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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 685: Fierce Battle at Zhushan

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    As early as a few years ago in the Crimean War, Russia and the Ottoman Empire had a naval battle in the Bay of Sinop. In that naval battle, the Russians used advanced bombardment guns with a longer range.  It could launch explosive bombs from a distance, which was undoubtedly a disaster for the wooden sail warships at that time. Therefore, in the Battle of Sinop, the Ottoman Empire's navy was completely annihilated.

    The Taiping Navy has been actively developing its own shipbuilding capabilities since its establishment. Since ancient times, the Chinese have not lacked their own imagination to build larger ships. The huge treasure ships that the Sanbao eunuchs took when they sailed to the West during the Ming Dynasty are undoubtedly  It was the representative of China's shipbuilding capabilities at that time.  It is a pity that the complete isolation of the country in the middle and late Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty caused China's shipbuilding technology to make great strides in regression.  But after the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom came to power, the fully open shipping and maritime trade greatly promoted shipbuilding technology.

    When King Xi was still in southern Jiangsu, he had already announced to the world the bidding for a series of shipbuilding industry projects such as the Taiping Rebellion Sufu Shipyard, thus attracting shipbuilding craftsmen and advanced technologies from all over the world.  Later, in 1857, Hu Xueyan, who was sent to the United States, purchased equipment from some American shipyards and shipped it directly back to his country, and hired a large number of workers and technicians who had lost their jobs due to the economic crisis.  Against this background, by the beginning of 1860, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom successively established shipbuilding factories with modern industry as the main body in Shanghai, Ningbo and other places, which could manufacture large ships and carry out ship repairs.

    Before the war broke out between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Britain and France, the Shanghai Shipyard and the Zhejiang Shipyard in Ningbo successfully trial-produced 500-ton ships, and began to try to build four thousand-ton warships, and their shipbuilding capabilities began to gradually improve.  The British and French coalition forces destroyed these two shipyards early in the morning.  Destroying the Taiping's war industrial capabilities was also a threat and retaliation, but the Shanghai shipyards were well defended.  In addition to the previous defeat of the British and French navies in Shanghai, the mission of Uncle Ho and the Cima fleet to go north this time was in addition to looking for opportunities to annihilate the main force of the Taiping Rebellion navy.  Destroying two important shipyards of the Taiping Rebellion was also one of the tasks.

    The Zhejiang Shipyard in Ningbo is also well protected. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seems to have been preparing for a possible war early on. The location of their military industry construction is very hidden. Even for factories like the shipyard, the location chosen  Very good too, and protected by extremely thorough shore fortifications.  To destroy the Zhejiang Shipyard, you need to reach Ningbo first, and to reach Ningbo, you must first solve the two military fortresses of Zhenhai and Dinghai that defend Ningbo.

    Standing on the flagship Coromandel.  Uncle He vaguely saw the Dinghai Zhushan Gate Fort through the telescope.  Dinghai is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with Xiaofengling in the north overlooking the county town. The ridges are steep and steep, and there is a path near the sea; in the east is Zhushanmen, which is coastal and has a narrow harbor and deep water; in the west is Jiu'anmen, with mountains and mountains and a long way to the sea; in the south is  The road head is open and unobstructed, and it is the main road between sea and land.  Zhushan Gate is the gateway to the sea on the east side of Dinghai, and it was also the most important target for the British army to attack Dinghai.

    When Uncle Ho asked the flagship to hoist the red flag representing the battle, the British warships began to move separately. They formed in accordance with the battle plan planned early in the morning. The fast cruisers and cruisers cruised around the periphery of the entire fleet, responsible for guarding.  and flanks and rear flanks that protect the fleet.  The main attacking battleship quickly arrived at the designated attack position of the Zhushanmen fort. The sailors lowered the sails and started the steam power to drive the battleship. The gunners skillfully opened the gun jackets.  Ready to attack the shells, the navigator loudly announced the water patterns in the nearby waters time and time again based on the water patterns.  At this moment, the British army's skilled and elite naval warfare capabilities were undoubtedly revealed. They were confident that they would once again conquer Dinghai, a small city on Zhoushan Island, during the first Opium War.  The British army showed off their power here twice and killed three Qing army soldiers. They seemed very relaxed.

    But due to the narrow sea area of ??the port in front of Zhushan Gate.  The British army could only send four warships to attack, but the more than 200 artillery pieces on the four British warships still showed its powerful firepower.

    It¡¯s about eleven o¡¯clock in the morning.  The British warships took the lead in firing at the Zhushanmen fort in Dinghai, and the Taiping Coast Defense Forces also fired back.  For a time, the sea and the shore were filled with gunpowder smoke, and the sound of cannons in the Zhushan Gate area shook the sky.

    Since the Taiping Army occupied Dinghai, Zhushanmen Fort has been investing manpower and material resources in repairs. Huge granite strips and cement were transported here regardless of cost to build the fort.  The defenses of the entire fort have been greatly reinforced, and the architects and construction workers of the Taiping Army innovatively dug a hidden covered fort halfway up the mountainside of Zhushan Gate. They dug a hollow space in the middle of the mountain.  The surroundings were reinforced with bricks and stones, and covered with thick mountain tops. Only fort openings were opened between the mountains facing the sea, and then the artillery and the officers and soldiers guarding the forts were hidden in them. It was extremely concealed and safe.

    The four British warships that broke into the narrow port of Zhushan Gate were at a disadvantage after the artillery battle began. Zhushan Gate is no longer a simple open-air fort when the Qing army was stationed. The entire Zhushan Gate is aThe beautiful three-dimensional turret defense fortress has firepower points above, middle and below firing deadly shells at them.

    It is worth mentioning that the first one to break into Zhushan Gate was the British HMS Gao Huali, but now the HMS Gao Huali is serving in the Taiping Navy, and the British fleet that breaks into Zhushan Gate now does not have the same strength as before.  good luck.

    The Taiping Army's coastal defense artillery has a very large range and caliber, most of which are 68-pound cannons. At the same time, in order to make up for the blind spots of fire and prevent enemy boats from attacking, there are also mobile coastal defense artillery units stationed near the foot of Zhushan Gate.  The artillery positions are temporary. After an enemy situation occurs, they will drag the artillery out of the tunnel and quickly enter the position to conduct fire strikes on targets below the elevation of the fort above.

    At 11:45, the captain of the British battleship HMS Clash, who was at the forefront, saw that he could not completely destroy the enemy's fort. The enemy's shells accurately landed on his own battleship, and the deadly bombardment damaged the wooden battleship.  The force was quite astonishing, so he mustered up the courage and ordered the warship to move forward quickly before losing power. He wanted to reach the blind spot under the Zhushan Gate fort to avoid the enemy's bombardment.

    At this moment, the upper sail mast of the battleship Conflict had almost been completely destroyed. It could only rely on modified steam power to move forward with difficulty. When it was one kilometer away from the shore, the British sailors on the ship breathed a sigh of relief, because here  It is already the blind spot of the fort above, and the shells should not be able to fall here.

    But the British soldiers on the Conflict did not wait long to be happy. Behind an embankment shaded by bamboo trees on the shore, thunderous cannons rang out again. Before the British sailors on the ship could react, raindrops of shells were fired.  Hit on the head.  It was still an explosive bomb. It ravaged the scarred body of the Conflict. The huge explosion impact tore up its wooden hull. The flying shrapnel swept away the lives of the sailors on the ship. Soon the Conflict was in the billowing smoke.  It began to capsize, and the British captain on the ship reluctantly gave the order to abandon the ship. Soon the surviving British sailors jumped into the water. At about 11:50, the first British battleship, HMS Clash, sank.

    Uncle Ho witnessed this scene through the telescope and immediately ordered the flag to be blown to have the remaining three warships move back.  But unfortunately, the harbor was narrow, it was difficult for ships to turn around, and the enemy's firepower was fierce. Only one of the three warships escaped.

    After losing the first battle, Uncle He and Sima ordered the fleet to retreat to Hengshuiyang, thirty miles away, and wait. The two gathered together to convene a group of naval captains and generals to discuss how to break through the damn fortress-style defense system in Dinghai.

    "Obviously, the Taiping Army reinforced the Zhushanmen fort, and they even hollowed out the mountain. Gentlemen, you should have noticed that most of the shells that destroyed our three warships were fired from the bunker fort halfway up the mountain, and the enemy's  The range and power of the artillery are not inferior to ours. The harbor area here at Zhushan Gate is narrow, which is not conducive to our warships' maneuvering, avoidance and deployment of troops. The situation is very unfavorable to us" Naval Staff Officer Captain Levy briefly introduced the situation in a deep voice.  .

    Admiral He Bo stood up and said: "It seems that our current goal of using naval guns to make the enemy surrender cannot be achieved. We can only use the tactics of landing and assault to capture the enemy's fort and give them a major blow from behind!  "Then Uncle He said what he had decided after discussing with Xima. Early tomorrow morning, Uncle He planned to attack Dinghai in three groups to distract the attention of the Zhushanmen fort, and then send the only Marine Corps ashore, hoping to use  This method captures the enemy's fort.

    Early the next morning, God seemed to be on the side of the British. Heavy fog filled the sea and visibility was very low, which provided great help for the British army's landing and sneak attack.  The British fleet came out in full force, attacked Dinghai in three groups, and laid down all small boats, survey ships, troopships and steamers to attack.

    At first, the fort at Zhushan Gate seemed to be affected by heavy fog. Although they seemed to hear huge noises from the sea, under the heavy fog, the officers and soldiers of the fort could only fire cannons blindly, while those on the shore or high above  The watchman could only look at the ocean and sigh.

    The British landing force's landing operation went smoothly at first, but after landing, they encountered stubborn resistance from the Taiping Army's coastal defense forces behind the Zhushanmen embankment.  More than 2,000 British landing troops launched an attack on the Zhushanmen Embankment defensive position. The Taiping Army guarding the area had less than 400 troops, and most of them were artillery, so they were in danger for a while.

    Fortunately, when the signal for help was sent out, a 500-man rural regiment quickly arrived. Although the weapons of the rural regiment were not as advanced as those of the regular Taiping Army troops, the Taiping Army had previously equipped them with some front-loading smoothbores.  Weapons such as guns and grenades.  So when the rural regiment arrived, they threw out grenades and then picked up their bayonets and muskets and bravely launched a countercharge towards an enemy that was several times their size (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature for better updates on the novel.  Faster!
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