As for the candidate for the commander of this expeditionary fleet, it should have belonged to Clarence. After all, he was the one who proposed this plan, so it would be great for him to be the commander. However, Clarence is now the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, and the Mediterranean Fleet is being rebuilt. He is busy with affairs and cannot leave at all. In addition, Clarence also focused on the reconstruction of the Mediterranean fleet, so he declined the appointment of Boult. And Atlantic Fleet Commander Kirkbride and Channel Fleet Commander Hercules themselves also have fleets to lead, especially at this time, they can't get away. In the end, there was really no way, and the important task of leading the expedition fleet finally fell on the shoulders of the French Navy Deputy Commander Vasseur. Originally, Boult, as the commander of the French Navy, was definitely not suitable to be the commander of this expeditionary fleet. As for Sucrete, the chief of staff, it can be said that he is the busiest person in the naval system. Where did he get the time?
After the candidate for the commander is determined, the work of material allocation and battleship assembly is also carried out in an orderly manner. After everything is ready, the implementation will begin as planned.
While the French Navy is actively preparing to counterattack and intends to regain the initiative on the battlefield, the U.S. Navy is also actively preparing a new combat plan in an attempt to take advantage of the victory to pursue and expand the results of the battle.
"General Davis, the president summoned." Carter, Secretary of US President Adams, said to the long-awaited Davis.
"Okay." Davis stood up from the sofa, tidied up his appearance, took the documents, and walked out of the lounge.
Coming to Adams' office, Davis pushed the door in and saw Adams looking at a document. So he said, "Your Excellency, Davis is here to report."
"Oh!" Adams raised his head, straightened his glasses, and said, "Dear General Davis, please sit down." Ever since the navy won the victory in the Battle of the Sea of Galle, Adams has been very kind to Davis. . Although the U.S. military lost a lot in the Caribbean sea battle, Adams was very happy to be able to wipe out a fleet of the French navy, which greatly exceeded Adams' expectations. If there were more battles like that, perhaps the entire Atlantic would never see a French battleship again. How wonderful it was then! Adams had great hopes for that.
"Thank you very much!" Davis thanked. Then sat down on a sofa next to Adams.
"General Davis, don't you have something to do here this time? It stands to reason that you should be very busy right now?" Adams asked with some doubts.
"That's right, Your Excellency the President. I have drafted a plan, and I will give it to you for review, and I hope you can approve it." Davis said, and then handed his plan to Adams.
The plan Davis made was very long and detailed, and it took Adams almost half an hour to read it. After reading it, Adams closed the plan, took off his glasses, and said, "Do you think we will continue to launch an attack on the French navy? However, I know that after the Caribbean sea battle, the navy's losses were very large. Now again I'm afraid it's not appropriate to launch a large-scale naval battle, right?"
"Your Excellency, I think now is the best time. Although our army has lost a lot, the French Navy has also suffered a lot. When we recover our strength, with our shipbuilding capabilities that are stronger than ours, I believe the time will come. The French navy must have regained its strength, and it may even increase." Davis stated his reasons.
"Yes, this is a problem. France's shipbuilding capabilities are stronger than ours. It would be unwise to fight a war of attrition with them." Adams nodded.
"There is another reason, that is, France lost a fleet in the Caribbean sea battle. Now the French government must be under great pressure. In order to divert the public's attention, I believe they are also actively preparing for a counterattack. Therefore, we must preemptively Make a move, or wait until after the French sneak attack to take action, it will be too late." Davis added a fire.
After listening to Davis's words, Adams bowed his head and pondered for a moment, and then said: "I can't make a decision yet. I have to listen to the opinions of Secretary of State Brandon and Chief of General Staff Zominsk before making a decision."
"Carter, go and find Lord Brandon and General Zominsk immediately, and tell them that I have something very urgent to find them." Adams ordered.
"Okay, Your Excellency the President." Carter said respectfully. Then leave to find Brandon and Zominsk.
Within half an hour, Brandon and Zominsk arrived at Adams' office. After understanding why they came and reading Davis' plan, Zominsk first said: "To be honest, I am not in favor of expanding the war at this time. Not to mention that the navy has suffered heavy losses in the Caribbean sea battle." , if the war is not expanded in the near future, our national strength will not be able to bear it at all. In addition, the army is now expanding in South America, taking up a lot of supplies, and we will not be able to launch large-scale battles in a short time. The last point is, in In your plan, even you can’t guarantee that we will win if we launch a war. If we fail, then we will hardly have a chance to come back.”
"Yes, I think so too. Although as time goes by, it will be very unfavorable to us. However, when we acquire South America, our country's strength will increase greatly. At that time, we will not necessarily be weaker than France," Brandon added.
Hearing what Brandon and Zominsk said, Davis' expression changed instantly. In order to prepare this plan, he spent more than a week of energy, but now, it was rejected in this way. These damned politicians, they don't understand what war is at all, Davis cursed secretly in his heart.
"However, it is not up to us to decide whether to expand the war now. I am sure that France must be planning a large-scale offensive now." Davis explained.
"Since you know that the French are preparing to launch a large-scale attack, you should organize the navy to actively defend!" Brandon said.
"The best defense is offense. Blind defense will only put us at the disadvantage of being passively beaten. In this way, we will lose all the advantages we have gained so hard. Besides, we don't even know where France will be? Which way will we launch the attack. Therefore, we can only disrupt the French plan by actively attacking first, so that we can continue to maintain our advantage." Davis continued to explain.
Adams glanced at Brandon and Zominsk, understood what they meant from their eyes, and then said to Davis: "Sorry, General Davis, due to the current national conditions, we are temporarily unable to support your plan. But , I assure you, it will only take 3 months at most, when the Army recovers and the strength of the 3rd and 5th Fleets recovers. By then, the Navy will be able to launch a large-scale campaign against the French Navy."
"Oh! I understand. Sorry! I wasted everyone's time." Davis said helplessly, then stood up, took his proposal, and walked out of Adams' office. At that moment, he looked a lot older. He should have expected this outcome long ago. Adams and the others are too optimistic about the current situation, wrongly thinking that as long as they control South America, the strength of the United States can rise to the same level as France. This will only bring the United States into a very dangerous situation. Probably only when the French attack comes, they can wake up. Davis thought silently.
On the night of May 14, 1929, Wasser led the French expeditionary fleet secretly set off from Le Havre, the naval base of the French Channel Fleet. And crossed the English Channel that night and entered the North Sea. Safely scheduled route, quietly sailing towards the destination. Because the secrecy work is done very well~www.mtlnovel.com~ The United States and Canada have no idea that a French fleet is approaching the American continent. Although Davis guessed that the French navy would take large-scale retaliatory actions, due to lack of intelligence, he could not judge the attack method and direction of the French army at all, and could only organize the passive defense of the US and Canadian navies.
On the night of May 17, the French expeditionary fleet received secret supplies in Iceland, then completed its turn and sailed to Greenland. When replenishing in Iceland, in order to prevent news from leaking, the time was deliberately chosen at two o'clock in the morning, and the army was mobilized to blockade the entire port.
On May 19, the French expeditionary fleet arrived in the waters 50 nautical miles east of Greenland. This is not the focus of Canadian Navy patrols. There are only a few times when warships will patrol this area, so the French expeditionary fleet is not worried about being discovered by the Canadian Navy. .
In Greenland waters, the French expeditionary fleet turned again. From here, they will head south into the Labrador Sea. At the same time, it is also necessary to carefully avoid the patrol fleet of the Canadian Navy. Fortunately, the Canadian Navy has dispatched nearly half of its navy to participate in the Atlantic battle, which has reduced their patrolling efforts a lot.
"Send a report to the Admiralty that we have entered the Labrador Sea and are heading towards Newfoundland," Wasser ordered. The St. Johns Naval Base on Newfoundland was the first target of their attack.