If the information sent back to Manila had been more accurate, or had been accompanied by more realistic drawings, perhaps the officers would have had a more intuitive understanding of the coastal fortifications along the Sanya coast, and would have considered it more thoroughly when formulating operational plans. At least not like now, rushing to the port with a stuffy head, and as a result, completely exposing the fleet to the guns of Haihan. If there were only five, six, seven, or eight guns, then Pinto also pinched his nose and recognized it, and rushed through this sea area under the bombardment, but the artillery positions seen at the moment were dense, and for a time it was impossible to count how many shore defense guns Haihan had deployed on this section of the coast.

And the answer to why the Haihan fleet took the initiative to give up the channel to Victory Port before engaging in the battle has also been revealed. Obviously, the Haihan people had full confidence in the coastal fortifications of the port, so they deliberately let the Spanish fleet go over and handed them over to the shore defense guns, which were far superior in range and power to naval guns. And now Pinto didn't have to look back at all, he could expect that the Haihan fleet must have lined up in the open sea, waiting for an opportunity to copy his ass.

Pinto had no time to adjust his current tactics, for the nearest batteries to his fleet had already attacked, and several shells flew from the coast a mile away with a whistling sound that pierced the air, and struck around the Martin, which was at the forefront, under the watchful eyes of the pale-faced crew. One of the shells hit the hull and slammed into the hull from the port side, piercing the entire hull and striking a large hole near the starboard waterline, through which sea water poured into the hold almost instantly.

Although each ship has special damage management countermeasures, the hole that has been pierced is the size of an adult holding its arms, and it will definitely take a lot of effort to plug it again. Moreover, this ship is in the range of fire of many shore defense guns, and it is definitely not possible to expect to mix with it after taking a shot, and the fire of the nearby shore defense guns will definitely concentrate on this ship to increase the degree of damage as much as possible.

As Pinto had predicted, after the adjustments were made, a second round of shelling from the shore batteries soon came down on the Martin again. The 48-pound solid shell sank so hard that when it hit the hull, it tore through all obstacles in its path, and the seemingly thick planks were as soft as tofu in the face of such heavy shells, and they were completely unable to provide safety for the crew. And this time the luck of the "Martin" has been exhausted, the hull has been shot one after another, almost every shell will make a transparent hole in the hull, and its power is even much greater than that of the ironclad ship that harassed the American Fleet before, so that Pinto, who supervised the war, was also frightened, knowing that this last checkpoint outside Victory Harbor was not so easy, and this errand would have to stop here.

As the fleet gradually sailed into this sea area covered by shore defense artillery, the coastal defense batteries on the east and west sides were launched one after another, forming a crossfire attack on the Spanish fleet at a huge angle. Compared with the density of artillery fire here, the Spaniards realized that the previous confrontation with the Haihan fleet was really just a drizzle, and the heavy artillery positions of the Haihan did not hesitate to pour shells into the Spanish fleet, and in an instant, several ships located on the periphery of the fleet suffered heavy blows.

In order to avoid the fire of the shore defense guns, the Spanish warships subconsciously shrank in the middle of the formation, hoping to reduce the chance of being shot. However, the effect of this is extremely limited, the entrance channel into Victory Harbor from the open sea is a gradually narrowing terrain, even if you squeeze into the middle, it is still difficult to escape the coverage of the crossfire of the shore anti-aircraft guns, but after the fleet is crowded into a heap, the target is more concentrated, and the firepower on the shore can be more convenient to carry out concentrated fire strikes.

Pinto and Louis, both experienced commanders, were naturally aware of the inappropriateness of the fleet's formation, but this change was not an order given by them, but a choice made by the captains of each ship in the natural reaction of seeking advantage and avoiding disadvantage. The wisest choice at the moment was not to gather the fleet together, but to spread out as much as possible in order to disperse the blow of the shore fire force.

But in the midst of the chaos, the orders given by Pinto and Louis were simply difficult to carry out, because these orders had to be dispersed by the ships on the periphery to make way for space, and they were the ones who were most seriously damaged at present, and who would be willing to take the initiative to close the distance between themselves and the deadly battery? This to let the formation disperse was undoubtedly to force the ships on the periphery to be targets to attract fire, and there would naturally be people who disobeyed and did not carry out their orders.

Even if someone is willing to sacrifice themselves to save the fleet, it is often difficult to operate successfully, because these warships have often been damaged to varying degrees under artillery fire, and their sailing performance will also have a significant impact, even the basic operations such as steering and changing speeds will become inadequate. And after a little delay, a new round of artillery fire arrived.

In the short period of time from the time the Spanish fleet sailed into the range of the coastal defense batteries to the entrance to the port of victory, dozens of large and small coastal defense guns on both sides of the channel had fired hundreds of shells at the Spanish fleet. If this state of affairs continues, I am afraid that before the large army rushes into Shengli Harbor, nearly half of the ships will be left outside the harbor by shore artillery guns.

Whether to rush into the harbor at all costs, or to turn back quickly, these two choices are now in front of the commander, but the determination is not so easy to make. Rushing into the port, no one knows if the Haihan people have other defensive measures in the port, and after seeing the many methods of the Haihan, it seems not surprising to say that there is still a naval ambush hidden in the port of victory. However, if the Haihan people did not deploy heavy troops in the port, then landing and attacking Fort Victory might still give this fleet hope of turning around.

But if you give up the last few steps and turn around and evacuate here, then you will first have to face the Haihan fleet that has bitten up from behind. At this time, there were already quite a lot of damaged ships in the Spanish fleet, and less than half of the sailing ships that could maintain their full combat effectiveness were probably enough, and when the fleet completed the turnaround, this number might drop to less than one-third, and there was basically no numerical advantage in the face of the Haihan fleet.

This book was first published on the Genesis Chinese website, and the following content will be re-edited later for anti-theft

If the information sent back to Manila had been more accurate, or had been accompanied by more realistic drawings, perhaps the officers would have had a more intuitive understanding of the coastal fortifications along the Sanya coast, and would have considered it more thoroughly when formulating operational plans. At least not like now, rushing to the port with a stuffy head, and as a result, completely exposing the fleet to the guns of Haihan. If there were only five, six, seven, or eight guns, then Pinto also pinched his nose and recognized it, and rushed through this sea area under the bombardment, but the artillery positions seen at the moment were dense, and for a time it was impossible to count how many shore defense guns Haihan had deployed on this section of the coast.

And the answer to why the Haihan fleet took the initiative to give up the channel to Victory Port before engaging in the battle has also been revealed. Obviously, the Haihan people had full confidence in the coastal fortifications of the port, so they deliberately let the Spanish fleet go over and handed them over to the shore defense guns, which were far superior in range and power to naval guns. And now Pinto didn't have to look back at all, he could expect that the Haihan fleet must have lined up in the open sea, waiting for an opportunity to copy his ass.

Pinto had no time to adjust his current tactics, for the nearest batteries to his fleet had already attacked, and several shells flew from the coast a mile away with a whistling sound that pierced the air, and struck around the Martin, which was at the forefront, under the watchful eyes of the pale-faced crew. One of the shells hit the hull and slammed into the hull from the port side, piercing the entire hull and striking a large hole near the starboard waterline, through which sea water poured into the hold almost instantly.

Although each ship has special damage management countermeasures, the hole that has been pierced is the size of an adult holding its arms, and it will definitely take a lot of effort to plug it again. Moreover, this ship is in the range of fire of many shore defense guns, and it is definitely not possible to expect to mix with it after taking a shot, and the fire of the nearby shore defense guns will definitely concentrate on this ship to increase the degree of damage as much as possible.

As Pinto had predicted, after the adjustments were made, a second round of shelling from the shore batteries soon came down on the Martin again. The 48-pound solid shell sank so hard that when it hit the hull, it tore through all obstacles in its path, and the seemingly thick planks were as soft as tofu in the face of such heavy shells, and they were completely unable to provide safety for the crew. And this time the luck of the "Martin" has been exhausted, the hull has been shot one after another, almost every shell will make a transparent hole in the hull, and its power is even much greater than that of the ironclad ship that harassed the American Fleet before, so that Pinto, who supervised the war, was also frightened, knowing that this last checkpoint outside Victory Harbor was not so easy, and this errand would have to stop here.

As the fleet gradually sailed into this sea area covered by shore defense artillery, the coastal defense batteries on the east and west sides were launched one after another, forming a crossfire attack on the Spanish fleet at a huge angle. Compared with the density of artillery fire here, the Spaniards realized that the previous confrontation with the Haihan fleet was really just a drizzle, and the heavy artillery positions of the Haihan did not hesitate to pour shells into the Spanish fleet, and in an instant, several ships located on the periphery of the fleet suffered heavy blows.

In order to avoid the fire of the shore defense guns, the Spanish warships subconsciously shrank in the middle of the formation, hoping to reduce the chance of being shot. However, the effect of this is extremely limited, the entrance channel into Victory Harbor from the open sea is a gradually narrowing terrain, even if you squeeze into the middle, it is still difficult to escape the coverage of the crossfire of the shore anti-aircraft guns, but after the fleet is crowded into a heap, the target is more concentrated, and the firepower on the shore can be more convenient to carry out concentrated fire strikes.

Pinto and Louis, both experienced commanders, were naturally aware of the inappropriateness of the fleet's formation, but this change was not an order given by them, but a choice made by the captains of each ship in the natural reaction of seeking advantage and avoiding disadvantage. The wisest choice at the moment was not to gather the fleet together, but to spread out as much as possible in order to disperse the blow of the shore fire force.

But in the midst of the chaos, the orders given by Pinto and Louis were simply difficult to carry out, because these orders had to be dispersed by the ships on the periphery to make way for space, and they were the ones who were most seriously damaged at present, and who would be willing to take the initiative to close the distance between themselves and the deadly battery? This to let the formation disperse was undoubtedly to force the ships on the periphery to be targets to attract fire, and there would naturally be people who disobeyed and did not carry out their orders.

Even if someone is willing to sacrifice themselves to save the fleet, it is often difficult to operate successfully, because these warships have often been damaged to varying degrees under artillery fire, and their sailing performance will also have a significant impact, even the basic operations such as steering and changing speeds will become inadequate. And after a little delay, a new round of artillery fire arrived.

In the short period of time from the time the Spanish fleet sailed into the range of the coastal defense batteries to the entrance to the port of victory, dozens of large and small coastal defense guns on both sides of the channel had fired hundreds of shells at the Spanish fleet. If this state of affairs continues, I am afraid that before the large army rushes into Shengli Harbor, nearly half of the ships will be left outside the harbor by shore artillery guns.

Whether to rush into the harbor at all costs, or to turn back quickly, these two choices are now in front of the commander, but the determination is not so easy to make. Rushing into the port, no one knows if the Haihan people have other defensive measures in the port, and after seeing the many methods of the Haihan, it seems not surprising to say that there is still a naval ambush hidden in the port of victory. However, if the Haihan people did not deploy heavy troops in the port, then landing and attacking Fort Victory might still give this fleet hope of turning around.

But if you give up the last few steps and turn around and evacuate here, then you will first have to face the Haihan fleet that has bitten up from behind. At this time, there were already quite a lot of damaged ships in the Spanish fleet, and less than half of the sailing ships that could maintain their full combat effectiveness were probably enough, and when the fleet completed the turnaround, this number might drop to less than one-third, and there was basically no numerical advantage in the face of the Haihan fleet.

(End of chapter)