MTL - Napoleon II Reborn-Chapter 554 The battle at sea begins
On the night of October 27, the USS Philadelphia, the flagship of the US 3rd Fleet, was still brightly lit. In the splash of the "Philadelphia", the commanders of the other four fleets gathered here again.
"That idiot Harold, he defeated so many fleets in one day!" The commander of the 4th Fleet, Trick, cursed angrily. That is equivalent to one-third of the strength of the U.S. Navy! If you say you lose it, you lose it. Although it also caused a lot of losses to the French, in comparison, the US Navy is at a disadvantage.
"According to me, if Harold hadn't died in battle, he should have been shot directly without going through a military court. He is so abominable, not only ruined his own fleet, but also put us in danger! "About, the commander of the 8th Fleet, also said. Their five fleets were ordered to go south from the country just to meet them. But now it's good, it's destroyed directly. [bsp;"Okay, Harold has already sacrificed, it's not right for us to accuse him now." Aldridge spoke, and sure enough, as soon as he said this, others originally wanted to blame Harold Those who said nothing, all shut up.
Glancing at everyone, Aldrich said: "Now, it's not about how many mistakes Sleeper made in this war. It's about how we should face the current crisis. I have already contacted the Navy Department, Davis The general has gone to the White House, and shortly there will be new orders."
Everyone was silent. The U.S. Combined Fleet has been destroyed. So, should they continue to go south or return to the United States? Everyone has been undecided. In general, there are more people who support returning to the United States, but there are also those who support going south and fighting to the death with the French. Even Aldridge himself was still undecided.
Now, this huge fleet consisting of 5 fleets with a total of more than 200 warships has sailed to the south of Barbados. It counts as sailing out of the Caribbean. At the same time, in order to avoid falling into the encirclement of the French navy, they dispatched dozens of destroyers to conduct careful investigation. At night, except for the flagship, all other warships entered the blackout.
As the fleet went all the way south, Aldridge became more and more uneasy. The main fleet of the French Navy should be somewhere south of the Lesser Antilles, waiting for the US mainland fleet to go south. Prevent them from going south, even to annihilate them.
I'm afraid they didn't even think that Harold would be so careless. In one day, except for a few capital ships that escaped in embarrassment, all the other warships in the huge United States United Fleet were wiped out. As a result, their plan to wait south of the Lesser Antilles for the US Continental South Fleet also fell through. Maybe the opponent's commander will also be troubled by this.
Now, two of the French's four fleets have already appeared, namely the French Channel Fleet and the South Atlantic Fleet, but they have killed the US 6th Fleet, 7th Fleet, 5th Fleet, 9th Fleet and 11th Fleet. Moreover, it also has quite a strong combat effectiveness. There are at least 8 battleships, and possibly even more. The other two fleets without surface, only the French Atlantic Fleet and the French Mediterranean Fleet are left. Aldridge believed that these two fleets, like beasts hidden in the sea, were waiting for the appearance of the US fleet, and then gave them a fatal blow.
Several people waited until ten o'clock in the evening. At this time, a staff officer hurried in: "General, a telegram from General Davis of the Admiralty."
Aldridge rushed to the front of the staff officer in two or three steps, and snatched the telegram from his hand. And the other few people all set their eyes on Aldrich, waiting for some order to spit out from his mouth.
The telegram contained a lot of content, and it took Aldridge almost 5 minutes to read it. After that, he raised his head, looked at several commanders, and said, "General Davis ordered that this time, the navy will fight the French navy to the death. The battlefield is planned to be near the Lesser Antilles."
Aldrich walked up to the chart, found the current position of the fleet on it, and said, "We are right here. According to the order of General Davis, we will return north to St. Lucia or Malacca. The waters near Tinic Island. Waiting for the arrival of the 1st Fleet and 2nd Fleet, and the 4th Fleet and 6th Fleet of the Canadian Fleet are also on their way, gathering the strength of 9 fleets, and fighting against the French.”
The others were panting, their eyes rolling back and forth following where Aldrich's finger was pointing. Is it a decisive battle? Is this day finally coming? Since the beginning of the war, everyone has been paying attention to this day. Whether it was those who advocated returning to the United States or those who advocated continuing to go south, in fact, in their hearts, they all hoped to fight the French Navy to the death. No one wants to see their fleets being surrounded and wiped out by the French one by one. Maybe it will be their turn next time. When you still have combat power, have a decisive battle with the French.
Those generals who advocate returning to the United States are all because they are closer to the mainland and have more advantages. Now, since the Admiralty has issued an order for a decisive battle, of course they need to obey unconditionally.
"Now, we immediately turn around and return to the Lesser Antilles. According to the order of General Davis, we make the following deployments. The 4th Fleet is deployed to the waters south of St. Lucia. The 8th Fleet Martinique In the waters south of the island, the other 3rd Fleet, 10th Fleet and 12th Fleet are deployed in the middle of St. Lucia and Martinique. At the same time, enough reconnaissance ships will be dispatched. Once the French Navy is in our follow-up fleet Arriving before we arrive, we must launch an attack and hold them back. With the strength of our five fleets, even if we cannot win, a tie is still possible. After the follow-up fleet arrives, we will defeat the French in one fell swoop." Audry Qi said, looking at the crowd.
The other 4 are commanders, and they all have high fighting spirit. The best destination for soldiers is on the battlefield, and they are the navy, so the sea will be their best destination. Even if the warship is sunk in the end, it will not hesitate to be buried in the sea.
"Everyone, do you have any objections? If not, then follow this plan!" Aldridge said.
A few people didn't say much, leaving the 'Philadelphia' with excitement and nervousness, and returned to their flagship. Then, by order of the Admiralty and Aldrich, further deployments and adjustments began.
Then, in the dark night, this huge fleet turned quickly and headed for the Lesser Antilles Islands. Head towards Saint Lucia and Martinique. They will wait there for the fleet that continues to come from the country, or the French fleet will appear in advance. Similarly, a large number of destroyers were scattered, carefully scouting the surrounding sea area, so as to be able to spot the enemy in the first place.
And on the night-shrouded sea, the other two huge fleets were also advancing at high speed. They are the French Atlantic Fleet and Mediterranean Fleet that went north and south from Barbados. The original plan was that they were in that sea area, waiting for the U.S. fleet to take the initiative to come to the door, but they did not expect that the Channel Fleet and the South Atlantic Fleet would join forces to eat up the U.S. Combined Fleet. The big victory also changed the situation of the battle. The main mission of the United States Continental South Fleet is to meet the United States Fleet. Now that the United Fleet is destroyed, the mission of the United States Continental South Fleet will naturally be abolished.
Therefore, in order to fear that the United States' southward fleet would return to the United States, the French fleet had to abandon its original combat plan and take the initiative to attack. If the U.S. Continental Southward Fleet retracts, it will be even more difficult for the French Navy to fight. They had come to fight across the vast Atlantic Ocean, and the logistical pressure was very serious. In order to ensure the logistical transportation of the fleet, the Ministry of the Navy built dozens of supply ships by itself. At the same time, hundreds of merchant ships were requisitioned.
If the French Navy cannot defeat the main force of the US Navy in one fell swoop, then the supply pressure will be even more serious. Even, the heavy pressure will directly crush France.
Therefore, the French Navy must find the main force of the US Navy as soon as possible, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop, and then quickly land in the United States to end the war as soon as possible. Let the huge North America become a French colony again, and by plundering their wealth, heal the French economy that is about to collapse.
One night, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com passed quickly. The French Atlantic Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet sailed northward at a distance of 50 nautical miles. By the morning of the 28th they had crossed Barbados and entered the Lesser Antilles.
There are many islands in this area, and the hydrological conditions are relatively responsible. Both the French Atlantic Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet slowed down their advance and dispatched a large number of scout ships to avoid being ambushed by the enemy.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, a "Dolphin" class destroyer numbered 3609 of the French Navy appeared 50 kilometers south of Saint Lucia Island. They are hundreds of kilometers ahead of the capital ship, and search the sea area first. If they find traces of the US fleet, they will immediately notify the capital ship. With their speed, it is very easy to escape.
"Captain, the Americans won't really escape, right?" the navigator said to the captain in the narrow bridge of the destroyer.
"I can't tell, maybe they went back, or maybe they are still in this sea area. We have entered the Lesser Antilles, we have to be more careful." The captain put down the binoculars and said.
Suddenly, a shrill siren sounded from the battleship, and a staff officer rushed into the bridge quickly: "Captain, the watchman reports that there are a large number of American warships heading north!"
