Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 350: Battle of Sinop

A pale sky appeared on the horizon, and the red sun jumped out of the horizon and slowly rose in the sky.

The warm sunlight shone on his face through the porthole, and the red bloodshot in Omar Pasha's eyes was quite obvious after a sleepless night.

He couldn't help yawning and felt a little sleepy.

However, just when he was about to go to bed and rest for a while, an officer came to report.

"Pasha, I have something important to report."

"Our lookouts have spotted another fleet offshore. Judging from the flags, it may be a British fleet."

Omar couldn't help but smile when he heard this.

He strode out of the cabin and onto the deck.

Walking out of the dim cabin into the sunshine, the dazzling sunlight shining on his face made Omar feel a little dizzy.

But soon he came to his senses, raised the telescope and looked towards the open sea.

On the sea, another fleet appeared at some point.

Leading the way were three second-class sailing battleships, ten third-class sailing battleships, and a large group of auxiliary ships of various sizes.

And on the mast of this fleet was flying a St. George flag with a red cross on a white background.

It is the flag of the British Royal Navy.

Now, the fleet is sailing slowly towards the anchorage of Sinop Port with full sails.

But what is strange is that when the British fleet entered the anchorage, all the side gun ports were open.

Omar Pasha was delighted to see this scene.

"Haha, our military reinforcements are here."

"I want to see how those barbaric Slavs will behave next!"

With Britain, the world's largest country, standing behind him, Omar Pasha is now very confident.

Seeing this, the adjutant on the side raised questions.

"Pasha, we just sent people to Constantinople for help yesterday. Even if the horses running for help were as fast as they could be, they probably wouldn't have reached Constantinople yet."

"Even if Constantinople sent troops immediately after receiving our request for help, the reinforcements would not arrive so quickly!"

The adjutant almost said that the reinforcement fleet was abnormal.

As for the fact that the British fleet did not close the gun ports when entering the anchorage, the adjutant did not even mention it.

Such behavior would naturally be suspicious if it were done by fleets from other countries.

But Britain is another matter.

With the support of the British Empire, the British fleet has always been arrogant and proud. It is normal for them to enter other countries' ports without closing the gun ports.

On the contrary, it would be a very abnormal thing if the British fleet closed the gun windows.

Upon hearing this, Omar realized that something was wrong.

However, the British fleet that came to support him this time is his only lifeline now.

Omar was not willing to let go easily, so he spoke.

"Perhaps this British fleet did not come from Constantinople, but came from a closer place to reinforce after receiving the news..."

The adjutant was almost speechless when he heard this.

Who in the family understands?

He had never seen such a self-deceiving idiot as Omar.

There was obviously something wrong with the reinforcements. Not only did you not take precautions in advance, but you even took the initiative to help the other side make up for it.

You are really something!
But for safety reasons, he continued to persuade.

"Pasha, the reinforcement fleet is not normal. I'm afraid it's a trick. We should be cautious."

Omar looked a little impatient.

But he was a man who was willing to listen to advice. After thinking about it, he said to the messenger beside him.

"Send a signal to the reinforcement fleet to close the gun ports and identify themselves."

"Otherwise, the Sinop battery will fire warning shots at the enemy."

Upon hearing this, the messenger immediately turned around and left, passing on Omar's order.

Soon, the Ottoman fleet sent out flag signals.

Immediately, the "British" fleet on the opposite side responded with flag signals.

They said they were the British Royal Navy and were ordered to come to reinforce the port of Sinop.

He also ordered the Ottoman fleet led by Omar to disarm and take over the port defense.

After reading the flag signals sent by the other party, Omar put down the telescope in his hand and frowned.

Something is wrong. A hundred, a thousand things are wrong!
It was normal for the British fleet to come to reinforce the port of Sinop, but what about asking them to disarm?

With alarm bells ringing in his heart, Omar turned to his adjutant and gave instructions.

"Order the fleet to prepare for battle!"

"Beware of surprise attacks."

Upon hearing this, the adjutant's expression immediately brightened with joy, and then he spoke.

"My subordinate understands!"

Soon, the "British" fleet on the opposite side also realized that the Ottomans might have discovered their identity.

Fleet commander Lieutenant General Novoszky said immediately.

"Oh no, we must have been exposed."

"Order the fleet to raise the Andrei flag, aim at the Ottoman fleet, and fire!"

"Then, send a signal to the Nakhimov fleet outside and have them enter the battlefield immediately to fight."

Upon hearing this, the officer standing by immediately clasped his fists in agreement.

Soon, a flag with a blue cross on a white background was seen rising above the fleet.

This flag is exactly the flag of the Tsarist Russian Navy, also known as the Andrei flag.

At the same time as Andrei's flag was raised, the Russian fleet's guns aimed at the Ottoman fleet in the anchorage and began firing.

boom! Boom boom!

A few clouds of smoke rose above the sea.

The shells flew out of the barrel and whistled towards the opposing Ottoman fleet.

A shell landed on a ship of the Ottoman fleet.

First there was a thud, and then the dull sound of a shell hitting the ship.

Immediately, there was a loud explosion.

The explosion created a large hole in the hull of the ship, and flying wooden fragments flew everywhere.

Inside the cabin, the Ottoman soldiers were caught off guard by the explosion.

Let out a shrill scream!

In this battle, the shells used by the Tsarist Russian fleet were no longer traditional solid shells.

Instead, they began to use cast iron explosive bombs.

Although the gunpowder filled in the shrapnel bombs used by Tsarist Russia was still traditional black powder.

As a result, the power of the artillery shell explosion was not as strong as the explosive bombs used by the Tang army using yellow gunpowder.

However, its killing power and killing effect are still far superior to traditional solid bullets.

Well, this Battle of Sinop was also the first time in the history of Western countries that spherical explosive bombs were used on a large scale in combat.

The final outcome of this naval battle officially announced the end of the era of wooden sailing battleships.

Omar Pasha's face changed drastically when he saw the opposing fleet raising the Russian naval flag and bombarding his own fleet.

"fight back!"

"fight back!"

"Pass the order down, let our artillery and fleet fire, fight back, hit hard!"

As Omar Pasha's military orders were issued, the Ottoman fleet and artillery began to deliver firepower.

Shell after shell was fired at the Tsarist Russian fleet.

Columns of water shot up from the sea surface, and shells hit the hull, but they could not penetrate the thick oak planks, and the damage to the warship was limited.

Even the artillery of the fort could hardly cause actual damage to the Tsarist Russian fleet on the sea.

However, every round of bombardment by the Tsarist Russian fleet was able to inflict heavy damage on the Ottoman fleet.

Solid bullets versus explosive bombs, the two sides have already formed a generation gap in weapons. Not to mention that the Ottoman fleet was already crushed by the Russian fleet in terms of the number and size of warships. Even if the number and size of ships on both sides were almost the same, the Ottoman fleet could not be the opponent of the Russian fleet under the condition of the generation gap in weapons.

You know, when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded the Tang Dynasty a year ago, the coalition fleet was able to suppress the Tang Dynasty fleet despite the generation gap in Tang Dynasty weapons, making the Tang Dynasty extremely embarrassed.

That relies on nearly ten times the number of warships and firepower advantage.

The Ottoman fleet would have to have a firepower advantage of more than ten times that of the Tsarist Russian fleet.

Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible for them to turn the tables on the battlefield.

After several rounds of bombardment, the Ottoman fleet had already sunk one warship, and the rest of the warships were also damaged.

Even though they had the firepower from the artillery as support, they were still severely suppressed by the Tsarist Russian fleet during the artillery battle.

However, at this moment, something happened that made the Ottomans even more desperate.

A fleet appeared again in the open sea.

And this fleet also flew the Andre flag.

After seeing the signal sent by Novoshensky, the squadron led by Nakhimov rushed to the battlefield without stopping.

Now, they finally arrived at the battlefield.

They were deployed to the battlefield at the first opportunity and began to cooperate with the Novosibirsk fleet to launch fire attacks on the Ottoman fleet.

The rumbling sound of artillery fire rang out!

……

The shelling lasted for most of the day before it finally stopped.

On the sea, only the Tsarist Russian fleet remained.

As for the Ottoman fleet, it had already been completely sunk.

All that remained on the sea were broken planks floating on the surface, gradually sinking ships, and numerous corpses.

Even the artillery batteries in Sinop Harbor were completely destroyed by the explosive bombs of the Tsarist Russian fleet.

Over the port, the flag of the Ottoman Empire was slowly lowered.

A double-headed eagle flag of Tsarist Russia fluttered in the wind.

In the huge port, flames were burning everywhere, and screams, pleas for mercy, and ferocious laughter could be faintly heard.

After landing, the soldiers of the Tsarist Russian Empire began to burn, kill, loot and rape women in the port.

Through this behavior, they vent their excitement and excitement after their victory.

Well, for the Russians, this kind of thing is normal.

Not to mention the time for external aggression and expansion.

They are actually the same when they purge their own people, or even more cruel.

Nakhimov and Novoshyskiy landed at the port together. They looked at each other and laughed out loud at the same time.

"Hahahaha!"

"If we take over the port of Sinop, we can cut off the Ottomans' supplies to Crimea."

"I believe it won't be long before we can present Crimea to the great Tsar."

Nakhimov said.

Novoszky spoke up in agreement.

"Victory will eventually belong to the Tsar and the Russian Empire!"

"Thank God!"

after the war.

The result of the Battle of Sinop spread to Constantinople as if it had wings.

Then, it spread to the entire Near East and even to the whole of Europe.

This piece of news caused a huge uproar on the European continent.

"furious!"

"It's really too arrogant!"

"These damn Russians dared to pretend to be the British fleet. Damn it."

10 Downing Street, London, the Prime Minister's official residence.

The contemporary Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, slammed the table in his office and let out a loud roar of anger.

On the table in front of him was a military newspaper.

The entire process of the Sinop naval battle was reported in detail in the military newspaper.

"Come here, prepare a carriage for this Prime Minister. I need to go to see Her Majesty the Queen."

"It's time to convince Her Majesty the Queen to declare war on Tsarist Russia and teach those Russians a lesson."

Palmerston was an ardent war advocate.

The Opium War was initiated by Palmerston.

When the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded the Tang Dynasty last year, Palmerston was one of the most important supporters.

As the prime minister, he would certainly not miss the outbreak of the Crimean war.

John, the secretary standing by, heard this and agreed immediately.

Then he went out to prepare the carriage for Palmerston.

Soon, Palmerston boarded a carriage and headed for Buckingham Palace outside London.

Then he saw Queen Victoria playing with a child in Buckingham Palace.

This child is Queen Victoria's youngest son, Prince Leopold. Born in 1853, he is only two years old this year and has just been weaned for a short time.

The chubby little face is so cute!

"Your Majesty, the cabinet has received a war report from the Near East."

"Tsarist Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and captured the port of Sinop."

"Now, the Crimean side has officially started the exchange of fire."

"However, the Ottoman Empire was no match for Tsarist Russia and suffered a great loss at the beginning of the war."

"And if Russia gains an advantage in Crimea, it means that the interests of Great Britain are undermined."

"Therefore, I think it is time for Great Britain to intervene militarily in Crimea."

As he spoke, Palmerston presented a battle report to Queen Victoria.

The queen held the child in one hand and flipped through the pages of the defeat with the other, and couldn't help but exclaim.

"My God, these Slavs are so barbaric that they actually carried out a massacre in Sinop."

"It's a really appalling thing."

After winning the Battle of Sinop, Tsarist Russia not only killed all the resisting Ottoman troops, but also burned, killed and looted the city of Sinop.

The Ottoman Empire's publicly reported casualties reached tens of thousands.

No wonder Victoria was a little shocked.

Of course, I was just a little shocked.

Because, when it comes to killing more people, no one can compare to Britain in this era.

According to historical statistics, during the Victorian era alone, the British caused thousands of wars, massacres, famines, plagues and other natural and man-made disasters around the world.

The most typical example is the Great Irish Famine.

Even though a famine occurred in Ireland, the British still imported large amounts of food from Ireland, causing millions of people to starve to death in Ireland.

You know, Ireland is on the British Isles, right under the Queen's nose.

But even so, the kind Queen Victoria still starved millions of Irish people to death.

Even when the Ottoman Sultan was ready to donate 10,000 pounds to Ireland, it was rejected by the kind Queen Victoria.

Because Queen Victoria, who is the representative of kindness and civilization, only donated 2000 pounds. How could you, a barbaric, backward and uncivilized Green Christian native, donate more than the Queen?
In the end, under the tough demands of Britain, the Ottoman Sultan only donated 1000 pounds plus several ships of food.

Not to mention other places.

For example, during the Great Indian Famine, the number of people who starved to death under the British manipulation was several times more than that of the Great Irish Famine.

During the Victorian era, the number of people killed directly or indirectly by the benevolent Queen Victoria is conservatively estimated to be several hundred million.

The number of people killed by famous tyrants and dictators such as King Husky, King Jie of Xia, King Zhou of Shang, and Amin may not even be a fraction of the number killed by the benevolent Queen Victoria.

Therefore, Queen Victoria's exclamation now is actually more of a political statement.

It was also a reminder to Palmerston that he could use the Sinop Massacre as an excuse to stir up public opinion in Britain.

This was used as an excuse to send troops to intervene in the Crimean War!

(End of this chapter)