Chapter 441: Bluffing a Large Area
So far, the Siberian Fleet has successively sunk the "Eagle", the "Victory", and the "Letvizan".
Although it doesn’t feel good to sink your own warships with your own hands, it is better than killing each other.
"Rijin" is the sister ship of "Trophy".
Since it cannot be captured, it is best to sink it with "trophies".
These will become the history books of the Siberian Fleet.
The fate of the "Rijin" has been doomed, and other cruise ships in the combined fleet are still struggling.
Compared with the rough-looking battleships, the defense of the cruiser is more fragile. One 305 shot is enough for the cruiser to lose its combat effectiveness.
After solving "Hizen", "Fuji", and "Asahi", "Yuryev" and "Romanov" focused on "Shikishima", and "Ural" and "Caucasus" began to attack The armored cruisers of the combined fleet were called one by one.
Up to this point in the battle, there is no doubt about the outcome.
In the bridge of the "Asahi", everyone turned their attention to Togo Heihachiro, who had said nothing after ordering the "Fuji" to abandon the ship.
Togo Heihachiro's expression was calm, and he looked at "Yuriev" who was firing at "Shikishima" in the distance, full of envy.
What a powerful warship!
Unfortunately, it does not belong to the United Fleet.
After "Yuriev" entered service, Togo knew that Japan was destined to lose.
This feeling became even stronger after the signing of the Portsmouth Contract.
After "Yuryev" there is also "Romanov".
If it were Dongxiang who was George, Dongxiang would not accept this result.
During the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Dongxiang flew the "Z" flag many times, which was the decisive factor in the rise and fall of the empire.
Japan is too weak and can win countless times, but if it loses once, it will be a disaster.
The Russian Empire has a vast territory, rich resources, and strong strength. Even if it loses countless times, it only needs to win once to make a complete comeback.
The "Asami" is approaching the "Asahi" and is preparing to pick up Dongxiang.
Combined Fleet Chief of Staff Akiyama Shinyuki closed his eyes in pain, unable to bear to see the outcome of the Combined Fleet.
Akiyama Masayuki was the number one contributor to the Combined Fleet's defeat of the Pacific Fleet and the Second Fleet. Because of his planning, Togo became famous.
"Qiu Shanjun, please take me to tell the Prime Minister that I have failed your Majesty's expectations and I am ashamed of the empire——"
Dongxiang decided to die for the United Fleet.
"General, the empire still needs you, we still have hope-"
Akiyama really doesn't give up, "Katori" and "Kashima" are on their way back, with their joining, The United Fleet still has hope of making a comeback.
Dongxiang shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Katori" and "Kashima" combined only have 4 305s. How can they fight against the 16 330s of the Siberian Fleet?
During the Battle of the Yellow Sea, Togo's flagship "Mikasa" was hit several times by the Pacific Fleet's flagship "Prince". Togo was almost killed. The Pacific Fleet was about to escape. In such a harsh situation, Togo did not despair.
The Combined Fleet and the Second Fleet encountered each other, and the "Mikasa" was once again attacked by the Second Fleet. The barrel of the front main gun was blown off, and the rear main gun failed. It was once again on the verge of despair. Dongxiang still did not despair. .
Now Dongxiang is finally desperate.
Even if "Katori" and "Kashima" join, it will not change the fate of the combined fleet's complete failure.
There are also two full-heavy artillery battleships in the shipyard of the Vladivostok Shipyard. Although these two battleships were built for the Americans, they can be requisitioned at any time if Grand Duke Yuriev needs it. The Americans will definitely not object to the relationship between Grand Duke Yev and the Americans.
The three major fleets of the Russian Empire were almost completely wiped out, leaving only the "Glorious" fifth ship of the "Borodino" class that did not catch up with the expedition to East Asia.
The Russian Empire’s coastal defense needs have not disappeared. St. Petersburg must rebuild its navy. Give the Russian Empire time, and the Russian Empire still has the ability to rebuild its three major fleets.
Japan no longer has the ability to rebuild the Sixty-Sixth Fleet.
To build the Sixty-Sixth Fleet, Japan spent almost all its income since the Sino-Japanese War of 1884-1894, and also owed a lot of foreign debt to European and American countries.
It is impossible for Japan to extract another 230 million taels of silver from the Qing Empire.
It is even less possible to join forces as part of the coalition to blackmail the Qing Empire.
Although the fighting has not stopped, Dongxiang knows very well that Japan is finished.
"General, the fire is out of control, everyone must evacuate immediately——"
"Asahi" Chief Officer Hiraoka Takehito staggered into the bridge, and the smoke followed him. Gang Jianren rushed in together.
Dongxiang remained motionless.
Akiyama Masayuki gave the several staff officers next to him a look, and several staff officers swarmed up and took Dongxiang away from the bridge.
At 12:50 noon, after giving the order to break away from the battle, Togo boarded the "Asami" and fled in embarrassment.
But escaping is not easy.
As the fastest armored cruiser in the Combined Fleet, the "Asami" has a maximum speed of only 21 knots.
The location where the Battle of Pohang broke out is about 150 kilometers away from Busan and 300 kilometers away from Nagasaki.
After Togo boarded the "Asami", in order to prevent the "Asahi" from being captured by the Siberian fleet, the "Asami" launched a torpedo to sink the "Asahi". At this point, only the last battleship "Shikishima" of the powerful combined fleet is still struggling to support itself.
Six Japanese armored cruisers, the "Rijin" were sunk by torpedoes fired by "Trophy".
The "Jiban" was flanked by the "Amur" and the "Don" from both sides. The superstructure had begun to catch fire and all the naval guns were lost.
The armored cruiser "Azuma" ordered from France was sunk by a torpedo launched by the light cruiser "Bear" after being damaged by the "Volga".
The "Yakumo" was seriously injured during the Kirov airship's air raid on Nagasaki. All four 203 main guns were blown up. The Japanese army did not have enough artillery to repair and only temporarily installed two 203 guns. The firepower was seriously affected.
Shortly after the battle, the "Yakumo" was hit by the "Yuryev" heavy artillery. The ship's hull was flooded with water and tilted seriously. The captain had to order the abandonment of the ship.
The "Iwane" protected the "Asami" and fled madly towards Busan.
Behind "Iwate" and "Asami", the light cruisers of the Siberian Fleet were chasing after them.
The light cruiser of the Siberian Fleet can reach a maximum speed of 27 knots, and the distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer.
After the "Iwane" sent the last telegram to the "Asami", it adjusted its direction and turned sideways to face the pursuing Siberian light cruiser and fired wildly.
The "Wolf" light cruiser fired three torpedoes at the "Iwate" at a distance of 1,200 meters.
The "Iwane" was shot in the abdomen, a large amount of sea water poured in, and it sank quickly.
Until the last moment, the "Iwane" was still firing.
The sinking of the "Iwane" did not save Dongxiang.
At 1:30 in the afternoon, the "Asami" was overtaken by the Siberian Fleet light cruiser. Ozdoev ordered to fire on the "Asami" and destroy the "Asami" propeller.
The "Asami" lost power and floated helplessly on the sea.
The "Falcon" approached the "Asami", raised a flag, and ordered the "Asami" to surrender immediately.
The "Asami" was adjusting its turret, aiming its muzzle at the "Falcon".
Ozdoev had to launch a torpedo to sink the "Asami".
At this point, the Battle of Pohang is finally over -
It's not over yet.
After the "Asami" was sunk, the "Nicholas I" captured by the combined fleet was belatedly arrived.
Not all Japanese officers would rather die than surrender.
Facing the aggressive "Yuryev" and "Romanov", the "Nicholas I" simply raised the white flag.
As the "Nicholas I" returned to the Siberian Fleet, the combined fleet was completely wiped out.
Unlike the Pacific Fleet and the Second Fleet, the Combined Fleet was truly annihilated.
The Pacific Fleet failed to break through, and the "Crown Prince" fled all the way to Jiaozhou, where it was disarmed by the Germans. After the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, the Germans returned the "Crown Prince" to the Russian Empire.
The Second Fleet was not completely wiped out. Many warships fled overnight. The "Emerald" protected cruiser went through many hardships and became the only warship to successfully reach Vladivostok.
Except for the "Nicholas I", the combined fleet did not capture any Japanese warships, and all warships were sunk.
In the Battle of Pohang, a total of 12,000 people were killed in the Japanese Combined Fleet under Commander-in-Chief Togo Heihachiro. Japan's warships and naval talents accumulated over the years were completely lost in the Battle of Pohang, and only more than 870 people were rescued.
Most of them surrendered directly with the "Nicholas I".
Compared with the annihilated United Fleet, only 163 people of the Siberian Fleet were killed and more than 300 people were injured.
When the results of the Battle of Pohang came out, the whole world was shocked. The Russian Empire finally gave birth to its first true naval commander.
What made the Japanese even more sad was that the results of the Battle of Pohang reached London. London immediately ordered that the "Katori" and "Stag" that were staying in the Lion City prepare to pass through the Strait of Malacca under the cover of the British Navy. Island" was seized to avoid falling into the hands of the Siberian Fleet.
The Siberian fleet did not return after annihilating the combined fleet. Peter ordered the fleet to continue southward and arrived in Busan in the early morning of the 2nd.
What Peter didn’t expect was that the United Fleet actually had warships in Busan.
And there are still three ships.
These three warships are the Sanjing warships that Japan started building in 1888 in response to the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" of the Qing Empire's Beiyang Navy.
Although the main gun of the Sanjing ship is 320 mm, which is larger than the main gun caliber of the "Ural" battleship, these three main guns are only superficial goods and have not made any achievements since their completion.
The main force of the combined fleet was completely wiped out, and the Japanese Navy had its backbone broken.
The Sanjing ship did not dare to leave the harbor to fight, so Peter ordered the "Trophy" to use its 254mm forward main gun to bombard the Sanjing ship parked in the Busan Military Port.
The front main gun of the "Trophy" has a large firing angle that is rare for warships. The shells fired can pass over buildings and hit the Sanjing Ship docked in the military port.
Compared with sinking the Sanjing ship, Peter wanted to capture the Sanjing ship more.
Peter is not interested in the Three Scenery Ship.
But I am still quite interested in the 320mm main gun of the Sanjing ship.
Peter wants to remove the 320mm main gun of the Sanjing ship and use it as a coastal defense gun. At least it can scare a large number of people.
(End of this chapter)