As naval warfare has developed to this day, although broadside artillery tactics are becoming increasingly popular, the old tactics have not been eliminated.
For example, when the Dutch were blockading Macau, the Portuguese approached them at night and engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the ship.
In other words, boarding close combat or fire ship assaults often appeared in naval battles, although this was a fighting method that the Dutch were not good at and tried their best to avoid.
Not only did the Dutch want to avoid this, the Ming navy also did not want to use such tactics. Of course, their close combat capabilities were not bad, but their close combat style was outdated and would be eliminated.
But just as Blue led the three warships to turn again and try to break through the encirclement and escape, the sudden action of the Ming Dynasty navy made the Dutch think that the enemy was going to resort to boarding tactics.
The two squadrons attacked the Dutch, using basically the same tactics. Hong Xu's troops, who arrived later, also first fired dense rockets and then used long-range artillery bombardment.
Three of the six Dutch galleons had been severely damaged, with their sails burned and their ships hit by cannons. They could not escape, and continuing to fire back was just a last-ditch effort.
Despair had already risen in the hearts of the Dutch, but they were still persisting and turning around to find a breakthrough, hoping to find a way to survive in the face of an enemy with absolute superiority.
At this moment, the Dutch discovered that more than 20 warships suddenly emerged from the two fleets of the Ming army, riding the wind and waves and approaching them.
These twenty or so warships were also galleons, but they were small to medium-sized, weighing at most 400 tons, while the Dutch galleons were medium to large, weighing over 800 tons.
During this period, most seafaring nations generally adopted galleons, but each had its own unique design.
For example, Spain used huge ships weighing more than a thousand tons to transport treasures.
The British penetrated the wall panels of the lower deck in order to place heavy artillery on the lower deck.
At the same time, in order to make it more suitable for long-range artillery battles and improve its operational performance, they lowered the bow superstructure, moved it into the hull, and even placed it inside the bow suspension.
Moreover, the British preferred small galleons of 300 to 500 tons, which were obviously superior to Spanish galleons in terms of speed and maneuverability.
The Dutch were more conventional, not making many changes to the galleon, and mostly using medium to large sailboats.
The difference in tonnage meant the number of guns carried. Looking at the size of the Ming warships, Blue determined that they carried no more than twenty guns, meaning only about ten on each side.
Our ship had sixty light and heavy guns, more than three times the enemy's. The enemy sending warships to engage was exactly what Blue wanted.
As the two armies' ships approach each other, the enemy is worried about accidental injuries, and the artillery bombardment of the large fleet will definitely weaken. Isn't this a good opportunity to break out of the encirclement?
"Open fire!" As the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Blue raised the flag and commanded the three warships to pour artillery fire on the enemy.
The Ming army's artillery bombardment did indeed become sparse, and only the twenty or so assault ships continued to advance fearlessly. What surprised the Dutch was that they did not fire a single shot, but simply rushed forward.
Should we get close to the ship and engage in close combat? Blue frowned and gave the order again.
The Dutch sailors who received the order rushed to the deck, holding guns and knives, with their eyes wide open, ready to give a head-on blow to the enemy who attempted to approach and board the ship.
The cannons on the Dutch warships were still roaring and the course was still being adjusted.
The shells were visible to the naked eye, passing over the sides of the warships and stirring up columns of water in the sea.
Boom! A shell hit the side, shaking the warship a few times. Zheng Zhihu heard screams and wails below.
But he just narrowed his eyes slightly, and controlled the warship without dodging or avoiding, and continued to rush towards the enemy ship quickly.
Zheng Zhihu was already the captain of a main battleship, but he joined the navy two years later than Hong Xu and Gan Hui, so his official position was naturally inferior to theirs.
But he also made tremendous efforts to become a captain. With so many new recruits in the navy, how can one stand out without putting in extraordinary efforts?
Brother, I won't let you down.
The whistling of the shells could not make Zheng Zhihu afraid, nor could it make him retreat.
As long as they get within a hundred meters, a round of artillery fire will completely destroy the red-haired barbarians.
Zheng Zhihu was quite confident. He stared at the red-haired foreign warship in front of him, raised the corners of his mouth, and did not issue any orders.
Not only Zheng Zhihu's warships, but also the other warships in the assault fleet were the same. They silently endured the enemy's artillery bombardment and rushed towards the enemy.
Although these assault ships were not as tall as the Dutch ones, they were equipped with no fewer artillery than the Dutch ones.
The reason was simple: the assault ships were loaded with garang cannons, which had a short range, short, thin barrels, and weighed only one-third of the same caliber red cannons.
Because the garand was light in weight, the assault fleet's warships, although smaller than those of the Dutch, had as many artillery pieces as the Dutch.
You have to know that the Red Cannon, also known as the cannon, has a long barrel and high chamber pressure, so the barrel must be made thick and heavy.
At that time, heavy cannons capable of firing 32-pound shells weighed about 5 tons. On a large wooden sailing ship, such heavy cannons could only be installed on the lower deck, and the number could not be too large.
Only light guns could be installed on the upper deck, otherwise the ship would capsize. The Swedish Navy made this mistake, and its brand new warship capsized and sank amid the salute of the launching gun.
The Garand gun focused on improving the accuracy of the coordination between the shells and the barrel. Although the caliber was large, the barrel was short and thin, and the maximum range was only more than 200 meters.
Because of its light weight, more guns can be loaded on the warship and can be installed on the main deck, which has little impact on the center of gravity of the warship.
Of course, due to the range, the assault warship equipped with the Garand gun had to advance under the enemy's fire and get close to a distance of 200 meters before launching a bombardment.
This is actually a misunderstanding. It seems very dangerous, but considering the accuracy and firing speed of muzzle-loading artillery, the danger is not that great.
Boom! Another shell hit Zheng Zhihu's warship. The sailors suffered casualties, but the warship was still able to sail and was not seriously damaged.
Other warships in the assault fleet were also under fire, some were hit by shells, and three were even severely damaged and forced to withdraw from the assault.
However, the losses did not exceed expectations, and the assault fleet still took advantage of the wind to approach the Dutch's tall warships.
At a distance of more than 300 meters, the assault fleet suddenly turned from vertical to horizontal, and as it passed diagonally past the Dutch warship, the cannons on the side finally let out a long-suppressed roar.
"fire!"
"fire!"
The orders were conveyed passionately and inspiringly, with loud trumpet sounds that were unaffected by the sound of artillery fire.
Plumes of smoke rose, warships spewed flames and white smoke, and heavy shells hit the enemy.
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