Chapter 730 The Battle of Lamu Bay
March 23, three o’clock in the morning.
The East African Fleet moved north along the coastline to prevent the British from attacking Mombasa. The two sides met in the waters of Lamu Bay.
In order to confront this main force of the British Royal Navy, nearly half of the main warships of the East African Navy moved northward, radiating outwards from Lamu City and Mombasa.
Eight o'clock in the morning.
The lookout on the flybridge reported: "A suspicious target was found ahead!"
Only black smoke was seen on the sea surface in the northeast,
"The entire ship is on standby and in a fighting posture, the enemy ship is entering Range, fire immediately!" East African Navy Vice Admiral Kerry ordered.
The British Expeditionary Fleet finally saw the formation of the main ironclad ships in East Africa. This time, there were seven East African ironclad ships heading north, which was only half the number of the British fleet, and the heaviest ironclad ship in East Africa was the Friedrich It is only more than 7,000 tons, which is far less than the British ironclads. However, East Africa has added a certain number of gunboats as support. Although the Battle of Mogadishu proved that the gunboats have no chance of winning against the ironclads, they are still feasible as assisting warships.
“The British warships are more advanced, have larger artillery caliber, stronger firepower, and more experience, but behind us are the cities of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and after passing Dar es The city of Salam is our capital in East Africa, so we are determined not to evacuate in this war. Even if the whole ship sinks, we cannot lose the faith of the East African soldiers to protect their homes and their country." Will, the captain of the Pelican, began to do ideological work.
"Of course, we can't belittle ourselves. The enemy is coming from the Mediterranean direction. We can just sit back and wait for work. However, the British army on the opposite side is experienced in hundreds of battles. We have no actual combat experience in this world, so we have to prove to the world that the East African Navy The courage of soldiers! ”
Although the East African Navy has a long coastline, the lack of good ports and the scarcity of islands have restricted the deployment of naval power in East Africa.
For example, the British have military bases in Djibouti and the Arabian Peninsula. There is also the Seychelles Island in the center of the Indian Ocean where naval forces can be deployed.
There are only a few large islands in East Africa, the most important of which are Pemba and Zanzibar, which are too close to the East African coastline, which is not conducive to maritime defense. The Comoros Islands are more likely to be favored. However, the Comoros Islands are located in a remote area and are not in the hotly contested area of this war.
When the British fleet appeared in East Africa, the British were also excited to encounter the main fleet in East Africa. At present, the strength of the two sides is quite different, and their own side has a double advantage.
However, after a night of sailing, the British fleet is now a little tired, which is not conducive to combat, but it can still be overcome by the British navy, which has been active at sea all year round.
Kerry: "The accuracy and power of our artillery are far inferior to those of the British. The quality and weight of the hull and the hardness of the armor are relatively poor. Therefore, we must not confront the British head-on. We must outwit them, and we must We need to be at a suitable distance and close to the battle, otherwise with the range of British artillery, the war will be more disadvantageous to us."
"So after the battle started, the fleet was divided into two groups, with the Friedrich on the other side. The Trieste is the command ship, and as the First Fleet and the Second Fleet, it launches attacks on the British forces from two directions."
"We led by the Friedrich and attracted the British warships head-on. In order to avoid the enemy's division of troops, after the war begins, each ship of the First Fleet can operate independently, and can act according to the situation to expand the voyage area of the First Fleet."
"The Second Fleet uses the Trieste as its leader. The command, led by Major General Anton, will go around in an arc and seize the opportunity to launch an attack on the flank or rear of the British army. The second fleet must ensure that the force is concentrated to avoid being defeated individually. "I have to say that Kerry made a move! A major risky decision is to split the command of the fleet into two, and the specific effects are unknown.
Of course, the fundamental reason that prompted Kerry to make such a decision is the huge gap between the East African Navy and the British Royal Navy. As the weaker party, the East African Navy must take risks.
When the East African naval fleet separated into two groups, and extremely chaotic changes occurred at the same time, the British were really confused for a while, and now they cannot see the military intentions of East Africa.
However, for the British Royal Navy, which has an absolute advantage, it is natural that the troops will block it and the water will cover it. However, this time East Africa actually took the initiative to attack, which was somewhat unexpected by the British Royal Navy.
“Pay attention to the right wing of the East African Navy. They separated from the main force of the East African Navy. They must have a purpose. The Gray Fox and the Piggy... keep an eye on them, wait until the East African ships come into range, and fire directly. "Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Naval Expeditionary Force Grafton ordered.
The command authority of the East African Navy has been divided into two. Lieutenant General Kerry commanded the remaining ships and said: "Each ship must ensure that the ship enters a limited range before firing. Don't waste cannonballs, but ensure that it fires accurately." Have a target instead of shooting blindly. Each ship should pay attention to the distance. Leave a channel to avoid the British artillery targeting one round earlier. "
In fact, there is not a big difference in the range of the artillery between the two sides. The British are definitely more powerful, and the British hull is also better and the speed is faster. It's faster, and the advantage of the East Africa is that the steering is more flexible.
Major General Kerry hopes to use guerrilla methods to distract the attention of the British army so that they cannot form a joint force, and then create conditions for the Second Fleet.
"Boom..." With a loud noise, the East African First Fleet opened fire first. At the same time, a line formation composed of Friedrich, Pelican, Nightingale, White Eagle and four gunboats, The firepower formed an attack trend from outside to inside.
Although the equipment is backward, the East African Navy maintains normalcy in training and armament maintenance. Therefore, in the face of a sudden war, although the soldiers who experienced it for the first time were a little nervous, they soon learned how to deal with it under the leadership of veterans. He calmed down and began to operate the ship according to daily training.
As the most powerful navy, Britain's sailors rely on their rich experience to operate smoothly, and both sides have a relatively high hit rate.
However, after all, the overall manufacturing level of East African warships is not as good as that of the United Kingdom, so the East African navy will suffer greater losses. If no accidents occur at this time, then as time goes by, the East African fleet is destined to fail.
The command ship of Vice Admiral Kerry has already been hit once. A large crater was blown out of the left side of the Friedrich by the shell, but the quality of the Friedrich was acceptable. The hull has little impact and can continue to fight.
The Friedrich has been in service in East Africa for more than ten years. It is still a warship produced at the Austrian Royal Shipyard in Trieste. This era is indeed a treasure trove. Of course, every year in East Africa, the warship Its maintenance costs are also relatively high, but this is the price of developing a navy.
As a warship that can directly compete with the British ironclads, the Friedrich's counterattack was also sharp, severely damaging the British Slade and hitting the stern of the Giant. Unfortunately, the shells were only Gently passing by the side, it did not pose much threat to the Giant. Instead, the gunboat Antonio in East Africa was under the fire of the British Navy, and blazing fire could already be seen on the plywood.
Except for the four ironclads, the other gunboats are not in good condition. Without the heavy resistance of the ironclads, any accidental damage may cause them to lose combat effectiveness instantly.
(End of this chapter)