Chapter 472 Who competes with you (I)

The famous city of Malacca has a very long history. As early as the Han Dynasty, there was a city here. The Chinese at that time called it Gorofusha and had trade with China. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He used Malacca as his base camp when he voyage to the West. The indigenous chief Silibaer Sula sent an envoy to submit an envoy to be a county of the Ming Dynasty, but it was easily rejected by the Ming Dynasty court without vision. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese occupied this place and built the New Malacca City. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Dutch defeated the Portuguese, occupied Malacca, and rebuilt Malacca, transforming all the inland-oriented forts into two sea-facing turrets. Relying on the existence of these two forts, the Dutch fully controlled the Strait of East-West trade, the Strait of East-West.

The Strait of Malacca is named after the ancient city of Malacca. The entire Strait is northwest-southeast, wide in the northwest and narrow in the southeast, with water depth from north to south and from east to west. When it comes to the location of the Strait, the exit of the Strait is densely packed with small islands and extremely complex water traces. The waterways that can navigate large ships are only fifteen meters deep and three kilometers wide. In addition, there are reefs and shallows everywhere. Therefore, the Strait is the most important thing in controlling the entire Strait of Malacca.

In addition to single Masek, another strategic point is that the water surface in Malacca is considered wide, but the side close to Sumatra is full of swamps and shallows, and large ships cannot dock at all. The only place where large ships can pass through is the 3.2-kilometer-wide waterway near the side of Malacca. The wind is small this time, and the boat is not fast. It is extremely difficult for a large fleet to pass through this place quickly, so it can only move slowly. Once attacked by the turret on the shore, no matter how powerful the fleet is, it can only face the fate of destruction.

The strategic significance of Malacca is unquestionable. As long as you can take down Malacca, the retreat of the English fleet will be completely cut off. Of course, as a strategic center, the defense of Malacca is very strict. More than 600 Dutch troops are stationed in Malacca. Not to mention the tall walls, there are also many artillery. It is extremely difficult to attack Malacca without the support of artillery. From Johor Bahru to Malacca, there are only more than 80 kilometers. There is a flat coastal road between the two places, which is connected to the footsteps of the small group of Dutch cavalry who escaped. You can return to Malacca before dawn. At this time, the preparation time for the Qing army is pitifully small. It is time to make up your mind.

Lin Wanlong stood at the gate of Xinshandi Town with a blue face and paced around, muttering constantly, but his voice was vague. Even Chen Guozhong, who was standing beside him, could not hear what he was muttering. After a long time, Lin Wanlong suddenly stood up. Looking at Chen Guozhong and asked, "Mr. Chen, does anyone understand the Dutch language in the shadow?"

Chen Guozhong didn't understand what Lin Wanlong suddenly asked about the matter, and was stunned for a moment before replying: "The locals can speak Duomo, and even if they are down, they can speak smoothly. I don't know the general..."

"Oh. That's good!" Lin Wanlong didn't explain much, waved to the second battalion commander Liu Chenghong, and ordered loudly: "Battleman Liu, let your people clean the battlefield as soon as possible. Take off all the clothes on the lotteries and hand them over here, and move quickly; send a company to replace the second battalion's first company, and your battalion will stay in Johor Bahru, and be sure to persevere until the subsequent troops arrive. Go quickly." At one moment, more than 2,200 soldiers from the Guangdong Land Battle Camp attacked Malacca holding torches under the leadership of Lin Wanlong, regardless of the darkness, they rushed toward Malacca...

When people get older, they will have a lighter sleep. Sean; Admiral Nadal's body has been a bit severely damaged since the defeat of the Battle of Black Island last year, and his whole body has become much older, so his sleep is even worse. He originally thought he would be transferred back to his country due to defeat, but he did not receive a dispatch order from the parliament. Instead, he waited for a large number of reinforcements. He was still the commander of the English Far East Fleet, but Admiral Nadal would not be grateful to those politicians for this. The reason is very simple - the Qing Empire at this time is no longer a place where England can easily provoke. The commander of the Far East Fleet is actually a crater, and no famous admiral is willing to take over this hot potato. The unavailable group of parliamentary politicians can only entrust him with important tasks again.

In Nadal's opinion, although the more than 40 warships under his command seemed extremely spectacular, it was a joke to use these warships to attack the Qing Dynasty. The politicians in China always thought that England had the final say in this era and the sea. They shouted all day long to take revenge, which made General Nadal very upset. He did not want to be severely damaged again. Not only was his own reputation, but it also had to do with England's national destiny. The English navy was powerful, but could face the European powers.

The expanding naval power is actually very limited. These forty warships are already the last barrier of the English Navy in the Far East. Once defeated, let alone attacking the Qing Dynasty, even the largest colony in England in the Far East may not be preserved. Therefore, although the reinforcement fleet had arrived long ago and the naval generals under his command were asking for battle every day, Nadal never issued an attack order and stayed in the small land of Danmasi.

Today, General Nadal went to bed early as usual. As soon as he fell asleep, he was awakened by the fierce gunfire and explosions across the strait. He quickly turned over and ran to the balcony in his pajamas to watch the fires rising from Johor Bahru. He didn't say a word for a long time, and his old eyes were full of doubt. He thought for a while, and walked to the huge sea chart hanging on the wall with cotton slippers. He looked carefully. The wrinkles on his face became deeper and deeper...

On May 2, 2018, the morning broke out. Admiral Nadal, who had not slept all night, stepped out of his bedroom and saw the new chief of staff of the Far East Fleet, Winslet; Major General Brown waited in the reception room with an excited expression.

"His Excellency Commander, according to the merchant ship report, the Qing fleet has arrived at the Tammelan Sea. If it is for us, it will be near the Bintan Island Sea at this time tomorrow." Major General Brown immediately stood at the verge of General Nadal and reported loudly.

"Well, they must have arrived long ago." Admiral Nadal's face did not fluctuate at all, but just said lightly.

Major General Brown looked at General Nadal's haggard face in confusion, his lips squirmed a few times, but he couldn't help but ask, "Hiss Commander, how do you know this news?"

Nadal was too lazy to reply. He just said loudly: "Major General, go and notify the officers above the squadron to assemble." Major General Brown did not dare to ask more questions, and responded respectfully, rushed out of General Nadal's official residence and summoned people to his own hands.

"...This is the waters of Tammelan, which is still 200 nautical miles away from the single-masek where our army is located. According to the merchant ship report, the enemy has a total of ten large warships. Nineteen medium-sized warships and twelve small warships. They head northwest. If nothing unexpected happens, the enemy should be heading towards our army. It is estimated that this is just the enemy's vanguard fleet, and there may be a large force following behind. Everyone. This is the situation." In the war room, Major General Brown pointed to the large chart spread out on the table and briefly introduced the known situation.

The strength of a possible vanguard fleet was no longer inferior to that of the English Far East Fleet. This news immediately made all the naval generals present feel cold. For a moment, the naval officers who always shouted to fight the Qing Dynasty were all quiet. They looked at General Navy Nadal silently.

Admiral Nadal coughed twice, glanced at the naval generals present, pointed to Johor Bahru and said, "You must have heard the gunshots and explosions last night, and this is by no means accidental. The Dutch on the opposite side should have been wiped out by the Qing army. If I had good expectations, the target of the Qing army should be here - Malacca! Once Malacca falls into the hands of the Qing army, our army's retreat will be cut off. According to time, the Qing army should have not arrived in Malacca at this time. Even if it is in Malacca, it will not be easy to take down Malacca. We still have enough time to withdraw from the Andaman Sea. Lieutenant General Bradley, what do you mean?"

Kannart; Lieutenant General Bradley is the new deputy commander of the English Far East Fleet and the commander of the reinforcement fleet. Although he is a deputy, he has more battleships in his hand than Nadal can control. He was born in a noble family, in his early forties, and has participated in many naval battles. He is a rising star of the English Navy. He has always been known for his toughness and has no respect for Nadal, the defeated general. At this time, when General Nadal spoke to retreat, he suddenly said: "The sea is the sea of ​​England, and as long as there is a sea, it is my English Paradise. Please don't forget the tradition of the English Navy.

: Attack, attack, attack again.   I think that the number of Qing soldiers who sneaked into Johor Bahru will definitely not be too many. Besides, this strait is shallow and the shore is high. Even if the Qing army can successfully attack, they will not be able to send artillery ashore. There are no artillery and a small number of people. It is not easy for the Qing army to capture Malacca. I suggest that our army can send cruisers to cover the army to land in Johor Bahru. Once we take down Johor Bahru, we will cut off the Qing army's retreat, and then send troops to attack Malacca along the main road, annihilate the Qing army at the city of Malacca, and simply take down the Dutch. In this way, our army can attack and retreat and defend, and it is already invincible."

Lieutenant General Bradley talked for a long time and kept focusing on how to annihilate the Qing army on the Malay Peninsula, but he didn't mention the Qing fleet that had already arrived at the door. He obviously felt a little angry. Nadal was very cunning, so he could naturally hear what Lieutenant General Bradley said. If he wanted to withdraw his troops, you should give this order yourself. Anyway, you have to bear the responsibility for losing Single Masek. The importance of Single Masek is unquestionable. General Nadal cannot bear the responsibility for losing Single Masek, but at this moment he could not accuse Lieutenant General Bradley of his selfishness. After thinking about it, he looked at the local commander Ronal; Major General Regen, and asked politely: "Major General Regen, our fleet can provide cruisers as cover. Can your army achieve the mission of taking down the New Mountain?"

Major General Regan is not stupid. If he said he could not do so at this time, the navy would definitely leave the army and flee. How could he defend Danmaxi with the force in his hand? In the end, he would either lose his life or lose Danmaxi on his back. This responsibility was too heavy, and he didn't want to take it on his own. Seeing that all the naval generals were staring at him, Major General Regan's face suddenly turned red and he wanted to curse. However, in this occasion, he was the lowest official title. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and said, "If you can get cooperation from the navy, the subordinates can try it with all their strength."

"That's good. The Navy can send three cruisers to provide fire support. I hope General Regan will do his best to take down Johor Bahru as soon as possible and disperse the meeting!" Nadal gave a combat order helplessly, lowered his head and walked out of the combat room first...

The information obtained by England was actually not accurate. The Qing fleet that came to the Tamilan waters was indeed the vanguard of the Qing fleet. There were actually twelve large warships, twenty-one medium warships, eight small warships, and five supply ships. These warships were not all aimed at single Massie. In fact, this was a fleet composed of some warships of the first and second two squadrons of the Qing Dynasty. Among them, the first squadron had four large warships, eight medium warships, three small warships and two supply ships. The purpose of the combat was to block the waters of Bintan Island and lure the English Navy to fight. All other ships were affiliated with the Second Squadron, and their combat target was the Dutch fleet in Batavia.

On May 2, 2nd, Yuanzhuo, two Qing fleets that had already stepped out of the Tamilan Sea parted ways in the Conna Island waters and rushed to their own battlefields. Xiao Sanlang stood on the front deck of the flagship "Weihai" of the Second Squadron, looking at the first squadron that was turning with a blue face, and was holding a fire in his heart. In his opinion, the first squadron was lucky again and could participate in the battle, but his second squadron always had bad luck. He either used cover or squeezed soft persimmons like the Dutch. He was really bored and was secretly ruthless in his heart, intending to vent his anger to the Dutch...
Chapter completed!