Chapter 463 of the New History of China in the First Wu Dynasty
Finding a certain warship in the vast sea is not only a problem for the Beiyang, but also for the Russians. Essen didn't have time to congratulate himself on having once again survived the guns of the Beiyang Fleet. He found a serious problem, he got separated from the other 4 battleships! Although the Russian fleets maintained radio communication with each other, and although Essen asked the fleets to retreat according to the predetermined plan in the telegram, the plan could never catch up with the changes, and from time to time several unidentified small ships would appear in this sea area and stare at the Russian fleet from a distance. You know what these ships are for!
In addition to the Essen fleet, which has been chased and beaten by Deng Shichang, the two armored cruisers under Fox Hill and the Vostok have been tracked by these annoying things, and the two Azov-type armored cruisers that can only maintain a speed of 15 knots are naturally not capable of chasing these nimble guys. The Vostok wanted to try, but the other party turned around and ran. In the face of a high-speed notification ship with a speed of more than 23 knots, the Vostok could only give up, even if it could run at a high speed of 23 knots, the fuel in the coal bunker would not allow it to play a marathon with the other party!
So in order to avoid these reconnaissance ships, which are more annoying than flies...... The Russians had to change course again and again, and as a result, they did not know where to go! When the position was re-determined with a theodolite, Colonel Falk found himself tragically about 60 nautical miles away from the intended sea! What is even more tragic is that the distance between him and Essen at this time is most likely beyond the scope of the radio, that is, they are completely lost in the vast sea! You see it's a ......... thing.
The Russians had been prepared for this for a long time, and they designed several assembly points. And the rally point is gradually changed according to the passage of time, and it doesn't matter if you miss a rally point during this time period. Just go straight to the next one. In order to avoid being targeted by the Beiyang Fleet, the assembly points set by Essen are closer to the south than the other, and there is no way to go south, who dares to rush forward in the direction of the Beiyang Fleet's search! As a result, the two scattered Russian fleets began to move towards the next assembly point.
"Colonel. Look there! An officer said, pointing to a rapidly approaching figure in the distance.
"Twin main guns in the bow and single main guns in the stern, damn it. It's Kaiyuan! Falk Hill felt a chill in his heart, and a drop of cold sweat fell from his head! If the three Russian battleships at this time were three wounded lone wolves, then the Kaiyuan that followed was a fighting dog, and the advantages of the Azov-type armored cruiser over the Kaiyuan were originally limited, coupled with the tragic quality of the Russian Navy, the two sides really fought half a catty. But now the armored cruisers of the Sea of Azov have already experienced a big war and are themselves choked enough! Although it is not enough to fall to the point that two ships cannot defeat one. But the Kaiyuan was not in a hurry to fight the Russians, they followed slowly, and then waited for the arrival of friendly forces! . …。
The two sides are running slowly in front and chasing behind slowly. Three warships, each with a minimum tonnage of 7,000 tons, were chased by a 5,000-ton battleship. This is also a miracle in the history of the world's navies. At least this is something that the Russian Navy has never encountered. Time passed minute by minute, and finally the Russians couldn't take it anymore. The Vostok left the formation and rushed towards the Kaiyuan like an angry bull. "Don't you think the tiger is a sick cat?" The anger in the hearts of the Russians was blazing, and if anger could be used as a weapon, the Kaiyuan would have died three times!
In the face of this larger circle of the Dongfang, the Kaiyuan was not afraid, just 2 months ago. Sa Zhenbing commanded a battleship and dared to deal with the siege of two armored cruisers of the Sea of Azov, what is the Vostok in front of him? It's just a sick cat that's a little bigger. "Just talk to the Vostok. Keep an eye on the two armored cruisers of the Sea of Azov in front. Don't end up picking up the sesame seeds and throwing away the watermelon. "Sa Zhenbing has not forgotten his mission, engagement is not the most critical, keeping an eye on the other party and serving as the knowledge target of the main fleet is the top priority of the Kaiyuan now. I have to say that the Kaiyuan is a little old, and the veterans who once dominated the Jiawu battlefield are a little out of step with the times! …………。
However, in time, in the exchange of fire between the two sides, the Vostok did not take advantage. Only ten minutes into the battle, 2 8-inch shells made the Vostok completely honest, one of them hit the superstructure of the hull, setting fire to the Vostok, while the other shell knocked a large hole in the non-protective zone in the front of the hull, for which the Vostok drank more than a dozen tons of seawater! In the face of the sharp attack of the Kaiyuan, the Vostok could only choose to retreat and returned to the queue of two armored cruisers of the Sea of Azov with its tail between its legs.
After a few more hours, the luck of the Russians seemed to have turned a little back, and two huge figures appeared in the distance and made the entire Russian fleet boil! Slender hull ...... The huge mast, full of French-style turrets and superstructures all indicate the identity of the coming, and at this moment, the Dauphin and the Russian in Essen have finally arrived! The Russian fleet is back together! Well, except for the Tatars.
The regrouped Russian fleet put great pressure on Sa Zhenbing. The Prince and the Russian took turns to drive away the Yuanyuan. Forcing Kaiyuan to constantly maintain a high-speed evasion posture and maneuvering at a speed of more than 20 knots is very uncomfortable for Kaiyuan, who has been cruising at sea for several days. It's not about mechanical problems, but about Kaiyuan's fuel reserves that are close to the warning line! In other words, the Kaiyuan will not be able to be consumed with the Russian fleet at all! Even more tragic. Due to the limited range of the radio, Kaiyuan was not sure that it could keep in touch with other warships all the time! …。
In this way, the Prince and the Russian formed a blockade line as much as possible on the periphery, forcing the Kaiyuan to buy time for the evacuation of the two armored cruisers of the Sea of Azov. At this time, Essen is not having a good time, Kaiyuan has a problem with fuel shortage, and Essen also has such a problem. What's more, the Kaiyuan has a chance to get supplies, but Essen really doesn't have any foreign supplies, and it has to sail back to Muroran Port! The pressure on Essen was also high. If you still can't get rid of it, Essen even thinks about other ways!
At this time, a surprising scene appeared, the Kaiyuan actually gave up the tracking of the Russian fleet and turned around and left the battlefield, a move that made almost all Russians a little confused! "God bless Russia, long live St. Andrei's flag!" A Russian ** officer suddenly shouted loudly, this shout instantly woke the Russians from their shock, and a huge sense of happiness filled the entire Russian fleet. Almost all the Russians thought that the Kaiyuan had a problem with itself, whether it was a mechanical failure or a fuel problem, and it went back anyway, and only a few officers such as Essen were cautious about it. After all, the departure of the other party does not mean that they are out of the predicament, and now that the Russians are getting farther and farther away from the port of Muroran, there will be more interception time in the Beiyang!