1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2114
In terms of the combat performance of weapons and equipment alone, the Haihan army is indeed clearly superior, but in the current combat environment where the offensive is launched from sea to land, it is difficult to crush and rely on shore fire protection with this advantage alone. Defender of resistance.After all, the dozens of forts deployed by the Hirado Clan in advance on the coast are not decorations. As long as they enter their range, the warships of the East China Sea Fleet may still be damaged.

Of course, Shi Diwen didn't want his troops to become a living target for the enemy to train the gunners, so the combat order he issued specifically emphasized the combat distance, so as not to let the commander rush the warship into Hirado Port in a feverish mind. .He believed that since the opponent had the guts to open fire first, it should have deployed a fairly strong shore defense force in the port area. At this time, he should first try to lure the enemy to expose the firepower on the shore, and then adjust the tactics according to the specific situation.

Although these gunners of the Hirado Domain have mastered certain combat skills, their combat experience is much worse than that of their opponents.Even commanders like Lu Yuanlong did not realize the true intentions of the Haihan army at the first time. Seeing the East China Sea Fleet forming a battle formation on the sea and starting to bombard the coastline, they immediately responded fiercely.

Inducing the defenders to open fire in an all-round way is exactly the effect the East China Sea Fleet wants to achieve.The relatively safe engagement distance ensures to the greatest extent that warships of the East China Sea Fleet will not be hit by concentrated fire from coastal forts.The observer at the height of the mast took this opportunity to mark the positions of the forts firing on the shore on the military map one by one.

Although he had already expected the defensive means deployed by the enemy on the coast, the situation after the war still surprised Shi Diwen a little.The number of artillery deployed by the Hirado Clan near the port area far exceeded his expectations. If the East China Sea Fleet suppressed the coast and brought the warships closer to the port area, it would be an ambush by the enemy. .

The feint attack arranged by Shi Diwen was to lure the opponent to expose the defensive deployment on the shore, and the Hirado Domain's full firepower was to catch the enemy by surprise. Even if the Haihan warship could not be sunk, at least the Haihan Army Temporarily dispel the idea of ​​storming Hirado Port for landing.However, due to the inexperience of the commander, Hirado Fan's move exposed his own strength in advance. For the Haihan Army with rich combat experience, the current exchange of fire has become a successful fire reconnaissance.

The firepower of the coastal defense artillery on the coast is actually not much stronger than that of the East China Sea Fleet's shipboard firepower, and even the effective range is almost the same. The range is large enough, so sporadic shells still hit the Haihan battleship in the strait during the battle, but the damage is still within the control range of the ship's damage control.

The artillery shells fired by the East China Sea Fleet on the other side also failed to achieve the desired results due to the problem of effective range. Even the few shells that hit the target were mostly blocked by the sandbag bunkers around the fort, and it was difficult to cause substantial damage to the fort. destruction.

This undoubtedly greatly enhanced the confidence of the Hirado clan. Right now, relying on the coastal fortifications, they can fight the invading Haihan fleet in a [-]-[-] situation, which is much better than what they expected before the war.

The way the artillery of this era is loaded with ammunition makes it impossible to continuously fire at a high frequency. In addition, the heat dissipation of the gun body must be considered. Therefore, the land and sea artillery battle between the two sides in Hirado Port did not last for too long.However, both sides in the war feel that they have initially achieved their strategic goals, and are quite satisfied with the current results. This is a rare scene on the battlefield.

But for the East China Sea Fleet, the situation of the away game did not allow them much time to rest, and as a force serving as a feint attack, the East China Sea Fleet must continue to create noise in Hirado Port, so that the opponent will All attention is focused on the warring areas, so as to gain opportunities for the Western Route Army, which will launch a landing battle on the Western Front later.

Although the few warships that were hit by artillery shells in the first round of engagement were not seriously injured, they still received orders to withdraw from the front line for preparation, and their vacancies were immediately filled by alternate warships.After nearly an hour of adjustments, the East China Sea Fleet approached the port area again in a battle formation, actively firing on the shore.

Regardless of whether it was a real attack or a feint attack, the vassal troops defending Hirado Port did not dare to be careless at all. Once the Haihan infantry landed in Hirado Port, these fortresses deployed to the sea would soon lose their due effect. It is difficult to defend the city at that time.

Therefore, in the face of Haihan's shelling from the sea again, the forts on the coast could only respond decisively, not daring to give Haihan warships a chance to approach the coast.

At the same time, Shi Diwen also ordered all the scout sailing ships in the fleet, which are known for their speed, to be dispatched, and to deploy guards at the north and south ends of the Hirado Strait separately, lest the Hirado Navy, which has not shown up until now, take the opportunity to touch the back road. .

For Shen Xueyi, who was watching the battle with the army, such a large-scale sea and land artillery battle was a brand new experience.He also led the army to cooperate with the Haihan operation in the anti-Qing campaign last year, but he has never experienced this kind of artillery battle scene.Compared with the Qing army that invaded North Korea last year, the Hirado clan's artillery seems to be more powerful, and it seems that they can even fight back and forth with the Haihan fleet.

Shen Xueyi is not very clear about the old grievances between Haihan and Shibazhi, but he has generally heard the rumors that Hirado Fan secretly sold weapons to the Qing army before this.It is said that Haihan traced all the way to the source of the Hirado clan based on the standard weapons seized from various channels, and then found that the old enemy Shibazhi was hosting behind the scenes, so this battle will not be impossible.

At this time, seeing the strength displayed by the Hirado Army in the battle, he also seemed to understand why the Haihan people insisted on attacking this place across the sea at all costs. The consequences were unimaginable.

Shen Xueyi weighed the strength of his country's army silently in his heart, and then had to admit with regret that if the North Korean fleet came to attack this place, it would definitely be impossible to fight. Turned around and headed home.After all, there is no such powerful firepower for land attack on the Korean warships at all. If you want to force it up, you will only end up with shells.

He also attended the Haihan Army's combat preparation meeting last night, and he generally understands that today's offensive is a false one and that Shi Diwen's fleet is just a feint, but he still looks forward to the East China Sea Fleet's performance in the battle at Hirado Port. , By the way, learn what tactics to adopt when you are blocked when launching an attack from sea to land.

In the past two years, North Korea has spent huge sums of money to build an armed fleet. The main potential threats are the Qing Dynasty in the north and Japan in the south.The main warships and weapons of the fleet need to be imported from Haihan, so even if North Korea does not directly send troops to participate in maritime operations, military attaches like Shen Xueyi will act with the Haihan army in the name of military observers to investigate Evaluate whether the equipment of the Haihan Navy is suitable for North Korea's operational needs.Haihan's military action against Hirado, the navy's performance may directly affect North Korea's equipment purchase orders for a period of time to come.

On a high place near the ruins of Hirado Castle, Tagawasuke was looking solemnly at the fierce battle scene near the harbor.And Tagawa Shichizaemon was standing behind him, with an excited expression on his face. After all, it was the first time he had seen such a fierce battle scene in his life.

"Shichizaemon, have you noticed that the enemy has only sent about one-third of the warships to participate in the battle, and the few largest warships have not yet been in battle." Tagawa said in a deep voice .

Tagawa Shichizaemon nodded and said, "Father, those large ships should be the main force of the enemy army. They have been watching from the rear, perhaps they are guarding against the sudden attack of our Hirado clan's navy."

"Yes, they are waiting, waiting for the naval fleet to throw themselves into the trap. Attacking Hirado Port is not their real purpose at the moment, but they want to use this to lure us to use all means. Let me ask you, if this situation is caused by You come to command, how do you deal with it?" Tian Chuansuke was very pleased with his adopted son's sensitivity in the military field, and simply asked him a question beyond the outline.

After thinking for a while, Tagawa Shichizaemon replied, "The naval army must not show up at this time. We need to wait until the Haihan army breaks through the port defense line and starts landing before launching a surprise attack. Maybe we can have the power to fight."

Tagawasuke smiled gratifiedly and said: "As expected of a child of my Tagawa family, this strategy is indeed good. But even if our navy can seize such an opportunity to launch an offensive, it is still possible to defeat this armed fleet on the sea battlefield." Insignificant."

Tagawa Shichizaemon frowned and said, "Then how should we deal with it?"

Tagawa said: "Avoid the edge and attack the unprepared. The more the enemy fleet wants to seek a decisive battle in the Hirado Strait, the more we can't provide them with such an opportunity. We still have to stick to the previously formulated combat plan and take the enemy's The supply line is the target of attack. Once the enemy's supply is cut off, it will be difficult for them to maintain the huge consumption of this kind of cross-sea combat for a long time, and the fleet will inevitably retreat."

Tagawa Shichizaemon thought of the content of the war preparation meeting before, and immediately felt deeply.However, due to the limited military situation of the father and son, it is difficult to imagine that Haihan's real main attack direction is not Hirado Port. In fact, the East China Sea Fleet only put out half of its strength to fight the coastal battery. Cutting off supplies is not that simple either.As long as the navy shows up, it's not easy to say who will follow who's back.

While the fierce battle was already underway at Hirado Port, the coalition fleet composed of the Fujian Navy and the troop carrier carrying the Special Operations Regiment was also heading north.

Compared with the east coast of Hirado Island, except for Shiki Bay at the southern end of the island, on the west coast, only Boxiang Bay and Gujiang Bay connected to the north of the island are more suitable for building large ports or as anchorages for fleets.Most of the other areas are mountainous areas near the sea, and the rocks along the coast are so rough that ships cannot dock at all.This has reduced a lot of trouble for the Fujian Navy to clear the route, basically there is no need to worry about enemy warships setting up ambushes in the hidden places along the coastline.

Qian Tiandun was not idle on the road, and continued to conduct deduction on the map with Gao Qiaonan on the landing site and the subsequent combat plan.The special operations group has a lot of experience in carrying out amphibious landing missions. Although this is a completely unfamiliar area, this is not a big deal for the special operations group.What really made Qian Tiandun and Gao Qiaonan more vigilant was the weapons and equipment owned by the Hirado Army.

The information collected so far has basically confirmed that the Hirado Clan has the ability to produce its own weapons, and the performance of these self-produced weapons is enough to pose a threat to the Haihan Army.Qian Tiandun has no doubt that the Hirado Clan already has an established armed force equipped with these standard weapons. Although its actual combat effectiveness is doubtful, he does not want to use the elite troops under his command to verify the strength of the enemy.

"If you encounter an enemy equipped with guns and artillery, you must remember to keep the combat distance, so that you can give full play to the performance advantages of the weapon. Use fire suppression flexibly, and don't let the enemy have the opportunity to complete the interlude during the engagement." Qian Tiandun deployed Their tactics are actually similar to those of the navy. They all require troops to engage in battle with a more cautious attitude to avoid unnecessary casualties due to recklessness.

The enemies with the highest proportion of musket equipment encountered by the Haihan army before this were actually the colonial armed forces of the Netherlands, Spain and other countries. Among the armies of East Asian countries, only the Ming army had a fixed number of firearms troops.Although Japan also had muskets imported from the West in this era, most of them were still the most primitive arquebus structure, and their combat effectiveness was very limited.The situation of the Hirado clan being prompted by external forces to update their weapons is actually one of the butterfly effects that occurred after the traveler came to this time and space.

It is also because of this that Haihan currently does not know how many guns and artillery the Hirado Army has equipped, and it is difficult to confirm even a rough estimate.Although Qian Tiandun was full of confidence in the final victory of the war, he didn't want the ace troops he led to capsize in the sewer of Hirado Fan, so he especially told Gao Qiaonan to be careful of the opponent's armed forces.

Of course, there are not many tactics that can be used by the firearms troops of this era. Considering that the opponent's firearms manufacturing technology and related tactics should be learned from the West, it is entirely possible to copy the past combat experience against Western colonial forces.

Gao Qiaonan responded loudly as always, anyway, as long as it was an order given by Qian Tiandun, he would complete it without any compromise.As for how many troops the opponent has and whether they are setting up an ambush on the island and waiting for his arrival, Gao Qiaonan is not worried about this. He is sure that with the strength of the special operations group, the battle process should be as destructive as before, and will not leave any trouble for the opponent. No chance of a comeback.

(End of this chapter)