African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 743 - 47: The Battle of Lamu Bay

March 23rd, 3 a.m.

The East African Fleet headed north along the coastline to prevent the British from striking Mombasa, encountering each other in the waters of Lamu Bay.

To confront the main force of the British Royal Navy, nearly half of the East African Navy's main battleships moved north, radiating outward centered on Lamu and Mombasa.

8 a.m.

The lookout on the flying bridge reported: "Suspicious targets spotted ahead!"

Black smoke billowed on the sea surface in the northeast direction,

"All ships, prepare for combat stance, enemy ships entering range, fire immediately!" ordered Admiral Kerry of the East African Navy.

Meanwhile, the British expedition fleet finally saw the formation of the East African main ironclads, totaling seven in this northward movement, only half the number of the British fleet. East Africa's heaviest ironclad, Friedrich, was just over seven thousand tons, far inferior to the British ironclads. However, East Africa had supplemented a certain number of gunboats as support forces. Although the Mogadishu naval battle proved gunboats had no chance against ironclads, using them for assistance was still feasible.

"The British warships are more advanced, have larger-caliber guns, stronger firepower, and richer experience. But behind us is Mombasa City and Dar es Salaam, and beyond Dar es Salaam is our East African capital. So in this war, we cannot retreat, even if all ships sink, we cannot abandon the East African soldiers' belief in defending the motherland." Captain Will of Pelican began to give a motivational speech.

"Of course, we cannot feel inferior. The enemy comes from the Mediterranean direction, we can definitely take advantage of being rested. But the British troops have been battle-hardened, while we haven't yet had practical experience in this world. So we must prove to the world the courage of East African naval soldiers!"

Although the East African Navy had a long coastline, the lack of good harbors and the scarcity of islands restricted the deployment of East African naval forces.

For example, the British had military bases in both Djibouti and the Arabian Peninsula, and in the center of the Indian Ocean, they had the Seychelles to deploy naval forces.

East Africa only had a few large islands, of which the most important, Bemba Island and Zanzibar, were too close to the East African coastline, making them disadvantageous for maritime defense. The Comoros, however, were more favored, but their remote location wasn't in the contested area of this war.

When the East African Navy saw the British fleet, the British were also excited to encounter the main East African fleet. Currently, the disparity in strength was evident, with the British holding a twofold advantage.

However, after a night of sailing, the British fleet was now somewhat fatigued, which was unfavorable for combat, but still manageable for the British Navy, accustomed to long-time sea activities.

Kerry: "Our cannons' precision and power are far behind the British, and the quality and weight of our ships, as well as armor hardness, are inferior, so we absolutely cannot engage the British head-on. We must use wisdom and maintain appropriate distance for close combat, otherwise, the British artillery range will increasingly disadvantage us."

"Therefore, after the battle begins, the fleet will split into two, respectively commanded by Friedrich and Trieste, forming the first and second fleets, attacking the British from two directions."

"We'll use Friedrich as the lead to attract British ships. To avoid enemy division, after the battle starts, each ship in the first fleet should operate independently, opportunistically extending the first fleet's operational area."

"The second fleet is led by Major General Anton, using Trieste as the command ship, circling in a curve to time the attack on the British flank or rear. The second fleet must keep strength concentrated to avoid being defeated one by one!"

It's undeniable Kerry made a significant risk decision: dividing the fleet's command authority in half, even without knowing the specific outcome.

Of course, the inherent reason behind Kerry's decision was the massive gap between the East African Navy and the British Royal Navy, forcing the weaker East African side to take risks.

When the East African Naval Fleet appeared in two separate sections, creating a chaotic transformation formation, it indeed puzzled the British at first, obscuring East Africa's military intentions.

However, for the absolutely dominant British Royal Navy, it was natural to counter whatever came their way, yet East Africa's initiative to attack was somewhat unexpected to the British Royal Navy.

"Watch out for the East African Navy's right wing, which separates from their main force with a certain purpose. Gray Fox and Pig and Boar... keep an eye on them. Once the East African ships enter range, fire directly." Ordered Grafton, commander of the British Royal Navy Expeditionary Force.

At present, the East African Navy's command was already split into two, with Admiral Kerry directing the remaining ships saying: "Every ship should ensure to fire once entering limited range, don't waste shells. Ensure that when firing, there's a target instead of shooting aimlessly. All ships, mind the distance, leave passageways, and avoid early rounds of British artillery aiming."

Actually, the difference in cannon range between the two sides wasn't great. The British had certainly stronger firepower, and their ships were also superior in structure, faster in speed, while East Africa had the advantage of more agile maneuver.

Major General Kerry hoped to use guerrilla tactics to disperse British attention, prevent them from uniting forces, thus creating conditions for the second fleet.

"Boom..." With a loud bang, the East African first fleet was the first to open fire. Friedrich, Pelican, Nightingale, White Eagle, and four gunboats formed a line formation, creating an outward-to-inward attack trend in firepower.

Despite their outdated equipment, the East African Navy was consistently trained and maintained, so when faced with sudden warfare, soldiers experiencing combat for the first time were a bit nervous but quickly calmed down under the guidance of veterans, beginning to operate the ships per daily training.

While Britain, being the foremost naval power, had experienced sailors operating with fluent harmony, both sides had relatively high hit rates.

Nevertheless, the East African ships' overall manufacturing level was still inferior to Britain's, resulting in greater losses for the East African Navy. If no accidents occurred, with time, this East African fleet was destined to be defeated.

Admiral Kerry's command ship was already hit once, with Friedrich's port side blasted a large hole by artillery, yet Friedrich maintained its quality and wasn't significantly affected, able to continue fighting.

Friedrich had been in service in East Africa for over ten years, still bearing craftsmanship from the Austrian Royal Shipyard in Trieste, proving it was still a masterpiece of the era. Of course, East Africa bore high maintenance costs annually, but that's the price for developing a navy.

As a warship capable of directly challenging British ironclads, Friedrich's counterattack was quite sharp, severely damaging Britain's Slade and hitting Giant's stern, although the shell merely grazed the edge, not posing much of a threat to Giant. Conversely, East Africa's Antonio gunboat was ablaze under British Navy fire, with visible flames on the deck.

Apart from the four ironclads, other gunboats weren't in good shape either, lacking the thick resistance capabilities of ironclads, making any accidental damage likely to instantly incapacitate them.