Chapter 728 Somalia Naval Battle
The intelligence in Dire Dawa City is obviously lagging behind. Although there are telegraphs and rear connections, the source of the intelligence comes from the Arabs in British Somaliland. It has been several days since they arrived in Dire Dawa City. During this time, the British The Royal Navy makes its next move.
The waters of Mogadishu Port.
The East African navy has already entered a state of combat readiness, and warship cruises have become normal. Mogadishu's naval power is not strong.
There are only three gunboats as main combat ships, but the entire Somali coastline is nearly two thousand kilometers long.
"The news came back from Galaad that a British fleet sailed through the waters near Galaad seventeen minutes ago. They are coming towards our Mogadishu port. According to the report from Galaad town, There were a total of thirteen warships, including four first-class ironclads and five second-class ironclads, and they bypassed the Galaad waters in a menacing manner."
Alex: "Send it directly to Bagamoyo. We need support. If an emergency occurs, our Mogadishu Navy is unable to undertake this level of blocking mission."
At this time, the patience of the East African Navy was extremely tested. Although the Naval Headquarters had said in advance that it would be wary of the British Navy, the United Kingdom has not yet declared war on East Africa.
This is just like the US military exercise in the South China Sea of the Far Eastern Empire in the previous life. You are not sure whether its purpose is really a "military exercise", so you must not be impulsive at this time, but you must not let down your vigilance!
“Don’t get too close to the British warships. Try to drive them away first,” commanded Mogadishu Navy Captain Alex.
…
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Alex led his "small" formation, waited and waited, and successfully intercepted the British Royal Navy fleet in the north, but the situation did not look very good.
“Come on Sol, are the ships driven by these East African monkeys the main battleships of the East African Navy?”
Philer likes to call East Africans East African monkeys, because in his opinion, the "apes" in uncivilized areas like Africa are a group of monkeys that cannot integrate into civilized society, even though East Africans are largely part of the German people.
"Don't underestimate the East Africans. Although their shipbuilding technology has lagged behind, the combat effectiveness between ironclad ships will greatly test the commander's military capabilities. The East African Navy learned from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire still has merit in shipbuilding technology. It's somewhere." Raisol said.
"And now we have not encountered the main force of the East African navy. According to intelligence, the main naval force of East Africa is in the waters of the former Zanzibar Sultanate. There are currently more than a dozen ironclad ships. Although the quality is uneven, they can also bring us There is a certain threat.”
The naval strength of East Africa is vastly different from that of the British Royal Navy. Many first-class ironclad ships in East Africa are actually second-class ironclad ships in the UK.
First of all, in terms of tonnage, the British fleet to East Africa this time has a tonnage of more than 6,000 tons, four of which are more than 8,000 tons.
The largest tonnage of the ironclads in East Africa is only over 7,000 tons, and there are only three of them. The lowest tonnage is not much higher than the East African gunboats, only over 1,000 tons.
East African gunboats have a displacement of less than 1,000 tons. In the UK, this type of naval equipment is also known as the Rendall gunboat. It rose rapidly in the 1870s, but declined rapidly in the 1990s and withdrew from the naval arena.
The history of this type of alternative gunboat is very short, and it has only been glorious for less than 20 years. However, it is currently the most technologically mature domestic warship in East Africa.
But it is simply nonsense to want to confront the British Royal Navy battleship in front of us, which has a displacement of at least more than 8,000 tons.
In the original history, that is, in the naval battle between the Far Eastern Empire and Japan in 1879, the "mosquito ship" or Rendall gunboat was not a single enemy of the ironclad.
The United Kingdom also equips a large number of these cheap "gunboats", but they are mainly used in colonial areas.
The idea is similar in East Africa. Ironclad ships are the main maritime force that ensures national security. Therefore, the East African navy's ironclad ships are basically distributed in the eastern seas, with Bagamoyo Port, Pemba Island and Zanzibar as the main core.
At the same time, the cities of Mombasa, Tanga, and Pemba (one of the pure military ports in East Africa) are composed of peripheral maritime defenses, while the Port of Mogadishu is not even considered a peripheral, and its strength is not as good as the Southern Ryukyu Islands Colony in East Africa. . This is also the main reason why Alex has no hope of expelling the British navy. The three gunboats under his command are not enough to fill the teeth of the British ocean-going fleet.
“Give these East African monkeys a little shock and just destroy them!”
Grafton, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Naval Expeditionary Force, ordered.
Because it has been noticed by the East African Navy, there is no need to cover up this expedition, so it is logical to destroy this inconspicuous small gunboat formation.
Following Grafton's order, the British Navy's "Grey Fox" directly turned its main gun turret and aimed in the direction of the gunboats in East Africa.
Accompanied by a huge "roar", huge waves arose directly next to the East African gunboat.
Alex's command ship suddenly felt a jolt, his ears seemed to lose hearing instantly, and the crew also staggered around.
“Damn, this is a real war, fight back quickly!”
But the British would not give Alex a chance. After the first shot, the muzzle was quickly calibrated, and this time the shell hit closer to Alex's command ship.
The gunboats in East Africa seemed to be in a precarious situation for an instant, and at this time the British "Giant" also joined the battlefield.
With the continuous sound of artillery fire, Alex's heart sank. The strength of the two sides was no longer on the same level. At this time, they were no match for the British at all.
He shouted: "Give the other two warships an order to withdraw to our home port. It is important to escape at this time and not to make unnecessary sacrifices."
Relying on the forts in Mogadishu, it may be possible to deal with the British. If such a confrontation at sea can only be a dead end.
The British only dispatched two ironclad ships, and the navy in Mogadishu, East Africa, was already beaten to a pulp. In the precarious situation, Alex was unable to even exert his command ability.
The Mogadishu Navy used to circle around the sea to avoid the British Royal Navy's artillery fire, and at the same time used its main guns to fight back as much as possible to delay the speed of the British warships.
But in the face of the huge gap, these were all in vain. At 3:12 in the afternoon, after the fifth preview, the "Gray Fox" successfully hit the gunboat "Andres" in East Africa with one shot.
A large hole was instantly blown out of the ship wall of the "Andres", seawater poured into the ship's room instantly, and the "Andres" began to roll.
Alex had better luck. His ship and another ship successfully escaped from the range and quickly moved towards the home port of Mogadishu.
But escaping could not avoid the destined fate. The Royal Navy quickly followed up and began shelling Mogadishu Port.
Mogadishu Port suffered heavy losses, and a large number of ships that had not left the port were severely damaged. Fortunately among the misfortunes, this is the old port of Mogadishu, which is mainly used for military purposes.
After being hit by artillery fire, Mogadishu's coastal artillery defense system began to respond, preventing the British army from approaching the port area again for shelling and reducing losses.
After confirming that the East African warships in the port area could no longer move, the British left in a dashing manner and headed towards southern East Africa.
(End of this chapter)