The Rise of the Empire

If someone can overlook the entire battlefield from the perspective of God, he can find that the US fleet is not far from Severa. On the fourth day after the battle, a supply fleet carrying ammunition and coal came to Mo Luowan completed the supplies for the US fleet that had just finished the warm-up exercise, and the instructions of the US government. The American fleet immediately arrived here, crossing the strait and heading towards the Sulu Sea, and when the Japanese fleet towed the Carlos V to evacuate northward, the American fleet was only half a day away from the place where the Spanish fleet was finally destroyed!

At this time, the towing speed of the Japanese fleet was only about 8 knots per hour. If the Americans sail at the highest speed, they can catch up with the Japanese fleet retreating north in up to 10 hours, and hope to see the opponent's smoke column, and then determine the direction. But it is a pity that in order to save fuel as much as possible while ensuring the physical strength of the personnel, the US fleet's speed is only about 10 to 12 knots per hour. The Americans can't be blamed for this, at least they haven't received news of the Japanese fleet's action yet. The Spanish fleet has just been severely damaged, so there is no problem in occupying Manila Bay by themselves.

And before leaving the United States, Dewey once specifically asked, what if we encounter the Japanese fleet in the Philippine waters? A senior executive of the Navy Department, who cannot be named, once ordered: "If the Japanese fleet is cruising in the Philippine waters, the American fleet only needs to be on alert. If the Japanese dare to land in the Philippines, then both sides will automatically Enter a state of war!"

The Americans considered that Japan might have thoughts about the Philippines this time, so they included both the Philippines and Cuba in the war zone on the second day after declaring war with Spain. In theory, in the eyes of the Americans, as long as If the Japanese army dares to land, then there is no need to say anything. Of course, the specific operation depends on the front-line commanders. But at this time, Dewey did not expect the Japanese to move so fast. In addition to the delay in the delivery of information, he still does not know. Japan's entry into the war and the fall of the Port of Manila. So he now believes that the Port of Manila is still in the hands of the Spaniards.

Dewey's idea is very simple, now everyone hastened to the past, taking advantage of the lack of any defense in Manila Bay, directly bombarded, and then sent some people to control the port. By the way, this also announced the ownership of the Philippines by the United States of America, and then the fleet went to patrol the Bashi Channel to block the possible Japanese fleet. This is the best way to avoid trouble. When the Japanese see that both the north and the south of the Philippines have been stepped on by the Americans, they are supposed to give up, right?

As a result, the western waters of the Philippines presented a very strange state. The Japanese fleet sailed slowly north, while the American fleet followed the Japanese at the most economical speed. In the end, when the Japanese fleet arrived in Manila Bay and continued to When sailing north, they still did not find the American fleet following behind. Of course, the Americans agreed that they did not find the Japanese fleet ahead. Now the distance between the two sides is more than 25 nautical miles!

The Japanese fleet continued to sail towards Taiwan, and when the American fleet arrived in Manila Bay, it was already around eight o'clock in the evening. The sea was dark, while the Manila Bay was bright, even if it was far away, it could be seen under the light source Busy fleet and temporary docks! The Americans did their homework well. They knew that there were no mines laid in Manila Bay before the war, and after the occupation of Manila Bay, the Japanese Navy also did not lay any torpedoes. So under the guidance of several torpedo boats, the American fleet sneaked into the Manila Bay, and aimed the muzzle at the busy docks and berths in the distance!

Considering that it may be more troublesome for a 10,000-ton warship to enter this harbor, it was the USS New York, the Russian Bayan, the Parada, and the five protective cruisers of General Shirley who finally entered the harbor to bombard them.

Eight warships entered the port and attacked the fort at the entrance of Manila Bay at a distance of 2,700 meters! Accompanied by waves of shocks, orange fireballs flew out of the muzzle, whistling and flying into the distance. They had already been bombed by the Japanese navy, leaving only ruined forts.

If it is daytime, Americans can naturally discover the strangeness of Manila Bay, as well as various Japanese transport ships scattered throughout the port. But it's a pity that it was at night, and according to the secret order of the Ministry of the Navy, even if the Japanese fleet was discovered, Dewey would probably fight it!

Eight warships quickly passed by the side of the turret, flooding the entire turret with fierce artillery fire, and when they found that the turret did not counterattack and no lights were raised, the Americans thought they had defeated the opponent's defense force, so They rushed to the depths of the port non-stop! At this time, they were facing hundreds of various Japanese transport ships and thousands of Japanese, as well as thousands of tons of supplies piled up in the port...  And all this without any protection!

"What do the Spaniards want to do? Are they preparing to evacuate?" Shelly was a little confused, but this did not prevent him from carrying out the combat order, "Blow everything up to ashes!" The order was simple and bloody, With this order, the Japanese army in the port range has already determined its outcome! In the face of fierce naval gunfire, they have no way to escape!

At a distance of 2,800 meters from the Japanese berth, the Shelly fleet opened fire! Countless meteor-like shells streaked across the night sky, and the roar of the shells in the air was like the wailing of death. The Americans attacked so suddenly that most people didn't react when the shells landed in the port! Didn't the United Fleet stand outside the port? Who is firing on us? Is it Spanish?

The artillery skills of the Americans are really not good, especially the distance is still too far for the Americans. You must know that in history, when Dewey tyrannized the Spaniards, they fought at a distance of 1,800 meters. But it doesn't matter, this time I hit dense static targets! Maybe you aimed at one ship and hit another ship, anyway, these battles must die, the Spaniards want to evacuate, so what?

A large number of picric acid high-explosive bombs turned the entire berth into a sea of ​​flames in a very short period of time, and the projected amount of ammunition of several tons per minute made the shells fall on the target area like raindrops. "We don't need to aim at all. The targets are too dense. Their ships are all crowded together, and there are a lot of flammable and explosive materials piled up on the dock. One shell may destroy a warship. At that time, I even felt that I The sea in front of me is burning, and the fun of destruction makes people sink in.” A U.S. Navy soldier who participated in the Battle of Manila Bay recalled after the battle.

Thanks to the book friends and classmates who are in love~~~ and the monthly ticket support from book friend hataku81~~~! The subscriptions that posted three chapters yesterday were only 200 more than the subscriptions that posted two chapters the day before yesterday.... How embarrassing is this for the author--!