Under Zheng Wenxian's order, the fleet of the North Navy lined up diagonally at an angle of 30 degrees from southwest to northeast, with the port side facing south. When it was still 2 nautical miles away from the Dutch fleet, it opened fire and attacked the Dutch who were advancing in a double column. White water columns exploded wherever the fleet passed, and the sea surface seemed to be boiling.
The rules of engagement for sailing ships in the 18th century were to fire and wash the deck at a distance of one chain, that is, one-tenth of a nautical mile apart. However, the "ultra-long" distance fighting method of the Northern Navy was simply not suitable for the Dutch. This resulted in chaos on all ships.
Rear Admiral Kabien immediately ordered his men to raise flags and order the fleet to move toward the northwest at full sail at a nearly ninety-degree vertical angle. In this way, the cross-section of the fleet subject to bombardment will be greatly reduced.
Suddenly, a loud sound like a sledgehammer falling on an anvil startled the officers and soldiers on the "King Wilhelm IV". After a cannonball from the opposite side hit the anchor claw of the ship's bow anchor, it turned over nearly a circle, and then fell into the sea; and the cannonball deflected as a result, it was twenty meters from the bow of the ship. A column of water exploded outside.
"How can their cannon fire so fast?"
The Dutch, from officers to sailors, were astonished. In fact, from the time when the North Navy fired its first cannon to now, some thoughtful people have already counted. In just a short period of time, the opponent has fired at least dozens of shells.
The "African" had to withdraw from the battle because there was a big hole in the cabin and serious water leakage. The captain had to turn the ship around, facing the enemy with its stern, and ordered the carpenter to rescue him immediately.
On the deck of the "King Wilhelm IV", the boatswain and mates kept looking up at the sails in order to discover damaged sail pieces or cables in time. At the top of the mast the lookout roared loudly and never ceased. Kabien stood at the bow of the ship, deep in thought. Not far to his left stood the clerk and adjutant, and on the upper quarter deck were the waiting petty officers.
When cannonballs whizzed past in the distance, or hit the fleet with a loud explosion, he remained motionless. He even frowned when a shell flew over a dozen feet above his head and landed on the sea outside the starboard side, exploding a column of water.
Baron Peter Melville van Carnby, a Dutch admiral of Scottish descent, is famous for his participation in the Battle of Cape St. Mary during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. Although the "Ricinus" with only 32 guns commanded by Cabien at the time was defeated by the British "Flora", he successfully ensured that the escort merchant fleet arrived in Spain.
What confuses Kabien is that every time the enemy's explosive shells hit one's own ship and exploded, what rose up was not ordinary white smoke, but streaks of gray-black smoke accompanied by fire, and the explosion was The power is extremely terrifying.
In fact, despite the small caliber of the North Korean Navy's 75mm artillery shells, because they are filled with high explosives, the damage caused is much more serious than those of 24-pound or 32-pound explosive shells. The main reason is that except for the North Korean navy, the gunpowder used by all other countries in these years was "low explosives."
The so-called "low explosive" refers to the contact reaction of black powder at the particle level, which is a thermal reaction. Because all these years are granular gunpowder, heat is transferred through the granules, causing a chemical reaction to generate a large amount of gas, and then the gas expands and releases pressure. Therefore, when the explosive bomb explodes, all the white smoke that comes out is generated by the thermal reaction.
But "high explosives" are different. It is the combination of fuel and oxidizer at the molecular level. Because of this, the closer the contact distance, the faster the reaction speed. However, the explosion of high explosives does not rely on thermal reactions, but relies on shock waves to trigger chemical reactions. Basically, it can reach a speed of 6,000 to 9,000 meters per second, and then the energy generated will continue to trigger shock waves, and the cycle repeats. This is why high explosives require detonators for shock wave detonation; but if they are ignited directly with an open flame, they will become ordinary burning objects, containing at most some harmful gases.
But for Kabien, the confused thoughts only passed by for a moment. At the moment, his main consideration is how many battleships he has to lose to defeat his opponent.
"We are almost catching up with them, sir." The adjutant's voice was not loud, but Kabien could hear that the other party's voice was full of urgency and joy.
"Send a signal! Order all ships to spread their battle sails!"
"Yes, sir! Spread the battle sails!"
At this time, on the various gunboats of the Northern Navy, the gunners kept issuing orders, and the gunners carried out the orders angrily, violently bombarding the opponent's hull as quickly as possible; behind them, a group of Boxes of artillery shells were sent from the ammunition depot to various artillery positions like an assembly line. In addition to the captain, junior officers and petty officers were running around, helping here, talking about that, and dealing with any signs of chaos.
By this time in the battle, Zheng Wenxian had already determined the combat principles for this battle and conveyed them to the commanders of each ship through walkie-talkies. That is, just like skinning, first use the entire fleet to focus on attacking the outermost frigates and armed merchant ships of the Dutch fleet to weaken the enemy's number, and then use your own rapid maneuvers to destroy the enemy's flagship with a one-time saturation bombardment at close range. , forcing the remaining ships to surrender.
After working in Beihai Town Navy for so many years, Zheng Wenxian has long understood that nothing in the world can fire faster than a 75mm cannon, so as long as he keeps a distance from his opponent and ensures the accuracy of his shooting, it will be useless for anyone to come.
"Commander, the Dutch ship is about to sail within one nautical mile!"
"I saw it!" Zheng Wenxian put down the telescope and said to the adjutant beside him: "Inform all ships to form a single column and follow the flagship to the southwest! Keep the port guns firing!"
Half an hour later, when the Dutch fleet withstood the artillery fire of the Northern Navy, lost two more frigates and two armed merchant ships, and finally sailed to a distance of one nautical mile from the seven Siamese ships, all the Dutch were shocked. Something shocking happened.
I saw those Siamese ships with their sails lowered, as if being pushed by an invisible giant hand, drawing water lines on the sea, moving towards the southwest, and the speed was not slow. Although the Dutch fleet has always been in the windward position and the ship speed is very fast, the seven Siamese ships always keep a distance of one nautical mile from them, which also keeps the gunners on each ship in a state of staring.
What the hell! Major General Kabien was so depressed that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. The helmsmen and sailors on each ship in the fleet were immediately ordered to scramble again and hurriedly adjusted their course.
Kabien has worked in the navy for decades and has fought naval battles with the British and French. He has never seen such an opponent. He knew that the large iron ships of the Northern Navy did not need sails, but what was going on with these wooden ships in front of him? !
With sails and without sails, the latter actually ran faster than the former. Who the hell are you talking to to reason with?
At this time, on the "Amsterdam", the returning ship at the forefront of the Dutch fleet, several gunners who were operating the bow gun used winches and crowbars to move the 12-pound bronze long-barreled gun with the muzzle originally raised. It was raised five degrees, and with a roar, amidst the dazzling flames and the choking smoke, an iron ball roared out, but it only flew more than 900 meters and smashed out a large water column.
The Northern Navy fleet on the opposite side kept firing, and the firing became more and more precise, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. In just over half a minute, seven ships fired a total of seven rounds of cannon. Seventy shells fell, causing the mainmast platforms on most ships in the Dutch fleet to be blown to pieces.
The explosion shot out countless wood fragments, and the large pieces of ignited planks were thrown into the air by the shock wave, and then fell on the deck, posts and hammocks. The rigging of the foresail and yard was blown to pieces, and the sails There were countless holes in the film, and the uninjured sailors either ran back and forth carrying fire extinguisher buckets to put out fires everywhere, or they carried the injured to the lower cabin and handed them over to the doctors.
At this time, the Dutch on each ship were going crazy. They could no longer endure this situation of being beaten passively but unable to fight back. In order to increase the speed of the ship, boxes, cages, and wooden boards were being thrown into the sea on the deck. . A cage containing several ducks fell into the water, and the ducks kept flopping due to the weight of the cage; a frightened cat stood on top of a floating wooden box, screaming uneasily.
Finally, on the "Albrasedan", a large ship returning home with 74 guns, the main topmast was hit by two cannonballs. With a loud noise, the main topmast suddenly fell, and the pulleys, wooden blocks, and The ropes fell like a hailstorm, and the people alive on the deck didn't even have time to shout, so they ran around holding their heads.
On another ship named the "Zudeburg", the upper rear deck had long been turned into a piece of rotten wood, and crimson blood flowed from the top to the deck drain hole under the fragments of the poop stairs. The hammock grid was broken into broken iron bars, and four gun barrels rolled down from the gun mounts were turned over next to the main tower. The safety net on the upper rear deck to prevent broken wood pieces from falling down was also punched with a big hole. The scraps of sail gear accumulated inside were scattered everywhere. The whole boat became crooked, and it seemed that as long as the waves were bigger, it would be smashed to pieces.
The rear topmast of the "Prince Frederick" was knocked off, and a fire was burning in the middle of the "Dephasing Signal". As for the "Scorpion", which had most of its mast blown off, it could only leave it to fate. Drifting aimlessly on the sea.
The time Zheng Wenxian had been waiting for finally arrived. He ordered his ships to suspend firing, and then followed him, diagonally inserting the Dutch fleet from west to northeast at an angle of thirty degrees.
Up to this point in the battle, the mast of the "William IV" has not been injured. Kabien thinks it is a miracle. However, the side plates and deck of the ship have been badly damaged by the bombing. There are many wounded people, and it is almost an empty shell.
From the telescope, he saw his opponent adjusting direction and rushing towards his dilapidated fleet, so he said to the adjutant beside him: "Go down below and prepare all those who can fight. Spread all sails, all ! And the mizzen topsail.”
Ten minutes later, on the messy main deck of the "William IV", everyone had been divided into two groups. One group ran out from the lower deck and gathered at the bow, while the other group was already making preparations amidships. The purser's face was pale, the ordnance chief's face was full of black smoke, the cook was holding a large kitchen knife in his hand, and the rest of the people also had various weapons in their hands, and even the ship's barber and his assistant came out. .
In the lower gun deck, each gun crew was ready. At this moment, they felt that as long as they were allowed to fight one round, it would be just one round of cannon.
However, Zheng Wenxian would definitely not give the Dutch this opportunity. When his ship was still one-half nautical mile away from the "King Wilhelm IV", the helmsman made a sharp turn to the left, and the entire hull instantly tilted to the left. The gun windows on the lower deck on the right side of the ship have all been opened, and the muzzles of ten black guns have been stretched out, followed by bright bursts of fire.
"It's over!"
The Dutch gunners in the two gun decks stopped breathing, and their minds were empty and their eyes widened with boundless fear. Kabien, who was standing at the bow of the ship, also sighed inaudibly.
In an instant, clusters of bright fireballs erupted from the entire port side of the Wilhelm IV, and the half-meter-thick double-layered oak hull turned into countless fragments. In the next ten seconds, ten gun crews fired five salvos on Zheng Wenxian's ordinary-looking Siamese ship.
When the black smoke dissipated, several large holes were punched out in the left hull of the entire "William IV", and there were numerous casualties on the three decks. The same scene also happened on the "Delft", "Prince Frederik", "Gertrude", and "Willemstad and Bottselaer".
Several armed merchant ships and frigates were so frightened that they turned around and ran away. However, three ships were separated from the fleet of the Northern Navy. With the roar of the high-power diesel engines, the other party saw that they could not run away and soon lowered their flags and surrendered. After that, there was no sound of gunfire on the sea, but from time to time, a dense burst of gunfire would be heard on each captured ship.
At 11 a.m., Zhao Xin, who was at the frontline headquarters, received a telegram from Zheng Wenxian:
"Command: Thanks to King Zhao's attention, Wen Xian commanded the fleet to defeat the Dutch fleet in one fell swoop at 7 o'clock in the morning after a fierce battle on the surface of the Thousand Islands. Fortunately, he did not disgrace his mission. In this battle, seven brig frigates were sunk, and each ship was It was equipped with thirty-two guns; it sank one three-masted battleship with a total of 74 guns; five two-masted armed merchant ships, each with fifty guns; captured two three-masted battleships, and five large ships returning home. The four frigates, named 'King William IV' and 'Prince Frederick', were all seriously damaged and needed to be towed back to Bacheng Shipyard Island for repairs.
In this battle, countless enemy soldiers were killed, and the exact number is still being counted. Another 1,135 enemy soldiers were captured, including the enemy commander Major General Carnby and many captains.
Due to the difference in the number of ships and artillery between the two sides, I ordered the fleet to use long-range bombardment to weaken the enemy's strength, and achieved victory through a one-time saturation attack at close range. After several close-quarters battles after boarding the ship, many enemy soldiers who resisted were killed, and the national flag and military flag on the enemy's flagship were captured.
After this battle, when boarding the ship for clearance, enemy soldiers lit gunpowder barrels and attacked in a sneak attack, causing two people to be seriously injured and four others to be slightly injured. Two other people were injured in the foot and suffered fractures while carrying artillery shells during the shelling. Due to the limited medical conditions on the ship and the large number of enemy wounded, we are requesting that they be immediately sent back to Bacheng for treatment and custody. In addition, a lot of artillery shells were consumed during the battle, so I requested to return to Bacheng for supplies. Zheng Wenxian, commander of the 1st Southbound Squadron of the North Korean Navy. "
(End of chapter)
