King of German Mercenaries

Marin hurriedly boarded the poop of 2501 and began to observe the four approaching pirate ships with binoculars. Through the telescope, Marin saw that the other four pirate ships were not large, and their displacement did not exceed 100 tons. However, the four ships were full of sailors, piled upon the deck.

These people are dark-skinned, like black people. But in fact, these people are not black, but belong to white. It's just that the sunshine here in Morocco is so good that these pirates are tanned, much like the black and white blacks in the United States in later generations. It's dark, but not very dark.

The sailboats they use are all Arabian dhows, because they are small and flexible. Moreover, they are also very smart, not driving directly in front of the 250 formation, but driving in a southwest direction, intending to stop the 250 formation in front of them preparing to go south.

The sea area where the 250 fleet is located is 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 heading against the wind. Therefore, the two ships did not continue to hang European sails, but replaced them with jibs to facilitate sailing against the wind. Because horizontal sails are not easy to use in headwind areas.

However, the cold Canary current flows from north to south. Therefore, it is convenient for ships to sail south. Following the majestic southern Canary cold, even if the wind is against it, it doesn't matter. What's more, the jib can still flexibly sail through the "Z" shape and use the headwind.

The 250 fleet sailed south, not directly downstream, but using jibs, first maneuvering in a westward direction, and then, after a certain distance, turned the rudder and sailed southeast. And due to the thrust of the cold Canary current and the side thrust of the southwesterly wind, in fact, sailing south-east is the fastest. Because, under the combined force of the Canary cold current and the southwesterly wind, the direction to a little southerly to the east is the direction with the greatest force.

It's just that the east direction is Morocco, so Marin and the others will not sail to Morocco. Therefore, the direction is generally controlled, first to the west to the south, and then to the south to the east. In this way, the direction of sailing to the south is generally maintained.

This is when the wind is strong enough that, if the wind is weak, the boat may simply lower the sails and head south along the Canary Current.

Marin observed the four pirate ships on the opposite side, and found that the four Arabian dhows, if the wind was favorable, would definitely not be able to keep up with his two ships. However, when the wind is headed, because of the small size of the boat, it is more conducive to sailing in the wind than the two heavier Spanish galleons. Therefore, in the end, these four Arabian sailboats were able to reach the south of their own fleet.

In fact, Marin didn't want to fight this battle. Because the sailors who wear it have never fought at all and have no battlefield experience. Only the 50 guards he brought with him had experience in fighting on the battlefield. However, of his 50 subordinates, he only had experience in fighting on land, and had no experience in fighting on ships.

You know, fighting on a boat requires not only good martial arts, but also a good enough balance. Because the ship is constantly shaking at sea. Without good balance, fighting on board can be problematic. And those sailors selected from the fishermen's children may have no problem in controlling the ships, but when it comes to naval battles, they are the first time.

You know, Marin has estimated that there are at least 200 Moorish pirates on the 4 ships on the opposite side. The 2501 he was riding on was fine, and he was protected by 50 subordinates with high martial arts skills. Had 2502 been jumped on deck by the Moors, it would have been slaughtered. Because, none of the sailors over there are 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 other pirates...

So, Marin wanted Captain Kidd next to him to order:

"Captain Kidd, inform 2502 that he will no longer sail side by side with 2501, but line up in a formation of 'one'..."

"What's the word 'one'?" Captain Kidd was a little stunned.

Marin had a row of heads, remembering that Europeans don't know Chinese characters, and of course they don't know the word array. So he put it another way:

"It's just 2502 lined up with us, we're in front, they're behind..."

"Understood!" Then, Captain Kidd found someone with a loud voice and started shouting at 2502 sailing side by side with 2501 with a soil horn...

"I've forgotten the semaphore, and it's really backward!" Marin shook his head, not optimistic about the way of shouting and commanding in the sea. So, when Columbus returned, Marin decided to develop a set of semaphores to facilitate 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 the ship that is closer, but if you are far away, it is useless to shout. Moreover, once the artillery battle begins, all shouting is in vain. Because, all the sounds were covered up by the rumbling cannons...

The 2502 slowed down quickly and was behind the 2501. They also understood that Marin was going to execute a broadside 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, none of these sailors had ever participated in a real battle. Moreover, for pirates, these fishermen's children are also a little afraid.

However, Marin has shown his attitude by putting his 2501 ahead of him. He, an earl, is charging ahead, what else can others say? If Marin had the 2502 ahead, maybe the sailors on the 2502 would have lost their temper...

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 watched, 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 ships. In this way, even if you can't beat it, you can escape; second, the broadside cannon salvo, preferably close to the enemy ship. The closer you get, the more accurate the artillery is…

The naval gun is different from the fortress gun on the land. The base of the fortress gun is firm 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 shaking. Don't underestimate this sway, the artillery has a long range, and as long as the hull sways a little, it may lead to a shooting error of tens of meters or more.

Therefore, the British Navy of later generations simply started salvos when the distance between the ships was within 500 meters. Otherwise, the distance is too long, and it is impossible to hit at all.

Even, in the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson directly put his own ship next to the French battleship, and let the artillery directly close to the enemy ship. However, it was precisely because he was too bold that Nelson himself was shot by the French sailor's musket. So he hung up...

If Marin wanted to use artillery salvo tactics to defeat the pirates in front of him, he had to do two things - the first is to try to pull the distance within 500 meters before firing; So as not to get entangled in the other side's boat and jump on the boat by the other side's pirates.

Because, although the pirates on the opposite side are backward in tactics, they are used to jumping ship and hacking people. In terms of close combat, every pirate who survives is not a fuel-efficient lamp. If you want to fight with them, the sailors under Marin are not opponents at all, and it is easy to be "chopping melons and vegetables".

However, according to Marin's observation, the pirate ship on the opposite side had no artillery at all, just the most traditional pirates who fought against the enemy on the side. Therefore, Marin's fleet, as long as the other pirates do not jump onto the ship, the other party is completely the target of artillery...