A leisurely city for solo travelers

Chapter 328 Battle of the Gap
The entrance of the English Channel to the North Sea is not wide, with the Isle of England to the northwest and the European continent to the southeast.Island countries have always had a tradition of advocating the navy, of course, except for the Philippines and Indonesia.

Clifford's corps chose to place their sea defenses at this narrow junction rather than London or Amsterdam.

This is likely to be the last battle in this world. Although Fang Xian is very relieved of Gruhart's command, he also put on the long-lost battle cape at this time.

"The enemy is much smarter this time." Gruhart ordered the fleet to keep the furthest distance. "Admiral, the enemy has four fleets, defending in an arc on the other side of the strait."

"It's kind of like bringing you into the urn." Fang Xian asked, "In my memory, the British Navy only has three fleets. Where did the fourth one come from?"

Gruhart shrugged: "According to intelligence, I'm afraid the admiral of the Fourth Fleet is that general."

"Well, Barudis will join Clifford... But this is also expected. Even if he escapes back to the country, there will be no navy for him to command."

"Yes, England is his only choice." Gruhart paused, and then asked for instructions, "Admiral, this war is inevitable, but I don't think this is the best time for our army to fight."

"Oh?"

"Since Baroudis is over there, he must have disclosed all the information about our army to Clifford, which means that they now know the range of our army's artillery. Even so, they still chose a static formation to prepare for the artillery attack. I think they There must be something to rely on.”

"Don't think about it, it's obvious." Fang Xian shook his head, "They occupied Amsterdam, and also the shipyard that I smashed out of gold. Whether it's a battleship or a continuous gun, they have it all."

"Yes, Admiral, we plan for the worst...assuming that they are all equipped with the most advanced continuous-firing cannons." Gruhart summarized the information, "The enemy has four fleets, and if we observe them from this distance, there are two of them. A fleet of pure battleships, one led by Clifford, one led by Barudis, and the other two are veteran British navy. And we also have four fleets, including two armored fleets, a battle fleet, and a large Spanish sailing ship Fleet. I don’t think there is any advantage in the shelling battle between the two sides, let alone the most elite British navy in history.”

"If war is an arithmetic problem, what do you need me to do?" Fang Xian said with a smile.

"Admiral... With this terrain, we are throwing ourselves into a trap by crossing the strait. There are 4 artillery fleets over there, and thousands of cannons are waiting for us. This is simply..."

"suicide?"

"Yes, commit suicide." Gruhart said earnestly, "We have allies all over the world, and your grand strategic plan has always been like this. I don't understand why you choose to fight alone. Our best plan is Gather all your allies here and use your numerical superiority to build a path to victory."

"Gruhart, they're an ally, but they're a weak ally. Naphan in the Indian Ocean will raise a white flag when he sees pirates without even thinking about it. Woodin has no interest in leaving Iraq. That thing in Africa, I bet he Hayreddin vowed not to step out of the Mediterranean Sea without firing a single shot, and as for those guys from the New World, God knows who they would shoot at in a real fight... The only people I can hope for are the Dutch, whose capital has already fallen."

Fang Xian said, grabbing Gruhart's shoulders: "Now, don't consider strategy, only consider tactics, the current situation, use our existing troops to rush through that damned strait, and kill our last enemy, you are done. ideals, and I honor my promises.”

Gruhart sighed, this time Fang Xian's tone was very firm, and he also gave up the possibility of trying to persuade.

"Okay, Admiral, I hope our ironclad...is tough enough."

On the other side of the Channel, Clifford was also not sure of victory.

He was almost forced to go to war, and any fool could see that after the Fang family's navy settled the Mediterranean, they would definitely come to the North Sea, which was the last piece of meat in the world's seas.

At this time, he could no longer sit still. He chose to use blitzkrieg to kill his neighbors, occupy both ends of the English Channel estuary, and meet the aggression in the safest way.

He himself did not expect that Amsterdam gave him two great gifts-a general who was as capable as his commanding ability and an unbelievable shipyard.

Barudis told him every detail of the battle he had experienced. The former Spanish naval commander emphasized the range of the opponent's shells several times.

Clifford was as proud as Barudis, but when he saw that his opponent's tone was up to this point, he didn't hesitate any longer. He spent all his military expenses on building two battle fleets, and armed the entire ship with continuous fire. gun.

The two agreed that the notch in London and Amsterdam was not conducive to fortification, so they positioned the defense line on the English Channel. This time the situation was reversed, and Fang Xian would face an enemy who was waiting for work and a fleet that was not inferior to his own firepower.

Under the muzzle of thousands of cannons, the Fang family navy actually chose to charge.

The two armored fleets advanced at full speed, recklessly rushing through the range warning line like torpedoes, without hesitation.

Clifford gave an order, and thousands of artillery pieces that had been on standby for a long time fired at the same time. The formation was no less than any previous battle of the Fang Navy.

Almost every ironclad ship was hit by several bullets, or even dozens of bullets.

Despite their claim to be "unsinkable," the ironclads sank two ships in the first round of shelling despite this savage amount of bombardment.

While Clifford's army was reloading, the remaining eight ironclad ships separated instantly after crossing the strait, and headed toward eight different directions at full speed.

Clifford's army had been prepared for a long time, and the 20 ships had already divided the areas, and soon launched a second round of covering bombardment.

This time the shells were more dispersed, and the speed of the ironclads obviously exceeded Clifford's expectation. After crossing the strait, they became difficult to catch. No one was silenced by the second round of shelling, and they were only slightly damaged.

At the same time, the two fleets of sailing ships also arrived at the mouth of the sea, and started to fight back.

Clifford quickly changed his order, temporarily gave up the attack on the ironclad, and aimed all the guns at the enemy's sailing fleet.

After all, compared with the powerful firepower, wooden sailboats are too fragile. If you are obsessed with ironclad ships, you may be completely sunk before the ironclad ships get close.

As a result, both sides temporarily ignored the existence of the ironclad ship, and began a devastating confrontation.

After three rounds, only two remaining battleships of the Fang Family's navy escaped on fire, and all the painstakingly managed ships sank into the sea, or underwent final burning.Of course, Clifford's army also paid the price of 8 battleships. It was [-] battleships, not anything else. The only remaining battleships on the battlefield were the flagships of Barudis and Clifford.

The two realized at the same time that this kind of suicidal bombardment seemed to be just to annihilate their own battleships, but the large sailing ships were not damaged at all.It's true to think about it, the firepower of battleships is more than twice that of ordinary sailboats, but the durability is only a little more than ordinary battleships.

When Clifford's army aimed at the ironclad again, they found that they were close in sight.

Four of the eight ironclads bit the flagships of Clifford and Barudis respectively, and the remaining four rushed towards their nearest enemy.

In the face of such a terrifying firepower network, the armored fleet still won the opportunity to fight hand-to-hand.

Of course, Clifford has already made the most correct choice. If he keeps biting the armored ship and shelling him, he will definitely be the one to lose first.

12 versus 8.

The two ironclads flanked each other back and forth, knocking Clifford's flagship in the center, all two iron plates hooked the battleship, and tons of sailors charged the ship.

While loading the muskets, Clifford's flagship broke instantly in a counter-charge, and a large number of kiln sailors rushed onto the deck.

A shirtless figure stood among them, and the serrated machete that symbolized identity slashed all the way.

"It's him!!" Clifford said in surprise, "As the admiral of the fleet, he's not on the ship being shelled far away, but on the assault ironclad ship, this lunatic!"

Fang Xian personally led a group of sailors, which submerged the British army on the deck like a flood.

Soon Clifford was alone on deck.

Fang Xian wiped his hands and walked towards this unprecedented but powerful enemy.

"Give you a chance to fight alone." He smiled.

Clifford looked at the famous big sword and instinctively told him not to use his fancy swordsmanship to fight him.

"I'm not going to lose." Clifford urged to calm down.

Fang Xian smiled and said, "Oh? The admiral of the British army said such childish things?"

"It's not our duel, but this battle." Clifford said firmly, "You've already lost."

He no longer hesitated, and pulled out a "gun" from his arms.

Just when everyone was about to rush forward, he saw him holding up his musket and firing it into the sky, and colorful fireworks soon rang through the air.

Fang Xian narrowed his eyes, sighed, and then shouted at everyone: "Jump into the sea!!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the sailors all jumped onto the railing and jumped into the sea.

"What? You?!" Clifford was shocked. "Aren't you going to capture me?"

"A dead person is not a prisoner." Fang Xian stopped talking nonsense and jumped into the sea with the sailors.

Clifford was stunned in place, his desperation tactics were so easily deciphered?
It was a firm order, after the whole army saw the signal flare, to start bombarding freely without any consideration.In other words, if an ironclad ship bites a certain battleship, the ships around them can sink everything in that range without thinking about their own life or death.

In order to sacrifice himself, Clifford resolutely released the signal flare, and at that time, the two ironclads and the terrible man who were attached to him will be buried in the sea with him.

About 15 seconds later, numerous shells smashed into Clifford's flagship.

After the chaotic bombardment, the three ships sank together. Clifford did not choose to jump into the sea in the end, but coexisted with his warship forever in the flames.

11 versus 6.

(End of this chapter)