Chapter 350 Queuing to Kill at Sea 1
Twelve battleships formed a long column, sailing silently towards the southern waters under the leadership of the flagship Unicorn.
The fleet was not just sailing, there were roars one after another. This was the artillerymen on the ship conducting shooting training.
In order to simulate the battlefield environment to the greatest extent, shooting training was conducted with live ammunition for the past two days, and the entire fleet sailed in a shroud of smoke.
Fleet Commander Tirpitz stood at the bow of the Unicorn. He leaned on the railing, holding a pipe in his hand, and stared at the sea ahead without saying a word.
According to the interrogation of pirate prisoners, the pirates entrenched in Westport initially had more than 60 ships, but they will send at least 20 ships to carry the looted materials.
There are nearly 40 warships left. Can the fleet under my leadership cope with them?
This is the first time that Arda's military power has been demonstrated to the world outside the northwest bay, and the partner is the army of the royal government. If I mess up, wouldn't it mean that Lord Grayman's reputation will be ruined?
Once it fails, it will lead to many serious consequences.
Externally, other parts of the kingdom have always looked down upon the Northwest Gulf, and failure will intensify this contempt.
This is nothing. Anyway, the stereotyped impression has not lasted for a day or two. It is mainly due to the troubles within the Northwest Gulf - failure will cause a major blow to Lord Grayman's prestige among the lords. A hard-earned position may be lost and gained.
Although he is a soldier, Tirpitz is not ignorant of the current political situation in the northwest.
The lords are preparing to form an organization called the Customs Union. Since it is an alliance, there must be a boss, or de facto leader. Although this alliance was proposed by Arda, the position of leader may not necessarily be Arda's turn. Every powerful territory (or one that considers itself a powerful territory) is ready to make a move.
Arda urgently needs to enhance its political prestige again, and military victory is often the most direct.
He looked at the sailors on the deck who were nervously practicing the reloading procedures, and remembered the words that Navy Commander Austin often used to encourage his subordinates.
"We are the most powerful and efficient killing machine of this era!"
Equipped with epoch-making powerful weapons, as powerful as legendary artifacts, officers and soldiers are well-organized and have a clear division of labor day after day. They train on the ground to master and master every step of operating the "artifact". Once they encounter an enemy, they can pour the fire of death on the opponent step by step.
Good food ensures their strong bodies, strict discipline gives them a tough soul, sufficient military pay maintains their high morale, and generous pensions relieve them of worries.
Which army in the world can do better?
“We are the strongest!”
Tirpitz repeated these words in his mind.
"Commander Tirpitz!"
A slightly childish shout interrupted his thoughts.
Tirpitz turned around, moved his eyes downward, and saw the young officer candidate.
"Mr. Allen!"
Tirpitz addressed the other party as an adult with a smile on his face.
"Report to the commander, today's line tactical shooting training has been completed!"
Office cadet Allen reported loudly to the fleet commander in a serious tone. Although the old ships such as the Nanfang remained in Fulan Port because they needed repairs, the officer cadets on these ships were also arranged to accompany the fleet going south for training. In order to cultivate the next generation of qualified officers, the Navy will not miss any opportunity for actual combat. .
"Well, thank you for your hard work. Let the artillerymen take a rest, we are likely to encounter fierce battles today."
"Yes, Commander!"
"Ah, by the way, Mr. Allen..." "Is there anything else, Commander?"
Tirpitz stopped the young man of officer cadets.
"After the battle begins, you will follow the gunnery officer on the lower deck of the Unicorn and wait for his orders."
With the body of a child, in the low cabin It is very convenient to travel around and is very suitable for passing messages and commands.
"Yes, Commander!"
Allen saluted and left excitedly.
“This is the first time that line tactics have been used in actual combat. I don’t know how effective it will be.”
The navy’s line tactics come from the army’s line infantry tactics.
The army's line infantry tactics were invented by Lord Graiman, and combined with his invention of muskets and artillery, they played a huge role in the series of wars that Arda participated in.
In every battle, Arda soldiers armed with muskets and neatly lined up in rows became a lingering nightmare for enemy soldiers.
They marched in neat steps to the beat of the drums. When the officer gave the order, they fired in unison, efficiently harvesting the lives of the enemies on the opposite side.
After the army achieved great success, Lord Graiman ordered the naval officers to study the application of line tactics in naval battles.
Due to the invention of epoch-making new weapons and new tactics, Paul Graiman is considered in the army to be a man of knowledge who is favored by the Lord of Light. Otherwise, how can one explain that he has not received a systematic military education? Has he led so much success?
The senior naval officers who had an obsessive trust in the Lord immediately began to study the application of line tactics on the sea.
Therefore, the Navy changed the way warships fought individually in daily training, and instead advocated "whole" more.
Due to the narrow bow and stern of the sailboats at this time, only a few light guns could generally be installed. The main guns were installed on both sides of the battleship, arranged vertically with the keel of the ship.
So the specific The tactic is: each ship faces the enemy from the side and forms a long line end to end to facilitate the fleet's firepower. In this way, half of the artillery of each warship can shoot at the enemy.
The "Maritime Combat Doctrine" promulgated by the Naval Command clearly defines column as the standard formation for naval operations: "All warships in each squadron must try their best to keep forward in line with their squadron leaders..." .
According to this combat doctrine, if a captain leaves the linear array without authorization during combat, he may be sent to a military court afterwards - even if he achieves greater results.
The new tactics also make up for another shortcoming of Arda's navy: no matter what, they are a young army that has just been established, and the combat capabilities of their soldiers at sea are compared to those of traditional maritime powers-such as the Horns and Bay countries- —Indeed, it is much inferior to traditional naval warfare tactics, such as boarding battles. The Arda Navy cannot compete with the enemy when the forces are similar.
Therefore, how to make full use of one's own range advantage and firepower advantage, and kill a large number of the enemy's effective forces before the enemy gets close enough to initiate gang jumping, causing an indelible blow to their morale, has become a new research topic in the navy. The top priority when it comes to tactics.
(End of this chapter)