Marin hurriedly boarded the poop of 2501, and began to observe the four pirate ships approaching with binoculars. Through the telescope, Marin saw that the four pirate ships on the other side were not large, and their displacement did not exceed 100 tons. However, the four ships were all full of sailors, and there were piles of sailors on the deck.
These people were dark-skinned, like Negroes. But in fact, these people are not black, but white. It's just that the sun in Morocco is so sunny that these pirates are all tanned, much like the mulatto blacks in the United States in later generations. It's dark, but not very dark.
The sailboats they use are all Arabian dhows, which are more flexible because they are small. Moreover, they are also very smart, instead of driving directly against the 250 formation, they are driving in a southwest direction, intending to stop the 250 formation going south in front.
The sea area where the 250 fleet is located is rather embarrassing, because it is 30 degrees north of the humble, so it belongs to the westerly belt. What is blowing in front of you is the southwest wind. It stands to reason that the fleet is traveling against the wind. Therefore, the two ships did not continue to hoist the European square sails, but replaced them with triangular sails to facilitate sailing against the wind. Because the square sail is not easy to use in the headwind area.
However, the Canary Cold Current runs from north to south. Therefore, it is also convenient for ships to sail south. Following the majestic Canary current heading south, even if the wind is headwind, it's nothing. What's more, the triangular sail can still sail through the "Z" shape flexibly and use the headwind.
The 250 fleet sailed south, not directly down the river, but using the triangular sails, first maneuvering in a westward direction, and then, after a certain distance, turned the rudder and sailed southeast. And because of the thrust of the Canary cold current and the side thrust of the southwest wind, in fact, sailing east by south is the fastest. Because, under the combined force of the Canary cold current and the southwest wind, the direction a little southerly to the east is the direction with the greatest force.
It's just that Morocco is in the east, and Marin and the others naturally won't sail to Morocco. Therefore, the direction is generally controlled, first west by south, and then south by east. In this way, the direction of sailing due south is generally maintained.
This is when the wind is strong enough. If the wind is weak, the ship may directly lower the sails and head south along the cold Canary Current.
Marin observed the four pirate ships on the opposite side, and found that the four Arabian dhows, if the wind was down, would definitely not be as fast as his two ships. However, when the wind is headed, because the ship is small, it is more conducive to sailing against the wind than the two cumbersome Spanish galleons. Therefore, in the end, these four Arabian sailing ships were able to rush to the south of their own fleet.
In fact, Marin didn't want to fight this battle. Because, the sailors who put it on have never been in battle at all, and have little battlefield experience. Only the 50 guards I brought with me had the experience of fighting on the battlefield. However, my 50 subordinates only have the experience of fighting on land, not on board.
You know, fighting on a boat requires not only good martial arts, but also good enough balance. Because the ship is constantly shaking on the sea. Without good balance, fighting on board is very problematic. And those sailors selected from the fishermen's children may have no problem controlling the ship, but when it comes to naval battles, it is their first experience.
You know, Marin estimated that there were at least 200 Moorish pirates on the opposite side of the 4 ships. The 2501 I was riding was okay, and it was protected by 50 highly skilled men. Had 2502 been jumped onto deck by the Moors, it would have been slaughtered. Because none of the sailors over there is good at fighting.
Therefore, the first thing Marin has to do is to try his best to prevent his fleet from being jumped on board by the opposing pirates...
Therefore, Marin ordered Captain Kidd next to him:
"Captain Kidd, inform 2502 that they will no longer sail side by side with 2501, but line up in a 'one' formation..."
"What's the word 'one'?" Captain Kidd was a little confused.
Marin turned his head, remembering that Europeans don't know Chinese characters, and of course they don't know Chinese characters. So he put it another way:
"It is to make 2502 line up with us, we are in front, and they are behind..."
"Understood!" Then, Captain Kidd found someone with a loud voice, used a dirt horn, and began to shout towards 2502, which was sailing side by side with 2501...
"I forgot the semaphore, and they still use shouting, so backward!" Marin shook his head, not optimistic about the way of shouting and commanding in the sea. Therefore, when Columbus came back, Marin decided to formulate a set of semaphore to facilitate the command and communication between ships at sea.
Because of the strong wind and waves on the sea, there is a lot of noise. By shouting, you may be able to communicate with a ship that is closer, but if you are farther away, it is useless to shout your throat. Moreover, once the artillery battle starts, all shouting is in vain. Because, all sounds were covered by the rumble of guns...
2502 quickly slowed down and got behind 2501. They also understood that Marin was going to implement the tactic of side artillery salvo.
This tactic has been tried several times in the Atlantic Ocean west of France after passing through the English Channel. Although not very skilled, but everyone knows how to do it. But no one expected that the practical application of this new tactic would come so quickly.
At this time, the sailors on the fleet were very nervous and their morale was low. After all, these sailors have never participated in real battles. Moreover, these fishermen's children are also a little afraid of pirates.
However, Marin has already expressed his attitude by placing the 2501 he was riding in the front. As an earl, he has already charged forward, what else can others say? If Marin puts 2502 in front, maybe the sailors on 2502 will be overwhelmed...
In fact, Marin was also very nervous at this time. This was his first command of a naval battle. He had never had a similar experience before. At most, I just played the big sailing game, went to the forum and watched a few movies.
But through the naval battle movies he has seen, Marin knows two main points-the first is that in the naval battle of sailing warships, it is necessary to seize a favorable position to facilitate the maneuvering of the ship. In this way, even if you can't fight, you can escape; second, the side gun salvo, it is best to get close to the enemy ship. The closer you are, the more accurate the artillery is...
Naval guns are different from fortress guns on land. The base of the fortress guns is solid and stable, and the firing angle is stable. Basically, as long as you aim, the hit rate is still relatively high.
The naval gun is installed on the ship, and the "base" of the artillery - the ship itself is constantly swaying. Don't underestimate the sloshing. The artillery has a long range. If the hull sways a little, it may cause a shooting error of tens of meters or more.
Therefore, the British Navy of later generations simply started salvoing when the distance between ships was within 500 meters. Otherwise, the distance is far away, and it is impossible to hit at all.
Even, in the Trafalgar naval battle, Nelson directly put his own ship close to the French warship, and let the artillery directly stick to the enemy ship. However, it was precisely because of his audacity that Nelson himself was shot by a French sailor's musket. Therefore, he hung up...
If Marin wants to use artillery salvo tactics to defeat the pirates in front of him, he must do two things-the first is to try to pull the distance to within 500 meters before firing; the second is to choose a good course so that it is convenient to maneuver and avoid Get entangled by an opposing ship and jump aboard by an opposing pirate.
Because, although the pirates on the opposite side were outdated in tactics, they were used to jumping off boats and hacking people. In terms of close combat, every surviving pirate is not a fuel-efficient lamp. If they want to fight with them, the sailors under Marin are not opponents at all, and it is easy to be "cut melons and vegetables".
However, according to Marin's observation, the pirate ship on the opposite side has no artillery at all, and it is the most traditional pirate who relies on boarding to meet the enemy. Therefore, as long as Marin's fleet is not jumped on board by the pirates of the opponent, the opponent is completely the target of the artillery...