Chapter 371: The Overlord of the Far Eastern Seas
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The heavy cruiser 'Tianjin', although heavily damaged, withdrew from the battle line. However, the addition of the 'Nanjing', 'Guangzhou', 'Changsha', 'Kulun' and 'Dihua' made a fundamental change in the shape of the battlefield, and it has become ten to five.
On the battleship 'Empress of India', Vice Admiral Filimantel's face was gloomy as if he could drip water. However, he changed his tactics and focused on the "Tianjin" and "Shanghai", and succeeded in inflicting heavy damage on the "Tianjin", forcing it to withdraw from the battle. However, this not only did not change the situation of the British Far East Fleet, but made their situation even more dangerous. The heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy, although their armor is not as good as that of battleships, are full of firepower, and they pose a huge threat to the British Navy's 'Sovereign-class' battleships. Now facing a two-on-one situation, the British Far East Fleet is very passive!
"Boom!" At one o'clock in the afternoon, the battleship 'Zhonghua' delivered the most threatening blow. A 3o5 mm shell hit the apostle of the 'Empress of India'. The chimney of the Empress of India was blown down. Thick smoke filled the surroundings of the Empress of India, preventing the poisonous gases from being discharged, killing many sailors. At the same time, the power of the 'Empress of India' began to decline sharply. Once it loses momentum, it will undoubtedly become a live target in this fierce naval battle, and in addition to surrendering, it can only be sunk.
"General, the 'Empress of India' has been badly damaged. Please move to the Ramie now! Adjutant Lieutenant Colonel David said with a nervous expression. As a flagship, the 'Empress of India' was originally a cannonball magnet. Now even more so. The Chinese Navy will inevitably take this opportunity to sink the Empress of India.
Lieutenant General Filimantle hesitated for a moment, a hint of humiliation flashed in his eyes, and finally, he nodded.
"If it doesn't work, abandon the ship!" Vice Admiral Filimantle said to the captain, then stepped into the transport boat and left the 'Empress of India'. Although, he was very reluctant to admit it. But the fact is that the 'Empress of India' is basically hopeless. Not only the 'Empress of India', but the entire British Far East Fleet was almost hopeless.
"Haha! Well done, sink the British's flagship for me! On the battleship 'Zhonghua', Deng Shichang ordered excitedly. Although, the naval battle has been going on until now. The home fleet of the Chinese Navy has fully established superiority and is not far from victory. The Far East Fleet of the British Navy only has only 5 battleships left to support it, and sinking one will require one less!
"Don't worry, Commander! Look at ours! Commodore Hai Zhengsheng, the captain of the 'Zhonghua', said. Before, the 'Zhonghua' seemed to have gone out of bad luck and never achieved much success. As a captain. He also felt a lot of pressure. Now, I can finally raise my eyebrows. Although the 'Empress of India' has not yet lost its combat effectiveness, after losing power, it will inevitably become a piece of fat on the board and be slaughtered by others.
"Boom!" 1:15 p.m. When Lieutenant Admiral Filimantle had just boarded the 'Ramii', the 'Zhonghua' hit the 'Empress of India' again, and the shell penetrated the armor under the rear main gun of the 'Empress of India' at an angle of 45 degrees. Penetrated the ammunition depot located under the main gun. Dozens of shells were all detonated, and in the violent explosion, the stern part of the "Empress of India" was blown up. Subsequently, a large amount of seawater poured into the 'Empress of India' from this part, and the damage management was already powerless in the face of such damage. As more and more seawater poured in, the ship of the 'Empress of India' was cocked high, and in less than two minutes, it sank into the sea in an upward manner.
The Empress of India was sunk, and the Chinese Navy burst into cheers. In the current British Navy, only HMS Ramie, HMS Counterattack, HMS Resolve and HMS Royal Oak remain. And their opponents also had four powerful battleships and 6 heavy cruisers that were no weaker than their battleships.
Although, the 'Ramie' raised the flagship flag at the first time. However, this could no longer restore the morale of the British sailors. In the beginning, even if you face disadvantages. However, the soldiers were still willing to fight for the glory of the British Navy. But now, knowing that they are doomed, it is somewhat impossible for them to fight desperately.
At 1:36 p.m., the battleship 'Royal Oak' was hit by the heavy cruiser 'Shanghai'. A 3o5 mm main gun shell hit the starboard waterline of the 'Royal Oak'. The high shell tore through the armor of the 'Royal Oak' and blew a hole more than two meters in size. The damage management team of the 'Royal Oak' immediately carried out damage management. However, the opening, which is more than two meters large, is not so easy to block. The huge water pressure is not something that human beings can withstand.
As a last resort, the Royal Oak had to close the watertight door of a part of the starboard cabin. By this time, hundreds of tons of seawater had poured into the battleship "Royal Oak", which tilted the battleship "Royal Oak" 15 degrees to the right. In order to balance the hull, the captain of the battleship HMS Royal Oak ordered water to be filled to the port side to help balance the hull. However, his approach caused the Royal Oak to drop from 15 knots to 8 knots. And this is completely fatal for the 'Royal Oak', which is under siege.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the 'Dihua' hit the 'Royal Oak'. A 3o5 mm naval gun shell blew off a 152 mm single-mount gun on the starboard side of the Royal Oak. At the same time, a hole more than two meters long was torn near the waterline. At this time, the turbulent sea water poured in, and the 'Royal Oak' began to tilt again. Now, the battleship Royal Oak has been filled with thousands of tons of seawater, and this number is rising dramatically. The hull began to tilt slowly, and there was no doubt that the battleship would flip to the right over the sea in the next few minutes. The British soldiers above also didn't care about anything else, and fled for their lives. However, out of the hundreds, only 50 managed to escape, and the rest, including the captain, all sank into the sea.
The sinking of the battleship HMS Royal Oak further aggravated the situation facing the British Far East Fleet, and each of the remaining three battleships was damaged. And their opponents, who are more than three times their number, almost all of them still have very strong combat effectiveness. Moreover, the battle between the cruiser and the destroyer has also been decided, and the Far East Fleet of the British Navy is still completely defeated. With the exception of a few destroyers that surrounded the three battleships, the rest of the cruisers or destroyers were either sunk, surrendered, or fled.
"General, what should we do now?" Inside the bridge of the battleship 'Ramii', Lieutenant Commander David asked. There is no doubt that the current British Far East Fleet has no chance left. The Chinese Navy, with their powerful battleships, beat the world's maritime hegemon severely. Moreover, unless Britain sent its main fleet from Europe to the east, they had no hope of regaining their ground. Although, the remaining three battleships were still firing, there was no more accuracy. The proud British Navy Soldier was already terrified.
"Alas! Order all ships to break out on their own! The fate of each ship is in the hands of the captain himself! Lieutenant General Filimantel said with a very tired look.
Soon, the order of Lieutenant General Filimantle was given. The remaining three battleships and destroyers began to break through to the west, and each battleship chose a different direction.
"Want to run? It's not that easy! Order all ships to launch a pursuit, and it is impossible to destroy all these British warships! Deng Shichang gave the order to pursue, and now, victory is already in sight.
The supreme voyage of the 'Sovereign-class' battleship was only 17 knots, and after a fierce battle, the damaged 'Lami', 'Counterattack' and 'Determination' were only 15 knots, how could this escape the pursuit of the Chinese naval fleet? When the Chinese Navy's 'Zhonghua-class' battleships and heavy cruisers pursued at a height of more than 18 knots, the soldiers of the British Far East Fleet were already desperate.
At 2:30 p.m., the battleship 'Resolve' was sunk in the siege of as many as four heavy cruisers, and only a few dozen of the hundreds of British sailors on board survived.
At 2:45 p.m., the battleship 'Counterattack' raised the white flag in the face of heavy damage. However, when the Chinese Navy stopped shelling and was about to take over the battleship, the British sailors above opened the sea valve and sank the battleship into the sea. Annoyed Chinese Navy soldiers rammed and sank several lifeboats laid down by the Counterattack, causing most of the hundreds of soldiers on the Counterattack to fall into the sea and drown. Later, this caused an outcry from the British side.
The last battleship of the Far East Fleet of the British Navy, HMS Ramie, surrendered at 3:2o p.m. However, the Chinese navy warned them in flags that their lives would not be guaranteed if they dared to open the sea valve. In the end, hundreds of British naval officers and men, including Vice Admiral Filimantel, were all captured.
By this time, the battle between the Home Fleet of the Chinese Navy and the Far East Fleet of the British Navy came to an end. Since then, there has been no naval force in the entire Far East that can compete with the Chinese navy. The Chinese Navy has become the hegemon of the entire Far East and even the Pacific Ocean!
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