Chapter 227 Fighting for Hegemony in the Furious Sea (2)
Chapter 227 Fighting for hegemony in the angry sea (Part 2)
"Hold on!"
The old captain yelled.
The warships on both sides approached quietly, and everyone was waiting for the commander's order to fire. Alves was even more nervous. He stuck out his little head and looked at the other side's warship approaching like a ghost. The distance between them was so
So close...
"When will the fire begin?!"
Finally, Alves couldn't help but asked in a low voice.
However, Captain Geralf did not answer him. He just stared at the sea with a pair of weather-beaten eyes. Visually measuring the distance between the two sides, he found that the accuracy of artillery was actually very poor on the bumpy sea. In addition, the sail warship was actually very strong and needed close range.
Only by firing cannons can you have a chance of hitting the target. Gerraf spent most of his life at sea, and he knows this truth.
Finally, the warship on the opposite side couldn't help it and fired the first round of bombardment.
"Get down!"
The crew roared on the deck. The next second, high-speed solid bullets whizzed past. However, only one or two sporadic shells hit the hull, and most of the shells fell into the ground less than ten meters away from the hull.
On the sea surface, there was a splash of water rising into the sky.
"Fire!"
About half a minute after the enemy ship opened fire, Captain Geralf gave the order to open fire.
Suddenly, artillery fire roared and smoke rose everywhere. Fifteen heavy artillery unleashed firepower on the enemy ships, and solid projectiles flew out at high speed, tearing the sky and smashing into the opponent's ships. Even with just visual inspection, Alves could see that at least half of them
The shell hit the enemy ship. The air waves pushed away several unlucky sailors, and their bodies fell from the deck into the sea like ants. However, after a round of artillery salvo, only a few holes were left in the hull.
The impact of the battleship is still very small.
"Load!"
Captain Geraff issued a nervous order. There is no doubt that after a round of artillery bombardment, the naval battle has entered a critical moment. As the distance between the warships of both sides gets closer and closer, the power of the bombardment will become more and more powerful.
In the distance, other warships were already roaring with artillery fire. The large-tonnage ships were equipped with better artillery and had a longer range. Therefore, before the Rose and the oncoming enemy ships opened fire, several Queen's warships had already rebelled against Erengrad.
The warships of the army launched a bombardment. The entire sea surface was filled with the roar of artillery fire and dense smoke.
"Get down!"
Soon, the second round of shelling from the enemy ships roared in. This wave of attacks was like a storm, causing real damage to the Rose.
Two solid bullets hit the deck, destroying a light ballista on the deck. At the same time, the two sailors in front of Alves were penetrated by the high-speed flying shells. Their bodies were blown away like fragments, and their remaining limbs were broken off.
The arm fell from mid-air and fell into the sea. Blood and internal organs were poured on Alves, making him feel what a real naval battle was...
At the same time, the cabin below the deck was also penetrated. Three solid bullets penetrated the side deck of the ship, killing the gunner and crew members inside. A sailor squatting behind the side of the ship had his head cut off, leaving only half of his body.
Lying in the cabin. Another soldier had his arm cut off by a high-speed cannonball and fell in the cabin screaming in pain...
"Sprinkle more sand!"
The army doctor shouted, and the boatman quickly punctured the sandbags and spread the sand all over the cabin. (1)
Stepping on the fine sand mixed with blood and water, the navy doctor took out the cork stick and stuffed it into the wounded man's mouth. The two boatmen pressed the injured soldier tightly while the doctor immediately bandaged the wound. Screams of pain
echoed in the small cabin.
Others turned a blind eye. They were used to seeing such bloody scenes, and knew that if they wanted to survive a naval battle, they had to seize the time to reload and shoot. One more round of bombardment, and the enemy ship would be more likely to be sunk.
Everyone went crazy and nervously continued to load the shells, which were still solid shells. The enemy ship had not yet entered the close range, and the captain had not yet given the order to change the shells.
Soon, the deafening sound of artillery shelling echoed through the cabin.
Alves clearly saw that seven or eight of the fifteen shells still hit the enemy's hull, and the remaining few shells fell into the sea, splashing into the sky.
"Level the shooting angle and ignite! Quick!"
"Clean the barrel!"
"Bring the cannonballs up to me, quickly!"
As the distance further shortened, Captain Gerraf issued a free-fire order. All gunners fired at the fastest speed, regardless of whether they would hit the target. At this distance, basically eight out of ten missiles hit the target.
Smoke continued to rise, and the sound of gunfire became more chaotic. From time to time, one or two projectiles penetrated the side of the ship, killing the crew members working inside.
After several rounds of shelling, Alves was already hiding under the ship's building and shivering. He had indeed experienced war, but this was the first time he had experienced such a large-scale naval battle. It was simply hell. Blood flowed all over the deck.
Even the fine sand could not completely cover it. A solid bullet penetrated a boatman next to Alves. The boatman's body exploded into pieces, even the bones were broken apart, and the internal organs and blood splashed out.
Come on, it was extremely scary. And the solid bullet continued to move forward after penetrating the first soldier, bouncing on the deck a few times and then slowly rolled to the other side. It was covered with horrific visceral fragments and red and black
Blood and water.
"Chain bullet!"
Soon, Gerraf issued the latest combat order. The order was conveyed through the courier in turn, and the smoothbore cannon on the deck began to load chain ammunition! (2)
"Aim at the mast and fire freely!"
The order continued to be passed on. Everyone was doing their work nervously. Some artillerymen who were cleaning the gun barrels were beaten to pieces by the shells fired by the enemy ships. While other soldiers squatted in the corner and kept vomiting. Under their feet,
It's scarlet blood and slowly flowing internal organs...
Alves reluctantly exposed his head to watch the battle. He knew that it was not safe to hide anywhere in this situation. It was not safe on the deck, and it was equally unsafe in the cabin. Several chain rounds were fired from his own deck, with a whistling sound, towards
The masts of the warships on the opposite side flew away. However, most of the shells only penetrated the sails and did not hit the main mast.
Gradually, the thick smoke obscured the crew's sight. Even the snipers on the watchtower could barely see clearly the personnel targets on the opposite deck.
"Load the shotgun!"(3)
Finally, the brutal close-range bombardment began. As the most powerful anti-personnel weapon in naval battles, shotgun shells were enough to clean everyone on the deck.
"Fire!"
Screams resounded throughout the deck and cabin, and finally, the last round of shelling was launched.
The six smoothbore cannons fired at the same time, and the instantaneous pressure generated by the high temperature ejected the shotshells. Countless bullet-sized projectiles burst out from the iron barrels. In an instant, a metal storm covered the ships on the opposite side. At the same time, the enemy ships also fired.
Same ammunition.
Alves only felt darkness in front of him. Countless metal projectiles were thrown from behind the smoke, and the barrage formed instantly cleaned the deck. The painful screams of countless crew members could be heard in his ears. Those projectiles that were only as big as a finger were like a heavy rain.
Sprinkled on the crew. A dozen people who were fine just now fell to the ground instantly, bleeding. The projectiles penetrated their heads and bodies, and were more powerful than the most powerful crossbow arrows.
Even the captain himself was scratched by the projectiles and his arm was bruised with blood. But he still insisted on commanding. Alves was glad that he did not die in this round of torrential barrages. He was not even injured, but his ears felt
There was a ringing in his ears, and the continuous loud sound of shelling almost deafened him... But at least he was still alive...
(1) Spread sand on the cabin and deck to prevent too much blood and slippery soles.
(2) The chain connects two small cannonballs in series, which are smaller than the caliber of the cannon bore. After being fired, one cannonball will drag the other cannonball out centrifugally, thus tearing a big hole in the sail or tearing the rope.
If the tool is torn, with luck, it can even break the mast and paralyze the enemy ship. It is mainly used to limit the mobility of the enemy ship.
(3) Put several spherical iron marbles or lead marbles into a cartridge case (cylindrical and box-shaped projectile body). When launched, the projectiles break through the constraints of the projectile body under the impact of gunpowder and fly around, effectively expanding the range of the projectile.
Strike surface. Generally used to kill and injure crew members on board ships at close range.