Chapter 1367: Battle of the Persian Gulf (First update, please subscribe)

Sometimes, human history is caused by countless accidents.

When some accidental events happen, no one knows what it all means.

When the distance between the British escort gunboat "Destroyer" and "Novick" started from ten nautical miles and continued to close, neither side showed any intention of giving in.

Three nautical miles!

Two nautical miles!

…

"Sir, the British still haven't returned!"

Vasily, holding a telescope, frowned and said.

"Ask them to return again. If they refuse... warn them again!"

Warning, what is the warning?

Of course it was a blank shot!

When the "Novick" once again sent out flag signals, asking the "Destroyer" to return, Captain Chano stood on the bridge and said to the sailors.

"Gentlemen, I know you must be thinking that the gap between our strengths is too big, but don't forget that we are the Royal Navy. We have never had the tradition of retreating in the face of battle. If we have to retreat, it is the French and the Russians who retreat. If we are destined to die on the sea today, then before that, let us teach them a good lesson..."

Captain Channow's speech made all the sailors shout with excitement. Even the most ordinary British sailors would proudly puff out their chests when mentioning the "Royal Navy" because this was their pride!

"keep going!"

And so, following Captain Chano's orders, the "Destroyer" continued to move forward fearlessly, providing escort for the merchant fleet.

"Sir, the Ouster is still moving forward!"

Vasili nodded with a cold expression.

Following the order, the secondary guns of the "Novik" spewed out two streams of black smoke, and two loud noises were heard in succession.

"The Russians are firing!"

Almost at the moment when two puffs of black smoke came out of the Russian naval guns, the British Royal Navy officers and soldiers, who were usually extremely strictly trained, responded immediately.

Just as the captain said, if they are destined to die today, they must be taught a good lesson before that!

The "Novik" has twelve 152mm main guns, while the "Destroyer" has only four 120mm main guns. It cannot compare with the Russian warship in terms of power or range.

So at the moment the Russian warships "opened fire", the British sailors opened fire!

The only difference is that the "Novik" fired blanks, while the "Destroyer" fired live ammunition.

But in just a blink of an eye, shells exploded one after another around the "Novik" cruiser, and columns of water rose from the sea. One shell even hit the deck of the "Novik" directly. The moment the high-explosive shell exploded, it took the lives of several Russian sailors.

Seeing that the British warships had returned fire, the Russian gunners on the cruiser "Novick" would not show weakness. They fired back directly, and loaded and fired with all their might.

For a while, the sea was filled with the rumbling of artillery fire. More and more shells flew back and forth, and some of them landed on the warships. Moreover, because the distance between the two sides was very close, the accurate shells caused some damage to both sides. Although the high-explosive shells were not a threat to the warships, the powerful firepower of the Russians still made the British officers and soldiers on the "Destroyer" fall into despair. Although the fire ignited by the high-explosive shells was burning on the deck, and although they were in despair, they still fought tenaciously.

In the fierce battle, a 152mm shell hit the chimney of the "Destroyer", and a cloud of black and red smoke rose from the place where it was hit. When the smoke covering the warship rose to the sky, another shell hit there. When the fire was burning, white steam spewed out from the damaged place. The steam engine of the "Destroyer" was damaged. The "Destroyer", whose hull was seriously flooded, did not stop firing after losing power.

As the fierce naval battle was going on, the officers and soldiers of the British Indian Corps on the "Charlie Bonhomme" were all looking at the scene in amazement. No matter what, they had never imagined that there would be someone in this world who would dare to challenge the Royal Navy of the British Empire.

Although they didn't know what was happening, it was certain that this naval battle was destined to change everything.

After the "Destroyer" lost power and became a target, the cruiser "Novik" approached the "Destroyer" while continuing to bombard it with heavy artillery fire. Soon the front and rear main guns of the "Destroyer" were silenced one after another under the fierce artillery fire, and finally the "Destroyer" could only float on the sea and take the beating.

At 2:35 p.m., the gunboat "Destroyer", which was shrouded in smoke, suddenly exploded. After the ammunition depot exploded, it took only a few minutes for it to sink completely to the bottom of the Persian Gulf.

The surface of the sea was filled with various debris from the sunken gunboat "Destroyer". Captain Chano and most of the sailors sank into the sea with the warship, and only a dozen people escaped from the warship.

After the sinking of the gunboat "Destroyer", perhaps in order to prevent merchant ships from being destroyed one by one by the Russians, three British troop transports including "Goodman Charlie" turned around and fled.

Almost at the same time as the naval battle broke out, the "Goodman Charlie" used the spark radio invented by the Italian Marconi on the ship to send out the news through the radio. When the British merchant fleet fled in panic, Vasily did not order the pursuit of the British merchant ships.

While the sailors were putting out the fire on the warship and rescuing the wounded, he just stood there quietly, looking at the wreckage floating on the sea. Thick smoke was still floating from where the warship sank. Among the wreckage on the sea, the surviving British sailors were struggling.

When Vasily ordered the lifeboat to be lowered to rescue the British sailors, although the water in the Persian Gulf was not as cold as that in the Arctic Ocean, it still chilled his heart to the extreme.

Even at this time, his mind was still filled with a question - why did the British fire first?

Of course, now it is time to stop thinking about this issue. Vasily knows very well that perhaps he has won the naval battle, but what next?

What happens next?

Is it possible that the British will swallow this?

"Captain, we won..."

Facing his subordinates' congratulations, Vasily shook his head and said.

"We haven't won yet...right now, it's just the beginning."

This battle changed the course of history. While they won the naval battle, they also caused another war because they successfully angered an arrogant empire.

The war...broke out just like that due to an accidental incident!

The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.

(End of this chapter)