The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 218: The curtain opened!

"Damn, I was caught up in the end! If it wasn't for Iowa to run too slowly, we could wait until night fell to avoid the opponent's attack!" Dewey sighed as he looked at the ship's shadow that gradually became clear in the distance. The arrival of Iowa is a great strengthening for the US fleet, and it is also a burden. There is no reason for this. The speed of this cargo is a bit slow. It should be 70% of the responsibility for being caught up!

But now is obviously not the time to study this. It is inevitable for the Japanese fleet to catch up with itself. The hatred between the two parties is irreconcilable. Perhaps the US and Japanese governments have not declared war yet, but this is the largest group since the emergence of steam ironclad ships. The fight is about to begin!

  Since you can’t run away, just face it! As the signal flag on the mast of the battleship Iowa changed, the US-Russian fleet began to turn its course, leaning against the sun and heading for the Japanese fleet! Both sides are in a posture of a decisive battle. The US and Russian fleets have two more ships, while the quality of the Japanese fleet seems to be higher! This is really a battle close in strength! At least Americans think so.

The actions of the Americans also fell in the eyes of the Japanese, and the long-awaited engagement officially began. From there, the nine battleships of the Japanese fleet lined up in sequence. The first two second-class battleships were Fuji and Yashima. , Followed by the four armored cruisers acquired by Japan from the passer-by, from front to back are Asama, Yakumo, Nissin, and Izumo, and then the first-class protective cruiser Kasuga and two second-class cruisers. Wait for the protective cruiser.

  The formation of the Americans is similar to that of the Japanese. The Americans also put their most elite warships in front! The strongest is naturally the battleship Iowa and then the armored cruiser Brooklyn. The only thing that has changed is the battle position of the New York. This warship was the weakest among the large warships of the US-Russian fleet, and because it was carrying captured Japanese and British prisoners of war, it was moved to the back and was located in the sixth position. And Ma Jifen was temporarily assigned to the New York USS.

  Behind Brooklyn are three Russian armored cruisers, followed by the Rurik, Bayan and Parada. Next is the New York, and Shelly’s protective cruiser formation is at the bottom. The formation has not changed, followed by the Olympia, two Columbia-class protective cruisers, and two second-class protective cruisers.

"It is impossible for the main fleet in front to open up the situation in a short time. Our only chance is in the battle of protective cruisers. We have 5 warships and only 3 against each other! The tonnage is also an absolute advantage. If you can Defeat the opponent’s defender within an hour, then the battle will have a turning point!” Before going to New York, Ma Jifen specifically emphasized with Shelly, the reason is simple, because the first-class battleships of the two sides are competing, the US fleet basically It was suppressed!

  Although Dewey, Shelly and others are somewhat dissatisfied with Ma Jifen’s opinions, they all admit that Ma Jifen, who has extensive combat experience, has a very high tactical level! He repeatedly emphasized that there are reasons for the influence of elite warships on the entire battle situation in naval battles.

In the Battle of Dadonggou between Qing Dynasty and Japan, the biggest mistake of the Japanese tactics appeared at the beginning. If Japan’s most elite fast fleet entangled the most combative Munich and the two Zhiyuan ships from the beginning, at least it could make The fierce Munich could not easily kill the weak ships in the Japanese fleet. It is true that the Japanese Fast Fleet quickly solved battleships such as Chaoyong Yang Wei, but at the same time it also lost more elite battleships like Sanjing Ship, which was not worth the loss in terms of exchange.

The biggest problem with the U.S. fleet now is that apart from Iowa’s ability to suppress Fuji from the attributes, Brooklyn seems likely to be able to block Yashima, and the other four armored cruisers face the four Nikkei-class armored cruisers. It's no show! The two Munich-class ships will definitely not be able to beat their upgraded version. The defeat is only a matter of time. Essen believes that the Rürich is not as good as Munich. It may kneel faster. Let alone New York, there is no defense. , If you want firepower but no firepower, you want HP but no HP.

  In the face of a situation that is almost likely to be defeated, all the Americans can do is to get the New York and Olympia closer, and when necessary, 2 to 1 to barely keep the tie. "If we are lucky enough, our armored fleet can hope to stay with each other for more than 2 hours. If it is longer, I am afraid that it will not work. And the only chance to break the game will be the battle of the protective cruiser formation!" Dewey's tactical arrangements before the war Said the above. In this case, the US fleet finally ran into its opponent!

"From a tactical point of view, the Americans had done their best before the battle. Relatively speaking, the Japanese did not do very well. They used second-class capital ships to deal with the most fierce presence in the American fleet. The subsequent facts proved that the second-class battleship Fuji was indeed inferior to the American battleship Iowa, but unfortunately, the Americans and Russians did not seize this opportunity." A British who participated in the war after the war The officers commented on the deployment of the two sides before the battle~lightnovelpub.net~ Before the Japanese fleet finally arrived, the US fleet completed the adjustment of its formation and course. The two battleships pulled out two battle lines, almost parallel. South, this is a national war. Both the Americans and the Japanese were cautious. The two sides slowly approached. When the relative distance gradually approached from 5000 meters to 4000 meters, 3500 meters to 3000 meters, the Fuji fought the battle. The first shot!

  The twin 10-inch heavy gun barrels of the Fuji’s head and tail shrank back suddenly. With the loud sound of the gun, two huge fireballs sprayed out from the muzzle. Two 227KG shells roared and flew to the distant US fleet. A few seconds later, two huge water columns were exploded only 20 meters away from the Iowa! And then, other Japanese warships also opened fire. Piles of flames leaped on the sidestring of the warship, and tons of deadly shells roared towards the target.

  The Americans were not to be outdone, and accompanied by bursts of violent vibrations, one round of shells flew out of the muzzle. However, compared with the Japanese firepower, although the US fleet has a quantitative advantage, its total firepower projection is at a disadvantage from the beginning. The Americans’ worse artillery skills have further expanded this disadvantage! But even so, the two sides are still inextricably killed at the beginning! For the two newly emerging empires, both sides did their best. It is not a last resort, and will never shrink back!

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