The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 563: Midgame adjustment



Makanov did a really good job. Through maneuvering and strategic deception, he played a favorable situation and killed a Japanese battleship, although there were tricks. But generally speaking, the situation of the Russian fleet is not good. The Makanov fleet is very strong. Yes, but Togo Heihachiro's Japanese main fleet is even stronger. The Satsuma-class battleship is even stronger than the Borodino-class on paper! The eight Japanese battleships naturally did not take much effort against the two old-fashioned second-class battleships.

Just when Tsukuba began to sink, under the siege of 8 Japanese battleships, at least 2 dozen destroyers, and torpedo boats, the great West Issos and Navalin finished their last journey in hastily! The dense barrage quickly swallowed the counterattack of the two Russian battleships, and then after ten torpedo boats went up for a three-round torpedo salvo, huge explosions were heard from the two Russian battleships. Five minutes later, Siesos The horn broke into two sections, and the Navarrin overturned to the bottom of the sea.

The Japanese main fleet, which completed the tactical turn, began to chase the Russian fleet. While Makanov used the last period of time to frantically attack the Japanese cruiser formation. Makanov's layout is still very characteristic. The four Borodino-class battleships are divided into two groups, the first two in the team and the two in the tail. It is said that this layout is unreasonable, because generally warships of the same class are similar in performance and should be deployed together, but Makanov also did this for a reason.

"If we deploy 4 battleships in front, then when the Japanese main fleet catches up, their Satsuma-class battleships will directly face the weakest cruiser among us. I don't think the American cruisers face 4 ships. How long can the Satsuma-class battleships last? And because of the limitations of the battleship, the speed advantage of the armored cruisers can't be used at all. So they can only be beaten. Therefore, I decided to let two more sturdy battleships break. As for the separation of battleships and cruisers? It's even more impossible, you will be caught by your opponents one by one," Makanov explained after the war.

When the Dongxiang Fleet arrived, the Russian fleet fell into a passive state again, and its advantages at the time of the battle quickly vanished. When the eight Japanese battleships gradually followed from behind, the heavily damaged Asama in the Japanese armored cruiser fleet temporarily withdrew from the battle, and then Uemura Hikoyuki and the officers of his command were transferred to the Kasuga on a destroyer. The Asama sailed to the mainland under the protection of the destroyer, and the loss of a capital ship had already caused the Japanese to suffer. The Asama was hit many times in the bow and stern, and the water was severely flooded, and it was not suitable for high-speed sailing and fighting. Therefore, in the case of the superiority of the own fleet, it was natural to let it evacuate first.

The arrival of the Togo Fleet immediately made Makanov feel tremendous pressure. The four Satsuma-class battleships really deserved to be the masters of the British battleships of the same period. The powerful firepower and defense possessed by these warships, which are already indistinguishable from the fearless in size, made it almost impossible for the Russians to resist, even though the Borodino-class battleship, which is known for its strong guns, faced the Japanese fleet, which had an absolute advantage in number. It is also irresistible!

"Your Excellency Commander, the Alexander III has been shot and fired, and the power compartment has been damaged. It is estimated that it will be difficult to keep up with us." An officer said in a panic.

"Got it. Do what you should do and don't give up until the last minute. God will save us." Makanov looked around the panicked comrades in a circle and said with comfort: "Concentrate all firepower and attack the Japanese. Cruiser formation."

The Russian main fleet continued to stare at the Japanese cruisers, while the Togo Fleet, which was gradually coming up, knocked on the tail of the Russian fleet with peace of mind. The two battleships Alexander III and the Eagle at the rear faced the saturation attack of the five battleships alone. The encounter of the Asama class was repeated on them. Heavy artillery shells flew toward the two battleships like raindrops. The huge explosion sound continued from the two battleships, and the distance between the two sides quickly narrowed to within 5 kilometers. Up, the turrets almost leveled the artillery. A heavy high-explosive shell was raised from the armored ammunition magazine and sent to the gun position. The gunners on both sides loaded the shells, locked the chamber, and fired the guns, operating without seeing each other. The most terrifying war machine on the planet fought desperately.

"Let the torpedo boat, we don't have that much time to spend with them." This time, Togo Heihachiro was a little anxious. The loss of Tsukuba just now made him realize that the enemy on the opposite side is definitely not a fish belly, although the strength is far inferior to the combined fleet. But the old dog still has a few teeth. In Dayou's situation, if he loses a few capital ships, even if he wins, he will have to face high-level censure. Even Dongxiang himself cannot forgive himself.

More than a dozen torpedo boats passed between the fleets, and they were killed by the Russian cruisers and destroyers. The Russians tried their best to prevent the enemy’s lightning strikes, but when the next few Japanese battleships aimed their muzzles at less than 4000 Tons of small things, all the Russian efforts were in vain. After the two battleships Fuji and Yashima successfully smashed a Russian 3000-ton light cruiser, the Russian convoy was torn apart. In the gap, 8 torpedo boats took advantage of the situation to kill them~www.novelhall.com~ These torpedo boats were divided into two groups, and they carried out two torpedo salvos on the Alexander at the tail of the team!

The fan-shaped torpedoes rushed past like sharks smelling blood. At a distance of less than 800 meters, fifteen torpedoes criss-crossed, forming an almost inevitable lightning strike net! Although the Alexander III used the remaining artillery to destroy 3 torpedo boats at the last juncture, two torpedoes still successfully hit the warship struggling in the war.

One shot of two torpedoes hit the middle of the hull and tore a 10-meter-square-meter hole on the side of the battleship. Under the action of sea water and high-temperature and high-pressure bubbles, the cracked steel plate shattered the next wall of the engine room like a cannonball. With the turbulent water pouring in, the warship stopped instantly. Then another torpedo was even more deadly. This fish hit the lower part of the bow magazine, and the violent explosion directly ignited the cabin near the bottom of the ship!

"Everyone saw a column of water nearly 100 meters high into the air. The Alexander III was cut into two sections from the main turret of the bow as if it was beheaded by a giant sword. In less than 2 minutes, this Russian ship The first self-built advanced warship disappeared from the sea. More than 1,000 officers and soldiers on the ship survived only 3 people. A destroyer ready to rescue was sucked into the seabed by the vortex of the sinking of the warship. At that time, I felt like As the sky has fallen, I don't think I will ever return to Russia in my life." said an officer who witnessed the sinking of the battleship Alexander III after the war.

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