Chapter 1105: Advantage Over the Enemy (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
The fleet is setting off!
On the afternoon of September 11, 1882, the mighty fleet sailed out of the port of Callao and headed south. At this time, the sailors of the Peruvian-Bolivian Federation on the warships were all eager for the upcoming battle.
They are fully aware of what mission they are shouldering - the rise and fall of the country!
This fleet, consisting of two battleships, four armored cruisers and four cruisers, is considered to be the most powerful fleet in the South Pacific, at least the most powerful fleet at present.
After all, the size of the Ming Empire's Pacific Fleet may be much larger than that of the Peruvian Federation Navy, but the Empire's Pacific Fleet is scattered. From Hawaii to Japan to the Chenggong Islands and the Northern Territory, the vast and scattered empire's territory disperses the empire's naval power.
At this time, with one "Youzhou-class" and two Nanhua-class ships rushing to Cuba's aid, plus the two Linhai-class ships that had previously sailed to Hawaii, the Empire's Pacific Fleet now has only one Nanhua-class and two Linhai-class armored fleets, and only four cruisers. It can be said that in terms of strength, the Peruvian-Bolivia Federal Fleet has the advantage, and this is also the fundamental reason why they dared to take the initiative to attack.
"In the bright sunshine, they sailed to the sea. This was the largest naval battle since the invention of ironclad ships. God bless you!"
Madsen, a British naval lieutenant commander on the Peru, gazed into the distance with a longing tone.
"Major, do you think their plan will succeed?"
Major William, the German observer, holding a pipe in his hand, asked curiously. "I don't know."
Madsen shook his head and then said.
"But their plan is very good. Once they can defeat the Ming Empire Navy at sea, then at least in the next few months, the Ming Empire's land invasion of Bolivia and Peru will be delayed. The alliance will be able to freely supply along the coastline and strengthen the deployment of the army. Weapons can also be continuously shipped to Peru from overseas. More importantly, Britain and the United States will also respond."
"Yes, no country will help a country that is doomed to fail, but if they win the naval battle, they will also win future survival."
"Who would have thought that the fate of a country would be determined entirely by the outcome of a naval battle?"
Although this naval battle determined the fate of the country, the sailors of the Peruvian-Persian coalition fleet seemed particularly happy and also became talkative. Some of them were playing chess in a secluded corner, some were reading, and another group was talking about the interesting stories of a colleague. It was almost hard to believe that these sailors were about to participate in a naval battle where many people would die. Perhaps in their pretending to be indifferent to the danger, there might be some meaning of false courage.
On the battleship Peru, the whistle sounded and the officer on duty shouted loudly.
“Pray!”
"Order the entire fleet to pray!"
As a Catholic country, Miguel Grau ordered prayers at dusk that day. Even though there were many Indian sailors in his fleet who did not believe in Catholics, it was no big deal as long as they believed.
After the order was given, the sailors prayed on the main deck. The priest on board had already put on his robes and stood in front of the statue. There was a kind of longing in his eyes, which revealed his mood.
He also longed for victory because he knew what the Ming Empire's occupation of Peru would mean. It meant that the power of the church would suffer a serious blow. The Ming Empire was not Catholic, and they would never allow them to occupy a large amount of land and wealth again.
Led by the priest, people were praying, asking for God's blessing, blessing them in the upcoming battle, blessing their souls, and blessing them to win this war!
While the prayer was going on, the fleet changed to a new formation. The armored cruisers of the First Cruiser Squadron sailed forward at full speed, forming the left column of the fleet, while the four cruisers of the Second Squadron cruised beside the main battleships to counter the torpedo ships of the Ming Empire Navy. Cruisers were the only means of defense that the navies of various countries could take against torpedo ships. As the order was issued, the fleet changed from a sailing formation to a combat formation.
The sun has set!
On the sea dyed red by the setting sun, this huge fleet sailed towards the south. Only God knew whether it was sailing towards victory or death.
However, what they did not know was that almost at the same time as they set out, agents from the Imperial Investigation Bureau lurking near the naval port sent intelligence back to the country, and a reconnaissance airship had already flown to the vicinity of the sea area and was searching for the fleet in the sky.
Almost immediately after the airship discovered the fleet's coal smoke, the radio officer on the reconnaissance airship used the radio station to inform the Imperial Navy. In front of them, a naval fleet covering the landing force immediately split into two according to the plan and headed north.
Compared to the Peruvian Navy, the size of this fleet is very limited, with only one Shanxi battleship and the Linhai armored cruiser, four protected cruisers, Taiyuan, Jincheng, Datong and Taihang, and at most eight ten-year-old torpedo boats.
Lieutenant General Cheng Bichen, the fleet commander, gazed solemnly into the distance. As the deputy commander of the Imperial Navy's Atlantic Fleet, the fleet he led was undoubtedly the weakest fleet in the empire, but now he had to face a fleet that was far larger than his.
This naval battle...
"There's a huge disparity in strength!"
Li Guowei, who was on the warship, sighed in his heart as he used a camera to record the soldiers who were preparing for battle.
Yes, the disparity in strength between the two sides is extremely shocking. The Peru-Bolivian Federation Navy has two 8,300-ton "Peru-class" battleships, four 5,400-ton "Huasca-class" armored cruisers and four cruisers with a total displacement of 8,600 tons.
And what about the Imperial Navy?
Shanxi has a displacement of 7,300 tons, Linhai has a displacement of 6,800 tons, Taiyuan, Jincheng, Datong and Taihang are 4,600-ton protected cruisers, and the 10-year-class torpedo boats have a total tonnage of only 7,860 tons. The disparity in strength between the two sides is so great that it is almost unbearable to look at.
Although the disparity in strength was so great that even laymen like the military journalists could see it, the fleet was still full of vigor and headed towards the northern sea without hesitation, where a huge fleet trying to defend the country was also heading towards them...
The sea under the setting sun has completely turned red, as if foreshadowing the future, a sign of bad luck...
(End of this chapter)
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