Chapter 1640 Thunderous Power

When Simang first arrived in the Far East, he came to Manila twice with Portuguese merchant ships, and even briefly lived in Manila for a few days. Among the entire fleet in this expedition to the west, he was probably the most familiar with the Manila area.

.It is precisely because of this that the two ships sent by Portugal to participate in the war were placed under the command of Simao.

However, whenever there is an opportunity, Simang is still more willing to go to the flagship of the Haihan fleet, communicate with the Haihan generals face to face, and by the way observe the operation of the Haihan Navy's combat command system. For Portugal, Haihan is in the military field

The powerful strength is very worthy of study and imitation. Although there is no way to catch up with Haihan's level in terms of weapons and equipment, at least at the strategic and tactical level, there is the possibility of narrowing the gap through learning.

This is not the first time that Simang has gone on an expedition with the Haihan Army. In the past few years, he has observed several overseas wars waged by Haihan as a military observer. However, the Haihan Army learned lessons on the battlefield in the first two times.

Both the Spaniards and Simao unfortunately missed it, and during this expedition to Manila, Simao naturally did not want to miss any more details. He hoped to learn from the Haihan people how to deal with the Spanish army, and then bring these combat experiences back to

Europe, used on the battlefield of the War of Independence, made the Spaniards pay the price for their past extortion against Portugal.

The Haihan military has no scruples about this enthusiastic Portuguese. The reason why it brings foreign officers with it every time it performs combat missions overseas is that in addition to showing its strength to act as a deterrent, it also has the ability to keep these

The country's army imitated the ideas of the Haihan Army. Especially for a country like Portugal, which had an irresolvable grudge with Spain, teaching them some tactics to deal with the Spanish was also a disguised means of weakening Spain's strength.

The name Corregidor Island comes from Spanish, meaning "local judge". This tadpole-shaped island covers an area of ​​about five square kilometers and is located exactly in the center of the channel in and out of Manila Bay. Its geographical location is very important. Spain

After the people occupied Manila Bay, they built a signal lighthouse on the island to provide night navigation for ships heading to Manila from the outer sea. As for the nearby Carvalho Island, it has always been an uninhabited island because of its small area and lack of development value.

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Although Corregidor Island does not have a natural harbor, the dock built on the island can provide some basic supply services for ships passing by. It can also provide temporary shelter from wind and waves if necessary. Troops can even be deployed on the island to protect Manila Bay.

The forward position. In the time and space before the senior officials of Haihan traveled, during World War II, the U.S. military deployed ten thousand troops on Corregidor Island and sniped the Japanese here for six months.

Of course, it is impossible for the Spaniards in this era to carry out resistance to this level. They neither have so many troops, nor do they dare to send a large number of limited troops dozens of miles away from Manila without being able to occupy the maritime advantage.

An isolated island in the sea. Otherwise, once the sea lanes are cut off by the Haihan Navy, the troops deployed on the island will immediately become a dead end.

But no matter how many manpower the Spaniards deploy on the island, the Haihan Army must clean it up before they can safely enter Manila Bay. However, Corregidor Island only has a simple building built in a small bay in the north of the island.

The dock is suitable for ships to dock. With the huge size of the Haihan Fleet, which consists of more than a hundred ships, it is obvious that they cannot all be squeezed into that one place. And even if Corregidor Island is occupied, with the existing dock conditions, ten ships in a row cannot be squeezed into that place.

The ship cannot stop, and it is not suitable for use as an advance base.

In this regard, the Haihan military has prepared two sets of action plans. One is to use Mariveles Bay on the coast of the Bataan Peninsula northwest of Corregidor Island as an advance base. This bay is only five miles away from Corregidor Island.

It is about a mile away from the sea and is a good natural harbor. The conditions are much better than the simple dock on Corregidor Island. The only trouble is that there is also a lack of large-scale port facilities. If there is no construction and reconstruction, it will only be like Subic Bay.

It can also be used as a temporary parking spot. It can be used for three to five days without any problem, but it is not suitable for use as a main base.

Another plan is to directly attack Cavite, twenty nautical miles west of Corregidor Island. The port facilities there are complete and can be used as a ready-made naval base. However, according to intelligence, the Spanish are there

Not only were a number of warships stationed, but there were also newly built fortifications near the coast. Fighting in this unfamiliar area, even the Haihan Army was not sure that it could break through the opponent's defense line in one fell swoop, and there would definitely be certain risks.

The Haihan Army carefully dispatched several ships to clean up the waters around Corregidor Island. After confirming that there were no Spanish ships within a radius of ten nautical miles, Wang Tom ordered the Marine Corps to report to Corregidor Island.

The landing operation was carried out on Rexido Island. However, at this time, warning fireworks signals had already been set off on the island, and thick black smoke pillars shot straight into the sky and could be seen dozens of nautical miles away. The Haihan Army was not surprised by this.

The other party deployed manpower on the island, of course, to serve as an early warning. Unless special forces were sent to the island in the middle of the night to kill all the people, it would be impossible to prevent the other party from releasing the warning signal.

Half an hour later, news from the front came from the island. The Spaniards did not deploy an organized army on the island, and the Marine Corps' careful landing operation did not encounter any decent resistance. The troops who were deployed near the shore to cover the landing of the infantrymen

The four warships really became spectators. They watched the troop carrier dock without firing a shot from beginning to end, and then the infantry successfully landed and completed the assembly.

This unimpeded start made the generals a little surprised. They originally thought they would encounter at least some symbolic resistance on Corregidor Island, and maybe even encounter the Spanish fleet. But what happened in fact?

None of this happened. Soon after the Marines landed, the residents of the island took the initiative to surrender. There were no Spaniards on the island, only more than 200 Filipino natives who had been placed on the island by the Manila authorities. These people usually

They were responsible for managing the island's lighthouse and supplies, and no one cared about their lives during the war. And their loyalty to the Spanish was only limited to when their own safety was guaranteed.

The Spanish-speaking Portuguese immediately interrogated the prisoners on the island, but did not obtain any valuable information. It seemed that the Spaniards were also very aware of the virtues of these natives, so they did not tell them anything about the battle plan.

I have revealed it. After asking again and again, I only asked about the mysterious disappearance of the Spanish sailing ship "Martin" in the waters near here a day or two ago. This itself was the work of the Haihan Army. Of course, there is no need to ask anything else from these prisoners.

News. However, according to their confession, the news of the disappearance of the "Martin" has been reported to Cavite, so they should have been prepared there.

"Leave a platoon of the army on the island, the fleet continues to move forward, let's go to Cavite!"

Since Corregidor Island was solved without any effort, Yan Chujie did not want the army to stay nearby and immediately ordered the march to continue. For the Haihan Army with limited combat supplies, every minute was precious.

Hitting the city of Manila at one point would give the operation a little more time limit. The Haihan Army only stayed on Corregidor Island for two hours before setting off again to march into Manila Bay.

Before the Haihan army landed, Cavite had already seen the plume of smoke rising into the sky from the southwest. According to the agreed signal, Juan knew that this should be the signal for the arrival of the Haihan army. He did not expect Corregidor

The island could delay Haihan for too long, so he immediately ordered his fleet to assemble and set off, and he himself boarded the flagship "San Diego" to personally command this battle, which was very important to Spain.

Now that the Haihan fleet has arrived in Manila Bay, it doesn't matter where the missing "Martin" went. As for the personnel stationed on Corregidor Island, they are not Spanish anyway, let alone Juan

It is within the scope of consideration. If the Haihan people want to ruthlessly slaughter all the people on the island, they will only be in bad luck.

However, Juan did not intend to have a head-on confrontation with the Haihan fleet at sea. Regardless of whether the opponent wanted to attack Cavite or go directly to the Port of Manila, he planned to sit back and wait until the opponent was ready to launch a landing before leading the fleet.

Come around from behind and catch him off guard.

Of course, this unpreparedness is only relatively speaking. In terms of visibility at sea, the fleet will be observed by the opponent at a distance of about ten nautical miles, and this distance is enough for the dullest warship to prepare for the battle.

But this is already the safest method that Juan can think of. After all, the Haihan fleet has traveled a long distance, and there must be many supply ships and troop transports in the formation, and these auxiliary ships are the targets that Juan really wants to attack.

As long as it can destroy the supplies of the Haihan Army and severely damage its army, it will naturally force the other side to retreat on its own.

Therefore, after leaving the port of Cavite, the fleet led by Juan did not go directly to the southwest to meet the opponent. Instead, it first made a large circle to the north to completely free up the waterway leading to Cavite and Manila. Of course.

He did not forget to send a clipper ship to send the warning of the Haihan fleet's incoming attack to the city of Manila.

Although the lineup of this Manila fleet is not a real navy, and there are even some improvised armed merchant ships in it, Spain in this era is still a maritime power with colonies all over the world. Even Juan's motley army is operating at sea.

During this period, he was able to maintain a good formation and look decent. Unfortunately, Juan's preparation time was too short. If it had been more than half a year, no, even three months, he could have transformed this miscellaneous fleet.

, the combat effectiveness has achieved a qualitative leap.

Now, Juan can only hope that when the fight breaks out, he can still maintain the current neat formation. Regardless of the outcome of winning or losing, he can at least show calmness and calmness in front of his opponent to maintain the dignity of the Spanish Empire.

Three hours later, the Haihan navy had arrived at Cavite, and almost no sails were seen along the way, and there was no sign of the Spanish sailing ship at all. Because the sea was too calm, Qian Tiandun even went back to the cabin.

After a good sleep, his unit was best at fighting in the mountains and forests, and amphibious landing warfare had always been the strength of Wang Tom's Marine Corps. This combat mission in Cavite obviously didn't involve the special operations battalion.

But Tom Wang had more things on his mind at this time. The Haihan fleet had entered Manila Bay for more than three hours, but the Spanish fleet had never appeared. Where were they? What were they planning to do? He would not be naive to think that Spain

People are hiding because they are afraid of fighting. This must be some kind of arrangement by the opponent.

He had discussed this issue with Yan Chujie before and believed that the Spanish fleet should be waiting for a better opportunity to attack. As for what tricks the other party would come up with, Wang Tom already had some speculations. The other party's fleet would definitely not be far away from Krabi.

If you take the initiative to avoid the opportunity of head-on confrontation with the city of Manila, you can only try to make small moves behind the scenes. There are many non-combat ships in the Haihan fleet formation, which is probably the most suitable existence to attack Haihan.

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With the huge disparity in combat effectiveness between the two sides, for the weaker side, any calculation is actually in vain. Haihan is now taking the path of using strength to defeat cleverness. No matter what plans or plots you have, I will do it all the way.

Go with the army and occupy all the places that need to be occupied. As for whether the Spanish fleet will suddenly jump out from behind, Wang Tom must make corresponding arrangements before launching an offensive against Cavite.

On the afternoon of January 13, the Haihan Fleet did not make any adjustments after entering Manila Bay, and rushed straight to the port of Cavite. The Haihan Fleet, led by three majestic-class battleships, formed a long snake formation and used its side to attack.

The broadside guns conducted a round of baptism of fire on the coastal defenses on the coastline. Although the Spaniards had expected the firepower of the Haihan fleet, the intensity of this round of artillery fire greatly exceeded their expectations.

Many parts of the fortified defense line were bombarded until they collapsed, and the counterattacks from the shore gun positions were extremely limited. They were often attacked by concentrated fire from the Haihan battleships after firing one shot.

It wasn't until the sound of cannons spread on the sea that Juan in the distance dared to believe that the Haihan people did not seem to consider his fleet at all, but started to attack Cavite regardless. He knew that there were hundreds of people at the Cavite port.

Before long, he quickly ordered the fleet to go south to outflank the retreat of the Haihai Han people.

Unfortunately, the escape route is not so easy to find. Wang Tom deployed the Haihan Navy's new ace "Black Shark" in this direction, and there were four other exploration-class warships cooperating with the "Black Shark". Although

There were only five warships, but after seeing the Spanish fleet appear, this small squadron launched an attack without hesitation.
Chapter completed!