Chapter 184 A war that all parties are concerned about

For a warship, nothing feels more clumsy than turning around.

Although a behemoth like a warship weighing thousands or even tens of thousands of tons can sail on the ocean, its steering and U-turn are also very clumsy.

Especially in times of war, such a U-turn of an entire fleet could very well turn the tide of the war.

After all, according to the layout of warships, the places where warships install naval guns are generally on both sides of the warship. The number of cannons on both ends of the warship will not be too many, and the relative firepower will be weaker.

Therefore, when turning around, we must also be prepared for the comeback of the island nation's fleet. Once the warships encounter the island nation's warships when they are halfway through the U-turn, even if the number is small, the chance of winning will be greatly reduced.

What General Witthoeft did was to first turn around the two battleships, and the six cruisers around him were responsible for escorting them.

Wait until the two battleships have completely turned around, and then let them protect the remaining cruisers.

Another advantage of doing this is that in the face of extreme danger, you can choose to abandon these cruisers to preserve the battleships that play a decisive role in naval battles.

Battleships are currently the most powerful warships in the world's navy. The loss of six cruisers is not as painful as the loss of a battleship.

Things turned out just as General Witthoft expected. When the fleet was halfway through its U-turn, the island fleets emerged one after another, even faintly forming a semicircle, surrounding the leading force of the Pacific Fleet.

"Oh, shit!" General Witthoft cursed secretly, and while asking his men to urgently call the main force and General Makarov, he put the fleet into combat mode and prepared for the next battle.

There is no advantage in speed, which also means that it is very difficult for the fleet to escape.

Rather than doing this, it is better to wait until the main force of the Pacific Fleet arrives. If the main forces of both fleets were to engage in a decisive battle, Witthoeft would not be too afraid.

He also knew General Makarov's plan during this period, which is why General Withoeft and General Makarov were both vice admirals, but they followed General Makarov's orders very much.

Just when General Witthoft was forced to fight back, outside the port of Lushun, the main force of the Pacific Fleet led by General Makarov was also blocked.

When General Makarov saw two battleships and more than a dozen cruisers appearing in front of him, General Makarov knew that General Witthoft was in a bad situation.

The configuration of two battleships and more than ten cruisers is already one-third of the island nation's fleet, especially in terms of cruisers, it has even reached one-half.

If it were to be a decisive battle, the island country would not be able to dispatch only such a small number of troops to block the main force of the Pacific Fleet like a mantis blocking a car.

Then they have only one purpose, and that is to use these troops to delay the main force of the Pacific Fleet as much as possible, and then attack the leading force of the Pacific Fleet.

This did give General Makarov a bit of a headache. Although the main force of the Pacific Fleet has four battleships, two of these four battleships are Petropavlovsk-class battleships with relatively poor performance.

Although the Oslibia battleship has relatively good speed and protection capabilities, it has also lost its advantage in firepower.

The main artillery of the Oslibia is only four 254 mm naval guns. The level of this kind of artillery is only slightly higher than that of a cruiser, and it seems a bit behind at the battleship level.

Only the HMS Victory battleship with relatively good performance can barely compare with the main battleships of the Western powers.

On the other hand, the two battleships used by the island country to block the resistance of the Pacific Fleet are all advanced warships purchased from the United Kingdom in recent years.

The level of these two battleships is comparable to the battleship Victory, and even slightly ahead of the battleship Oslibia.

If the Pacific Fleet wants to break through the obstruction of more than ten cruisers led by these two battleships, it will probably take a lot of effort.

At least before a hard-fought naval battle, it was impossible to defeat this fleet in vain.

Thinking of this, General Makarov skillfully commanded his men to get into fighting postures while secretly praying in his heart, hoping that General Witthoft could hold on for a little longer, preferably until the main force of the Pacific Fleet arrived.

From Port Arthur to the Korean Peninsula, two naval battles broke out that were enough to determine the balance of war between the Russian Empire and the island nation.

These two naval battles also have certain similarities. The main forces of both sides encountered the opponent's squadrons of certain strength, and the squadrons of both sides had to face the siege of the opposing main forces.

However, there is also good news for the Russian Empire. The island nation dispatched almost all of its new cruisers to block the main force of the Pacific Fleet. This also resulted in General Witthoeft facing only four battleships and six cruisers from the island nation.

Among them, the four battleships are the greatest threat to General Witthoft. The remaining six cruisers are all small or old cruisers, and the threat to the battleships is not that great.

In addition, it was precisely because General Makarov did not take back the Vladivostok squadron that the island country had to send an additional battleship and several cruisers to drag the Vladivostok squadron, denying them a chance to participate in this naval battle.

The naval battle took place at around three o'clock in the afternoon and lasted until around six o'clock in the evening.

Not only the Far Eastern Governors of the Tsarist Empire and the island countries were paying attention to this naval battle, but also the German Empire, the British Empire, the United States and France, which sent observer groups.

Although this war seems to be just a war between the Russian Empire and the island countries for hegemony in the Far East, in fact, it is related to the countries including the British Empire, the United States and the German Empire.

Both the British Empire and the United States hoped that the island nation could defeat the Russian Empire. Even if it could not defeat the Russian Empire, it would seriously weaken the Russian Empire.

In this way, they can better intervene in the situation in the Far East and Asia to obtain more benefits for their respective countries.

The German Empire simply wanted to win over the Tsarist Russian Empire as an ally. At least in Europe, the Tsarist Russian Empire still posed a certain threat to other great powers, and was naturally an ally worth winning over.

Faced with the threat of the German Empire, its love rival, France had no choice but to support the Russian Empire to reassure its allies.

At around six o'clock in the evening on April 13, the sound of artillery fire outside Port Arthur finally stopped, and the two naval battles finally decided the winner.

The second update, please take a leave of absence today for 4,000 words, and make up for 6,000 words tomorrow.