Chapter 182 We won this war

To some extent, Tomo Saburo Kato, the commander of the second team who took the initiative to raise the flagship flag, is a person who will not lose his composure under any circumstances.

He was born in a family of vassals in Yizhou. His brother, Zhong Zhisuke, served as the captain of the vassals in the battle of the Changyi team in Ueno. Kato entered the Tokyo Tsukiji on October 27 of the sixth year of the Meiji period. He had just turned twelve years old at that time. On October 25, Sheng Haizhou had just become the Secretary of the Navy. At that time, the navy dormitory was divided into preparatory courses and undergraduates. When he graduated as a second lieutenant of the navy, he was just over 19 years old. His grades in school are not particularly outstanding. He is not very eye-catching, but his grades at graduation are the second place.

He is a good drinker, silent and expressionless. He is not an interesting person. He has a strong ability to analyze things. He also has the ability to summarize and summarize various affairs, and can quickly draw conclusions about problems. However, his body is a little weak and weak, but he has been sticking to it.

His calmness and quietness give people the impression of a cold-blooded animal, but this is not the case in his heart. Many people around him think so.

In the Battle of Tsuima, Kato, the Chief of Staff of the United Fleet, used his own calmness and tacitly cooperated with Dongxiang, and finally won the naval battle.

At this time, Gateng, who raised the flagship flag and exercised the command of the joint fleet, held the railing behind the sandbag of the bridge with a pale face. In the past week, he has been nervous and has a stomachache due to stress. In order to withstand the severe pain, he grabbed the bar with both hands and used all his strength on his feet.

Just then, the radio assistant Junichiro Kase rushed in.

Kato pulled the telegram and looked at the content, "Okay!"

Kato's expression is the same as usual.

The Zhenyang Fleet moored off the coast of Kaohsiung was dispatched, and they didn't even rush to Kaohsiung Port to replenish fuel. The First Fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet was dispatched in a hurry, which made Kato more or less relieved.

"We still have a chance to destroy the Second Fleet!"

Looking at the Chinese Second Fleet flagship Dingyuan and Fuyuan, which were shrouded in flames, with abdominal pain, Kato whispered in his heart.

Destroy!

This is the most fundamental purpose of this naval battle, and from a strategic point of view, the naval battle in the South China Sea will be meaningless if the Second Fleet is not destroyed. Even if half of the ships are lost, they must destroy all the enemies, otherwise it will be meaningless in strategy. Previously, Dongxiang and his fleet were carrying such a heavy mission.

And now, Kato knows that he is now carrying this heavy mission.

"Even if only a few warships and cruisers in the Second Fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet have fled to Sanduao, or rendezvous with the First Fleet, it may not only disrupt our sea control in the future, but even make us unable to force the First Fleet to exist in the fleet and berth in the harbor. If so, it can be completely said. It's Cheng Biguang's victory!"

At this time, the battleship Dingyuan, which was taken care of by the joint fleet, completely turned into a fireworks. In several battles since the beginning of the artillery battle, hundreds of Japanese shells, large and small, have been dropped on the "Dingyuan". At this time, on the "Dingyuan" warship, the damaged sailors completely ignored their lives and rescued the warship against the fragments of shells.

The flames on the deck soared in the air, and the wooden deck was burned into charcoal. After the sailors rushed away the flames with a high-pressure water dragon, they immediately began to drag the wet sand to eliminate the dark fire. The falling shells would always take away the lives of one or two sailors every time, but the sailors of the deck damaged the management team did not Unmoved, just fulfilling my mission conscientiously.

Despite hundreds of shells, under the desperate rescue of the damaged sailors, adhering to the tradition of German warships always paying attention to protection, Dingyuan, which has become a fireworks, not only leads the fleet to the north at a high speed of 17 knots, but also can constantly adjust the route and keep the vertical line of the team aligned with the joint fleet. And keep firing shells.

"Snitch until the last shell!"

In the roar of the gunfire, the gunners kept loading and firing. Only after the new distance and other data came from the command center would they temporarily stop the shells.

There was an explosion, and the shell of the gun was shaking. The gunners behind the shell were all indifferent. They loaded, loaded the launchers, and launched. The armored armored protection of the Dingyuan-class warships in the shipyard made peace at this time, at least from the naval battle, except that the barrel of a side of the side of the secondary gun was blown up. The gunner didn't lose much.

"The turret exploded after the morning!"

At the top of the Dingyuan command tower, on the somewhat unusual mast, Second Lieutenant Xie Zefu, who was in charge of observation, constantly reported the situation in the command of Chaoyu with the help of a high-power telescope.

This tall mast has given full play to its role at this time. It is far away from the threat of war. The rangefinder officers on the mast can constantly correct the shooting distance with the help of a high-power rangefinder, while the observation officers can constantly report the intelligence in the order of the enemy ship.

From the beginning, Sezef stood on the observation platform and observed the hit of the enemy ship. After another officer received his task, he quickly adjusted his gaze to the distance to rest his eyes.

When he looked at the joint fleet that seemed to have been swimming in the foreword of the fleet from afar, the relatively idle warrant warrant officer Jin Ming standing beside him was very idle. The observation platform is not a ranging platform. In naval warfare, the starboard side without war only needs to be vigilant.

But now he looked at the flying shells in the air with great interest. Japanese shells are different from those of other countries in the world. It is filled with Shimose dynamite, which is filled with Yijiyuan's letter tube, which is slender and long.

In the Naval Academy, he had heard several Russian naval officers describe this kind of shell, which was nicknamed "bag" in the Lushun Fleet.

Although for Jin Ming, this is his first time to participate in a naval battle, he knows the appearance and power of this leather bag, not only from Russian officers, but also from his father. Jin Ming's father is an old Beiyang. During the Battle of Dadonggou, he said that his quick-fire guns and flowering shells were almost killed. All the gunners.

From the first time his father mentioned the flowering bomb, the flowering bomb was engraved in his mind. But when I saw it for the first time today, there was another strange re-understanding.

"It's like a fire stick being thrown over"

Jin Ming muttered in his heart. Those "fire sticks" flying around in the air can be seen clearly with the naked eye. The sound is not very loud. The ten-inch shell fired by Dingyuan was sharp and harsh, and my long shell was issued, but it looked a little dull.

"This is the "bag" you said by Instructor Yekovsky!"

Xezef, who rested his eyes, asked Jin Ming. At this time, it seemed that they were chatting at home, completely ignoring that they were in the middle of war. Even at their feet, Dingyuan was constantly making flames.

The "bag" flew over the head of the "Dingyuan" and fell into the sea. In this case, the shell of the Second Fleet will fall into the water and then make a huge water mist, and the shell will explode as soon as it touches the sea because it is equipped with a sensitive Yijiyuan information tube. Therefore, even if it does not hit the ship, it will produce countless fragments to attack the ship. The fragments hit the buildings on the side and deck, making a short and sharp sound.

Next, another shell hit the starboard side of the stern. The flame that had just been extinguished by the damaged pipe sailors burned again. The characteristic of the Shimose explosive was not to explode inside after penetrating the armor of the warship, but to ignite the steel and wood near it.

At this time, a huge pillar of fire rose from the front chimney of Dingyuan, and the stern of the ship also burned. Although the fire was very fierce, it would soon be extinguished by the damaged management soldiers, and the flames that were extinguished from time to time were shrouded in Dingyuan from beginning to end.

"This is a flying torpedo!"

Sylzeko, a German naval officer on the cruiser Haisui, looked at the shells in the air and wrote in his observation plan, "This is a mine called a cannonball. It will produce a long-lasting smoke after the explosion, and even if it falls into the sea, it will produce debris that will affect the hull and kill the sailors..."

As a German naval officer, the reason why Silzeko appeared on the cruiser Haisui was to observe the actual combat effectiveness of China and the Japanese navy at close range, especially the Zhiyuan ship, but now he has become the first naval officer in the German navy to experience large-scale naval battles.

"Region of seven ships into one, tactically, the Chinese are superior!"

While he muttered in his heart, the sound of gunfire in his ear reminded him that it was not safe to stand on the bridge. The cruiser Haisui, as a pilot ship, was only used as an ex-warship to prevent the surprise attack of the Japanese cruiser or destroyer. In this kind of naval battle of the capital ship, it was even just a watchman.

"Captain, look... the morning!"

A sudden shout only made everyone's eyes focus on the morning sound. This can only be seen that the morning sound is completely shrouded in a huge flame, bursting flames and rushing out hundreds of meters high black smoke, and in the black smoke, you can even see a broken turret being thrown into the air.

"It must have hit the ammunition depot! It must have penetrated the ammunition depot!"

Listening to the excited shouts around him, Silzeko stared at the battleship Chaoya, which was broken into two and sinking rapidly. If you pay attention to it in the distance, you can also see the battleship Fushima, which is half sinking in the sea like a dead fish.

Look at the pocket watch.

At 16:07, an hour after the outbreak of the naval battle, the Chinese navy had sunk two Japanese warships, including their flagships. At this time, the Chinese navy was only hit hard by two warships.

"The era of high-explosive bombs is over!"

For no reason, Silzeko muttered in his heart that the truth is better than eloquence. In the face of the new armor-piercing shells, there is no warship that is impossible to break through. The combined fleet once won two wars with high-explosive bombs, but now, the Chinese have won the war with the new armor-piercing shells by taking a step ahead of the world.

"Captain Wu, congratulations, the goddess of victory has spread the skirt to you!"

When Wu Yanli heard this sentence, he shook his head. He looked at the joint fleet in the distance. Now it seems that the second fleet has the upper hand, but judging from the launch speed of Dingyuan and Fuyuan and the slower speed, the situation of the two ships is not very good now.

And this naval battle... but it's just the beginning!

At 16:07, he put down the telescope and confirmed that the battleship Chaoyi was sunk.

"Turn right twice and pull the distance!"

Cheng Biguang, with an expressionless face, ordered to turn two points to the starboard side to open the distance. At the same time, after the big explosion in the turret in front of the morning, Yusaburo Kato, who was pale, also ordered to turn a little to the left to disturb the other party's distance measurement.

"Target, Dan Houhao!"

After giving the steering order, Cheng Biguang once again stared at the "Danhou" warship that raised the flagship flag, sinking the enemy's flagship, which is more effective than sinking other warships. It can not only interfere with the enemy's fleet command, but also affect the enemy's momentum.

When commanding the naval battle in Dongxiang, it was said that the navy fired an average of one round every minute, but now it is about one minute and twenty seconds, which means that their soldiers have been affected, while their fleet is still shooting every 20 seconds. In the same time, they are winning the advantage step by step.

"The armor-piercing bullet..."

Yuzaburo Kato scolded with hatred. In order to get close to the combat distance of armor-piercing bullets, he kept trying, while the Second Fleet cleverly kept pulling away. Finally, it was kept at a position of about 10 kilometers. At this distance, the old armor-piercing shell could not penetrate the armor of the Chinese warship at all. As for the high-explosive bomb... it failed to play its due effect.

On the surface, the joint fleet has always been in the forefront of the second fleet, but in fact, Tomozaburo Kato realized that it was not the joint fleet that was in front of the second fleet, but Cheng Biguang deliberately guiding himself.

As long as Cheng Biguang keeps a distance of 8 kilometers, and the old armor-piercing shells used by the joint fleet, it is impossible to sink his warship. In the battle against the Ma, the joint fleet was close to three kilometers and exchanged armor-piercing bullets to win the naval battle. What about now? The naval battle lasted for an hour, but Cheng Biguang commanded the fleet like a monkey, maneuvering cleverly, maintaining a distance from the combined fleet, and using a new type of armor-piercing bomb to hit the combined fleet hard at a long distance.

At 16:12, the "Danhou" warship was shot for the first time and was shot in the front of the bridge, but it did not cause major damage. This did not affect the heated fierce battle between the two sides. The warships of the Second Fleet fired a round of shells at the other side every 20 seconds, and the warships and cruisers of the Combined Fleet fought back. The sea in front of them was like a forest made of bullet screens, and the sea was dyed yellow.

In the whole sea and air, the roar of cannons of more than ten inches echoes.

"Maybe..."

Although Yusaburo Kato was very calm, after several attempts to approach him, he felt a trace of ominousness in his heart, and he even retreated.

At this moment, a black cloud suddenly appeared in the sky, and then the wind rose, and the wind blew in the direction of the Second Fleet.

"The wind is blowing!"

After Tomozaburo Kato felt the wind rise, he immediately raised his head. The taciturn old soldier still didn't say a word at this time, but a bright smile appeared on his face at this time, and it was the first time that everyone had seen Kato so happy.

The strong wind began to blow in the direction of the enemy. If you have the upper hand, you can improve the hit rate of the cannon! Now, the combined fleet is in the upper wind, and the upper wind will also interfere with the shelling of the Second Fleet!

This is the common sense of naval warfare that any naval officer or even sailors understands, which means that naval warfare is leaning towards the favorable side of the combined fleet.

"The wind is blowing!"

With a sigh, it came out from the bottom of the heart of Cheng Biguang. Sure enough, when it was fired again, the shells had a serious deviation. In the naval battle, what he was most afraid of was to be in the downwind. The wind would affect the aiming and the trajectory, while the upwind was the most favorable position.

At this time, the "Dingyuan" warship was already miserable. First of all, the rear mast was blown off, and the rear chimney was blown away and turned into two chimneys. The hull was full of traces of shell explosions, and more than a dozen large holes were made on the thin horizontal deck, of which the largest diameter was even nearly one meter. The whole bow was smashed.

And the broken part is hit again. When each sea water hits the bow of the ship, the sea water will continue to pour in directly from there. But even with such a heavy blow, the main and secondary guns on the Dingyuan ship are still shining, and the gunners are still firing at the enemy ship.

At 16:48, a shell of the combined fleet hit a bullet hole on the deck. The shell exploded directly under the deck, blowing up a big hole in the deck. For a moment, thick smoke penetrated into the steering engine room through the ventilation pipe, where people had to evacuate. At this time, the sun was setting, and the warships of the Second Fleet were completely Exposed to the silhouette of the sunset, in an instant, with the natural conditions of wind and sunshine, the joint fleet with absolute strength finally gained the upper hand after losing two warships.

"Sink Dingyuan, the third team is ready to attack and chase!"

Yusaburo Kato, who finally had the upper hand, gave orders one after another. At this time, he completely forgot his previous uneasiness. Now the goddess of victory is waving to him, and the time and place now belong to the joint fleet!

"Turn right 3 degrees! Take some more distance!"

Although he was in an unfavorable state, Cheng Biguang still gave the order calmly. It's just that his order is not the typical Nelson-style order to "closer to catch the enemy", but to distance him again.

"5:29!"

Looking at his pocket watch, Cheng Biguang suddenly smiled and looked at the dark sky. He knew that the victory or defeat of the war had been decided at this moment!

"We won this war!"

(to be continued)