Chapter 810 Surrender

On the Chicago, Captain Robley D. Evans was using a telescope to observe the fortresses on the hills on both sides of the harbor. The first mate hurried over to him, grabbed his arm and shouted:

"Bob, the flagship is signaling us to rush into the harbor! He's sending us to our deaths!"

Robley Evans put down the telescope and asked, "Is the signal correct?"

"That's right... they asked us and the Newark to rush in and clear the way for those torpedo boats!" The first mate had an angry look on his face.

Robert Evans took a deep breath, looked at the fortress again and said, "The situation is not as bad as you think! You see, they are still using smoothbore guns. Even an 8-inch smoothbore gun cannot penetrate our armor!"

"And I just observed that the east fort has 6 8-inch guns, while the west fort has only 4. There is at least a 5-minute interval between each of their guns, which means that their soldiers are poorly trained and their accuracy is not high. From the beginning of the battle until now, none of our ships have been hit!" Robert Evans said confidently.

"But the fortresses on both sides are only 300 meters apart!" the first mate still gritted his teeth.

The fortresses on the mountains on both sides are only 300 meters away from the center of the waterway!
Just looking at the two fortresses, he felt a huge pressure.

"Follow orders!" Robert Evans said directly.

"A distance of 300 meters is already a challenge for smoothbore guns. Add to that the quality of their soldiers. Their 8-inch guns will hit medium-speed targets with a hit rate of no more than 3%. The rest is up to God!"

Judging the enemy's firepower and hit rate based on various conditions is an essential skill for a naval officer.

"Yes, sir!" The first mate immediately gave in under the pressure.

Robert Evans was a rising star in the U.S. Navy, nicknamed Fighting Bob, and was known for his bravery and decisiveness.

Therefore, after confirming the order, he gave it immediately and decisively.

He still remembered what Chen Zhengwei had said before, and the risk of crossing the port channel was within his acceptable range.

The forts on both sides had a total of only 10 8-inch smoothbore guns and 12 32-pound smoothbore guns.

If the ship is not too unlucky, it will only be hit by one or two shells at most, which will not cause much damage to the ship.

The section within the port channel is the most risky. As long as you rush into the port, the range will be extended and those artillery batteries will not pose any threat.

As the order was given, the Chicago rushed towards the port first.

The Newark hesitated for a moment, then after seeing the Chicago's move, it also rushed forward.

"The captain of the Chicago is good!" Chen Zhengwei had been observing the situation on the battlefield.

The Chicago rushed forward without any hesitation after receiving the order, which made him begin to like the captain of the Chicago a little.

He likes obedient people.

As for the other ship, the Newark, there was an obvious hesitation, but it did not disobey the order.

As the two warships rushed into the harbor, the fortress's artillery targets obviously changed direction, and shells fell on the sea near the two ships.

Other torpedo boats followed closely behind and rushed towards the port.

On the fortresses on both sides, a Spanish fort commander looked down from a high vantage point and could see a large number of warships rushing into the port at high speed, like schools of fish in the sea.

"Those Americans are simply crazy!" The fortress commander's forehead was covered in sweat and his voice was trembling.

"Everyone, hurry up, hurry up!"

Even though he kept urging them, he knew that no matter how fast his men were, it would be difficult to sink a few warships.

……

Shells fell on the sides or rear of the battleships, making the sailors on the Chicago and Newark nervous. Some of them kept running their hands across their foreheads and chests.

boom!
The hull of the Newark suddenly shook.

"The Newark was hit!" The first mate turned his head and shouted to the captain of the Chicago, Robert Evans.

Robert Evans didn't even turn his head, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Then they felt the world in front of them suddenly opened up and they rushed through the passage.

"My luck has always been good!" Robert Evans smiled.

The Newark was more unlucky, being hit by two shells that took away several soldiers on board, but the casualties were not heavy and the hull was not greatly damaged.

……

In the port, several Spanish warships were slowly leaving the dock.

It took a full hour and a half from the time they discovered Chen Zhengwei's fleet to now, and their ships finally started moving.

Fleet commander Miguel Maragonto was looking at the port channel through a telescope, his fingers turning white from the force they were holding on the edge of the telescope.

"They are rushing in!" Miguel Maragonto's voice was bitter!
"Our batteries did not frighten them..."

He had hoped that the battery would hold them off, at least until all the ships were in motion, but that obviously hadn't happened.

So far, only four ships have left the dock, and their speed is only 2 knots. It will take at least 2 minutes to increase the speed from 8 knots to 16 knots.

These were the fatal 16 minutes.

"Open fire when they get within 3000 meters! Don't let them get close!" Miguel Maragonto ordered loudly.

Now he could only pray to God that the gunner was accurate enough.

However, as more and more ships rushed in, after seeing more than a dozen ships rushing in, Miguel Maragonto's expression gradually began to become desperate.

Moreover, after rushing into the harbor, the torpedo boats quickly overtook the Chicago and Newark.

The length of the harbor is 6 kilometers, and in less than 5 minutes, the torpedo boats reached half the distance.

"fire!"

At the dock, orders resounded from the warships that were gradually leaving the dock.

Boom boom boom!
"Turn and prepare to launch torpedoes!" Seeing the warships crowded together, the captains of the torpedo ships began to turn at a distance of 2800 to 3000 meters.

Their range is also 3000 meters!
Although the hit rate will drop sharply at this range, the port is so wide, and so many enemy ships are crowded at the dock, which is like an oversized fixed target.

Torpedoes were fired from the launch tubes, drawing white lines on the sea surface.

"3000 meters? How come it's so far? Avoid it!" Seeing the opponent's actions, Miguel Maragonto sweated even more.

The telegram he received earlier said that the enemy's torpedo range was 2000 meters, which was beyond his imagination. However, he only found out now that the enemy's torpedo range was not 2000 meters, but 3000 meters.

Boom boom boom!
In the distance, a torpedo boat suddenly jumped on the sea and its speed immediately slowed down.

"The Little Bird was hit!" When the Chinese on other torpedo ships saw this scene, they felt that the Little Bird was so unlucky. With such a high ship speed, it was hit at a distance of 3000 meters. They could only say that it was hit by a cannonball.

"The port is too narrow. We see them as sitting ducks. It's easy for them to hit us!"

"Which position was hit?"

"deck!"

"It looks like it won't sink...but they have to withdraw from the battle."

Although these torpedo boats were also steel steam ships, they had no protective decks and had no defense capabilities against the main guns of the Spanish cruisers.

Even at a distance of 3000 meters, if it is hit near the waterline, a big hole will be created directly and the ship will sink.

"Signal them and charge! Charge 300 meters! The minimum range of their main guns will not be less than 300 meters!" The captain of a torpedo boat shouted while gritting his teeth.

Due to the angle of elevation, the minimum range of the cruiser's main gun is 300-400 meters. It will be completely unable to fire below this range!
At the same time as the Little Bird was hit, a large splash of water exploded near the dock.

There were 10 torpedo boats, and each round fired 20 torpedoes. Even if half of them hit the two sides of the harbor, five or six torpedoes fell among the crowded Spanish warships.

Boom boom boom!
A transport ship that was still docked at the dock began to take on a lot of water near the waterline after it shook.

At the same time, the 3200-ton protected cruiser Madrid, which had just been transferred from Puerto Rico, was directly hit by two shells, and the armor on one side was completely twisted and deformed.

The Spanish flagship, Theresa, also shook violently.

"Check the damage! Prepare for the next round of shelling!" Miguel Maragonto was too busy thinking about anything else and gave orders quickly.

Then he saw the torpedo boats turning around and rushing towards him again.

Miguel Maragonto's movements suddenly stopped, and he grasped the railing in front of him tightly with both hands, his fingertips were bloodless.

"It's over!"

His face was pale.

He knew the other party's purpose.

He didn't expect the other party to be so decisive...

At their speed, they can cover the 3km distance in less than 5 minutes.

The cruiser's main gun takes at least 4 minutes to fire...

In other words, he probably won't have a second chance to fire!
Miguel Maragonto clenched his teeth, his eyes gradually became bloodshot, and he suddenly lost all his strength.

And around him, the navy soldiers were still running around.

The artillery commander was still shouting orders, constantly urging the soldiers.

Everything was so clear and yet so slow.

When the gunner loaded the shells and prepared to fire, he suddenly cried out, "Sir, we can't hit them..."

Looking at the torpedo launcher that was approaching to within 300 meters, one could see with the naked eye the Chinese men wearing boots and short-sleeved shirts on it.

The gunner's commander turned and looked at the captain.

The captain was still standing there with his hands on the railing, and he had been in this posture since just now.

Then he gritted his teeth and said, "Lowest angle, fire!"

boom!
Theresa's main guns opened fire again, but the shells fell directly behind the torpedo boats.

The loud noise woke up Miguel Maragonto.

He turned his head and looked around. Many soldiers had stopped moving and were standing there looking at him.

Everyone of them understands the current situation.

They're done.

There was no chance, the enemy was already close enough to be below the angle of the artillery.

The only question left now is, surrender, or be sunk?

Miguel Maragonto's lips moved, as if he had used up all his strength, and he said with great difficulty: "Raise the white flag! Surrender..."

Then he closed his eyes.

"Cut off the lubricating oil system and destroy the main steam valve and transmission bearings!"

This was the only thing he could do, to cause minor damage to the battleship's power system so that the battleship would not become the opponent's weapon in a short period of time.

He bid farewell to his family with confidence and led his fleet from Spain to the Caribbean.

However, it was only the first naval battle, and most of the ships were still intact and had not even left the dock...

And below, the torpedo launching ships changed direction and fired torpedoes after approaching.

Boom boom boom!
While the flagship was still looking for the white flag, several torpedoes streaked across the side of the ship and exploded in balls of water.

The armor on one side of the Theresa was twisted and opened, leaving a large hole at the waterline.

Miguel Maragonto was nearly thrown out by the violent vibration of the ship, but he quickly grabbed the fence and stood firm again.

"The boat is taking in water!" a soldier shouted.

Miguel Maragonto had a complicated expression on his face.

He said to the soldiers, "Soldiers, you have fulfilled your duty. Jump ashore and surrender!"

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the captain's room and locked himself in. He sat on the chair, picked up a photo frame on the table, and stroked it with his hand.

Maybe this is the best outcome for him.

(End of this chapter)