Chapter 7 The first battle of attacking the Qing court (4)
? A sound of artillery broke the silence on the sea. On the sea more than ten meters to the right of the Chinese fleet's second-class battleship Taotie, a water column of more than ten feet high was stirred into the sky. Several people on the side of the ship were
The sailor was also splashed with sea water.《》
This attack was first launched by the Qing court, and the battle for the Chinese army's combined fleet to attack the fort officially began.
Although it is only half of the fort, there are more than 90 artillery pieces, including more than 50 red cannons. Especially ten 4,000-pound red cannons, which is indeed not a vegetarian. Although the Qing court's cannon casting level is higher than
Nanjing is far away, but one door costs four thousand
The maximum range of the red-coat cannon weighing 500 kilograms can reach about two to three thousand meters. Although most of the Fubo Army's fleet is equipped with heavy artillery, the barrels of the naval artillery are relatively short, generally no more than one foot long.
The range is about one thousand meters.
Because in the naval battles of this era, the pursuit of distance is not blind. Due to the technical limitations of this era, once the range of the artillery shell exceeds one thousand meters, there is basically no accuracy. Even if there is a crosshair positioning, it is useless.
You can only hit it as far as it goes. Therefore, in a naval battle, an excessively long range does not mean much. For example, the British [Naval Regulations] stipulate that no enemy ship is allowed to fire before it enters within 400 meters.
Cannon fire easily.
Therefore, compared with the red-coat artillery on the fort, the combined fleet's naval guns are obviously at a disadvantage in terms of range, but this is also the advantage of the defender. Otherwise, in terms of the number of artillery, the artillery on the fort is far away.
Far less than the total number of naval guns.
Under the firepower of the fort's artillery, the warships responsible for attacking the fort head-on took an S-shaped route, avoiding the enemy's artillery fire, and kept approaching the fort. In front of each warship, and to the left and right, water columns continued to rise.
, but although the Qing army's artillery bombardment was not very accurate, many warships of the United Fleet were still hit by artillery shells in the intensive artillery fire.
The first was the second-level battleship "Piaoxiu" that rushed forward. The hull was hit by three cannons. Two of them fell on the deck of the ship, smashing two large holes the size of footbaths in the deck of the ship. Another one hit the ship's building.
, the beating caused pieces of wood to fly, twelve soldiers and crew members were killed on the spot, and more than twenty others were injured.
Another second-level battleship, the Taotie, was also hit twice, but the damage was lighter than that of the Piaoxiu. A shell swept across the ship's deck, killing only two soldiers and damaging some of the ship's decks.
items, and another shell hit the side of the warship, which also opened a large gap more than six feet wide, and also killed four or five soldiers.
The third-tier cruiser Tianyong suffered the most damage. Five shells were hit in the hull. Two shells hit the deck of the ship, knocking down one mast. The other three shells all hit the bow side of the ship, knocking the bow off.
The jib and the bow of the ship were all smashed to pieces. One of the shells hit the deadliest point near the waterline. Although it did not penetrate the hull, it also caused the ship's armor to burst and seawater to seep in. The ship had to withdraw from the battle and carry out emergency repairs.
In the process of approaching the fort, the combined fleet was hit by more than ten warships, and two of them withdrew from the battle. It can be said that the first round of artillery fire by the Qing army achieved very obvious results.
But the Qing army's advantage ended here, because the combined fleet had already begun a counterattack. Although no warships had yet come within range, the Tomahawk Thunderbolt rockets could already be used.
A large amount of gunpowder smoke was spewed out from more than a dozen warships, and each thick rocket shot out long flames at the tail and flew towards the fort on the shore.
Although the Qing army also had Thunderbolt rockets at this time, due to technical reasons, the range was much worse than that of the Chinese army. The longest range could only be more than 600 meters. The Tomahawk Thunderbolt rocket was specially made by the Navy and the longest range could reach one
It is more than 1,500 meters and can hit the Qing army's fort.
After the fleet's counterattack began, the Qing army's firepower immediately dropped a lot. Although there was no accuracy at this distance, the target of the fort was very large, and there would always be twice as many missed hits on the target, even if it was just a small hit.
Some of them could also cause a certain blow to the Qing army's forts, making it impossible for some artillery pieces to fire calmly.
In addition, the Tomahawk Thunderbolt rocket also mainly uses incendiary attacks. One rocket flew directly into the air above the fort and exploded. The flaming grease was like a goddess scattering flowers, scattering in all directions, and then falling almost all over the fort was filled with stars.
There was a little bit of fire. At this time, the fort was filled with cannonballs and gunpowder, and there was no spark at all. Therefore, many Qing soldiers were busy putting out the flames on the fort.
Fortunately, the Qing army's management of gunpowder was quite strict. All gunpowder was not released openly, but was packed in boxes covered with rawhide. At the same time, a large amount of water and mud were prepared on the fort, and the Chinese army fired
The number of Tomahawk Thunderbolt rockets was not large, and the flames that fell on the fort were quickly extinguished. Even if a little spark splashed on the powder box, a large spoonful of mud would
When it was poured on, it was also extinguished by the rapid beam. Of course, some of the soldiers were stained with kerosene, and some were injured and killed by the iron fragments and iron sand ejected by the Thunderbolt rocket explosion, but in the end nothing serious happened.
It was a mistake. It was just that the Qing soldiers were busy putting out fires or rescuing themselves. As a result, there were fewer manpower to fire artillery. The firepower also dropped to only about two-thirds of the previous level.
At this moment, the first batch of warships attacking the fort also entered their firing range one after another. They aimed their broadsides at the fort and opened fire. Hundreds of artillery pieces suddenly made deafening explosions, and the smoke from the muzzles dispersed.
Covering the entire sea surface, various solid bullets, explosive shells, shotgun shells, and small thunderbolt rockets were fired at the Qing army's forts like haildrops.
On the offshore sea surface, in the fields on land, and around the tall fort, a series of huge explosions and roars were heard. Mud splashed, smoke rose, and there was a sea of fire. The fierce artillery fire soon overwhelmed the firepower of the fort.
.And immediately completely covered the two forts. Under the bombardment of the fleet's artillery fire, the forts began to shatter and the soldiers were blown away.
Because the Qing army also understood that once the fort was lost, they could not escape responsibility, so they braved the fierce artillery fire of the combined fleet and tried their best to fight back. Although the Qing army was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of firepower, the fort was still strong after all.
It was much larger than a warship. Although a few places were blown up, most of the artillery positions were basically intact. Qing troops could still rely on the forts to fire back.
Although the fleet now occupies a large advantage, the Qing army still has considerable counterattack force. One cruiser was cracked by artillery fire and began to take in water and sink. This was also the first battleship of the combined fleet to be sunk since the war began.
ship. And then another destroyer was hit in the powder magazine
The location caused a big explosion throughout the ship. The entire ship was blown to pieces. Countless flaming sail fragments were also hit by the aftermath of the explosion and flew around. As a result, the two warships were unlucky.
The sails hit burning objects and caught fire, forcing them to withdraw from the battle.
After the two sides fired at each other for nearly an hour, the combined fleet was sunk by four warships, and another five ships withdrew from the battle. Two ships belonging to Fubo's army sank and three retreated, and those belonging to Zheng Chenggong's fleet sank two and retreated two.
However, the losses of the fort were also not small. The firepower was less than half of the original, and about 40% of the artillery had been completely destroyed.
However, despite this, there is still a long way to go before the fort is completely destroyed. The battle is also extremely fierce and cannot be sustained.
At this moment, a sound like the sky collapsing and the earth shaking, shook the earth. Many Qing troops on the fort were unsteady and fell to the ground. The warships in the sea also shook violently. Even in the military port
The Qing warships inside and the fort north of Dagukou could also be heard very clearly.
Then behind the Qing army's fort, a huge fireball rose. Even in broad daylight, it was still very dazzling. The loudness of the sound and the intensity of the fireball caused the battlefield to become completely silent for an instant.
, all bombardments on both sides were temporarily stopped, because the officers and soldiers on both sides did not know what was happening, and the entire Dagukou Fort was stunned by the thick smoke billowing from the sky.
A Tomahawk-type Thunderbolt rocket launched from the Xianxiu flew over the entire fort and exploded above the ammunition depot behind the Qing army's fort. The burning kerosene spread from the air to every corner of the powder depot and from the cracks in the tiles.
, penetrated under the eaves and corners of the walls, and detonated all the tens of thousands of kilograms of gunpowder piled in the warehouse.
Huge fireworks shot up into the sky, and almost all buildings within a few miles were destroyed. A large number of broken stones and broken artillery wreckage were hit by steam waves, with the explosion point as the core, scattered in all directions.
Many also fell into the sea.
Of the two forts built on the south bank of Dagukou, the one directly in front of the ammunition station was almost completely destroyed. The Qing soldiers and soldiers on the fort were all exhausted and sent flying into the sky by the explosion. Almost all of the hundreds of Qing soldiers guarding the fort were destroyed.
No bones were left after being blown up, and after the war, statistics showed that there were only fourteen survivors, and all of them were injured, and nine of them had their arms and legs cut off.
The other fort was a little further away from the explosion point, so it was slightly better, but nearly half of the buildings were destroyed by the explosion, and most of the Qing soldiers on the fort were killed and injured. After the explosion, the fort south of Dagukou
, there are less than ten artillery pieces capable of firing and bombarding.
Cheng Gang, who was commanding the battle on the Yue Fei, was four or five kilometers away from the fort, but he could see the entire explosion process clearly, so he was so shocked that he opened his mouth wide and couldn't close his eyes for a long time. But he waited.
After he understood this, he immediately realized that this was an excellent opportunity, so he quickly ordered to launch a landing operation at the fort on the south bank of Dagu Port.
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