In 1558 AD, Tang Shunzhi of the Ming Dynasty compiled a book called "Wu Bian". In the book, there was a detailed description of the construction and layout of an "underwater mine". It was used to attack the Wokou pirates who were harassing the Chinese coast at that time.
This was the earliest manually controlled, mechanically fired anchor mine. It used a wooden box as the mine shell, putty glued to the seam, and black gunpowder was stored inside. The firing device used a long rope that was not tied, and it was detonated by a person pulling the fire.
A Sevastopol rope was thrown under the wooden box, and there were three anchors that controlled the depth of the mine in the water.
In 1590 AD, China invented the earliest floating mine, the "Dragon King Cannon", which used incense as the time fuse. Nine years later, Wang Minghe of China invented the "Underwater Thunder", which used a rope as the time fuse.
In 1621 AD, the "Dragon King Cannon" and "Underwater Thunder" were improved into floating mines that used the time fuse, and many times damaged enemy ships in naval battles.
It was not until the 18th century that Europe and America began to use mines in actual combat. During the North American War of Independence, Americans attacked the British ships anchored at the mouth of the Delaware River in Philadelphia. On January 7, 1778, they put gunpowder and mechanical fuse in small beer barrels to make a mine, and let it float down the river.
At that time, although it did not hit a warship, it suddenly exploded when it was picked up by the British sailors, killing and injuring some people. It was known as the "Small Barrel War."
In the mid- 19th century, the Russian B. C. Yatubi invented the electrolyte-triggered anchor mine, and in the Crimean War of 1854-1856, Tsarist Russia used this kind of trigger anchor mine in harbor defense warfare.
Since then, various types of mines have been continuously developed and improved, and were widely used. In the American Civil War and the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the results of the mine were quite good.
From then on, countries paid more attention to mine warfare, and invested a lot of manpower and material resources to speed up the research and manufacture of various kinds of mines. In the First World War, both sides laid a total of 310,000 mines of various types, sinking a total of 148 surface ships, 54 submarines, and 586 merchant ships, totaling 1.22 million tons.
In modern naval battles, mines were an indispensable weapon. An old-fashioned mine that cost little was enough to destroy a modern warship that cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of US dollars.
What the Mediterranean Fleet deployed in the waters of Gibraltar this time were the automatic Underwater Dragon King Cannons and Underwater Thunder that Ouyang Shuo had brought with him. There were thousands of them, and they had emptied the inventory of the Combat Readiness Division.
The manufacturing technology of naval mines was the same as the manufacturing technology of firearms of the Ming Dynasty. After being improved by the Seventh Research Institute, the explosive power was greater, the trigger was more sensitive, and the deployment on the surface of the sea was more secretive.
This secret weapon had always been kept a secret by Shanhai City. Firstly, after it was invented, the Great Xia Dynasty did not engage in any large-scale naval battles. Secondly, it was used as a strategic weapon for the sake of secrecy.
After provoking the war in Morocco, in view of the complicated situation in the Mediterranean Sea, Ouyang Shuo decided to reveal the Underwater Dragon King Cannon to the world. He used it in this sea battle, and sure enough, it was a success.
Although the West was ahead of the East in terms of technology, they were still lagging behind in terms of torpedo technology. Therefore, neither Casillas nor Alexander Farnese expected to be attacked by a mine.
This carelessness, or rather, arrogance, led to a bitter outcome.
Although Alexander Farnese had urgently ordered the warships to stop advancing, how could the sailing battleships that were sailing at high speed be stopped just because he said so?
The sound of explosions was still incessant.
A large number of warships were attacked by naval mines, and those that were seriously damaged were already slowly sinking.
To make matters worse, in just a short while, the two formations of the Mediterranean Fleet had quickly approached, arranged themselves in a straight line, and began to fire at the Spanish Invincible Fleet.
The two formations, one in the south and one in the north, opened fire at full force, aiming at the enemy ships' sails, masts, and muzzles, and other key parts. Their primary goal was to make the enemy ships lose the ability to sail.
As mentioned earlier, it was very difficult to achieve a decisive result in a simple bombardment of sailing battleships in a short period of time. The only way was to break the masts.
A battleship without masts and sails was like a tiger without teeth.
Alexander Farnese was by no means an ordinary person. He quickly calmed down and commanded the fleet to fight back. The brave would win in a head-on confrontation. After all, the Invincible Fleet had the advantage in numbers and was not without the power to fight back.
It was just that if the bombardment continued, the Mediterranean Fleet still had the advantage in formation. Attacking from both sides was equivalent to two against one. Even if the Spanish Invincible Fleet was not destroyed, it would be crippled.
The accident happened to Casillas. Casillas, who had recovered slightly, had a lingering fear in his heart. As far as the eye could see, the Invincible Fleet had sunk nearly 30 main battleships in the blink of an eye.
This loss made Casillas pale.
The Invincible Fleet was the entire assets of Spain. It must not be lost completely.
"No, we can't fight like this."
Casillas immediately reacted. If the Invincible Fleet really suffered heavy losses in this battle, then the Gaul Fleet and the Roman Fleet would never give Spain a second chance to enter the Mediterranean Sea.
When that time came, it would really be hopeless. After all, reputation was less important than profit.
"Retreat, retreat!"
Casillas found Alexandre Farnese and gave the order to withdraw.
"What did you say?" Alexander Farnese could not believe it.
Unexpectedly, Casillas's attitude was firm. He said firmly, "General, at this juncture, protecting the fleet is the first priority. Don't tell me you don't know the delicate situation in the Mediterranean Sea?"
Hearing this, Alexandre Farnese was silent, as though he understood immediately. Although unwilling, Alexander Farnese had to admit that what Casillas said made sense. He gritted his teeth and said, "Then retreat!"
"Retreat!"
Soon, the order for the entire team to retreat was passed down.
Unfortunately, even if the Spanish Invincible Fleet wanted to retreat, not all of its battleships could be withdrawn. Whether it was struck by the mine or the masts of the Mediterranean Fleet, none of them could escape.
Such battleships actually accounted for one-third of the entire fleet.
Moreover, the Invincible Fleet had already entered the depths of the mine area. At this moment, it was very difficult to stop in a hurry and turn the ship around. In the process, it was inevitable that they would encounter the mine laid in the sea again and be hit again.
It was really a disaster that never came alone.
Fortunately, the Spanish Invincible Fleet was a well-trained and mature fleet. From the commander to the generals, and even the sailors and crew, they were all experienced.
Therefore, although there were a series of changes this time, they did not panic. One by one, the battleships completed a magnificent turn amidst the bursts of gunfire. In the process, they could even fire back.
The heritage of an old maritime empire was really not to be underestimated.
Seeing that the enemy was about to retreat, Alvaro naturally would not let it go so easily. He ordered the fleet to bypass the mine area and continue the chase. Relying on the territorial characteristics of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Mediterranean Fleet was slightly faster than the Invincible Fleet.
In addition, the battleships of the Invincible Fleet had more or less been attacked by the mine, which made it easier for the Mediterranean Fleet to catch up and suffer continuous bombardment.
Cannonballs streaked across the sky, exploding on the deck, causing people to be thrown off their feet.
This time, whether it was Casillas or Alexander Farnese, they both had a headache.
"No, we can't just retreat like this. If this continues, the fleet will be slowly exhausted to death. " At the critical moment, it was still Alexander Farnese who made a decision. He immediately ordered the 20 battleships to turn around again and connect them from head to tail, blocking the Mediterranean Fleet's pursuit route with the momentum of an iron chain across the river.
The remaining battleships took the opportunity to flee.
Seeing this, Alvaro sighed with a complicated expression and said, "You guys have escaped!" After all, he was born in Spain. Although he now had a different master, he could not bear to go against his old master again.
However, no matter how much he could not bear it, he still had to fight.
…
An hour later, the Spanish Invincible Fleet, which had lost an arm, finally got rid of the Mediterranean Fleet's pursuit. It once again passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and retreated back to the country in a sorry state.
It was really sad to die before the battle.
The entire battleship was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. Casillas was naturally ashamed. Thinking of the bold words before the departure and seeing the strange looks cast by the other Mediterranean Sea Lords, Casillas could hardly raise his head. He really had no face to face these allies again.
Seeing that the Spanish Invincible Fleet had been defeated by the two formations of the Mediterranean Fleet, losing more than half of its battleships and greatly reducing its strength, the Mediterranean Sea Lords were truly shocked and had different expressions.
From the looks of it, the already strange situation in the Mediterranean Sea was about to be stirred up again.
As for the two Moroccan Lords, Carolyn and Rainier, their faces were ashen. They knew better than anyone else that Morocco's last chance of victory had been completely destroyed in the huge explosion just now.
Rainier had a strong and unyielding personality. He had committed suicide on the spot and gone to the Reincarnation Hall in the capital.
In the end, Carolyn did not have the courage to commit suicide. She locked herself in the cabin and refused to see anyone else. She was just waiting for the moment the System declared Morocco's demise so that they could go to the trial ground together.
At this moment, another battleship sailed over from the sea ahead. It was the Mediterranean Fleet's Fifth Formation, which was stationed at the Base City. According to the plan, the Fifth Formation was naturally responsible for intercepting the Invincible Fleet.
Compared to Alexander Farnese, Alvaro was still more skilled and precise in his plans.
With the current state of the Spanish Invincible Fleet, they were not afraid of the Fifth Formation's provocation. They were even confident of winning the battle. However, Casillas, who had yet to recover from the shock, was unwilling to continue fighting. He was worried that the fleet would be held back by the enemy, and the other two formations would catch up with them.
By then, the Invincible Fleet would not be able to escape under the pincer attack.
Therefore, when he saw the Fifth Formation, Casillas did not even think about it. He immediately dispatched another 20 battleships to intercept them, while the remaining main force escorted the flagship, took a detour, and fled back to the country.
The proud Casillas was completely terrified by the Mediterranean Fleet this time.
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