Chapter 1016 It was actually Ciel who misled you
However, what shocked them was far more than that.
In other words, the Minister of Munitions and his people had no idea what the sinking of an aircraft carrier meant.
In World War II and subsequent naval battles, once all aircraft carriers were sunk, it was equivalent to "failure", a complete failure.
All other ships have only one option: escape, otherwise they will be hunted down and sunk by the aircraft carriers one by one.
The Minister of Munitions and others were not aware of this, they were still thinking:
"We also have battleships, whose firepower is beyond the reach of the French aircraft carriers."
"Yes, the Argus was a converted merchant ship, and the Wrathful was a converted light cruiser. Sinking them doesn't mean anything."
"It's not that easy to sink a battleship. General Winter will teach these arrogant French people a hard lesson!"
(The picture above shows the British ship "Argus", which was converted from the merchant ship "Count Rosseau" and had poor anti-sinking ability)
But the battle situation on the front line once again dealt them a heavy blow.
"Prime Minister," the staff officer reported, "Two of our battlecruisers have been sunk. General Winter has ordered the fleet to retreat!"
Prime Minister George and others were looking at the nautical chart to calculate the time it would take for the squadron to catch up with and sink the French aircraft carrier, and even began to imagine the scene of the battleship's huge guns bombarding the vulnerable aircraft carrier.
There was laughter and joy in the conversation, sweeping away the gloom of the previous aircraft carrier being sunk.
After hearing the staff officer's report, they all raised their heads at the same time. Some of them didn't have time to change their smiles, and their forced smiles were full of embarrassment.
Prime Minister George asked with difficulty: "Was it done by the carrier-based bombers again?"
"Yes, Prime Minister," the staff officer nodded. "General Winter said the French's new aircraft can also drop torpedoes. The Renown was sunk by a torpedo."
Navy Minister Balfour was shocked: "That is to say, they have the ability to sink battleships."
Although battleships are tough and resistant to sinking, they cannot withstand torpedoes that have blown several holes below the waterline.
The Quartermaster General had a stern face. His focus was different from the others. He angrily said to the staff officer:
"Order General Winter to continue advancing."
"We need to get closer to the enemy, not further away."
"Now should be the best opportunity. Perhaps the enemy aircraft carrier is right in front of them. Perhaps all he needs to do is take a small step forward."
The others nodded in agreement.
The word "retreat" does not exist in the dictionary of the world's most powerful British Royal Navy, which must advance at all times.
But they completely ignored one common sense:
How can a battleship with a speed of 18 or 19 knots catch up with an aircraft carrier with a speed of 21 knots?
What's more, the battleship doesn't know the location of the aircraft carrier, but the aircraft carrier knows the location of the battleship very clearly!
This is a strategic intention that can never be achieved unless the enemy on the aircraft carrier even sends the lookouts back to the cabin to sleep.
What happened next was even more shocking to those who didn't understand the actual situation on the front lines:
"Your Excellency, the 'Canada' has been attacked by enemy bombers."
"Your Excellency, General Winter is ready to surrender to the enemy."
"We have lost contact with the Canada. The communication equipment may have been damaged."
…
The Minister of Munitions had a fierce look in his eyes and gritted his teeth as he ordered: "Contact the Queen and the Prince of Wales immediately. If the Canada surrenders, they must sink it!"
The British Royal Navy surrendered to the enemy without even seeing the opponent. It was a great humiliation!
It is absolutely not allowed to happen!
Especially since the "Canada" is the flagship, its surrender will affect the morale of the entire army.
However, the response from HMS Queen and HMS Prince of Wales was:
"We will not do that, Your Excellency, we believe in surrender."
"Because this is a pointless battle, and holding on to it won't change anything."
"We must be responsible for the lives of all crew members on the ship. General Winter's decision is correct."
"If sacrificing our lives could gain or change something, we would be willing to sacrifice it. But it can't, and we have already failed!"
…
The telegrams left everyone stunned.
What's going on?
Those were veritable battleships.
Although they were relatively backward pre-dreadnoughts, there was not much difference between them and dreadnoughts in terms of armor or artillery. The only difference was the speed and unified artillery caliber.
(Note: Pre-dreadnoughts typically traveled at 18 to 19 knots, while dreadnoughts typically traveled at 21 knots)
They were forced to surrender under the bombing of bombers?
Then they thought of another, even more terrifying question: If the pre-dreadnoughts were forced to surrender, would that mean the dreadnoughts would be forced to surrender as well?
If so, can the Royal Navy still exist?
Is it still the most powerful navy in the world?
With such questions, everyone turned their attention to the Minister of Munitions.
They didn't say anything, but their eyes revealed their thoughts:
"This was your idea. You were the one who proposed declaring war on France. What now?"
"Don't you think this battle was a crushing defeat of the French Navy? Is it still a crushing defeat now? It's being crushed by the French, right?"
"You claimed your battle plan was 'foolproof,' but now it's 'full of loopholes.' Are you responsible for this outcome?"
…
Prime Minister George considered another question and asked the Minister of Munitions:
"I remember you said before that you misled the French about the construction of aircraft carriers."
"So the French aircraft carrier wouldn't have much combat power, but now it seems that's not the case."
"Don't you want to explain?"
The sweat on the Quartermaster's forehead oozed out uncontrollably:
"I, I believe this is a change Ciel made."
"It's possible that he made improvements to the aircraft carrier while developing new carrier-based aircraft."
"so……"
Prime Minister George understood:
"So, he tricked you, huh?"
"He made you believe that the French aircraft carriers had no direct access to the deck, causing us to underestimate the enemy."
"The result is completely the opposite. Is this what you want to say?"
Prime Minister George's eyes were cold.
If this is true, then the Minister of Munitions has been a pawn of Charles from the beginning to the end, and Charles used this pawn to lead Britain step by step into the abyss.
It’s just that the Minister of Munitions himself doesn’t know it.
"I, I'm not sure, Your Excellency," replied the Minister of Munitions. He actually understood what was going on, but didn't dare to say it.
At this time, the telegrams and sketches sent by the staff confirmed this.
That was the French aircraft carrier layout map sent by General Winter to Major General Ives, who forwarded it to London.
George took the sketch and looked at it, revealing a bitter smile. He handed the sketch to the Minister of Munitions weakly:
"This is what you call France's backward aircraft carrier. A carrier without a straight-through deck."
"You thought you misled Ciel, but actually Ciel misled you!"
"Well done, Your Excellency the Quartermaster!"
The Minister of Munitions took the sketch and took a look at it, and he felt sick all over.
Two runways, one straight and one slanted.
How can this be called a backward aircraft carrier?
It is many times more advanced than the British aircraft carrier!
(End of this chapter)
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