1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 626 Raiders of Timor Island ([-])
March 4, Timor Island, Kupang.

A few days ago, when several Hanzhou warships appeared in the bay outside Kupang Port, the governor of Kupang, Fons Maynard, knew that Fort Holward in Ocussi might have been captured by the Hanzhou people.Now, they are gathering ships and troops again, ready to attack Kupang.

However, Governor Maynard is not very worried about the upcoming attack by the Hanzhou people.On the coast of Kupang, five forts were built, and more than [-] cannons of different calibers were arranged, which were enough to block the entire port, making it impossible for the opponent to land here on a large scale.

In addition, in order to prevent the Hanzhou people from smuggling ashore from other coasts, they crossed the jungle and attacked the fort from land.The Dutch also built two small forts behind the fort, and each stationed fifty or sixty mercenaries.I believe that under the attack of Hanzhou soldiers without artillery cover, they can completely resist the opponent's side attack.

Now, two days have passed. Faced with the tight defense of Kupang Port, the Hanzhou people dare not launch a landing operation, which makes Governor Maynard more and more proud.

Although there are still two or three Hanzhou ships floating outside the port, this does not pose any deterrent to Kupang.It should be known that the nearby Pali Sultan Kingdom has close contacts with Kupang, and can provide the food and non-staple food needed by the place.If Hanzhou wants to achieve the goal of forced landing in Kupang through blockade, it is doomed to be impossible.

Calculating the time, the fast contact ship returning to Batavia must have reported the news here to the governor.If Batavia sent reinforcements, then this time should be coming soon.
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"Governor, the Dutch fleet is found in the northeast of the island!... Six large ships and more than ten small ships are heading towards Kupang."

On the shore of a small island opposite Kupang (Sai ​​Mao Island opposite Kupang), a flying fish fast boat approached the battleship "Hanping" and reported the enemy's situation to Qi Dajiang.

"Damn it, after waiting for more than half a month, the Dutch finally came." Qi Dajiang showed joy on his face, "If this Dutch fleet can be completely wiped out this time, they will never be able to organize a large-scale fleet in the future." Mobile fleet."

Immediately, he ordered all the ships stationed here to pull anchor and set sail, ready to meet the enemy.

The fleet of more than [-] warships was divided into three parts. The "Hanping" and "Hanhe" sailed directly to the Dutch fleet, entered the enemy's formation, and broke up the opponent's formation.

Twelve professional warships formed two columns in the northeast waters of the small island, and surrounded the Dutch fleet with a pincer attack.If the enemy line breaks up, use its high-speed maneuverability to hunt down the fleeing Dutch ships.

The remaining nine armed merchant ships sailed to the port of Kupang to intercept any Dutch ships trying to escape into the port and wipe out their vital forces.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

The Dutch fleet did not flinch after discovering the two Hanzhou battleships. Six armed merchant ships quickly drove out of the queue and rushed towards the Hanzhou battleships.

Although they are two powerful battleships, their huge hulls inevitably limit their maneuverability and flexibility. The Dutch have considerable combat experience when dealing with such giant ships, and they also have a certain degree of mentality. Advantage.

In 1639, during the Naval Battle of Downs, Marton Tropp, the commander of the Dutch navy, defeated the powerful Spanish Armada with the help of many armed merchant ships of small tonnage.You know, there were several thousand-ton battleships in the Spanish fleet at that time, and they were very clumsy and incompetent when faced with the siege of many armed merchant ships.In the end, under the attack of the Dutch navy, the Spaniards lost 43 ships in the naval battle, with more than 12000 casualties. As a result, the Netherlands completely replaced it as the world's most powerful naval force.

Today, in the East Indies, Hanzhou owns the only, oh no, the only battleship in the region. If he wants to use this to dominate the ocean and compete for the East Indies, he may have to go a long way.Well, now is the time for them to realize how a powerful navy is built, not just by building two super giant ships.

"Sink them!" Dutch Fleet Commander Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Copeland ordered loudly: "The other warships of the Hanzhou people must be nearby, and we must destroy these two giant ships before they come." Shen, teach the Hanzhou people a profound lesson!"

Lieutenant Colonel Copeland ordered two armed merchant ships to entangle the "Han He", and he led the remaining four armed merchant ships to fight around the "Han Ping".

The "Han Ping" completed its turn to the port side to face the wind, and was able to enter the windward position. Immediately, it used its starboard side to face the Dutch armed merchant ship "Fearless", and fired a salvo first at a distance of 200 meters.

However, the effect of this round of shooting was very bad. Except for one shell that grazed the opponent's bow and smashed a few pieces of sawdust, all the other shells missed and fell into the water, causing dozens of splashes.

And just after the "Hanping" finished shooting, the Dutch armed merchant ship "Fearless" narrowed the distance between the two sides by tens of meters, and more than ten artillery pieces protruded from the gun port on the port side.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

More than a dozen shells crossed the sea and flew towards the "Hanping". It must be said that the Dutch were very lucky in their first shot. Four shells hit the stern of the "Hanping", splashing The broken pieces of wood caused the two sailors to fall on the deck immediately, howling endlessly.

Like an enraged beast, the "Hanping" rushed straight to its next opponent, the "Walvik" after passing the "Fearless", and drove to a distance of 50 meters. , to vent all his anger.

A quarter of an hour later, the "Han Ping" interrupted the opponent's front and rear masts, causing it to lose part of its mobility.However, when focusing on the bombardment of the "Fearless", the other two Dutch armed merchant ships avoided the many artillery positions on the side of the "Han Ping" and bombarded it fiercely from its front and rear respectively, and the bow cabin was completely destroyed. And the tail is riddled with holes.

Fortunately, the "Han Ping" had rough skin and thick flesh, and it was not affected in any way except for causing more than ten casualties.After firing another spectacular salvo, all the masts of the "Dreadnought" were completely interrupted, turning it into a floating object without power.Subsequently, the "Han Ping" turned its bow and sailed towards the next opponent.

At this time, the wind at sea was extremely weak, and the mobility of both sides became very slow.This is a very fatal existence for the Dutch fleet.Every time there is a face-to-face firepower confrontation, the Dutch armed merchant ship will be baptized by shells several times its own. What is even more frightening is that as long as the opponent's 36-pound artillery is hit, it will inevitably cause a huge damage to the hull. hole.If it is accidentally hit below the waterline and seawater floods in, it may lose the balance of the hull, and then capsize and sink.

However, under such unfavorable conditions, the excellent Dutch sailors displayed extremely high tactical qualities.After bombarding the "Hanping", they turned with a very small radius, continued to shoot with the artillery on the other side of the ship, then loaded, turned, and fired again.This incredible scene left the gunners on the "Han Ping" dumbfounded.At the same time, the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy often only fired a round of artillery salvo, while the Dutch were able to fire around it for two rounds.

However, the number of artillery on several armed merchant ships in the Netherlands is relatively small, and the caliber of the artillery is not large. Although the "Hanping" was hit by more than ten rounds, with its good defense, it can still continue to fight against four, and He also severely damaged one and wounded another, maintaining his status as a king like a lion on the sea.

"Sir, Hanzhou warships have been found in the southwest!" A watchman shouted through the gunpowder smoke in the sea, "There are a lot of them, there are... twelve ships!"

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Copeland froze when he heard the warning from the watchman, and then he raised his binoculars and looked southwest.

"Send a signal to all ships. Withdraw from the battlefield, we disperse and retreat to Kupang."

Following the order of Lieutenant Colonel Copeland, the Dutch armed merchant ships immediately stopped the siege of the two giant ships of Hanzhou, and turned to the southeast direction of Kupang Port, trying to form a pincer attack before the Hanzhou support fleet , Jump out of the opponent's blocking line.

For chasing and fleeing enemies, it is naturally not what the two battleships are good at. The "Han Ping" and "Han He" slowly turned around and bombarded the Dutch ships beside them, hoping to leave a few more ships under the heavy rain of bullets from their own side.

Because of the weak wind on the sea, it has just caused some trouble for many Dutch warships to besiege the two battleships of Hanzhou.But now, facing the fleeing Dutch ships and the warships of the Qi State Navy, they hated the damn weak wind even more. They tried their best, but they still couldn't catch up with the Dutch fleet.

However, when the fleeing Dutch fleet saw the nine Hanzhou warships waiting at Kupang Port, a feeling of despair and fear enveloped the hearts of all Dutch naval officers and soldiers.

The Hanzhou people actually concentrated such a large fleet on Timor Island!

Oh God, they set up a trap on Timor Island specifically for the East India Company's support fleet!
(End of this chapter)