Chapter 286 Fleet
A week later, the 105th Regiment finally set off.
Thanks to Wells's operation and the green light from the Minister of the Navy, Charles' reinforcement fleet was luxurious.
The fleet consisted of five transport ships, two of which carried troops, three of which carried supplies, and two of which also carried landing craft and amphibious landing ships respectively.
There were also three destroyers and two Q ships escorting.
The so-called Q-ship is an armed ship disguised as a merchant ship. It was invented by the British to deal with submarines.
They had their armed ships disguised as merchant ships and left alone at sea.
When German submarines encounter these "merchant ships", they usually do not directly sink them with torpedoes, but choose a more economical method: surface and attack at close range. At this time, the Q ship suddenly launches a counterattack against the submarine.
But this type of ship played no role in actual combat. After suffering losses once or twice, the Germans no longer did such stupid things, especially since the mass-produced Q ships looked similar.
Charles was on the transport ship "Henri", and Tijani was also on this ship.
This was Tijani's suggestion. Before setting sail, he asked Charles in a pleading tone: "Colonel, normally you should take the flagship Adventure, which is a destroyer, faster and safer. But..."
Before he could finish, Charles understood what he meant: "You want me to train soldiers with you?"
"Yes." Tijani nodded and said, "They are the army. Many of them have never been on a ship before, or even seen the sea, but now they have to carry out a landing operation. It will take five days to get to the destination. I hope to use this time to let the soldiers adapt to the combat methods of landing craft."
"No problem." Charles agreed: "I'll be on that ship."
Tijani chose the Henry because it was a transport ship carrying landing craft.
Before launching the boat, Jani had made preparations, placing two real landing craft on the deck. Soldiers entered the landing craft in batches for the exercise.
But here’s the thing…
Soon after the fleet set out to sea, it encountered wind and waves, and Charles immediately felt unwell.
Charles has an independent room. Although it is only a few square meters, it has a bed and a desk. There is also a desk lamp fixed on the desk. This environment is quite good for a crowded transport ship.
But Charles felt that he needed a bucket more.
He had never known what it was like to ride on a boat.
The sky was filled with dark clouds and strong winds. The whole world seemed to be spinning, sometimes this way, sometimes that way. The angle at which the ship was tilted seemed like it might capsize at any time.
Charles told himself again and again in his heart:
It's okay, Charles won't get seasick. It's impossible for Charles to get seasick!
But he finally couldn't hold it in and vomited on the floor with a "wow".
As if he heard a noise, the orderly Adrian knocked on the door and came in. He saw the vomit on the floor and smelled the sour smell in the air, and immediately understood something.
"Wait a minute, Colonel," he soothed, "It's okay!"
After a while, Adrian brought a rag and a wooden bucket with a small amount of water in it, as if to prevent it from spilling.
Ciel couldn't believe it. He asked Adrian with difficulty: "Can you clean in this situation?"
"Of course, Colonel." Adrian replied calmly, busying himself with his hands as he spoke: "Perhaps you don't know, I am a fisherman's child. I have been accustomed to life on a boat since I was a child. To me, any boat is the same."
Ciel suddenly felt that Adrian's image became taller.
I was already feeling extremely uncomfortable, but Adrian was still able to clean the floor.
And he was very skilled in cleaning up the vomit in a short while. Not long after he left, he returned with the cleaned wooden barrel. He placed the barrel at the head of Charles' bed and whispered, "Don't worry, Colonel, I will keep it a secret for you."
Ciel smiled bitterly, "They will find out sooner or later. I feel it will take at least a few days."
"The secret is not to fight it." Adrian acted like a wise man: "Relax yourself, feel its rhythm, and then tell yourself: I know you are going this way, I know you are going that way...soon you will adapt."
Ciel tried the method Adrian said and indeed felt better.
Seasickness is actually a psychological fear.
In addition, we have been on land for a long time and have become accustomed to the feeling of being "down to earth", so we cannot adapt to the large shaking of the boat.
Tijani lived just opposite the Shire.
Charles believed he knew about it, but he never came out to take a look. This was another advantage of Tijani, he was very aware of human nature.
After a sleepless night, Charles felt better only the next morning when the storm subsided.
After experiencing a storm, Charles found that the slight shaking was nothing, but he still had no appetite and didn't want to eat.
He was so sleepy at this time that he fell asleep in a daze.
…
What Charles didn't know was that while he was still heading to the Dardanelles, a French fleet had already arrived there.
This fleet was sent by Joffre, carrying two landing craft converted from coal carriers, commanded by Major General Honoré and an infantry regiment of about 4,000 people.
As soon as Major General Honoré arrived at the Dardanelles, he could not wait to submit a combat request to Major General Gaiplatte: "I hope to be able to join the battle as soon as possible, General, so that we can help the British capture V Beach."
Major General Geprat was a little confused: "Perhaps you should wait for Charles. He will arrive in a few days. Then we can study the landing plan..."
"No, General." Major General Honoré insisted on landing immediately: "We should catch the enemy by surprise. Now everyone knows that Charles is on the road, including the Ottomans and Germans."
This is true. When Charles set off, there were even reporters taking pictures at the port, and many people came to see him off after hearing the news.
But this was James' idea. He must launch an attack and win before Charles arrived.
Because James was afraid that once Charles reached the Dardanelles and gained control of the French fleet, he would soon discover the two landing ships, the River Clyde and the Cedric.
If these two landing ships were used by Charles, his invention would pave the way for Charles' success, which was not what he wanted to see.
Major General Geprat could not make the decision on his own; he could only seek the advice of Major General Robeck.
But there is no need to ask this question at all. Major General Robeck is British. The French are willing to go to the battlefield to fight, so how could Major General Robeck not agree?
With a wave of his hand, he immediately agreed to Major General Honoré's request, even praised Major General Honoré, and called on others to learn from this behavior as a representative of "enterprising spirit".
(End of this chapter)
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