On the sea, the Hainan Army Fleet was still fighting with the Japanese Combined Fleet, and flames and explosions filled the boiling sea area.
This battle has been going on for a long time. Whether it is carrying artillery shells or turning the steering wheel, it is very physically demanding. Dragging their tired bodies, the soldiers mechanically repeated tactical actions over and over again, carrying artillery shells... advancing the gun barrel... aiming
fire.
And it is because of this that the mechanical advancements on the Hainan Army's warships are all reflected. The automation of the forts and the reasonable arrangements of logistics have further amplified the Hainan Army's advantageous position.
Compared with the complicated combat methods of the Japanese army, the mechanization of equipment that Li Weidong has been committed to played a big role. For example, loading the turret, the Japanese artillery loading required three or five people to work together to push the shell into the barrel, which took two to three minutes.
In contrast, it is easier for Hainan Army soldiers to load ammunition. There is a shell loading rack in each turret. You only need to move the shells to the loading rack, then move and push the shells into the barrel. Only two well-trained soldiers are needed
Officers and soldiers can easily complete it.
As the battle continued, the physical strength of the soldiers on both sides became the decisive factor when the battle was evenly matched. Therefore, on average, the time it took for the Japanese naval gun to fire one shot was enough for the Hainan Army to fire two consecutive cannons.
However, even though the Hainan Army had a significant advantage in warship capabilities, it gradually showed signs of fatigue in the face of numerous Japanese battleships' frenzied counterattacks, and soon one of the battleships was hit.
"Boom...boom...boom!" The Hainan naval fleet launched two rounds of salvos. In order to increase the strike density, a strict formation salvo was adopted, that is, multiple warships fired at a sea area at the same time.
However, due to the large deviation in the first round of shelling, only a few shells hit the target. After correction, the second round of shelling was obviously more accurate than the first salvo, and a Japanese battleship that hit set off a fire.
"Boom~!" It was a main gun shell from a Japanese battleship that hit the tail of the Hainan battleship, and a violent explosion occurred immediately.
Under the cover of night, the fire caused by the explosion was so intense that everyone on the Longteng aircraft carrier could still see it even from a distance.
The warship that was hit was warship No. 0125 in the Hainan Army's battle order. It was a new heavy destroyer added before the navy left the port for operations.
Since the beginning of the war, this battleship has been active on the battlefield with a brave fighting style. Even though it is scarred, it still insists on continuing to fight.
At the warship command post, Captain Zhang Baiyao, who was dizzy from the explosion, stood up, ignoring his cheek scratched by broken glass, and immediately asked: "Soldier! Report the damage to our ship!"
The shell just flew past the headquarters bridge. If the Japanese gunner who fired the gun had lowered the aiming angle by a few millimeters, what would have been blown up was not the secondary turret but the bridge headquarters where he was.
The flames were raging without restraint. The damage control officers were working hard to contain the flames, while the remaining soldiers were busy rescuing the wounded. The thick smoke formed a column of billowing black smoke under the dusk night.
"Report! The starboard side is damaged and leaking, and the tilt angle of the hull has increased!" A captain of the Hainan Army, whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, loudly reported to the captain Zhang Baiyao.
The shell just hit the secondary turret at the stern of the ship. The force of the explosion almost caused the hull to roll over. As for the original secondary turret there, it was twisted out of shape.
The battleship was hit by a bomb, causing water to leak on the starboard side. The damage control officer worked hard to plug the leak with water-blocking pads. After the continuous efforts of seven or eight officers and soldiers, the gap was finally blocked.
"Li Shaohua..., hurry up and organize the manpower to drain the water from the starboard side!" Zhang Baiyao ordered the first mate and the soldiers to use four water pumps to drain the water from the starboard side.
The hull is leaking and tilting. If the sea water is not drained out in time, it can easily cause the warship to roll over and sink due to the excessive tilt angle.
However, one wave after another broke out, and Zhang Baiyao received even worse news, which reached Zhang Baiyao's ears, "Report to the captain! The engine room is on fire, and the ship's speed is decreasing!"
"Boom~!" Hearing this, Zhang Baiyao angrily punched the wooden podium, and the pencils on the map jumped slightly due to the vibration.
When the hull tilted and the engine caught fire and the ship's speed dropped, he knew he had to withdraw from the battle sequence. For the Hainan Navy, all naval veterans with experience in naval battles will be future members of the navy. The literacy rate of the people in this country is generally not high.
Under the circumstances, the Hainan Army's financial resources are not as strong as Japan's, and it cannot afford to suffer losses in competition. The loss of every backbone of the navy is enough to make Li Weidong feel distressed for a while.
Therefore, the Hainan Army Headquarters has never supported the destruction of naval ships and casualties, and the first element is to maintain its own continued combat power.
At 6:31 p.m., the Japanese combined fleet was the first to be unable to hold on any longer. The fierce offensive collapsed. All nine destroyers were shot and caught fire. Three of them had half sunk into the sea. There was no hope of recovery.
In contrast, the three large Japanese battleships were relatively intact. Although the hulls were damaged in many places and the shells left numerous bullet marks, the thickness of their armor allowed them to withstand it, so their survival rate was much higher than
Other Japanese warships.
The Japanese battleships retreated first, leaving behind two seriously injured battleships with their tails cut off. Three battleships rushed into the aviation siege and emerged from the "Nagasakajima" aircraft carrier and the scarred "Izumo" aircraft carrier.
As for the Japanese warships whose tails were cut off, their fate was certainly not much better. The dense rain of bullets sent them directly to the bottom of the sea.
Of course, the Hainan Army also suffered heavy losses. One of the four battleships sank, and two were withdrawn from the battle due to excessive injuries. Although the fire burning on the other one was put out by the officers and soldiers, the casualties were also very serious.
.
The rest of the Hainan Navy warships also suffered varying degrees of casualties. Several of the warships have extremely deep waterlines, and they are at risk of sinking at any time.
At 6:49 in the afternoon, night had completely fallen. At this moment, the sound of artillery fire that had been fiercely fought for a day finally stopped. The battle finally ended with the defeat of the Japanese Combined Fleet and the tragic victory of the Hainan Fleet.
"Report to the commander! The captain of the Bohai requested to pursue the enemy fleet!" the correspondent soldier reported in the Hainan Army Fleet Headquarters.
"There is no need to pursue! You have to eat your food one bite at a time! And the Japanese navy still has the power to fight back. We don't have to fight them head-on. It's good to hurt them this time!" Li Weidong has been paying attention to the situation of the battle.
He knew very well how much strength the Japanese army still had.
Nodding in agreement, Zhao Yujian then sighed: "It's just a pity! We didn't sink the "Izumo" aircraft carrier!"
It has to be said that the Japanese aircraft carrier "Izumo" was very lucky. The Hainan Army's air force failed to sink it despite repeated bombings. Every time it looked like it was about to sink, it still floated firmly on the sea.
"It's okay! This is just the beginning. The Navy still has a long way to go, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!" Li Weidong said.
Of course, Li Weidong didn't know that when the Japanese aircraft carrier "Izumo" returned to the Japanese naval base, it ultimately failed to hold on until the end and sank in a sea area on its way back.