Half is sea water, half is flame.

When the ship team led by He Fang was in a tough battle, the "Flamingo" and the "Pelican" led by Geng Baogui were fighting very vividly.

After more than half an hour of fierce battle, the two ships achieved dazzling results of sinking one and hurting the other. The Pelican was hit by enemy counterattack artillery fire and caused minor injuries. The 35-ton rapid patrol ship at the back of the hull was blown up, causing 6 people in the bottom cabin to be injured.

now

Killing a three-masted sailboat, Geng Baogui's fleet only faced two sailing warships, one of which was also seriously traumatized and had a clear advantage.

The heavy-hit sail warship, both the foremast and the middle-mast mainsails, ignited a fire, and were burning violently. The falling cloth and wooden blocks burned from above to ignite the pile of cables on the deck. The surviving Dutch sailors were struggling to extinguish the fire, while other Dutch sailors controlled the artillery and fought back fiercely.

The two sides not only compete in ship control technology, shooting technology and maritime tactics, but also in fearless courage and spirit of sacrifice. This is a burning ocean.

Under the intentional control of the Queensland fleet, the two battle groups gradually widened ten nautical miles away, trying to free up larger sea areas for the high-speed and flexible iron-armored patrol ships, which is conducive to leveraging their own speed advantages.

The British "Strange Stone" armored cruiser was honestly and unceremoniously inserted into the middle of the combat waters, which made it clearer and clearer.

Faced with this situation, the Netherlands was so popular that they vomited blood, and the Australian fleet could do nothing.

On the sea far away

At the beginning of the battle, the Dutch 820-ton sailing warship, which was hit hard by a 239mm heavy artillery, was wandering alone on the sea.

The entire hull was seriously tilted due to a large amount of water inlet. The captain directed the remaining sailors to rescue them like crazy, throwing all the excess items into the sea, including artillery and corpse wreckage.

This can be of some effect, but there is little hope for rescue.

Generally speaking, wooden warships have better resistance to sinking than steel warships and will not sink quickly in a short period of time.

It's about 4:20 pm now

The slanting sunlight shone on the bloody sea, with rising black smoke and floating corpses, burnt canvas, ropes and wooden barrels all over the sea, and the sea water has been stained with blood.

The rumbling cannons continued, and the killing continued...

"Calve the enemy ship on the left side of the fire, kill him for me." Geng Baogui's face was so black and white that it was smoked by gunpowder, and he yelled with his blood-red eyes.

He refers to the only intact three-masted sailing ship of this sailing fleet, the "Dawn", which is a 1,200-ton third-class sailing battleship. It is now equipped with 8 120mm breech guns, equipped with a solid steel rear sliding gun mount, 22 95mm breech guns, and a single-side firepower reduction of half. It can project 15 shells of different calibers at a time. The fire density can be comparable to that of two Seagull II warships. The only disadvantage is that its power is far inferior.

Geng Baogui’s tactics are very terrifying, why do you say that?

The "Flamingo" and the "Pelican" used high-speed maneuver to separate the sides, trying to hide in the fire dead corners on the bow and stern of the three-masted sailboat, forcing it to constantly adjust its steering, and surrounded the three-masted sailboat Dawn in the center and beat it hard.

The three-masted sailboat "Dawn" refused to give up the friendly ship that was slow to move due to injury, so its range of movement was very limited. Although it had strong firepower, it was difficult to capture the enemy ships. The precise artillery technique was unable to be used and it was trapped in a passive state of being beaten.

It was a sleepless night, and both parties in the war returned to lick their wounds.

The British cruiser cruising in the strait was brightly lit. More than 200 Dutch Royal Navy officers and soldiers who came to rescue were crowded with the cabin and the aisle. The wounded were moaning in a low voice. More people sat on the aisle with dull expressions, their eyes filled with endless despair and sadness.

British sailors were armed with live ammunition, and strictly prohibited the rescue of the Dutch from entering the engine compartment, the main gun position of the ship and the superstructure of the cruiser to prevent the desperate Dutch from launching a sudden attack and snatching the cruiser.

The total number of officers and soldiers of the British Stellar Cruiser was less than 200. Faced with a larger number of Dutch people, we had to guard against it.

At the stairs leading to the second deck of the ship, through the iron gate, there were four British sailors equipped with spears guarding each other closely.

On the second deck

Several British officers including Captain Colonel George, Observation Group Colonel Joe Howard, and other British officers talked in groups of three or three. On the rectangular strips with white tablecloths next to them were placed with bread cakes and fruit salads. This was a small cold dinner.

Not only were British officers, but also two Dutch captains who came to rescue the cold dinner, one was Colonel Van Truy and the other was Lieutenant Colonel Borgkamp.

"Dear Colonel Van Truy, I admire the courage and sacrifice you and your companions showed in the battle. Please rest assured that they will receive food and hot water and necessary treatment. After the Queensland fleet leaves, we will send you back to Port Medan." Captain George said comfortingly.

The blood on Colonel Van Truyi's military uniform was bright. Perhaps because he had eaten some food, his face was not as pale as before, but from his desperate eyes, it could be seen that a heart had already been riddled with holes and broken into mud.

even so

Colonel Van Truey was still able to maintain the necessary etiquette, he said slightly; "Thank you, Mr. Colonel, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your noble humanitarian behavior. In this disaster day, it is like a ray of sunshine that warms people's hearts and will be widely praised."

"God bless this is what we should do." That being said, Colonel George showed an unconcealed smile on his face, and he made a great contribution out of thin air, saying that he was unhappy was false; "Can I ask? My English colleagues and I have always been wondering why the other party used the power that was not rich in two?"

"This...maybe out of arrogance." This question deeply hurts Colonel Van Troy's heart. His muscles twitch involuntarily, and his expression is extremely dark; "These Queenslanders have grown up silently. We must admit that they have underestimated them and paid a great price for this. Before the war, there was a blind optimism in the Royal Navy. Many captains regarded this as a good opportunity to earn military merits. In fact, it was a complete disaster. Please pray to God for forgiveness of our sins, Amen!"

Looking at Colonel Van Truey who prayed devoutly, Captain George confirmed the speculation and acted more heartwarmingly; "Mr. Colonel, as an excellent naval officer, you have done everything you can, without blaming yourself."

What he got was a long sigh, silent.

This complete defeat had destroyed the confidence of the officers and soldiers of the Royal Task Force of the Dutch East Indies. The original blind optimistic arrogance and contempt were shattered and turned into a trace of fear from the bottom of their hearts.

Many times, only by rushing to the face of reality can you correct your attitude. This is how the Dutch people are.
Chapter completed!