After the hard attack on Martinique, the US 5th Fleet lost 13 warships, including two 'Pennsylvania' class warships, and the rest were 'Washington' class warships. In addition, another ship in the US 5th Fleet The 'New York' class battleship was also hit on the bow by a large caliber fortress artillery, losing nearly half of its combat effectiveness and part of its power. Facing the powerful French Mediterranean Fleet at this time, they were naturally beaten to the point where they had no power to fight back.

"Quick! Go up! All the 'Iberia'-class warships, outflank from the left." Paul stood on the bridge of the Bravery, holding up his binoculars, and excitedly gave orders. Seeing that the American fleet was beaten and fled, Paul couldn't say how happy he was.

"Paul, I always feel that something is wrong!" Clarence, chief of staff of the Mediterranean Fleet, said with a frown.

"Eh? What's going on? My old friend. Look, how wonderful it all is! The American fleet is in flight, and we're in pursuit. Before long, we'll be able to wipe out the entire Third Fleet of the United States Navy, to that At that time, the Caribbean Sea will return to our control. We will become heroes in the war, and at that time, we will definitely be able to get medals, and it is not impossible for His Majesty the Emperor to award us medals in person." Paul looked forward to.

"No, there must be something wrong with it." Clarence shook his head and said.

"Why?" Paul asked suspiciously.

"Look, the flagship of the U.S. fleet doesn't seem to be the USS Philadelphia, the flagship of the US Navy's 3rd Fleet, nor is it the USS Boston, another 'New York' class battleship of the 3rd Fleet." Clarence affirmed Said. Although the "New York" class battleships of the U.S. Navy are generally similar, there are still some subtle differences in each one. If you don't look carefully, you can't tell the difference at all.

Paul hesitated now, because after careful observation, he also found some doubts in it. It was originally thought that the fleet attacking Martinique was not the previously expected US 3rd Fleet, which made the battle situation confusing again. According to the information obtained before, of the six major fleets of the United States, except for the 1st Fleet deployed in the coastal waters of the United States, the 3rd Fleet is deployed in the Caribbean Sea, and the remaining 4 fleets are deployed in the Central Atlantic region, competing with the French Navy for control of the Atlantic Ocean. So, how could other fleets appear in this sea area?

"It seems that things are not as simple as we imagined. Why didn't the intelligence department give us any news before that other American fleets have joined the Caribbean Sea." Paul said angrily. He has now realized that the reason why the U.S. Navy aggressively attacked Martinique was just to attract the Mediterranean Fleet. There is no doubt that they have now fallen into the trap of the US Navy. It is almost certain that there are still a large number of American warships hidden in a certain sea area.

"The U.S. Navy has tried every means to lay this trap. Do you think they will let us easily discover their purpose? I think I should understand. Some time ago, we had received intelligence that a Canadian Navy entered the Mid-Atlantic region to assist the U.S. Navy. Now that I think about it, the mission of the Canadian Navy should not be to assist the US Navy, but to replace the US Navy so that they can secretly send the fleet here." Clarence said with a wry smile. It seems to be a bit late to understand this truth now.

"It seems that the Americans are deliberately trying to kill us this time," Paul said. He never expected that the roles of the two sides would change so quickly. In just a short while, the Mediterranean Fleet changed from a fisherman to a fish.

"Then what should we do? Be conservative. We should withdraw from this area immediately to avoid falling into the trap of the US Navy." Clarence said.

Paul didn't speak. He was a little unwilling. He could wipe out an entire fleet of the U.S. Navy, but now, he had to give up. It was absolutely impossible for him to give up this opportunity. "Can you be sure which American fleet this is?" Paul asked. After some consideration, he decided to fight to the end. Although, in front of them was a trap set by the US Navy, but they had already seen through the trap. Although this trap is still deadly, it is not completely without opportunities for the Mediterranean Fleet. If it is handled well, it may be possible to safely withdraw from the trap of the Americans and achieve considerable success.

Clarence shook his head helplessly. He knew Paul too well. He could guess what Paul was thinking from the tone of Paul's words. "From the appearance, the battleship should be the 'Chicago'. And the 'Chicago' is the flagship of the US 5th Fleet. Therefore, it is certain that the attack on Martinique and what we are facing now, It was the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet that was supposed to be in the Mid-Atlantic region," Clarence said.

"I think we should still have a chance to turn defeat into victory. Although it seems that the current situation is very unfavorable to us, as long as we can quickly destroy the 5th Fleet of the US Navy, and then jump out of the trap set by the US Navy, in the end, we will see The situation is deciding whether to continue to attack or retreat," Paul said.

"However, we are also facing two problems. One is how many fleets the U.S. Navy has deployed in the Caribbean. Second, although the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet has suffered heavy losses, can we continue to do so in a short time? It is also a problem to annihilate them within time. If you do not grasp it a little bit, I am afraid that the fleet will be brought into a very dangerous mirror." Clarence reminded.

"I have already thought about these two points. In order to maintain the balance of power in the Mid-Atlantic region, even with the addition of the British Navy, it is impossible for the Americans to draw too many troops from there. According to my estimation, they can at most Deploy 1 to 3 fleets, two fleets are most likely. Now, the US 5th Fleet has already suffered a heavy blow, unless the Americans draw 3 fleets from the Mid-Atlantic region, that is, they are deployed in the Caribbean in total Otherwise, we should not be in too much danger. However, this possibility should be very small. As for the annihilation of the US 5th Fleet, there should be some difficulties, but at least we can severely damage them." Paul explained.

"From my point of view, I still don't agree to take the risk." Clarence said, shaking his head. He is a relatively cautious person, and he will not do things without full assurance.

"This opportunity must not be missed, it will never come again! This may be our only chance to seriously damage the US Navy. If we win, it will have a very huge effect not only on us, but also on the entire war." Paul persuaded .

"Fine then. However, I think we should contact the Naval Command first. Let's see what they say," Clarence said.

"Oh my god! If that's the case, the fighter plane may have been lost long ago. Why don't you go to the Navy Command first, and I will start to implement my plan. This way there will be no delay. I guarantee that once the Navy The command asked me to cancel the plan, and I immediately ordered the fleet to withdraw from the battle." Paul said.

"Alright then." In the end, Clarence compromised.

While Clarence was asking for instructions from the naval command, Paul gave the order to speed up the attack. The entire Mediterranean Fleet has 30 'Iberia' class warships. Although the combat effectiveness of this warship is the worst in the French Navy, its speed is the fastest. It is good for intercepting the fleeing enemy. But that's all. Under Paul's order, the 30 "Iberia" class ships were divided into two groups, left and right, and outflanked the US 5th Fleet. On the front, there are 10 'Bonaparte' class warships. However, the 'Dreadnought' class battleship and the 'Pre-Dreadnought' class battleship, due to their speed, fell behind. But if the two warships in front can drag the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, they who arrive later will become a nightmare for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Facing the fierce attack of the Mediterranean Fleet~lightnovelpub.net~ The 5th Fleet of the U.S. Navy could only flee desperately. The fleet joins the fight immediately, otherwise, 5th Fleet is doomed. In just half an hour, the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet has once again lost 8 warships, including the underpowered "New York" class battleship "Lexington" and two other "Pennsylvania" class ships. battleships and 5 'Washington' class battleships.

"Paul, the instructions from the Navy Command have come out." When the battle was raging, Clarence came to Paul with a telegram.

Paul raised his brows and asked casually, "What instructions does the Navy Command have?" He actually didn't care much about the Navy Command's instructions, because he had already made up his mind to follow his plan to the end. This is probably the case with the so-called "generals are outside, and military orders are not accepted".

"The Naval Command has agreed to your plan, but Marshal Boult wants you to keep the strength of the Mediterranean Fleet as the primary goal," Clarence said. To be honest, he was also very puzzled by this from the Navy Command. He originally thought that the Navy Command would ask the Mediterranean Fleet to withdraw from the battle, but he did not expect that they would agree to Paul's plan, but only added a slightly restrictive Conditions only.