导语
Every great battle in the world will determine the fate of two countries.
On September 17, 1894, the Japanese combined fleet and the Qing dynasty's most elite Beiyang fleet launched a steam ironclad naval battle in the Dadonggou area of the Yellow Sea.
Of course, the results of the battle are all sad. The Japanese Joint Fleet and the Beiyang Fleet had the destruction ratio of 0:5, and the Japanese Joint Fleet took the lead in fleeing the battlefield and won the first stage. (Note: The four ships of Jingyuan, Zhiyuan, Chaoyong, and Yangwei in the Beiyang Fleet were destroyed in the naval battle, while the Guangjia ship fled the battlefield with the Tongjiyuan ship and was destroyed by after hitting the rocks.
北洋舰队舰舰模型
Actually, the confrontation between the Beiyang Fleet and the Japanese Joint Fleet is very delicate. That is, the Beiyang Fleet adopted Dingyuan and Zhenyuan two iron-clad battleships as the fleet's lateral heavy fire suppression units to achieve fire coverage in controllable sea areas and escort cruisers. The Japanese joint fleet uses a longitudinal echelon composed of fast ships and rapid-fire guns to achieve light maneuverability and attacks on the battle area.
Through the analysis of the attack routes of the two fleets in the Yellow Sea naval battle, the Beiyang Fleet’s offensive and defensive formations do have problems such as inefficient scheduling and range deviation. So, is the improper tactical strategy an important reason for the failure of the battle?
First guerrilla ship analysis
Under the policy of expanding the armament of the Japanese joint fleet, the fleet was divided into the first squadron, the second squadron, the first guerrilla, and the second guerrilla. During the Yellow Sea battle, the Japanese combined fleet used almost elite first team and first guerrilla to form a maritime offensive and defensive system.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the content below, the ship-specific characteristics of the first guerrilla are briefly introduced. The first guerrilla group consisted of four cruisers: Yoshino, Takachiho, Akitsu, and Naniwa.
Yoshino cruiser
- The four cruisers are relatively young
Yoshino was built in 1893, Takachiho was built in 1886, Akitsushima Built in 1894, the Naniwa ship belongs to Takachiho's sister ship and was built in 1885. ( Note: After 1887, the Beiyang Fleet did not add new ships, but also to replace the more advanced shipborne artillery system )
- The mobile attack force of the four cruisers is also very powerful
Yoshino has four 6-inch rapid-fire guns, Takachiho has two 47mm heavy Haqikes rapid-fire guns (weapon systems are the same as Naniwa), Akitsu Island has four 152mm Armstrong rapid-fire guns, and 120mm Armstrong rapid-fire guns 6 Doors and other rapid-fire gun systems. (Note: Although the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships are equipped with 57mm rapid-fire guns, they have low firepower and low rate of fire, which cannot form effective rapid-fire combat power. )
- The four cruisers have powerful maritime mobility
The Yoshino ship outputs a speed of 23 knots with a main engine power of 15,000 horsepower, the Takachiho ship outputs a speed of 18.5 knots with a main engine power of 7000 horsepower, and the Akitsushima ship outputs a speed of 19 knots with a main engine power of 8,400 horsepower (Naniwa The speed is the same level).
However, the average speed of the two ironclad ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan is only 16 knots (Dingyuan ship 14.5 knots, Zhenyuan ship 15.4 knots), and only the newer Zhiyuan ship has a speed of 18.5 knots. The Japanese combined fleet with Matsushima as the core and the Beiyang fleet with Dingyuan as the core have an average speed difference of 1.6 knots, which means that the pursuit efficiency of the Beiyang fleet will be greatly reduced.
Dingyuan Ship (1:1 copy)
After briefly introducing the maneuvering differences between the First Guerrilla and the Beiyang Fleet, I will writeRe-analyze the changes in the formation of the three war stages in the Yellow Sea battle.
Analysis of the formation system
- The first stage
At the beginning of the naval battle, facing the sudden Japanese combined fleet. Ding Ruchang ordered the ships to form "horns filed" to meet the enemy ships.
has a comment on this formation in the "Military Dacihai": The horns squaring formation adopts a column sequence, and the column consists of multiple echelon formations composed of 3 ships, which advance at a constant speed.
From my personal understanding, the warship at the "horn" can protect the left and right sides of the fleet from close-range attacks. Using Dingyuan and Zhenyuan as the horns of the fleet can effectively prevent the enemy fleet's "in-line" or "cone formation" from consciously breaking through the central defense line of the fleet, preventing the fleet from falling into a dangerous situation surrounded by division.
At the same time, with the strategic intent of the enemy fleet to break through in the middle, this fleet took the opportunity to encircle the enemy ships on both sides. It is really "avoid its edge and attack its weakness"!
The flying geese of the Beiyang Fleet at the beginning of the naval battle
At the same time, the first guerrilla of the Japanese Joint Fleet adopted the " squaring single vertical formation " to move forward at a constant speed. Beiyang Fleet. The first guerrilla team has a large number of rapid-fire guns and powerful maneuverability. The entire team is lined up in a single vertical, which effectively exerts the firepower coverage of the sideboard weapon system on the regional ships, and can quickly break through the weak line of defense on both sides of the Beiyang Fleet. Array".
Facing the superiority of the Japanese combined fleet fast ship, Ding Ruchang and Liu Buchan made a decisive decision. decided to take Dingyuan and Zhenyuan two iron-clad battleships as the vanguard, and give full play to the four 305mm Krupp breech artillery of the bow. The heavy firepower suppressed the effect, thus effectively responding to the encirclement and offensive situation of the first guerrilla.
Therefore, the Beiyang Fleet once again changed its formation to the "horned geese". In terms of form, any enemy ship that enters the geese formation will encounter alternate shooting from the warships on both sides at the same time. However, the biggest problem with the "Horned Geese Array" is that the fleet only has a joint at the "Goose Head", which requires extremely high command and coordination capabilities of the Beiyang Fleet.
Jiawu naval battle Beiyang fleet formation test
As expected, the Dingyuan ship sent out the signal to change the formation soon. Due to the temporary change of the fleet, the order of the advancement of the ships is inconsistent, and finally a zigzag horizontal formation resembling a "human" shape is formed. Among them, the two wooden iron-clad warships, Chaoyong and Yangwei, are seriously aging and their advancement speed is greatly reduced.
As the commander of the Japanese joint fleet, Yutoi Ito will naturally not let go of this fighter. He ordered the first guerrilla to effectively evade the two iron-clad ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, and attacked the Beiyang Fleet on the right side, concentrated rapid artillery to destroy the Chaoyong and Yangwei ships, thereby destroying the Beiyang Fleet's right defensive formation.
Faced with the continuous attacks of the first guerrillas, they were super brave and sunk successively. At this point, a gap was torn on the right side of the Beiyang Fleet. However, Hiei and Akagi of the Japanese joint fleet were also attacked by frontal artillery fire from the Dingyuan ship and lost their combat capabilities.
Beiyang Fleet battleship
In fact, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan should have given full play to their "heavy artillery and strong armor" advantage. However, with the destruction of the Dingyuan signal flag, Ding Ruchang was also traumatized by the shelling, and the ships of the Beiyang were immediately caught in a melee. From the military point of view, wartime change is to establish a good operational order level, and it is necessary to ensure that there are prepared commanders and command systems.
- The second stage
Facing the poor performance of the first stage, Ito Yuhiro decided to abandon the first guerrilla team and the Beiyang Fleet to fight frontal to avoid the rapid column from being threatened by heavy artillery.
At the same time, with the mobile superiority of the first guerrilla, it went around to the weak defensive side of the Beiyang Fleet and formed a joint offensive with the Japanese United Fleet against the Beiyang Fleet.
The commander of the 1st guerrilla is the navy leader of the British navy Kozo Tsuboi, and his Yoshino ship is also the flagship of the 1st guerrilla. Tingjing Hangzo received the "return" signal from the Matsushima ship. He misunderstood that he had recirculated to the front of the Beiyang Fleet, and the first guerrilla immediately returned to the Dingyuan ship combat area in a single vertical formation.
Japan's combined fleet flagship Matsushima
Ito Yuhei had to lead the remaining warships of the team (namely Matsushima, Chiyoda, Itsukushima, Hashidate, Fuso Ship, Nishikyo Maru), from the sea area on the right to the rear of the Beiyang Fleet to attack. uses the rapid-fire gun pressure of the first guerrilla to set the firepower output and the sea maneuver distance of the two ships, Zhenyuan and Zhenyuan, effectively disassembling the iron-clad ships and cruisers of the Beiyang Fleet and destroying them each.
The speed of most ships of the Beiyang Fleet is only 16 knots. The smaller speed of means that the zigzag formation of the Beiyang Fleet will be gradually broken by the Japanese ships, and the Japanese fleet's combat radius will also be enlarged.
However, the Japanese Joint Fleet, which besieged the Beiyang Fleet from the rear, exposed the ship’s sides to the heavy artillery nets of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan. The Xijing Maru ship of was crossed by the Dingyuan ship and the ships. The fire was seriously injured and fled the battlefield.
As the Beiyang Fleet’s command system could not be restored, the coordination of the ships was greatly reduced. The balance of the Yellow Sea battle began to tilt toward the Japanese combined fleet, and Ito Yuki decided to attack the flagship of the Beiyang Fleet-Dingyuan Ship , Causing the Beiyang Fleet forces to shake.
Beiyang Fleet’s file formation
Jingyuan and Zhiyuan were destroyed in the process of defending Dingyuan. At this time, the flank of the Dingyuan ship was completely exposed to the rapid-fire muzzle of the first guerrilla. The Beiyang Fleet has only Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, Laiyuan, and Jingyuan left to maintain the battlefield pattern, while the Japanese combined fleet still has 9 warships that have not been hit hard. Formally speaking, the Japanese combined fleet has occupied the Yellow Sea. Sea control over sea areas.
- The third stage
The four Beiyang ships attempted to approach and formed a square defensive formation, but they were divided into two by the Japanese fleet and the first guerrilla. In other words, the heavy artillery and light artillery of the Beiyang Fleet could not effectively cover the Japanese fast column.
According to the "History of the Qing Dynasty": Yuhei Ito, as a living force at sea that completely defeated the Beiyang Fleet, was surrounded by five ships of his team, Matsushima, Chiyoda, Itsukushima, Hashidate, and Fuso. The two ships of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan besieged the two ships of Jingyuan and Laiyuan with the first guerrilla.
However, after the flagship Matsushima of the team was severely damaged by the Dingyuan ship, the ships " cooperate with each other and fight freely ", which means that the combat radius of the ship is not restricted and adjacent to each other. The warships formed a siege offensive. After being attacked by the fast column, the Jingyuan ship and the Laiyuan ship retreated to Dalu Island for an emergency rest.
Pingyuan Steel Cruiser
That is to say, only Dingyuan and Zhenyuan remain in the Yellow Sea area with heavy artillery and shipboard rapid-fire cannons that continue to destroy the encirclement of the Japanese ship, and An orderly and stable battlefield form with a square formation. ( Note: In the later stage of the battle, the Jingyuan ship and the incoming ship, which were rested on Dalu Island, returned to the fleet. The Jingyuan ship served as the flagship, and the Japanese joint fleet's Hashidate also served as the flagship )
The first guerrilla squadron shielded its team from the sea area in an orderly manner, and also jumped out of the coverage of the Dingyuan ship’s heavy artillery. It took more than 5 hours for the Yellow Sea battle to end with the high damage ratio of the Beiyang Fleet.
Reflection
In fact, from the perspective of the maritime offensive and defensive system of the entire Beiyang Fleet, when the " horns fish-through array" changed to "horned geese", due to the speed of the ships and the influence of ocean fog and ocean currents , Too late to quickly lay out the maneuvering distance of the battleship.
so that when attacking the Japanese combined fleet, the Beiyang Fleet showed a loose horizontal formation. Although Ding Ruchang wanted to be sureThe Yuanhe Zhenyuan ship served as a forward fortress to cover the other cruisers. However, the multi-echelon rapid saturation attack of the first guerrilla has exposed the flanks of the Beiyang Fleet to the Japanese Joint Fleet from the destruction of the Yangwei and Chaoyong ships.
Jiawu naval battle (hand-painted)
From a macro perspective, the Beiyang Fleet’s "horned geese" ( Note: formed a sawtooth horizontal formation during the actual transformation ) is exactly the same as the single vertical guerrilla tactics of the Japanese combined fleet.
The tactical reason for the failure of the Beiyang Fleet is, to a greater extent, the lack of a prepared command system and the ability of each ship to cooperate with each other offensive and defensive. As a result, battlefield control will soon be transferred to a mobile superiority and a complete command system () That is, the Japanese joint fleet mainly consisting of the command system of the unit, the first guerrilla command system and the reserve command system ).
Ma Jifen, a foreigner of the Beiyang Fleet on board, recorded in the "Yellow Sea Battle Review" that the Japanese combined fleet relied on the rapid encirclement of the column to attack the horizontally zigzag formation of the Beiyang fleet. The cowardly fleeing of the Jiyuan and Guangjia ships indirectly caused chaos in the formation of the Beiyang fleet, and also caused an out-of-control impact on the command chain of each ship.
邓世昌Mural
Although there were many factors that contributed to the defeat of the Beiyang Fleet in the Yellow Sea battle (the Qing court’s military and political system was decayed, and its armed forces were behind). But from a tactical point of view, the change in the formation has led to a tilt of the balance of war, which can more vividly reflect the detailed progress of naval battles.
Text: Little history reporter, refer to "History of the Qing Dynasty" and historical materials of the Sino-Japanese War of Jiawu
Picture: Part of the site pictures, network pictures, the copyright of the pictures belongs to the original author
