(Chapter 1 arrives, there will be chapter 1 later)

"What should we do next? Although Portsmouth was destroyed, the British navy was not hit hard, and now that the main forces of the British Channel Fleet and the Home Fleet are concentrated together, I'm afraid there will be no more sneak attacks." This is an opportunity." Sucrete, the chief of staff of the French Navy, said with some regret. The main force of the Channel Fleet of the British Navy will leave Portsmouth on the morning of February 4 to pick up the home fleet, which defeats the French Navy's carefully prepared plan.

"If it doesn't work, we will attack Brighton directly. Although Britain has concentrated the main force of the two fleets, if we concentrate the Channel Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, we may not necessarily fall into a disadvantage." Deputy Commander Wasser suggested.

Burt shook his head: "In this case, even if we win the final victory, it must be a tragic victory. Don't forget that Britain still has an Atlantic Fleet, and Britain's shipbuilding capabilities are much stronger than ours. We can't compete with the British." Indeed, although France has built a lot of shipyards in the past 10 years, compared with the old maritime power of the United Kingdom, the gap is still very large.

"Then what should we do in the UK? The longer the time drags on, the worse it will be for us." Sucrete worried.

"I'm going to Paris this afternoon to ask the opinions of the Supreme Command and His Majesty the Emperor for the next stage of the arrangement." Boult said a little tiredly. Days of sleepless nights made him feel very tired.

"We still have to strengthen our defenses. The British navy has suffered such a big loss this time, and they will definitely not let it go. If they are successfully attacked by them in turn, then we will be ashamed to see others." Wasser reminded.

"You don't have to worry about this, I will arrange it. The patrol fleet has doubled, and all sailors are not allowed to disembark during this period of time. In case of emergency, they can start operations at any time." Sucrete said confidently .

Burt nodded. "Let the Channel Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet keep in touch at all times, and be ready to support each other at any time." Boult finally reminded that he was going to drive to Paris by car in the afternoon. At least he still needs to discuss the battle situation in this stage and the next stage with the Supreme Command.

Logically speaking, it is basically impossible for the British navy to sneak attack the French navy. In the strait densely populated by warships, it is basically impossible for the British navy to approach the French naval base within 50 kilometers without being discovered by the French navy. The 50-kilometer voyage will take at least two hours for the British fleet, which is enough time for the French navy to prepare for combat. This is the great achievement of wireless telegraphy in the navy. The United Kingdom also obtained information that France has new communication equipment and developed it. However, after years of research and development, it was still unsuccessful. This seriously restricted the improvement of the British Navy's tactics and became an important reason why the British Navy's combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the French Navy. reason.

"As for the appointment of the commander, to be honest, I can't make up my mind, so I brought you two here, hoping to hear your own opinions." Halbuher looked at the two people in front of him. A naval admiral asked with some distress. Both were outstanding generals in the British navy, and he didn't know who the British would choose.

Westrop glanced at his competitor proudly, and then said: "Master of the Navy, I don't know what you are hesitating about? Don't you think I can't be the commander of this operation with my ability?" ?”

"Your Excellency Westrop, I don't have the slightest doubt about your ability. But you should also know that the Channel Fleet has always been the main force in the confrontation with the French Navy. I think Marshal Nelson should have more experience than the French Navy." .” Halbuher expressed his meaning.

When Nelson heard him say that, he gave him a grateful look.

"Hmph! Your Excellency, don't forget that in this operation, the local fleet is the real protagonist. Do you want a defeated army who escaped from the battle to command this great operation?" Westrop said proudly . Usually, the three major fleets of the Royal Navy are not under the same command. Now that he has the opportunity to command two fleets to fight, Westrop will certainly not let go of this rare opportunity. If this operation is successful, he believes that he will be rewarded by the king, and his name will be recorded in the glorious history.

Nelson's face changed drastically. The failure of Portsmouth has always been a pain in his heart. Although he didn't regret his original decision, it still made him very angry to be ridiculed by others because of this. Halbuher's face was also not good, because in his words, he had clearly expressed his intention to want Nelson to be the commander of this operation, but he did not expect that Westrop would dare to be so blatantly disapproving. Give him face. At the same time, the conflicts between the Admiralty and the fleets have intensified. If it hadn't been for the pressure from the French navy and the army was watching, Halbuher would really have taught the arrogant Westrop a lesson. But he can't do that now. For the sake of the unity of the navy, he must make a compromise. The way to compromise is to let Westrop be the commander of this operation.

"Okay then, after discussion by the Admiralty, Marshal Westrop will be the commander of this operation." Halbuher announced. At the same time, he cast a helpless look at Nelson. Nelson smiled understandingly.

"Minister of the Navy, thank you for trusting me so much. Please believe that your choice will not be wrong this time. I will definitely let the French Navy know how powerful the Royal Navy of the British Empire is." Westrop said confidently Said. Then after saluting Halbuher, he left Halbuher's office with his head held high, without even looking at Nelson.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on February 9th, the huge fleet led by Westrop finally set sail. This huge fleet is composed of the main force of the local fleet and the Channel Fleet. The total force has reached more than 250 warships, of which the "honor" There are 65 battleships in total, and 190 ships of the 'British' class.

When choosing the attack target, the British Navy did not take Le Havre, which is only 150 kilometers away from Brighton, as the attack target, but chose the station of the French Mediterranean Fleet, St. Peter Port in the Channel Islands as the target of this attack . The choice of the French Channel Fleet was also discussed by the British side for a long time. Compared with the French Channel Fleet, the Mediterranean Fleet is much weaker, and the British Navy is also easy to win. And it can achieve unexpected benefits. St. Peter Port is 230 kilometers away from Brighton, and it is hard to imagine that they will look far away.

In order not to be informed of their intentions by the French Navy. Since the fleet left the port, the British Navy has sailed southwestward along the offshore sea, and arrived at Bournemouth, 120 kilometers away from Brighton, and then carried out a short supply here, and waited until the early morning to sail from here to St. Peter Hong Kong advances.

At 6 o'clock in the morning on February 10, the British fleet was unfortunately spotted by a French patrol fleet 50 kilometers north of Alderney Road. This situation was immediately reported back to St. Peter Port and Le Havre, and the French Mediterranean Fleet and Channel Fleet immediately took action. The Mediterranean Fleet is ready to meet the enemy, while the Channel Fleet quickly rushes to the aid of the Mediterranean Fleet. It's just that Le Havre is 200 kilometers away from St. Peter Port, and it will take them at least 8 hours to get to the battlefield.

The fleet encountered the French patrol fleet, and Westrop also knew that the British Navy's combat intentions had been exposed. He ordered the fleet to advance at full speed, hoping to catch the French Mediterranean Fleet by surprise. It's just that the place where the British fleet was discovered is 80 kilometers away from St. Peter Port, and they need at least 4 to 5 hours. With the buffer of this time, the French Mediterranean Fleet has long been ready for battle .

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the Westrop fleet encountered the French Mediterranean Fleet 10 kilometers north of Guernsey. A fierce naval battle began immediately. The French Mediterranean Fleet has only 30 "Iberia" class warships~lightnovelpub.net~ a "Bonaparte" class warship, 4 "pre-Dreadnought" class warships and 1 "Dreadnought" class warship. On the British side, there are more than 250 warships, of which 65 are "Honor" class warships that are slightly inferior to the "Bonaparte" class. The French Mediterranean Fleet is at an absolute disadvantage.

Facing a strong enemy, General Broca, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, did not panic. Instead, he took advantage of the fact that the speed of French warships was higher than that of British warships to deal with the British fleet on the vast ocean. On the one hand, it is destroying the British fleet in motion, and on the other hand, it is waiting for the rescue of the Channel Fleet.

The battle lasted for more than an hour, and the Mediterranean Fleet lost 3 'Iberia' class warships and 1 'Bonaparte' class warship, while the 'Pre-Dreadnought' class warship and the 'Dreadnought' class warship did not lose a bit. Not that the British fleet didn't hit them. On the contrary, their huge bodies were completely shell magnets, and the British fleet focused on them. It's just that due to the protection of heavy armor, the shells of the British fleet are like scratching an itch for them, and they don't pose much threat at all. In this more than an hour, the loss of the British fleet was much greater. In addition to the serious injuries, they lost a total of 17 "British" class warships and 6 "Honor" class warships.

"The fleet is attacking St. Peter Port. If the French fleet does not return to help, we will destroy St. Peter Port." Westrop issued a new order, trying to force the French Mediterranean Fleet to submit.