The steam engine is repaired... and you can escape!
If the turret cannot be repaired, then you have no choice but to escape!
Moreover, the instructions given to Rear Admiral Cochrane by the Commander of the Second Indian Fleet also included "lureing the enemy", which was to lure the Ming Army's battleship formation to the west after destroying or severely damaging the Ming Army's armored cruiser detachment, led by Lieutenant General Hood. The main force of the Second Indian Fleet is there!
The main formation of the Second Indian Fleet has a total of 22 battleships and 15 airship carriers... That is the real trump card of the Royal Navy!
As long as the four powerful heroes of the Nanyang Fleet are deceived and killed, the winner of the Battle of the Malacca Strait will still be the British Empire!
Thinking of this, Major General Corcoran said firmly: "Turn northwest, forced ventilation, top speed!"
"Yes, Major General!"
"Major General, are we going to escape?"
a voice asked suddenly.
"No!" Rear Admiral Corcoran said, "We have to lure the enemy... to lure the enemy's battleships under the guns of the main force of the Second Indian Fleet! Even if we can only lure one Hero-class ship, we are still the winner! "
One Hero-class for... twenty Edgar-class!
This transaction is a loss no matter how you calculate it, but it is better than not being able to exchange for one!
Thinking of this, Major General Corcoran said: "Issue an order...disband the formation and retreat. May God bless everyone!"
Rear Admiral Corcoran actually knew that it would be difficult for the Edgar-class ships with large targets to escape, but there are still many second- and third-class cruisers and destroyers belonging to the British and Indian Navy on the battlefield. Among them, the second- and third-class cruisers and destroyers Most of the cruisers were older, slower ships and fell behind when the Edgar class charged. The destroyers caught up, but their targets were too small and they still had a chance to escape.
Now, run away if you can... Keep the people and build more battleships with thick skin, thick flesh and powerful firepower and move them back...
"Headquarters, that Blake-class car has turned around and seems to be running away! Do we want to chase it?"
Zhang Bao had just commanded his battleship "Huo Jinghuan" to destroy an Edgar-class ship. He seemed to be in high spirits. Hearing the report from his men, he quickly raised his telescope and looked towards the Blake. This Blake-class is Edgar's "big brother" (Edgar is Blake's "youth version"). It is stronger than the Edgar-class in every aspect, and of course its value is extremely high.
While Zhang Bao was thinking about whether he could catch up, the communications officer suddenly reported loudly: "Headquarters, the order to close the military gate... prohibits us from pursuing the escaped Blake-class, and in 30 minutes The battle will end within 10 seconds, and we will retreat to the Batam anchorage. Don’t be reluctant to fight!”
"What? The battle will end in 30 minutes?"
Zhang Bao quickly raised his telescope and looked around. There was already a "chaotic battle" on the sea. There were four Hero-class ships, eight Great-class ships, seven Hero-class ships, and a dozen Edgar-class ships that were beaten to smoke. In the melee. Although these Edgar-class are not the opponents of so many "heroes, heroes and emperors", it does not seem to be easy to sink them all - after all, the shells can easily open holes below the enemy ship's waterline. If the ammunition does not hit, It's very difficult to sink a 7,000-ton patrol equipment in one go.
The Edgar class is a new first-class ship, which uses surface-hardened nickel steel during construction. When a pointed armor-piercing bullet hits armor steel with this hardness, the tip of the bullet may be shattered, and it is easy to ricochet when hitting sloping armor with a certain inclination, and the effect is not very good. Although the Ming Navy has begun to equip blunt-nosed armor-piercing projectiles, the number of blunt-nosed projectiles carried by each battleship is not very large, so it must be used sparingly... After all, there are still many sharp-nosed ballistics in stock!
In addition, the main guns of the Emperor and Haohan class warships are both 240 mm, and their destructive power is not as powerful as the 280 mm main gun of the Hero class. The Edgars that were sunk before were almost all heroic results.
Thinking of this, Zhang Bao loudly ordered: "Right full rudder... let's go fight the Edgar class and sink two for me within 30 minutes!"
"Yes! Headquarters!"
The helmsman of the battleship "Huo Jinghuan" responded and turned the steering wheel all the way to the right. The giant ship of more than 20,000 tons turned again, letting go of the Blake, which was "luring the enemy", and headed towards a beaten ship. The blazing Edgar-class pounced...
Seeing the battleship "Huo Jinghuan" turn around, Major General Cochrane breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he had failed to lure the enemy. He said to the communications officer in a sad tone: "Use a long-wave radio to generate electricity for the battleship Victory... Our troops failed to lure the enemy. The flagship Blake had to withdraw from the battle due to turret failure. The remaining armored cruisers were being besieged by more than 20 battleships of the Ming Dynasty's Nanyang Fleet. The situation was critical..."
...
Major General Corcoran's report was sent by ticking radio waves to the flagship of the Second Indian Fleet, the Victory, which had entered the Strait of Malacca and was heading to Luba Island. This Victory-class ship and its sister ships are mass-produced ships built by the British working class with "997" as the hero-class nemesis. The Second Indian Fleet alone received 10 ships.
In addition, the Second Indian Fleet also has 12 Indomitable-class ships that are enough to fight against the Ming Dynasty's Emperor-class.
A total of 22 cutting-edge warships are the trump card in Emperor William's hand!
According to the estimates of the Duke of Wellington and the Marquess of Nelson, relying on these 22 battleships and the dozens of Victory-class and Indomitable-class ships currently being delivered and built...the British Empire could theoretically be Even gained the upper hand in the battle of 1832!
But this start seems a bit unfavorable!
It was obviously a very clever strategy to lure and annihilate the enemy, and the enemy also took the initiative to divide his troops, giving the Royal Navy every opportunity to defeat it... How could it be that the enemy was lured to be lured by the enemy, and the enemy was annihilated to be annihilated by the enemy? Annihilated?
What exactly is the problem?
As the second-generation naval elite of the Hood family, Lieutenant General James Hood was once a classmate of Emperor William at the Naval Academy. He was later trusted and cultivated by the Marquess of Nelson and was considered a future star of the Royal Navy...
Moreover, he believes that his talent is absolutely worthy of such a reputation. In this military operation, his command was impeccable and could be said to be perfect.
Such a huge Second Indian Fleet sailed around Africa and arrived in the Indian Ocean almost unnoticed. The traces have been hidden and have not been exposed until now... It should not be exposed, right?
But……
"Vice Admiral," the voice of the fleet communications officer rang, "Telegram from the Blake...the enemy's large formation is retreating at the eastern intersection of the Strait of Malacca."
"What? Are they retreating?" James Hood was stunned. "What are our losses?"
"Lieutenant Admiral, we, we have lost at least 18 Edgar-class ships..." Earl Howe, chief of staff of the fleet, replied in a low tone of mourning, "Although the other two Edgar-class ships managed to escape, they were also severely damaged. .
In addition, the Channel Fleet also lost ten shallow-water heavy artillery ships. The total losses of second-tier and third-tier cruisers exceeded twenty-one. What a heavy loss! "
The losses were indeed heavy, very heavy!
The total losses of armored cruisers, shallow-water heavy artillery ships, and cruisers actually reached 39 ships!
Although these days, the size of the Royal Navy of the British Empire is amazing! The British shipbuilding strength is equally amazing and can make up for all the above losses in a short period of time.
But losing so many warships at once will still make the Royal Navy tense in terms of strength in the next few months.
In addition, there are at least more than 10,000 naval officers and soldiers on those 39 warships... most of them are real British and professional sailors!
This is a truly heartbreaking loss!
"Lieutenant General, what should we do now?" asked the Army Chief of Staff, "Should we temporarily withdraw to the Ceylon base, or should we continue to seek a decisive battle?"
"No retreat!" Lieutenant General Hood said sternly, "The battle has just begun... The Royal Navy has not yet used its true strength!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the sky outside the bridge and said: "The Royal Navy not only dominates the ocean, but also dominates the sky... Where is the Ming fleet that bypassed Sumatra?"
"Lieutenant General, they are approaching the Great Strait!"
"Okay!" Hood said, "We will go to fight them tomorrow morning... The Royal Navy will launch an attack from the air and sea!"
