Chapter 499: The Naval Battle Ends
"Order all the ships to rush up and attack the American fleet like a pack of wolves. Try to kill their warships, and it is best to sink them all." Kirkbride ordered in a good mood. Now, there are only 14 warships left in the US 7th Fleet, and some warships have been injured. The French fleet can be said to have an absolute advantage. Under the current circumstances, the U.S. 7th Fleet had no choice but to flee desperately. The sea area they are currently in is about 10 kilometers away from the port of Sao Paulo. If there is no interference from the French fleet, they will be able to arrive in less than half an hour. But now there are French warships constantly attacking them, so they have to be careful to guard against the torpedoes of the French fleet during the voyage, which will waste a lot of their time.
Under Kirkbride's order, dozens of French warships, with their fast speed, lingered near the 14 surviving warships of the US 7th Fleet like a pack of wolves. Once you find an opportunity to take advantage of it, you will immediately pounce on it like a hungry tiger, and flee immediately after launching the torpedo, making it impossible for American warships to defend against it. It is often necessary to constantly use the cannons on the battleships to deter the French warships. It's just that their efforts seem so powerless.
The USS 7th Fleet's flagship "Apostle" has undoubtedly become the focus of the French fleet's attack. No way, who told it to be so big? But the luck of the 'Apostle' is obviously much better than that of the 'Independence', which had sunk before. So far, the French fleet has attacked it no less than 10 times, but it has avoided it every time. Except for one torpedo that hit it during the breakout, the other dozens of torpedoes all And it 'passes'. This made the captains of the French fleet itch. It also made McCain, who was already depressed, feel a little better.
"General, we are about to return to Sao Paulo. We will be safe when we return to the naval port." George said with a smile on his lips. It's just that his smile looks so bitter.
"Hmm." McCain nodded feebly, the blow to him from this battle was really too great. This can be said to be the worst blow he has suffered so far. As one of the elite U.S. fleets, the U.S. 7th Fleet was defeated by dozens of small warships of the French Navy. Although a large part of the reason for this result was that France was much ahead of the U.S. in technology, but McCain At the same time, it also has an inescapable responsibility. If he hadn't underestimated the enemy, the U.S. 7th Fleet could have retreated when it discovered that the French fleet was abnormal, so it wouldn't have suffered such a heavy loss. This battle not only ruined the 7th Fleet of the US Navy, but also ruined McCain's career. If he could return to the United States after the war, he would undoubtedly be tried by a military court in the United States.
French warships have been cruising around the US 7th Fleet, and torpedoes are also scurrying in this sea area. From time to time, warships were hit by torpedoes. At the same time, the naval guns on the American battleships have never stopped. When the French warships approached them, they had to use naval guns to drive the French warships away. Sometimes they were able to successfully make the French warships give up launching torpedoes, and sometimes? It has no effect at all.
The casualties of the U.S. 7th Fleet have continued to rise. Before halfway through the journey, four more warships were sent to the bottom of the sea by the French Navy, and one of them was an American "South Carolina" class warship. In the battle order of the US Navy, this is a powerful warship second only to the "North Carolina" class battleship, but it still appears so vulnerable in front of the torpedoes of the French Navy. Only 4 torpedoes sent it to the bottom of the sea.
Half an hour later, it was only 5 kilometers away from Sao Paulo. The officers and soldiers of the US 7th Fleet couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. They will all be safe in a short time. This battle is undoubtedly a nightmare for them.
"Send a report to Eun and ask him to order the artillery in the fortress to bombard the French warships to meet us." At this time, McCain suddenly ordered. In such a short period of time, he has already adjusted his mentality. The 7th Fleet has suffered heavy losses, and the country will certainly not spare him lightly. But if he can resist the French army's attack on St. Paul, it will be a great achievement. I believe that when the time comes, he will be punished, and it will not be too heavy. At the same time, he was full of resentment towards Eun. If Eun hadn't urged him to send a fleet to attack the French fleet, the U.S. 7th Fleet would not have ended up where it is now. He even wondered if Eun did that on purpose. However, at this time, it is not suitable to fall out with You En. After all, to defend Sao Paulo, the infantry division in You En's hands is also an indispensable strength. However, whether McCain will find trouble with Ewan in the future, only God knows.
"It's none of your business. It's entirely because the French are too cunning. We didn't expect the French to have such a powerful attack method. If we want to blame, it can't be blamed on your head." McCain said .
After hearing what McCain said, George felt a little relieved. However, from McCain's words, he also heard McCain's dissatisfaction with You En. However, he knew that McCain would not be impulsive. After all, Eun still has an entire infantry division in his hands.
At the Fort St. Paul at this moment, Eun was also extremely hesitant after receiving the telegram from McCain requesting to respond. In just a few hours, there are only so many warships left in the mighty Seventh Fleet. He knew that McCain must hate him, the person who came up with the idea. He believed that when McCain came back, he would definitely find trouble with him. Even if it is not now, it will definitely not escape in the future. At this moment, he even hoped that the 'Apostle' would also be killed by the French fleet. However, he believed that with one of his infantry divisions, he was absolutely unable to withstand the French attack. Moreover, in Fort St. Paul, there was another US Marine division that he could not command, so he immediately conveyed McCain's order. The entire St. Paul Fortress immediately acted and began to attack the French warships that were constantly attacking the US 7th Fleet. Youn believes that with his current strength, even if McCain wants to move him, he still has to weigh it.
Soon, the American St. Paul Fortress began shelling. However, at this time, the combat power of St. Paul's Fortress is not as good as before. Even if they supported the U.S. 7th Fleet, it was extremely limited. The warships of the French Atlantic Fleet, passing through the rain of bullets from the US military, still responded to the US fleet with torpedoes. The short distance of 5 kilometers seems so far away for the US 7th Fleet.
Perhaps it was a manifestation of God, whom McCain has always believed in. At 8:42 in the morning, at that time, the US 7th Fleet was less than 4 kilometers away from the St. Paul Naval Port. However, their numbers are now down to single digits as well. From 32 ships when they left, it dropped to 8 ships. Among them, several were wounded. It can be said that this time the US 7th Fleet exists in name only. Among the remaining 8 battleships, apart from the 'Apostle', a 'North Carolina'-class battleship, there are two 'South Carolina'-class battleships, but these two battleships were injured, also because of their Because of its size, it has become the focus of the French Navy. The other five warships are two "New York" class warships and three "Pennsylvania" class warships.
In order for these warships to survive, McCain resolutely ordered the "Apostle" to stay at the end to block the French fleet, and let other warships withdraw into the naval port first. Immediately, the torpedoes of the French Navy rushed towards the 'Apostle'. It's just unbelievable that the 'Apostle' actually avoided it.
According to Kirkbride's order, the French fleet should force the remaining battleships of the US 7th Fleet into the naval port~www.mtlnovel.com~ and then launch torpedoes at the entrance of the port to destroy the American warships inside. Blow up all of them. Even if this task cannot be completed, the entrance of the general port must be destroyed, and the American warships will be trapped in the military port, making it a real 'existing fleet'.
At this moment, a French destroyer was hit by the large-caliber fortress guns of the Fort St. Paul. A 305mm artillery shell directly hit the middle of the battleship, and the entire battleship was immediately torn to pieces. Since then, the good luck of the French Navy seems to have come to an end. Two more battleships were damaged one after another, a light cruiser was also sunk, and another "Bayonet"-class destroyer was injured. Seeing this situation, Kirkbride hastily ordered the entire fleet to withdraw. He didn't want to lose too many warships in this battle. The loss of 3 battleships, especially a heavy cruiser, was enough to make him feel distressed.
In any case, in this battle, the French navy has taken advantage of it. At the cost of a light cruiser, a destroyer and several warships being injured, 75% of the warships of the US 7th Fleet were sunk, and the remaining few battleships were also seriously injured. The entire US 7th Fleet can be said to be dead up.
Although Kirkbride would like to send several other warships of the US 7th Fleet to the bottom of the sea, under the current circumstances, it is obviously impossible not to completely destroy the US military's St. Paul Fortress. However, they are not very far from this goal.