(Chapter to!)
On January 29, Burt led the main force of the Iberian navy to Lisbon. They will be stationed here for a period of time until the support fleet sent by the British Navy is defeated or the British support fleet returns to the UK. Due to communication reasons, the United Kingdom does not know that Gibraltar has been occupied by the Iberian army. They and General Dabil had expected that Gibraltar could last at least two months, and this time was enough for them Reinforcement troops have arrived in Gibraltar.
As early as when the Iberian army began to gather, Bruchit anticipated the danger, and promptly sent a ship to the country for advice. The response speed of the British government this time is still very fast. It quickly mobilized two infantry divisions, a total of more than 30,000 people, and rushed to Iberia by ship. The **** for them was drawn from the Royal Navy's Channel Fleet, one of the two most powerful fleets in the United Kingdom. Possessing a very strong strength, the fleet deployed this time includes 3 first-class battleships, 7 second-class battleships, 12 third-class battleships, more than 20 gunboats and three-masted clippers each. Among them, the British Admiralty also sent out the latest six steam engine warships "British" class, which can be regarded as a test of their research results. In fact, the 'British' class can be considered a very good warship, and its performance in all aspects is only a little worse than that of the 'Iberia' class. This was already quite good for the level of industry in Britain at the time.
The British support fleet is commanded by a general named Gerhard Cheng. He is a very stable general. In the age of sail, such a general is definitely a very good general. Nelson also participated in the battle for the commander of this fleet, but due to the fiasco last time, his ability has been seriously doubted, making him miss the position of commander this time.
On January 28, the Gerhardt Fleet left the Portsmouth Naval Port. Numerous warships will be responsible for escorting 85 transport ships carrying more than 30,000 army officers and soldiers and equipment in the center. In fact, there is another important reason why Britain can respond so quickly this time, that is, this batch of army was originally prepared to land in the Netherlands, and the same is true for the naval fleet. They were planning to immediately blockade the west coast of France. Gibraltar, and was sent there. It can also be seen from this that Britain still attaches great importance to Gibraltar.
After the main force of the Iberian Navy fleet arrived in Lisbon, it immediately took a two-day rest, mainly to allow the soldiers who had worked hard for so many days to rest, and then even the warships also needed to be overhauled. The warships that came to Lisbon this time included three 'Bonaparte'-class warships as the absolute main force, and 12 'Iberian'-class warships (one stayed in Gibraltar). It can be said that the entire Iberian Navy Eighty percent of the power is gathered here. Their mission is simple, that is to defeat the Gerhardt fleet that came to reinforce them, if they can be eliminated, that would be great. But the opponent's strength this time is also very strong, so Xiao Jie didn't have extravagant hopes for this. The other three 'Bonaparte' class battleships have already been launched, and only the superstructure, artillery and other equipment are left. It is estimated that they can join the naval battle sequence in 4 to 5 months. By then, the strength of the Iberian Navy Another big improvement can be obtained. Due to the serious shortage of warships, Xiao Jie had no choice but to order another 10 more "Iberia" class warships to be purchased. Although the "Iberia" class warships were much worse than the "Bonaparte" class, their construction time It is short, and it is also much more powerful than British warships. This is also a good choice for the Iberian Navy, which is seriously short of warships.
At the same time, the restoration work of Zhibu Luotuo Fortress is also speeding up. A large amount of materials and engineers have been sent here. Xiao Jie issued a death order to rebuild Gibraltar, which was already in ruins, into a new one within half a year. A strong fortress, but now it belongs to the Iberian fortress. Equipped with advanced fortress guns and equipped with some warships, then the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea will be completely controlled by Xiao Jie. The Mediterranean has also become, in a true sense, the Iberian pond.
It is estimated that the Gerhardt fleet will arrive in the waters west of Setubal Bay between February 6 and 8. Since February 4th, Burt has led the fleet to strengthen sea patrols. He can't let the British fleet pass by because of carelessness, otherwise it will definitely bring disaster to Gibraltar.
Due to the shortage of warships, Burt divided the fleet into 3 small fleets, with 3 'Bonabar'-class warships and 4 'Iberia'-class warships each, and divided a special patrol area. It's very open, once the Gerhardt fleet is found, immediately call other fleets for support through the radio. Although doing so scores the strength of the fleet, it is also impossible. Moreover, with the radio station, their communication problems have been properly resolved.
Time passed little by little, and the nerves of Boult and all naval officers and soldiers were tense. It was already February 6, the most likely day for the Gerhardt fleet to appear.
"Did the other two fleets find anything?" Boult stood on the bridge, quietly looking at the calm sea. He doesn't need to keep an eye on the sea surface all the time, because the ultra-small airship carried by the battleship has risen 600 meters into the air. From their position, they can see the sea surface more than 20 nautical miles away through the telescope, and any abnormal movement will be quickly Notify the bridge by radio.
Three small fleets, one led by Boult himself, one led by his deputy, the deputy commander of the navy, Rear Admiral Wasser, and the other was commanded by the chief of naval staff, Rear Admiral Sucrete.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, Boult was taking a lunch break, and his adjutant woke him up very anxiously: "General, General Wasser, they discovered the British fleet, and are now asking for your instructions."
Upon hearing the news, Boult quickly got up from the bed and rushed to the bridge. After familiarizing himself with the situation, he immediately issued an order: "Order General Wasser, immediately take advantage of the advantages of our warships to hold the enemy, and we will immediately go to the bridge." He moved closer. In addition, immediately send power to General Sucrete, so that they will immediately approach the Wasser fleet and prepare for battle."
The messenger on the battleship immediately issued his order. Now they are about 40 nautical miles away from the Wasser fleet, and they can arrive at about 5 pm if sailing at full speed. However, the problem came out immediately. In this season, it is not long before dark at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and at that time alone, Bult doesn't think he can defeat the huge Gerhardt fleet. The Alter Fleet dealt a severe blow, then quickly retreated to the Strait of Gibraltar, and looked for fighters again tomorrow.
At this time, the Gerhardt fleet didn't even realize that they had been discovered by the Iberian Navy, and they didn't even know that the Iberian Navy was already blocking their way. In their view, the Iberian Navy and Britain are still in Gibraltar, and the possibility of slipping into the Atlantic is very small.
At 2:50 p.m., with the help of the airship, the Wasser fleet has already begun preparations for bombardment. Although the Gerhardt fleet is still 15 nautical miles away from them, the shells have been transported to the deck, and the artillery has also entered The turret has been lifted, the breech has been opened, and the loader is already starting to load the shells. As soon as the enemy ship enters their strike range, they will start shelling without hesitation.
At 3 o'clock, the distance between the two sides was only 15 nautical miles.
"General, I found a strange thing about 15 nautical miles ahead." The watchman on Gerhardt's flagship found the airship of the Iberian Navy, but he had never seen what it was, and It was too far away to see clearly, so he had to report the situation to Gerhardt. Since the steam engine of the Wasser fleet was turned off after discovering the Gerhardt fleet, the entire Gerhardt fleet did not discover Wasser's fleet at all~www.mtlnovel.com~Gerhardt picked up the telescope , but he has never seen this kind of thing since he joined the army for more than 30 years. He said it was a bird, but it didn't look like it, and it remained there all the time. Not only him, but the officers under him also didn't know what it was.
Slowly, the distance between the two sides became closer and closer. When it was only 12 nautical miles, Wasser ordered the fleet to fire. He needed the fast speed of the battleship to hold the enemy back. Five thick black smoke shot up into the sky.
The Gerhardt fleet also immediately noticed this anomaly, and the Iberian fleet came, and this idea appeared in everyone's minds. Although Gerhardt didn't know why the Iberian fleet appeared here, he immediately issued a combat order: some warships immediately escorted the transport and turned around, and most of the other warships rushed up at full speed. He has already learned from the materials how powerful the Iberian naval artillery is, and he doesn't want his fleet to be a living target for others. Moreover, he also discovered that he was facing only 5 warships. With a huge advantage in numbers, he believed that he would be able to destroy these warships in one fell swoop. Then he would be the first in the British Navy to destroy the Iberian Navy. What an honor to be the commander of the fleet!
(To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to .FU., more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)