Chapter 165: The Battle of Dajiao and Shajiao
Considering that the Ming army's naval combat capabilities are not high, it is unlikely that a large-scale naval battle will break out. More shore bombardment and close support missions must be performed. All Ming army artillery on the fort have passed this stage. [Read the latest chapter] So there are only 2 squadrons equipped with carronnons. 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 ship built by the shipyard for the next continental conquest operation.
The artillery boat is a specially reinforced single-masted IA-type 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 kind of boat is like the hard shell of half a hazelnut. The sides of the boat are 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 lee board with the same length as the hull is installed along the keel of the underwater part close to the bottom of the ship to offset the left and right shaking of the hull caused by the recoil of the artillery. There is a to two reinforced gun mounts. Used to install 1o-inch or 15-inch caliber mortars.
This kind of artillery boat participated in the critical battle of the Tiger and Zhoushan forts in the First Opium War. It has demonstrated its excellent target destruction effect on the opposite shore.
The artillery boats manufactured in Lingao used iron frame wood hull technology to simplify production and strengthen the hull structure. And some improvements have been made. Not only can mortars or large-caliber howitzers be installed, but also Hale rockets can be installed after the rack is installed. One boat for many purposes. The ordnance factory cast mortars of the same caliber and installed them on 10 gunboats.
"No need for now." Chen Haiyang shook his head. The bomb reserves on the gunboat were limited, and replenishing bombs at sea was time-consuming and laborious. He also had to keep the gunboat to deal with Ya Niang Shoe's main battery.
Shi Shishi's 5th Special Agent Boat Squadron came out first. Shi Shishi issued an order from the stern of the ship, and the entire squadron approached Shajiao in column formation.
In terms of range, the artillery on the spy boat does not have any advantage. In order to achieve a better firing effect, it must be close to about 400 meters to fire. But in terms of artillery power and shooting accuracy, the difference is not the same level.
The gunners on each ship of the Fifth Squadron raised their measuring instruments, measuring the distance, wind direction, wind, and ship. Quickly use the slide rule to calculate the aiming data.
"The entire squadron is loaded with grenades," Shi Shishi ordered, "Get ready to attack."
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 the original expectation, the distance between Dajiao and Shajiao was large, and there was no effective firepower between the two forts. As soon as the weak fort encountered a frontal attack, the small number of defenders immediately fell into the rhythm of firing. The old-style artillery itself is slow to reload and cool down. The gunner who has not received much training will be very busy when firing in an emergency. The gunfire appears to be very violent.
Shi Shishi noticed that the size of the water column splashed by the cannonballs was different, and the ballistic smoke traces of the cannonballs also 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-sized Folang machines. artillery.
Thick white smoke enveloped the Dajiao Fort. The shells landed far away from the spy boat, setting off a large water column - not to mention the issue of aiming, the enemy fired randomly before they even entered the area. This is China in this time and space. The typical characteristics of firearms used by various armed forces on the land. Although it looked spectacular for a while, many of the artillery soon stopped because the barrels overheated. Only some sporadic artillery shells were still firing and did not pose any threat.
"Right rudder 20 degrees, all ships are moving forward with me." 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 shell 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.
"Qi Shi Fourteen on the port side roared.
Linte 51 burst out with a huge roar. The cannons on the port side and the cannons on the bow and stern shook the entire hull. People on the ship clearly felt that the entire hull was pushed to the right by the recoil of the artillery. Lean over. The ship's planks and masts creaked. A spicy smell suddenly filled the deck.
6 The grenade dragged fire and smoke onto the beach in front of the fort, setting off a row of high water jets dyed yellow - the flagship's was the benchmark bomb.
"It's too close." Shi Shishi cursed, "How do you measure distance? 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 Dajiao Fort one after another. The faint black light of the explosion rose in the thick smoke. After the entire fifth squadron's artillery bombardment ended, the artillery fire from the Bighorn Fort had completely stopped. When all three squadrons completed their bombardment, the fifth squadron's turn was completed. The course was to the south, aiming the unpassed starboard side towards the Grand Cape Battery. The second round of shelling began.
The Dajiao Fort was originally built for assault, and the open fortifications could not withstand the bombardment of 24-pound grenades. It was soon silenced by such continuous bombardment. The entire fort was filled with smoke and fire. Completely lost 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. The ground was littered with the corpses of officers and soldiers killed by artillery fire. Most of the officers and soldiers guarding the platform 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 combat effectiveness under gunfire. The marines quickly boarded the sand corner and not only captured all the cannons, but also captured 11 defenders who were unable to escape. The navy's losses were extremely slight: in the battle on the 2nd, there were no other losses except that 4 spy boats were shot and 7 people were injured. The spy boat that was hit was just hit by some IA-type projectiles. The most serious damage was that Linte No. 75 was hit by a 9-pound shell that penetrated the side. However, it does not affect navigation at all.
The sailors who boarded the Tai Kok and Sand Kok forts dismantled all the cannons on the forts, put them on sampans and took them away. There are several captured pirate ships in the fleet that serve as loot transports.
After destroying the two corner forts, Chen Haiyang commanded the fleet to continue approaching the tiger's main defense area, Ya Niang Shoe Mountain. He decided not to rush directly through the East Water Channel - there were artillery fire on 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 Huxi Water Channel, and decided to lead the fleet into the West Water Channel to launch an attack. The artillery of Dahushan Fort posed no threat to his fleet. The officers and soldiers' assumption of using the Dahushan Fort was to block enemy ships that had broken through the east-west waterway from continuing upward. But Chen Haiyang's purpose is to capture the tiger first
A squadron of secret service boats entered the East Channel first. Because the east fort on Shanghenggang Island has not yet been completed, no cannons have been placed. Xu Ting stationed 300 soldiers and several IA artillery pieces at the fort construction site to cover Shanghengdang Island. When the officers and soldiers on Shanghengdang Island saw that the Kun bandits were about to enter the East Waterway, they quickly lit beacon smoke and alerted Huzhai.
Xu Ting was at the Chinese army's tent on the top of Mount Wu at this time. They watched helplessly as the two forts in Shajiao, Tai Kok, three or four kilometers away, fell and were helpless. Originally, he did not put many troops or artillery into these two forts. In the concept of Xu Ting and others, the Kun thieves would sail directly through the channel and take the upper rung line to break through the river blockade. They did not expect that they would eliminate the two corner forts one by one.
Now he watched the enemy take the East Channel, which was open because the forts had not yet been completed. Xu Ting 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 prior plan. He ordered Chen Qian to lead the naval warships in Huzhai to immediately go to the West Waterway to meet the enemy.
Entering the West Water Channel was the 13th Special Agent Boat Squadron commanded by Li Guang. After entering the waterway in column formation, he was immediately bombarded by ia guns from the shore. But type IA artillery can't hit the ship at all. Li Guang ordered to fire back. Several rounds of grenades quickly silenced the IA artillery behind the earthen wall. Then the spy boat approached the coast and used a "typewriter" to clear out the officers, soldiers and infantry gathered on the earthen embankment. The rain of lead bullets left the remaining people scattered with corpses in the field, and they were completely routed. The resistance on the west bank of Upper Henggang Island was quickly destroyed.
The 10 two-masted naval vessels led by Chen Qian did not rush directly to the West Waterway, but formed an array on the sea south of Dahu Mountain. On the surface, it was said that they only waited for the Kun thieves' ships to leave the West Water Channel and then attacked them head-on. In fact, Chen Qian knew that the enemy's ships were strong and powerful, and he did not dare to enter the West Water Channel to fight with his opponents, so he planned to fight under the cover of fire from the Dahushan Fort. However, Li Guang was not in a hurry to fight the enemy - the task assigned to him by Chen Haiyang's agents The purpose is to control the West Water Channel and cover the sailors' landing on Hengdang Island.
Shanghengdang Island is the "key" in the tiger defense system. As long as the defending party controls the island, it can effectively block the tiger's east-west waterway. Therefore, the focus of Chen Haiyang's Tiger offensive plan is to capture this island.
Since there is no fort on the west side of Shanghengdang Island, the fortification is weak, giving Chen Haiyang the opportunity to directly capture the island. As the signal from Li Guang's 13th Squadron to control the West Water Channel came out, the large boat emitted thick black smoke and sailed towards the West Water Channel, fully loaded with sailors and the 6th Mariner Team. a! ~!
