As the fleets of both sides approached, the French fleet's flagship France fired first, but this shot had a large error and did not hit the natural warship of the Hainan Navy.
When the Hainan naval fleet sailed to 5,000 meters away from the French fleet, all the ships fired together. The screaming shells passed over and exploded next to the French fleet, and the height of the water column aroused exceeded
Chuan Hyun.
The French Far East Fleet warships also began to fire artillery fire back at the Hainan Army. The naval battle of Kunlan Island broke out completely, and the two sides launched a fierce artillery battle.
In the Far East Fleet, after the battleship France fired its cannon, the entire fleet rushed forward in a "human" formation, piercing the Hainan warship group like a sharp blade.
Seeing the French battleships France, Dunkirk, and Provence, the three battleships came straight towards them with such ferocious momentum that Zhao Yujian did not dare to push them too hard.
"Full left rudder! Speed up!"
Then Zhao Yujian suddenly ordered a sharp turn to the left, increased the speed to 17 knots, and headed straight for the battleship Provence on the right wing of the French Far East Fleet.
The captain on the battleship Provence was suddenly shocked. Due to a sneak attack by a Hainan Army submarine, a large hole was opened on one side of the hull. Although the water-proof layer has been put down, the speed of the warship has still slowed down slightly.
Some cannot keep up with the main fleet.
Soon, the flagships of the Hainan Navy Fleet, Nanhai, Beihai, and Huanghai, opened fire one after another. This made the already damaged Provence even worse. Not only did the naval officers and soldiers suffer heavy casualties, but fires also broke out on the warships, making the menacing Provence even worse.
The French fleet's arrogance was dampened.
Faced with the Hainan Army fleet's flanking attack tactics, the Provence was in a critical situation. Nelson became furious and threatened that the Hainan Army was cowardly and did not dare to fight with it.
Immediately, Nelson ordered a change of formation, and the fleet surrounded them in a "C" shape, hoping to encircle and destroy the four heavy cruisers of the Hainan Army.
The ideal is plump, but the reality is skinny. Nelson's approach exposed the two destroyers at the rear of the fleet to the gunfire of Hainan warships.
The Bohai in the Hainan Fleet seized the opportunity, clung to the two destroyers, and focused its firepower on the attack. The destroyers were not as good as the battleships in terms of firepower and armor, so they could only hold on.
As the Bohai continued its fierce attack, the French destroyer was hit multiple times. The deck was penetrated by the Bohai's (0mm twin main guns), and a fire broke out inside the hull.
Soon, one of the French destroyers was shot through the middle of the hull by the main gun on the Bohai, and the shells exploded in the ammunition depot. With a loud noise, a huge fire broke out in the middle of the destroyer. The French officers and soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and blood flowed down the ship.
The deck was flowing and the hull was quickly heeling.
Adhering to the fine tradition of "beating a drowned dog", the Bohai continued its efforts and concentrated its firepower on another destroyer. Soon this destroyer followed suit and was sunk by the Bohai.
When the French battleship Dunkirk on the left flank attacked the right wing of the Hainan Army fleet, the Hainan Army flagship Nanhai had already arrived directly in front of the French France.
The French HMS France faces the Nanhai with its bow, so due to the angle problem, only a 308mm main gun on the bow can fire, which is far inferior to the Nanhai in terms of firepower.
As the saying goes, an opportunity cannot be missed and will never come back. Zhao Yujian made a decisive decision and ordered the bombardment of the France.
"Ruler two thousand one hundred, ready to load!"
"Fire!" was ordered, and four screaming shells, including the secondary battery, rushed towards the France.
"Boom!" A shell hit the 350mm armor on the front of the France. The flying shrapnel caused a bloody storm among the French officers and soldiers, killing and wounding many people immediately.
The disgraced Nelson got up. His exquisite military hat had been thrown away. Now he only heard a ringing in his ears.
Just now, he was supervising the battle on the bridge. The front armor of the warship was hit by a bullet. Although the 350mm rear armor was not penetrated, the glass was still shattered by the flying shells, and his left arm was scratched by the debris.
"Fight back! Fight back immediately!" Stunned and his self-esteem was challenged, Nelson suddenly became furious and ordered the fleet to fire back at the Hainan Army.
And luck cannot always accompany the Hainan Army. A shell from the Dunkirk hit the turret of the Donghai. The turret was destroyed and many gunners were killed and injured.
Near noon, the warships of both sides were still firing fiercely. So far, the naval battle between the two sides has lasted for three hours.
Because Zhao Yujian seized on the mistakes made in the formation change of the French Far East Fleet and took advantage of this favorable opportunity to sink two French destroyers and severely damaged the battleship Provence.
However, although the war has started so far, the French Far East Fleet is at a disadvantage and is in an extremely difficult situation. However, France and Dunkirk are still performing vigorously. Even the seriously injured Provence still has the ability to continue fighting.
Therefore, the two sides were at a stalemate on the battlefield.
Relying on this solid armor, the Dunkirk fought head-on with the Huanghai and destroyed the Huanghai's three gun emplacements. The naval officers and soldiers of the South Korean Navy suffered heavy casualties at the gun emplacements. Fortunately, the Huanghai remained stubbornly afloat and survived.
Didn't sink.
The Huanghai, which was covered with wounds, had lost the ability to continue fighting, and could only withdraw from the battle sequence in advance and sail westward, and finally evacuated from the battlefield.
However, although the Dunkirk severely damaged the Huanghai and took it out of the battle order, she did not suffer well. The threat of armor-piercing explosive bombs used by the Hainan warships caused very serious damage to the Dunkirk.
The front side deck was shattered, the right main gun was damaged, and the burning fire was still not extinguished.
Now the strength of the two fleets is almost the same. The Hainan Army still has three warships including the fleet flagship Nanhai, the slightly damaged Bohai, and the seriously injured Donghai.
The French army only had the slightly injured French flagship France, the seriously injured Dunkirk, and the half-disabled Provence. The strength of the two sides was even, but the Hainan Army still had a "killer", which was just in
The first submarine force that ever appeared.
The artillery fire was blazing, and the battle was raging. Soldiers from both sides were engaged in a life-and-death struggle here. The battleship France in the Far East Fleet entangled the Nanhai and the slightly injured Bohai, trying to attack the seriously injured Donghai together.
The situation on the Hainan Army's side was indeed very dangerous, but the Donghai still fought bravely, leaving the two French ships helpless.
At this time, the Hainan Navy Fleet's Nanhai and Donghai broke away from the entanglement of the France and pounced on the seriously injured Provence. The fierce bombardment completely caused the Provence to lose its combat effectiveness.
So far in the battle, the balance of victory has tilted towards the Hainan Army. The Donghai's bow main gun hit the starboard lower deck of the France, causing serious damage and igniting a fire.
The commander of the French Far East Fleet, Jerson, saw that the situation was critical. The Provence was seriously damaged and sank, the France was injured, and the facilities on the ship were completely destroyed. Only the Dunkirk was still struggling to hold on, and the enemy submarine was still hidden.
, he couldn't help but have the idea of retreating to preserve his strength.
[End of this chapter]
————I uploaded it very late today, because Xiaoyi checked the information carefully in order to make this naval battle more realistic. Otherwise, if the two sides just fired at each other from a distance, it would not be possible.
What does it mean? Please collect and support!————