Chapter 498 Total Annihilation?

Before receiving McCain's reminder, the "Independence" began to evade. However, with such a huge body as the "Independence", if you want to scale 8 torpedoes within a distance of less than 5 kilometers, if you can escape, that is God's blessing. At a distance of 5 kilometers, the French "Fried Fish" class torpedo can reach it in less than 5 minutes. In order to ensure that the torpedoes can hit the 'Independence', the French torpedoes are launched in a scattered manner. No matter which direction the 'Independence' is heading, at least two torpedoes will hit it. Two torpedoes loaded with high-explosives, even if they can't send the 'Independence' to the bottom of the sea, they can at least increase its combat effectiveness or mobility. If the warship loses its combat effectiveness or mobility, it is no different from a living coffin floating on the sea.

The luck of the 'Independence' is indeed not very good. Although the first two torpedoes were avoided, the third and fourth torpedoes were never avoided again. The third torpedo directly hit the bow of the "Independence", and blew a large hole with a diameter of more than two meters near the west bank of the draft. Crazy sea water poured into it immediately, even if it was not attacked by other attacks, the 'Independence' probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long. However, the doom of the "Independence" did not end. The fourth torpedo hit its stern, completely scrapping its power equipment. And, making it impossible to avoid the following 4 torpedoes. Among them, except that the seventh torpedo did not hit the 'Independence' due to the launch angle, the other three torpedoes all accurately hit the 'Independence'. The 'Independence', which ate 5 torpedoes, was powerless. Especially the last torpedo exploded directly in the middle of the 'Independence', blowing the keel of the 'Independence' into two pieces. In the end, less than 5 minutes later, the "Independence" was flooded with water at the bow and stern, and the entire battleship broke into two sections at the end, and sank to the bottom of the sea in less than two minutes. Since the "Independence" was hit and sank to the bottom of the sea, the interval was so short that none of the American soldiers on it escaped.

When the "Independence" was attacked, other warships of the US 7th Fleet were also in danger. The torpedoes launched by the French warships were scurrying around in this sea area. The warships of the US 7th Fleet were like frightened birds, fleeing in all directions, and no longer cared about attacking the French fleet. However, the plan formulated by the French fleet from the beginning was to severely damage or even annihilate the US 7th Fleet, so from the beginning of the battle, it adopted outflanking tactics to surround all three sides of the US 7th Fleet. If the U.S. 7th Fleet wants to retreat, other than turning around, it has to rush out of the encirclement of the French fleet. However, relying on its fast speed, several warships of the French fleet joined forces to launch an attack on a warship of the US 7th Fleet, making it inevitable for the opponent. If you charge hard, the price nearby must be unimaginable. But it's even worse if you turn around. Turning around at this time will only cause chaos in the fleet, and at that time, it is tantamount to providing the French fleet with an excellent opportunity.

"General, what should we do now?" George asked in shock. He never thought that the small battleships of the French fleet, which seemed to have no combat effectiveness, were so powerful. Even the most powerful "North Carolina" class battleship in the United States was easily sunk. In just 20 minutes of the battle, the U.S. 7th Fleet lost 5 warships. All of them were unlucky ones who were too late to evade the torpedoes of the French fleet. Except for the "Independence" which sank after being hit by five torpedoes, the other warships basically died after being hit by one or two torpedoes. Of course, this has something to do with the huge 'body' of the 'North Carolina' class battleship. Among the five U.S. 7th Fleet warships that sank, in addition to a "North Carolina" class warship, there was also a "South Carolina" class warship, two "New York" class warships, and a "Pennsylvania" class warship. It can be said to be a heavy loss.

McCain's face was also full of despair at this time, and he was completely gone from his previous high spirits. The huge hull of the 'Apostle' has also become the focus of the French fleet's attack. However, the luck of the 'Apostle' has been good. So far, the French fleet has launched two attacks on it, but it has been nimbly dodged by it.

"Order the fleet to prepare to break out." McCain ordered. He knew he couldn't go on like this, otherwise, the entire 7th Fleet would be here.

McCain's order was quickly sent to the various warships of the US 7th Fleet. However, under the constant attack of the French fleet, they could not form a breakout formation at all. If the breakthrough is dispersed, it will break out of the encirclement of the French fleet in the south. For a while, the two sides stalemate. However, the warships of the U.S. 7th Fleet are in a stalemate, decreasing one by one.

Seeing this situation, both McCain and George were distraught. However, the U.S. 7th Fleet was not blindly beaten, they still launched a counterattack. For example, when a French warship approaches an American warship and prepares to launch a torpedo, it will be hit by crazy artillery fire from the American warship. In order to reduce casualties, once the French fleet is in danger, it would rather give up the opportunity to attack and protect itself. This was what Kirkbride entrusted them with before the battle began. Kirkbride's purpose is to destroy the US 7th Fleet at the lowest cost. Preferably zero casualties. But this is somewhat impossible. But this is also the goal of the French fleet. At this point in the battle, apart from the 'Metz' which was sunk in the bombardment of the St. was wounded. But these are minor injuries and will not affect the next battle.

At this time, Kirkbride's mood and McCain's mood are completely two extremes. Kirkbride's mood was not to mention how good it was. Every time he saw an American warship being hit by a torpedo and then slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea, he felt extremely happy. Although the "Metz" was lost, this battle was a complete victory for the French Atlantic Fleet. Not only will the St. Paul Fortress be defeated, but even the US 7th Fleet will be wiped out. This is the first time that the French Navy has wiped out an entire US fleet. I believe that this battle will definitely be recorded in the annals of history, and he, Kirkbride, will also be famous forever as the commander of this battle.

"Order the fleet to break through to the north at all costs." McCain finally made up his mind. Rather than being slowly killed by the French fleet, it is better to bet on this one. In the current form, the U.S. fleet must use its hitting firepower to break through in one direction before it can succeed. If they broke through scattered, because their speed could not keep up with the French warships, and the number of warships was far behind the French warships, the final result would only be besieged by the French fleet.

After giving the order, the 'Apostle' took the lead and headed north at full speed. And other warships of the US 7th Fleet also followed in its footsteps and rushed north.

"All ships pay attention to adjusting their formation. It is not necessary to encircle the US fleet, just destroy the US warships as much as possible." Kirkbride noticed this abnormality of the US 7th Fleet, and then issued a new order. If the French fleet must prevent the US 7th Fleet from breaking through, it will be very difficult. Therefore, all small warships such as destroyers and light cruisers were put into battle, and they could not withstand the US fleet at all. The reason why the U.S. 7th Fleet can be pushed to a dead end now is simply because it has the advantage of weapons. The torpedo also needs a certain distance to play. If it is approached by an American warship, the French fleet will die miserably. It is estimated that a single large-caliber artillery shell from a "North Carolina" class battleship or "South Carolina" class battleship of the U.S. 7th Fleet can destroy a French destroyer or severely damage a light cruiser.

According to Kirkbride's order, the warships in the northern part of the US 7th Fleet retreated one after another. However, before retreating, they all left some gifts for the U.S. 7th Fleet~lightnovelpub.net~ Those gifts were the torpedoes rushing towards the U.S. 7th Fleet.

Seeing that the French fleet took the initiative to let go, although he didn't know why the enemy did this, McCain still felt a lot more relieved. As long as it breaks out of the encirclement of the French fleet, the US 7th Fleet can escape back to the St. Paul Naval Port. At this time, McCain could no longer care about face. It is already very good to save their lives. As for the U.S. 7th Fleet, only a genius knows how much it can save.

During the breakout process, another 6 warships of the U.S. 7th Fleet were sunk, and another 7 warships were severely damaged, lost power, and drifted on the sea like living coffins. What awaits them will be the attack of the French Fleet after killing the US 7th Fleet. Perhaps only by surrendering will they have a chance of survival.

After finally breaking out of the encirclement of the French fleet, even the "Apostle" was hit by a torpedo in the final process. Fortunately, the "Apostle" had relatively thick skin and only suffered minor injuries. However, now the number of warships in the US 7th Fleet has dropped from 32 to 14, which can be said to be more than half of the casualties.

In addition, now that they have rushed out of the encirclement, this does not mean that they are safe, and the French fleet is still following. It is hard to say how much they can escape back to Sao Paulo, and it is not impossible to even be wiped out.