Britannia's Spartan: The Dawlish Chronicles: June 1859 and April - August 1882 by Antoine Vanner

Author:Antoine Vanner [Vanner, Antoine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Old Salt Press LLC
Published: 2015-12-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The sea was calm as Leonidas, cleared for action but with her boats still stowed, crept from the western darkness. Dawlish had brought her far to the west of Chemulpo before turning north, and later eastwards, so that her approach to Socheong was blocked from view of the coaling harbour. The sky to the east lightened above the distant Korean mountains and against their silhouette the island’s bulk was undetectable. Then, as the sun’s burning disk heaved into sight and began its steady climb, Socheong’s outline was defined. The first rays reached Leonidas, their warmth welcome to the group on the bridge after the night’s chill. In another hour the air would be again be humid and uncomfortable, but by then Leonidas and her crew would have more serious concerns.

“Five miles, sir.” Takenaka nodded towards the scrub-covered hills of the island’s western extremity. The map he had prepared so thoroughly on the previous reconnaissance was pinned to a portable table next to the pelorus. His coloured pencils and his notebook were neatly arranged along its edge. On him in the coming hours would fall the responsibility of updating the map to reflect the island’s transformation into a defended base.

Turning to Edgerton, Dawlish said “Very well. Course as decided.”

Every manoeuvre in the next hour had already been thought through and would be followed strictly until and unless circumstances demanded. And “circumstances” meant Shimazu’s response. That fanatical and brutally efficient mind had probably expected Leonidas to appear and had planned accordingly.

Dawlish moved to the port wing of the bridge, his glasses raised. Behind him he could hear the orders to helmsman and engine room that would bring Leonidas swinging south, then east, parallel to Socheong’s southern shore. He could rely on Edgerton for faultless execution and on Latham’s engine and boiler-room crews for sustaining the maximum speed the ship was building up to. Aft he could hear Leigh’s instructions to the party streaming the patent log. Ten minutes passed and the island now lay to the north east. Leigh’s report indicated just over fifteen and a half knots and a second run of the log confirmed it.

Socheong was now directly to the north, and the coaling harbour was coming into view beyond the high promontory just west of it. Leonidas would be visible from there now and it was likely that Shimazu’s gun-crews on the heights would already be tracking her course. Below them the Kirishima’s hull and masts stood out against the sheds and coal heaps behind. There was no other vessel in the anchorage, no sign either of the Japanese torpedo boats.

“They may be moored inboard of her,” Edgerton was scanning through his glasses.

There was no way of knowing. Were it up to Dawlish he would employ them only by night. Any attack in daylight would be near suicidal. But that might not matter to the Japanese.

At least 8000 yards lay between Leonidas and the shoreline, longer by far than the effective range of either her six-inch weapons or the Kirishima’s.

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