Chapter 181 Ah! Dongxiang

"The way to win the naval battle is to seize the right time to give the opponent the most fierce blow. The judgment of timing needs to be formed by the accumulation of experience, which can't be learned in books!"

Togo Hirahachiro once explained the method of naval victory to people.

At this time, the "Shikishima" was hit hard ten minutes after the start of the war, and Dongxiang understood. This time, his opponent seized the opportunity, judged the most appropriate time to fight, and gave Shikishima a fatal importance at this time.

15:13 points, the port side of Shikishima, which was hit hard, re-entered the water and began to lean left. After emergency damage treatment, the ship stopped leaning to the right in an attempt to maintain balance again through water injection.

At the moment when the "Shikishima" injected water again to maintain a stable position, after a ten-inch shell penetrated the deck from the slightly tilted starboard deck, the shells that penetrated dozens of millimeters of armored steel plates still had enough kinetic energy to directly penetrate the starboard position and hit multiple shells at the next deck at the same time. There was a violent explosion.

The detonated shell directly exploded off the deck, and a huge black cloud rose from the starboard side of the battleship Shikishima.

""Cshikishima" was shot on the starboard side, and there was a violent explosion!"

After the news came from the observatory, the messengers in the command tower of the "Dingyuan" warship quickly repeated the water news on other microphones.

Tanaka, who served as the gunner in the rear 10-inch turret of Dingyuan, heard the signal. Although the sound of the gun rumbled and the dry sound of the work of the lifting machine filled the turret, the sound in the microphone was crisp and loud, but he still heard it.

"Long live! Guys, come on!"

The good news inspires the gunners to keep firing shells, and everyone has only one idea in their hearts to kill him while he is ill.

"I can't figure out how much the enemy has been hit during the naval battle. I only see that I have suffered heavy losses, so I will always feel that I am at a disadvantage. In fact, the enemy has been hit much more seriously than on its own side.

As a naval officer, Cheng Biguang has been educating his soldiers with his own experience, so all soldiers in the battle need results to motivate themselves.

Because of this, the messengers continue to spread the news of the continuous hit of "Shikishima" to the whole ship through the sound tube. The good news inspired everyone. The gunners worked hard to aim and fire, the ammunitioners desperately transported the shells, and the boiler soldiers desperately shoveled the fuel. They almost saw the victory within reach.

"You must sink "Skishima"!"

When desperately sending shovels of coal shovels into the boiler, in the roar of the boiler ventilation and the roar of the machine, listening to the sound of the cannon, Ma Fucai kept praying for the gunners.

In the South China Sea at three o'clock in the afternoon, the sip sun is baking the warship. At this time, the boiler chamber is like a hell on earth. But here, the boiler soldiers in the hell-like boiler room are doing their last bit of strength for the victory of this naval battle. The mission of the boiler soldiers is to send more coal to the boiler. Let the steam in the boiler burn enough, so that the warship has more power.

As long as you do all this, you may be able to win the naval battle.

"Wow..."

The roar of air shells came again. This was the thirty-third round of volleys. At this time, the "Shikishima" had been seriously flooded, and the warship was still struggling. The perch above the deck had been completely destroyed by the shells. Almost every volley always had one or two shots, and even three or four large-caliber armor-piercing bullets directly hit Shikishima. "No.

The battleship "Shikishima" was full of thick dark brown gunpowder smoke. The shells hit the target one after another, constantly shining in the gunpowder smoke, and the flame immediately rose again. At the same time, the bell-like crisp sound of heavy armor-piercing bullets when they hit the armor almost to tear the sea and the sky.

"Well, we can hold on until three minutes later!"

Togo Heihachiro, who was just hanging a telescope, rarely smiled in the face of the heavy blow to Shikishima at this time. No one among the generals in ancient and modern times should be able to stay calmer than Dongxiang in a hellish environment. At this time, he turned his head and said to the messenger beside him.

"Prepare..."

But this order was no longer issued, and it was interrupted by a loud bell-like sound.

The first shower of bullets from the thirty-third rounds of sangulation blew up the front chimney of the "Shibushima", but this was not the deadliest. The most lethal bullet was that a 10-inch armor-piercing shell hit the conning tower. Although the conning tower had heavy armored steel protection, although a few months ago, navies around the world believed that The defense capability of the armor plate of the warship has reached the peak of human technology. Even the largest 12-inch shell cannot penetrate the armor of the warship from a long distance, which has even become the common sense of the world's navy.

However, in the South China Sea Battle, Jingyuan subverted everyone's cognition overnight. At that time, the world attributed it to Jingyuan's powerful 13.5-inch cannon rather than the new shell. This time, the power of the new cap armor-piercing shell was fully demonstrated.

Each 10-inch armor-piercing shell can penetrate all armor, including the main armor belt, and this time, the shell that hits the conning tower of the battleship Shikishima is no exception.

When the bell-like loud sound came, although it was only a thousandth of a second, or even a ten thousandth of a second, people in the command tower felt ominous.

The next moment, the 500-pound armor-piercing shell penetrated the armored steel plate of the conning tower. When the shell broke through the armor of the conning tower, several people in the tower were hit by the armored steel plate fragments on the spot. Before they could hum, everyone saw an object break into the conning tower.

It's black, or gray... No one can see the color clearly, and no one can react in a hurry, and Dongxiang still maintains the moment of twisting the head. When the shell penetrating the conning tower was about to hit the opposite steel plate, there was a violent explosion inside. The shell exploded, and the shock wave generated by the explosion and the black clouds spewed out along the observation hole of the Shikishima command tower.

Cao Xicun Haoye, a first-class soldier in the wireless room, was receiving telegrams when he suddenly heard a violent explosion on the top of his head. The explosion directly from the top of his head only shocked him dazzlingly, and even almost fell down. He felt a heat between his nose, and his ears were buzzing. He touched it with his hand, and his nostrils unexpectedly The blood was shaken.

At this time, he found that the telegraph signal was no longer shining, which meant that there might have been a malfunction, and the violent explosion above his head made him nervous. He quickly ran down the gangway into the conning tower from below, just as soon as he entered the conning tower, his whole body He stayed there. There was a sea of fire in the command tower, and the foot was full of blood. There were broken hands and feet everywhere, and some broken bodies. Except for the seriously injured captain who was still dying there, all the others were blown up.

"Marshal, marshal..."

Nishimura rushed into the command tower nervously. The inside of the command tower was just a broken arm. The marshal and the marshal were there.

At this time, he found a semi-amputete body. To be precise, it was a half-year-deathed body. It was the marshal! He recognized the medal, and the marshal was dead!

15:17, the joint fleet completed the pre-front transformation, almost at the moment when the "Shikishima" conning tower was hit, the "Chaoyu" warship first aimed at the "Dingyuan" to sound the main gun and theboard gun.

When any navy in the world fights, there is almost no possibility to hit the first round of shooting. The shelling of the battleship "Chaoyu" only blew up more than a dozen columns of water near the "Dingyuan".

After the shelling of the Chaoyu, the joint fleet battleship No. 3 "Fuji" fired shells. This time, the accuracy was far more than the "Chaoyu". Two or three shells accurately hit Dingyuan. The Xiasou explosives immediately raised several regiments of flames on the fixed plate, and even one shell exploded directly under the Dingyuan's conning tower. The conning tower is protected by thick armor and steel covers.

The explosion and fragments under his feet only made Cheng Biguang bend down slightly, and then observed out of the window from the window. Two people fell there next to the steering wheel, and the blood instantly dyed the deck red, but this did not affect him at all.

At this time, the sea was still rolled around by the shells dropped by the joint fleet. The columns of water were like forests, and some of the columns were almost as high as the bridge of Dingyuan. And Cheng Biguang still stood still in his old position. Water droplets often splash on his telescope. He took out the flannel cloth and wiped it clean again and again. This is the only thing he did.

"Sar, hit the command tower of the "Skishima"!"

Nod, picked up the telescope, and used the sea breeze to blow away the smoke on the Shikishima. It could be seen that more and more sailors were abandoning the ship. The Shikishima was over. Even the shells that hit the conning tower did not work. Dongxiang and his staff survived, and the Shikishima were over.

"Concentrate on firepower and attack "Cay!"

"Focus on the enemy with all our artillery fire!"

For Cheng Biguang, he knew how he should exert his power. In the eyes of others, five warships and two armored cruisers were seven, but for him, in front of his eyes, Dingyuan is Dingyuan, and Pingyuan is also Dingyuan. There have never been seven warships, and there are only one of the Second Fleet. A warship.

"With all our strength, attack part of the enemy's troops!"

For a fleet at a disadvantage, only by seizing the advantage of the situation can it be possible to win the war. This local advantage is to concentrate the artillery fire of seven warships to attack one, so as to seek the maximum victory. Looking at the half-dead "Shikishima" floating on the water, Cheng Biguang did it.

"Turn left to the camel 5 degrees!"

After confirming that the "Sshikishima" would soon sink into the deep sea, Cheng Biguang once again ordered the fleet to change direction, but this was just a slight turn.

"The speed has increased to 18 knots!"

During this period, Cheng Biguang's command was almost perfect. While attacking the enemy, he kept adjusting the course of the fleet. The purpose of changing the course is to delay the naval battle as much as possible.

At this time, the second fleet was heading north. According to the order, he needed to introduce the joint fleet near the Nansha Islands. For Cheng Biguang, he knew what he was going to do.

The Admiralty can choose to sacrifice the Second Fleet for victory, but as the commander of the Second Fleet, for Cheng Biguang, he will never regard himself as a "sacrifice" because of this order. For him, he has always carried out an ordinary theme.

"Lead your subordinates to win the naval battle!"

Therefore, he needs to drag down with the combined fleet until night and until night. At that time, the Second Fleet, at least part of the Second Fleet, will have the opportunity to sail back to the military port safely.

"Marshal!"

Tomozaburo Kato, the commander of the Second Fleet of the Combined Fleet on the Dango, immediately ordered after receiving the news that the "shikishima" command tower was hit and the marshal, the commander of the first team, the chief of staff and others were killed on the spot.

"Rise the flagship flag, and now I will command the joint fleet!"

A few minutes after the order was issued, the flagship flag was immediately raised on the battleship Danhou. For Yusaburo Kato, who served as the chief of staff of the joint fleet in the Battle of Ma, he knew what would happen if the fleet lost its command!

The Battle of the Yellow Sea on August 10 last year was the first all-out battle between the Combined Fleet and the Lushun Fleet. The shooting capabilities of both sides of Russia were basically the same, and the results of both sides were not ideal. The reason why he could barely win was that the 12-inch shell, known as the "faten gun", exploded near the conning tower of the enemy's flagship. It hit the enemy's Captain Wittky Ford and others into the sky, causing chaos in the enemy's command, which led to the defeat of the Russian army.

"The true meaning of naval warfare is to make more shells hit enemy ships!"

For the joint fleet, before the Battle of the Ma Sea, under the requirements of Dongxiang, the strategy and tactics of the joint fleet were centered on this. At that time, no one in any other navy in the world could implement this principle more than Dongxiang.

"Although the gunner's ability is very important, shooting command is more important!"

When preparing for war in Zhenhai Bay last year, Dongxiang found that "it is not enough to rely on the ability of gunners alone". They studied the command method and adopted a new method different from the common sense of the world navy, or developed a new method, which was tested in this naval battle.

"The shooting distance is uniformly commanded by the bridge!" It clearly expresses the new idea of "unifying a ruler on a ship".

This new idea was developed in China and Britain almost at the same time, but because Britain did not have the opportunity to test its power in the naval battle, this tactic was finally played by the joint fleet in the battle against Ma.

Unlike China's adoption of warship modification to establish centralized fire control, Dongxiang's principle is that the artillery command should be commanded by the bridge as much as possible, but the fundamental purpose of the two is the same, that is, the shooting distance is uniformly ordered, each fort is not allowed to make any modification, and each fort is a point. Unauthorized corrections are not allowed.

It's just that unlike the second fleet, the second fleet turns seven into one, and the seven ships shoot at the same time, while the joint fleet shoots single ships in turn. Although its warships and armored cruisers are more or even several times more than the second fleet, the actual firepower is far less than the seven ships. But even so, after the flagship is sunk, the joint The combined fleet still shows the quality of a strong army at sea.

When the Second Fleet maneuvered northward, the gunfire of all the warships of the Combined Fleet was concentrated on the two warships, Dingyuan and Fuyuan. At the same time, it also showed an amazing hit rate. The shell was not a single hit. Instead, it fell like rain, and then exploded after the hit. Although Dingyuan was miserable, the second ship Fuyuan was even more miserable. The warship was surrounded by flames and black smoke in the first concentrated firing of the combined fleet. Fuyuan's Krupp's armor stubbornly withstood the Japanese shells. However, the burning Shimose dynamite still turned the whole warship into a big fireball.

I'm afraid that the battleship Chaohe, which is close to Fuxuan, fell in the eyes of the Second Fleet. This is a large warship of 15,000 tons. At this time, Chaohe is also shrouded in a column of water, and black smoke and flames continue to rise in the hull of Chaohe in the column of water.

Unlike the continuous roaring of the guns of the joint fleet, the Second Fleet only fired a main gun every 30 seconds or so, during which only theboard guns kept shelling, and the earth-shaking shock of each time the 24 main guns of the Second Fleet were bombarded was enough to make anyone in awe of the fleet.

"Bastard!"

Looking at the morning, which was under the pressure of the whole fleet, Yusaburo Kato scolded and kept walking back and forth on the bridge of the Feiqian. His nervous stomachache was still intermittent, and he had to keep walking around to divert his attention.

Kato's eyes never left the telescope. When he found that the bow of the Dingyuan turned slightly north in the camera, he felt a little panicked.

"Are they going to escape?"

He has always had no expression like a cold-blooded animal. Only at this time, there was a glimmer of light in his small eyes like sharpened needles. This is what he had foresee before. And this hunch became his preconceptance.

"The Second Fleet may flee north."

Now it's starting to turn north as he had a hunch. People like Kato will also lose their calm judgment of the facts and short circuit because of their own hunch.

If the two fleets distance themselves, Kato doesn't know if he still has a chance to intercept the fleet. But if the Second Fleet converges with the First Fleet, he now loses a warship and a heavily damaged joint fleet. Is it still possible to win?

"Go to the word B!"

In the process of fighting on the sidelines, Kato knew that he must be like Dongxiang in the horse, through continuous ingenious movement to prevent the enemy from slipping away, constantly adjusting the position after the form of the two sides changed, and always implementing the theme of pressing in front of the enemy.

And this way of movement is that Zhenzhi Akiyama borrowed the name of the ancient water army and called it the "B-character tactics". The whole fleet repeatedly carried out the B-shaped movement. In the battle against the sea of Ma, it is with the help of the B-character tactics that the combined fleet can always remain in the second. The front of the Pacific Fleet occupies a favorable formation.

But this time, can you do it yourself?

(to be continued)