Chapter 332 Difficult choices!
"Okay, now, let's watch our performance, soldiers, fire, target, the fort of the Qing Dynasty!" Lieutenant Colonel Lampard raised his powerful arm and pointed straight to the direction of the Big Horn Mountain. Then before he finished speaking, the artillery had roared, but it made Lieutenant Colonel Lampard feel a little strange that his first mate had not had time to repeat his orders to the messengers and flag bearers. Moreover, the sound of the gun is not right. It seems that the pound is more than the gun weight of his warship, and it seems that the sound of the gun comes from far behind him.
Lampard is worthy of being an excellent British Imperial Navy officer. His brain reacted almost in an instant. He suddenly turned his head. The green mountains and green water in the distance were still there, but from the tree-lined hillside, thick to thick tube flames were still under the poisonous sun. It gives people a burning illusion on the face. My God..."
Dozens of 18-pound shore cannons and those 24-pound fortress cannons, with their powerful roars, declare to these British naval soldiers that no one can ignore their existence.
"God, what's going on? When did the fort appear in that place?" The cigarette in Major General Ford's hand fell on his feet. He stared at his light blue eyes, and his pupils shrank like needle eyes. The 24-pound and 18-pound hammer shells roared like outer space flying saucers whined strangely and heavily, and then smashed them hard on the five three-masted battles. On the side of the ship's right side of the ship, the mast was folded, and the hull was smashed out of a huge hole. The human body was like a doll torn apart by the Titan Giant. The amputated arm was thrown out the unfinished blood with a burning smell and flew in mid-air.
The continuous and heavy shelling caused the hulls of these British three-mast warships to make waves and move horizontally to the left.
Then there was a kind of cannonball that came with a scream, which fell obliquely from the sky and hit around the warships and warships. This time, Lampard's eyes were no longer the brittle physical destructive power.
A ball of fire appeared on the deck of the warship, and the collapsing shrapnel roared with the shock wave of explosives flying in all directions. It was crazy. Only crazy can be used to describe this round of violent shelling.
The smoke and anger bit the five tall British three-masted warships fiercely. Their strong hulls did not have much defensive effect in front of these heavy artillery and those explosive shells. They could only desperately let those shells tear their limbs torn to pieces.
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Seeing that he smashed the opponent's main mast with one shot, Brother Li Pao laughed arrogantly. The members of the gun team rushed up quickly and did their own work in an orderly manner, with cold water to pour water on the gun barrel, some to clean up the gun barrel, some ready to launch a medicine bag, and some to prepare a cannonball.
Soon, the 24 pounds loaded were pushed out of the gun position again with the help of its two huge wheels. With Brother Li Pao's loud shouting, the members of the gun group slowly and firmly completed the aim. At the moment when the lead was ignited again, everyone opened their mouths and covered their ears with their hands.
After feeling the earth and air vibrating, the violent gunfire penetrated the barrier of their palms and roared into their ears again. The thick tube flame spewed out, and even ignited the circle of tender green branches and leaves around the gun position that had been used for concealment.
These five British warships are like mythical Cyclops throwing stones at the sea, and the swept water is like waves, as if to engulf them completely.
Silence, silence and death, the main force of the fleet, which was originally full of relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, is now surrounded by a kind of fooled anger and panic. They watched the enemy's artillery engulfing their robes and those precious warships.
Xiao Sidangdong's excited roar also changed at this moment, and his little face, which had turned red with excitement, turned pale in an instant. God, is that a fortress cannon?! It's terrible that they have fortress cannons?
"Hehe, little guy, I didn't expect you to recognize that kind of cannon. It's really not easy." Liang Sanhuai patted Xiao Si Dangdong on the shoulder with a smile, and the smile on his face became more and more pleasant and kind, even with a trace of indescribable excitement.
"Teacher, this is terrible." Xiao Sidang shook his puffy blonde hair and looked a little frightened.
"Dear Xiao Si Dangdong, there's nothing to be afraid of. Didn't you just say you wanted to see that kind of scene of hundreds of cannons? Now you see, and the scene is more grand and magnificent. This is the war. Little Sidangdong, remember, the war is very cruel, but also very beautiful..." Liang Sanhuai took a deep breath of the salty sea breeze, as if the smoke blown away by the sea breeze would penetrate into his nose and smooth the one in his heart. A little excited soul near the battle.
"General, what should we do now? They need support, and our naval soldiers of the British Empire need your help. Si Dangdong was shocked and took off his hat and rubbed it in his hand. His voice could no longer deliberately maintain any magnetic surname and calmness. Some of them were just hoarseness, just like pigs and sheep to be slaughtered.
Major General Ford's face was as dark as the undead in the night. His eyes almost spewed out the flames of the sea. His careless intention and the remorse of the enemy and the anger of being deceived by his opponent were like a sharp knife, stirring his heart fiercely.
"Mr. Major General, I think we should do something." Macartney trampled the newly lit cigarette under his feet and looked at Major General Ford, the supreme commander of the fleet. Although he was an ambassador of the British Empire and had full diplomatic power, now, this is a war, not a suitable place for him, an excellent diplomat.
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Major Ford is an excellent naval officer in the British Empire, and he is also a real soldier. For the benefit of the empire and the overall situation of the whole battle, he silently picked up his binoculars to observe the newly discovered artillery position for nearly two minutes, but he made a decision beyond everyone's expectations. Tell Lieutenant Colonel Lampard to withdraw immediately, and let Colonel Keane immediately leave contact with the other party. We can't fight so hard. We can't afford such a loss.
"What?! General, what do you want to do? Stone East muttered dissatisfiedly again, but Major General Ford ignored it, but turned straight to Colonel Henry of the British Imperial Army standing beside him, "Mr. Colonel, have you seen that fort? They are so hidden that they must be a permanent hidden fort. Their guns are all heavy guns. Although they will bring us a lot of damage, there is also a big disadvantage, that is, it is difficult to turn, and the 24-pound cannon can almost only rotate at a very small angle. This gives us a chance to defeat these cunning Qing [***] teams.
"...So, I need you and your soldiers to help our navy."
"It's my honor to fight side by side with the navy. General, don't worry, my soldiers won't let you down." After a standard military salute to Major General Ford, Henry immediately turned around and left to gather his soldiers to prepare for landing.
Major Ford's order was soon conveyed to the ears of the two squadron commanders through the flag. Keen looked at the Dajiaoshan Fort for a long time, and then struggled to withdraw under the urging of his first mate. However, the Lille, which had completely lost its mobility, and the Seso, which had killed most of the crew, could only stay alone and helplessly within the range of the Grand Cape Fort.
After the extended shooting of the Dajiao Mountain Fort once again ravaged the poor sails and sterns of the squadron, it stopped and did not intend to completely destroy the Sethor and Lille. It seemed that these damn Qing people actually wanted to capture the British Empire warships.
Colonel Keane hesitated for a long time and finally did not give an order to destroy the two warships, because he always believed that the end of the battle would end with the victory of the British Empire. At that time, it would be the right choice to drag the two warships back to the port to repair and restore combat effectiveness. After all, the British Empire In the East, it can be said that it is surrounded by strong enemies, and it is necessary and necessary to preserve all the living forces of the enemy.
Unlike Colonel Keane's smooth retreat, Lampard's squadron was completely surrounded by the artillery of the other party's fort. The important thing is that the damage of the opponent's new flowering bullets to the warship made Lampard's squadron almost swept away after the first few rounds of shelling, except Outside the battleship Liz, which is at the end of the fleet, it is difficult for the remaining four warships to move forward, not to mention turning in the siege of artillery fire and smoke, which is really difficult.
Lt. Col. Lampard put his hands on his back and stood on the tail tower where several gaps had been smashed on the ship's sboard. His eyes full of hatred stared at the sand horn fort, which was still spraying flames and smoke. Let the Liz leave the battlefield immediately, we cover his retreat, and tell His Excellency that I will stay with my soldiers until the last minute. For the honor of the Imperial British Navy, soldiers, open fire on our enemies!" Lampard's roar was mixed with the roar of the artillery, which was instantly shocked and crushed by the rumbling sound of the cannon, looking so pale and powerless...
(to be continued)