Australian Storm 1876

Chapter 897: The Strait of Magellan Dilemma

Chapter 897 The Strait of Magellan Dilemma

There are two blooms, each at one end.

Since the launch of the second phase of the Eastern Pacific Chase, the Royal Navy's expeditionary strike formation has moved south, from November 10 to December 23, which lasted 43 days, from Seattle in the north to Buenos Aires in Argentina in the south. Up to tens of thousands of kilometers, the combat range is rare in history.

December 23

The waters near the entrance to the western end of the Strait of Magellan

The Samarinda formation that arrived here first joined the battleship formation of the USS Victoria to form a formation consisting of three battleships, two heavy cruisers "White Tiger" and "Suzaku", 12 cruisers and 17 logistics ships (destroyers). Due to the voyage factor, it did not enter the expeditionary strike formation sequence), and it has been searching near the sea area for two weeks.

During this period, nearly 30 coal carriers were intercepted, and all of them were forcibly escorted to seaports near Chile, and were not allowed to go further into the Pacific waters.

Fight so far

The Great White Fleet originally gathered 19 battleships on the west coast (16 belonged to the Great White Fleet and three belonged to the former Pacific Fleet), six battleships were lost in the Battle of Hawaii, and 7 battleships were lost in the Battle of Seattle, for a total of 13 battleships before and after.

In the eastern Pacific chase that began thereafter, on November 27, the Ocean Empire Expeditionary Strike Formation blocked the battleship "Kansas", which was running out of fuel, in the remote Hemet Harbor north of Los Angeles, and sent its "Kansas" battleship. Complete capture.

On December 6, the U.S. battleship "Rhode Island" was resupplied at the port of Panama, and was blocked by the three battleships "Queensland", "Tasmania" and "Beilun" of the 1st Squadron of the Expeditionary Strike Fleet. Outside the port, it was sunk under siege.

In other words, there are still 4 main battleships and a small number of other warships left in the Great White Fleet.

Today, the Strait of Magellan is the choke point from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. It must pass through, and it cannot be bypassed in any way.

The Royal Navy's expeditionary strike formation is blocked here, even at the throat, and this is also the last checkpoint for the enemy to flee to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Strait of Magellan is located at the southernmost tip of the South American continent and is surrounded by islands such as Tierra del Fuego.

The Portuguese navigator Magellan entered the Pacific Ocean through the strait for the first time in 1520, hence the name. The Strait of Magellan is winding, 592 kilometers long, only 3.3 kilometers at its narrowest point and about 32 kilometers at its widest point.

The water depth is deep, the deepest is 1170 meters, and the shallowest channel is also 30 meters, which can pass large ships of 100,000 tons.

The rocky shores on both sides of the Strait of Magellan are steep and towering into the clouds. In winter, huge glaciers hang spectacularly on the rock walls. Every time the collapsed ice falls into the sea, it will make a thunderous noise and threaten the navigation of ships.

The strait area brings low temperature, rainy and dense fog, and it is easy to cause strong winds and sharp waves.

Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was an important and only shipping route between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific.

In the Strait of Magellan, winds and waves of magnitude 7 to 8 are commonplace, and strong winds of magnitude 9 to 11 are also common. In the strait, there are often violent winds and waves of more than 10 meters high, which are regarded as daunting by ships at sea.

Once the fish escaped by the Great White Fleet escaped into the strait, with the cover of the bad sea conditions, it is very likely to escape.

December 23, 4pm

On the battleship Samarinda, the crown prince, Major General Li Siyuan, looked much darker and thinner, and he had no time to take care of the messy beard around his lips, but his eyes showed firm and sharp eyes, bright and scary, and he quietly looked at the afternoon sky in the South Pacific. In the middle of the sky, the fiery clouds rendered by the sun covered the sky, a magnificent and magical scene.

he was contemplating his thoughts;

Now the Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire has become famous all over the world in World War I. Its powerful reputation is as famous as the German High Seas Fleet, and its majesty is unparalleled.

Rear Admiral Li Siyuan is clear; the training of the German High Seas Fleet has always been well-known in the world, and its combat effectiveness is on a par with the Royal Navy, but the High Seas Fleet is twice the size of the Royal Navy, and it is still far from being able to compare with it for the time being.

The Royal Navy has a total of 12 battleships. The two dreadnought-class battleships "South Australia" and "North Australia" are still in the shipyard due to the gratifying battle conditions, but the construction period has been accelerated. It is expected to be in January and February next year. Can be used for sea trials.

Since the start of the war, a total of 4 US battleships have been captured, all of which have different damages and need to be repaired in the factory, and will not be available until around February next year at the earliest.

Therefore, at present, the Royal Navy has 16 battleships on the bright side, but the actual main force is still 12 battleships and 4 heavy cruisers of Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku, and Xuanwu. They often feel powerless to maintain more and more vast seas.

By the beginning of February next year, with the commissioning of new ships and captured battleships, the size of the Royal Fleet will rapidly expand to 18 battleships.

After June of next year, with the new generation of super-dreadnought-class battleships "Somali" and "Tongxiang" being launched one after another, by the end of 1909, two more Titans can be added, reaching the scale of 20 battleships. It was much easier then.

After the Battle of Seattle, the Joint Task Force was split in two;

Some of the battleships (5 ships) that need to be repaired and the two heavy cruisers Qinglong and Xuanwu stayed at the Pearl Harbor base on Hawaii Island, responsible for escorting the army troops landing in North America and performing **** missions.

In the follow-up, the mainland will send a large amount of troops and materials to North America, and this part of the battleship will also participate in the escort, and the task is not easy at all.

Part of formed an expeditionary strike formation, a total of seven battleships plus two heavy cruisers, Baihu and Suzaku, divided into four strike squadrons to fight separately, searched along the east coast of the Pacific Ocean all the way to the south, and launched a thousand-mile pursuit.

Now two of the four strike squadrons have arrived, that is, the ship formation cruising in the waters near Magellan. The formation belongs to a total of three battleships and two heavy cruisers.

Two squadrons did not arrive. Among them, the 1st Squadron "Queensland" battleship was hit with a 305mm shot when it besieged the US battleship "Rhode Island". The armor-piercing projectile damaged the midship, causing a large number of high-pressure steam pipes to burst, and had to return to the Pearl Island base for repairs.

The battleship "Beilun" belonging to the formation was hit by the enemy's secondary artillery on the chimney and suffered a little injury. It is now being repaired in the port of Santa Barbara, and it will not be able to sail again until it is repaired.

The leaked chimney is irrelevant, but it is very annoying when sailing. The whole ship is filled with dark smoke, which even seriously affects the battle of the main and secondary guns. It must be repaired.

The formation is estimated to arrive in mid-January, and it is temporarily impossible to count on it.

The remaining 4th Squadron (Battleship Formation "New South Wales") is expected to arrive later today, bringing together a main lineup of 4 battleships and 2 heavy cruisers.

no way

The expeditionary strike formation has a total of 7 battleships and two heavy cruisers. The "Queensland" formation of the First Squadron is the main force, accounting for a small half. It has the battleship "Tasmania" and the battleship "Beilun", a total of three ships. The powerful lineup of battleships can't be weakened by half.

With a lineup of four battleships and two heavy ships to deal with the four battleships of the American Great White Fleet (in most cases), Major General Li Siyuan was full of confidence.

But the problem is that the U.S. military is not limited to these four battleships. In the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the main force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet went south, and all the three battleships and 21 main cruisers it belonged to arrived. Take your life.

Anyway, President Roosevelt lost the election, and he has only two months left in his term.

If it can support 4 battleships to return to the Atlantic Ocean, it will be a boost to the American society, which is now gloomy and gloomy!

No matter what I say, I finally save a little face.

Therefore, the elite of the US Atlantic Fleet has come out.

The "Pennsylvania" class armored cruiser had a displacement of 13,800 tons. The Roosevelt government started construction on 6 ships in one go. The "Tennessee" class armored cruiser had a displacement of 14,500 tons and built four in one go. There are also nearly 10,000 tons of "Mississippi" class armored ships. Six cruisers were built in one go, all of which were the main cruisers built during the Roosevelt administration.

In addition, there are "New York" class (8,200 tons) and "Brooklyn" class armored cruisers (9,216 tons) with a displacement of nearly 10,000 tons. The lineup is quite impressive and its strength should not be underestimated.