Chapter 147 Pearl River Estuary Task Force
The navy was responsible for executing this operation. The specific combat area was expanded to the entire Guangdong sea area, with the Pearl River Estuary as the key combat area.
"The goal of this military operation is to create as much turmoil and chaos in the Pearl River Delta as possible. Therefore, it is not only necessary to organize artillery bombardments, but also to conduct small-scale landing operations to destroy and attack targets on the shore." Chen Haiyang elaborated. The battle determination is, "Our attack targets are mainly government facilities, and we try not to attack civilian targets. However, if we encounter resistance from local armed forces, we will conduct a comprehensive annihilation operation."
In principle, ships at sea, unless they are navy warships of the military, will not be captured unless the other party first engages in provocative and aggressive behavior.
"Due to the special nature of this operation, each ship participating in the operation will be equipped with more sailors than usual, and will also carry a number of additional artillery pieces of the Army to be needed for launching a landing battle."
"If this combat activity is carried out, the warship will enter the Pearl River." Mond stood up and asked, "We know nothing about the hydrological conditions of the Pearl River in this time and space. We are not very clear about the shoals and tidal conditions."
"No, we know it very well." Xu Xu said, "Do you think that the ships of Gaoguang Shipping and the transport ships of our navy have not conducted hydrographic surveys since they have traveled to Guangzhou so many times?"
"So we have enough hydrological data of the Pearl River for the captains to use?" Mond spent many days in the hospital and a nursing home after the five-masted ship rescue incident.
Xu said: There are many such intelligence materials in the intelligence database established by the Foreign Intelligence Service, and manpower is currently being concentrated to compile them. Soon the Navy will be able to obtain unprecedentedly detailed information on the hydrology and channel conditions of the Pearl River Estuary.
"The navigation conditions in the Pearl River waters are very good. Even the Holy Ship can reach Guangzhou from the Pearl River Estuary. The small and medium-sized sailboats we mainly use will not have any problems. So there is no need to worry about the water depth - and it is better now than in the 21st century. 400 years earlier, sedimentation in the Pearl River was much lighter."
Chen Haiyang said: "The Pearl River waterway is still quite complicated. In particular, the landing battle will enter the near-shore waters, so some indigenous captains who are familiar with the Pearl River waterway will also be arranged to participate."
Although everyone has strong confidence in their own technical superiority, slightly experienced naval officers still have great concerns about this Pearl River Estuary Battle. This is not only because the hydrological conditions of the Pearl River Estuary and the interior of the Pearl River are complicated. There are dark sands under the river. The waterway has not been regulated and the conditions are complex. It is difficult for large and medium-sized sea-going ships that mainly rely on sail power to sail or perform maneuvers such as U-turns.
During the Opium War, when the British Navy entered the Pearl River waterway to attack Guangzhou, it mainly used paddle steamers as towing vessels to tow sail warships and artillery boats to gain mobility.
"We don't have paddle steamers for the time being, but we do have large motor boats." Chen Haiyang said, "Large boats have very good maneuverability and can be used to tow ships. In addition, they can also be used to transport marines ashore and escort. "
Wen Desi disagreed: "How did the British fleet get to Baietan during the Opium War? They don't necessarily have more hydrological data than we do. Didn't they send thousands of tons of warships to Guangzhou? Even if there is no hydrology For information, it is enough to use a small boat to measure the water depth and place channel buoys at the same time. The sailing speed should be slower at most."
"In order to ensure this blockade and harassment operation, the Navy will set up a Pearl River Estuary detachment." Li Di began to report on the planned fleet formation.
The squadron's battleships will mainly use spy boats - that is, modified traditional Chinese-style two-masted and three-masted ships. Some of the spy boats will reduce the amount of ammunition they carry and transport as many naval troops and artillery as possible.
16 special service boats and 8 fast single-masted patrol boats serve as the armed fleet, and 20 special service boats are organized to transport naval troops and supplies. Considering that the Pearl River Estuary is 500 nautical miles away from Lingao, the "Big Whale" and several specialized supply ships were also included.
At the beginning of the operation, the navy will first establish a temporary fortress on Hong Kong Island. It serves as the logistics supply and rest base for the Pearl River Estuary Detachment of the Navy.
Regardless of the future commercial value of Hong Kong Island, this place is located outside the Pearl River Estuary, has an excellent port and certain fresh water resources, and is an ideal base for the activities of the naval detachment. Crossing the group's remote location in Hainan, the maritime power is located in the westernmost part of the Guangdong and Guangxi waters, and has little influence on the entire Guangdong coast. Once Hong Kong Island is occupied and a permanent detachment and a naval base are established, it will be equivalent to having a strong presence outside the Pearl River Estuary. Every move can affect Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta region. Not only did it control Guangdong's foreign trade, but it also protected its own route security.
Of course, this move is likely to be viewed by Liu Xiang as a challenge to his maritime hegemony in Guangdong. However, the General Staff and the Intelligence Bureau judged that even so, Liu Xiang might not dare to open fire with the crossing group immediately - Zheng Zhilong was still staring at him. If he attacks the Crossing Group with all his strength, Zheng Zhilong will never let go of this good opportunity to attack him with the Crossing Group.
Li Di expressed concern: "But the Pearl River Estuary is his territory after all. This is his fundamental place and he will not retreat easily."
"If he wants to start a war, destroy him completely," Chen Haiyang said. "Sooner or later we will have a war with Liu Xiang. This is inevitable."
Having said that, Liu Xiang is very strong after all, and the waters of the Pearl River Estuary are the areas where his fleet often operates. Compared with the sparse Ming army camp posts on the shore, it is entirely possible for Liu Xiang to use his numerical advantage to deal with the squadron.
The navy's plan is: If such a situation occurs, it will use the Hong Kong base as a support point to firmly attract Liu Xiang's main force near the Pearl River Estuary, and then dispatch the main navy force from Lingao to carry out a devastating blow to Liu Xiang. The plan is even to prepare to dispatch the holy ship to fight if necessary.
The squadron sent to the Pearl River Estuary was personally led by Chen Haiyang. There are quite a few naval officers who are willing to be fleet commanders, but most of them have just learned how to operate a ship. After devouring a lot of naval knowledge alive, only God knows whether it can be digested. Therefore, the Executive Committee and the Navy repeatedly considered that it would be better for Chen Haiyang to personally lead the fleet. At least he was a real naval officer.
“I really feel a little bit incompetent,” he said. To this day, his entire maritime career has been as a captain. The concept of how to command a sailing fleet in combat basically came from books and Wen Desi.
Modern naval officers like Chen Haiyang do not know any more than Wen Desi about how to command battleships in the age of sail. Anyway, their knowledge comes from books on naval history.
"Mr. Wen, do you want to go with the fleet?"
"Of course, I'm happy to." Wen Desi agreed readily.
"That's great. I think the burden is too heavy. I've never done a sailing fleet."
"I haven't done it either. Anyway, it's each other." Wen Desi touched the beard on his chin, "Which ship are you going to choose as your flagship?"
"Lint 11, this is a large three-masted ship with nearly 300 tons. It is the largest ship in the task force. It also has many cabins and can carry the headquarters. Will you come with me on this ship? "
"Okay." Wen Desi nodded. Although it was a ship of nearly three hundred tons, it was actually still a very small ship. Even a large European sailing ship with a displacement of over a thousand tons like the Gothenburg has a very limited internal volume. The environment was not much better after being crowded with sailors and supplies while out to sea. But it won’t take a few days to reach Hong Kong Island. At that time, the headquarters will be directly located on Hong Kong Island.
Shi Shishi licked his fingers with satisfaction - this was a bad habit that he had never gotten rid of in the naval officer training class. Of course, a person who has been on a ship since he was very young and has been wandering around cannot have very good etiquette. The chest of his naval officer's uniform was stained with grease. A heavy lunch left him feeling drowsy.
Shi Shishi can no longer see many traces of his past as a pirate. Although his body used to be very strong, his posture was crooked and his head was always tilted to one side. Now queue training and systematic physical training have greatly improved his mental outlook and physical posture. He became strong and well-proportioned, and his beard was neatly trimmed.
The dark blue naval officer uniform he is wearing is a new type of summer dress. In addition to using cotton and linen blends to increase breathability, the stand-up collar has also been changed to a small open collar. 6 Naval officers are all worried about wearing stand-up collar clothes in summer. The heat is uncomfortable.
Shi Shishi is now a navy captain - commanding a squadron of spy boats. He has learned how to command the squadron to form at sea: the most important thing is to line up the entire squadron to fire in a column; how to seize the upper hand in a naval battle, and how to grasp the best firing distance and time.
He had never thought that a naval battle could be carried out in such a way. In the past, he knew a little about it, but no one had ever summarized it so accurately and meticulously, and explained it clearly in words. If he couldn't understand the description in the words, , as well as numerous diagrams and model demonstrations to promote his understanding.
He learned the semaphore, learned how to judge the distance and navigation of the target... Finally, he knew the rules for firing salutes, how to eat and how to speak as a naval officer... Naval training and red tape gradually made Shi Shishi Became unrecognizable.
However, such days made him feel very happy - because Shi Shishi knew that he had now become a "noble status" person. As a pirate, no matter how many men and ships he had, he would still be a bandit. It doesn't sound loud enough. a! ~!
