Chapter 165 The Battle of the Big Horn and the Sand Horn
Chapter 165 The Battle of Big Horn and Sandy Point
Considering that the naval combat capabilities of the Ming Army are not high, the possibility of a large-scale naval battle is unlikely, and more shore bombardment and close support missions are performed. All Ming Army artillery on the fort exceeds this range. Therefore, there are only 2
The squadron was equipped with carronade guns. In order to avoid excessive losses, Chen Haiyang asked the squadron equipped with 24-pound cannons to conduct the shelling first.
"Should we dispatch artillery boats?" someone suggested.
This time heading to the Pearl River Inland, the fleet also brought a special artillery boat, which was a firepower boat specially manufactured by the shipyard for the next mainland conquest operation.
The artillery boat is a specially reinforced small single-masted vessel designed for ground attack. It is characterized by its shallow draft and can sail to shallow water areas to carry out shelling. The outer shape of this boat is like the hard shell of half a hazelnut, and the sides are made of
It is much higher than the ordinary sampan, so that even if it is violently shaken, it will not easily roll over into the water. A wooden leeboard with the same length as the hull is installed along the keel of the underwater part close to the bottom of the boat.
In order to counteract the side-to-side rolling of the hull caused by the recoil of the artillery, there are one or two reinforced gun mounts in the middle part of the boat, which are used to install 10-inch or 15-inch caliber mortars.
This type of artillery attack boat participated in the critical battles of Humen and Zhoushan forts in the First Opium War. It demonstrated its excellent effect in destroying targets on the shore.
The artillery boats manufactured by Lingao use the iron-frame wooden shell process to simplify production and strengthen the hull structure. Some improvements have been made. Not only can mortars or large-caliber howitzers be installed, but also Hale can be fired after installing the launcher.
Rockets. One ship with multiple functions. The ordnance factory cast 20 280mm caliber mortars and installed them on 10 gunboats.
"Not for the time being." Chen Haiyang shook his head. The ammunition reserves on the artillery boat were limited, and replenishing ammunition at sea was time-consuming and laborious. He also had to keep the artillery boat to deal with the main battery of Ya Niang Shoe.
Shi Shishi's 5th Special Agent Boat Squadron was the first to go out. Shi Shishi issued an order on the stern of the ship, and the entire squadron approached Shajiao in column formation.
In terms of range, the artillery on the spy boat has no advantage. In order to achieve better shooting effects, it must be fired close to about 400 meters. However, in terms of artillery power and shooting accuracy, the difference is not the same level.
The gunnery commanders on each ship of the fifth squadron raised measuring instruments to measure distance, wind direction, wind speed, and ship speed. They quickly used slide rules to calculate the aiming data.
"The entire squadron is loaded with grenades!" Shi Shishi ordered, "Get ready to shoot!"
The officers and soldiers on the fort probably did not expect that the enemy ships would not leave through the channel as soon as possible, but instead moved closer and closer to the fort. According to original expectations, the distance between Dajiao and Shajiao was relatively large, and there was no formation between the two forts.
Effective flanking firepower, as soon as the weak fort encountered a frontal attack, the small number of defenders immediately fell into chaos. The rhythm of the artillery fire began to be disordered. The old artillery itself was slow to reload and cool down, and the gunners who had not received much training encountered it.
When firing in an emergency, your hands and feet will be in a hurry. The artillery fire looks very messy.
Shi Shishi noticed that the water jets splashed by the cannonballs were of different sizes, and the ballistic smoke traces of the cannonballs were also very confusing. He knew that there were very few Hongyi cannons on the fort that could pose a threat to ships, and most of them were probably large Folang machines.
of artillery.
Thick white smoke shrouded the Big Horn Fort, and the shells landed far away from the spy boat, setting off large and small water jets - not to mention the issue of aiming, the enemy fired indiscriminately before they even entered the range. This is this time and space.
Typical characteristics of firearms used by various armed forces on Chinese soil. Although it looked spectacular for a while, many artillery pieces soon stopped due to overheating of the gun barrel. Only some sporadic artillery pieces were still firing, and the artillery shells did not pose any threat.
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"Right rudder 20 degrees, all ships follow me forward!" Shi Shishi saw that his flagship was less than 600 meters away from the fort. At this distance, the 24-pound cannon on his ship had enough power and accuracy to bombard the fort.
A cannonball landed not far from the side of the ship. Following the turn of the flagship, the Fifth Squadron all turned to the right and aimed the port side at the fort.
"Port salvo!" Shi Shishi shouted.
Linte 51 erupted with a huge roar. The four cannons on the port side and the two cannons at the bow and stern fired a salvo, causing the entire hull to shake. People on the ship clearly felt that the entire hull was hit by artillery fire.
The recoil force pushed it hard to the right and tilted. The ship's planks and masts made creaking sounds. A spicy smell suddenly filled the deck.
Six grenades trailed fire and smoke onto the beach in front of the fort, setting off a row of high water jets dyed yellow - the flagship fired the benchmark bomb.
"Damn! It's too close!" Shi Shishi cursed, "How do you do distance measurement? Fix it quickly!"
The other three spy boats following the squadron's flagship quickly corrected their distance, and the second and third rounds of artillery fire hit the Big Horn Fort one after another. Faint black flames of explosions rose in the thick smoke. After the shelling of the entire fifth squadron ended,
The artillery fire of the Grand Cape Fort had completely stopped. When all three squadrons had completed their bombardment, the turn of the fifth squadron was just completed. The course pointed south, and the unfired starboard side was pointed at the Grand Cape Fort. The second round of bombardment began.
The Dajiao Fort was originally built as a surprise attack, and the open fortifications could not withstand the bombardment of 24-pound grenades. They were soon silenced by such continuous shelling. The entire fort was filled with thick smoke and fire, and it completely lost its combat effectiveness.
Several sampans carried sailors to the Big Horn Fort. Most of the fort made of sandbags had collapsed, the artillery was tilted this way and that, and the ground was strewn with corpses of officers and soldiers killed by artillery fire. Most of the officers and soldiers guarding the fort had fled.
Then, the spy boat squadron bombarded the Shajiao Fort. The terrain of Shajiao was more favorable than that of Dajiao, but in a hurry, the officers and soldiers only built a sandbag fort at the foot of Shajiao Mountain. It also quickly lost its combat effectiveness under the artillery fire. The navy
They quickly boarded the sand corner and not only captured all the cannons, but also captured 11 guards who were unable to escape. The navy's losses were extremely slight: in the two-hour battle, in addition to 4 spy boats being hit by bullets, 7 people were injured
There were no other losses. The spy boat that was hit was only hit by some small projectiles. The most serious damage was that Linte 75 was hit by a 9-pound shell on the side. However, it did not affect navigation at all.
The sailors who boarded the Big Point and Sand Point forts dismantled all the cannons on the forts, loaded them on sampans and took them away. There were several captured pirate ships in the fleet that were specially used as transport ships for loot.
After destroying the two forts, Chen Haiyang commanded the fleet to continue approaching Ya Niang Xie Mountain, the main defense area of Humen. He decided not to rush directly through the East Water Channel - there were cross-fires from both sides of the East Water Channel, and many ships would be shot if they passed directly.
Causing unnecessary casualties and losses.
From the reconnaissance information, Chen Haiyang knew that the officers and soldiers were completely undefended in the Humen West Water Channel, so he decided to lead the fleet into the West Water Channel to launch an attack. The artillery of the Dahushan Fort posed no threat to his fleet. The officers and soldiers intended to use the Dahushan Fort to block a breakthrough.
The enemy ships in the east-west waterway continued to move up. But Chen Haiyang's goal was to capture Humen first.
A squadron of spy boats entered the East Channel first. Because the east fort on Upper Hengge Island had not yet been completed, no cannons were installed. Xu Tingfa stationed 300 soldiers at the fort construction site and several small artillery pieces to cover Upper Hengge Island and Upper Hengge.
When the officers and soldiers on the island saw that the bandits were about to enter the East Water Channel, they quickly lit beacon smoke and alerted Humen Village.
Xu Tingfa was at the Chinese army's tent on the top of Wushan Mountain. He was helplessly watching the fall of the two Dajiao Shajiao forts three or four kilometers away. Originally, he did not put many troops or artillery into these two forts. After Xu Tingfa and others
In their concept, the bandits would sail directly through the channel, take the upper rungs straight to break through the river surface, but they did not expect that they would eliminate the two corner forts one by one.
Now he saw the enemy taking the East Water Channel, which was open because the fort had not yet been completed. Xu Tingfa was very anxious - after passing the East Water Channel, only Dahushan Fort could intercept enemy ships, and the artillery of Dahushan Fort was obviously insufficient.
.As a preliminary plan, he ordered Chen Qian to lead the naval warships in Humen Village to immediately go to the West Waterway to meet the enemy.
Entering the West Waterway was the 13th Special Agent Boat Squadron commanded by Li Guangfa. After entering the waterway in a column formation, he was immediately bombarded by small artillery from the shore. However, the small artillery could not hit the ship at all. Li Guangfa ordered the artillery to fire back. Several rounds of grenades
The small artillery behind the earthen wall was quickly silenced, and then the spy boat approached the coast and used a "typewriter" to clear out the officers and soldiers and infantry gathered on the earthen embankment. The rain of lead bullets left the remaining people with corpses everywhere, and the army was completely routed. Go to Hengdang Island.
West Bank resistance was quickly crushed.
The 10 two-masted navy ships led by Chen Qian did not rush directly to the West Water Channel, but lined up on the sea south of Dahu Mountain. On the surface, they only waited for the Kun thieves' ships to leave the West Water Channel and then attacked them head-on. In reality, they were attacked head-on.
Chen Qian knew that the enemy's ships were strong and powerful and he did not dare to enter the West Waterway to fight with his opponents, so he planned to fight under the fire cover of Dahushan Fort. However, Li Guangfa was not in a hurry to engage in battle - the task assigned to him by Chen Haiyang was to control
West Water Channel, covering the landing of naval troops on Hengdang Island.
Shanghengdang Island is the "key" of the gateway in Humen's defense system. As long as the defending party controls the island, it can effectively attack the east-west waterway of Humen. Therefore, the focus of Chen Haiyang's Humen offensive plan is to capture this island.
Since there is no fort on the west side of Shanghengdang Island, the defense is weak, giving Chen Haiyang the opportunity to directly capture the island. As Li Guangfa's 13th Squadron sent the signal to control the West Water Channel, the Dafa boat emitted thick black smoke.
, loaded with sailors and marines, sailed towards the Western Waterway.