RPAGF Chapter 595 First Firing
Chapter 595 First Firing
However, Chen Er was lucky when he turned around. After turning right, Chen Er's fleet would become the one following Chen Zhongji's fleet, but for a moment when the warships were turning around, the bows of the warships were angled and facing the Dutch fleet.
In other words, for a certain period of time, the 24-pounder gun at the bow of Chen Er was aimed at three Dutch warships.
This is somewhat similar to the idea of setting up machine gun emplacements on both sides of a position.
They were incredibly lucky; the 24-pounder cannon on the third ship of Chen Er's fleet hit its target.
The iron ball missed the nearest warship, resulting in a crossfire that hit the central, specialized warship of the Dutch fleet.
How heavy is a 24-pound cannonball? It weighs close to 11 kilograms. The combined weight of a men's shot put and a women's shot put is about 12 kilograms. What would happen if such an iron ball hit a ship's deck that is about 32 centimeters thick?
It penetrates the cabin, then carries a large amount of wood chips that fly rapidly inside. The shell will even bounce after entering the cabin!
The second deck of the Wind Chime was instantly filled with wailing as four gun positions were paralyzed.
Due to distance and firing range, at this time, the Dutch fleet could only fire the bow guns and when the Chinese fleet rounded and turned. Most of the guns on the warships could not be fired.
If the Dutch fleet continues at its current distance, the Chinese fleet can still engage the Dutch fleet for two more rounds before entering engagement range.
The Dutch fleet turned, intending to use its flanks to intercept Chen Er and Chen Zhongji's fleet. One side of the V-shaped formation turned, while the Wind Chime led the other side to continue straight ahead.
The Dutch fleet had now formed a V-shape. Chen Er's fleet ignored this and continued its right turn toward the Wind Chime. Gan Hui's fleet opened fire for the first time.
The situation has now changed again. Chen Er and Gan Hui's 11 warships are encircling the five Dutch warships led by the Wind Chime, while Chen Zhongji's 6 warships are encircling the three Dutch warships that are turning around.
The fleet led by the Wind Chime also realized that if they continued to sail in a straight line, only the bow guns of the ships would be useful, and the other warships would be unable to play a role.
Their goal was to break out, so the fleet moved in a diagonal line, with each warship moving forward separately but with their bows partially exposed.
Chen Er commanded the fleet to adjust its course again, continuing to align the Dutch fleet in a straight line, with Gan Hui's fleet following suit.
In this round, with the two sides closing to a distance of approximately 300 meters, the Chinese fleet once again achieved a victory.
But that's how sailing warships were back then; they might be riddled with holes, but they just wouldn't sink.
No matter how much they tried to escape, as long as the Dutch fleet was focused on running away and the Fujian ships couldn't keep up, they would eventually have to engage in a direct confrontation.
Gan Hui was the first to cut in, and instead of continuing to turn right and circle around, he turned left and cut into the Dutch fleet.
At this point, once a battle breaks out, there is no way to give detailed command. Although Chen Er and the commanders of each fleet have practiced many times with models, the battlefield cannot possibly proceed exactly as planned.
Such an infiltration was extremely dangerous, as he would face the full force of the Dutch fleet's firepower as he moved to penetrate their lines.
Seeing Gan Hui's decisive maneuver, Chen Er sighed and sent Ma Kang to raise the blue flag.
Once the battle enters the close-quarters combat phase, it's time for boarding maneuvers. After the warships have exhausted the firepower on one side, the troop transport ships take advantage of the firing gaps to board them.
Gan Hui understood very well that if they did not resolutely engage the Dutch fleet, once they broke through, it would be difficult for the Chinese Fujian ships to catch up with these soft sailing ships.
Before leading his team forward, he ordered all the cannons to be fitted with chain shot. Yes, Gan Hui wanted to trade blows; once the Dutch warships lost power, they would be easy prey.
The Fujian-style ships finally gained a slight, inexplicable advantage, because Chen Er stubbornly believed that the cabins of the Fujian-style ships were not suitable for arranging naval guns, while the naval guns of the Huaxia fleet were all set on the deck.
The Dutch primarily targeted the ship's hull, and even though they were now very close, they still habitually aimed their fire at the hull.
The hull above the deck is only about 70 or 80 centimeters high, so it is very difficult to hit the hull above the deck directly.
Gan Hui's flagship was attacked by four warships at a distance of only a few dozen meters. Its mainmast was quickly broken, and the hull was hit by several cannon shots.
At this moment, Gan Hui was in a terrible state. A piece of wood about the thickness of a finger had almost pierced through his left cheek, and blood was flowing all over his front.
Frowning, Gan Hui felt a little dizzy, but he knew the distance wasn't close enough because the firing arc of the two strings wasn't wide enough.
Gan Hui was no longer able to speak. Two gunners were wounded, and the remaining gunners were all looking at their commander, waiting for his orders.
There were ten cannons in total. Gan Hui used his hands to indicate the attack direction to each cannon position one by one. Three cannons were to be fired at the far end, and two cannons were to be fired at the near end. He gave instructions to each cannon position on both sides one by one.
Gan Hui inserted himself into the Dutch fleet at a relatively far rear position, because sailing warships were not very agile in turning. He infiltrated the Dutch fleet from position 32.
There are now three warships on his left and two on his right. The warships on his left are moving away from him, while the warships on his right are trying to turn around.
First, to avoid a collision; second, to turn around so that the artillery on the other side can continue firing. Now, Gan Hui forcefully swung his right hand, and ten chain bullets were fired almost simultaneously.
Ouch, that pulled on my wound.
However, the effect was too good. Because the distance was too close, the two Dutch warships on the right side of the Gan Hui warship simultaneously lost power.
That's not all; the mainmast of the nearest Dutch warship on the left, which was also leaving, was damaged by chain shot.
Three out of ten shots rang out! Three Dutch warships were crippled in one go by Gan Hui's shelling.
Before he could celebrate, Gan Hui, enduring the excruciating pain, roared, "Keep loading, Tie Dan!"
Then he ran toward the superstructure at the stern of the warship, intending to turn the warship following him toward the other two ships that were still powered.
The originally lukewarm battlefield was instantly ignited by Gan Hui's action.
Chen Zhongji, who was circling around the three Dutch fleets, obviously saw Gan Hui's actions and immediately made a decision to turn around and rush into the Dutch fleet.
The warships following Gan Hui clearly saw the red flag he was waving. Impatient for the messenger, Gan Hui, with a wooden stick stuck in his cheek, frantically waved his arms, pointing at the remaining two warships of the Dutch fleet.
His warship, which was following closely behind, didn't have time to turn around and almost grazed past Gan Hui's flagship.
"Commander, jump into the sea! Jump in! We'll come and get you!"
Gan Hui's warship lost power, but continued to move forward due to inertia. The Dutch warship closest to Gan Hui had just been trying to turn, and was also showing its starboard side, which had not yet fired, due to inertia.
Gan Hui waved his hand forcefully, signaling his subordinates to quickly surround and annihilate the Dutch flagship.
Thump thump thump, the Dutch warship finally turned around, and it would be hard to miss when firing from a distance of thirty-four meters.