Chapter 58: The first battle! Iron armor versus iron armor!

At 7:30 on September 9, 1903, the rising sun quietly rose. Four cruisers painted in light gray with gold dragon patterns inlaid on the bows sailed in under the reddish light.

The waters between Russky Island and Peter Peninsula in the eastern part of Peter the Great Bay. Vladivostok (Vladivostok) Port, the largest naval base of the Russian Empire in the Far East, is located in the southeast of Peter Peninsula. At this time, there are many smoke pillars in the harbor, and there are smoke pillars at the exit of the harbor.

Several small ships shuttled back and forth.

Colonel Yang Tianzhi, commander of China's First Light Cruiser Squadron, stood solemnly on the narrow command platform of the fleet's flagship "Dragon Sword", holding up a black binoculars decorated with golden dragon patterns to carefully observe the situation inside and outside the port.

Yang Tianzhi's team approached Vladivostok with the sun behind them, which gave them an advantage over the fleet of Country E in terms of effective line of sight. In other words, they could observe the opponent's movements more clearly than the people of Country E, thus reducing the risk of encountering them.

The danger of accurate artillery fire attack from the e-state fleet.

Yang Tianzhi's team includes four cruisers: "Dragon Sword", "Tiger Sword", "Baojian" and "Fengjian". All four ships belong to the "Baojian" class and are the latest domestically produced protected cruisers. They are not equipped with armor belts, but

The boiler and engine room are covered with five-inch (127 mm) steel armor, equipped with four 150 mm main guns and ten 120 mm rapid-fire guns, as well as three twin torpedo launchers.

The launch tube, with a speed of 26 knots, can effectively perform tasks such as reconnaissance, warning, escort, and break-up of communications, but it is far from enough to engage in a head-on confrontation with the first-class cruisers (ie armored cruisers) of country E.

Yang Tianzhi's mission is to lead his fleet to conduct reconnaissance at Vladivostok Port before the arrival of the main fleet, evaluate the results of last night's torpedo boat attack and report it to the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet, so that the commander-in-chief can make decisions on further actions. If possible,

Lure the e-country squadron away from the shore artillery cover area so that the main force of the combined fleet can attack the e-country fleet at sea.

Yang Tianzhi watched for a long time and found that fourteen large and medium-sized warships of the E-State were sailing out of the harbor, and three of them were already speeding towards him.

"So, we only damaged two ships. No, it's too close. Let's retreat first."

Yang Tianzhi thought, summoning his adjutant and just about to give the order, he heard a roar, and several jets of snow-white water rose up in front of the battleship. The water jets dispersed to form a vast cloud, and the "Dragon Sword" happened to pass through the fog.

, tiny drops of water fell all over Yang Tianzhi’s head and face.

The observer on the mast reported through the microphone: "Reporting to the commander, it is the shore gun. At the nine o'clock direction, the shore gun on Russia Island opened fire, at least six guns."

"Judging from the size of the water column, it should be a heavy artillery of more than ten inches (254 millimeters). If it takes one or two rounds, it will be serious. It is important to escape quickly."

Yang Tianzhi thought, and immediately issued an order: "Send the order, each ship will turn 180 degrees, move closer to the unit at full speed, and be careful to avoid shore artillery fire."

Then, Yang Tianzhi ordered to send a radio report to the main fleet, which read: "The e** ships have left the port, and it seems that only two of them were damaged during the night."

Colonel Yang's first light patrol unit turned around and retreated. The Chinese artillery battery on the shore fired about thirty rounds at them, but none of them hit.

The e-country armored cruiser "Askold" and the light cruiser "Novik" and the "Baoyalin" were monitoring the retreating Chinese cruisers from a distance and had no intention of pursuing them. Soon, the four ships

The Chinese cruiser disappeared from the sight of the officers and soldiers of the e-country cruiser.

At 8:35, the main force of the combined fleet sailed into the Peter the Great Bay and was first discovered by the E-country cruiser "Paul Yalin". The captain of the "Bo Yalin" immediately sent a signal to the Pacific Squadron flagship "Petropav" that had left the port.

"Lovsk" sent a telegram that "a large number of enemy ships are approaching".

At this time, in terms of the combined fleet, six armored battleships and ten armored cruisers were forming a single column and slowly approaching the port of Vladivostok. Colonel Yang Tianzhi's First Light Cruiser Team had already joined the battle of the armored ships and armored cruisers.

The formation, followed closely by the "Izumo" ship of Japan's First Armored and Patrol Team, had four light cruisers on each side of this long snake-like battle line as cover - the "Spring Rain" and "Autumn Rain" of the Third Light Cruiser Team.

”, “Grain Rain”, and “Fog Rain” are on the left, and “Xia Yu”, “Heavy Rain”, “Thunder Rain”, and “Mountain Rain” of the Fourth Light Patrol Team are on the right.

The Chinese Imperial battle flag with red ground and golden dragon and the Japanese Imperial battle flag with red and white rising sun are fluttering. The golden dragon pattern and chrysanthemum emblem come to life. Lieutenant General Lin Taitsang, commander of the Combined Fleet, is dressed in simple general officer's casual clothes and stands on the flagship.

On the tall command podium of "Ruixiang", there are a number of staff such as Chief of Staff Major General Sa Zhenbing and Adjutant Lieutenant Colonel Ye Fei. A messenger holding a bugle stands at the corner of the podium, and another sailor holds a loudspeaker.

Standing behind the command podium, there is no protective means on the podium, only a layer of canvas is supported to protect it from the sun - of course, this is also the case on the armored ships of country E.

Lin Tai once held up his telescope and looked at the E-State fleet, then turned back and smiled bitterly at Sa Zhenbing: "You haven't gone too far, are you still wandering around the harbor?"

Sa Zhenbing smiled and nodded: "It depends on the commander's decision."

"There is nothing we can do." Lin Taizeng put his hands on the railing in front of the podium and looked at the sky, then at the clouds on the horizon and the black smoke pillars under the clouds.

"No matter what, we want to fight and see. Give the order! The whole team turns left forty-five degrees. After the turn is completed, the whole team accelerates to fifteen knots!"

Twenty battleships - armored battleships "Ruixiang", "Rigi", "Feidian", "Zhendian", "Thunderbolt", "Yundian", armored cruisers "Suzhou", "Hangzhou", "Chuiyun"

, "Bao Yun", "Ling Yun", "Cai Yun", "White Cloud", "Xiang Yun", "Fuji", "Izumo", protected cruiser "Dragon Sword", "Tiger Sword", "Bao Sword", "Wind"

The slender battle column composed of "Sword" began to slowly turn under the leadership of the flagship "Ruixiang", drawing a gradually spreading white track on the blue sea, heading from the southeast toward the port outside Vladivostok.

The battleship group of country E sped away.

The E-State fleet was not idle either. As soon as Lieutenant General Makarov on the flagship "Petropavlovsk" received the report from the "Boyalin", he immediately ordered the six ships in the squadron that had already left port.

The armored battleship and four armored cruisers immediately formed a single column to meet the enemy, and four light cruisers including "Bao Yalin" were recalled to serve as cover for the two wings of the battle line. At 9:15, the e-country squadron completed the formation.

From front to back, the battle line of this team is the armored (battleship) ship "Petropavlovsk", "Poltava", "Sevastopol", "Zarya", "Lightning"

"Tevezhan", "Victory" and first-class cruisers (armored cruisers) "Rulik", "Perak", "Diana", "Askold", a total of ten ships, the team battled

The left wing of the column was covered by the second-class cruisers "Novik" and "Boyalin", and the right wing was covered by the "Knight" and "Hercules". The squadron commander Makarov was suspended from the squadron.

Led by the armored ship "Petropavlovsk" and flying the blue and white St. Andre flag, the entire E-nation fleet turned and sailed southwest, sticking close to the coastline of the Peter Peninsula and Russian Island in order to get to the shore.

Artillery support.

Ten minutes after the artillery battle between the fleets of both sides, the distance was shortened to thirty chains (six thousand yards). At this time, the five shore artillery batteries deployed by the E Corps on the Peter Peninsula and Russian Island opened fire. Each of these shore artillery batteries was equipped with six guns.

With the support of the Type 1**5 254mm coastal gun and the Type 1**9 305mm coastal gun, the weakness of the main gun firepower of the e-country fleet has been made up for.

In the battle that day, the armored ships of the squadron participating in the battle of country e were equipped with a total of sixteen 305mm main guns and eight 254mm main guns. Its armored cruisers were equipped with eight 203mm main guns, and

The joint fleet armored battleships participating in the East Asian coalition were equipped with a total of 28 305mm main guns, and its armored cruisers were equipped with 32 305mm main guns and eight 203mm main guns. Obviously, Russia

The fleet is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of firepower, but the armored cruisers of the East Asian coalition generally have weak armor and small armor coverage, and cannot even withstand continuous strikes from 152mm cannons.

At this time, thirty large-caliber coastal guns of the e-force joined the battle, which suddenly brought the battlefield situation to equilibrium again, and the warships of the combined fleet began to be hit frequently.

At 9:50, the joint fleet flagship "Ruixiang" was hit by a 305mm heavy artillery shell in turret A, causing damage to the turret's electrical drive device and turret A losing its function. Two minutes later, another shell penetrated

"Ruixiang"'s front chimney, soot poured out from the breach, covering most of the hull behind the front chimney, making it impossible for the C turret and most of the secondary guns to be properly sighted. Then, the armored battleship "Rigi", "

"Flying Power" was also hit by bullets one after another. The rear chimney of "St. Regis" was completely destroyed, and the radio equipment was damaged. "Flying Power" was hit by three bullets in succession. The middle section of the secondary gun deck was damaged, part of the command platform was cut off, and a fire broke out in the middle section of the superstructure.

, and thick gray and black smoke came out.

At about 9:55 a.m., the armored cruiser "Lingyun" was hit by a heavy artillery shell on the command platform. The captain, Colonel Wang Da, was killed immediately. Then another heavy artillery shell penetrated the weak armor of the "Lingyun" and reached the right shell of the secondary battery.

The medicine cabin triggered a violent explosion, with broken limbs and pieces of flesh flying everywhere, the steel and iron sheets twisting like numbness, and the fire burning like a 'tide'. Then the ship's hull tilted to the right, and its speed continued to decrease.

At the reminder of the staff, Lieutenant General Lin Taizeng on the "Ruixiang" noticed the tragic situation on the "Lingyun" and found that many destroyers were approaching quickly from the direction of Vladivostok. He sighed lowly and looked at the ship again.

The A turret in front of the bridge, which could no longer rotate, shook his head and said to Sa Zhenbing: "We can only stop here."

Sa Zhenbing nodded: "There is no way, the other party has a good location, so we have to make long-term plans."

At around ten o'clock, the order flag was hung on the mast of the "Ruixiang": "Everyone turns 90 degrees to the left and withdraws from the battle."

The combined fleet began to turn south as a whole. At this time, a surprising thing happened. The E-country cruiser "Novik", which was originally serving as a cover, left the cover position and maneuvered at a high speed of more than 20 knots, unable to accurately

The firing line of the combined fleet was speeding away - if all the warships in that line of fire were fired at once, they could be reduced to nothing in an instant.

On the command platform of the "Petropavlovsk", Lieutenant General Makarov, the commander of the E-State Squadron, witnessed the reckless behavior of the "Novik" and became anxious and shouted at the top of his lungs: "What is that guy doing?

!Quickly, send a signal to Lieutenant Colonel Essen and ask him to come back! We don’t need to pursue him!”

Lieutenant Colonel Essen is the captain of the cruiser "Novik".

On the command platform of the "St. Regis", Lieutenant General Lin Taizeng, Commander of the Combined Fleet, saw the cruiser that was originally chasing away from his own team. He took a long breath and turned to Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sa Zhenbing:

"What a brave man."

Sa Zhenbing was not so relaxed. He carefully observed the route of the E-country cruiser, frowned, and said to Lin Taizeng: "Things are not that simple. It has already rushed to the twenty chain (four thousand yards)

), our guns can’t hit it, where is the cruiser responsible for covering it?”

Before they finished speaking, the sight of the four ships of the fourth light patrol team "Xia Yu", "Heavy Rain", "Thunder Rain" and "Shan Yu" appeared in their sights. The four ships suddenly moved at a high speed of more than 20 knots.

They intercepted the lone "Novik" and faced a burst of intense artillery fire, beating it until its whole body was on fire and it fled back in panic.

Lin Taizeng and Sa Zhenbing both breathed a sigh of relief. Sa Zhenbing saw that the main force of the Russian ships had no intention of pursuing them, so he made a suggestion: "Commander, why don't you send a destroyer over there? Maybe we can achieve some results."

Lin Taizeng waved his hand slightly: "No need, sending destroyers now will only add unnecessary losses. The days are still long, we must save what we can. Today's losses are enough. Of course, the goal has been achieved.

, the people of country E have also tasted our power, and they will not be able to challenge us for a while. Next, it will be up to the army to pay more attention..."

At around 10:20, the combined fleet completed its turn and broke away from fire contact with the Russian ship. The damaged armored cruiser "Lingyun" had controlled the fire under the command of the deputy captain, Major Yang Ming, and managed to survive.

Evacuate with the team at a speed of fifteen knots.

At around 11 o'clock, Lieutenant General Makarov, commander of the E-State Squadron, led the entire fleet back to the berth at Vladivostok Port, and then reported to Governor Alexeyev: "...the enemy fleet was repulsed, and at least one armored ship was attacked.

Heavy damage, many armored ships were injured, our fleet suffered minor losses, fifty-six people were killed and 128 were injured, the armored ship 'Petropavlovsk', the cruiser 'Askold'

All officers and soldiers performed most outstandingly in this battle. Lieutenant Colonel Essen, the captain of the cruiser Novik, acted without authorization and almost caused serious losses to the fleet. He has been removed from his post and reported..."

As for the Combined Fleet, due to the serious damage to the "Ling Yun", the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Lin Taizeng, ordered the cruiser "Heavy Rain" to escort it back to Dalian Port for docking for repairs. He then led the rest of the warships to sail to Sasebo Military Port in the northwest of Kyushu Island, Japan, for rest and recuperation.

, and reported to the Imperial Base Camp there: "Our fleet... disabled more than two e** ships in combat effectiveness, but lost three torpedo boats... In the early morning of September 9, the fleet launched an attack on the e** ships under the protection of coastal forts.

The Chinese fleet launched an attack, severely damaging 1 to 2 Chinese armored ships, injuring many Russian ships, and one of our armored cruisers was severely damaged. Forty-one people were killed and 83 people were injured in the artillery battle... It will be as follows

A port blockade operation is planned..."

The battle of armored ships outside Vladivostok Port came to an end. More than 20 giant ships of 10,000 tons on both sides bombarded each other with heavy artillery shells of hundreds of kilograms. This magnificent scene has never appeared before in human history... Both sides are very excited.

Clearly, a more brutal battle is yet to come...
Chapter completed!