Chapter 730: Battle of Lamu Bay
March 23rd, three o’clock in the morning.
The East African Fleet moved north along the coastline to prevent the British from striking Mombasa, and the two sides met in the waters of Lamu Bay.
In order to confront the main force of the British Royal Navy, nearly half of the main warships of the East African Navy headed north, radiating outward with Lamu City and Mombasa as the center.
Eight o'clock in the morning.
The lookout on the flying bridge reported: "A suspicious target was spotted ahead!"
I saw black smoke rising from the sea in the northeast.
"All ships on standby, get ready for combat, and open fire immediately when enemy ships enter range!" ordered Vice Admiral Kerry of the East African Navy.
The British expeditionary fleet finally saw the formation composed of the main ironclad ships of East Africa. There were a total of seven East African ironclad ships heading north this time, which was only half the number of the British fleet. Moreover, the heaviest ironclad ship in East Africa was the Friedrich, which was only more than 7,000 tons, far less than the British ironclad ships. However, East Africa had a certain number of gunboats as support forces. Although the Battle of Mogadishu proved that gunboats had no chance of winning against ironclad ships, they were still feasible as auxiliary warships.
"The British warships are more advanced, their artillery caliber is larger, their firepower is stronger, and their experience is richer, but behind us are the cities of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and beyond Dar es Salaam is the capital of East Africa, so we must not withdraw in this war. Even if the entire ship sinks, we must not lose the faith of East African soldiers in defending their country." Captain Will of the Pelican began to do ideological work.
"Of course, we can't underestimate ourselves. The enemy is coming from the Mediterranean, so we can wait for them to tire themselves out. However, the British army on the other side is experienced in many battles, while we have no actual combat experience in this world. So we have to prove to the world the courage of the East African naval soldiers!"
Although the East African Navy has a long coastline, the lack of good ports and the scarcity of islands restrict the deployment of East African naval forces.
For example, the British have military bases in Djibouti and the Arabian Peninsula, and there is also the Seychelles Island in the center of the Indian Ocean where naval forces can be deployed.
There are only a few large islands in East Africa. The most important of them, Pemba and Zanzibar, are too close to the East African coastline, which is not conducive to maritime defense. Islands like the Comoros are more likely to be favored, but the Comoros Islands are remote and not in the hotly contested area of this war.
When the British fleet appeared in East Africa, the British were also excited about encountering the main fleet of East Africa. At present, the strength of the two sides is quite different, and they have a double advantage.
However, after sailing overnight, the British fleet is now somewhat tired, which is not conducive to fighting. However, it can still be overcome for the British Navy, which has been active at sea all year round.
Kerry: "The accuracy and power of our artillery are far inferior to those of the British. The quality and weight of the hull and the hardness of the armor are relatively poor, so we must not fight the British head-on. We must outsmart them and must fight at a suitable distance and close to them. Otherwise, with the range of British artillery, the battle will be more disadvantageous to us."
"So after the battle started, the fleet was divided into two, with Friedrich and Trieste as the command ships, serving as the First Fleet and the Second Fleet, respectively, to attack the British army from two directions."
"We will lead the Friedrich to attract the British warships head-on. In order to prevent the enemy from splitting up, when the battle starts, each ship of the First Fleet will fight independently. We can act according to the situation and expand the range of the First Fleet."
"The Second Fleet, commanded by the Trieste and led by Major General Anton, will make a detour in an arc and seize the opportunity to attack the British army's flank or rear. The Second Fleet must ensure that its forces are concentrated to avoid being defeated one by one!"
It has to be said that Kerry made a major risky decision, which was to divide the command of the fleet into two, and the specific effect is unknown.
Of course, the fundamental reason that prompted Kerry to make such a decision was the huge gap between the East African Navy and the British Royal Navy. As the weaker party, the East African Navy had to take risks.
When the East African naval fleet was divided into two groups and there was an extremely chaotic change of formation at the same time, the British were really confused for a while and now they could not see the military intentions of East Africa.
However, for the British Royal Navy, which has an absolute advantage, it is natural to fight against the enemy with soldiers and block the water with earth. However, this time East Africa actually took the initiative to attack, which was somewhat beyond the expectations of the British Royal Navy.
"Pay attention to the right wing of the East African Navy. They must have separated from the main force of the East African Navy for a purpose. Gray Fox and Hog... keep a close eye on them, and wait until the East African ships are within range and open fire directly." Grafton, commander-in-chief of the British Royal Navy Expeditionary Force, ordered.
The command of the East African Navy has now been divided into two. Vice Admiral Kerry commanded the remaining ships and said: "Each ship must ensure that the ship enters the limited range before opening fire. Do not waste shells, but ensure that there is a target when firing, rather than shooting blindly. Each ship must pay attention to the distance, leave a channel, and avoid the British artillery fire that came one round earlier."
In fact, there is not much difference between the two sides in the range of artillery. The British are definitely more powerful. At the same time, the British hull is better and the speed is faster. The advantage of the East African is that it has more flexible turning.
Major General Kerry hoped to use guerrilla warfare to distract the British army, prevent them from forming a joint force, and create conditions for the Second Fleet.
"Boom..." With a loud bang, the East African First Fleet opened fire first. At the same time, the line formation composed of Friedrich, Pelican, Nightingale, White Eagle and four gunboats formed an attack trend from the outside to the inside in terms of firepower.
Although the equipment was backward, the East African Navy maintained normal training and armament maintenance. So when faced with a sudden war, the soldiers who were experiencing it for the first time were a little nervous, but they soon calmed down under the guidance of the veterans and began to operate the ships according to their daily training.
As the world's most powerful navy, Britain's sailors had rich experience and were able to operate smoothly, so both sides had a relatively high hit rate.
However, the overall manufacturing level of East African warships is not as good as that of Britain, so the East African Navy suffered greater losses. If nothing unexpected happens at this time, then as time goes by, the East African fleet is doomed to be defeated.
Vice Admiral Kerry's command ship had been hit once, and a large hole was blown out on the left side of the Friedrich by a shell, but the quality of the Friedrich was acceptable and there was little impact on the hull, so it could continue fighting.
Friedrich has been in service in East Africa for more than ten years. It was produced by the Austrian Royal Shipyard in Trieste. It is still in good condition even in this era. Of course, the annual maintenance cost of East Africa is relatively high, but this is the price of developing a navy.
As a warship that could directly compete with the British ironclad ships, the Friedrich's counterattack was quite sharp. It severely damaged the British Slade and hit the stern of the Colossus. Unfortunately, the shells only grazed the side and did not pose much threat to the Colossus. On the contrary, under the fire of the British Navy, the East African gunboat Antonio had a raging fire on its deck.
Except for the four ironclads, the other gunboats were not in good condition either. Without the same strong resistance to impact as the ironclads, any accidental damage could cause them to lose their combat effectiveness instantly.
(End of this chapter)
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