Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 905 Inventory of the harvest after the war

   After more than three hours of fierce battle

  The flagship "New Hampshire" battleship of the Atlantic Fleet was taken care of by artillery fire. It hit 17 356mm and 305mm large-caliber artillery shells successively, and was hit with fire and thick smoke.

  The tall conning tower was hit by three large-caliber artillery shells, twisted into charred tatters, and the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Vice Admiral Ben Adelaide, was killed on the spot. The engine room at the rear of the hull was blown open and completely lost its power. After being poured into a large amount of seawater, it rolled seriously and floated and sank on the sea.

  The surviving officers and soldiers jumped into the water to survive, and it was only a matter of time before they sank.

  The old battleship "Indiana" sank, the battleship "Iowa" sank, the battleship "Mississippi" sank, the battleship "Missouri" sank...

   February 3, 1909, 8:00 am

  In addition to the sunk and seriously injured ships, the remaining ships of the Atlantic Fleet began to flee without thinking, and the Royal Navy Cruiser Fleet launched a large-scale pursuit naval battle, be sure to destroy the enemy.

The main fleet of    sailed into the bay one by one, berthed down in order, and began a long rest. The battle that belonged to them was temporarily over.

Under the threat of large-caliber naval guns, the remaining U.S. troops on the shore made a wise choice to surrender.

  Resistance has no meaning except to increase casualties.

  The nine battleships of the US Atlantic Fleet sank, suffered heavy losses and surrendered. The burning battleship "New Hampshire" floated stubbornly on the sea, seemingly unwilling to accept the fate of destruction.

After the cruiser "Night Moon" approached, it fired four torpedoes in a row, two of which were lost and two were hit, ending the painful life of the battleship "New Hampshire", the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet, and sinking it into the German battleship more than 1,000 meters deep. Deep in Lake Strait.

   At this point, eight of the nine battleships of the Atlantic Fleet sank and one surrendered, and all the battleships of the U.S. Navy fleet were lost, except for the two battleships that were not yet in service at Hampton Anchorage.

  The US Atlantic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet were destroyed one after another, with no casualties. The US Navy did not even have enough manpower to operate these two large main battleships, let alone any combat power. That thing is pure fantasy.

As for the 13 cutting-edge battleships under construction, we can only ask the Army to send people to open them. Anyway, out of the US Navy's total force of 77,000, nearly 40,000 have died, surrendered or been captured. Most of them are They are all fighters of the main fleet.

And the remaining 30,000 people, most of which are logistics maintenance personnel of naval bases on the west coast, guards and managers of naval bases, warehouses, and naval stations, belong to the second-tier and third-tier naval forces, not even 1,500, and belong to the first-tier ships. The entire army was wiped out, leaving only two or three big cats and kittens.

During the period of the Great White Fleet's expansion and after 1909, in order to arm the Atlantic Fleet, the students who did not graduate from the US Naval Academy, and the teachers who have served for many years rushed to the front-line combat positions, completely taking the time to save the naval heritage for many years, and now most of them are buried in the cold A small number of them stayed in prisoner of war camps, waiting for the end of the war, looking forward to the stars and the moon.

The battleship that surrendered was the 5th "Minnesota" of the 16,000-ton "Connecticut" class battleship. There were two large-caliber shells in her body, one blew up the bow of the ship, and the other hit the main armor belt on the broad side. It wasn't too serious, but it destroyed the ship's last belief in resistance, and obediently raised the white flag and surrendered.

   In addition, among the remaining 9 large cruisers of the US Navy, 4 were sunk in battle, one sank after seeing no hope of escaping, and the two that were fleeing obediently raised their white flags and surrendered.

   From the beginning, 9 of the 13 large cruisers of the Atlantic Fleet sank, 2 surrendered, and 2 were at large.

The two large armored cruisers that surrendered were the 14,500-ton class "West Virginia" and "Colorado" armored cruisers that initially followed the Mississippi for a turn. Frightened, the following battles have been playing soy sauce, and immediately surrendered when the situation was not good.

The two ships were originally at the end of the battle line of the US Atlantic Fleet. The distance between the battleships in the battle line should be 800 meters to 1,000 meters, but the two ships were pulled 2.5 kilometers away, almost 2.5 kilometers away. After getting out of the formation and hiding beyond the 18-kilometer limit range, he naturally escaped the brutal blow.

When the    surrendered, the whole ship was intact and shiny, and the 621 officers and soldiers on the ship had no other casualties except for a few slips and injuries. The two cruisers had more than 1,240 people, all of them obediently taken prisoners.

   Of the remaining 10 small and medium cruisers in the Atlantic Fleet, 5 were sunk, 3 were captured, and the remaining 3 were fleeing.

   Several malfunctioning warships moored in the bay were also captured and became the spoils of the Royal Navy's expeditionary strike formation.

   In this battle, 47 lightning strike destroyers were sunk. In addition, 7 were sunk by themselves, and more than 40 were fleeing and were being pursued.

The Royal Navy's expeditionary strike formation is very vigilant. It will never allow lightning destroyers equipped with gas torpedoes to approach, nor will they accept surrender. Those who want to surrender must empty the torpedoes, turn off the main engine, and all officers and soldiers of the ship stand on the deck and hold their heads with both hands. Surrender or be sunk.

   It was under such harsh and harsh conditions that none of the destroyers surrendered after being struck by lightning. They either sank due to helplessness or fled with their lives, and they would never surrender anyway.

Li Jie also despised these small broken ships. This thing is like a big moving bomb. It will blow up wherever it goes. Once the torpedo explodes, it will blow up his warship to pieces. It is too dangerous. Give it to him. dare not.

The fleet's armed sailors organized to take over the small port city of Ushuaia, the southernmost port in the world, as well as the warehouse group established by the US Atlantic Fleet, thousands of wooden houses, and a 30,000-ton dock under construction. And the half-built fortress building.

What makes Li Jie and His Highness Major General Li Siyuan happy is... Although the fortress has not been built, the Americans have already installed 8 brand new 305mm shore guns, 8 281mm shore guns, 16 203mm shore guns and 24 152mm shore guns. All the millimeter rapid-fire guns were shipped, and thousands of tons of shells were prepared.

In addition, there is a complete set of large-scale shipyard equipment, which is for supporting the 30,000-ton dock, trying to make Tierra del Fuego with the logistical support capabilities of a large naval base, and rushing construction day and night at all costs, hoping to build Tierra del Fuego into a solid frontier. Front line.

  Because of the rush of time, the US strategic attempt fell before it was implemented. Countless important military and civilian materials all fell into the hands of the Royal Navy, which made it laugh out loud.

   in the port of Ushuaia

There is a large freighter fleet from the United States, loaded with 80,000 tons of cement, 50,000 tons of various steel materials, building materials, plates, pipes, and a large number of quilts, food, daily necessities, leather shoes. , gloves, and even chewing gum. Hundreds of sets of machinery and equipment, generators, and water pumps are readily available. The goods are worth more than 26 million US dollars, and they look like they have been stationed for a long time.

Now all these things are owned by the Royal Navy. Li Jie no longer wants to transfer Tierra del Fuego to the Army. He plans to make a report to ask His Royal Highness to sign, and mobilize 8,000 people from the recruits who are training to the island, and transfer this share of the industry. Complete takeover.

  Houses, docks, shipyards, fortresses, and docks will continue to be repaired. Anyway, the American workers are ready-made, and they are now prisoners. There are still a large number of US Navy prisoners in their hands.

   Supplies are readily available, food and drink are available, and weapons are readily available. As long as recruits come over, they can take over the facilities on the island, and gradually build a large-scale comprehensive naval base with the ability to support large fleets.

   "Your Highness, do you think my idea is feasible?" Li Jie asked humbly.

Major General Li Siyuan chuckled lightly when he heard the words, nodded and replied; "Yes, the country was planning to take Tierra del Fuego, so I have been putting pressure on Chile to try to get them to supply the three battleships of the Great White Fleet. It's not over.

   I guess;

  The father may want to take all the Aysen district in northern Chile and Tierra del Fuego to Chile, plus the Tierra del Fuego part of Argentina to form our complete South American territory.

  It is not the land area that matters, but the position of the two-ocean passage that guards the Strait of Magellan and the Drake Strait, which is an important purpose of our war.

   In addition, we have already occupied Panama and took over the canal project that the Americans are building. The father’s intention is to keep it under control, and to build it as an imperial territory, and the work of personnel clearing and immigration has already begun.

Coupled with the occupation area of ​​North America, we can form three key points: one south, one middle and one north, fully control the core points of North and South America, fully control the Pacific trade route, and then exert a strong influence on the Pacific Rim countries, including them as imperial friends in the circle.

  My father's generous strategic plan is the basis for setting the foundation of a century-old great power, and Tierra del Fuego is an important part of it. The application of the Ministry of the Navy should be safe, but what I will face is the strong opposition of the Ministry of War.

   I don't want to get involved too much, you have to be mentally prepared for this. "

   "Thank you, Your Highness, for clarifying the confusion, I understand." Li Jie, after giving a deep salute, looked more respectful and asked hesitantly, "I dare to ask Your Highness, when will the expedition strike formation march on the east coast of the United States?"

"Haha... This is not your task, nor my task. Honorable Marquis Dingyuan, it should be after the award? Congratulations, Mr. Admiral!" Major General Li Siyuan chuckled and said the news. But Li Jie was ecstatic.

He will be awarded the Marquis of Dingyuan due to his military exploits, and he will be promoted to the rank of admiral, becoming one of the first great nobles of the empire. This is the most generous reward for Li Jie, who is nearly 60 years old. Take a break.

After this large-scale war victory, a large number of high-level nobles will emerge, such as General He Fang, who is in command, General Li Shuanzhu who leads the army in the North American battlefield, and Lieutenant General Duan Qirui, who are about to carry out the strike mission on the east coast of the United States. I wish that Admiral Qingxi, etc., will be promoted to nobility for merit.

  War is a feast for soldiers, so the imperial soldiers will be belligerent, and they will be happy when they hear war.

  Lieutenant General Li Jie understood the meaning of His Highness's words. He has already made a great achievement, and the rest can no longer be fought, and the benefits must be shared with others.

  Sit in a row, and the fruit is the kingly way.

  Celebrity music is the real joy, too alone will really kill people, even the top honors are no exception.

   I coded two chapters without sleep overnight, so I quickly sent it out to my enthusiastic readers and friends, and asked for the next monthly pass by the way.

   (end of this chapter)