Chapter 1328 Post-War Inventory
Tao Donglai weighed it again and again, but he was still reluctant to use the service life of the steam engine as the price of intercepting the Spanish fleet. The steam engines installed on these warships are worth tens of millions of dollars, and their production capacity is extremely limited. Once they need to be repaired and replaced, it is very troublesome. The ship has to be towed into the dry dock for operation, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive and will affect the normal deployment of the navy. The cost can be described as Not small. Moreover, in the fleet led by Tao Donglai, there were only a few warships equipped with steam propulsion devices. It was indeed difficult for them to break away from the large force to intercept dozens of Spanish warships that were eager to escape.
The two Haihan fleets turned towards the fleeing direction of the Spanish fleet from the north and south directions respectively to pursue. Although they could not intercept them all, there were still some seriously damaged ships in the Spanish fleet that would run slower and slower, and were eventually captured. The Haihan fleet caught up.
The Haihan navy pursued them for more than thirty nautical miles in one go, and after forcing several Spanish warships to stay behind, Tao Donglai ordered the troops to retreat. Out of humanity, the two fleets slowly fished out the surviving Spanish crew members at sea, avoiding the end of them feeding fish in the sea.
In addition, during the final pursuit, four Spanish sailing ships had no hope of escaping due to damage to their hulls. They chose to stop the ships and surrender. The Haihan Navy sent people to board the ships to take over. After inspection, it was found that the hulls of two of the ships were too seriously damaged and had been damaged. Unable to sail back to Sanya, after transferring the people and important items on the ship, it sank into the sea, including the American Fleet pioneer ship "Martin" that luckily escaped the battlefield.
More than 60 Spanish crew members who survived the "Martin" stood on the deck of the battleship Haihan and witnessed the entire process of their sailboat sinking into the sea. Some of them silently took off their hats and paid tribute to the once-inhabited battleship. The sailing ship that carried them halfway around the world paid a silent tribute. For some of them, the sinking of the Martin meant the end of their crew careers. But relatively speaking, they are lucky. After all, the ship carried more than 200 crew members when it set out from Manila, and now the survivors are only a fraction of the number when it set out. Most of the crew members have been buried at sea in today's battle. , can never return to their hometown.
If Louis hadn't decisively chosen to turn around and retreat, the Spanish fleet's suicidal charge on Port Victory would probably have resulted in the annihilation of the entire army. This can be regarded as a sign that Spain will never die, giving them a chance to escape. The two fleets fled eastward for a day and a night. After confirming that they had completely escaped Haihan's pursuit, they stopped to take stock of the battle damage.
The encounter of the "Martin" is only a microcosm of the Spanish fleet's battle damage. A quarter of the more than 40 warships were permanently left offshore Sanya, and ten supply ships were also unable to After leaving the battlefield with the fleet, it was calculated that more than twenty ships were lost in this battle, and the loss of manpower was estimated.
During the charge, the American fleet closer to the coastline suffered more heavy losses, especially the large sailing ships with a displacement of more than 500 tons, which became the key target of shore defense firepower. Only three of the eight large ships of more than 500 tons belonging to the American Fleet successfully escaped, and the five armed sailing ships including the "Martin" were not spared and became the dead under Haihan's gun.
Although the Manila fleet led by Louis was in slightly better condition, the number of ships destroyed by Haihan was only a few fewer. The battle damage situation was still not optimistic. Even the side of his flagship "San Diego" was riddled with bullet scars. , five or six eye-catching large holes were made by the shells. Fortunately, the gunpowder on the ship was not hit and exploded, and the impact points of these bombs were much higher than the waterline, so there was no risk of water intrusion and capsizing.
Almost no ship in the entire Spanish fleet was withdrawn intact, and most of the ships had to be repaired immediately after returning to Manila. However, what the two commanders now have to consider is not how much it will cost to repair these sailing ships, but how to explain the actual situation of this battle with Haihan to the Governor of Manila, Aragones. The majestic Spanish fleet went on an expedition to Haihan, but was beaten to a pulp by its opponents at home, and was almost unable to escape. How can such a record be justified?
The last time the Spanish fleet suffered such heavy losses in a battle was on the European battlefield where the great powers were fighting. It had never suffered such a big loss in the Far East. Not to mention the two commanders, even the Governor of Manila may not be able to shoulder this responsibility. For the current plan, we can only rush back to Manila with the remaining troops, and then work with Aragones on how to report the news back to the country. But no matter what, the responsibility of the two main parties cannot be shied away, and their military leadership careers are likely to come to an end after this defeat.
When Haihan withdrew his troops and returned to camp, he naturally wanted to take stock of his own losses. Compared with the beaten Spanish fleet, the Haihan Navy's losses in these two days of fighting seemed extremely limited. Although more than a dozen warships were lightly or heavily damaged, the actual damage was relatively small. There are only three serious warships, and they are all still repairable. However, they will definitely have to be sent to dry dock for overhaul after returning to port.
The loss of personnel has caused some pain to the military. So far, more than 40 people have been killed and missing in action, including several senior naval officers, and this number is probably not The final result is that there are still many ships participating in the battle that have not yet completed their personnel statistics. Although the navy has obvious advantages in terms of equipment and tactics, a large number of casualties are still inevitable in this kind of maritime melee with shelling as the main attack method - yes, for the Haihan Army, once A battle with more than twenty casualties can be defined as a "large number".
Although the number of dozens of people seems small, the training cost and cycle of Haihan soldiers are far beyond that of ordinary sailors in this era. Officers who can assume command positions on ships need to serve for several years before they can accumulate enough training. experience for promotion opportunities. Therefore, for the Haihan Navy, these casualties are not just a series of cold numbers. The combat positions left by the dead may not be immediately filled by later generations. For the vacancies of these dozens of people, it may be necessary to recruit ten times or even dozens of times the number of sailors to select enough qualified people to replace them.
The search for the warring waters and nearby coasts may continue for three to five days to ensure that all survivors, including the Spanish crew, can be discovered in time. This was of course mainly for safety reasons, so as to avoid Spaniards who fell into the water during the battle and secretly swam ashore to cause more trouble. However, the subsequent search work does not have to rely entirely on the military. A part of the militia will be mobilized to perform this time-consuming and laborious task.
During this period, the state of martial law on the entire Hainan Island will continue. The state of war will not stop until the military determines that the Spanish will no longer conduct military operations against Haihan. Foreign ships entering and exiting major ports in Hainan Island in the near future will more or less certainly be affected by this, and there will definitely be a lot of inconvenience. Of course, for the inconvenience involved, no one would put the account on Haihan's head. Every injustice has its owner, and every debt has its owner. Spain, which caused trouble and left a mess in the end, will be the main target of complaints.
However, the local people, mainly Haihan nationals, had no complaints about this war. Thousands of people watched the several-hour battle clearly or vaguely on various highlands along the Sanya coastline, and the people were overwhelmed by the victory. The celebration ceremony held had already begun when the Spanish fleet turned around and evacuated. At first, the people watching the battle on the Yulin Peninsula discovered that the Spanish fleet had turned around and retreated, and they burst into cheers like a mountain roar and a tsunami. The news quickly spread to the city, allowing those Haihan who had not had the chance to go to Linhai Highlands to act as spectators. The citizens also learned the news that the enemy troops were fleeing in panic as soon as possible. They might have been uneasy because of the rumble of cannons coming from outside the port, but after the news of the victory came, the people immediately shouted loudly to vent their pressure.
"The navy only dispatched a dozen ships in total, chasing fifty or sixty ships on the sea. That scene... tsk tsk tsk!"
"I heard that this group of pirates came all the way from Luzon Island. If you don't take the road to heaven, there is no way to hell. You have to rush in..."
"The navy has made great achievements this time. Let me tell you, when I came from Victory Port just now, I saw that the faces of the army officers stationed on the shore were not very good. This time, there was no meat left for the army... ”
This battle, which did not last particularly long, soon became a hot topic in the streets and alleys of the city. Everyone knew that the Haihan Army had won the battle again, and some good people in the teahouse had even made a handicap. Bet on whether the prisoner of war parade will be held tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. In recent years, not to mention wars, even military exercises have become less and less in the area near Sanya. The occasional exciting event like this can fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the people.
Liu Shang's mood was complicated at this time. As a temporary cadre of the Youth League, he had to show joy and excitement like the people around him, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed with the result. He did not expect the Spanish fleet to really penetrate into Sanya and destroy the Haihan people's lair. He already knew how powerful Haihan's defense methods were before the war, and he also understood that the Spaniards would not be able to defeat Haihan's trap in Sanya in one fell swoop. There were many lines of defense, but the internal news he had heard earlier said that the Spanish fleet was approaching menacingly, and he felt that it should at least create some trouble for Haihan.
It's just that the Spaniard was too dissatisfied. He made a hurried appearance off the coast of Sanya and launched a charge before he could gain a firm foothold. That was fine. If the attack was successful, they could at least be praised for their courage. But before they even rushed into the harbor, they were already beaten to pieces by the heavy artillery on the coast. Such combat power, let alone causing trouble for Haihan, from Liu Shang's point of view, is simply adding to Haihan's naval record for free. In the end, they were driven away by the Haihan Army and fled without touching any soil in Sanya. Such a sneak attack could be said to be a complete failure.
However, although Liu Shang looked down on the Spaniards' performance in this battle, he actually understood that this enemy army was not a weak force. The main reason for their poor performance was because the opponent they chose was a powerful and abnormal sea force. Han, if the enemy he faced was the Ming Navy, then this one-sided battle might have to change direction.
When Liu Shang was studying various materials in the Sanya Library, he had seen a piece of information, which was about a meeting of the colonial authorities in Manila to discuss how to conquer the Ming Dynasty. The time of this meeting was surprisingly April 1586, which was nearly fifty years ago. At that time, the Manila authorities drafted a specific action plan including 11 paragraphs and 97 articles on the premise that the participants fully supported the use of force to conquer the Ming Dynasty. Led by the Governor and Bishop of the Philippines, dozens of people were gathered together. Three local dignitaries signed it and reported it to the King of Spain.
This action plan planned to dispatch 12,000 Spanish troops, recruit 6,000 Japanese mercenaries, and use servant troops from Portugal, America, the Philippines and other countries. This detailed combat plan has even included statistics on military expenditures and supplies. As long as the King of Spain makes a decision, the Manila authorities will enter the implementation stage.
Liu Shang also broke out in cold sweats after reading this document, which he had never seen before in the Ming Dynasty. He knew that it was unlikely that Haihan would falsify such a document that outsiders could not see. It was probably true. The reason why the Spaniards did not put this terrible plan into action in the end was because the Spanish Armada suffered a major failure when it invaded Britain in 1588 - yes, it was the same one who was hurt by the Haihan army at Xingdao in the South China Sea a few months ago. Flat Britain. This defeat made Spain's hands and feet blocked by the European powers and had no time to advance eastward. The Ming Dynasty was lucky enough to escape a catastrophe.
Of course, there had not been a large-scale military conflict between the Ming Dynasty and Spain before, so it seemed difficult to determine which one was stronger and which one was weaker in this kind of confrontation. However, at the end of this document, there was a comment by Haihan Defense Minister Yan Chujie that he believed that at that time Qi Jiguang had just passed away, and the Qi family army was transferred to the northern border towns to deal with the Mongols. The Ming Dynasty's southern garrison was in a very fragile period, and it was very likely that it would lose parts of the coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian to the Spanish invasion. With only tens of thousands of troops, they could cross the sea and invade the Ming Dynasty, which boasted a standing army of two million. This is enough to show how big the gap in military strength between the two sides is.
However, the Spanish army, which was highly praised by Minister of Defense Haihan, was completely beaten by the Haihan army who fought with less and more in the battle of Sanya. How big is the strength gap between them?
(End of chapter)