Clarence was shocked, and looked at Paul with some surprise. He didn't expect that Paul would have such an idea: "A temporary failure does not mean a complete failure. We lost this time, but we still have a chance to win back in the future." of."
Paul shook his head: "This naval battle is of great importance, not only for our Mediterranean fleet, but also for the entire French Navy. Otherwise, Marshal Boult would definitely not let me go. So Even if the entire Mediterranean Fleet is destroyed, the U.S. Navy must be severely damaged, and these three U.S. fleets will be buried with us as much as possible. Otherwise, we will be at an absolute disadvantage in the entire Atlantic region."
"Alright then. I support your decision." Clarence thought for a while, and finally agreed with Paul's decision.
"Of course, this failure was entirely caused by my improper command. I will take full responsibility for it and have nothing to do with you. You don't have to stay. You can go to the 'Iberia' for a while. 'Class battleship. When the time comes, I will try my best to open a hole for you." Paul said.
After hearing Paul's words, Clarence's face immediately changed, and he said angrily, "Paul, you underestimate me too much. We have worked together for so many years, do you think I am a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death?"
"Listen, Clarence, don't be impulsive. You must go back alive and explain everything that happened here to His Majesty the Emperor and Marshal Burt. In addition, the empire will definitely rebuild the Mediterranean Fleet in the future. As the chief of staff of the Mediterranean Fleet, you can Let the newly formed fleet avoid a lot of detours and form combat effectiveness faster." Paul said sharply.
Clarence looked at Paul, saw the determined expression on his face, and finally chose to compromise. Due to the urgency of time, Clarence quickly packed up some important documents, then boarded a small boat, and left the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet 'Brave'. On the boat, Clarence thought silently, after the great battle, would the Bravery survive?
After Clarence left, Paul immediately made a series of military adjustments. The northwest direction is the junction of the two fleets of the US military, and it is also the weakest place. It is also where Paul wants to open a hole. The **** battle with the U.S. military to the end does not mean that the Mediterranean Fleet will be besieged by the U.S. military. They will try their best to eliminate as many U.S. troops as possible. This is what Paul wants to see.
Under Paul's order, the Mediterranean Fleet launched a fierce attack to the northwest, using the "Dreadnought" class and "Pre-Dreadnought" class warships such as the "Brave" as arrows. The fierce attack immediately made the encirclement circle hastily formed by the US military become precarious. I believe that it won't be long before the Mediterranean Fleet will be able to tear a hole in the encirclement of the US military.
"Damn it! They want to break through, stop them." Davis yelled frantically. Seeing that the cooked duck is about to fly, this is something Davis would rather not see. Under Davis's order, the US warships sailed desperately to the northwest, hoping to stop the Mediterranean Fleet.
However, things backfired. Before the U.S. military arrived, an opening had been opened by the Mediterranean Fleet in the northwest direction of the encirclement. At this time, a small fleet composed of 5 "Iberia" class battleships quickly broke away from the battle formation of the Mediterranean Fleet and rushed out of the opened hole. This small fleet is exactly the fleet that Clarence is in. According to the agreement between him and Paul, after the Mediterranean Fleet opened the opening for them, they rushed out of the encirclement first.
As the protruding part of the arrow, the "Brave" has undoubtedly become the "magnet" of the shell on the battlefield. Almost half of the American artillery shells were directed at her. However, with its thick armor, ordinary shells just scratched her, and couldn't cause her any damage at all. Unless it is the 240mm main gun on the "New York" class battleship, the "Brave" can almost ignore other warships. However, there is a problem, that is, the sailors on the deck suffered a lot of casualties. After the raindrops of shells ransacked the deck of the "Brave", except for the gunners in the turret, all the other sailors were killed or injured.
The "Grand Duke" and "Warrior" guarding both sides of the "Brave" have also become the focus of the US military's attack. Their protective capabilities were slightly weaker than those of the Bravery, so after about an hour of fierce fighting, the two warships were shot and injured one after another. Among them, the "Grand Duke" was hit on the port side by a 240mm shell, and a hole with a diameter of about two inches was blown near the waterline. , Later, although the opening was blocked, the speed of the 'Grand Duke' was fatally affected. Gradually fell from the front of the queue to the last. The bridge of the "Warrior" was hit and caused a fire that could not be extinguished. The captain and other officers died on the spot. Half an hour later, the fire on the "Warrior" was out of control, and Paul had no choice but to give the order to abandon the ship. The remaining more than a hundred sailors on the "Warrior" were transferred to other warships.
The positions of the 'Grand Duke' and 'Warrior' were replaced by the 'Hunter' and 'Peninsula'. Together with the 'Brave', they continued to launch an attack on the US military. By this time, only the scarred 'Brave', 'Hunter', 'Peninsula', 4 'Bonaparte'-class battleships and 12 'Iberia'-class battleships remained in the Mediterranean Fleet. Due to damage to power, the "Grand Duke" fell into the siege of the US military and sank 10 minutes ago.
Although the loss of the Mediterranean Fleet was very large, they also caused huge casualties to the US military. By this time in the battle, more than 30 U.S. warships had been sunk or suffered heavy damage and lost their combat effectiveness and withdrew from the battlefield. These include the 'New York' class warships 'Chicago' and 'Saint Paul', as well as 11 'Pennsylvania' class warships and more than 20 'Washington' class warships. This loss also made Davis very distressed. It was hard for him to imagine how many warships they would have left after the naval battle. This is the result of their calculation of the Mediterranean Fleet. If everyone confronts each other with open swords and guns, it is still unclear who will win the battle?
Slowly, with the passage of time, the sun slowly sank to the west, and the naval battle gradually came to an end. At 7 o'clock in the evening, the cannonade finally ended. The last battleship of the Mediterranean Fleet, the flagship "Brave" slowly sank into the sea, marking the end of this naval battle with the failure of the Mediterranean Fleet, except for the five "Iberia" class warships that rushed out of the encirclement before , All other warships of the Mediterranean Fleet were sunk.
Davis, however, didn't seem happy with the win. The reason is very simple. From the more than 30 battleships on the sea that are riddled with scars, one can infer Davis' current mood. After carefully arranging it for so long, he finally got such a result, which really made him a little bit dumbfounded.
"General, what should we do next?" Aldrich, commander of the 3rd Fleet, said with a sad face. His 3rd Fleet can be said to have suffered heavy losses in this naval battle. The entire fleet now only has 11 warships including the flagship "Philadelphia". As for the 5th Fleet, it is even worse. Only the flagship "Chicago" and 1 "Pennsylvania" class warship and 3 "Washington" class warships are left. It can be said that the 5th Fleet has already existed in name only. Only the 4th Fleet is slightly better, with 22 warships left, almost half of its combat power. The reason for such a result is probably because they feel the battlefield at the latest, which is also the reason why Commander Aldrich of the 3rd Fleet and Commander Godfrey of the 5th Fleet hate the Commander of the 4th Fleet Du Luke~www .mtlnovel.com~ If it weren't for Duruke's desire to preserve the strength of the 4th Fleet, perhaps the losses of their two fleets would not be so great.
"General, I think we should go home to rest, especially my 5th Fleet, I am afraid that it will not be able to participate in the battle for a long time." Godfrey also said.
Duruk looked at Davis indifferently, without expressing any opinion.
"Although the French Mediterranean Fleet is almost completely destroyed, don't forget that there is still a fleet from the French Atlantic Fleet in the southern Atlantic region, and the Gulf of Paria is still in the hands of the French. We can only defeat the remaining That French fleet occupied Paria Bay is the real end of the battle." Davis said in a deep voice.
"Then will my Fifth Fleet participate?" Godfrey asked helplessly. Because the remaining strength of the 5th Fleet is indeed a bit out of reach.
"I'm afraid this won't work. According to the information we have obtained, the fleet has two 'Pre-Dreadnought' class warships, four 'Bonaparte' class warships and 10 'Iberia' class warships, plus those who escaped from the Mediterranean Fleet The strength of the five 'Iberia' class warships that went back cannot be underestimated." Davis said.