After Li Hongzhang was disappointed with the outside world, he also began to make final strategic preparations.
With the Huai army completely defeated in Korea, the only chance for Beiyang now is to defeat the Japanese combined fleet, then blockade the entire Korean coast, cutting off food and pay for the Japanese army in Korea, and finally collapse without a fight.
Therefore, under forced circumstances, Li Hongzhang sent his trump card, the Beiyang Fleet, southward to search for the Japanese Combined Fleet.
But he didn't know that as soon as the Beiyang Fleet left and saw the news of their move south, the British found out about it, and they immediately informed Japan of the situation through diplomatic channels.
After receiving the news that the Beiyang Navy was moving south, the Japanese immediately knew that this war had entered the most critical moment.
Therefore, after consultations at the Japanese base camp overnight, the Japanese Imperial Council decided to merge the guard fleet and standing fleet of the "West Sea Fleet" into a combined fleet. In the "combined fleet", Ito Yuhiro will serve as the commander-in-chief.
Yuhiro Ito joined the government navy after the Meiji Restoration. In 1871 (Meiji 4), he was appointed captain of the navy. In 1877, he was appointed captain's auxiliary of the Nisshin. In 1882, he was appointed captain of the navy. He successively served as captain of Ryujo, Fuso, Hiei and other ships.
, in 1885, he was appointed director of Yokosuka Shipbuilding and deputy chief of the Yokosuka garrison. In the same year, he was appointed chairman of the return voyage committee of the Naniwa during construction. After the ship was commissioned, he was appointed captain.
In 1886, he was awarded the title of Rear Admiral and became the first director of the Navy Ministry and the president of the Naval University. He received the visiting Qing fleet and after visiting the Dingyuan ship, he admitted: "If we start a war with the Qing Dynasty now, there is no possibility of victory. As long as we 'Dingyuan'
Can the two ships "En' and "Zhenyuan" send the entire standing fleet to the bottom of the sea?" In 1892, he was promoted to vice admiral and commander of Yokosuka Castle. In 1893 (Meiji 26th year), he was appointed commander of the standing fleet?
On September 16, 1894, Ito Yuheng led 12 combined fleet warships, departing from the Yuyindong anchorage in Korea and cruising to the northern part of the Yellow Sea. In the early morning of the 17th, he arrived at Haiyang Island. After reconnaissance, the Beiyang Fleet was not found, so he changed
Heading, heading northeast to the mouth of the Ocean River.
The main force of the Beiyang Fleet, consisting of 10 warships and 8 auxiliary ships, arrived at Dalian Bay under the leadership of Ding Ruchang on the morning of September 15, 1894.
The ten battalions of the Ming Army, with a total of more than 4,000 men, were divided into five auxiliary ships, preparing to go to North Korea for reinforcements.
At noon, the fleet arrived at Dadonggou at the mouth of the Yalu River, which is now Donggang City, Liaoning Province. By the early morning of the next day, all troops had landed. At nine o'clock in the morning, the flagship "Dingyuan" of the Beiyang Navy hoisted the dragon flag, preparing to continue
Search for the Japanese Combined Fleet.
Because the British notified Japan of the information about the Beiyang Navy in advance, the Japanese already had a rough idea of the sea area where the Beiyang Navy was located.
On September 16, 1894, at about 10:20 in the morning, the First Guerrilla Force of the Japanese Combined Fleet first discovered the Beiyang Navy due to thick black smoke, and then hoisted the signal flag "more than three enemy ships were sighted in the northeast direction"
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At around 10:30, the sentries on the mast of the Beiyang Navy's Zhenyuan ship also saw black smoke on the southwest sea. They discovered the Japanese fleet and immediately reported it to commanding officer Ding Ruchang. Ding Ruchang immediately ordered the ships to set fire, load live ammunition, and prepare for battle.
By this time, both sides have discovered each other's main force? This Yellow Sea war is inevitable.
There are ten warships in the Beiyang Fleet? Arranged in a row? In groups of two, forming five squadrons? The one in front of the squadron is the squadron's flagship, and the second-in-command is behind. In this way, they will not hurt each other when firing.
The first team, Dingyuan, Zhenyuan;
The second team? Zhiyuan, Jingyuan;
The third team came from a far distance and traveled far;
The fourth team, Jiyuan, Guangjia;
The fifth team is super brave and shows off its power.
The team with the strongest combat effectiveness and defensive capabilities should be placed closer to the front. When charging? The leading soldiers are placed in the front to ensure that the opponent's morale is reduced as soon as the battle begins.
After seeing the semaphore, each ship's management team acted very quickly. Even the usually slow-moving old ships Chaoyong and Yangwei were not far behind. The formation of small groups was quickly set up. The entire fleet formed a wedge-shaped echelon. Commander-in-Chief Ding Ruchang ordered, "Each squadron must act in coordination and always point the bow of the ship toward the enemy, and each ship must follow the flagship in coordinated movements."
At 11:30, Ito Yuhiro ordered all ships to quickly prepare for battle, and at the same time issued instructions for meals, because eating can help relax the tension of the officers and soldiers. He even allowed everyone to smoke and chat at will in violation of regulations.
Low-quality coal allowed the Combined Fleet to discover the Beiyang Fleet earlier, and also bought them time to eat.
However, because the Beiyang Fleet discovered its opponent late, it had no choice but to fight on an empty stomach.
Although Yuhiro Ito was a little nervous, he did not change the formation. From beginning to end, he stuck to one formation - a single-column formation.
Ito Yuhiro has never thought about changing the formation. Because the United Fleet has been practicing this formation, and it is played in every drill and exercise. It is already familiar with it, and practice makes perfect. In order to simplify the problem, Japan gave up There are all kinds of fancy formations, but only single-column formations are written into the Navy's charter. They don't have the confidence to operate more complex formations, so they simply keep the complicated and simple, and practice this move until they are perfect.
Therefore, Japan used the first guerrilla force "Yoshino", "Takachiho", "Akitsusu" and "Naniwa", the four fastest cruisers as the vanguard. Ito Yuhiro took the flagship "Matsushima" and led the force "Chiyoda" , "Itsukushima", "Hashidate", "Hiei", and "Fuso" followed up, and at about 12 o'clock, "Saikyo Maru" and "Akagi" were moved to the left side of the main team.
At around 12:50, the fleets of both sides were about 5,300 meters apart. The Beiyang Navy flagship "Dingyuan" fired first. Ten seconds later, the "Zhenyuan" ship also fired, followed by other ships. .In an instant, thousands of cannons were fired on the sea and smoke filled the air, creating a tragic scene.
Five thousand meters away from the Beiyang Navy, the First Guerrilla Force of the Combined Fleet turned left and headed toward the right wing of the Beiyang Navy, risking the fleet to be exposed in front of the Beiyang Navy's formation. Ten seconds later, the "Zhenyuan" ship also fired, Immediately afterwards, the other ships fired their cannons. In an instant, thousands of cannons were fired on the sea and smoke filled the sea, making it a tragic scene.
It is a pity that the first attack did not hit the target. In the following time, the Beiyang Navy was at an advantage. The Japanese warships "Hiei", "Akagi", "Fuso" and "Saikyo Maru" were attacked by the Beiyang Navy. The fleet intercepted. "Dingyuan", "Laiyuan", and "Jingyuan" severely damaged the Japanese ships "Hiei", "Akagi", and "Xikyo Maru". The captain of "Akagi", Hataro Sakamoto, was killed in battle.
After the Japanese warships used ship speed to complete the battle formation, they began to fight back. After several rounds of shelling, they hit the main mast of the Beiyang Navy flagship "Dingyuan" and the signaling rigging was destroyed by gunfire. On the flybridge
Ding Ruchang, who was supervising the battle, was seriously injured, but he refused to be carried into the cabin by his entourage and still insisted on sitting on the deck to supervise the battle.
By this time, the Japanese warships had turned defeat into victory and regained the strategic initiative. The four ships of the Japanese First Guerrilla Group took advantage of their speed to attack the "Super Brave" on the right wing of the Beiyang Fleet and "show their power". The two ships were successively attacked.
If hit, it will catch fire and exit the battle.
The Japanese ship "Yoshino" was also hit by the Beiyang Fleet and caught fire, but the fire was quickly extinguished. At about 1:30 in the afternoon, the "Super Yong" ship sank, and Huang Jianxun fell into the water. The Japanese ship "Left One" torpedo boat approached,
He threw a long rope to save him, but the hero Huang Jianxun did not want to be picked up by the enemy and calmly died. Most of the officers and soldiers on the ship also died heroically. Soon, the "Yangwei" ship also sank.
Speaking of the sinking of the Yangwei ship, we have to talk about another warship, the Jiyuan. In 1894, the Donghak Party uprising broke out in North Korea, and the Jiyuan was ordered to escort the warship to Asan together with the Gwangyi.
On July 25, it encountered three powerful dome-armored cruisers of the Japanese Army Yoshino, Akitsusu, and Naniwa, and a battle broke out. During the artillery battle, the Jiyuan was hit in the command tower, and Chief Officer Shen Shouchang and others were killed immediately. Prior to this, Fang Boqian's handling was all over.
There is no objection, but the death of the first mate may have had a huge psychological impact on it. The Jiyuan began to flee regardless of friendly forces, and even hoisted the white flag and the Japanese naval flag. As a result, the Caojiang that arrived later was captured by the Japanese.
After being captured, the warship Gaosheng was sunk by the Japanese army, and more than a thousand army soldiers were buried at the bottom of the sea.
However, Fang Boqian is still quite capable. After returning home, he took care of things and finally took over the matter.
Since the scandal of the escape was not exposed, Fang Boqian was able to continue to lead the Jiyuan to participate in the Battle of Dadonggou.
But just like the Battle of Toshima, Fang Boqian once again chose to retreat and escape midway through the battle. On the way to escape, the Jiyuan was rammed and sunk by the Yangwei, which was severely damaged by the Japanese army.
At around 2:15 in the afternoon, the Japanese fleet circled behind the Beiyang Fleet and formed a pincer attack with the First Guerrilla Force.
The Beiyang Fleet was attacked from both sides, and its formation became even more chaotic. In the melee, the "Zhiyuan" ship of the Beiyang Fleet, which had been charging ahead, was bombarded by enemy ships such as the "Yoshino", "Takachiho", and the hull was damaged many times and tilted.
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Japanese commander Yuhiro Ito ordered the first guerrilla group to rescue the injured "Akagi" and "Hiei". "Yoshino" rushed to the front and encountered the "Zhiyuan" ship which was on fire.
The whole body of the Zhiyuan ship was damaged at that time, and the hull began to tilt slightly. Deng Shichang said generously: "We joined the army to defend the country, and we put life and death on the line long ago. What happened today is just death! The Japanese ship relied exclusively on Yoshino and sank this ship.
, enough to deprive it of its energy and accomplish something." So Deng Shichang resolutely ordered the "Zhiyuan" ship to ram the starboard side of the Japanese ship "Yoshino" at full speed.
The Japanese officers and soldiers were shocked when they saw this and concentrated their firepower on the Zhiyuan ship. The torpedo launcher on the right side of the "Zhiyuan" ship was hit, causing a big explosion. It sank in the Yellow Sea around 3:30. All but seven of the ship's officers and soldiers were rescued.
The rest all died heroically for their country.
After Deng Shichang fell into the water, his entourage approached him and handed him a lifebuoy, but Deng Shichang pushed him away. The torpedo boat "Left One" threw a lifeline, but the staunch leader did not respond.
"Throw yourself into trouble again."
Just when Deng Shichang was about to sink with the waves, his pet dog swam over and bit his arm. He scolded him and then picked up his hair. This humane animal could not bear to let its owner sink. Finally, Deng Shichang resolutely hugged him.
Live with your beloved dog and follow "Zhiyuan" together...