Dominate the Country

The Caribbean Sea is one of the earliest American colonies landed by Europeans. Hundreds of years of reclamation and development, and untold hardships have made it a honeypot for the whole of Europe.

Portugal, Spain, Britain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, every European naval power has staged bloody battles here. Hundreds of years of endless confrontations have caused countless people to bleed and die here, and one ship after another has settled in the depths of the blue sea.

However, the current situation has changed dramatically. With the evolution of the situation in the Americas, the Spaniards have completely withdrawn from the Caribbean Sea. The two most important islands in the Caribbean Sea, Cuba and Haiti, have become the territory of the Chinese, and even vassal states have been built on these two islands.

However, the Windward Islands, which are strategic locations, are still firmly in the hands of Europeans.

Spain had private contacts with China and almost gave Cuba to China for free, but the Spanish islands of the Windward Islands had been taken by the British before that.

At that time, China tacitly accepted this. Chen Han had just taken advantage of the situation, and there was a lot of land that had not yet been absorbed and digested. There was no need to be hostile to Britain because of the Windward Islands. Moreover, Chen Ming at that time believed that the future naval battles belonged to steam warships, and sailing warships were backward and would soon be eliminated. The strategic position of the Windward Islands only corresponded to sailing warships, not steam warships. So, things just became empty.

But now the naval war between the East and the West has broken out ahead of schedule, and the main battleships of the West are still sailing warships. The role of the Windward Islands has been fully utilized, although this is definitely the last time the Windward Islands have been used.

It was late at night, and the wind and waves on the sea gradually rose. Under the bright moonlight, a fleet was sailing about 20 nautical miles south of Roanoke Island. The fleet composed of five motor sailing ships was marching in two columns, dragging two long sailing wakes on the dark sea, which was very eye-catching under the bright moonlight.

The warships were arranged in threes and twos. The leading warship in the fleet was the Egret led by Guan Tianpei. Behind the Egret was the flagship Whale Shark, which was occupied by the squadron commander Chen Huacheng. At this moment, in the officers' meeting room of the Whale Shark, a military meeting was being held. The person presiding over the meeting was of course the commander of the squadron, Chen Huacheng. The main topic of the meeting was the night battle.

Roanoke Island is located in the northeast of Roanoke, North Carolina. There is a sandbar belt stretching nearly 300 miles in the Atlantic Ocean outside. It is like a glimpse of a solid wall, firmly protecting Roanoke Island and the Albemarle Sound on the mainland west of Roanoke Island.

The sea area at the southern end of the sandbar is foggy in winter and hurricane-prone in summer, making it difficult for ships to sail. The cape has been the location of the lighthouse since 1798.

Chen Huacheng and his men took the lighthouse as their target and quietly slipped into the inner side of the sandbar. Now they are only a stone's throw away from Roanoke Island. As a material supply site for the European Navy, the latter was not a very important target, because there were too many such supply sites on the east coast of North America. In comparison, Elizabeth City in Albemarle Sound was more valuable. It was the most important port in Albemarle Sound. Although it was not large, its significance was much greater than that of Roanoke Island.

Even though Roanoke was the first colony established by Britain in North America in the 16th century. And there was also an unsolved mystery for hundreds of years. One night, Roanoke, which had more than a hundred residents, disappeared overnight.

John White, the then governor of the colony, led the fleet back to Roanoke. They saw from afar that the village suddenly rose with smoke, which was a distress signal from the residents. But when the fleet arrived, the soldiers found that the doors of each house in the village were open. When they walked into each house, they saw a bonfire being lit, but more than a hundred men, women, young and old, including poultry and livestock, who were recorded, disappeared, as if they had suddenly evaporated from the world.

This is a strange story recorded in the intelligence investigation of Roanoke Island, but it does not increase the attraction of Roanoke Island to Chen Huacheng at all. The only advantage of Roanoke Island over Albemarle Sound is safety! But what soldiers need is real merit, to really hit the Europeans.

So, whether to attack Elizabeth City directly or to attack Roanoke Island, Chen Huacheng convened this military meeting. In addition to the captains of the fleet, the fleet's staff also attended the meeting.

The east coastline of North America is very long, and even if the Europeans distribute all their warships there, it is impossible to take care of it. And it is impossible for the Europeans to distribute all their warships on the east coastline. The Windward Islands have at least half of the main force of the European Combined Fleet. In the vast North Atlantic, Chen Han's motor sailing ship is also circling with the European sailing warships and transport ships, playing cat and mouse tricks.

Therefore, the military force they deployed in Albemarle Sound is not as strong as the combat effectiveness of the five motor sailing ships. This is a good time for Chen Huacheng's fleet to launch an attack. Chen Huacheng was confident in attacking Roanoke Island or Elizabeth City, but it would be difficult to take both places.

The European navy here would not cause any trouble, but what about the coastal defense forces?

If the coastal defense forces were well prepared, Roanoke Island would be easy to deal with, but Elizabeth City would be in trouble.

The small town is not located on the seaside, but in the interior of Albemarle Sound. It is the estuary of the Delaware River, a river that stretches for thousands of miles through New Jersey. It is also the largest fork on the north shore of Albemarle Sound. It is fifty miles deep and only seven or eight miles wide. If the Europeans are prepared, this distance is very dangerous.

Although Chen Huacheng firmly believes that he can still fight back even if he is ambushed. Five motor sailing ships are equivalent to five main battleships. Such combat power is simply not comparable to this generation of European navies. But this will eventually defeat morale.

"Everyone, tonight's combat operations are only cautious. After you go back, make preparations, strictly control the lights, and never slack off. Now, adjourn!" After 20 minutes of military discussion, the final conclusion was to abandon Roanoke Island and go straight to Elizabeth City.

Chen Huacheng stood up, picked up the military cap from the table and put it on, then glanced at his subordinates and announced the adjournment. A group of officers immediately stood up and saluted, and then left the meeting room one by one.

Guan Tianpei and his men were not nervous. In this battle, they always had the initiative. We are strong and the enemy is weak. Other motor sailing ships and some sailing warships have tied up too many European warships in the North Atlantic. In the previous series of naval battles, the situation of the European coalition was not very good. The Western world sent another reinforcement force to reinforce, but most of the warships have been firmly tied up in the Atlantic.

Chen Han also sent a new reinforcement fleet, but the strength was much smaller than that of the Western reinforcement fleet. There were only five motor sailing ships, and more were small and medium-sized fast warships. The goal was to destroy the sea, not to confront the large fleet head-on.

Most officers quickly walked out of the meeting room. Chen Huacheng turned and walked to the sea chart hanging on the bulkhead, looking at the combat zone on the sea chart, and continued to study the details of the combat plan. After all, this was a battle in which Chen Han had an advantage in combat power and the initiative, so naturally he could only win, not lose.

And winning was not the goal, he had to win beautifully, which could reflect his level.

The conference room was extremely quiet, with only the sound of Chen Huacheng stroking the sea chart. This calm was broken by a "report" an hour later.

"Report! Unknown ship lights were found ahead!"

"Two ships are expected to come, about seven nautical miles apart." That is about twenty-six miles. Such a distance means infinite possibilities on land, but on the sea, seven nautical miles is too short and too close.

Chen Huacheng frowned heavily. He was not afraid of two enemy ships, even if they were two first-class battleships, with five motor sailing boats in his army. But if a fight broke out, it would arouse the vigilance of the Europeans, and his battle plan would be ruined. The five motor sailing boats must also immediately cross the sandbar belt on the Atlantic Ocean to the east and enter the vast North Atlantic Ocean to prevent the Europeans from encircling them.

"Inform all ships to prepare for battle, but it is strictly forbidden to open fire without authorization. Level 1 blackout."

The so-called level 1 blackout means that all lights are turned off. All warships communicate with each other through sampans. If it is a dark night, the entire fleet may be in chaos after a level 1 blackout. The collisions in the dark, the distance between them unknowingly...

This is the highest level of blackout of the Chen Han Navy.

However, it is not known whether the Europeans on the opposite side are less alert or because of luck, the two ships on the opposite side did not find the Chen Huacheng fleet at such a close distance.

When the time quietly came to four o'clock, five motor sailing ships had entered the Elizabeth Harbor, and their target, Elizabeth City, was located in the deepest part of the harbor.

The battle is about to begin.

But the American soldiers in the port of Elizabeth City, and the American sailors on the two sloops wandering outside the port, they were not vigilant or alert at all.

Over the past few months, Europeans have been shouting "wolf", but Chen Han's naval officers and soldiers have never really approached Roanoke Island, let alone Albemarle Sound or Elizabeth Bay. The sailors found that the "wolf" in the mouths of their superiors did not even wander around their doorsteps, so they gradually relaxed their vigilance.

But now the "wolf" is really here. This time, the "wolf" will pounce and bite the Americans hard.

This is a real night attack. Night battles at sea are a severe test for both sides. After all, the light is not good at night, which seriously affects each other's vision. Fighting under such conditions, and the waves on the sea are constantly rising and falling, is very unfavorable for Chen Huacheng's fleet.

However, the battalion officers of the Marine Battalion on board are full of confidence. Night battles have always been a traditional training program for the Marine Corps, and since they officially joined the Marine Corps, fish, liver, kelp, spinach, carrots, corn and so on are indispensable on the menu for three meals a day. Even the tea they drink contains cassia seeds and dried blueberries.

To treat night blindness and enhance night vision, Chen Han's Marine Corps started from the basics.

Of course, no matter how strong a person's vision is, it is impossible to challenge the laws of nature. In night combat without natural light, the accuracy of shooting and the deviation of distance and position estimation are not as good as those in daytime. Therefore, flares have become a must for the Marine Corps' night combat.

Under the dark night, the lights on the enemy ships five miles away are clearly visible.

All lights on the five motor sailing ships were turned off, and they only relied on the moonlight to move forward. In order to prevent collisions, the ships kept a distance from each other and kept the speed at eight knots.

The lookouts on the mast were responsible for scouting the whereabouts and distance of the enemy ships. These people were sailors with the best night vision. They could detect extremely small flames with their naked eyes and roughly estimate a distance that was not very different.

Time passed little by little. Half an hour later, Chen Huacheng, who was standing on the command platform, could already see the flames in the distance. He could even easily judge that these were two gunboats with not very large tonnage.

"Prepare for battle!" Chen Huacheng gave the order.

"Turn XXX! Heading XXX! The main guns of each ship aim at the enemy ship. After the flagship fires, each ship will follow with a salvo! After the first salvo, fire flares, and then each ship will fire a second salvo!"

At the same time, the land forces on the five motor sailing ships were also ready to land. Elizabeth City is a small town. The US military will not station too many troops here, and Chen Huacheng and his men have plenty of time to do this. He not only wants to destroy Elizabeth City, but also to take it down. Collect some supplies needed by the fleet and replenish the fleet's material reserves.

The raids that Chen Han's navy is playing on the east coast of America are all this routine.

If time is tight, just bombard and run away quickly. If time is sufficient, go ashore and rob, replenish supplies and then run away.

With Chen Huacheng's order, the battle officially entered the countdown. The bow gun began to rotate, and in the sound of the pulley and the rail, the muzzle slowly turned to the position where the fire was lit. The gunner used his eyes to estimate the shooting parameters and adjusted the shooting direction and height.

When the gun sounded, there was no blackout. Therefore, when the cannon was turning, Chen Huacheng's fleet had lifted the blackout.

"Boom! Boom!"

After several deafening noises, accompanied by dazzling afterflames gushing out from the gun barrels, the warship was also shaken, and the huge recoil made the bow seem to sink a bit, leaving a huge shock wave on the sea.

Five steel warheads broke free from the constraints of the rifling, flew into the sky, and drew a beautiful arc in the night sky. But none of them hit.

In just a dozen seconds, the silence on the sea was broken by the explosion, and the dark night sky suddenly became bright.

One rocket after another was sent into the sky, and after the explosion, it was full of dazzling light.

Under the white light of the flares, Chen Huacheng could clearly see the two enemy ships. They were indeed small guys, estimated to be no more than 500 tons, and were two single-masted gunboats.

"All ships fire freely!" Chen Huacheng calmly issued a new order.