Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 509 The North American Naval Battle Begins!

In the eighth year of Kaitai in the Tang Dynasty, in mid-January of the lunar calendar in 1863, the Tang expeditionary fleet successfully arrived in Europe.

After arriving in Europe, the Tang Expeditionary Force chose to dock in Lisbon, Portugal.

While repairing and replenishing supplies, wait for the coalition forces from European countries to complete assembly!
Then let’s all head to North America together.

……

And just as the Tang Dynasty expeditionary army was on the road.

The situation in North America is also constantly changing.

First, in December 1862, the Union Army continued to move south after the Battle of Sharpsburg, and then the Battle of Fredericksburg broke out.

General Robert Lee once again broke out and successfully repelled the Northern Army's invasion with a group of defeated soldiers.

At the same time, news came that the Tang Dynasty and France had reached an alliance and were preparing to jointly form a coalition to intervene in the war in North America.

The Confederacy was thrilled!
Some people even took to the streets spontaneously to celebrate.

Lincoln was stimulated by this bad news, and successively promulgated laws such as the Homestead Act and the Emancipation Proclamation, and ordered the federal recruitment law to be changed to a conscription law to further expand the army.

Among them, the Homestead Act stipulated that all adults loyal to the federal government could receive 10 hectares of land in the West by paying a registration fee of $64.74, and could become the owner of the land after cultivating it for five years.

When the bill came out, the whole federation was excited.

The Lincoln administration used the Homestead Act to stabilize the uneasy public sentiment within the government.

The Emancipation Proclamation caused a large number of black slaves in the South to escape and join the Northern Army.

It has shaken the production order in the south!

The implementation of the conscription law allowed the federal government to recruit soldiers again.

The federal government already has a considerable advantage in military strength.

Before the war, the Federation had a total population of 65 million, accounting for % of the total population.

The South had only 900 million people, a considerable number of whom were black, and the white population was only about or million.

Among them, the number of military service-age personnel is, at most, 800,000. If there are more, society will not be able to function normally.

But what about the North?

The number of white men of marriageable age in the North is at least three times that of the South.

Coupled with the gap in industrial power between the two sides, if there had been no external intervention in this war, the outcome would have been clear before the war even started.

After Lincoln's multi-pronged approach, the Union Army's strength began to surge again.

In addition, it is also worth mentioning that the federal army changed its commander.

The commander of the Eastern Front troops was replaced by Grant, who was previously in charge of the war on the Western Front, from McClelland.

The Western Front was commanded by General Sherman.

The North began to actively prepare for the next round of offensive!
"We must capture Richmond as soon as possible and put down the rebellion in the South!"

At the Congressional meeting, Lincoln shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The despicable Tang people and the French are organizing a coalition army to interfere in the North American Civil War and to divide our country."

"We must complete the unification war before the coalition forces arrive, otherwise, the subsequent battles will only become more difficult."

Lincoln was able to realize that if the major powers of the world intervened in the war, the United States might really be divided.

And he, the president who proposed the abolition bill and led to the division between the North and the South, will become a sinner in American history.

So, Lincoln is a little anxious now, as if there is a fire burning in his heart.

Lincoln made his final statement to the members of Congress, roaring and spitting.

Then he issued his own order, requiring the Northern Army to move south immediately, defeat those damn Southerners, and attack Richmond.

Grant, who had just taken over the position of commander-in-chief, immediately organized an offensive and launched an attack towards Richmond in the south again.

Robert Lee, Jackson and others led their troops to fight Grant at Chancellorville.

After World War I, the Northern Army's offensive intention was once again thwarted by Robert Lee.

However, the Northern Army did not give up. Just over ten days later, it launched another general attack on Richmond.

But it failed!

However, just when the battlefield on the Eastern Front was at a stalemate.

On the Western Front, the Federal Army was advancing steadily and winning one victory after another.

The Confederate States had lost important places such as Vicksburg and Port Hudson one after another.

The Confederacy was almost divided into east and west along the Mississippi River!
……

The eighth year of Kaitai in the Tang Dynasty, 1863 in the Western calendar.

In March, spring comes and flowers bloom!

Although hurricanes often appear on the Atlantic Ocean, the threat they pose to large fleets is actually limited.

The top coalition leaders gathered in the command room of the North American Expeditionary Force's flagship, the HMS Weiyuan.

Feng Zicai, Yang Yuebin, French commander General Armand, Japanese commander Tokugawa Yasuhei, and Prussian commander General Moltke from the Tang Dynasty gathered together.

In front of them, there was a table.

On the table is a simple sand table of the topography of the East Coast of the United States.

On the sand table, many small boats flying the flag of the Commonwealth are distributed in various key waterways.

"Based on the current situation, the Federation's navy has successfully blockaded the Confederation's waters."

"If our expeditionary force wants to land, we must first fight a battle with the Federation's naval fleet."

Yang Yuebin spoke.

He stood next to the sand table, pointing at the sand table with his baton, giving a demonstration to everyone.

Armand, the French commander who participated in the Crimean War, saw this and asked.

"So, General Yang means where are we going to land?"

Yang Yuebin took a deep breath and then said.

“Virginia Beach!”

"If we can break through the Union naval blockade and complete the landing in Virginia Beach, our fleet can go up the James River and reach Richmond directly."

"And further north from Richmond is the Eastern Front where the fighting between the Confederate and Union armies was the most intense."

"Only by sending coalition forces and aid to the Eastern Front as quickly as possible can we reverse the current decline of the Allies on the battlefield."

Although the Confederacy can barely maintain the situation on the Eastern Front, it is losing ground on the Western Front.

Therefore, the situation facing the Allied Powers today is not optimistic, and it can even be said to be precarious.

Armand frowned and objected when he heard this.

"The Allies are barely able to hold on to the battlefield on the Eastern Front, but are losing ground on the Western Front. I think we should reinforce the Western Front, not the Eastern Front."

Upon hearing this, Feng Zicai expressed his opinion with a smile.

"War is not a game. We cannot use the tactics of adding fuel to the fire. Instead, we should go for reinforcement!"

"There is an old Chinese saying that it is better to cut off one finger than to injure ten fingers."

"With the current strength of our coalition forces, even if we deploy them to the Western Front, we will not be able to inflict heavy damage on the Federation Army. With the strength of the Confederate Army on the Western Front, even if we add our coalition forces, at most we will end up in a stalemate with the Federation Army, and will not threaten the Federation's hinterland."

"This makes no sense!"

"The national strength of the Confederation is not as good as that of the Federation, and it is very difficult for our coalition forces to get support from the mainland."

"We must act quickly!"

"Once the war reaches a stalemate, even if the Confederacy has assistance from our countries, it will not be able to outlast the Federation."

"If the Confederacy wants to win the war now, the only way is to strengthen itself and continue to increase its strength on the Eastern Front where the Confederate Army already has a slight advantage, in order to crush the Union Army on the Eastern Front in one fell swoop, and then march into Washington to force the Union Army to sue for peace."

"End this war once and for all!"

This is also the reason why Robert Lee chose to rashly lead the Confederate Army, which had just experienced a bitter battle, northward after winning the Second Battle of Manassas.

Robert Lee was not unaware that going north at this time was risky, but he had no other choice.

Because Robert Lee knew that the war could not be dragged on and must be resolved quickly.

If the war reaches a stalemate, the Federation will win.

Upon hearing this, Prussian General Moltke immediately nodded in approval.

But he still made the suggestion.

"General Feng, you are right."

"But I thought that after we won the decisive battle with the Confederate fleet, we should land in Richie, Virginia, to reinforce Richmond."

"Why not just attack Washington!"

"Now the main force of the Confederate Army is either fighting General Robert Lee on the Eastern Front or advancing on the Western Front."

"Washington is short of troops right now. If we raid Washington, we might be able to put an end to this war."

The reason why the Confederate Army could only fight with the Federal Army on land instead of directly attacking Washington was because the Federal Army had the advantage at sea.

Without naval superiority, the Allied forces could not operate.

But the situation on the coalition side is different!
The combined fleet of the Tang Dynasty, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Prussia and other countries is no less powerful than the naval fleet of the Federal Republic.

Even stronger!

Not to mention anything else, just the five 10,000-ton steel battleships of the Tang Dynasty are absolute killer weapons on the battlefield.

Before other countries were able to produce battleships of the same level, the Tang Dynasty's 10,000-ton battleships were invincible.

When Feng Zicai heard this, he did not get angry after being refuted, but just nodded slightly to show his approval.

"Indeed!"

"As long as we can win the fleet decisive battle, the initiative of the war will be in our hands."

"It might be a good idea to just attack Washington directly!"

"Also, when we attack Washington, the federal army on the eastern front will be in a panic. At that time, if we can cooperate with General Robert Lee, we will be in a panic."

"We can even advance north and south at the same time, fight a war of annihilation, and annihilate the main force of the federal army on the eastern front!"

Everyone couldn't help but brighten their eyes when they heard this.

Then you and I discussed how to fight the next battle.

……

Richmond!
Although the federal army is approaching again.

The Allied forces on the Western Front were losing ground!

But thanks to Robert Lee, the pillar of support, the city of Richmond was relatively stable.

Everyone has full confidence in Robert Lee.

They believed that as long as Robert Lee was there, the Confederacy would not fall.

But probably no one would have thought that Robert Lee was not on the front line at this time, but returned to Richmond.

Capitol, inside the meeting room!
Jefferson Davis, Robert Lee, Alton Coolidge and other Confederate leaders gathered.

In front of them was Huang Weiqi, the Tang Dynasty's ambassador to the Confederate States of America.

Jefferson Davis asked with some excitement.

"Ambassador Huang, are you serious?"

"The coalition forces are coming soon?"

Huang Weiqi nodded and said.

"Yes, Mr. President, according to the latest news from the coalition forces, they have already arrived near the east coast." "We are preparing for a decisive battle at sea to break through the blockade of the federal navy..."

"So, send someone to inform us, hoping that we can cooperate with the coalition forces in the landing operation."

Robert Lee showed a rare look of joy on his face and asked.

"Ambassador Huang, I wonder where the coalition forces plan to land after breaking through the federal navy blockade?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Weiqi looked directly at the two people in front of him with a burning gaze and spoke word by word.

"Washington! Shengdun!!"

When Huang Weiqi said this, Robert Lee and Jefferson Davis were both stunned.

But soon, the two of them reacted and joy appeared on their faces.

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

"The coalition reinforcements have arrived, and the Alliance is saved!"

After hearing that the Union forces were preparing to attack Washington directly, both Jefferson Davis and Robert Lee felt excited.

They finally saw a glimmer of victory!

Huang Weiqi stared at Robert Lee with burning eyes and spoke.

"General Lee, the Union Command sent us a message, hoping that General Robert Lee could cooperate with them in the battle and command the troops to launch an offensive against the Union Army while they landed and attacked Washington..."

Upon hearing this, Robert Lee nodded without any hesitation.

"rest assured!"

"I see!"

……

Washington!
As news spread that the Tang Dynasty and France were organizing a coalition force to interfere in the war in North America, the city of Washington was filled with an impetuous atmosphere.

The pedestrians on the street were in a hurry, and many of them looked anxious.

Some people are even preparing to move out of Washington and move to Philadelphia or New York.

"What? The Allied Fleet has arrived?"

Lincoln sat behind his desk processing official documents.

The situation facing the Federation is very tense now, not only because the war on the Eastern Front is not going well.

Indians in the western region were organized and began to frequently attack federal white settlements.

It caused huge losses to the federation!

All these things came to Lincoln's desk, making him feel heavy-hearted.

But what made him even more desperate was that the coalition forces arrived!
The secretary who came to report heard this and responded.

"Yes, Mr. President, the Federation patrol ship has discovered traces of the Allied Fleet on the east coast."

"The coalition fleet may invade the Federation at any time..."

Lincoln's expression was moved when he heard this, and he immediately spoke.

"Quick, go and pass on my order and ask Navy Secretary Dean Wells to come see me!"

Upon hearing this, the secretary nodded in agreement and turned around to convey the order.

Soon, the secretary came back with Dean Wells.

Lincoln first motioned for Dean Wells to sit down in front of him before asking this.

"Minister Dean should have received news of the Allied Fleet's attack by now. What do you think about this?"

Upon hearing this, Dean Wells took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Mr. President, I know this is very bad news."

"But we currently have no better choice."

"The only way is to fight back!"

"Only by defeating the invading coalition fleet can we buy enough time to quell the rebellion of the Confederate States."

Lincoln heard this and took a deep breath.

"is there time?"

At present, in order to blockade the waters of the Allied Powers, the Federation’s navy has almost been fully deployed.

Although the Federation urgently ordered the fleet to assemble and prepare for battle before learning that the coalition fleet was about to arrive, only most of the fleet has been assembled now.

The remaining fleet is still blocking various important shipping routes.

Therefore, Lincoln couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

Dean Wells fell silent when he heard this.

Because he also had no confidence in whether his side could win the naval battle.

You know, the enemy that the Federal Navy is going to face this time is not the weak Alliance Navy.

Instead, it was a joint fleet composed of the Tang Dynasty fleet that once defeated Britain in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal and the French fleet, the Dutch fleet, and the Spanish fleet that once competed with Britain for world hegemony.

These countries are all well-known powers.

Facing such an enemy, not to mention the United States, even Britain would be at a loss!
But finally, Dean Wells said.

"Please rest assured, Mr. President, the boys will do their best!"

"The Federation will definitely achieve final victory!"

Lincoln smiled bitterly when he heard this, but he finally spoke.

"All right!"

"I believe the Federation will definitely achieve final victory!"

Suddenly, Lincoln seemed to remember something and asked the secretary beside him.

"By the way, what is the current situation on the Eastern Front?"

"Is there any good news from Grant?"

Upon hearing this, the secretary replied.

"In reply to the President, General Grant has sent back the latest news. The situation on the Eastern Front is still at a stalemate."

"It may be difficult to achieve a breakthrough in a short period of time!"

"On the western front, our army is making very good progress..."

The Confederacy's national strength was far inferior to that of the Federation, so they could only concentrate their main forces near the more important capital, Richmond.

With the addition of General Robert Lee, the Eastern Front was able to barely hold its ground, or even occasionally gain the upper hand.

But on the Western Front, the Confederacy really couldn't stop the Federal offensive!

Hearing this, Lincoln slowly exhaled a breath, his expression clearly dejected.

……

The sun is rising!

The golden morning glow covers the entire sea.

The sea breeze blows, and the sea water is slightly rippling and sparkling.

Two large fleets are slowly approaching.

On one side, there was a joint fleet composed of Tang army, French army and others.

On the other side, there is the American flag, which represents the naval fleet of the Federal Republic.

Yang Yuebin stood in the command room, making quick arrangements and commanding the fleet to prepare for battle.

As the only one among those present who had systematically studied the naval combat system of the steam-powered era and had experience in commanding fleet operations, he naturally took over the command of the entire coalition fleet after the war broke out.

Armand of France had thought about competing with Yang Yuebin for the command of the fleet.

But he had never commanded a steam-powered ironclad fleet in battle. How could he compete with the Tang Dynasty with nothing but empty talk?
In today's world, the Tang Dynasty is truly ahead of the world in terms of navy.

Soon, with a deafening sound of artillery fire, the naval battle began.

The Allied fleet opened fire first.

The 240mm battleship's secondary guns roared and spewed out smoke.

The shells flew out of the barrel and shot towards the federal naval fleet.

With a loud bang, the shell happened to hit the side of a steam ironclad ship.

There was a loud explosion and the high explosives were detonated instantly.

The side armor of this steam ironclad ship was torn, and the internal wood was also destroyed, and a large hole appeared out of thin air.

As the ship swayed from side to side, seawater poured into the ship through the large hole in the side of the ship.

The hull of the steam ironclad ship began to tilt noticeably, and the sailors on the ship accidentally fell from the deck into the sea, floundering on the surface of the water.

On the other side, on the Tang army battleship, the gunners saw that their first shot hit the target, and they couldn't help but raise their arms and cheer.

How should I put it? With the hit rate of naval guns in this era, the probability of hitting the target with the first test shot is about the same as winning the lottery.

How can it not be worth celebrating!

The first battle of the expedition to North America was a great start, and everyone couldn't help but be happy.

"quick!"

"Keep firing!"

"Fire!"

"..."

boom! Boom boom!

The sounds of artillery fire rang out one after another, and the Allied fleets began to bombard the enemy in accordance with orders.

On the other side, the federal fleet also began to fight back.

Boom! Boom!
The sound of artillery fire resounded throughout the battlefield, and the fleets of both sides were entangled, firing at each other, and engaged in fierce fighting on the sea.

Moreover, as the distance shortened, the hit rate of the naval guns on both sides began to increase significantly.

In such battles, the excellent combat qualities of the Tang army gunners were fully demonstrated, and their hit rate of artillery continued to reach 20%.

Almost every five shots can score a hit!
In this era without electronic fire control systems and computers to calculate ballistics, such a hit rate is truly astonishing.

Boom! Boom!
Gradually, as the battle continued, ships on the Allied side began to be hit by shells.

The explosive bombs hit the hull and could easily tear it apart. The scene was truly shocking.

In the face of emerging explosive bombs, traditional sailing ships and steam-powered ironclad ships were as fragile as paper.

Both sides are assassins with high offense and low defense. To put it bluntly, the current battle is actually equivalent to a line-up shooting taking place on the sea.

While everyone can cause fatal damage to each other, there is also the risk of being killed by the enemy.

The only exception is the Tang Dynasty’s five 10,000-ton battleships!

These five 10,000-ton battleships and other steam ironclad ships are completely different in style.

Not only is it highly maneuverable and its artillery is powerful, but its armor is also made of special steel, so ordinary artillery cannot hit it, even with explosive bombs.

Compared with the Federation's steam-clad ironclad ships, the Tang Dynasty's 10,000-ton battleships were like Yao Ming in heavy infantry armor beating up the naked Pan Changjiang.

Our side can easily inflict casualties on the enemy, but for the Tang Dynasty's warships, the enemy's attack is no different from tickling unless it can hit the weak points such as the propellers under the water.

(End of this chapter)