The first thousand three hundred and sixty chapters of the sea battle (in, ask for a monthly ticket)
Following the order, the three Victory-class battleships lined up in a column one mile apart, slowly sailed westward, and faced the enemy.
In the sea breeze, the huge eagle flag on the mast kept swinging and making a hunting sound.
The heavy bow of the ship was like a huge iron plow, crushing the undulating waves and splitting the turquoise sea, leaving a long white trail behind it.
Dozens of low-profile, fast gunboats followed closely behind the battleship. They were like a group of ferocious wolves, surrounding the three giant beasts in the middle, maneuvering flexibly on the sea.
The navy's unique loud slogans and the dull sound of the conch horn complement each other, intertwined, and spread far across the sea with the sea breeze.
At the same time, people could still vaguely hear the bursts of gunfire coming from the direction of Fantino. The sound was as low and muffled as distant thunder.
At this time, heavy snow fell one after another, affecting people's sight.
There was a gray-white fog on the sea, and the visible range was only a few miles. No matter how far away it was, it was just a blur, and nothing could be seen.
The sailors have already entered a state of preparation for war.
They were nervously watching the western sea, waiting for the enemy to appear.
On the high observation deck of the Victory, the lookout sentry's face was blown red by the sea wind, and his hands were a little stiff from the cold, but he still held the same cold binoculars tightly and carefully observed the west.
The sea horizon. Not a single trace is left behind.
I don't know how long it took, but the sentry suddenly heard a strange sound. It seemed like the sound of a conch horn accompanied by someone's shouting.
The sound is extremely weak. If you don't listen carefully, it will be completely drowned in the waves and sea breeze.
However, the keen sentry caught the sound at the first time. He pushed the telescope to the maximum and tried to look through the wind and snow in the direction of the sound.
A strange piece of black appeared vaguely behind the snowflakes. The sentry was stunned for a moment, and then realized that it was the sail of the opposite ship.
The sentry immediately leaned out from the observation tower and shouted down: "The enemy has been found. One o'clock direction, seven miles away."
A rapid alarm bell sounded on the Victory, and the sound of "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding" spread throughout the ship.
All the soldiers on the ship were tense and ready for battle.
Captain Glendine casually picked up his telescope in the command room, adjusted the focus, and looked straight ahead.
The originally blurry lens barrel gradually became clearer.
I could see a vague shadow of a sail among the vast white snow.
That's the enemy's fleet~!
Glendine couldn't help but curse in a low voice.
Due to the heavy snow, it affected the line of sight and completely restricted the enemy's air power. This prevented the fleet from being attacked by the enemy's war fortress.
But at the same time, it also brought disadvantages.
It was only at this time that the Ruman Empire fleet accurately discovered the enemy.
On the chart, the signs representing the two fleets have been pasted together.
First Mate Jack looked a little nervous.
He craned his neck to look westward and muttered: "Seven miles. This distance is too close. The enemy will be close to us as soon as we turn the rudder."
For the two fleets heading towards each other, the distance of seven miles is too close. It only takes less than half an hour for the warships of both sides to collide.
This is very disadvantageous for the Victory. They are at a disadvantage. Their actions remain unchanged and the contact distance is too short, which is not conducive to taking advantage of the Victory's firepower advantage.
Perhaps with just two volleys, the enemy would be able to get to the side of the Victory.
Captain Glendine nodded and said calmly: "It's indeed too close."
The captain thought for a few seconds and then loudly and decisively ordered: "Lower half sail, forty left rudder, and order the starboard artillery to prepare."
The order was quickly conveyed to the rigging officer, helmsman, and artillery officer for execution.
The sailors on the Victory immediately started working in an orderly manner.
With a "swipe" sound, the sails were all lowered by half.
Immediately afterwards, the gun doors on the starboard side were opened one by one. The artillerymen pushed the cannon out of the muzzle with force.
Seeing the speed of his men's actions, Captain Glendine nodded with satisfaction. These guys were indeed well trained and had high morale.
Naval warfare is different from land warfare. Naval warfare requires close cooperation between different departments of the warship. It requires a group of professional and skilled sailors who have been at sea for several years, ten years, or even decades.
This is not just about grabbing a group of farmers from the countryside, giving them a simple spear, and training them for three months until they can shout one, two, one, and walk in a goose step, and then they can go to the battlefield.
The several hundred sailors on the Victory are undoubtedly experienced elites.
"Send a signal to the gunboats and ask them to stay on our left side." Captain Glendine glanced sideways and downwards, looking at the fast gunboats racing past his nose, and curled his lips and said: "
They can't hit the Demon Clan's battleship."
The first mate agreed and then turned around to carry out the order.
The bow of the Victory, with a fully loaded displacement of more than 3,000 tons, turned rapidly to the left, facing southwest.
The sails were instantly filled with the bitter north wind in winter, and the speed suddenly increased. The other two battleships followed closely behind the Victory.
In the distance, a gray-black shadow has completely transcended the snow and fog, clearly appearing in people's sight - it is the sail of the Semitic warship.
At this time, even with only visual inspection, the sailors on the Victory could clearly see the Semitic warships several miles away.
At this time, more black shadows rushed out from the gray-white fog, slowly and continuously appearing in Glendine's sight.
One after another they come out of the snow and fog, giving people an endless feeling.
There were so many ships that they were so densely packed that they almost crowded the entire sea surface. They dyed the originally turquoise sea into a dark green color.
People couldn't help but make a commotion after seeing it.
Most of the enemy warships have two decks. Although they are not as tall as the ships here, they are heavily protected like all Semitic ships, and the entire hull has been reinforced. It looks extremely strong and strong.
The ships are all equipped with heavy-duty ballistae, and there are also huge metal charging angles installed on the bow of the ship. They all look ferocious and extremely terrifying.
Those Semitic warships obviously also discovered this place and blew their horns urgently.
Immediately, dozens of ships adjusted their direction slightly and rushed towards this side with great momentum, while more ships began to circle sideways, intending to surround them all.
"Four miles away!" the soldier on the lookout post shouted at the top of his lungs.
Glendine sneered, grabbed the intercom in the command room, and said loudly: "I am the captain, Mr. Pook, are you ready?"
A reply mixed with the sound of electricity came from the intercom, and Mr. Pook said loudly: "Yes, Captain. Our big baby is cheering, listen~!"
Immediately afterwards, an indistinct "boom" sound came from the intercom.
"Very good~!" Captain Glendine nodded with satisfaction, everything was ready.
Driven by strong winds, the Victory took the lead and led the entire fleet to attack the Semitic fleet diagonally.
"Two miles away~!"
The bugles and alarm bells of the Semitic fleet on the opposite side were clearly audible. Captain Glendine could clearly see the golden lightning flag on the top of the Semitic battleship's mast, and could even see the hurried running on the top deck of the Semitic battleship.
soldiers.
The leading Semitic warship also turned to the southeast, apparently wanting to insert itself into the Victory's queue and divide and surround them.
Captain Glendine smiled. The enemy acted quickly and decisively. It can be seen that they were also the elite of the Semitic Navy. If it had been before, it would have been a correct action. But what he faced was a battleship.
Battleships, as the name suggests, are battleships that line up to bombard the enemy.
"Fifty left rudder, heading due south." Captain Glendine's eyes flashed with excitement and he ordered loudly.
The Victory led the entire fleet to turn again, with the bow facing due south, the sails were all full, and it rushed through the waves at full speed.
The starboard gun window pointed toward the Semitic fleet to the west.
When the officers and soldiers of the Semitic fleet saw the Victory class for the first time, they were all shocked: Is that still a ship?
It is basically a mountain floating on the sea.
Cui Wei is so huge that it is hard to imagine that humans can actually build such a large ship.
What makes them angry is that the largest Semitic warship is only half the size of others. It hurts their self-esteem as a noble nation.
What made them feel even more inferior was that there were not one, but three, monster-like warships.
There is no need to fight at all, they just need to rush up and ram it with their bows, and they can sink the Semitic warships in front of them, or even run them directly into the bottom of the sea.
Therefore, at first some people were so frightened that their calves trembled.
But soon, they discovered that there seemed to be only these three large ships on the human side. In addition, there were only dozens of small fast ships.
Grandma, there is nothing to be afraid of.
Although these three big ships are frighteningly big, there are only three of them. How many people can be on them? A thousand people? Two thousand people?
As the saying goes, an elephant in large numbers will be killed by ants.
The hundreds of Semitic warships are enough to trap them to death. They can dispatch tens of thousands of people to attack the human ships. This is only the number of troops loaded on more than twenty ships.
Some people are even planning to seize human ships. Such big ships must be very comfortable on the sea.
After the Semitic navy got over the initial panic, its morale was greatly boosted by the "stupid" actions of humans. The soldiers waved their weapons on the deck and yelled in preparation for battle.
At this moment, the three monster-like battleships unexpectedly turned around and pointed their fragile side strings at them. This made the Semitic officers and soldiers overjoyed, and they were thankful in their hearts. The human commanding the battleships was either a fool, or he must have burned out.
Bad brain.
As long as they rush up to it, they can use the iron ram on the bow to smash open its belly, nail their deck with crow boards, and then board it to fight the humans. They can easily kill all the weak humans and destroy the big ship.
Bring the captives over...
On the Victory, the sentry reported calmly: "One mile away~!"
On the right side of the fleet were countless Semitic ships, extending from right under their noses to the depths of the mist, and there were more than two hundred ships within sight alone.
Glendin grabbed the intercom and ordered loudly: "I am the captain, at each gun position. With the purpose of incapacitating the enemy, fire freely~!"
Below the deck, in the gun cabin full of the smell of lubricating oil, the young officer looked at the target not far away, with a ferocious look on his face, and ordered loudly: "Load the hammer bullets."
The artillery soldiers who had been preparing for a long time immediately pushed the shells into the barrel.
Then the artilleryman slightly rotated the gun mount and adjusted the artillery to aim at the enemy one mile away.
If on land, a distance of just one mile is a sure thing for artillery.
But on rough seas, because the battleship will rock back and forth, the hit rate of aiming and shooting will become terrible.
The farther the distance, the greater the error.
The way to solve this problem is to attack with concentrated fire. The officers commanding the artillery immediately assign tasks and aim every few guns at a target.
At this moment, there were all Semitic warships in front of them. After a rough look, at least more than a hundred Semitic warships were rushing towards the Victory at full speed. They formed a jagged formation more than ten miles wide on the right side of the Victory.
.
"Fire~!"
Gun position No. 1 on the upper deck took the lead in firing.
With a loud "boom", a ball of fire poured out from the gun window. The largest naval battle in history began.
The three battleships fired at the same time. Several cannons roared every second, and the sound of "rumbling" sounded continuously.
The battleship's starboard side ship then spit out clouds of gray-white smoke, even covering most of the ship's hull.
The cannonball turned into a black shadow. It instantly flew over a distance of less than 500 meters and enveloped the Semitic warship.
The cannonballs that fell into the sea splashed water droplets next to the Semitic battleship, and the water splashed on the Semitic soldiers on the battleship.
The hammer shell that hit the battleship's mast hit the canvas and sail locks and then changed direction, spinning and hitting the mast, destroying everything it hit.
The Semitic sailors lying on the sail ropes had no time to jump off. They screamed and fell from the air.
Cannonballs hitting the hull of a Semitic ship will directly break through the outer wooden planks and fly through the cabin at high speed. In this case, an iron ball weighing several kilograms will easily smash a human body.
Almost half of the people in the cabin were knocked down by the rolling and spinning hammer bullets. Many people lost their arms and legs before they knew what happened.
In the first round of shooting, a total of nearly 150 artillery pieces poured out firepower on the Semitic forces unbridled, hitting at least ten Semitic warships at the forefront.
The hit warship immediately lost all or most of its power because its sails were destroyed, and it stopped shaking at sea.
The gunfire, which was like a volcanic eruption, also frightened the Semitic navy, which had high morale and was advancing bravely.
There was smoke coming from the side of the human ship, a roar like thunder, rocks falling in the sea, and their masts shattered.
The Semitic naval officers and soldiers immediately judged that the enemy must be equipped with many powerful ballistae or catapults.
Faced with such powerful firepower output, the Semitic warships were immediately confused. Some chose to turn to avoid immediately, while others shouted loudly and rushed over as fast as they could.
Immediately afterwards, a rush of bugles came from the rear, and someone from the Semitic navy shouted in unison: "Attack, charge forward~!"
As long as it is attached, the human ballistae will be useless.
The Victory class led the entire fleet straight south, and the Semitic fleets all headed southwest to catch up. The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer. The fastest Semitic warship was already approaching three hundred meters away from the Victory.
Glendin was very dissatisfied with the effect of one round of shelling, but he could only shrug helplessly. From a distance of about a mile, hitting it all depended on luck.
But now, the Semitic warship is already at the best bombardment distance of the Victory.
"Load grenades and fire freely~!" Glendin calmly issued the second order.
At this time, the gun cabin was filled with white smoke and the choking smell of gunpowder smoke.
The artillerymen quickly moved the cannon back and began to reload the shells. Even for skilled artillerymen, this took two minutes.
"Preparations for No. 1~!"
"No. 2 is ready~!"
"..."
"Fire~!"
The officer looked ferocious, gritted his teeth, waved his hand vigorously and shouted loudly.
The artillery was aimed at the nearest Semitic warship and fired flatly. After a loud "boom", the shell accurately hit the bow of the enemy ship, made a hole, and penetrated into the interior of the warship.
The second shot then hit the side of the enemy ship, splashing wood splinters all over the sky, tearing the bodies of several sailors on the deck into two pieces, and then rushed into the superstructure.
At this time, the first shell exploded from the inside. The Semitic warship shook suddenly, and a ball of fire with fragments of wooden planks splashed outward from the waterline. Immediately, a black hole the size of a water tank appeared on the hull.
The second shell blew the entire superstructure into pieces, and the broken wood flew in all directions like arrows. Dozens of nearby soldiers were swept up by the explosion, and they fell into the sea screaming.
The shells continuously penetrated the body of the Semitic warship and shot into the interior of the enemy ship. The violent explosion tore the Semitic warship into pieces in the blink of an eye. Its front half was completely destroyed and it quickly sank into the sea.
The King and the Invincible also successively sank several Semitic warships two hundred meters away.
But there were countless Semitic ships rushing up from behind.
The enemy was getting closer and closer to the Victory. Several arm-thick ballista arrows were fired from the Semitic warship, and they were nailed to the Victory's shipboard with a "duh" sound, not even able to penetrate the wooden planks.
Seeing that he was being attacked by such a primitive weapon, Captain Glendine sneered disdainfully and said: "Left rudder four or five, keep the distance, let's fly the kite for a while."
Then he grabbed the intercom and said: "I am the captain, Mr. Pook. It's up to you now. Let the propellers spin."
"Yes, Captain~!" Mr. Pook's hand holding the intercom was shaking. He turned his head and looked at the roaring steam engine in front of him and the technicians who were shirtless and sweating profusely. He danced and shouted: "
Boys, let the guys in the train department eat their shit~!
The future is our time."
The technicians roared in unison, and then worked together to turn the lever. With a crisp "click" sound, the large steel shaft leading to the propeller "squeaked" cheerfully and rotated rapidly.
The underwater copper propeller blades trembled for a moment, then began to rotate, stirring up a piece of turbid water.
The Victory suddenly accelerated, widening the distance between it and the Semitic warships, and at the same time did not forget to send them another salvo.