In the waters about a hundred nautical miles south of the Great White Fleet of the Yin Army.
There is also a fleet painted silver gray heading north.
Bao Youzhi usually looks relaxed and confident.
However, today, his expression was unusually solemn.
A pair of thick eyebrows are almost knitted together.
"I would like to emphasize once again that if the warship is seriously damaged, you must abandon the ship decisively and escape. Don't worry about becoming prisoners. We have enough Japanese prisoners in our hands and will replace them for you soon. The ship cannot fall into the hands of the Japanese.
If the ship must be abandoned, the sea valve must be opened, and people can be taken as prisoners, but the warship must not fall into the hands of the enemy."
Bao Youzhi was also making final explanations, and the battle plan had already been laid out.
The reason why he made the previous request was because he was worried that his naval officers would accept death.
When the time comes, if we have to co-exist and die with the battleships, the losses will be huge.
Warships can be produced in shipyards very quickly, but naval talents must be cultivated and trained slowly.
Although the Navy of the Renaissance Army was established only a short time ago, it has never been defeated or even lost a battleship for so many years. Therefore, the naval officers have a strong sense of honor.
"Commander, we are entering the Eighth Strait ahead. There is a high probability that we will encounter enemy ships there." Chief of Staff Wang Huatao said in Bao Youzhi's ear.
"Hua Zi, you have told the captains of each ship that after a round of fighting, you must decisively leave the battlefield."
"Well, Commander, everything has been explained."
"After this battle, I may be the sinner of the Renaissance Army Navy. I will shoulder all responsibilities when the time comes. I hope you can continue to adhere to the tradition of our combined fleet." Bao Youzhi explained with some disappointment.
"Commander, you are the commander, don't be discouraged. I believe we will win the final victory, and Mazu will bless us." Wang Huatao comforted us.
On the sea, the torpedo boat detachment organized into the combined fleet was forming a horizontal line formation and advancing forward at cruising speed.
The row behind is sixteen frigates, also arranged horizontally in a row.
Behind them are eight "Zhenhai-class" destroyers.
This formation is very similar to a desperate charge formation.
He Wenxiong stood in the command cabin of a torpedo boat, holding a telescope in his hand and carefully observing the situation on the sea.
"Let all brothers put on life jackets and remember the commander's instructions. Be prepared to withstand shelling. Brothers, it's time for us to make a difference."
He Wenxiong's words were somewhat tragic.
Before the battle, Bao Youzhi told them that there would be losses in this battle.
The operational plan was kept highly confidential and was only communicated to mid-level officers.
The reason why ordinary officers and soldiers were not told was that they were worried about affecting the morale of the soldiers in combat.
On the other hand, I am also worried that everyone's actions will be distorted and the Yin army will not be able to enter the game.
Two hours later, the lookout shouted from the deck: "The enemy fleet has been spotted at two o'clock."
A shrill siren sounded on every torpedo boat.
All officers and soldiers were on high alert.
"Each boat selects a nearby target, launches torpedoes, and immediately breaks away from the battle."
He Wenxiong issued a final order, or a reminder.
News of the enemy engagement soon spread to Bao Youzhi in the rear.
At this time, traces of enemy ships also appeared in the eyes of the lookout on the "Zhenhai".
The enemy deployed a very conservative Tietong formation.
The Yin army's overall strength is stronger, and this is also the first time that the Great White Fleet has participated in a naval battle.
So it's not surprising that they have come up with such a seemingly conservative formation.
However, Bao Youzhi also saw from this that the other party's commander was a very cautious person.
Such an opponent will not be fooled easily. It is estimated that he will have to pay a higher price this time.
Sir Seymour also immediately discovered the Renaissance Navy. The entire fleet still maintained its original formation, but its direction changed.
Out of the habit of fighting, the Yin army began to look for the wind direction and began to seize the "t" prefix.
But the formation of the Renaissance Army made him feel strange.
The opponent actually used a horizontal formation to push over.
"Commander, why hasn't the other side changed their formation? Did they abandon the artillery on the ship?" Chief of Staff Gade asked.
"Move the frigates behind us to the front. I know what they are going to do. They want to get close to us and release torpedoes." Seymour finally reacted.
On the fifth day of April in the sixth year of Fuxing, in the morning, the weather was fine in the Badu Strait south of Lakshadweep Islands.
The showdown between the Renaissance Army's Combined Fleet and the Great White Fleet of the Great Empire officially began in the Eighth Strait.
At this time, the assistant fleets of both countries are basically here.
This decisive battle can be said to have determined the national destiny of the two countries.
"Accelerate, cut from both sides, and choose the opportunity to release the torpedoes." He Wenxiong saw the opponent's frigate moving forward, which was coming to intercept him.
He decisively ordered his sixteen torpedo boats to separate to the left and right sides. In this way, the horizontal formation became an inverted figure-eight formation.
At this time, the speed of the torpedo boat reached its maximum.
The bows of the catamarans are raised high, like wild horses running wild. Their sides are very low. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for enemy artillery to target the torpedo boats.
The frigates at the front of the Ying army were all stunned. This speed was at least half times faster than them.
You must know that these Yinjun frigates are also very fast.
The enemy frigates instinctively separated to both sides, trying to intercept these torpedo boats.
Although they have higher speed, these torpedo boats still entered the frigate's range after changing direction.
The Japanese frigates immediately opened fire on these torpedo boats.
The agile torpedo boat maneuvered in a snake-like manner to try to avoid these shells.
However, in the face of intensive enemy fire, some torpedo boats were still unfortunately hit.
The heroic torpedo boats are constantly approaching the center of the oval iron barrel array.
As the distance increased, the main guns on the middle cruiser also began to fire.
The torpedo crews tried their best to hide behind the fenders before it was time for them to take action.
The rapid-fire guns on the deck began to fire on the Yin Army's frigates.
One after another, the shells fell on the deck of the Japanese warship, erupting into clouds of smoke. However, the caliber of the artillery on the torpedo boat was too small to cause substantial damage to the enemy.
Just when the Yin Army's frigates were attracted by these torpedo boats, they separated left and right.
The frigate following behind rushed up.
They inserted themselves directly into the middle of the Japanese frigates and cruisers.
This is a dangerous area, but the Renaissance Army can successfully launch the torpedo after inserting it.
It turned out that Bao Youzhi had not planned to use torpedo boats to blow up the opponent's cruisers and battleships.
Because facing the enemy cruisers, battleships, and torpedo boat detachments that were like hedgehogs, they had no ability to get close.
There was no chance to launch a torpedo.
Sure enough, when the frigate intervened, the torpedo boat detachment turned again and stopped approaching the center.
Instead, they came together in groups of three or two to entangle the frigates approaching them.
I saw the frigate of the Renaissance Army breaking into the Tietong Formation.
The army was at full firepower.
At ten o'clock in the morning, with an explosion, the torpedo on a torpedo boat was detonated by an enemy shell, and half of the entire torpedo boat was blown off.
Immediately, more than a dozen officers and soldiers who survived on the boat jumped into the sea to escape.
He Wenxiong's eyes were already red from death.
He commanded his torpedo boat and fired four torpedoes at the nearest frigate.
The launch angles of these four torpedoes have been carefully calculated. Unless the opponent can reverse on the spot, there is no way to avoid them.
As expected, the Yin Army turned around in panic. However, a torpedo hit the Yin Army frigate.
With an explosion, the Yin Army's frigate seemed to be bounced up, and then fell down again.
On the Yinjun flagship "Warrior", Sir Seymour seemed to be looking down on the entire battlefield from God's perspective.
This "Warrior" inherited the name of the "Warrior" captured by the Donghua Empire.
At this time, the new "Warrior" came to the Indian Ocean with the fury of revenge.
"Come on, come on, let's see if you can break through the firepower network of the Dayu fleet."
The entire battlefield was filled with flying bullets, and huge splashes of water burst out from time to time on the sea.
The frigates of the Renaissance Army seemed to be light cavalry rushing towards the enemy's heavy cavalry. They seemed to be hitting the stone with eggs.
Two of the sixteen frigates had been destroyed by the enemy, and at this time they had not yet entered the torpedo range.
The frigate was still charging, and the eight destroyers of the third echelon led by Bao Youzhi also approached.
It's just that these eight destroyers set their targets on the frigates chasing torpedo boats all around.
The naval battle has been going on for an hour, and the battle has been intense from the beginning.
The Baath Army has lost four torpedo boats and two frigates.
However, only one frigate of the Yin Army was sunk.
Finally, after a difficult charge, the frigates of the Renaissance Army launched torpedoes at Da Ying's main fleet.
This is already the maximum range of the new torpedo.
This type of torpedo has never been used outside. Its range has been increased by 30% compared to the original torpedo, which was beyond Ying Jun's expectations.
At this time, four "Jianghe-class" frigates had been scrapped.
Seymour was originally confident that the Renaissance frigate would be completely destroyed after it entered the torpedo range.
Because the closer the distance is, the higher the hit rate of the Dayu fleet is. The intensive firepower of the fleet will definitely be able to tear all the frigates of the Renaissance Army into pieces.
"The fleet avoids torpedoes!" Suddenly, Seymour's eyes widened.
Because he saw the Renaissance Army launching torpedoes before they entered the firing range.
He knew that it was impossible for the enemy to throw torpedoes in advance and escape.
Then there can only be one answer, and that is that the enemy has entered the range.
The parameters of the Ba'ath Army's torpedoes in their possession have expired.
The Ba'ath Army's method of delivering torpedoes is a bit like covering fire.
The frigate launched all the torpedoes it carried in the shortest possible time.
At this time, in order to provide more firepower coverage, they all went to the Renaissance Army.
The battleships of the Yin Army were also inserted into the original cruiser array.
In other words, they are now on the same battle line.
The order to evacuate does not need to be given by Sir Seymour.
Each warship has spontaneously carried out evasive maneuvers under the command of the captain.
Everyone is filled with fear of torpedoes.
The lookouts on the warships worked hard to find the tracks of torpedoes under the sea. The splashes and the white lines faintly emerging in the water were their criteria for judgment.
The captain of the "Warrior" was also commanding evasion.
General Seymour was almost thrown to the ground by the rapidly turning battleship.
The larger the warship, the more difficult it is to avoid it.
Fortunately, these torpedoes can be launched from a long distance and the ships have relatively sufficient time to avoid them.
"Boom boom..." Two explosions were heard, and two cruisers of the Imperial Army were concentrated.
All four battleships actually dodged.
This is very unreasonable. It is obvious that the heavy battleship should be hit first.
Maybe Lady Luck is standing like a powerful navy this time.
But before Seymour could breathe a sigh of relief, there was a loud bang.
The sound was very deep and deep, just like the roar of a giant dragon.
A cruiser named "Victory" hit the battleship "Malaysia".
Seymour's heart skipped a beat.
But the Renaissance Army's attack ended there.
"Boom..." Another "Jianghe-class" frigate of the Renaissance Army exploded.
The large-caliber artillery shells of the Yin Army directly penetrated the deck and hit the cabin.
Facing the Juran on the Yingjun battleship, the Jianghe class has become a real crispy one.
A few years ago, the Jianghe class could still walk sideways on the sea. Now it has completely been reduced to a supporting role.
Can only be used as an auxiliary battleship.
The era of big guns and ships has arrived!
"Counterattack! Counterattack!" Seymour ordered.
The remaining frigates are trying to escape.
Of course Seymour can't cheapen these guys.
Although the Jianghe-class frigates of the Renaissance Army are faster, it will take some time for them to escape the range of the enemy battleships and cruisers.
During this period of time, the Yin army could still continue to harvest.
This wave of attacks seemed to be a gain for the Renaissance Army. Two cruisers were hit by torpedoes. Although they were not sunk, they were still severely damaged.
Another cruiser was seriously injured, and the battleship Malaya was slightly injured.
In this case, the Yin army still has three battleships and five cruisers.
Seymour quickly ordered three cruisers to support the frigates.
The destroyers of the Renaissance Army are cooperating with the torpedo boats to hunt down the frigates of the Japanese Army.
The destroyers of the Renaissance Army and the cruisers of Dayang are basically of the same level.
Seymour himself took the remaining battleships and began to hunt down the Renaissance frigates.
Bao Youzhi's heart was bleeding aboard the "Zhenhai".
He now wants to damage the opponent's frigate as hard as possible.
Everything is for the set goal.
It’s just that the price paid this time was really high.
"Boom, boom, boom..." The Yin Army's frigate suffered heavy losses under the encirclement and suppression by eight destroyers and torpedo boats of the Renaissance Army.
This is a bit like the flag-bearers of both sides changing stones.
"Hold on a little longer!" Seeing that the other party only sent three warships of the same level over.
Bao Youzhi did not rush to give the order to retreat.
He brought his main force to drag the Yin army's frigates here, which could buy some time for his own frigates to retreat.
On the other side, only ten frigates were left and were leaving the battlefield in the southeast direction with all their strength.
They all have injuries on their bodies.
They didn't even have time to save their companions who fell into the water.
Battleships on both sides sank, and naval officers and soldiers who fell into the water could be seen everywhere on the sea.
According to the rules of the battlefield, the victorious side will scoop up everyone.
The enemy soldiers naturally became prisoners.
Time passes very slowly on the battlefield, yet seems to go very quickly at the same time.
During the escape, two more frigates were hit by the enemy.
The seriously injured warship was unable to escape and had to sink itself.
According to the arrangements before the war, people can be captured, but battleships must not fall into the hands of the enemy.
Even though the order to escape was issued, the casualties were still very high, and most of the officers and soldiers died when they were shot.