Chapter 29

The waves surged, and the coal smoke obscured the sky.

On nearly 100 square kilometers of sea, the warships were densely packed. The sharp bows cut through the rolling green waves, and the huge battle flags fluttered in the wind, making a loud, resounding noise. The cannons, polished to a shine by the sailors, reflected the glaring, dazzling sunlight of noon.

At this moment, the 11 warships of the Beiyang Fleet had formed a "ren" (人) shaped formation: in the center stood the three large main warships, "Kaiyuan," "Dingyuan," and "Zhenyuan." "Laiyuan," "Jingyuan," "Chaoyong," and "Yangwei" were arrayed on the right wing, while "Jingyuan," "Zhiyuan," "Guangjia," and "Jiyuan" were deployed on the left wing. From a high vantage point, the water split by the ship bows could be seen surging to the sides of the warships, creating a spectacular and awe-inspiring sight.

Why did the Beiyang Fleet form this formation? In fact, there was a reason for it. Influenced by the 1866 Battle of Lissa, the Beiyang Fleet's warships were designed to face the enemy with their bows, which were equipped with exceptionally powerful firepower. Especially the two ironclad warships, "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan," could only fully utilize their eight 305mm main guns when their bows were aimed at the enemy. Since the combat distance was generally very close at the time, another advantage of facing the enemy with the bow was that it could effectively reduce the area exposed to enemy fire, thereby reducing the chances of being hit.

Now, the Japanese Combined Fleet was divided into two sections: the front was the faster First Flying Squadron, and the rear was the relatively slower main body of the Combined Fleet—this formation was strikingly similar to the Italian fleet that lost in the Battle of Lissa! Liu Bushan was determined to emulate the Austrian Admiral Tegetthoff and form the Beiyang Fleet into a line, cutting through the gap in the Japanese Combined Fleet's column. As long as they closed the distance, the Japanese warships would be no match for the Beiyang Fleet's ironclad warships!

10,000 meters!

When the rangefinder reported this distance, Admiral Ding Ruchang, standing on the flying bridge of the ironclad "Dingyuan," could already clearly see the distant Japanese warships. Since the Combined Fleet was facing the enemy with their sides, the four leading fast cruisers appeared particularly large, and no ship seemed to match their length except for the battleship "Kaiyuan"!

"Come on, little Japs, you'll soon know the power of my fleet!" In the command tower, protected by thick armor, Liu Bushan clenched his fists excitedly as he watched the approaching Japanese warships. Around him, over a dozen officers were busily working, either determining positions or calculating angles, preparing for the upcoming fleet battle.

What worried Liu Bushan was that the two ramming cruisers, "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei," were too old and their boilers, after long-term high-intensity use, were almost at the end of their service life. No matter how the sailors tried, their maximum speed could only reach a pitiful 6 knots. Due to the slow speed of these two old ships, the Beiyang Fleet's current speed was only 6 knots, far below the speed of the Japanese First Flying Squadron. If the Japanese chose to avoid the center of the Beiyang Fleet and circle around to the relatively weak right wing, they could use their overwhelming quick-firing guns to cause a collapse of the entire right wing!

"Report!" A messenger rushed into the command tower and loudly reported to Liu Bushan, "The enemy's First Flying Squadron is turning northeast, bearing 274, distance 9,500 meters!"

"Damn Japs, they've picked the perfect moment!" Liu Bushan was startled and quickly grabbed his binoculars. He saw the four leading Japanese warships accelerating one by one, with large white waves surging from their bows due to the sharp turn. Clearly, the Japanese commander had made the correct response based on the Beiyang Fleet's formation. The Beiyang Fleet's firepower was almost entirely concentrated at the bow, while the firepower on the sides and rear was extremely weak. If the Japanese warships circled around to the side and rear, using their strengths to attack the Beiyang Fleet's weaknesses, how long could the old and weak "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei" hold out under the Japanese quick-firing guns?

Before the battle, Ding Ruchang had handed over command of the fleet to him. Faced with such trust from his old superior, how could he let the Japanese commander's cunning plan succeed?

Liu Bushan thought, "The Japanese fleet has an extremely high speed, while the Beiyang Fleet can only maintain a speed of 6 to 7 knots. If this trend continues, the Beiyang Fleet's various units will not have fully engaged the Japanese warships before the Japanese First Flying Squadron has already circled around to the side and rear of the main body and launched an attack. Although a chaotic battle was the predetermined tactic after the battleship 'Kaiyuan' joined, if the entire right wing is lost, can the chaotic battle still succeed? To protect the right wing, the course must be adjusted to always keep the bow aimed at the Japanese Navy."

"Pass the order, the fleet will turn 4 points to the right. Also, send a signal to the leading 'Kaiyuan' to use its longer-range 283mm main guns to strike the Japanese First Flying Squadron first!" Liu Bushan, still staring at the Japanese Combined Fleet less than 10,000 meters away, said loudly.

The signalman climbed up the bridge, pulled the rope, and converted Liu Bushan's orders into flag signals, repeating them nearly 10 times. The signalmen on each ship saw and responded with flags. The massive Beiyang Fleet began to slowly turn to the right, with each gun completing the loading of the first shell. In the command tower of the battleship "Kaiyuan," Claude, the gunnery officer, took cotton balls from his hands and skillfully plugged his ears, waiting quietly for the moment of the first shot.

9,000 meters... 8,500 meters... 8,000 meters... 7,500 meters...

7,000 meters!

"Boom!" The two 40-caliber 283mm main guns at the bow of the "Kaiyuan" suddenly roared, spewing out a purple-red flame over 20 feet long, and the massive recoil made the 11,000-ton ironclad warship tremble. The two 240-kilogram armor-piercing shells, traveling at 820 meters per second, reached the "Kiyoshima" in just a few breaths!

"Boom!" The shells exploded in the Yellow Sea, just over 200 meters from the "Kiyoshima," sending up two white water columns over 10 meters high, swirling and rising to the sky.

With a splash, the water columns burst, like thousands of silver lions and horses, roaring and sweeping in all directions. Watching the surging waves not far away, Heihachiro Masaki was terrified: the two fleets were 7,000 meters apart, yet the shells had landed just over 200 meters away! However, he realized that as the commander of the First Flying Squadron, he must not show fear or panic; if his fear was known by the new recruits, the battle would be lost!

"What are you afraid of! What are you panicking about! The Qing shells haven't hit us yet!" Heihachiro Masaki suppressed his fear and pointed at the officers, who were pale and trembling, and shouted, "Look at your cowardly faces, are you still soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire? The Combined Fleet is protected by the Sun Goddess and the Emperor; how can the Qing shells hit us? If anyone shows cowardice or fear of death..." He drew his sword, "I will not be lenient!"

"Hai!" The officers on the "Kiyoshima" answered in unison, their hearts filled with respect.

At this moment, the battleship "Kaiyuan" was a scene of intense activity: in the ammunition room at the bottom of the bow, sailors carefully lifted the two 240-kilogram shells into the pre-cast modules using special machinery. The bell rang, and the elevator carried the module with the shells to the deck below the main gun turret. The waiting flatbed cart then carried the shells horizontally onto another elevator, which lifted them into the main gun turret. At this point, the main guns, which had just fired, had returned to the loading angle facing the bow. The sailors pushed the shells into the gun barrels and loaded the propellant charges. After completing these tasks, the hundreds-of-tons main gun turret rotated again, adjusting its horizontal and vertical angles based on the latest data from the rangefinders. When the smoke cleared, a new round of salvos would begin!

"Boom!" Another deafening roar echoed through the sky, the sound wave seeming to destroy the universe and tear apart the stars. Watching the mountain-like purple and red waves spewing from the bow of the "Kaiyuan," the Japanese sailors on the "Kiyoshima" were terrified. The sharp, piercing sound of the shells, produced by their friction with the air, quickly approached from a distance. Due to the high speed of the 283mm shells from the German guns, they reached the "Kiyoshima" in just a few breaths at a distance of 6,000 meters.

"Don't panic! Take cover immediately!" Heihachiro Masaki barely managed to shout these words before the waves surged, and the "Kiyoshima" suddenly trembled violently. The statue of the Sun Goddess on the table flew out due to inertia and hit Heihachiro Masaki's forehead, causing a deep wound. Ignoring the blood streaming down his face, Heihachiro Masaki grabbed the speaking tube and shouted, "Damage control, report the damage!"

After a moment, a shaken voice came from the other end of the speaking tube, "Report to the commander, an enemy shell exploded in the water 10 meters from the bow, two compartments are flooded, and the pumps are working, the flooding is under control! One sailor at the 152mm gun position on the bow was hit by shrapnel, his life is in danger."

Hearing that the ship was not directly hit, Heihachiro Masaki felt a great relief. He grunted, then felt the intense pain on his forehead. Recalling the earlier shaking, he was still shaken and shouted, "We can't go on like this! Pass the order, the fleet will turn one point to the right, change the course, and quickly close the distance with the Qing fleet!"

As Heihachiro Masaki roared, the four new cruisers of the First Flying Squadron began to turn again. On the "Kiyoshima," which had a design displacement of 4,150 tons, senior officers were repeatedly encouraging the sailors. As long as the distance was reduced to 3,000 meters, they could use their rapid-fire guns to launch the most intense attacks on the enemy warships.

——————————————————————————

PS: Please give some support... Just a light click of the left mouse button on "Add to Bookshelf" will do.

Previous page AD starts

Previous page AD ends