Chapter 653 Naval Battle
Shibazhi spent a lot of money to invite the Dutch to Nanri Island to help in the war, not just to let them serve as sentries on the outside. In fact, Zheng Zhilong hopes that the Dutch can play the role of the Haihan people in the opponent's camp. After all, the last time the Ming and Han coalition forces attacked Nanri Island, the main force was actually not the Ming army, but the Haihan militia that came to help. In this way Only foreign aid worth sending out boxes of empty money is worth it.
Zheng Zhihu was already suffocating when his request for help was rejected yesterday. If he hadn't asked for help from the other party, he would have turned against him at that time. But after one night, the Ming Navy could no longer restrain themselves and knocked on the door. Now the Dutch could not relax even if they wanted to. Zheng Zhihu did not order his men to go to sea to assist the Dutch, and he was more or less interested in watching the excitement. Of course, he also knew that although the number of Ming warships seemed to be much larger, it would be difficult to cause substantial trouble to the Dutch. As long as the Dutch did not stay put, don't let the Ming warships Just swarm them up and surround them.
The performance of the Dutch did not disappoint Zheng Zhihu. While they bombarded the Ming army's warships with fierce artillery fire, they rationally maintained a fighting distance to avoid giving the other side the opportunity to close up and engage in close combat. The Ming army soon realized their inferiority in weapons and ship performance, and soon began to turn west and fight and retreat.
Of course, Van der Wegen also noticed the changes in his opponent's tactics, but he had no intention of letting it go. Since Akito was so ignorant that he came to the door, he should seize this opportunity to teach them a lesson. Of course, the main reason is that Van der Wegen realized that his opponent's combat level did not seem to have improved much compared to before, and his fleet could take advantage of the victory to pursue it and give the Ming army a further blow.
As for the company's senior management's concern about antagonism with the Ming Dynasty, Van der Wegen didn't particularly care - with the combat effectiveness of the Ming Dynasty's navy, even if they fell out, it would be difficult to cause any trouble to the East India Company. It would be better to seize it This opportunity will give the Fujian Navy a severe blow to their arrogance. Maybe they will consciously shy away from Dutch sailing ships when they encounter them at sea in the future.
Zheng Zhihu was gloating at first as he watched the Dutch fleet chasing the Fujian Navy at sea, but soon the smile on his face solidified - another fleet suddenly appeared in the sea east of Nanri Island, this one The size of the fleet was not large. From a distance, there were only about ten ships. However, what chilled Zheng Zhihu was that all the ships that made up this fleet were all Haihan warships.
Obviously, the Haihan people had been quietly waiting for the opportunity to attack. Although they had not yet figured out what their combat purpose was, Zheng Zhihu had already had a bad feeling in his heart.
"Pass my order, the sailors will immediately board the ship and leave the port, flag the red-haired people, and tell them not to continue chasing west!" Zheng Zhihu responded decisively and immediately issued the combat order.
But one of the biggest problems with civilian armed forces is command efficiency. When Zheng Zhihu's order was conveyed to the dock a few minutes later, not to mention that the warships here were ready for battle, and even the sailors didn't know where they were. It was just getting dark at this time, and although the pirates had all come out of their tents to watch the battle at sea, most of them were still in disheveled clothes, and few of them realized that they might also immediately participate in the battle at sea.
By the time the captains of each ship gathered their men and organized them onto the ship, a long time had passed since Zheng Zhilong issued the order. At this time, the Haihan people's fleet also approached the north coastline of Nanri Island from the east. Before Shibazhi's sailing ship had time to leave the port, it faced the dilemma of being blocked in the harbor by the Haihan people.
At this time, the Dutch had also noticed the Haihan fleet suddenly appearing behind them, and began to slowly turn back. Van der Wegen also realized that the Fujian Navy's offensive was just a feint, and the real killer move was the Haihan fleet ambushing nearby. However, he was not as flustered as Zheng Zhihu. Although Haihan's surface troops were said to be very powerful, they were only compared to Shiba Zhi and the Ming Army. Van der Wegen would not be so easily affected by some rumors. Which one is strong and which one is weak can only be determined after a battle.
At the same time, Xie Li also issued an order on the flagship "Tiger Shark" of the Haihan fleet: "Raise the gun windows, six small boats stay to block the harbor, and other ships follow the flagship to intercept the Dutch fleet! The target enters You can fire within the range, no need to ask for instructions!”
The so-called "six small ships" refer to the exploration-class warships with the smallest tonnage among the six Haihan standard warships, two of which were exported by Haihan to the Fujian Navy. Of course, this small is just a relative term. The tonnage of nearly 300 tons is considered large in Shibazhi's fleet, and each ship is equipped with about ten artillery pieces. The level of armament is compared to Shibazhi's. Those sailboats are more than one level higher. A few years ago at the Pearl River Estuary, the Haihan Navy used this kind of warship as its main force and defeated the numerically superior Liu Xiang fleet, and in one fell swoop gained actual control of the Pearl River Estuary waters.
The four larger expedition-class warships were used to deal with the main force of the Dutch. This class of warship not only has more than double the number of artillery on board than the exploration class, but the types of artillery are also different. The larger hull allows it to carry larger and heavier naval guns, and its caliber and The length of the body tube is more advantageous than that of the exploration grade. Of course, the most important thing is that the Haihan Military Commission can confirm that the performance of the naval guns on its warships greatly exceeds those of its contemporary maritime competitors in every aspect, and the Dutch are no exception. This was enough for Xie Li to have full confidence in dividing his troops when facing the Dutch armed fleet, and only used four warships to deal with the Dutch.
While the pirates were still in chaos at the dock of Nanri Island, the fleets of Holland and Haihan had already encountered each other on the sea on the north side of Nanri Island. Both sides turned in advance, trying to seize the T-position to take advantage of the situation. However, due to the influence of wind direction and ocean current, no one could take advantage of this link. As a result, it became two parallel columns heading north. .
"Lean over!" Xie Li gave the order without fear. Before the war, Qian Tiandun had given Xie Li private instructions. As long as the battle was successful, Qian Tiandun would submit a letter to the Military Commission asking for credit. Xie Li would also be expected to become the first naval officer to be promoted to the position of lieutenant colonel. of naturalized persons.
The adjustment of the opponent's course naturally fell into the eyes of the Dutch fleet commander Van der Wegen. For the Dutch who call the sea their home, there is no such option as "fear" in naval battles. He also issued the order to adjust the course. Order to move the fleet towards the opponent's sailing route.
The distance between the two fleets quickly shortened from 500 to 600 meters to less than 200 meters. Haihan's side opened fire first. The "Tiger Shark"'s shipside guns fired one after another, and the shells roared and hit the Dutch sailing ship. .
One of the shells passed just a few meters above Van der Wegen's head, tearing a two-foot hole in the sail, and then fell into the sea from the other side of the ship. Although the shell did not cause substantial damage, Van der Wegen was shocked because it showed that his fleet had entered the range of the opponent's naval gun. However, at this distance, his own naval gun seemed It’s hard to be 100% effective. As a vibration came under his feet, the cannonball fired by his sailboat immediately confirmed Van der Wegen's concerns. These shells were exhausted and fell into the water ten meters away from the opponent's sailboat, unable to cause any damage to the opponent at all.
"Very good, keep this distance and keep shooting!" Of course Xie Li also observed this detail, and this was exactly the scene he was waiting for. The performance advantage of Haihan artillery is enough to enable the fleet to maintain a relatively safe distance and carry out long-range strikes against enemy ships without being harmed by enemy weapons.
Van der Wegen's response was completely opposite to that of Xie Li. He chose a simple and crude solution to change this passive situation: "Get closer to their ship! Let them know that our cannonballs are not made of flour." ”
If we just talk about the strength of the hull, the Dutch sailing ships are not inferior to the warships built by Haihan. Some Dutch sailing ships even have certain advantages in the thickness of the outer ship plates. But the Dutch sailing ship, like all other Western countries' ships, had a very fatal shortcoming, that is, there was no watertight compartment.
The ship structure of watertight compartments had been invented in the Tang Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, it was widely used in sea-going ship construction, and even some inland river ships also adopted this structure. When Zheng He's fleet sailed to the Western Ocean, all sea-going ships adopted watertight compartment structures.
This kind of compartment has three very significant functional advantages. First, it improves the anti-sinking resistance of the hull by dividing the sealed compartments. Second, it uses watertight partitions to enhance the lateral strength of the hull. Third, it improves loading and unloading efficiency and facilitates cargo transportation. Storage and custody during transportation.
From the perspective of shipbuilding technology, watertight partitions have another advantage that must be mentioned, that is, watertight partitions replace the process of adding ribs to the hull, thus greatly simplifying the shipbuilding process and shortening the construction period. It can be shortened a lot.
Although this advanced shipbuilding technology had already spread overseas when Zheng He went to the Western Seas, it was already at the end of the 18th century that Western countries truly introduced this technology into their own shipbuilding industries and promoted it, that is, not long ago. This point is about a century and a half later. In 1795, the Englishman Bentham built six new warships for the British Royal Navy, and it was the first time that the watertight cabin structure of a Chinese sailing ship was applied to the construction of a Western-style warship.
Every member of the Haihan Navy has received relevant knowledge training about this difference in hull structure during their training, and they also understand how this difference will affect the ships of both sides in a naval artillery battle. Therefore, for the naval artillery battle, the soldiers on the Haihan side have a natural psychological advantage.
As the distance between the two fleets further shortened, cannonballs finally began to hit the Dutch sailing ships. At this distance, the oak hull alone could not withstand the huge kinetic energy of the cannonballs. It could easily tear a big hole in the hull and sweep it away. Clear all obstacles on the way forward.
The Dutch sailing ship known as Fluyt was an improved version of the early Spanish galleon. The hull was lightweight, the number of arms and sailors was reduced, and the cargo hold below the waterline was enlarged. . This change allowed the Dutch sailing ship to achieve the goals of high speed, lightweight, low cost, high cargo capacity, ease of construction, etc. It was also one of the important reasons why the Netherlands emerged as a maritime empire in a short period of time. However, the shortcomings of this kind of sailboat are also very fatal. The draft is very deep, and the hull is relatively thin. Although it is relatively exciting and flexible, it lacks the ability to resist attacks and the intensity of its firepower output.
In the middle of the 17th century, during the Anglo-Dutch War about ten years ago, the Dutch navy and armed merchant ships suffered heavy losses from cannon fire in front of the British navy's heavy battleships. The Dutch could only rely on the quality of their sailors and the speed of shipbuilding. advantages to make up for the inherent deficiencies in equipment.
This disadvantage has not been fully exposed at present, because there are only a handful of maritime forces that can compete with it head-on in the Far East, and whether it is the Spanish or the Portuguese, even the Ming Navy, the number of armed ships is very low. It is difficult to compare with the Dutch. In large-scale naval battles, the Dutch will definitely have the upper hand. But under the current conditions of a small-scale six-on-four naval battle, the disadvantage of the Dutch sailing ship was undoubtedly exposed under the Haihan artillery fire.
First of all, under the premise that the total number of naval guns between the two sides is not much different, the hit rate is more than doubled. Supported by a relatively high hit rate, the Haihan warship took the lead in destroying more than one-third of the Dutch sailing ship. gun positions, this caused the Netherlands' firepower output intensity to drop rapidly, and the hit rate dropped to an appalling level.
Secondly, the lethality and killing effect of the Haihan naval gun are much stronger than those of its opponents. As long as a Dutch sailing ship is penetrated by a cannonball near the waterline, the performance of the ship will be affected by a large amount of water entering the hull in a very short period of time. There will even be significant roll - which is almost equivalent to the ship's broadside guns losing their combat capability. However, because the Haihan warship has a watertight compartment structure, even if it is penetrated and flooded, it will not have a major impact on the performance of the ship in a short period of time.
The naval artillery battle between the two sides lasted less than half an hour, and three sailing ships in the Dutch fleet lost their combat capabilities one after another under the attack of artillery fire. On the Haihan side, although all four ships were hit by bullets, none of them withdrew from the battle due to injuries, and they were still able to continue launching artillery attacks on their opponents. The firepower output capabilities of the two sides were not much different at first, but the ratio changed rapidly during the battle. After braving heavy artillery fire and approaching the opponent's sailboat, the Dutch sailors discovered in despair that the opponent's sailors and crew were all equipped with flintlock guns. They now had to withstand the double blow of artillery and muskets.
(End of chapter)