On August 16, 1898, the fully equipped U.S. fleet finally sailed out of the military port again. This time, with the determination to burn everything, they put the last pieces of the U.S. Navy on the line. They were betting on the glory of the U.S. Navy for decades.

, although there were heavy casualties, the Americans at this time were full of confidence. They believed that the other side must be more exhausted. "It is time to end all this, and the fleet of the United States of America will eventually be free."

You are sailing in the Caribbean!" Admiral Simpson said with confidence.

At the same time, the Spanish fleet finally completed its final preparations on the third day after the departure of the American fleet. For this war, the Spanish also paid too much, nearly 10 years of preparation, countless money and manpower

, so far, the Spaniards have only seen the dawn of victory. Careful calculations and continuous hard battles have only given them an opportunity to finally defeat their opponents. "Even if Spain wins, within the next five years,

Spanish government

"Fu will be overwhelmed by the heavy debt burden." Cervera said of this war.

In this way, on August 21, 1898, the U.S. fleet finally arrived outside the port of San Diego. Under the leadership of the flagship Iowa, three Indiana-class battleships followed closely, and the four battleships lined up in a column and slowly moved forward.

Appeared in the field of view of the San Diego Fort. Behind it, the U.S. Navy could finally

The three cruisers participating in the war were only one-fifth of the number and less than one-third of the tonnage compared to the 15 U.S. cruisers of various types at the beginning of the war. Until now, these were not suitable for the main force.

The battleships in the fleet battle were also forced to join the battle line, and together with the four battleships in front, they dealt with the terrifying enemy.

Behind these 7 battleships are 3 shallow water heavy gunships. These products with excellent data but poor actual performance have also been put on the altar of war. They will serve as a supplementary force to the main fleet and also serve as attack turrets and

The main force of port facilities. After all, there are too few main gun turrets on battleships, and the U.S. Navy needs to use these shells where they can best exert their effect.

Just three hours before the U.S. fleet arrived at the Port of Santiago, the main force of the Spanish fleet also left the port, and the lightning strike troops were hidden in batches at pre-selected locations. When the U.S. fleet began to bombard the Port of Santiago, Yang Yonglin was not there

Choose to enter the battle as soon as possible. He needs the U.S. fleet to fully deploy and reduce its speed, and then command the fleet to insert into the battlefield from a suitable place at a suitable time.

"It seems that the main force of the Spanish fleet is not in the port." Simpson picked up the telescope and looked at the rising smoke columns near the Spanish fort in the distance. Just behind him, three shallow-water heavy artillery ships and three cruisers were heading towards the fort outside the Port of Santiago.

Tilt the firepower, the long barrel continues to spit out flames, and huge fireballs spurt out from the barrel, followed by high-speed cannonballs.

With the sound of flying through the air, rounds of 10-inch and 8-inch artillery shells hit the fort in Santiago Port heavily. Although the Spaniards tried to fight back, under such a fierce firepower, the fort armed with old artillery simply could not

It wouldn't have much effect. If it weren't for the fear of mines, the U.S. fleet might have approached and fired, completely sweeping away the entire fort.

"They should be nearby. If the information provided by our intelligence personnel is correct, their preparation work will not be faster than ours. Counting the time it takes us to get here, they have only just completed their preparations at most. Even if they leave,

We can’t go very far,” said a staff officer next to him.

"If the Spanish fleet is not here, our plan will come to nothing." Simpson said with a worried look.

"No, Spain should have reached the end of its war effort. Although their fleet is still powerful, their national foundation may no longer be able to support this war for a long time. They also need a chance to end this war. Victory or failure

." Maggie Fen shook her head and said.

"Then what should we do now? Keep fighting? Although the 8-inch cannon and 10-inch cannon have relatively sufficient ammunition, we can't just waste precious shells here." Simpson said.

"The shallow-water heavy gunship formation broke away from the battle group and approached to attack. We need to let the Spaniards come out." After thinking for a moment, Magiffin gritted his teeth and said. The Spaniards have plenty of time. If they are allowed to delay, the entire fleet must leave the battle position before dark.

, after all, Magiffin and others still considered the factor of lightning strikes. In this case, it is better to give the Spanish fleet a chance to attract them out. At the same time, the three ships behind are really not suitable for high-speed maneuvers, so it is better to abandon them temporarily.

In addition, Magiffin also had an idea, which was to use these three battleships as bait to see if there was an ambush in the Spanish fleet. If there was an ambush, Magiffin would immediately advise Simpson to evacuate, because in Magiffin's view, using such a lineup to deal with the Spanish fleet would not be possible.

It's already very difficult. If the opponent still has a hidden fleet, Ma Jifen will choose to evacuate without hesitation to avoid some terrible consequences!

In this way, the U.S. fleet was divided into two groups. Three shallow-water heavy artillery ships approached to attack the opponent's fort, while seven battleships cruised farther away. Soon, the situation of the U.S. fleet was reported by radio to the Spaniards in Santiago Harbor.

The method of reporting informed the Spanish fleet, which was 20km away, that the Spanish fleet, which had been cruising at low speed, chose a direction against the light and reduced its speed as much as possible to avoid being discovered by the American fleet in the distance.

"Prepare to attack. The U.S. fleet has separated and part of the ammunition has been consumed. This situation is basically perfect." After thinking for a moment, Severa gave the order. After a few minutes, the entire fleet began to accelerate, 7

The battleships lined up in a row and rushed towards the American fleet in the distance at the highest speed possible. The flagship Spain at the head of the fleet was towering

The flying shear splits the layers of spray, and under the sunlight, the splashing water reflects the brilliance of seven colors. The three triple turrets rotate slowly, and the nine powerful 10-inch 40L Armstrong main guns point at

On the port side, the smoke from the chimney rose into the air blown by the sea breeze, and all this undoubtedly fell into the eyes of the U.S. Navy lookout.

"The fleet turns. Prepare to fight. The fleet maintains a speed of 12 knots and waits for the attack force from the other side to join." Simpson took a deep breath and calmed down his emotions before ordering. At 2:40 pm on August 21, 1898, the ownership of the Caribbean region was decided.

The Naval Battle of Santiago finally kicked off.

"We must speed up, otherwise, the opponent can completely steal the ship. Just like in the last naval battle." Magiffin said, looking at the Spanish fleet approaching from the northwest at a high speed of 17 knots in the distance.

"That means that in the early stages of the war, we may be at a disadvantage. And because of their speed, it will be difficult for our three coastal defense ships to quickly enter the battle." Simpson said with some worry.

"So we must drag the battle into a chaotic battle. Rely on close-range rapid firepower to sweep the opponent's deck. Only in this way can we provide opportunities for the coastal defense warships behind. We need to let the New York lead the cruiser to cut into the opponent's deck from behind.

The second half of the formation

"Hold the two Pisa-class armored cruisers and the USS Manila behind, and then wait until the three coastal defense ships join. Concentrate your efforts to eat part of the opponent. Only in this way will the situation develop in a direction that is beneficial to the U.S. fleet." Ma Jifen.

After thinking for a moment, he said.

"What should we do if the other party chooses to get rid of us?" Simpson asked.

"If that's the case, we can quickly join the main fleet and attack the remaining four battleships of the Spanish fleet. Considering the losses in the last battle, the opponent's speed is only 17 knots at most, but we can now reach about 20 knots.

Under such circumstances, they will never choose to withdraw from the battle easily, otherwise, we must rendezvous with the main fleet first." Ma Jifen shook his head and said.

"That's it, increase the speed to 15 knots and prepare to engage in battle." Simpson thought for a while and nodded in agreement. Then, a few minutes later, the U.S. fleet began to accelerate as a whole. After the U.S. fleet decided on tactics, the Spanish fleet also

The final tactical adjustment was made to the battle situation.

"We must split up the U.S. fleet as much as possible, otherwise, it will be difficult for our lightning strike to be effective. If large warships are grouped together, the lightning strike fleet will have no chance." Looking at the U.S. fleet in the distance, Yang Yonglin said.

"Actually, we can consider attacking the three shallow-water heavy artillery ships remaining behind." Severa looked at the three slow-moving ships behind with a telescope and said.

"The gain is not worth the loss. If the other side loses three coastal defense ships, the worst it can do is retreat. We only achieved a tactical victory. What we will lose will be an opportunity to break the backbone of the U.S. Navy in a short period of time. The target of the torpedo strike ship is only

If there is one, it is the battleship formation of the US Navy! We need a decisive victory!" Yang Yonglin objected.

"Okay, what should we do now? If we wait until the opponent's fleet converges, we will be at a disadvantage." Severa asked. After experiencing too many battles, Severa showed extremely strong feelings towards this officer from Beiyang.

Although he may be dissatisfied with some of Yang Yonglin's overstepping actions when there is no war, once the war officially starts, he will still choose to listen to Yang Yonglin. After all, in war, the strong one has the final say!

"We need the Princess Maria, Oquendo and Manila behind us to buy us time. We need to destroy a large number of secondary batteries of the US battleship formation in the shortest possible time, and then create opportunities for the lightning strike force." Yang Yonglin.

After taking a look at the three battleships behind me, I made a lot of determination to implement this plan.

The boat said it. In the last naval battle, the three battleships were the most severely damaged. It was not a problem to simply deal with the three cruisers of the US fleet. But if three more coastal defense ships were to be added, the pressure would be

It's too big. Especially the Manila, the 10-inch heavy guns of the American shallow-water heavy gunship are enough to penetrate its fragile protection.

Thanks to You Underground Guard for your monthly support and You Mingying Suifeng for your evaluation vote. Here, the author reiterates that it is really not to delay the plot, but just wants to clearly describe every far-reaching naval battle that occurred in history. America and the West
Chapter completed!