Chapter 86： Find a soft persimmon pinch (1/2)
Unlike in history, this time, the Beiyang Fleet completed its transformation ahead of schedule. The 9 warships of the fleet became 4 combat teams, which cooperated with each other in a fish-scale formation. Yang Yonglin's fast fleet is on the left wing of the fleet, ready to step forward to intercept the Japanese fleet!
”Tell Yang Yonglin to act! The old man will take care of the team's affairs!” Following Ding Ruchang's order, a series of semaphores were sent on the Dingyuan. And then, the Beiyang Express Fleet that received the order rushed towards the opponent like a sharp arrow under the leadership of Kaiyuan!
Almost at the same time, the Japanese fleet had already formed a linear formation, preparing to cut diagonally in front of the Beiyang Fleet. The four fast cruisers headed by the Kasuga rushed to the Beiyang right flank! The two sides are like two boxers. The fleet, dominated by fast warships, takes the lead in the action and strikes a fierce blow!
The two fast fleets staggered across the sea, and the distance between the two sides was once narrowed to about 5 kilometers, but neither of them paid attention to their opponents, but rushed towards the established target. For this phenomenon, Beiyang understood that , The main fleet will lead its opponents into chaotic battles, the fast fleet has a greater role in blocking and dividing opponents, while the Japanese act with speculative ideas! Neither the fast-fleet commander Hirachi Hangzo nor Togo Heihachiro, who has experienced the combat effectiveness of the Mainz, are not willing to touch this mold prematurely!
”They want to stop us!” The fast fleet sailed to the weaker ship on the main flank of the Beiyang Fleet as planned. Then, the cruiser Songdao at the head of the team will first face the three fast cruisers under Yang Yonglin! The Japanese fleet is dominated by warships engaged in side-string warfare, and when the three northern cruisers are about to cross the front of the Japanese fleet, Ito Youhen suddenly has a crisis of consciousness!
To be honest, the theoretical speed of the Sanjing ship headed by the Matsushima is not bad. Even considering the actual speed, the speed of the Sanjing ship is faster than the two Zhiyuan! However, the speed of the old ships behind the team is too slow, and the maximum theoretical speed is just over 13 knots! After more than ten years, these warships can run at 11 knots. According to the principle that the speed of the fleet is determined by the slowest ship, it is very good that the Japanese fleet can maintain a speed of 11 knots, and this speed can't escape at all!
The Japanese fleet that incorporated old ships into its fleet in order to add more strength can only swallow this bitter fruit! Right now Ito Youhei has only two options. One is to accelerate his maneuver and pass through before the opponent blocks it. The other is to turn the fleet and aim the firepower of the entire fleet's sidestrings at these three cruisers!
After a short period of thought, Ito Youhei chose to accelerate his maneuver, risking to split the entire fleet into two parts to avoid the deadly interception of the opponent! After all, if you let the opponent be at the head of your team, then a Matsushima will face the brutal side firepower of three cruisers! According to the lessons of the Toshima naval battle, Matsushima can be broken into parts in more than 20 minutes! Ito Youhei is very clear about the protection standards of the Matsushima!
And if the fleet turns, it is very likely that the main force of the Beiyang Fleet will be bitten by the Beiyang Fleet before the turn is completed in the second half! The team will still be split into two parts. Instead of doing this, it is better to separate as soon as possible, and then liberate the maneuverability of the front warship!
Soon, Ito's order was transmitted to other battleships through signal flags. The faster battleships headed by Matsushima, and Itsukushima, Hashidate, Takachiho, and Chiyoda began to speed up the sailing! Gradually separated from the other 5 slow warships behind!
”The Japanese fleet is going to escape! Admiral Ding can only catch the second half!” Hipper saw that the Japanese fleet was accelerating and was about to pass through the front of his own fleet, and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem! The core tactics of the Beiyang Fleet is to suppress the formation of the Japanese fleet, so that they cannot smoothly exert their sidestring firepower. In the current situation, at least half of the Japanese warships can avoid the fatal collision of the Beiyang main fleet!