-sided. The coalition warships only needed to rely on speed to maintain distance, and then poured shells at the Americans. The two small fleets ran and fought on the sea, directly attacking the special forces.
Heading towards Lahua Bay, the U.S. military was fighting less and less. Before they left the sight of their respective main fleets, two U.S. destroyers had already sunk.
As for the battle between the eight armored cruisers, the situation was basically the same as that of the destroyer fleet. The fourth ship of the Chinese Navy, the Yinglong, also relied on its speed and range advantages to distance itself and abuse the four U.S. knockoffs. Fortunately, this
This kind of warship with a displacement of more than 4,000 tons and complete armor protection is not so easy to be sunk by naval guns, so it also hits farther and farther north.
"What is an advantage? This is called an advantage!" Cervera said with a sneer on the battleship Massachusetts. This feeling of crushing his opponents purely by strength made him very comfortable. In fact, this man was a man because of the first Spanish-American War.
Victory, the general who is famous in Europe at the moment, the most common word on his lips is technology.
"Remember, technology is far more important than a famous general. Maybe a good general can lead his subordinates to defeat the strong, but that is only when his enemy is too stupid, or God takes care of him. But technical advantages
But it can turn the war into the simplest crushing. Even an ordinary general can easily defeat opponents who are better than himself by relying on this advantage as long as he does not make too low-level mistakes." He turned to the young officer beside him.
they said.
When he said this, the US military led by Mahan had already entered the firing range. There was not much difference in performance between the two sides' battleships. Even the US military's battleships were of better quality. But the problem was that the coalition had an absolute advantage in numbers, with six battleships.
Against three, seven large armored cruisers against one, and sixteen protected cruisers against six, Rear Admiral Mahan's battle was extremely difficult. The only advantage was that it was easier for him to retreat, after all, there was a coastal defense fortress behind him.
At this time, in Newcastle, a small town on the Delaware River, Colonel Thomas, commander of the 67th Regiment of the 11th Infantry Division of the US Army, and his more than 3,000 soldiers were struggling painfully in a sea of fire. Four landing ships
Lying on the river beach in front of them like four huge monsters, countless Spanish soldiers poured out of the open hatch, and the invaders' iron hooves had already set foot on American soil.
On the bows of the four landing ships, eight 75mm naval guns were frantically pouring shells at the U.S. military. To the left and right of the four landing ships, there were two destroyers lying across the channel, with twelve identical naval guns.
They ravaged Colonel Thomas and his soldiers at an even more crazy speed. They used white phosphorus incendiary bombs. The raging flames had completely engulfed the US military positions, and the screams of being burned by the poisonous white phosphorus fire resounded through the sky.
Further north, a long queue of eight landing ships and eight destroyers was heading towards Philadelphia along the course of the Delaware River.
The landing Spanish troops quickly separated, and some of them rode trucks directly south along the road to Baltimore. Their mission was to raid and blow up the railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River, delaying the U.S. reinforcements coming from Washington. Of course, if
Before it was too late, they joined up with the main force here to block the US military, while the other part divided up to occupy several surrounding small cities, or in other words, looted and destroyed these cities.
Compared with the wealth in the industrial areas of the eastern United States, Spain is very poor. When such a group of poor people suddenly broke into the homes of a group of rich people with weapons, it goes without saying the rest. As for the resistance of the Americans,
This is the east, not the west. How can so many people like to buy a gun and put it at home? Besides, the Spaniards have cannons on their backs!