Seven Seas Beacon Fire

“If it were a small squadron, they naturally wouldn’t bother us, and we wouldn’t suffer any losses, right?” McGiffin said. “Moreover, there have been enemy reconnaissance planes operating overhead for the past few days. Our enemies are very clear about our movements. Knowing that our main fleet is not in Manila, an enemy squadron seized such a window of opportunity and only carried out less than 15 rounds of shelling.”

“Fifteen rounds is quite a lot,” Zangwell said. “Although we don’t know how many shells our enemy’s early dreadnought battlecruisers can carry, if we refer to the Leitanian battlecruisers with 280mm guns, then each gun only has about 90 rounds of ammunition. That’s not a lot. Fifteen high-explosive shells per gun are probably the majority of the high-explosive shells carried on this ship.”

“What about semi-armor-piercing shells? If it were me, I would definitely use semi-armor-piercing shells to attack the oil depots in the harbor. Besides, our enemy is firing too fast, without proper calibration, as if they're just rushing to get the shells out as quickly as possible.” McGiffin still insisted on his point of view: “At least we can't do anything wrong by doing this now, right?”

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As noon approached, McGiffin finally received the telegram he had been eagerly awaiting, delivered by the airship. The telegram belonged to a medium-sized rigid airship under the Federal Army's airship squadron. During its search northward from Manila, the airship had discovered four battlecruisers rapidly advancing northward at a speed of 25 knots. Judging from the layout of the guns, the paint scheme, and the distinctive features such as the funnels and masts, these four battlecruisers were the same Suiyuan-class battlecruisers that had bombarded Manila at night.

The telegram indicated that the four battlecruisers had already passed Jinyan Island and would soon enter the waters surrounding the Bashi Channel.

"They're moving so fast? It seems there's a large force ahead of those four ships!"

By this time, even Vice Admiral Zangwell had noticed something amiss. After all, according to the intelligence of the Tang army, they were able to confirm that the main force of the Federation Navy was to their north. Under such circumstances, how could four battlecruisers dare to rush forward at a speed of 25 knots? If it weren't for the support of their big brother, who would believe it?

Considering that the airships were chasing from behind, it means that this formation was pursuing the main force, and the main force of the Tang army was in front of them.

At this moment, the reconnaissance of the Federation airship force almost replicated the process by which McClusky located Nagumo's mobile fleet during the Battle of Midway in another timeline. In that other timeline, the Federation naval air force also found the First and Second Carrier Divisions of the Japanese by following the direction of the Arashi destroyer that was lagging behind.

However, the difference between the two sides is that after McClusky spotted the Arashi destroyer, continuing to search for the main force of the Yingzhou Mobile Fleet ahead was just a matter of slightly adjusting the throttle. For the SBD fleet, which cruises at three or four hundred kilometers per hour, overtaking a destroyer with a speed of only 30 knots was really just a matter of a puff of smoke.

However, the situation is quite different for the Federation's airships. Airships are certainly much faster than warships, but are airships with a speed of 90 to 100 kilometers per hour really that much faster than a 25-knot battlecruiser?

Throughout human history of warfare, there are many similar examples, but in most cases, a small mistake can lead to a huge error.

Before the Federal airship force could detect them, the main force of the Ming army's ocean fleet had already begun to turn. McGiffin did his best to maintain radio silence and took advantage of the night to decisively retreat, so that Xu Yueming's long-range reconnaissance aircraft could not find them hiding at the southernmost end of the Bashi Channel all morning.

However, one of the Tang Dynasty submarines still detected their movements. Against the Federation fleet, which was led by a large number of destroyers and cruisers and maintained a speed of no less than 18 knots, the submarine did not have the opportunity to take up a favorable position to launch an attack. However, the submarine successfully reported the position of the Federation fleet by telegram.

McGiffin also noticed the intelligence emitted by the submarine, which was somewhat of a "fault not in battle" for him. He also deployed a number of submarines, but this time the enemy submarines discovered them first. It seems that the goddess of victory slightly favored the other side's luck.

However, this was not a big deal. McGiffin was not afraid of a fleet battle because he now knew that the enemy had four battlecruisers behind them, which meant that the enemy fleet now had either 21 or 22 ships. In either case, he had 27 ships. If he didn't even dare to fight, he might as well take off his naval uniform and go home to grow cotton.

Although his original ideal scenario was that the enemy would be unaware of his fleet's movements, allowing Rear Admiral Daniel's three fast warships to lure the enemy to a predetermined position, thus giving his slow fleet a chance to occupy a relatively ideal position.

While this idea has now failed, it has only brought both sides to a relatively fair situation—in war, when the difference in strength between the two sides is too great, a decisive battle cannot be fought.

A decisive battle, sought after by both sides, is only possible when one side has at most a 60% chance of winning. If the odds are 20/80, then the fight won't even begin.

McGiffin began ordering the entire fleet to transform from a square formation of four columns into a complete battle line. Apart from three fast battleships, the remaining 24 capital ships, led by the battleship USS West Virginia, unfolded their imposing formations in succession at sea. This battle line, the largest ever deployed in the history of the Union Navy, advanced parallel to the coastline at a distance of 30 nautical miles. After passing the easternmost point of Solon Island, the entire fleet would circle the island and turn west, maintaining this posture resembling an ouroboros or a porcupine defending itself.

At this very moment, on the foredecks of several light cruisers of the Royal Navy's flagship, several single-engine aircraft equipped with floats took off, rushing towards the sea area where the main force of the enemy fleet, as reported by the submarine, was located, ahead of the First Fast Fleet, which had already accelerated to 26 knots.

Behind the First Fast Fleet, which had already begun to accelerate, the 21 main warships of the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy had also deployed their battle lines. The combined 150 million tons of steel were rushing towards each other like a collision of planets. When the fast fleets of both sides spotted each other's mainmasts from the sea, a series of flag signals began to be raised on both warships.

"Colombia needs everyone to do their duty!"

"After this battle, a peaceful autumn will follow!"

Chapter 152 The Veteran's Charge (1)

When Rear Admiral Daniel saw the four battlecruisers of the Tang Dynasty's First Fast Fleet appear on the horizon from the bridge of the battleship "Marco Polo," his first impulse to try his hand at it surged within him.

After all, the Jingyuan, which was charging at the forefront at this moment, along with its sister Zhiyuan, had become almost the most troublesome enemy of the Federation Pacific Fleet. In the Battle of the Sulu Sea, it was these two battlecruisers that led the Ming army's battlecruiser fleet and almost wiped out the Federation's high-speed capital ships.

Therefore, after the Zhiyuan battlecruiser was sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea, the Federation held a special celebration. Although the Zhiyuan battlecruiser was not actually sunk by the Federation forces, it did not prevent the people of the Federation from venting their emotions.

However, for the officers and soldiers of the Federation Navy, this result was somewhat "regrettable". The front-line officers and soldiers of the Federation Navy had mixed feelings about this type of battlecruiser. After all, if this were in a traditional literary script, the villain who had an "irreconcilable hatred" with the protagonist would not die at the protagonist's hands, but instead fell to the hands of a supporting character. Any reader would feel uneasy about this, let alone the protagonist himself.

On the other hand, since he had never actually defeated the Zhiyuan-class battleship on his own, and since all the previous battlecruisers of the Federation were inferior to the Zhiyuan in performance, when Rear Admiral Daniel finally acquired the Caracciolo-class battleship from Syracuse, he was eager to have a thrilling naval duel between his Marco Polo and the Jingyuan.

Before the Lexington-class battlecruisers entered service, the Marco Polo was the strongest fast capital ship the Federation Navy could acquire. Whether in terms of firepower (eight 15-inch main guns versus nine 330mm main guns) or protection (300mm vertical armor versus 254mm sloped 12° armor), the Marco Polo was superior.

Unfortunately, Major General Daniel only had this one Marco Polo.

After glancing at the Pensacola and Salt Lake City following behind the Marco Polo, Major General Daniel couldn't help but shake his head.

Rear Admiral Daniels didn't really think these two battlecruisers, which inherited the names of the two battlecruisers that had been bravely sunk earlier, were good names. Although the Federation officially wrote extensively about the valiant fighting of the two Pensacola-class battlecruisers, using the most vivid words to describe how brave they were, in reality, both battlecruisers were sunk in less than 15 minutes after the engagement, with the Pensacola only lasting three minutes.

After all, these two first-generation battlecruisers of the Federation Navy were even more aggressive in armor protection than their British predecessors, which they imitated. The mere five inches of armor led to this type of battlecruiser being nicknamed the "glass ship" in the Federation Navy.

These two battlecruisers of the Habsburg Navy now inherit the names of the two fragile ships from before. Although the original intention was probably that the higher-ups hoped that these two battlecruisers could fight as hard as their predecessors with the same names, in Rear Admiral Daniel’s opinion, in the present day, these two 180mm armored battlecruisers are probably just glass ships.

With these two glass-bottomed ships, he certainly didn't have the courage to engage the Ming army's battlecruisers head-on.

He then gave the order to turn right by eight compass points, and the entire fleet, led by the battlecruiser Marco Polo, began to make a 90-degree turn at sea, heading north and deviating from the main battlefield.

McGiffin knew very well that his fast fleet was simply no match for the Tang army's fast fleet in terms of strength, so he didn't have high expectations for it. If the mission of the Leitanian First Reconnaissance Fleet was to counter Betty's fast fleet, then the mission of the Federation's current vanguard fleet was to contain the Tang army's fast detachments, or more accurately, to draw the Tang army's fast detachments away from the battlefield.

The Federation's calculations are very clear: if they use their three ships to keep their four ships off the battlefield, they've made a profit, even if their three ships might be eaten up by the four. Besides, they're not afraid of speed, are they?

Of course, some clever readers might ask, what if the Tang army's vanguard fleet doesn't pursue them? Well, that would be easy. If the vanguard fleets of both sides simply separate, the Federation's vanguard fleet can ascertain the movements of the Tang army's main fleet, providing crucial information to the Federation's main fleet and allowing them to receive orders and act accordingly in subsequent operations.

After all, the vanguard fleet's primary function was reconnaissance. Although Hipper had the upper hand in the exchange ratio during the Battle of Jutland, the Leitanians were suppressed by the Britons from beginning to end. The Leitanian vanguard fleet was never able to detect the movements of the British Grand Fleet, which directly led to the main force of the Leitanian High Seas Fleet colliding head-on with the British Grand Fleet, which had deployed its battle line.

For both sides' vanguard fleets, their most important tasks are only two: to scout the enemy fleet while preventing the enemy's vanguard fleet from scouting their own main fleet.

Therefore, the Tang army could not possibly abandon the Federal Army's vanguard fleet.

And indeed, that's exactly what happened. Shortly after the Marco Polo began its turn, the Jingyuan also began its turn. Rear Admiral Daniel wore a smile; everything was going according to plan...

Wait a minute? They only had two boats that turned around?

To Major General Daniel's surprise, two of the four ships in the Tang army's vanguard fleet were sent to pursue them, while the remaining two battlecruisers continued to advance.

This scene left Rear Admiral Daniel somewhat bewildered. After all, in this era, the use of capital ships was not as extensive as during World War II in another world, where small squadrons were frequently mobilized. Generally speaking, a squadron was rarely broken up for use in a battle.

But now the enemy's Jingyuan, accompanied by a Haiqi-class battlecruiser, is chasing after them, while the remaining two Haiqi-class battlecruisers continue their advance.

Why are you dividing your forces like this?

You really dare to chase me with two big ships?

If we're talking about raw power, the Jingyuan is probably inferior to the Marco Polo. While the Haiqi-class battlecruisers are comparable to the Zhiyuan-class in tonnage, and their four twin-mounted 330mm guns don't really have a significant difference in firepower compared to their three triple-mounted 330mm guns, the Haiqi's armor is indeed worse than the Zhiyuan's.

Although the Federation forces were unsure of the Haiqi's true armor thickness, based on previous engagements, they estimated it to be similar to the Britons' Type 343 battlecruiser (actually 250 mm).

Although my two Habsburg battlecruisers are mediocre, they can still manage to put together eight Škoda 12-inch guns. And as everyone knows, Škoda's 12-inch guns are the best 12-inch guns in the world. Are you really that confident?

Yes, Cheng Hengqi is that confident.

When the disparity in strength between the two sides is too great, the weaker side will take the initiative to avoid battle. The Chinese understand this better, so he simply split his forces, sending the remaining two battlecruisers with a light cruiser squadron to scout the movements of the Federation's main fleet, while he went directly to find the Federation's vanguard fleet.

Surely you wouldn't be too scared to fight a three-on-two situation, would you?

To his disappointment, the three federal ships did not turn back.

That's right, Daniel really doesn't dare.

After all, who knows if you're really splitting your forces or just pretending? If I choose to engage you in battle, and then you turn around and run away after a while, should I chase after you or not?

If I engage in battle with you, losses are inevitable, right? If a warship slows down as a result, should I rescue it or not?

Not to mention that there are still four Tang army battlecruisers on their way here. Although Rear Admiral Daniel may not seem that composed, his command style is actually very experienced. Let two go. Anyway, his main fleet has more ships, and he thinks that the small squadron of those two battlecruisers won't be able to cause any trouble.

Later military historians, when evaluating the Battle of the Bashi Channel, said that Daniel's decision not to fight was correct. Although the Haiqi-class battlecruisers' main armor belt was 230 mm thick, which was indeed on par with the 9-inch armor of British battlecruisers, it was different from the most countries at that time, whose armor was a single layer of 20 to 30 mm thick structural steel for preventing collapse. However, the Ming Dynasty's warship designers were relatively "traditional," so they still maintained a 70 mm armor belt on these battlecruisers.

Faced with such 230+70mm of protection, the two Habsburg battlecruisers would indeed be unable to achieve any results in a short time, and would more likely become the spoils of war for the Tang army.

However, these military historians also pointed out that Rear Admiral Daniel's most serious mistake was failing to report to the main fleet that the enemy's fast fleet had split up.

Liu Duncheng received a telegram inspired by Cheng Heng, which told him when and where he decided to split his forces and that he was now leading two battlecruisers to pursue the target.

"This old Cheng, has he been leading too many cruisers? Has he forgotten that he's leading a capital ship?" Liu Duncheng frowned. His words could be considered an expression of dissatisfaction with Cheng Hengqi. It could be said that he was criticizing Cheng Hengqi for having mostly led small ships and lacking experience in commanding large ships. Now that he was leading the vanguard fleet, he was bringing back the old habits of leading small ships.

What are the differences between a small boat and a large ship?

That is, small boats are relatively inexpensive and easy to replenish, and losses in battle are often unavoidable. Therefore, commanders of small boats are more willing to take risks compared to those of large ships because they have lower opportunity costs.

But now that he's already on a large ship, and he's bringing his old ways with him, Liu Duncheng thinks that's not quite right.

Of course, despite his dissatisfaction, Liu Duncheng could understand his old comrade's reasons for doing so. The numerical disparity on his side was a bit too large, and he probably wanted to reserve more troops so that the two battlecruisers could quickly return to their main force and rejoin the battle line after completing their reconnaissance mission.

Many laymen believe that battlecruisers should not be on the battleship line because their armor is poor. This is completely wrong. Battlecruisers have the firepower of capital ships. Secondly, the claim that battlecruisers are poorly protected is relative. In the entire fleet, apart from slow capital ships, battlecruisers are the best protected ships. If you don't put such ships on the line, who will?

When the situation of engagement requires you to fill in the gaps, whether you are a battlecruiser, an armored cruiser, or a pre-dreadnought, you must fill in the gaps without hesitation!

At 2 PM on October 7th, Liu Duncheng received intelligence from reconnaissance aircraft launched by the vanguard fleet—the main force of the enemy fleet was conducting a counter-clockwise circular maneuver around Solon shore. This was the first detailed report of the Federation fleet's movements that Liu Duncheng and his team had received that day.

"Counterclockwise?"

Liu Duncheng frowned slightly as he watched the Federal fleet's maneuvering direction. At this moment, a simple problem was presented to him—how should his fleet turn next?

This may not sound like a big deal, but many naval commanders often consider such "small things" before a crucial battle.

For Liu Duncheng, he also seemed to face two choices. The first choice was to maintain a similar course to the Federation forces, circling around Solon Island just like them, which meant engaging in combat while maintaining the same course as the Federation forces.

The other option is naturally to advance in the opposite direction from the Federation forces, which would require them to circle the island clockwise.

The biggest advantage of tandem combat is that it can make full use of its firepower. After all, when both sides are moving at the same speed, they can be considered "relatively stationary". Return combat is the opposite. When two fleets are moving towards each other, the relative speed between them is very large. Most fire control systems of this era cannot handle such a large change in range.

In this regard, Dede is a good example. During the ballista operation, he was so accurate in shooting at the Gauls, not because the Britons had a special bonus when shooting at the Gauls (if there was a bonus, it would be for the Gauls, right?), but simply because the Gallic fleet was mainly in port at that time, making them stationary targets relative to Hood. That's why Dede was able to perform so well.

In the Battle of the Denmark Strait, the reason why Dede-chan missed every shot was naturally because he did not have the upgraded old fire control system.

Chapter 153 The Veteran's Charge (2) The Great Turnaround!

Should we choose to fly the same route or fly in the opposite direction?

At this moment, this question, in addition to tactical considerations, also carries a greater weight in terms of courage.

Like a game of courage where one blinks first, at this moment, the commanders of both fleets, aboard their respective flagships, harbored complex emotions as they awaited the next exchange of blows.

Looking at the fleet flying the dragon flag on the distant horizon aboard the battleship USS Washington, McGiffin, an old man who had lived through the era of steam-powered ironclad warships, was filled with emotion at this sight. The relationship between these two great powers on opposite sides of the ocean was once quite harmonious. At least in the 9th century, when both sides' modern steam-powered ironclad fleets were gradually taking shape and growing stronger, the two countries had quite friendly naval exchanges. After all, at that time, the Royal Victorian Navy was a common shadow hanging over both countries.

McGiffin had visited the Ming Dynasty more than once aboard the cruiser HMS Olympia at that time. In fact, he and Deng Zhengqing, who had sacrificed his life earlier, were pen pals.

However, the international situation is so unpredictable. No one expected that within just 20 years, the two countries would become adversaries in a world war. And he, an "outlier" in the navy, was promoted two ranks to become the commander of the Pacific Fleet as the war was about to end.

If possible, McGiffin really wanted to avoid the war and save the ships, because in his view, the war had entered a garbage time. Europe was watching as the two countries in the Pacific continued to bleed each other dry. Although the Federation was powerful, it should not squander and waste its resources.

Unfortunately, he came to Manila with political orders. The federal government and military leaders believed that there was still a chance to fight on Yanping Island, so McGiffin had no choice but to come to the East with a political mission to prepare for this large-scale battle, which he himself was not very willing to undertake.

However, now that the main forces of both fleets have met face to face, all other considerations will be put aside. At this point, regardless of the political tasks and strategic significance of each side, everything will depend on the tactical confrontation.

"The enemy has begun to turn! Engage them on their return flight!"

The lookout on the USS Washington, seeing the Tang fleet beginning to turn in the distance, immediately shouted and relayed the message to the command tower below. Several staff officers in the command tower breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.

Although the Tang army came with great momentum, they did not seem to be prepared to fight to the death right away. In the face of such a great battle, almost everyone was under tremendous psychological pressure. Those who breathed a sigh of relief were not cowards; it was purely a physiological instinct. Just as the essence of courage is to go against biological instincts to be valuable, their behavior was just a normal human reaction.

Regardless, the relative speed of the two fleets is almost 40 knots. At this speed, the fire control accuracy of warships of all countries will definitely be reduced, or even greatly reduced.

However, the Federation Navy has an advantage in this regard. First, the variable pitch control system on Federation battleships is of a pretty good standard. Second, and most importantly, the Federation's range is huge!

Why was the Federal Navy able to accept such a large distribution of standard battleships?

On the one hand, it is because the Federal Navy's acceptance standards in this regard are not that high. On the other hand, it is because the Federal Navy has a unique understanding of the dispersion of artillery. When both sides are engaged in battle in battle lines, the Federals believe that a larger dispersion is not a big problem, because the shells may also hit other enemy ships in front of or behind the targeted ship. To put it bluntly, it is like shooting at a flock of wild ducks with a shotgun, and you will eventually hit one.

Therefore, given this contrasting situation, the Federal Navy could confidently say at this moment, "Anti-ship engagements are to my advantage!"

Meanwhile, aboard the Dingyuan-class battleship, Li Che watched as Liu Duncheng, after issuing the order to return to port and engage in battle, gave a somewhat strange order—"Raise the Z flag."

This should have been a perfectly normal order. After all, the story of the Z flag is known to everyone in the navies of various countries. In the Battle of Trafalgar in this world, and the Battle of Tsushima in another world, many naval commanders would raise this flag when choosing a decisive battle, because Z is the last of the 26 letters of the alphabet, and there are no more letters after it, which means the final battle.

However, in this time and space, since the Ming Dynasty, this flag has lost its magic for the East. This is because the Ming Dynasty had its own set of flag signals during the Age of Sail. The Z flag was not part of the Ming Dynasty's tradition. Although it later adopted the internationally used flag signals after aligning with the world, the Ming Navy had a glorious record of defeating the Royal Victoria Navy in the Strait of Malacca during the Age of Sail—regardless of whether it was a defeat of a British squadron or not, the record speaks for itself. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty has always disregarded the tradition of the Z flag.

The Tang Dynasty navy, of course, did not have the environment for such "paying homage to the classics".

What is Liu Duncheng trying to do by hanging up this flag?

Moreover, Li Che could see that the Zhenyuan, which was in front of the Dingyuan, had also raised the same flag, and soon all the ships in the entire fleet followed suit.

Liu Duncheng probably sensed his doubts. The veteran general simply smiled and then ordered half of the command personnel on the bridge to retreat into the command tower. Li Che was specifically instructed to retreat into the command tower.

On battleships, the conning tower is almost the only part of the superstructure that has protection comparable to the main armor or the gun turrets. On some ships, the conning tower is even better protected than either of these.

However, most commanders do not like the conning tower because it is too low compared to the tall bridge, resulting in poor visibility. Many commanders believe that being in the conning tower will affect their command of the fleet, as they cannot observe the movement and status of the entire fleet in real time. For example, the conning towers of some large surface ships in the Federation have no forward visibility at all.

The commanders of the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy were notorious for disliking staying in the command tower, with a strong sense that a real man should face cannon fire directly on the bridge. Because this trend was so prevalent, it was later stipulated that even if the commander did not enter the command tower, a backup command team must be left inside to prevent the situation where the command would lose its brain if the bridge was hit directly by large-caliber cannonballs.

Li Che understood that Liu Duncheng's personality was such that even if he tried to persuade him, it would be difficult to convince him. He didn't argue, so he followed the selected headquarters personnel to the command tower. However, along the way, he kept thinking about the significance of that Z flag.

Shortly after he withdrew to his command post, the Federal Navy launched its first barrage of artillery fire, and the Tang army retaliated decisively. The two fleets began a cannon battle at a distance of 15,000 meters.

This was the first time Li Che had ever so directly experienced the full power of the large-caliber heavy artillery, the true hegemon of the seas in this era. The negative pressure generated after the cannons fired made him open his mouth wide to make himself feel a little better.

Although he was inside the heavily armored command tower, Li Che couldn't help but feel a deep sense of awe for the most violent war machine of the era as he felt the earth-shattering vibrations brought by the firing of the 330mm cannon.

These are battleships and cannons! What he is experiencing now is a blank history that he has never been able to experience again in his impoverished and weak second homeland in another world since the complete annihilation of the Beiyang Fleet and the sinking and capture of two ironclad warships purchased from Leitania.

Why do so many people still have a strong interest in this ancient, Tyrannosaurus Rex-like warship decades after it has been phased out of history?

The sound of cannon fire that he heard at that moment was the answer.