My Italian Chapter 415

Every move of the U.S. Navy was under the surveillance of the Spaniards, and the battleship Princess Christina, who was staying in port, used naval guns to help defend the fort. Its 15-inch main battery shells terrified the attacking three shallow-water heavy gunships.

Of course, through the radio of the Princess Christina, the Spanish fleet, located 30 kilometers away, also grasps the dynamics of the American fleet.

"Prepare to attack, the U.S. fleet has been separated and some ammunition has been used up. This situation is basically perfect."

After a moment of contemplation, Lieutenant General Sedra ordered.

After a few minutes, the entire fleet began to accelerate, and the Spanish rushed in a single column at the highest possible speed toward the distant American fleet. The towering clipper head of the flagship Empress Isabel, which is at the head of the fleet, splits the waves and shines in the sunlight. The splashing water reflects the brilliance of 7 colors. The two two-mounted turrets slowly turned, and the four powerful 356mm 35L main guns pointed to the port side. The smoke from the chimney rose into the air under the sea breeze, and all this undoubtedly fell into the eyes of the US Navy lookout.

"The fleet turns. Prepare to fight. The fleet maintains a speed of 12 knots, waiting for the attack formation on the other side to join. Major General Samplin took a deep breath and calmed his emotions before ordering.

At 1:40 p.m. on October 2, 1898, the Battle of San Diego, which decided the ownership of the Caribbean, finally kicked off.

"We have to speed up to grab the T." Dewey said, watching the Spanish fleet approaching from the northwest at a high speed of 17 knots in the distance.

"Let the second formation go grab T."

Major General Samplin gave the order.

Before the fleet set off, Rear Admiral Samplin and the others organized the battleships. Among them, the three slowest Indianclass battleships were the first formation, while the four Pennsylvaniclass and Brooklyn were patrolled as the second formation, and the others Several protected cruisers form the third formation, and three shallow-water heavy gunships form the fourth formation.

Following Major General Samplin's order, the five U.S.-only cruisers immediately sped up, preparing to grab T first.

Seeing that the U.S. fleet has divided five patrol ships to fight for T, Lieutenant General Sedra will of course not let them do so. The importance of grabbing T in the naval battle, without too much narration, he will naturally not give the opponent a chance.

"The Columbus and Francisco were ordered to go forward with three Maria Theresclass ships, and the other party must not be allowed to seize the T position."

Following Lieutenant General Sedra's order, the two Garibaldi and three Maria Theresa classes immediately increased their speed and wanted to use their speed to grab T.

The ten ships on both sides also increased the speed to the maximum 20 knots of the formation. Everyone knows that if the speed of the two sides is the same, as long as the other party does not make a big mistake, it is impossible to grab the T position. The commanders of the patrol formations on both sides were more cautious in the decisive battle, and it was impossible for them to make such mistakes, so they gave up their plans to grab T when they could not do anything.

Although the installed patrol did not succeed in grabbing the T, Major General Samplin was also very satisfied when he saw that the five fastest installed patrols in the Spanish fleet were led away.

"That's it, get your speed up to 15 knots and get ready to fight."

A few minutes later, the three Indianclass ships of the First Formation of the U.S. Fleet also began to accelerate. At the same time, many protected cruisers of the third formation are also speeding up.

After the American fleet decided on tactics, the Spanish fleet also made a final tactical adjustment to the entire battle.

"We must split the American fleet as much as possible, otherwise, our pressure will be too great." Looking at the American fleet in the distance, Colonel Leifer said.

"Actually, we can consider attacking the three shallow-water heavy artillery ships that are left behind." Lieutenant General Sedra looked at the three slow-moving shallow-water heavy artillery ships behind him with his binoculars.

"It's not worth the loss.. If the opponent loses three coastal defense ships, the big deal is to retreat. We just won a tactical victory. What we lost will be an opportunity to break the backbone of the US Navy in a short time. We need a decisive one. Victory!" Colonel Leifer protested.

"Well, what do we do now? If we wait until the opposing fleet converges, we will be at a disadvantage." Lieutenant General Sedra asked. After too many battles, Sedra has shown extreme trust in Colonel Lefer from Italy. Although he may be a little dissatisfied with Colonel Leifel's behavior when he is not fighting, but once the war is officially launched, he will still choose to listen to Colonel Leifel. After all, the strong have the final say in war .

"Let the latter, the Duke of Ulloa (Venice) and the Marquis of Venadito (Brescia), block the other's cruiser formation, we need to create an opportunity." After taking a look at the two Tunisian-class battleships behind, It took a lot of determination to come up with the plan.

"This is a very difficult moment to decide. We may lose one or two precious warships." Lieutenant General Sedra said with a gloomy expression.

"But we can win the war, just know that!" Colonel Leifer said mercilessly.

Lieutenant Admiral Sedra cherishes any warship in the fleet, but Colonel Leifer is more concerned with the outcome of the war! As for how much the Spanish fleet can be left after the war, and whether it exists in name only, it has nothing to do with him. After all, he was an officer of the Kingdom of Italy, not Spain.

"Well, since that's the case, we can only do this." Looking back at the two Venice-class armored cruisers in the back row, Lieutenant General Sedra said with some heartache.

When the two sides were walking opposite each other, the relative speed of the two fleets was as high as 30 knots, and the distance of more than 30 kilometers was only less than half an hour. The two sides quickly made the final adjustments. At the moment of collision It must be rock-shattering!

However, before the main battleships of the two sides collided, the patrol formations of the two sides exchanged fire first.

"Fire!"

Following the gunner's firing order, the two Garibaldi-class 254mm 40L main guns took the lead in roaring!

The entire sea was suddenly filled with fire snakes. Hundreds of kilograms of shells flew out of the barrel at a speed of more than 700 meters per second and flew towards the fleet in the distance. A few seconds later, the 6,000-meter American cruiser fleet was surrounded by thick water columns. A dull explosion suddenly came from a distance, and a shell hit the middle part of the hull of the Pennsylvania. , the heavy shell directly tore the upper armor belt of only 4 inches, and fled into the internal cabin, accompanied by the sound of explosion. A black smoke mixed with debris and flames spewed from the breach.

"Fire!" Originally, the American patrol formation planned to get closer and open fire. After all, the Pennsylvania class has only recently served, and the training level is not enough. But the opponent's pre-emptive strike made the formation commander Colonel Simpson have to consider the morale issue. Sometimes, firing is itself a way to overcome fear. When seeing a continuous shot of shells being fired from the muzzle, people will put all their energy into the battle, and only in this way will they release their hearts. fear.

After a brief silence. All the 305mm main guns and 203mm secondary guns of the American patrol formation also spewed a deadly rain of bullets at the opposing Spanish fleet.

For a time, the sea between the two sides was completely covered by gunpowder and fire. Accompanied by waves of tremors, the roar of dozens of artillery pieces resounded throughout the battlefield. From time to time, warships were hit, and huge flames erupted from the sides of the ship. Debris and blood were scattered around in a huge explosion.

Under the command of the officers, the sailors struggled to put out the flames where they were shot. Repair damaged hulls and rescue wounded comrades. But as the distance between the two sides approached, more and more hits made it all in vain. All places exposed on the surface of the hull without armor protection are forbidden areas of the **** of death. Even if it leaks outside for a few seconds, it may be swept into a blood gourd by the shrapnel flying from nowhere.

When the patrol formation was fighting hard, the battleship was also on fire.

According to the pre-arranged tactics, the two Venice-class cruisers faced each other's one-vote protected cruiser.

"At the beginning of the war, the two Venice-class patrols were under great pressure. On average, each patrol could only use 4 10-inch main guns and 8 6-inch guns against the opponent's more than twice their own. The firepower, whether it is the Duke of Ulloa or the Marquis Venadito, is under great pressure, and our firepower is at a disadvantage." - From Lieutenant General Cedra's autobiography "The Battle of the Caribbean".

After the two Venice-classes took away each other's protection cruiser, the two Turin-classes faced off against each other's three Indianclasses.

In terms of firepower, protection, and speed, the Indiana class is far from being on a par with the Turin class. Especially with a displacement of 10,000 tons, the Indiana class is equipped with 4 (double-mounted) 330mm main guns, 8 (double-mounted) 203mm secondary guns, and 4 152mm guns, so the firepower is accumulated. In this way, the Indiana class has very little reserve buoyancy, and the installed side armor is easy to sink below the waterline due to the freeboard problem, which cannot provide effective defense; and the hull cannot balance the weight of the 13-inch gun, so that the naval gun cannot be at the highest level. The firing angle was fired, the range was compromised.

So in the exchange of fire, Colonel Leifer felt that the other three battleships failed to create pressure on him. But since the Indiana class didn't put pressure on him, the pressure turned on the other side.

In less than 3 minutes, the 356mm 35L main guns of the two Turin-class battleships were hit. An armor-piercing round slanted through the Oregon's bow and, after penetrating the hull, exploded in the anchor room, blowing off half of the bow.

And seeing the officers and soldiers on the two Turin-class battleships that achieved the victory, they made persistent efforts, and continued to achieve good results in two hits in the next three minutes. The two armor-piercing rounds hit the middle part of the Oregon's hull, shattering a twin 203 gun and a 152mm gun.

Goddess of Luck did not make the Americans wait too long. In less than 10 minutes, the American main gun finally made the first hit!

A 330mm main artillery shell weighing 412.6KG slammed into the twin 152mm secondary guns in the midship of the Isabel II at a speed of more than 500 meters per second. The entire secondary battery was torn to shreds. At the same time, the flue in the midship of the battleship was ruptured because of the explosion, allowing thick smoke to roll out from the rupture. Blocked the sight of two nearby 152mm secondary guns.

At this point the battlefield was divided into three parts, at the southern end; two Garibaldi-class troopers with three Maria Theresclass troopers against four Pennsylvaniclass troopers and a New York-class No. 2 USS Brooklyn. In the middle; two Turin-classes against three Indianclasses. On the northern section; two Venetian-class cruisers withstood the pressure of a group of protected cruisers.

At this time, the most likely to affect the battle situation is the battle of the two sides at the southern end.

On this side, the two Garibaldi-class ships, the Columbus and the Francesco, hit more and more smoothly, and each time they hit their opponents, the Pennsylvania and the California. In addition to the increasingly skilled gunners, the unified shooting command The instrument is also a great contributor.

At this time, a huge change occurred on the battlefield. A 254mm shell fired from the USS Columbus flew over the long sea and smashed through the armor under the rear main turret of the USS California.

Immediately, a violent explosion sounded. At this time, it happened that the conveyor belt was transporting shells and propellants, so it was a tragedy.

boom! With a loud noise, dozens of packages of propellants and shells were detonated. The explosion of thousands of kilograms of explosives and propellants was astonishing. A huge fireball burst out from the middle of the entire battleship, and the upper deck was torn apart. Countless fragments were blasted into the air by the shock wave generated by the explosion, and then fluttered on the sea surface with a radius of several hundred meters, and some fell on the deck, and a "shrapnel rain" suddenly fell.

And this ferocious explosion broke the keel of the California, and the ship sank at a speed visible to the naked eye. Of the more than 500 officers and men on board, only one survived.

The sudden explosion of ammunition on the California changed the situation on the battlefield. The American patrol formation, which had a slight advantage, fell into a disadvantage at this time. More importantly, the explosion of the USS California also affected the morale of the American officers and soldiers participating in the war.

"Come closer, let's get closer."

After seeing that his home improvement patrol was sunk, Colonel Simpson, who led the team, became ruthless. He felt that the accuracy of the other party's artillery was much higher than that of his own side, so that in the medium and long distance exchange of fire, his side would suffer a big loss, and he needed to get closer.

As he ordered the four American patrols to speed up immediately, they tried to close the distance between the two sides.

In the face of the actions of the American patrol formation, the Spanish patrol formation is naturally clear. If it is a separate battle, then the best way at this time is to continue to move and not let the American formations approach. It's not a single fight though, so the approach is different.

"Concentrate fire and attack the aft Brooklyn."

Following the lead of the Spanish commander, Colonel Ramos, he ordered the formation to give priority to solving the Brooklyn, which was the weakest opponent.

The muzzles of dozens of naval guns aimed at the first American cruiser. Brooklyn's name as an armored cruiser is a bit of a misnomer, as its armor is only 3 inches thick, and it's low waterline armor that doesn't cover the full length. As a package tour, it is not a qualified product.

At this point, the ill-named Brooklyn cruiser became the next target.

"Boom boom boom!"

Dozens of naval guns suddenly fired at it, making the Brooklyn like a sampan struggling in a firestorm. It was hit by a wave of bullets, and the boiler room of the middle part of the hull was shot from above. The incoming 254mm armor-piercing projectile hit. The mere 4-inch sloping armor could not stop the attack of armor-piercing projectiles weighing 287KG at all. The projectiles cut the armor plate in front of it into pieces like cutting butter, and then flew directly into the boiler to hide. Accompanied by the crash of shells and boilers. A loud bang resounded throughout the battlefield.

After the boiler exploded, the high-temperature and high-pressure steam lost its restraint and spewed out from the breach instantly, tearing apart the hull that was already fragile in the long-term battle! White steam and yellow-green delays symbolize destruction, and the entire ship quickly slows down. The propeller turned reluctantly. But after losing its power, it was forced to stop turning slowly, drifting in the current like a dead fish, and as the hull was severely damaged in the big explosion. The many breaches made the battleship tilt rapidly, and the Brooklyn, which had lost its power, could not send out the water, and it was only a matter of time before it sank.

Seeing that he was losing another battleship made Colonel Simpson's eyes red.

At this time, the distance between the two parties has come to 3000 meters.

"Open fire and send them all to hell!"

Along with Colonel Simpson's roar, the three Pennsylvaniclass patrols were also in full swing, and the fierce artillery fire was directed towards the Spanish patrol formation.

In the face of the three Pennsylvaniclass artillery fire, the first to be baptized was the Maria Theresa, which was hit with two 305mm shells, one of which exploded on the bridge and set a fire behind the chimney. The other shot hit the stern waterline, pierced through the 4-inch tail armor, and opened a hole of about 1 meter. After the turbulent seawater poured in, the speed of the battleship was reduced by about 1 knot.

Seeing that the Maria Theresa was slowed down, what are you waiting for, he became seriously ill and killed him.

Then the Maria Theresa continued to be attacked more violently. The Maria Theresa was struggling to turn her body in the rain of bullets, trying to avoid part of the artillery fire. But how is this possible. Under the fire of various calibers of artillery, the Maria Teresa was hit with a burning torch within dozens of minutes, and the waterline on both sides of the ship was wounded by various shrapnel and shells. Small irregular wounds.

A more fatal blow came from the No. 3 ship Colorado of the Pennsylvaniclass patrol. A 305mm shell from its front main gun hit the waterline of the Maria Theresa, and the violent explosion instantly tore a long 3 Meter, 1 meter wide opening, the influx of a large amount of seawater put the warship on the verge of death.

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Chapter end