The Sun and the Lion

On the last day of November 1508, Ahsan finally waited until the Portuguese fleet arrived. The Safavid-Mamluk-Calicut combined fleet, which had been waiting for a while, quickly weighed anchor and sailed to the open sea after receiving the order.

Seeing that the Muslims did not block the Port of Goa with chains or other means, and even took the initiative to sail the warships out to sea to prepare for battle, Almeida concluded: "Are they going to duel with us? Even though they have a defensive advantage, this is still the case. remarkably brave."

The size of the combined fleet dazzled the Portuguese lookouts. There were estimated to be nearly a hundred large and small ships on display at sea, but most of them were small boats from Calicut. The only ones that could really raise the bar and pose a threat to Portuguese warships. There were Safavid and Mamluk warships.

"I am sure that by conquering this fleet, the doors of India will continue to be open to us."

The officers of each ship gave pre-battle speeches to their respective crews to boost morale. They stated that they were facing a powerful and threatening enemy, and talked about their faith in Christ and loyalty to the king in response to the dangerous situation. Finally, The deputy king's instructions were read out - all the spoils of war will be distributed to the soldiers participating in the battle, and they will have the opportunity to be upgraded to attendants and even knights. The knights participating in the battle were promoted to higher-level nobles, prisoners were exempted from punishment, and slaves were freed. The owners of slaves killed in battle were able to obtain compensation, etc.

The morale of the Muslims is also high. Ahsan can't say anything long. He just pays all sailors an extra two years of military pay and provides the best food directly before the war, regardless of whether they are recruits or veterans, Sunnis or Shiites, Turks or Turks. At this time, the Persians all shared the same hatred and were willing to die for the commander-in-chief and admiral.

At this time, the weather was clear and the wind direction was favorable to the coalition forces. Hussein ordered the trumpets to be blown and the cannons to be fired according to the plan, notifying all the ships under his command to take advantage of the wind and attack forward, along with Calicut's galleys and other small boats.

The Portuguese decided to take the initiative to engage the enemy. The jib provided power to the Karak ships, allowing them to aim their side guns at the enemy. Joul's lesson was not forgotten, and the guns loaded on the battleships must be put to good use.

The bow cannon of the Mamluk warship fired first, and the cannonballs that hit the water splashed with water, together with gunpowder smoke and gunfire, adding a sense of tension to the upcoming battle.

These Mamluk sailors have become accustomed to missing the first shot, and it has become a routine to listen to the sound before the battle, a signal to remind the sailors.

When the distance was close enough, the Portuguese naval guns roared and spit out fire dragons. The shells fell into the coalition fleet one after another. Many shells fell on the Indian warships. The fragile hulls of the boats could not withstand the blows of the heavy artillery. Several ships in the front row were hit. Some were even interrupted directly.

At the same time, the Mamluk warships were fully prepared. In order to withstand the bombardment, Hussein and Ehsan did not hesitate to sacrifice the maneuverability of these ships and asked the shipwrights to use thick wooden boards to additionally reinforce the hulls of the Karak ships, and also hung suction pumps at the waterline. The water-filled cotton bales served as a buffer. The shells failed to cause serious damage to the hull and were not penetrated below the waterline.

The bombardment did not achieve significant results. What followed was a round of matchlock guns and swivel guns. Countless lead bullets flew through the gap between the two ships. The powerful firepower projection caused chaos on the deck of the enemy ship. There were also the best shooting skills. Marksmen were deployed in the "crow's nest" of the mast, allowing them to shoot from a commanding height.

The Mamluk warships responded with more arrows. The archers deployed on the mast platform and the tall poop were all emptying their quivers as fast as possible. The rain of arrows they poured should not be underestimated. Unfortunately, the Mamluk's broadside artillery was unable to exert its due power due to the restricted range of fire.

At the same time, Hussein, who believed that the distance was close enough, ordered the anchor to be anchored and stabilized the ship. Next, he had to prepare to resist the enemy's attack, and then start a bloody gang-hopping battle.

The Portuguese's four Karak ships and four small Karak ships were "embedded" with each other in groups of two and the Mamluk warships, and the battle lines were intertwined. This made the Caravel ship responsible for providing fire support for Hussein use the enemy's weapons. It was difficult to use naval guns to attack Portuguese warships.

The shooting on the deck continued, and the flying lead bullets, arrows and sawdust continued to cause casualties. In such an environment that was enough to make people lose their courage, there were still a group of warriors ready to attack the enemy ships.

"Santiago!"

The Portuguese sailors chanted slogans originating from the Reconquest Movement in unison. Ropes and springboards created multiple passages for people to walk along. Officers and sergeants in full armor were at the forefront, rushing to or climbing onto the decks of enemy ships.

Kang held a long sword and rushed across the gangplank in a few steps. As an old officer who had served on the ship for more than ten years, he was familiar with jumping gangs. The Bedouin soldier who was leaning on the side of the ship and trying to push him into the sea was stabbed through the chest by him. After pulling out the sword, he swung it with all his strength to block all the weapons that were reaching out to hurt him. The sound of metal colliding with each other kept coming.

Under the cover of his own firepower, several more people successfully boarded the Karak ship. With the cover of his comrades, he could withdraw his attention from the opposite side and rear and concentrate on dealing with the Mamluks in front of him.

The samurai who faced him also wore a helmet. The fine chainmail protected the opponent's body well. The helmet was also decorated with feathers. The belt and scabbard were not popular products. There were also arm guards on the arms and calves. Armor provides extra protection, looks good in combat power, and has a high status.

After carefully examining his opponent, Kang decided to kill him. This must have demoralized all the Muslims on the deck. Then he used his long sword to test the opponent without any delay. Noticing the threat, the Mamluk blocked these blows and continued to fight. He confronts.

Seeing that several slashes and thrusts were blocked, Kang had to interrupt the attack and concentrate on dealing with the newly incoming Egyptian sailors. These unarmored and lightly-armed soldiers were unable to kill him under the current circumstances.

After several times forcing back the Egyptian sailors who wanted to get closer, he received support from his teammates and was able to focus his attention again on the Mamluks who had taken the opportunity to attack earlier. This time, he did not hesitate anymore, but directly and violently slashed at the opponent. Rely on plate armor to directly resist all damage.

The sudden change caught the opponent off guard, but the Mamluk who reacted relied on his instinct and muscle memory to deal with the opponent's attack. As the distance became closer, both of them planned to use hand-to-hand combat, but the stray bullets stopped abruptly. The ground ended the Mamluk movement.

Kang, who was freed from the struggle, took a few breaths. He subconsciously wanted to untie his throat gorget to breathe. He suddenly stopped what he was doing - because he remembered a captain who was shot through the throat with an arrow - and then looked up. Enemies on the deck are basically entangled by their comrades and are at a disadvantage. He took this opportunity to summon several people behind him to rush into the cabin.

At the same time, four Portuguese galleys bypassed the Karak ship from the end of the battle line, then inserted into the rear composed of various small boats, and plunged directly into the sea of ​​allied warships.

But the Portuguese sailors did not panic because they were trapped in a tight siege. They fired in all directions at the same time and attacked all enemy ships that could be boarded. The Indian sailors, who were of the worst quality and equipment and were scattered on various ships and unable to exert their numerical advantage, simply could not stop this. offensive.

Just like the Gujaratis in Joul, the Calicut warship that was the first to engage the enemy was slaughtered in just ten minutes. The surrounding water was filled with floating corpses and sailors seeking survival. There was no mercy in the eyes of the Portuguese sailors. , holding up matchlocks and crossbows to shoot at the struggling Indians. There was no room for maneuver. The survivors floating on the water could only face the end of being shot.

Such a tragic situation shocked other Indian warships, and everyone tried to avoid the rampaging Portuguese galleys until reinforcements arrived - three heavy galleys with the Lion and Sun flag on their masts.

"Kill all these Franks, Huda is the greatest! Victory belongs to us!"

"Huda Akbar!"

The breech-mounted swivel guns and matchlock guns mounted on the ship's side allowed the naval infantry to successfully jump onto the enemy ship. The Safavid army's surprise attack caught the Portuguese off guard. As the attack progressed, many Portuguese sailors had not returned from the enemy ships they had previously fought on, which gave them no numerical advantage over the enemy forces that jumped over at this critical moment.

These Safavid sailors, who were obviously different from the Calicut army, made it quite difficult for the Portuguese who stayed on the warships. With better equipment, high fighting will, and superb coordination and combat skills, even if they could not directly kill them The galley was also guaranteed not to be driven overboard.

Not to mention that the heavy galley has a larger hull than the Portuguese galley, carries more people, and has stronger firepower than these four galleys. Even wearing plate armor cannot stop the matchlock gun and swivel gun from such close range. Shooting, under the intentional sniping of heavy arquebusiers, several Portuguese nobles and sergeants who were the vanguard were either very imaginative or open-minded, but they were not happy.

The officers and sergeants were killed one after another, which directly shook the morale of the Portuguese sailors. The captains did not expect that the change from invincible to easy to attack and defend would be so fast that it was difficult to react.

"Everyone, return to our warships! Hurry!" The senior officer responsible for coordinating the galleys was a little panicked and hurriedly issued orders to save the situation.

The Portuguese sailors who reacted returned from the captured enemy ships one after another. The new force that suddenly joined the melee stalled the Safavid sailors' offensive. Both sides realized that this was a critical node. If the Portuguese sailors could return to defense in time, the attack would undoubtedly require a huge price. For the Safavid side, it is best to take advantage of the narrow passage between the ships to divide them.

The focus of the matchlock guns and breech-mounted swivel guns quickly shifted to the springboard connecting the Portuguese and Calicut ships, plus the Safavid sailors who specially came to block the channel. Any attempt to travel between the two ships via the gangplank was almost a dead end with buckshot, and swivel cannon shells were still trying to damage the gangplank directly.

The Portuguese sailors, who were already at a numerical disadvantage, were more difficult to resist the Safavid sailors' offensive after being successfully divided. These Portuguese sailors who rushed into the enemy's rear were the first to be on the verge of collapse. Everyone was trying to hold on, hoping to survive until friendly forces arrived. assistance.

In addition to the stalemate between the Karak ship and the galley in the center of the battlefield, several warships led by the Portuguese flagship have already circled to the side of the battlefield. This is a move that determines the outcome of the battlefield.

The Karak ship under Ahsan could not be hidden at all. After Hussein desperately entangled the Portuguese Karak ship, the lookout of the "Flower of the Sea" discovered that there was another Karak ship at the rear of the Muslim fleet. Around the side. The news was immediately communicated to Almeida.

"Is this the intention of the Muslims?" Seeing that there were so many ships on the other side, the deputy king gave an order with a solemn face. The flagships and caravel ships at the rear of the queue that had not yet participated in the jump gang all set off to intercept Ehsan who was trying to go around. .

At this time, the wind weakened and crosswind maneuvers in rough seas were not so difficult. The Caravel, a light-hulled ship, was the first to arrive at its destination and directed its broadside guns at the incoming enemy ships.

Seeing that there was an enemy blocking the way, Ahsan did not know the status of the Mamluk fleet at this time. He began to speculate, and could not help but assume the worst case scenario - Hussein's warships and the Karavel ship that went to support had been destroyed or were unable to stop them all. enemy ship.

"Look, Your Excellency, that is the flagship of the Thief Chief Almeida." The Portuguese traitor who was serving as an advisor suddenly pointed out to him the "Flower of the Sea" as the deputy throne ship.

After being reminded, Ahsan discovered that there was only one large enemy ship that came to block it, and the rest were all Caravels, while our own were all Karak ships. We had the advantage in both the number of sailors and the number of guns. Nothing to worry about.

The Safavid fleet, which was in the upper wind, continued to advance forward with the wind, constantly shortening the distance between it and the Portuguese warships. Almeida, who thought that the enemy was planning to take the initiative to attack and engage in gang warfare, planned to respond with artillery fire. The "Flower of the Sea" was a floating fort in this battle. There were mostly gunners and shooters on the ship, and there were very few sailors who could fight in close combat.

But it was difficult to maneuver at this time. In order to keep the distance, the deputy king had to order the herald in charge of the semaphore: "Notify the 'Rose', the 'Ambush', the 'Santiago', the 'Concept' and the 'Rescuer' The Notre-Dame came forward to intercept the Muslim warships."

The five square-sailed Karavel ships that received the order were assigned to face the enemy ships directly because of their hulls between Karak and Karavel. These captains and sailors who had not yet joined the battle were eager to try after receiving the order, hoping to fight in the Holy War. He has made great achievements in the world.

"Send a small boat to meet the enemy?" Ahsan did not understand Almeida's operation and ordered the warship to adjust its direction so that the enemy ship could enter the range of the side artillery. The 24-door side of the flagship "Iran Shahr" The broadside artillery fired at the leading Portuguese warship one after another. The shells rushed towards the enemy ships not far away with great accuracy, and half of them smashed into the hull.

The Portuguese, who were ready to join forces, did not expect that this group of Muslims chose to use artillery fire. Several captains had to yell "cunning!" and then had to urge the sailors to speed up their maneuvers so that their artillery could get the best range of fire.

The Portuguese's counterattack came quickly. The shells fell around the "Iran Shahr" and splashed water. One or two hit the hull and caused negligible damage.

However, as the seven Karak ships after the flagship joined the battlefield, the Safavid fleet's artillery advantage was beyond the reach of these five square-sailed Karavel ships, and the Portuguese immediately fell into a disadvantage.

Almeida was extremely anxious when she saw this. If the flagship had been allowed to shoot at it, the situation would not have become so bad. The "Flower of the Sea" was a warship equipped with 40 cannons, and its hull strength was not comparable to that of Caravel.

But God did not bless the Portuguese at this time. The renewed wind and rough waves made it more difficult for the flagship to maneuver in crosswinds, and even made the deputy king feel that the ship was retreating instead of advancing. This made him order again: "Let all the ships gather beside the flagship, our army cannot be defeated individually!"

This forced the gunners of the "Flower of the Sea" to focus on providing fire support to another friendly force. The Safavid warships cruising in the periphery to provide firepower to the Mamluk warships were the main victims. One Caravel has already been shelled to the point of withdrawing from the battlefield.

But the power of a ship is limited after all. At the advice of the officers, Almeida separated the flagship and used it as a floating fort to provide fire support. At the same time, staying away from gang-hopping wars could also increase the survival probability of the top commander. But the current situation is very embarrassing. It is difficult to quickly eliminate one of the enemy forces with the firepower of this ship alone.

As the Portuguese army retreated, find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com The main force led by Ahsan was able to approach the Portuguese flagship. If they could directly sink the ship on the battlefield... Thinking of this, the corners of the commander-in-chief's mouth rose, as if he had already See victory.

Unable to understand the battle situation on the other side and with little patience, he decided to temporarily abandon caution and directly ordered each ship to rush to the enemy's flagship, intending to directly defeat the enemy in front of him.

The Karavel, which had few guns and was still damaged, was unable to stop the offensive of the Safavid warships. It was either sunk in the artillery battle, or was mopped up by more Persian arquebuses and breech-mounted revolving guns in close range shooting. The survivors retreated backwards, placing the flagship in an awkward position.

Seeing these warships turning around and running away, Almeida said angrily: "When I return to Cochin, I will hang all these deserters!"

Seeing that the current situation was irreversible, the deputy king had to order the flagship to turn around and retreat, and also used the cannon on the poop to shoot at the Safavid warships that were trying to pursue. In short, the Vice King's ship was not surrounded and attacked, and the Karak ship under Ahsan was able to enter the center of the battlefield without any hindrance.

The battle situation developed as he suspected. Although Hussein tried his best, the Portuguese still killed the Mamluk army and retreated steadily. The Indian sailors were even more useless, leaving the Mamluk sailors in fact at a numerical disadvantage. , Hussein was also forced to take a small boat to change ships to avoid the fate of being captured.

But just when the Portuguese, who were still fighting fiercely with the Egyptian fleet, thought that it was now a favorable situation, shells from the flanks disrupted their actions. The two Portuguese warships on the right end of the battle line were immediately outflanked and set fire.

The sudden reversal of the situation and the rapid departure of the flagship from the battlefield left the main force of the Portuguese army at a loss. The deputy king ordered to send a flag to notify the remaining warships to retreat with him. As for how many ships could escape in time, it was not his decision.