Chapter 302 The Royal Navy will launch an attack from the air and sea! (Please subscribe, please vote)

Once the steam engine is repaired, you can escape!

If the turret cannot be repaired, then you have no choice but to escape!

Moreover, the instructions given to Rear Admiral Cochrane by the Commander of the Second Indian Fleet also included "luring the enemy", which was to lure the Ming Army's battleship formation to the west after destroying or severely damaging the Ming Army's armored cruiser detachment, led by Lieutenant General Hood.

The main force of the Second Indian Fleet is there!

The main formation of the Second Indian Fleet has a total of 22 battleships and 15 airship carriers. That is the real trump card of the Royal Navy!

As long as the four powerful heroes of the Nanyang Fleet are deceived and killed, the winner of the Battle of the Malacca Strait will still be the British Empire!

Thinking of this, Major General Corcoran said firmly: "Turn northwest, forced ventilation, top speed!"

"Yes, Major General!"

"Major General, do we want to escape?"

a voice asked suddenly.

"No!" Rear Admiral Corcoran said, "We have to lure the enemy's battleships under the guns of the main force of the Second Indian Fleet! Even if we can only lure one Hero class, we are still the winner!"

One Hero-class ship for twenty Edgar-class ships!

This transaction is a loss no matter how you calculate it, but it’s better than not being able to exchange for one!

Thinking of this, Major General Corcoran said: "Issue an order. Disband the formation and retreat. May God bless everyone!"

Rear Admiral Corcoran actually knew very well that it would be difficult to escape even a few Edgar-class ships with large targets, but there are still many second- and third-class cruisers and destroyers belonging to the British and Indian Navy on the battlefield. Among them, the second- and third-class cruisers and destroyers

Most of the cruisers were older and slower ships and fell behind when the Edgar class charged. The destroyers kept up, but their targets were too small and they still had a chance to escape.

Now, run away if you can, keep the people alive, and then build more battleships with rough skins, thick flesh, and powerful firepower to bring back.

"Headquarters, the Blake-class car has turned and seems to be running away! Do we want to chase it?"

Zhang Bao had just commanded his battleship "Huo Jinghuan" to destroy an Edgar-class battleship. He seemed to be in high spirits. Hearing the report from his men, he quickly raised his telescope and looked over to the Blake. This Blake

The Edgar-class is the "big brother" of Edgar (Edgar is Blake's "youth version"). It is stronger than the Edgar-class in every aspect, and of course its value is extremely high.

Just when Zhang Bao was thinking about whether he could catch up, the communications officer suddenly loudly reported: "Headquarters, a telegram to close the military gate. We are not allowed to pursue the escaping Blake class, and we must end the battle within 30 minutes and withdraw."

Batam anchorage, no fighting!"

"What? The battle will end in 30 minutes?"

Zhang Bao quickly raised his telescope and looked around. There was already a "chaotic battle" on the sea. Four Hero-class ships, eight Great-class ships, seven Hero-class ships were fighting with more than a dozen Edgar-class ships that were beaten to smoke.

In the melee. Although these Edgar-class are not the opponents of so many "heroes, heroes and emperors", it does not seem to be easy to sink them all - after all, the shells can easily make holes under the waterline of the enemy ships. If

It is quite difficult to sink a 7,000-ton armored cruiser without hitting an ammunition depot or something.

The Edgar class is a new first-class ship. When it was built, it used nickel steel with a hardened surface. When a pointed armor-piercing bullet hits armor steel with this hardness, the tip of the bullet may be shattered, and the impact may cause damage.

Sloping armor with a certain inclination is easy to bounce off, and the effect is not very good. Although the Ming Dynasty Navy has begun to equip blunt-nosed armor-piercing bullets, the number of blunt-nosed bullets carried by each battleship is not very large, so it must be used sparingly. After all, there are many sharp bullets.

Head ballistics inventory is going!

In addition, the main guns of the Great Emperor and Haohan class warships are both 240 mm, and their destructive power is not comparable to the 280 mm main guns of the Hero class. The Edgars that were sunk before were almost all Hero class results.

Thinking of this, Zhang Bao loudly ordered: "Right full rudder, let's go fight the Edgar class, and I'll sink two of them within 30 minutes!"

"Yes! Headquarters!"

The helmsman of the battleship "Huo Jinghuan" responded and turned the steering wheel all the way to the right. The giant ship of more than 20,000 tons turned again, letting go of the Blake, which was "luring the enemy", and headed towards a beaten ship.

The blazing Edgar-class pounced.

Seeing the battleship "Huo Jinghuan" turn around, Major General Cochrane breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he had failed to lure the enemy. He said to the communications officer in a sad tone: "Use the long-wave radio to generate electricity for the battleship Victory. Our troops failed to lure the enemy, and the flagship Blake was

The turret malfunctioned and had to withdraw from the battle. The remaining armored cruisers were being besieged by more than 20 battleships of the Ming Dynasty's Nanyang Fleet, and the situation was critical."

Rear Admiral Corcoran's report was sent by ticking radio waves to the Victory, the flagship of the Second Indian Fleet, which had entered the Strait of Malacca and was heading to Luba Island. This Victory class and its sister ships were used as hero class nemesis.

A mass-produced ship that was spelled out by the British working class with "997". The Second Indian Fleet alone got 10 of them.

In addition, the Second Indian Fleet also has 12 Indomitable-class ships that are enough to fight against the Ming Dynasty's Great Emperor-class.

A total of 22 cutting-edge warships are the trump card in Emperor William's hand!

According to the calculations of the Duke of Wellington and the Marquess of Nelson, with these 22 battleships and the dozens of Victory-class ships currently being delivered and built, the Indomitable-class British Empire could theoretically defeat the enemy in the battles of 1830, 1831, and even 1832.

Gain the upper hand!

But this start seems a bit unfavorable!

It was obviously a very clever plan to lure the enemy and annihilate the enemy, and the enemy also took the initiative to divide his troops, giving the Royal Navy every opportunity to defeat it. How could it end up being a trick of luring the enemy and being lured by the enemy, and annihilating the enemy and being annihilated by the enemy?

What exactly is the problem?

As a second-generation naval elite of the Hood family, Lieutenant General James Hood was once a classmate of Emperor William at the Naval Academy. Later he was trusted and cultivated by the Marquess of Nelson and was considered a future star of the Royal Navy.

Moreover, he believed that his talent was absolutely worthy of such a reputation. And in this military operation, his command was impeccable and could be said to have reached a level of perfection.

Such a huge Second Indian Fleet sailed around Africa and arrived in the Indian Ocean almost unnoticed. It has still hidden its traces and has not been exposed until now... It should not have been exposed, right?

But……

"Vice Admiral," the voice of the fleet communications officer rang out, "Telegram from the Blake...the enemy's large formation is retreating at the eastern intersection of the Malacca Strait."

"What? Are they going to retreat?" James Hood was stunned, "What are our losses?"

"Lieutenant Admiral, we, we have lost at least 18 Edgar-class ships..." Earl Howe, chief of staff of the fleet, replied in a low tone of mourning, "Although the other two Edgar-class ships managed to escape, they were also severely damaged.

.

In addition, the Straits Fleet also lost ten shallow-water heavy artillery ships. The total loss of second-class cruisers and third-class cruisers exceeded twenty-one. What a heavy loss!"

The losses were indeed heavy, very heavy!

The total losses of armored cruisers, shallow-water heavy gunships, and cruisers totaled 39!

Although these days, the scale of the Royal Navy of the British Empire is amazing! And the British shipbuilding strength is equally amazing, which can make up for all the above losses in a short period of time.

But losing so many warships at once will still strain the Royal Navy's strength in the coming months.

In addition, there are at least more than 10,000 naval officers and soldiers on those 39 warships...most of them are real British and professional sailors!

This is a truly heartbreaking loss!

"Lieutenant General, what should we do now?" asked the Army Chief of Staff, "Should we temporarily withdraw to the Ceylon base, or should we continue to seek a decisive battle?"

"No retreat!" Lieutenant General Hood said sternly, "The battle has just begun... The Royal Navy has not yet used its true strength!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the sky outside the bridge and said: "The Royal Navy not only dominates the ocean, but also dominates the sky... Where is the Ming fleet that bypassed Sumatra?"

"Lieutenant General, they are approaching the Great Strait!"

"Okay!" Hood said, "We will go to fight them tomorrow morning... The Royal Navy will launch an attack from the air and sea!"
Chapter completed!