Just when the U.S. military encountered setbacks at sea and on land, good news finally came back at sea. After more than half a month of searching at sea, the cruisers "Free Trade" and "Common Market" finally discovered the British squadron and engaged in battle with the British squadron. And it caused quite a heavy blow to the British-two old British battleships were sunk, but under their cover, several other ships managed to escape. But these ships were also damaged to varying degrees. It is estimated that there will be no combat effectiveness in a short time.

　　 This battle also illustrates one point, that is, the steam battleship modified from the old wooden battleship, in front of the real steel battleship, has no combat effectiveness at all. In the battle, the French army, ah, should be the US army’s 120mm caliber naval gun fired high-explosive shells that can easily tear apart the hull of a wooden warship and cause death with amazing efficiency.

　　On the contrary, the British also replaced their warships with steel rifled guns. However, due to the limitations of the ships themselves, they simply replaced the iron cannons of the past with steel cannons. These steel cannons are generally relatively small and have limited power. They cannot penetrate the "Free Trade" and "Common Market" at all. Armor.

　　 Coupled with the difference in speed, the entire battle was almost two French warships punching the Nanshan Nursing Home. It can be said that as far as the battle is concerned, it is meaningless.

Of course, the French soldiers of "Free Trade" and "Common Market" don't think so. They are very proud of it, because according to the contract they signed with the Americans, they sank or captured not a ton of British warships or British ships. , Metropolis has corresponding combat allowances, and combat allowances are still quite high, at least ten times that of their American counterparts. And more importantly, the Americans promised to settle their wages with gold coins. Although in theory a dollar bill and a dollar gold coin are exactly the same value, in the case of successive failures of the US military, the yellow dollar is still better than the green dollar.

It’s a pity that the "Free Trade" and "Common Market" have been searching for enemy ships for a long time. They almost exhausted all the supplies on board, so they can no longer intercept those British warships that escaped. Knowing that the British warships were all injured and must return to Halifax Port immediately. If the "Free Trade" and "Common Market" still have plenty of fresh water and coal, they can rely on their speed advantages to rush outside of Halifax Port and stop them. But now, they can only give up this piece of fat and go back to add coal and water to receive the bonus.

　　 But the French victory at sea was not enough to turn the tide of war. On land, they were still hoisted and beaten by the British army, which had been tactically ahead for more than an era. After the fire burned Detroit, the British troops continued to move south. Near Cleveland, more than 10,000 American troops hurriedly gathered, and more than 7,000 British troops led by General Isaac Bullock fought a battle. As a result, the British army gave the Americans a good tactics lesson, letting them know for the first time what is called skirmish tactics and what is called infantry cooperation. The British army defeated the American army at a small price and approached Cleveland.

Fearing the same fate as Detroit, the U.S. Army simply did not resist in Cleveland, but directly withdrew from Cleveland. After the British entered Cleveland, they captured several inland gunboats built by the Americans at the Cleveland Shipyard—the U.S. Army retreated. It had to be so hurried that there was no time to destroy these things.

The British army stayed in Cleveland for a while, because in the previous battle, the British army had consumed a lot of supplies. They must now stop and repair to wait for supplies from the rear through Lake Erie and more. Reinforcements.

　　 And the Americans hurriedly mobilized troops from other areas in order to drive British troops away from Cleveland.

During this period of time, the United States and the Republic of Santo Domingo reached a lease agreement and leased two cruisers from Santo Domingo. They returned to Khalifa along with the Free Trade and Common Market. Xhaven. However, this fleet with American flags but almost all Frenchmen did not find any British warships in Halifax. It seems that the British knew that Halifax was more dangerous, so they withdrew directly. To the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

　　 St. Lawrence Bay has many shallows and many reefs. So the French did not dare to enter this unfamiliar waters at all, so they blocked the Cabot Strait and Bell Island Strait again to prevent British ships from entering Canada.

　　 However, at this time, the British had already received the news that the Americans had declared war on them. Therefore, without escort, there were far fewer British ships that stupidly loaded. This disappointed the French naval officers who dreamed of making a fortune~lightnovelpub.net~ On the other hand, while General Isaac Bullock was waiting for supplies in Cleveland, the Americans began to sell more The army concentrated in Pittsburgh, about two hundred kilometers from Cleveland. At the same time, the "smuggling ship" departing from New Orleans, with the French flag openly flying into New York, unloaded various smuggled civilian weapons and ammunition there. These things were quickly loaded onto the railroad and sent to Pittsburgh. To prepare to confront the British forces that may leave Cleveland at any time to continue to attack Washington.

　　 At the same time, a group of "French consultants" who were temporarily hired at high prices appeared in the US military. Of course, the French government does not recognize that there are French advisers in the US military. Those people are just "volunteers" willing to help the Americans.

　　 The participation of French "volunteers" and the various information they provided made American military officers an eye-opener. But at the same time, they are increasingly worried about the prospect of war. Because they found that the gap between the US military and the military on the European continent was too great, and they did not have time to complete the education of new tactics for soldiers and even officers.

　　 General Isaac Bullock quickly received the reinforcement he was looking for. Now his army has increased to 25,000, and artillery and cavalry have been strengthened. The above hoped that he could march towards Washington to force the US military to engage in a decisive battle with him. For a period of time, because of the containment of France, it is difficult for the country to deploy troops to support it. If the war is delayed, Canada, which has a smaller population and worse industry, will definitely be the first to be able to support it. Therefore, I hope that General Isaac Bullock can quickly defeat the US military and force the US to surrender and seek peace.