Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Great Eastern Ravine

On September 17th, 1894, at 4:50 in the afternoon, a naval battle erupted in the waters of Dagong in the Yellow Sea, pushing the war between the Qing Empire and Japan to its climax.

Upon encounter, the Beiyang Fleet committed a mistake: it charged toward the Japanese fleet in a horizontal line formation. Strictly speaking, perhaps it was not a mistake at all. Since the advent of the steam era, even the Royal Navy of Britain was uncertain about how to conduct the next naval battle—tactics from the age of sail had long become obsolete. With tactics unclear, most warships built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries suffered from design flaws.

It could be said that only Feng Chengqian understood the tactics of naval warfare in the steam age. Yet even he possessed only a superficial grasp. By reflecting upon Feng Chengqian's actions over these years, especially the principles he insisted upon when designing new warships, one could roughly discern the naval tactics of this era.

The most prominent feature was the arrangement of gun turrets along the longitudinal axis of the warship. At that time, Feng Chengqian offered no explanation for this layout, for even if he had, few would have truly grasped its significance. This configuration’s greatest advantage was the ability to achieve full firepower on both broadsides.

Previously, turret layouts on armored ships were chaotic. For instance, the two battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan each had two turrets placed on opposite sides. Due to the obstruction of their aft superstructures, these ships could only achieve maximum firepower in a narrow frontal arc, while on the broadsides, they could unleash only half their firepower. Thus, in battle, these ships were best suited for head-on engagements.

Understanding this makes it clear why the Beiyang Fleet charged directly toward the Japanese fleet. Only in frontal combat could Dingyuan and Zhenyuan unleash their full firepower; even the four ships later purchased from the Second German Empire could achieve seventy-five percent firepower in frontal engagement, equivalent to their broadside firepower.

Therefore, the Beiyang Fleet’s tactics were not entirely mistaken. However, this approach had a significant flaw: the frontal firepower arc of armored ships was narrow, allowing one ship to engage only one enemy ship at a time. It was impossible for several ships to concentrate their firepower on a single enemy, turning fleet battles into isolated duels.

If the Beiyang Fleet were well-trained, the problem would not be so severe. Unfortunately, the quality of its officers and crew was negligible.

In truth, the Japanese fleet’s condition was little better. Facing the Beiyang Fleet’s head-on charge, the Japanese fleet adopted a column formation, led by the armored cruiser Kirishima purchased from Britain, with three sister ships following, then Yoshino, Takachiho, Akitsushima, and Naniwa, and another column composed of cruisers Matsushima, Chiyoda, Itsukushima, and Hashidate positioned to the right-rear of the armored ship formation.

As the battle commenced, both sides lost their formation. Several slow, older ships in the Beiyang Fleet lagged behind, while the faster ships did not reduce speed, transforming the horizontal line into a wedge-shaped formation.

The Japanese fleet fared little better: as the fight began, the four leading armored ships pulled away from the second group, and the cruiser column was too distant to enter the battle immediately, failing to encircle the Beiyang Fleet.

At this moment, the situation was extremely favorable for the Beiyang Fleet. Relying on the powerful firepower of Seryuan and three others, so long as they maintained speed, the Beiyang Fleet could break through the Japanese fleet at once, then deal with the Japanese ships one by one.

Unfortunately, such a golden opportunity was squandered. To wait for lagging ships, Seryuan and the other three slowed down during their full-speed charge and targeted not the Japanese fleet’s primary armored ship formation, but the second formation of four older armored ships, failing to deliver a decisive blow.

This was the only opportunity in the entire battle for the Beiyang Fleet.

At 5:15, the Japanese fleet’s first column turned right; Kirishima and three other giants accelerated, avoiding entanglement with the cruisers on the Beiyang Fleet’s flank.

When the Beiyang Fleet realized the Japanese first column was encircling from the side, it was already too late to adjust.

Though separated by more than ten kilometers, with the high-powered binoculars from the Tsai-Si Company, the chaos in the Beiyang Fleet was clearly visible.

By 5:35, after just twenty minutes of fierce shelling, the Beiyang Fleet collapsed.

At this point, the Japanese fleet’s column tactics played a pivotal role.

In the engagement, Yoshino and three other older armored ships desperately withstood the firepower of Seryuan and three others, buying precious time for the first column to encircle from the flank. Once Kirishima and the four new armored ships joined the battle, the Beiyang Fleet stood no chance.

Now, the superior quality of the Japanese Navy became apparent.

Despite the chaos and hardship of battle, the Japanese fleet’s main ships faithfully executed the commander’s orders: concentrate fire on Seryuan and the four new armored ships, wasting no effort on the older ships.

Clearly, the Japanese fleet’s combat principle was very simple: destroy the core strength of the Beiyang Fleet.

In contrast, the Beiyang Fleet’s command—and the quality of its ship captains—was markedly inferior.

Though there were brave souls in battle, the Beiyang Fleet’s command was disordered, each ship fighting on its own, with no effective coordination.

Witnessing this scene, Feng Chengqian felt deep pain—not for the Beiyang Fleet, but for the four giant ships, the super armored vessels he had crafted with his own hands.

Watching these advanced ships beset upon, Feng Chengqian could not help but ache.

Yet, these four ships were not sunk.

At 6:20, facing inevitable defeat, the Beiyang Fleet chose to retreat. Though the Japanese fleet had gained absolute advantage, it still struggled to pursue the Beiyang Fleet. In such a costly battle, even with the upper hand, the Japanese fleet suffered considerable losses. Over an hour of fighting left Kirishima and the four new armored ships with varying degrees of damage; Yoshino and the older armored ships bore the brunt of the shelling, severely damaged and essentially rendered combat-ineffective.

The Japanese fleet did not pursue at full speed; clearly, their commander was cautious. Had the faster ships rushed ahead and been surrounded by the Beiyang Fleet, the outcome could have turned from victory to disaster.

Thus, the Japanese fleet missed its best opportunity to annihilate the Beiyang Fleet entirely.

Of course, Feng Chengqian saw things differently, for he noticed a peculiar phenomenon.

"General, did you notice?" he asked.

"What?" Tirpitz was engrossed in the battle, even more so than Feng Chengqian.

"The Japanese ships’ guns fire quickly, and Seryuan was hit by over a hundred shells, yet was neither sunk nor lost its fighting power completely."

"That’s not so strange." Feng Chengqian was taken aback, looking toward Tirpitz.

"The Japanese ships use high-explosive shells, perhaps loaded with flammable substances—effective against exposed targets, but not against armored turrets," Tirpitz replied with a smile. "If they had used armor-piercing shells, the outcome would have been very different. Did you see Yoshino? It took fewer than twenty hits and was completely disabled."

Feng Chengqian frowned, realizing Tirpitz’s point.

In battle, Seryuan was the ship that struck Yoshino, and when the Qing Empire purchased Seryuan and her sisters, they followed Feng Chengqian’s advice to buy large quantities of armor-piercing shells.

Combat proved that in battles between armored ships, armor-piercing shells were the best choice.

Clearly, this was one of the differences from the age of sail. In that era, high-explosive and incendiary shells were the most effective weapons against warships.

For the Imperial Navy, this was a major revelation.

After a while, Tirpitz put down his binoculars and spoke to Feng Chengqian: "The Earl’s strong support for developing long-barreled naval guns—did you foresee such a situation?"

"You mean, am I clairvoyant?"

Tirpitz smiled, indicating exactly that.

"To be honest, my understanding of the Navy doesn’t even match yours; I simply have some insights into technological development. Previously it was just fumbling in the dark—good luck, and I happened to stumble upon it," Feng Chengqian replied with a smile. "It seems that from now on, all nations will pursue long-barreled naval guns, striving to enhance armor-piercing capability, and armor-piercing shells will replace other munitions in naval warfare."

"Where there is a spear, there is a shield; ship armor will also be strengthened."

"The problem is, everything has its limits; once the extreme is reached, progress becomes difficult." Feng Chengqian paused slightly, then continued, "In future, warships will surely grow larger and larger, but ultimately they’ll hit their limit. If we merely compete in tonnage, we’ll gain no advantage."

"The Earl means…?"

"Only by taking another path can we accomplish the most with the least, avoid draining national resources, and within the empire’s means, build a fleet strong enough to challenge the Royal Navy." Feng Chengqian exhaled deeply. "If we stray from this principle, defeat is certain."

"Such foresight, Earl, truly impresses me."

"No need for admiration—just understand it in your heart."

By now, the sun had sunk beneath the horizon, dusk had arrived, and the fierce battle was over. Except for three old cruisers and several torpedo boats, the Beiyang Fleet suffered no greater losses; the Japanese fleet lost no ships. It was a battle without a true conclusion.