Chapter 1326 Dilemma
If the intelligence originally sent back to Manila could be more accurate, or if it was accompanied by more realistic drawings, perhaps the officers would have a more intuitive understanding of the coastal defenses on the Sanya coast, and would consider it more carefully when formulating combat plans. Be more thoughtful. At least it won't be like the current situation where they rush to the port with their heads down and end up completely exposing the fleet to Haihan's guns. If there were only five, six, seven or eight guns, then Pinto would have pinched his nose and recognized it, and just rushed through this sea area with the bombardment. But the gun emplacements he saw now were so densely packed that he couldn't even count Haihan at the moment. How many coastal defense batteries are deployed on this stretch of coast?
The answer to why the Haihan Fleet voluntarily gave up the channel to Victory Port before engaging in battle is already clear. It was obvious that the Haihan people had full confidence in the coastal defenses of the port, so they deliberately let the Spanish fleet pass and handed them over to the coastal defense artillery, which had a range and power far superior to that of naval guns. Now Pinto didn't even need to look back, he could predict that the Haihan fleet must have formed a formation in the outer sea, waiting for an opportunity to steal his ass.
It was too late for Pinto to adjust his current tactics, because at this time the several forts closest to his fleet had launched an attack, and several shells flew from the coast a mile away with a whistling sound that cut through the air. Under the gaze of the pale-faced crew members, they struck around the "Martin" that was opening the way at the front. One of the shells hit the hull of the ship. It hit the hull from the port side and remained unabated. After penetrating the entire hull, it hit a large hole near the waterline on the starboard side. Almost instantly, seawater poured into the cabin through this hole.
Although each ship has special damage control measures, the hole that was penetrated is probably the size of an adult's arm. It will definitely take a lot of effort to block it again. Moreover, this ship is within the firepower range of multiple coastal defense guns. It will definitely be impossible to survive one shot. The firepower of nearby shore defense guns will definitely be concentrated on this ship. Try to increase the firepower as much as possible. Great damage to it.
As Pinto expected, after making adjustments, the second round of shelling from the coastal defense batteries soon fell on the "Martin" again. The 48-pound solid cannonball is very powerful and sinks. After hitting the hull, it will tear apart all obstacles on the way forward. The seemingly thick ship plank is as soft as tofu in front of this heavy cannonball, which is completely unable to protect the crew. Bring safe haven. This time, the "Martin"'s luck had run out. The hull was hit one after another, and almost every shell made a transparent hole in the hull. Its power even greatly exceeded that of the ironclad ship that had harassed the American fleet before. Pinto was also frightened by the sight, knowing that this last checkpoint outside Victory Port would not be so easy, and the trip might have to stop here.
As the fleet gradually sailed into the sea area covered by coastal defense guns, the coastal defense batteries on the east and west sides were launched one after another, forming a crossfire attack on the Spanish fleet at a huge angle. Compared with the density of artillery fire here, the Spaniards realized that the previous confrontation with the Haihan fleet was really just a drizzle. Haihan's heavy artillery position poured artillery shells at the Spanish fleet without hesitation, but in an instant, several ships were located on the periphery of the fleet. The ship took a heavy hit.
In order to avoid the firing of coastal defense artillery, Spanish warships subconsciously shrank their formations toward the center, hoping to reduce the chance of being shot. But the effect it can have is extremely limited. The entrance channel from the open sea to Victory Port is a gradually narrowing terrain. No matter how hard you squeeze into the middle, it is still difficult to escape the cross-fire coverage of the shore defense artillery. On the contrary, the fleet After squeezing into a pile, the target is more concentrated, and the firepower on the shore can more easily carry out focused fire strikes.
Pinto and Luis were both experienced commanders and naturally realized that the change in fleet formation was inappropriate. However, this change was not an order issued by them, but a natural reaction of the captains of each ship to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. choices made under. The wisest choice at the moment is not to gather the fleet together, but to spread out the formation as much as possible in order to disperse the attack of shore defense firepower.
But in the midst of chaos, the orders issued by Pinto and Luis were simply difficult to implement, because these orders first required the surrounding ships to disperse to make room, and they were the ones that were most seriously damaged at the moment. Who could Will he be willing to actively close the distance between himself and that deadly fort? This spread of the formation undoubtedly forced the ships on the periphery to act as targets to attract firepower. Naturally, there would be people who were disobeying their orders and not executing their orders.
Even if someone is willing to sacrifice himself to save the fleet, it is often difficult to operate successfully, because these warships have often been damaged to varying degrees under artillery fire, which will have a significant impact on their navigation performance, even if they turn Basic operations such as changing gears will also become difficult. After a slight delay, a new round of artillery strikes arrived.
During the short journey from the Spanish fleet entering the fire range of the coastal defense batteries to the entrance to the Port of Victory, dozens of large and small coastal defense guns located on both sides of the waterway had fired hundreds of shells at the Spanish fleet. There have been no ships that have started to sink yet, but several ships have indeed seen their hulls tilt severely due to water intrusion or mast deflection. If this situation continues, nearly half of the ships will be left outside the harbor by coastal defense artillery before the large forces can rush into Victory Harbor.
Whether to rush into the port desperately or to pull back from the brink and turn back quickly, these two choices are now before the commander, but the determination is not so easy to make. After rushing into the port, no one knew whether the Haihan people had other defensive measures in the port. After seeing many of Haihan's methods, it would not be surprising if there was a naval ambush hidden in the Victory Port. However, if the Haihan people did not deploy heavy troops in the port, then landing and attacking Fort Victory might give the fleet hope of making a comeback.
But if we give up these last few steps and turn around to evacuate this place, we will first have to face the Haihan fleet that is already biting us from behind. At this time, there are already a lot of damaged ships in the Spanish fleet, and the number of sailing ships that can maintain full combat effectiveness may be less than half. When the fleet completes the U-turn, this number may drop to less than one-third. When facing the Haihan fleet, it will basically be There is no numerical advantage at all. The Haihan people did not have to fight hard at all. As long as they fought hard and prevented the Spanish fleet from easily evacuating the battlefield, many warships would gradually lose their combat effectiveness due to their own damage. By then, there will be very few people who can escape from the battlefield unscathed.
At this point, Pinto and Luis actually no longer had high expectations for the outcome of defeating the Haihan fleet and then capturing the Port of Victory. This cross-sea sneak attack eventually turned into a head-on confrontation. The process was completely different from what they expected before setting off. A large part of the reason was due to insufficient intelligence, regarding Haihan's naval strength and port defense deployment. Without a clear understanding, the preparations before the war were extremely inadequate, and the response to the war was very passive, leading to the current embarrassing situation. Of course, if the Manila authorities could accurately detect Haihan's military strength before the war, then perhaps they would reconsider whether to implement such an almost fantasy attack. At least in the eyes of parties like Pinto and Luis, there is indeed a relatively obvious strength gap between the Spanish fleet and its opponents, and cross-sea operations are an extremely unwise choice. If they are given a chance to choose again, maybe this The two brothers would cautiously advise Aragones, the governor of Manila, to cancel this rash move.
But there is no regret medicine for them now. If they do not make a decision immediately, the survival of the entire fleet will face great risks. Louis' flagship "San Diego" took the lead in signaling a retreat. He decided to give up and continue the adventure, because even if they rushed into the Victory Harbor, there might be more powerful traps waiting for their arrival, and when they arrived If you want to withdraw at that time, you will have to withstand intensive fire from the coastal defense batteries. The Spanish fleet cannot withstand two such attacks in a row. At the moment, it is best to preserve its strength as much as possible-these warships are not only the survival of Manila. The armed forces, as well as the responsibility of guarding the American colonies, if they were all folded here, the negative impact on the Spanish Empire would be too great.
Louis hoped that he could at least take most of the warships to evacuate here, and he could barely give an explanation to the governor after he returned. At least the fleet had a real fight at the door of the Haihan people before retreating. Such a result It can't be said that he is afraid of battle or has poor command. As for fear of fighting, it was really not the main reason why he made this choice.
Pinto saw that the Manila fleet had decided to retreat under the flag, and he sighed deeply, knowing that it could not be accomplished. Although he had the idea of a life-or-death showdown with the Haihan people, he also knew that even if he could defeat his opponent, it would probably only be a miserable victory, and he had no idea about the deployment of the Haihan people's troops. At least in the waters not far from Sanya, there is another Haihan fleet that may rush back to join the battle at any time. If they don't leave now, they may not be able to leave if they are delayed. So Pintuo reluctantly gave the order, and the entire army turned around and sailed away from the coast of Sanya.
"The Spaniard woke up early! If he rushes in again, he may not even be able to get out of the boat!"
At this time, Liu Shang heard the comment of the Annan military attaché who had previously commented on Haihan's tactics, and this time he was not so surprised. He had an unobstructed view of the battle between the two armies just now, and it was natural to see that Haihan had taken the complete initiative in the battle. The Spanish fleet rushed into the Port of Victory under intensive artillery fire, which was tantamount to committing suicide. Although there was no naval ambush in the harbor, army artillery positions were deployed at various port terminals. Even if the Spanish fleet rushed to the shore, it would be difficult to change the situation of being beaten unilaterally. As for the possibility of landing in Victory Port, Liu Shang felt that they had no chance of realizing it.
The coastal defense forts outside the harbor also left a very deep impression on Liu Shang during the current battle. The dozens of warships in the Spanish fleet were unable to do anything against these forts, but in just a short time, they were bombarded. It was all in disarray. The situation of the battle also attracted bursts of applause from the audience. Seeing how many people were red-faced and excited, Liu Shang also realized that the Haihan people's method of arranging people to watch the battle had indeed achieved excellent results.
Of course, this approach is based on Haihan's absolute confidence in his own force, and other companies will definitely not be able to imitate it. After Liu Shang saw with his own eyes the sharpness of Sanya's coastal defenses, he completely gave up the idea of "leading the Ming army to the island to quell the bandits." The Ming Navy has not fought a war for many years and lacks actual combat experience from top to bottom. Moreover, the warships are extremely old. I am afraid it will take several lucky ships to be able to match this Spanish ship, and the combat capabilities are obviously not good enough. Under the Spanish fleet. If they cross the sea to attack Sanya, they will probably end up worse than the Spaniards. It is no wonder that when Haihan blocked the Qiantang River in Zhejiang for several days, the local navy did not dare to come forward to fight. Presumably the Zhejiang government at that time also saw the power of the Haihan Navy and was not willing to engage in a head-on confrontation at all.
While Liu Shang was thinking wildly, the battle at sea did not stop, and the two sides continued to fight fiercely. The Spanish fleet faced the firepower of the shore defense and completed the U-turn at sea with great difficulty. During this period, several Spanish sailing ships lost the ability to continue fighting due to serious damage. Several ships were unable to stop the continuous flow of water from the damaged areas. After entering the cabin, it began to slowly capsize in the sea.
For such a situation, neither Spanish fleet dared to stop to rescue their companions, because this meant that they would probably have to eat several more rounds of shells, and more people might be dragged into the water. Therefore, the two commanders The officer still firmly ordered the fleet to rush south to get rid of the terrible shore defense artillery attack first.
Of course, if they want to escape from the battlefield, they have to pass the Haihan Fleet. At this time, the Spanish fleet had completely lost the majesty it had when it arrived. Most of the crew had no intention of fighting and just wanted to leave the sea area controlled by Haihan as soon as possible. Therefore, most of the Spanish warships did not choose to respond to the head-on interception of the Haihan Fleet, but instead tried to go around as much as possible. In response to the enemy's bombardment, the Spanish warships' counterattacks were very few and not large-scale. However, the armored "Warrior" came out again, shooting east and west at close range to kill the already damaged Spanish sailing ships.
(End of chapter)