Chapter 666 The Siege Tactics of the Great Sea Battle
Robert Blake, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, knew that hundreds of ships required huge military expenditures every day.
European countries have just emerged from the quagmire of the Thirty Years' War, the people are extremely depressed, and there is not much remaining military spending.
Spain and England are in a slightly better situation because they have colonies to transfer benefits, and they both need to borrow from private banking syndicates.
The combined fleet hesitated outside Gibraltar for more than half a month without firing a single shot.
Huge amounts of military expenditures are spent every day. The nobles of various countries cannot afford this price and continue to put pressure on the king and prime minister.
Robert Blake, commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, knew that if this situation continued, all countries would definitely discuss removing him from the position of commander.
Robert Blake convened a military meeting of the Combined Fleet. The Combined Fleet could not wait any longer. Even if it had to pay a certain amount of casualties, it must achieve some results.
The meeting was successfully held, except for France, which had been basically wiped out. Only a French aristocrat named Lefa Oakes, who had no position, was left to attend the military meeting.
Robert Blake spoke openly and honestly to everyone about his concerns.
These people are all old foxes, and there is no need to show off in front of them.
Once an attack is launched, it depends on which fleet will carry out the mission with the greatest casualties.
Unless he makes it clear, these people may not fully carry out his orders.
After the commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, Robert Blake, told the relevant matters, he asked: "This is the matter, and we cannot delay it any longer.
We must achieve results as soon as possible. You have been thinking about it for so many days. What are your ideas? Let's analyze the pros and cons together."
George Monk, commander-in-chief of the English fleet, was a staunch supporter of Robert Blake.
The first person spoke: "The only strategy we can adopt now is to attack Gibraltar.
If you want to attack Gibraltar, you must face the powerful coastal defense artillery of the Great China Empire.
The casualties of the combined fleet will not be too low.
If the Imperial Chinese Navy fleet takes the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on us from the Strait of Gibraltar.
The combined fleet must deal with attacks from coastal defense artillery and the Imperial Navy fleet.
It is difficult for us to coordinate operations on both fronts. Even if we achieve some results, we will have to pay more casualties."
Robert Blake, commander of the Combined Fleet, frowned and said: "This stupid method will cause heavy losses to the Combined Fleet, and we must avoid this situation from happening.
If it cannot be avoided, then we must try our best to reduce casualties."
The reason why he said this was to prevent fleets from various countries from having their own small ideas, thinking that it would be too difficult to storm Gibraltar and not wanting to fight this war.
If nothing is prepared, Robert Blake is not willing to let the British naval fleet attack Gibraltar now.
Vice Admiral Marton Tropp of the Dutch Navy frowned and said: "It's not okay to be so reckless. Naval combat is an art.
Instead of being like those idiots in Spain who just know how to pass by recklessly.
In this way, even if the combined fleet gathers all the elite naval forces in Europe, it will be exhausted.
The cost of destroying the Imperial Navy of Great China is the destruction of the combined fleet, so why should we launch this war?"
Spanish Admiral Oquendo heard his old rival belittle the Spanish navy.
Even if they did lose to the Dutch navy, which was weaker than them, these words would still be very harsh.
Spanish Admiral Oquendo sarcastically said: "Marton Tropp, you made it very clear. Can you come up with a feasible solution to the situation at hand?
As a member of the Spanish Navy that you mocked, I now have ideas to deal with the situation at hand."
When Vice Admiral Marton Tropp heard what his old rival said, he immediately stood up, waved his hand and said: "If you have a way, then you can say it.
The glory of the navy cannot be just talked about with words, it must be demonstrated on the battlefield."
Robert Blake, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, saw the growing tension between the two men.
He couldn't sit back and watch the two of them fight on this occasion.
The combined fleet will also attack Gibraltar. Once the internal strife breaks out, everything will stop.
Robert Black stood up with a smile. He stepped forward to grab Oquendo, and used his eyes to signal George Monk to grab Marton Tropp.
The quarrel between the two must not be allowed to escalate.
Robert Blake, commander of the Combined Fleet, looked at Oquendo and asked: "Mr. Oquendo, you just said that there is a way to solve the problem we are encountering now.
What exactly is the method? Let me tell you for everyone’s reference.”
Spanish Admiral Oquendo saw that the situation was now under control, and everyone looked at him.
He is not a young man in his twenties or thirties, and he will not be impulsive. The reason for doing this is to improve the performance of the Spanish fleet.
The Spanish fleet has made outstanding contributions to the combined fleet. The Spanish fleet will not participate in the first wave of exploratory attacks with the highest casualties.
Robert Blake, as an Englishman, would do everything possible to delay the attack rounds of the English fleet.
The first wave attacked Gibraltar and withstood the most powerful artillery strikes from the Chinese Empire. This task could only be left to the Dutch fleet.
As a small country in Europe, the Netherlands has no legitimate reason to withstand the pressure from the alliance of France, England, and Spain.
It is precisely because of this that Marton Tropp wanted to stop Oquendo, which created a tense situation.
He also did this to preserve the newly developed Dutch navy.
Spanish Admiral Oquendo expressed his battle plan in concise language.
"The Combined Fleet is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, and I think you have all forgotten about the Mediterranean Sea.
The fleets of Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire in the Mediterranean are not small naval fleets when put together.
If the situation is urgent, we, the Spanish Habsburg Kingdom, can mobilize more than a dozen warships in the Mediterranean Sea.
Don’t forget, the Great China Empire is a big country in the East, and their homeland is thousands of miles away from Europe.
We in Spain have acquired important information. The Great China Empire has no factories near the Mediterranean Sea that can produce ammunition.
What does this mean? This means that unlike the United Fleet, the Great China Empire can consume unlimited ammunition and can obtain supplies from the country at any time.
The Strait of Gibraltar is blocked in the Mediterranean direction, and the Strait of Gibraltar is blocked in the Atlantic direction.
We will send another fleet to pretend to attack Gibraltar and consume the ammunition of the Great China Empire's coastal defense artillery.
The Imperial Navy fleet attacks the Mediterranean fleet.
The combined fleet can take advantage of this gap and enter the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Imperial Navy Fleet of the Great China is attacking the Combined Fleet. This is not exactly what we want. It happens to be a decisive battle with the Imperial Navy Fleet of the Great China in the Atlantic Ocean.
It is more in our interests for the Imperial Navy fleet to remain stationary in the port.
Cargo ships from the Mediterranean direction cannot get through, and the shells of the coastal defense guns will soon be exhausted.
This is exactly the siege tactic I came up with."
Spanish Admiral Oquendo glanced sideways at Marton Tropp.
He smiled secretly in his heart, this was not only a decisive blow to the Great China Empire, but also a decisive blow to the Dutch Navy Fleet.
The Dutch navy has not made any achievements now, and it must be used as a target to consume the ammunition of coastal defense artillery.
Dutch Navy Vice Admiral Marton Tropp has always felt that Oquendo has bad intentions, and now he has completely exposed his thoughts.
But this strategy was a conspiracy. The Dutch navy knew that there was a big pit ahead, but they had to jump into it.
Marton Tropp was very unwilling. He quickly found a loophole and asked: "The Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea are separated by the Strait of Gibraltar.
Our communication ships cannot pass through the Strait of Gibraltar, so how can the two armies communicate effectively.
If communication cannot be carried out quickly, the Great China Imperial Navy fleet, with its powerful strength, is likely to defeat them one by one."
This is just an insignificant component of his plan.
The reason why this person did this was to stop his plan.
Oquendo snorted coldly and said: "A frog at the bottom of a well cannot see the vastness of the sky.
As a naval general, don't you know about lighthouses.
Just build a lighthouse-like device on the road, such as a beacon tower.
You can quickly send messages between the two places.
The Great China Empire has very few military forces, and they can only defend Gibraltar.
Our country mobilized heavy troops on land and attacked Gibraltar many times but failed.
But it also curbs the possibility of the Great China Empire moving north and ensures the safety of the Beacon Tower."
When Dutch Navy Vice Admiral Marton Tropp heard about the Beacon Tower plan, his eyes darkened.
Robert Blake, commander of the Combined Fleet, clapped his hands and shouted loudly: "Okay, this strategy is very clever.
No matter how the Great China Imperial Navy Fleet reacts, the Combined Fleet has a way to deal with it."
After the combined fleet determines the next plan, it will send troops to implement the plan.
Countries with different ideas originally do not want their navies to become cannon fodder.
Countries exchanged interests in private and finally decided to conduct feint attacks in a rotational manner.
The first day was the Netherlands, the second day was England, and the third day was Spain.
The three major naval countries mixed warships from other countries to form three squadrons.
Each squadron attacks for one day, constantly feigning attacks on Gibraltar, and consuming the ammunition of the Great China Empire.
…………………………
November 12, 4343 (1646 AD).
The commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, Robert Blake, waved his hand, and a passionate horn sounded.
All the warships of the Dutch fleet raised their sails and prepared to pretend to attack Gibraltar.
Robert Blake had received news that the Mediterranean Fleet had sent a message through the beacon tower and that they were besieging the Strait of Gibraltar.
When the Mediterranean Fleet arrives at the designated position, the Combined Fleet will officially begin its attack.
In order to continue to delay time, Robert Blake gave the Mediterranean fleet time to assemble and the beacon tower to be built.
He had exhausted all means and made a commitment to end the war as soon as possible, so he was not removed from office.
Vice Admiral Marton Tropp of the Dutch Navy frowned and ordered the fleet to attack Gibraltar.
This result was achieved only after he threatened to withdraw from the United Fleet.
Each squadron rotates after one day. Even if the Dahua Empire has sharp artillery, the price it bears is not high.
However, the Dutch naval fleet withstood the strongest firepower attack from the Chinese Empire, and this result is irreversible.
Even in the combined fleet, all countries have a common goal, but each country is treated unfairly.
Vice Admiral Marton Tropp of the Dutch Navy saw that the fleet had entered the range of the coastal defense artillery.
The artillery of their warships has not yet been able to hit the shore.
In this case, the only option is to speed up and rush to the shore.
Even if the fleet suffers heavy losses, it still has to achieve some results.
The fleet's victory determines the distribution of post-war spoils.
Marton Tropp heard only a huge explosion.
The warship ahead of him on the left was hit by a cannonball and immediately burst into flames.
Marton Tropp was in a very heavy mood. There was a huge gap in the power of artillery between the two countries.
If it weren't for the small number of people in the Dahua Empire and your huge artillery gap, he would definitely not dare to lead the fleet to attack.
Marton Tropp personally raised the flag and ordered the ships to speed up the attack.
…………………………
Admiral Li Pinglang saw Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang approaching with an anxious expression.
He listened to the constant roar of cannon outside.
"Chief of Staff Gu, this should be a general attack by the combined fleet.
They finally couldn't bear it anymore. I thought these people could bear it better than me.
I'm waiting for reinforcements, and I should know by now what the combined fleet is waiting for these days?"
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang sat down and drank a large cup of tea. He said: "Admiral Li, you are really too confident. I can't compare with you.
It is now clear that the combined fleet is blocking the direction of the Atlantic Ocean, and European countries have formed smaller Mediterranean fleets to block the direction of the Mediterranean Sea.
They want to use siege tactics to trap our army in Gibraltar."
Admiral Li Pinglang laughed after hearing this: "Haha, these people don't understand the situation of our army at all.
Most of the firearms brought and transported by our army have been transferred to Gibraltar, and a small number remain on the Aegean islands for emergency use.
They blocked the Strait of Gibraltar, but that didn't do much good.
If weapons do arrive, it means the warships supported by the Navy's Third Fleet have arrived.
Instruct Niu Baoguo to use coastal defense artillery to bombard the combined fleet hard without saving ammunition.
I want to use cannons to make these European navies remember."
Admiral Li Pinglang's order quickly reached the ears of Niu Baoguo, the Acting Governor of Gibraltar.
Niu Baoguo smiled happily and said: "Admiral Li has a rare luxury. Brothers, give me a hard beating.
There is no need to pursue two cannons to destroy a target, even if it is five or ten cannons, it is still very worthwhile."
After Niu Baoguo issued the order, Gibraltar's coastal defense artillery became even wilder.
The aiming time of the coastal defense artillery was significantly reduced. When the gunners thought it was time to fire, they no longer hesitated and fired immediately.
The accuracy of coastal defense artillery dropped significantly, but more enemy ships were hit.
Niu Baoguo used his telescope to see the wooden enemy ships on the sea, which could not withstand a blow from the coastal defense artillery.
The enemy ships' artillery has a very short range, and they have to get close to the shore to hit the shore defense guns.
The power of the artillery is still very weak and cannot break the reinforced concrete shell of the coastal defense gun.
Niu Baoguo said happily: "Our army will definitely win this war."
Admiral Li Pinglang stood on the deck of the ironclad cruiser Qilianshan.
The Imperial Navy Fleet of the Great China Empire will also determine when it is appropriate for the Imperial Navy Fleet of the Great China Empire to attack based on the situation on the battlefield.
They will naturally attack the enemy. The Imperial Navy fleet came to Europe just to have a good fight. (End of this chapter)