1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 686 "Naval Combat Instructions"

April 1653, 4, Hanzhou, Jianye City, Admiralty.

"1. Once you receive the signal from the fleet commander to find the enemy fleet, lower the flag of the fleet commander and hang up the signal flag. Each squadron will send a fast frigate or flying fish to follow the enemy fleet immediately, and try to obtain the number of enemy fleets and Quality information, such as how many professional warships, or arson ships and other ships, the enemy fleet’s transformation, etc.; once the information collection is completed, the fast frigates or flying fish clippers should gather to summarize the information, and then quickly submit it to the squadron or commander in chief Officer. If the enemy fleet exceeds its own number, it will not engage with it unless it is necessary, unless it is in a superior position."

"2. Once the commander of the fleet is found engaging or firing three shots and hoisting the red signal flag on the top of the mainmast, each squadron shall use the best advantage to engage the enemy according to the regulations;"

"3. If any squadron or ship is besieged or trapped by the enemy, the other squadron or ship should go to rescue and help immediately after receiving the signal. The signal is the red pennant on the top of the front mainmast ( Suggest);"

"4....Keep the enemy ship in the downwind position of our fleet, and seize the position of the T prefix, and make full use of our side's gunfire advantage."

"5. If the commander of the fleet is in the windward position of the enemy fleet, then raise the blue signal flag on the top of the rear mast, and other squadrons or ships should follow their course or course, and turn to the upperwind position of the enemy ship as soon as possible;"

"..."

"10. If the enemy ship is disabled, the commander of our ship fighting or chasing the enemy ship cannot stop, capture, hold or burn these disabled enemy ships during the battle (because this action will make the ship lose complete more important fighting opportunities);”

"11. Don't shoot at enemy ships with your own ships on the side, but you can shoot if you can't hurt your own ships;"

"12. Before the main force of the enemy fleet loses combat effectiveness or flees, one's own ships must not pursue the enemy's small fleet or sporadic ships;"

"13. In battle, when one's own ship is severely hit, but there is no danger of sinking or being surrounded by enemy ships, the following ships should not stop to protect the former, but should attack the enemy ship resolutely and forcefully, and The task of escorting the damaged ships is assigned to the ships at the rear of the fleet. Gein, attacking the main force of the enemy fleet is the best way to protect the damaged ships."

"..."

Qi Dajiang carefully read the "Navy Combat Instructions" written by Luo Shouxun, the commander of the Indian fleet, for several years, before and after, with a very satisfied smile on his face.

"Commander, this "Battle Instruction" is purely my own opinion, and there may be many shortcomings and omissions, which need to be improved and supplemented by all my colleagues in the navy." Luo Shouxun said solemnly.

"Not bad, not bad!" Qi Dajiang looked at Luo Shouxun, his eyes full of expectation and admiration, "If all the officers in our navy are like you, why worry about our navy being unhappy? For more than ten years, the whole navy , you are the only one who thinks of summarizing our combat logs and voyage logs at sea to compile this "Battle Instruction". In the future, if all officers read and memorize this "Instruction" by heart, our navy will be able to do it like an arm Instigated, the combat effectiveness has been increased several times."

"The Commander-in-Chief is awesome!" Luo Shouxun shook his head and said, "I compiled this "Navy Combat Instructions", which also imitated the standardized and standardized operating procedures in construction companies. The king once said that when we do any business, We must try our best to break down complicated things into a few simple steps, and standardize and streamline routine things. Therefore, I am thinking about whether we can also make corresponding norms and procedures for our maritime combat mode. As long as we are on the battlefield In a similar situation, just import the existing examples and procedures directly.”

In a naval battle, apart from the strength of the fleet, the decisive factor for victory depends mainly on the fleet commander's ability to organize the warships into a disciplined fleet and make them obey their own orders or signals in various sea conditions.It is only when the fleet is well organized that it is possible and advantageous to fight against the enemy.When the captains of each ship encounter chaotic battlefield situations or fail to understand the attack method chosen by the fleet commander, it depends to a large extent on the cohesion and coordinated training of the entire fleet.

Therefore, each captain in the fleet tries to keep his warships on the course and distance set by the admiral of the fleet.Once the commander changes the sail direction, other warships in the fleet must immediately adjust the sail direction to match the flagship.In this way, each ship in the fleet will have the same wind force as the flagship.

But the larger the fleet, the more difficult it is to control it and the longer it takes to execute formation changes.Therefore, when turning, each ship must have strict regulations on whether to adjust the bow first, change the direction of the sail first, or both.This is a severe test for every ship.To do this, there must be a set of standardized and streamlined combat instructions, which must be strictly enforced.

In the early 17th century, the development of broadside tactics lagged far behind changes in shipbuilding and weaponry.Although the warships of the time had a large number of guns on the side of the side, the use of broadside fire should still be the most reasonable strategy.But the naval battles at that time were still the same as in the early 16th century. The fleets lined up in horizontal formations were the battle formations. The main attack method was to fire the cannons on the bows, carry out one-on-one singles, and then board the ship as the end.

Even in the first Anglo-Dutch war that broke out in July last year, the Dutch often used the method of breaking into the British fleet during naval battles to join the ship, and then launched a boarding attack, and finally captured the enemy's ships.As for the real use of line tactics, it was not until the Portland naval battle between the two sides in 7 that the British fleet inadvertently used this tactic.

The British fleet took advantage of their own artillery, lined up the ships, and fired at the Dutch with their side guns.Although the Dutch were proficient in melee combat, they always wanted to get close to the British ships to board and fight, but they were unable to do so under the attack of the opponent's artillery.

Under Qi Tian's suggestion, the Qi State Navy may be the first to apply line tactics to actual combat during this period. In the Second Han-Dutch War three years ago, two battleships were used as the main force in the Battle of Ambon and Kupang. The main force, lined up in a column, launched a line bombardment of the Dutch fleet in opposite directions and in the same direction. Relying on the ferocious firepower of their own professional warships, they almost defeated them in the first round of battle. The fighting confidence of the Dutch fleet.

Now, after several years of drills, the Qi State Navy has basically mastered the use of line tactics. Even a small-scale fleet with only two or three warships can actively seize the T-head position when a naval battle occurs. , Aim your side's most advantageous side gun positions at the bow and stern positions of the enemy ship, and then use line tactics to violently bombard the enemy ship to gain the first-mover advantage.

"Shouxun, this "Naval Combat Instruction" already includes many operational details of maritime operations and navigation, from the complete formation of the cruise formation, to the maneuvering of one combat formation into another, and even how the large fleet searches to the enemy fleet and how to deploy the battle line according to the existing method." Qi Dajiang stood up, and patted Luo Shouxun's shoulder affectionately, "The "Instructions" should be used by every fleet commander and ship commander of our Qi Navy. The officer should carry it with him, study it well and keep it in mind, and strictly implement it in daily sailing, training and combat.”

"...Great Commander." Luo Shouxun hesitated for a moment, raised his head and said solemnly: "The navy's instruction manual is not enough! The marching and fighting process of the navy fleet is a complicated and systematic matter. Its actual operation cannot only refer to Instructions or specification manuals that we compile. Because the scenario depicted in any instruction manual is never complete, interpreting tactics requires professional practice.”

"For a powerful navy, its combat instructions or instruction manuals should be the closest to combat practice. On the contrary, if the official instructions are out of touch with combat practice, it is easy to solidify the development and progress of the navy, thereby weakening the combat effectiveness of the navy. Our country Qi The navy must constantly improve and perfect the corresponding combat instructions and instruction manuals to make them closer to and in line with actual maritime combat situations, and ultimately make our Qi Navy a regularized and standardized powerful maritime force."

"Well said!" Qi Dajiang felt inexplicably excited after hearing this, "Our Qi State Navy has a talent like you, so why not grow up. In the future, we old sea dogs will retire, and the mainstay of the navy will eventually be yours." Let me provoke you. You have read books, learned sea combat skills systematically, and after so many years of training at sea, I think that your achievements in the future will far exceed those of us rudiments!"

"The governor's reputation is too high!" Luo Shouxun's face was dark, but the "Navy Combat Instructions" he compiled was recognized and appreciated by Qi Dajiang, and he was extremely excited in his heart.

"Governor, I have some objections to our navy's ship addition plan. I don't know if I should say it or not?" Luo Shouxun chatted for a while about the improvement and advancement of naval combat orders, and suddenly expressed his opinion on the navy's ship addition plan for the next five years. different opinions.

"It's all my own people, so it's okay to talk if you have something to say." Qi Dajiang said with a smile, "Originally, the plan to increase the purchase of naval ships has not been officially reported to the cabinet. We can discuss everything."

"The Ministry of the Navy plans to add two enhanced Han-class battleships (with a displacement of 1500 tons) in the next five years. I think this is inappropriate and should be carefully considered." Luo Shouxun said carefully, "Now Today, excluding the Dutch East India Company, whether it is the Nanyang region, the Daming sea area, or even the Indian region, the enemies facing our Qi navy are all weak. Even Zheng Zhilong’s navy, although there are many ships, it does not matter its size , or firepower, are not as good as our navy's Ming-class fast cruiser. If two more Han-class battleships are added, it may be useless. In addition, the construction of a Han-class battleship is very expensive, and the funds spent are sufficient Adding six to eight Ming-class warships will further expand our naval combat area."

"In your opinion, the addition of Han-class battleships is a flashy move?" Qi Dajiang asked in a deep voice.

"Governor, what is the combat goal of our Qi State Navy in the next five years?" Luo Shouxun continued: "I believe that in the next five years, the combat goal of our Qi State Navy will still be to target the numerous lucky ships, bird ships, Junk ships and other small and medium-sized ships, as well as Western armed merchant ships in the Southeast Asia and India regions. When facing these opponents, there is no need to use Han-class battleships. In addition, the many broken islands in the South China Sea and various narrow sea terrains greatly affect the Restricting the combat conditions of large battleships."

Huge and gorgeous heavy battleships, although they look extremely mighty, represent a symbol of a country's maritime strength.However, in actual battles, the maneuverability of battleships is very poor, and they cannot go to sea to fight under bad sea conditions.

The British battleship "Sovereign of the Sea", launched in 1637, has a hull length of 51 meters, a width of 14.7 meters, a height of 23.17 meters, and a displacement of 1600 tons. It is a three-deck warship and is known as the most powerful warship in the world.The ship is equipped with 104 cannons, and the combined weight of the cannons is more than 150 tons.Because the artillery is too heavy, it seriously affects the maneuverability of this battleship.In the North Sea with complicated sea conditions, it is even difficult to control and participate in battles.In 1660, the "Sovereign of the Sea" was forced to lose weight and a gun deck was removed before barely participating in the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

"However, the combat effectiveness of battleships is sufficient to deal with the siege of four to five ordinary warships. Three years ago, in the Kupang naval battle, Han He and Han Ping used only two battleships to resist more than ten Dutch armed merchant ships. Don’t fall behind.” Qi Dajiang still has a special liking for giant ships in his heart, “In addition, battleships not only have powerful firepower, but also have better defense than ordinary warships. Even if they are hit by dozens of rounds, their actions will not be damaged at all. In naval battles, battleships are absolutely decisive.”

"Governor, with the current naval strength of our Qi State and the two wars against the Netherlands, it has fully proved that our Qi State Navy has become one of the most powerful maritime forces in the entire Nanyang region, and even in the Ming and Indian regions. In this Under such circumstances, unless the Dutch are desperate and do not want to continue to maintain ocean trade and have another war with our Qi State, it is my humble judgment that for a long time in the future, the Qi State Navy will not face large-scale sea battles, but will frequently fight with neighboring countries. Small-scale and sporadic maritime conflicts between the Tubang Kingdom and even the Westerners. This requires our Qi Navy to have the ability to deploy quickly and be able to win battles."

"However, there are many factors that need to be considered in the dispatch and deployment of large battleships. In particular, corresponding cruise ships need to be dispatched to follow up the battle. When facing small-scale maritime conflicts, it seems that the cost is a bit too high. Well, according to the businessman, It’s just that the economic utility ratio is too low.”

"Then we won't build a single battleship in the next five to ten years?" Qi Dajiang was persuaded by Luo Shouxun, but he still felt a little unwilling.

"In order to ensure the advanced and forward-looking naval ships, we can let the shipyard research and build a number of new heavy warships. As for their type and scale, I suggest that you might as well go to the king for a consultation. The king will certainly understand this. There is a unique solution.”

Qi Dajiang nodded, deeply agreeing with Luo Shouxun's suggestion.

"The king once said that in this world, whoever controls the ocean controls the trade; whoever controls the world trade controls the world's wealth, and then controls the world. I hope that in a few years, we will be all together After the kingdom's navy has gradually controlled the South Seas, Malacca, and the Indian Ocean, it will finally be able to advance into the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean to compete with those Western barbarians and compete for the ultimate control of the sea."

(End of this chapter)