(Chapter 1 arrives, there will be chapter 1 later)
The great victory of the naval battle on March 11 completely established the absolute right hand of the French navy. After ambushing the British Atlantic Fleet, the French Atlantic Fleet did not return to the Terceira Naval Base in the Azores, but stationed in the Channel Islands with the Mediterranean Fleet, gathering the strength of the three major fleets to encircle and suppress the remaining fleet of the British Navy. At this moment, the total number of warships left in the British Navy is only about 150, which is less than one-third of the number before the outbreak of the war. And what about the French side? The number of warships is only about 140. Although the British navy still has a slight advantage in terms of numbers, in terms of the performance of warships, the two sides are completely incomparable. The current combat effectiveness of the French Navy is definitely much stronger than that of the British Navy. Therefore, after the victory of this ambush, the French Navy did not relax. On the one hand, the three major fleets stepped up to eliminate the voice of the British Navy. The Marine Corps is also making active preparations, because they will be the vanguard of landing in the UK.
The battle in the English Channel intensified again with the heavy damage to the British Atlantic Fleet. The French Navy frequently dispatched, either attacking the British patrol fleet or attacking the British port. The British Navy has been in a state of being suppressed. In just a few days, the naval ports in southern England were repeatedly attacked, and the strength of the navy became smaller and smaller. I believe that it won't be long before the French navy's gradual encroachment, the British navy will be wiped out.
"Your Excellency Willendorf, why? Why is the Royal Navy completely suppressed by the French Navy now? Could it be that the Royal Navy, which has consumed the kingdom's huge financial and material resources, has really become vulnerable?" Liverpool roared. The British Atlantic Fleet was ambushed and severely damaged, which annoyed him very much. The reports on the loss of warships and military ports in the following days made his anger continue to rise, and finally broke out today.
Willendorf stood obediently in front of Liverpool, unable to say a word. The rapid failure of the navy completely exceeded his expectations. Now the royal family, the government and the people are all strongly accusing the navy of being unfavorable in operations. He is under great pressure now. "Your Excellency, this is entirely caused by the despicable sneak attack of the French Navy. If they fought the Atlantic Fleet in an open and honest manner, we may not necessarily be the losers. Besides, the Atlantic Fleet's action plan was decided before I took over. Yes, in a sense, I am not responsible for the heavy damage to the Atlantic Fleet." Willendorf quibbled. He knew that if he could not shirk responsibility for the defeat, he would follow in Halbucher's footsteps.
"Your Excellency Willendorf, don't forget that you are the Minister of the Navy now, not Halbucher. Since Halbuher resigned as the Minister of the Navy, he has no relationship with the Navy. "Liverpool looked at Willendorf and said, meaning that he must be responsible for this navy incident.
Willendorf felt very wronged, obviously not his responsibility, but let him bear it. Now, he was really envious of Halbuher. Although Halbuher was dismissed, he didn't have to bear any responsibility. It's not like he is now, not to mention taking over a lot of mess, and he has to bear the responsibility for failure.
"Your Excellency, as for taking responsibility, we will talk about it later. What needs to be solved now is the continuous attack by the French navy. Since yesterday, the French navy has targeted the main cities in the south of the kingdom. If the team cannot lead the attack of the French navy, I am afraid that the big cities in the south will be turned into ruins." The Secretary of the Interior reminded.
Everyone turned their attention to Willendorf, because resisting the French navy was originally a matter of the Royal Navy. Seeing everyone staring at him, Willendorf's face turned red in an instant.
"Your Excellency Willendorf, are you talking? Can the navy protect the southern city from being attacked by the French navy?" The foreign minister also asked anxiously.
Gritting his teeth, Willendorf said frankly: "To tell you the truth, the Royal Navy now has less than 70 warships left, which is far from being an opponent of the French Navy."
"Then what happened to your navy? The Ministry of Finance has allocated so much funds to you, but now it has become like this?" Chancellor of the Exchequer Hawkins accused with a livid face. The navy's warships were all piled up with money, but now they are all in vain. How can he lie down and not feel bad?
For Hawkins' accusation, Willendorf did not refute it, because he had no room to refute.
After thinking for a while, Willendorf replied: "Your Excellency, if possible, I request that the remaining fleet of the Royal Navy be withdrawn from the strait. They are the last seeds of the Royal Navy, and they must be preserved for the sake of We will make a comeback in the future.”
"Cowards! It is because of the existence of you cowards that the navy suffered a crushing defeat." Before Willendorf could finish his sentence, someone accused him. The person who accused Willendorf was none other than the old enemy of the navy, the Minister of War Hammurabi.
Willendorf was about to counterattack, but was stopped by Liverpool. Liverpool frowned and asked: "Your Excellency Willendorf, the navy has withdrawn, so who will be responsible for the defense of the southern part of the kingdom?"
"Continuing the navy in the English Channel is nothing more than increasing casualties. According to intelligence, the French Marine Corps is already preparing for combat. I believe it will not be long before they will prepare to land in our country. And to prevent the French Marine Corps from landing , then only rely on the army." Willendorf said. Although it is not in the right direction with the army, but at this time, there is no choice but to abandon the prejudice.
Liverpool turned to Hammurabi and asked, "Can the army fulfill the task of defending the kingdom?"
Hammurabi replied: "The French army is the most powerful army in the world, but the army will definitely do its best to prevent the French army from landing in the UK. However, I need the cooperation of various ministries. For example, financial and logistical materials." , and the supply of troops. Now the regular army of the kingdom has only 22 infantry divisions, with a total strength of 330,000 troops, distributed all over the kingdom. As far as England is concerned, there are only 12 infantry divisions. Confrontation, that's unrealistic, so we need a new army."
Liverpool nodded and said: "Don't worry, the government will fully support the Army."
Afterwards, the government issued a conscription declaration. Under the call to defend the motherland, a large number of young British men responded to the call, and a long queue was formed at every conscription station. Originally planned to recruit 10 infantry divisions, it was later expanded to 15. It's just that these are ordinary people without any military literacy, and it will take a lot of time to train them into qualified soldiers. But what Britain lacks most now is time, and the French attack is imminent.
When Britain set off an upsurge in defending the motherland, the French side was also actively preparing. The powerful British navy has been stepped on by them. Had to withdraw from the English Channel. The French Navy also intercepted the retreat of the British fleet. Only half of the nearly 70 warships of the British Navy finally rushed out and fled to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. In order to prevent the British Navy from regaining its strength, the French Navy also carried out a devastating blow to the British shipyards. Seventy percent of the British shipyards were destroyed, so that the recovery of the British Navy was nowhere in sight.
"Gentlemen, Britain is a powerful country. Although we have already wiped out the main force of the Royal Navy, we still need to make greater efforts to destroy Britain. Similarly, landing in Britain will not be completed overnight. Therefore , Before officially landing in the UK, we must seize a forward base to prepare for the official landing in the UK.” Xiao Jie explained at the war meeting against Britain attended by the navy generals and some army generals.
Everyone agrees with Xiao Jie's point of view ~www.mtlnovel.com~. After all, as a veteran power, Britain is still very powerful.
"After detailed demonstrations, we set the goal of capturing the advance base on the Isle of Wight, the southern island of England. For this reason, after full preparations, we will send the 3rd and 7th Divisions of the Marine Corps to capture the Isle of Wight. "Xiao Jie continued. After hearing Xiao Jie's order, some people were happy while others were sad. Naturally, the generals of the 3rd and 7th Divisions of the Marine Corps are happy. They can be the first batch of British people to land. The generals of other troops were full of envy and regret.
The Isle of Wight is only 22 kilometers wide and 40 kilometers long, half the size of London. There are 8 main towns on the Isle of Wight: Ryde, Newport, Cowes, Sandown, Ventnor, Shanklin, Yarmouth and Bambridge. As the gateway to Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight has always been a very important island in the south of England. The British Army has stationed heavy guards here all the year round, especially after the British Navy was defeated by the French Navy, the defenders on the island increased to 1 infantry division.
March 19. Under the **** of the Mediterranean Fleet, the 7th Division of the French Marine Corps boarded a ship from Cherbourg, which is only 80 kilometers away from the Isle of Wight. They will be the first batch of French troops to attack the Isle of Wight. After they landed on Wight Island to establish a beachhead, the 3rd Marine Division would also land on Wight Island.