Chapter 1027 Telegram for Help
The Atlantic Ocean in September tears off its gentle appearance. The gloomy sky covers the sea like a curved iron plate. Seagulls scream in the sky, as if telling people that the weather is about to deteriorate.
Under the gloomy sky, dozens of warships are sailing towards the French port of Brest.
In the center of the fleet are two huge ships, namely the "Queen Elizabeth" and "Malaya" of the British Royal Navy's "Queen Elizabeth" class battleships.
Vice Admiral Forbes stood on the command tower of the Queen Elizabeth, holding a telescope and looking at the increasingly approaching port of Brest. The mist mixed with the salty smell of the sea water hit his cheeks, and it was as cold as a steel needle piercing his pores, causing waves of stinging.
But Lieutenant General Forbes was unaware of this, his attention always focused on the target position in the aperture.
"20 kilometers." The lookout shouted overhead: "We are within range."
The staff officer turned around and repeated: "20 kilometers, the target is within range."
Lieutenant General Forbes understood what the staff officer meant.
The Queen Elizabeth-class has a range of 21 kilometers, so there is no need to get any closer. It is a very comfortable way to fight to bomb outside the enemy's range and ensure your absolute safety.
"Keep moving forward!" Lieutenant General Forbes ordered coldly, holding the telescope in his hand.
These cowards, Lieutenant General Forbes cursed in his heart. They were frightened by the momentum of France and did not even have the courage to approach the target.
As long as they could still think, they should know that France's most advanced "Courbet" class battleships had a range of only 13 kilometers.
Why not get closer to improve accuracy?
Suddenly, there was a loud "bang" and a destroyer was thrown into the air along with a towering water column in the explosion. After falling heavily, the hull tilted to one side and then completely disappeared from the sea in just two minutes.
"Mine!" someone shouted. "They've laid mines here!"
Lieutenant General Forbes was quite surprised.
This is a port. The French actually laid mines outside their own port?
Aren’t they worried that their warships will be trapped in the harbor and unable to escape?
Regardless of his thoughts, he gave the order without hesitation: "Change course, keep distance, and send out the minesweeper!"
Then Lieutenant General Forbes understood why the French army laid mines outside its own port.
As soon as the minesweeper approached within a dozen kilometers of the port of Brest, it was immediately bombarded by French battleships and coastal defense artillery.
Columns of water shot up into the sky, and the "racecourse" class minesweepers, which were converted from civilian ships, were instantly blown into pieces by large-caliber shells and sank to the bottom of the sea.
Lieutenant General Forbes was at a loss as to what to do with the French port: he did not dare approach easily because the mines in the sea ahead had not been cleared, and the minesweepers that went forward were easily attacked by enemy artillery fire.
The British fleet could only approach Brest cautiously under the guidance of the minesweeper, while the naval guns bombarded the Brest port indiscriminately.
The British army did not even dare to send out seaplanes to calibrate the guns of the battleships.
Because there were several French "Camel" and "Sniper" fighter planes flying in the sky.
The British Royal Navy, without an aircraft carrier, had no ability to compete with the French army for air supremacy and could only fire towards the port based on its instincts.
But that’s not the end.
Soon, Vice Admiral Forbes discovered that dozens of high-speed torpedo boats were pouring out of the port.
Lieutenant General Forbes instantly gained a deeper understanding of the French defensive strategy:
Torpedo boats have a small displacement and are shallow in water, so they don't have to worry about mines and can pass through them unhindered, while British warships can hardly move.
At the same time, it was difficult for British battleships to hit this small and fast torpedo boat. Even if they were lucky enough to hit it, the shells consumed might be more valuable than the torpedo boat.
However, the torpedoes launched by torpedo boats could cause fatal damage to British warships!
"What a brilliant defense." Lieutenant General Forbes was surprised. After a moment's hesitation, he ordered, "Organize a defense."
However, at this time, a group of "Caproni" bombers flew in the sky. They arrived first and dropped dozens of torpedoes on the British fleet that was changing its formation.
The British fleet was in chaos in an instant, and they were dodging the torpedo waterline in a panic like a bunch of headless flies.
Soon, with a loud bang, three British destroyers and two cruisers were hit by torpedoes and sank, including those sunk by torpedoes before, a total of six ships were lost.
Vice Admiral Forbes thought this was a simple task. His fleet consisted of two Elizabeth-class super dreadnoughts, three St. Vincent-class dreadnoughts, and five pre-dreadnoughts.
(The picture above shows the battleship "St. Vincent". There are three ships of this class)
Such a formation should be easy to capture France's two dreadnoughts and four pre-dreadnoughts.
Vice Admiral Forbes even drew up a battle plan: the super-dreadnoughts would use their range advantage to carry out long-range bombing, the dreadnoughts would engage in close combat, and the pre-dreadnoughts and destroyers would attack the port.
But the battle did not develop at all as he expected, and the fleet lost 6 ships before it even reached the target port.
After hesitating for a moment, Vice Admiral Forbes reluctantly ordered his staff: "Ask for help from the headquarters. We need more warships!"
…
Strait of Gibraltar, the Third Squadron commanded by Vice Admiral Charles was responsible for blocking the strait.
He led a small number of warships, the main force of which was four long-range "Iron Duke" class battleships, plus three "Lion" class battlecruisers and 30 light cruisers and destroyers.
This was determined by the "narrowness" of the Strait of Gibraltar. The London combat command generally believed that it was impossible for French warships to break out on a large scale.
Otherwise, they are bound to suffer heavy casualties here and even be stuck in the strait and unable to move.
Lieutenant General Charles' plan was:
The battleship "Iron Duke" was divided into several positions, ready to block the exit of the strait with artillery fire.
The light cruisers and destroyers were deployed in a dispersed and camouflaged manner, and once the French aircraft carriers entered the Strait of Gibraltar, they would immediately use their speed to launch an attack.
The battlecruisers then rushed to reinforce.
As long as they could delay for some time and wait for the "Iron Duke" to arrive at the battlefield and "catch" the French aircraft carrier, the battle would be almost over.
However, Vice Admiral Charles received intelligence from a spy: "The French main fleet is approaching the Strait of Gibraltar. They have at least more than 100 warships, including 3 aircraft carriers, the main French battleships and the newly captured British battleships."
Lieutenant General Charles was shocked by this information.
The French main battleships plus the surrendered British battleships, excluding those that were damaged and unable to participate in the battle, there were 14 or 15 main battleships.
This number is double the strength of his own 4 battleships and 3 battlecruisers.
In addition, the French army also has aircraft carriers, so this war cannot be fought.
Considering the huge disparity in strength, Lieutenant General Charles hurriedly sent a telegram to London for help!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
