When Song Hu saw the Rakshasa Kingdom fleet reacting, he wanted to fight with him. This was not what he wanted to see.
So he led the combined fleet to speed up again, circled a small arc, and took advantage of the speed to once again be behind the opponent, forming a T-shaped front against the cruisers behind the opponent again.
This is the advantage of speed in naval battles. As long as one's own fleet is fast as a whole, it can continuously form a situation of using more to fight against fewer.
Although this time will be short, it can use this short time to cause heavy damage to one or two enemy warships.
The current situation is exactly like this. As the combined fleet once again seizes the T, several cruisers whose prefix is on the stern of the Rakshasa Kingdom fleet soon suffered a devastating blow.
At this time, even the Rakshasa Kingdom's main fleet naturally couldn't just watch and be beaten.
Although many warships were unable to bombard the combined fleet led by Song Hu due to their location.
But there are still a few battleships whose rear gun emplacements can be shelled.
Therefore, four 305mm caliber artillery shells soon exploded around the combined fleet, forming water columns.
However, due to the accuracy, the artillery shells fired this time could not even threaten the combined fleet.
At this time, a 406 mm caliber cannon accurately hit the side of a cruiser. This cruiser was only more than 4,000 tons. How could it withstand the bombardment of such a shell? Therefore, just one shell destroyed it.
He was sent to the bottom of the sea.
As the cruiser sank, the other two cruisers immediately accelerated their speed and carried out a crazy Z-shaped cruise, trying to get rid of the opponent's bombardment.
At this time, the Rakshasa fleet finally completed its turn and aimed all their main guns at the combined fleet.
However, as soon as the Rakshasa Kingdom fleet completed its turn, it was hit head-on.
It turned out that it was the Iowa battleship Qin Shihuang. One of his 406 mm caliber shells hit the enemy's flagship, the battleship Petropavlovsk.
The front main gun of this 12,000-ton battleship was immediately destroyed.
As the commander, Starck's eyes turned red when he saw this situation, and immediately ordered the remaining battleships to target the Qin Shihuang and launch a concentrated fire attack.
Not to mention, one of the dozens of shells missed the target and hit the side armor of the Qin Shihuang.
However, this 305mm caliber artillery shell had no way to deal with Qin Shi Huang's side armor. It only left a black mark on it and then bounced away.
At this time, the Fuji and Yashima, which were following the Qin Shihuang, finally carried out their first round of shelling. A shell accurately hit the side of the Rakshasa Kingdom's flagship Petropavlovsk battleship.
Since the battleship Petropavlovsk had been severely damaged at the beginning, the shell now formed a flame in its cabin, and then caused the shell to explode.
By this time, the Rakshasa Kingdom's flagship had completely lost its combat capabilities and was floating on the sea like an iron coffin.
At this point, the Rakshasa Kingdom has lost two of its four pre-dreadnought battleships. Although on the surface, the Rakshasa Kingdom still has an advantage in terms of the number of warships, they are already at a disadvantage in terms of tonnage and the number and caliber of artillery fire.
.
As the commander, Starck saw that his flagship had lost its combat capability and could only take a transport boat to transfer to another pre-dreadnought ship.
But as soon as he approached the pre-dreadnought ship Poltava, the warship was hit by a 305 mm caliber shell, causing flames to form on the hull.
At this time, the commander could not get close to the warship at all. He had no choice but to give the order and the sailors rowed the lifeboat to find the target again.
When Song Hu saw the raging fire on the Poltava on the Qin Shihuang, his eyes immediately lit up, and then he ordered several other warships of his to begin a concentrated attack on the heavily damaged battleship.
Soon, a 406 mm caliber shell hit the battleship. This time, the battleship was already severely damaged, and it was even worse.
However, this battleship was also brave. Even after being hit by two shells and the hull of the ship was on fire, it still fought bravely. Using the Houzhu, which could still fire, it bombarded the battleship Fuji three times, one of which
The shell hit the Fuji's quarter deck squarely.
This shell immediately severely damaged Fuji's rear main gun, making it temporarily unable to carry out shelling.
But this was also his final result, and then he was hit again by a 305mm gun shell from the Yashima.
This time, the shell penetrated the opponent's armor from the waterline, and then caused a hole in the keel.
At this time, the battleship could no longer hold up. As the keel rattled and exercised, the 12,000-ton battleship also sank to the bottom of the sea.
At this point, of the four former Dreadnought-class battleships of the Russian Pacific Fleet, only one remaining battleship, the Poltava.
Stark finally boarded the Poltava after all the hardships, but just as he was safe, he faced a very harsh environment.
Now there are two paths before the commander. One is to fight to the death, and the final result may be that the entire army is annihilated.
The other way is to retreat. Although there will be heavy losses, some seeds will be preserved.
Now Starck was hesitant again. If the retreat losses were so heavy, the Pacific Fleet would definitely make St. Petersburg furious.
He knew how violent the king was. Not only would he not be able to keep his military power, he might even have to go to God with his life.
But if he had to fight desperately and look at the fierce artillery fire from the opposite side, he didn't have the courage.
During this period of hesitation, another ironclad ship was sunk by the Russian fleet.
Seeing this situation, Starck no longer hesitated and immediately ordered a retreat.
The commander also has his own plans in mind. If he retreats, although the fleet will suffer heavy losses and he will inevitably have to go to a military court in the end, but with the money he has collected in the Far East over the years, as long as he manages a little more, there is still hope.
Save your life.
If he fights desperately, he may be dead before he can even go to court-martial.
But there is also a way to retreat. He has clearly discovered that the speed of his warships is much worse than that of the opponent. If he retreats in such a swarm, he may be caught up by the opponent in a short time. In addition, you have no formation when retreating.
They should be wiped out by the opponent quickly.
It's time for these cruisers to step up.
"Pass my order and order the cruiser to immediately charge forward and attack the opponent's flagship with torpedoes."
Although the Far East Fleet of the Rakshasa Kingdom lost six or seven cruisers, there are still 6 cruisers capable of combat.
After receiving the order, these cruisers bravely and immediately turned their hulls around and made the final charge towards the combined fleet at full speed.
These cruisers charged forward and fired shells at the same time. They were completely desperate for their lives. They just wanted to get within 1 kilometer of the opponent and then release torpedoes.
After seeing the cruiser's desperate charge, Starck immediately ordered the remaining battleship Poltava and the two ironclads that had not been sunk to start turning around and fleeing to the north.
When Stark escaped like this, the entire Rakshasa Kingdom fleet was in chaos.
The six cruisers that were charging towards the combined fleet found that their flagship had fled halfway through the charge. It is still unclear why Starck, the bastard, wanted them to cut off the rear so that he could escape.
However, if they turn around with half of their charge now, they will only expose their weak points to the opponent's guns, so now they can only bite the bullet and charge forward anyway.
When Song Hu saw that the enemy began to retreat, he frowned, and then said to Togo Heihachiro, who had been standing beside him: "The opponent's three battleships began to retreat. If they are not wiped out, there will be trouble in the end.
It will pose a threat to our coastal areas."
At this time, Sanbon Gonbei, who had been following Togo Heihachiro, spoke.
"Commander Kunishita's analysis is right. Now we should wipe out all the opponent's warships. Based on the current situation, I think we should divide the fleet into two."
Song Hu looked at the Japanese naval minister. He had kept silent since boarding the Qin Shihuang and kept pushing Togo Heihachiro in front of him. It seemed that he regarded Togo Heihachiro as his heir.
However, due to the status of the other party, since he has spoken, he should be the main one next, and Togo Heihachiro can only stand aside now.
So Song Hu smiled and asked Yamamoto Gonbei: "Tell me what you think."
"Your Excellency, Commander, now the battleship Qin Shihuang should break away from the main fleet and quickly pursue the fleeing battleships."
"The remaining two battleships and cruisers are enough to wipe out the enemy's remaining cruisers, torpedo boats and gunboats."
After hearing this, Song Hu smiled and nodded. His thoughts coincided with those of the other party.
"Okay, I have decided now that I will lead the Qin Shihuang battleship and two armored cruisers to pursue the opponent's main fleet. And you will lead the two Sovereign-class battleships and the remaining cruisers to encircle and annihilate the remaining enemy battleships. You
Is it possible?"
Yamamoto Gonbei lowered his head and thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, the combat quality of our navy may not be enough to complete this task. I recommend that the deputy commander of the combined fleet, Togo Heihachiro, command this operation."
Song Hu glanced at Yamamoto Gonbei in surprise. You must know that the progress of the war is now very obvious. The battleships left by his side are completely at an absolute advantage. As long as it is combat command, it is impossible to have a little naval common sense.
fail.
Faced with this situation, Yamamoto Gonbei actually postponed his position as commander, which surprised Song Hu.
Now Song Hu has guessed Sanbon Gonbei's intention, which is to promote Heihachiro Pingdong Township.
Because Togo Heihachiro was abandoned by Liu Hai after the last Sino-Japanese War. After several recommendations from Togo Heihachiro, Liu Hai reluctantly agreed to use Togo Heihachiro again.
However, Togo Heihachiro can no longer serve as the commander of the fleet, nor can he command any warships. Now he can only serve as a nominal deputy commander in the combined fleet.
And Yamamoto Gonbei knew that he was old and could not work for a few more years, so he regarded Togo Heihachiro as his successor.
In order to improve Togo Heihachiro's impression in front of Liu Hai, Yamamoto Gonbei gave his chance to Togo Heihachiro this time.