The Ming heavy cruiser fleet appeared and sank the Isuzu. The report was immediately sent to the Mutsu command room.
Takasu Shiro felt it was unexpected. The Ming fleet had no intention of leaving the battlefield and seemed to have made up its mind to accompany the Japanese army in night battles. Takasu Shiro found it incredible, and the staff officers on the flagship also found it incredible. No one could
I can’t guess what the Ming army planned. Could it be that the Ming army was very confident in its ability to fight at night? Could it be that it underestimated the level of the Ming army’s fleet?
However, judging from the first confrontation between the Isuzu and the Rakui, it seems that this is not the case. The level of the two armies is already very clear. In the command room of the Mutsu Fleet Headquarters, Takasu Shiro and the staff made a brief analysis.
They all reluctantly came to this conclusion: The Ming army may be worried about the weakness of its fleet and feel that night battles can be seen clearly by everyone, which can offset part of the strength gap. If during the day, everyone can see clearly, then the Japanese fleet
The numerical advantage is fully exerted.
This explanation is a bit far-fetched, but there is no more reasonable explanation at the moment. Moreover, in the face of an ever-changing battlefield, any commander may become confused for a moment and make a decision that is not good for him. This is not surprising.
Therefore, Takasu Shiro was happy to "accompany" the Ming fleet to fight the night battle. He ordered the main force to continue moving forward, and must take advantage of the night to complete the main decisive battle between the two battleships.
In the middle of the distant flagships of both sides, the first wave of "sub-main force" heavy cruisers from both sides were fighting. Although it was night, the distance between the two sides was already very close, and the flares in the sky never stopped, so the sea was bright and clear.
It was as bright as day, and the hit rate of both sides at this time was actually much higher than that of the artillery battle that was tens of thousands of meters apart during the day. In just two rounds, after both sides fired two salvos, the three heavy cruisers of the Ming Army
All of them were injured, and three of the four Japanese cruisers were also injured.
The naval battle at this time was as brutal as the battlefields in the early days of the American Civil War. When the war began, both sides had been equipped with new weapons, rifles, but they still fought according to the old tactics of the musket era: the two armies were only fifty miles apart.
Rice, they lined up in a dense formation, standing straight and shooting at each other. In the blink of an eye, the first rows of both sides fell into a pool of blood like wheat...
The current maritime battlefield feels almost like this. The Ming warships kept firing while moving forward. The distance between the two sides quickly shrank: 4000 meters, 3500 meters, 3000 meters, 2500 meters... And as the distance continued to shrink,
, the accuracy rates of both sides quickly evened out, and the Japanese army's gunnery advantage was quickly offset. But as a price, after the three Ming army warships reached the "ideal distance", each one was already in flames. Similarly, the four Ming warships were already in flames.
The Japanese cruiser was also covered in bruises and fireworks.
The heavy cruisers on both sides were still firing at each other tenaciously, dragging thick smoke and flames. The light cruisers and destroyers on both sides were also shuttled back and forth in front of the formation, firing torpedoes into the other side's fleet while bombarding the other side's light cruisers and destroyers. Suddenly,
A huge column of water rose up from the side of the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro, and then a huge fireball shot into the sky. The Haguro was hit by a torpedo.
Now, the situation has become three to three, with the Ming army's Yue Fei, Shizhong, and Sun Wu fighting against the Japanese Mogami, Mikuma, and Myoko. Both sides have been moderately or severely damaged. Sun Wu and Yue Fei
The HMS, Mikuma, and Myoko all had their hulls tilted, their speeds were greatly reduced, and they could barely hold on to fire despite the blazing flames. Only the Sechu and Mogami were left with relatively strong combat effectiveness, and they were still killing each other at close range.
At this time, the protagonist finally appeared. The three Japanese fast battleships "Kongo", "Haruna", and "Kirishima" appeared from the night, bringing with them the three heavy cruisers Ashigara, Atago, and Maya, and
Several light cruisers entered the battlefield with murderous intent. The loud voices of the battleships opened up. Suddenly, the sea water on the side of the Ming Army cruise fleet seemed to be boiling, and tall water columns rose one after another. Within five minutes, the Sun Wu and the Yue Fei
They were all killed in the flames by the explosion of the Japanese battleship's main gun. Only the Shizhong suffered less injuries and was luckier to not be hit by the battleship's main gun. At this time, it turned the rudder and set off a smoke screen while leaving the battlefield.
The Ming Army cruiser fleet, which had just been facing death as if it was a desperate battle, was now like a rabbit. Whether it was a heavy cruiser, a light cruiser, or a destroyer, as long as they could run, they all turned their rudders and accelerated, leaving the battlefield as if they were running for their lives, and at the same time, they were heading towards the battlefield.
Then the torpedo was fired to slow down the Japanese ship's pursuit.
How could the Japanese battleship that had just appeared allow the remnants of the Ming fleet to run away? It still opened fire and shelled while speeding up the pursuit. Destroyers and light cruisers drove in front of the battleship, keeping an eye on the torpedoes for the battleship. Once a torpedo was discovered, they immediately followed and illuminated it with searchlights.
Let the battleship evade in time.
The three "King Kong-class" battleships of the Japanese army are all fast battleships. They have also been modernized and modified, with a maximum speed of 30 knots. However, they are still about 1 knot slower than the heavy cruiser Seizhong. The Seizhong was in the artillery battle.
There was moderate damage, but the power system was not damaged, the parts below the waterline were not damaged, there was no water ingress, and the speed was still not reduced at all. The speed of other light cruisers and destroyers was faster.
The squadrons of the two armies chased like this for nearly an hour, and the distance gradually increased from more than 5,000 meters at the beginning to more than 7,000 meters. Even with the use of flares in the night, the Ming fleet was almost invisible.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed through the darkness far ahead, and four giant battleships could be vaguely seen in the flash.
The Japanese fleet that was pursuing them had also been mentally prepared for a long time, knowing that the main force of the Ming army would appear sooner or later. As expected, it was now waiting here.
Although they were three against four, the Japanese battle fleet was not afraid at all. From the captain to the artillerymen, they were very confident, knowing that they were the battleships with the highest level of sea combat in the world, and also the battleship with the highest level of night combat. The Ming Army Battle Fleet
The moment they appeared, the officers and soldiers of the Japanese battle fleet understood that this was the moment that the whole country of Japan had been looking forward to for a whole generation. And they, not only witnessed this moment with glory, but also personally wrote the history that was about to happen next.
The four battleships of the Ming Army faced the Japanese ships in a favorable position of "across the board", and deliberately maintained a very low speed before the first round of firing. On the one hand, they reduced their own turbulence and improved their hit rate. On the other hand, they also
It can reduce noise and avoid being heard by the Japanese ship's sonar as much as possible, which is conducive to ambushes.
After the Ming battleships opened fire in the first round, almost at the same time, the Japanese battleships responded very quickly. Before the Ming army's shells fell, the front turrets of the three Japanese ships also opened fire. Immediately, the entire
The Japanese fleet turned at the same time, changing from horizontal formation to column. As each warship made a big turn in the white waves, all the turrets at the front and rear gradually lit up.
The Ming army's first round of artillery shells fell on the Japanese fleet. Most of them were water columns. Only the front side of the Kirishima's front turret was hit by a main gun shell. In the big explosion, fireballs were accompanied by steel sprays. But the flames and black
The smoke quickly dissipated, leaving only scattered flames on the front deck of the Kirishima. The huge and solid front turret still lay there, black and immobile, like a large cast iron pillar.
Although this was a 15-inch main gun shell, it hit the thickest part of the battleship's armor. The King Kong took one shot and still did not slow down. It turned menacingly, spitting out black smoke, firing its front and rear main guns and body guns at the same time.
The pipe chirped and turned, ready to go.
The first round of artillery shells from the Japanese ships also fell on the Ming fleet, but it was just a column of water, and none of the shells hit. It was not because the Japanese ships were not accurate, but because the Ming army did have a lot of coincidences.
In addition, the first salvo fired by the Ming army was the result of being stationary and aiming for a long time. Moreover, when the Japanese ship opened fire, it was still chasing in a hurry and was not prepared. Firstly, the speed was very high and the shooting platform was unstable. Secondly, the Japanese ship
They are all facing forward, and only the front turret can fire, so it is not a salvo and the number of shells fired is too few.
At this time, the two sides were about 6,000 meters apart, sailing in the same direction at medium speeds, basically forming a standard line-shaped "battle fleet", and began to officially shoot at each other.
At this time, Commander Takasu Shiro, who was far behind on the Mutsu, also received a report and knew that the Ming army's battle fleet had appeared. Not only did it appear, but he also "played a little cleverness" and actually tried to ambush three of our fleet's fast ships.
Battleship. Although Takasu, as the fleet commander, is very confident in his battleships, he knows that the opponent now has four ships and his own has only three. What's more, the Kongo is a fast battleship, which sacrifices a certain amount of armor thickness in exchange for high speed. And
He also knew that the "Changping-class" battleship of the Ming army opposite was one of the best battleships in the 1920s. Not only was it thickly armored, but its gun caliber was one inch larger than that of the "King Kong-class", and it had also been modernized.
Except for speed, it beats the "King Kong class" in every aspect.
The situation of the three Japanese battleships is very dangerous now. If the main force "Mutsu" squadron does not join the battle in time, the three Kongo-class Japanese ships will definitely suffer.
It's time. Takasu Shiro's stern eyes scanned the dark ocean outside the window, took a deep breath, and calmly ordered: Accelerate, left rudder, new heading: 270.
In the vast darkness, four huge battleships - Mutsu, Ise, Hyuga, and Yamashiro, surrounded by the cruisers Tama, Kiso, Avukuma, Kawauchi, and a dozen destroyers, began to slowly
Accelerate slowly and turn due west.
The heavy iron-gray bow moved slowly in the sea water, setting off higher and higher white waves as it accelerated, heading towards the battlefield ahead.