"Three to five legions, that's not a lot. However, is the domestic army ready now?" Xiao Jie frowned. He has always been worried that after the army expands, its combat effectiveness will drop a lot. In this case, the gains outweigh the losses for France. After all, France's human resources are not very rich. If too many young men are killed in the war, it will have a very adverse impact on French society.
"Your Majesty, after two years of training, the soldiers have basically mastered the essentials of combat. However, they cannot really grow up without going through the test of blood and fire. Landing in Britain to fight can also be regarded as a test for the army. An exercise. When they land in North America in the future, they will also be the first troops to land." Eck said.
Xiao Jie nodded, indeed, Britain is a good whetstone. The United States is now using the war in South America to hone their military in order to close the gap with the French Army. As for France, although it adopts the method of bringing the old with the new, the real combat skills still need to be learned on the real battlefield. [bsp;"It can be implemented according to the plan. However, the sudden transfer of so many troops will have an impact on Europe. Let's order the European countries again to form a coalition army and enter the palace with France. The number should not be too many, fifty 10,000 is enough, but it must be elite. These troops will be used as a force to protect the transportation line, so that Europe will become more stable and at the same time allow us to save a lot of troops. Last time, when we attacked Northern Europe, everyone showed It's pretty good." Xiao Jie said. While finding a way to win the war, it is necessary to further preserve the strength of France, so that France can rule Europe and the entire world for a long time.
"Obey, Your Majesty, I will convey His Majesty's order to all European countries." Eck said. For Xiao Jie's order, he did not reject it, on the contrary he was very happy. This allows the French army to save a lot of troops for attack. The armies of European countries may not be able to charge into battle, but they are more than enough to maintain law and order in the occupied areas and protect transportation lines.
"Now, just wait for the news from the navy!" Xiao Jie walked to the window and looked at the brightly lit Paris, feeling a little worried. In the past two years, the French navy has been accumulating strength and has not fought against the US and Canadian navies. Therefore, it is still unknown who will win and who will lose in this fight.
"Your Majesty, I believe we will be able to win. Admiral Hercules is an excellent admiral, and the Channel Fleet is the most powerful fleet in the empire. We will definitely be able to win." Eck stood Xiao Jie said next to him.
"But the U.S.-Canadian coalition forces also have four fleets, which are not much weaker than the Strait Fleet. Moreover, their 'North Carolina-class' warships, the four fleets add up to a total of sixteen ships. And we There are only ten warships of the "Giant Whale" class and "Tiger Shark" class in the Strait Fleet." Xiao Jie's worries are not unfounded, the "North Carolina" class warships and the "William" class warships of the U.S. and Canadian Navy, The main guns it is equipped with are enough to threaten the French 'Giant Whale' class warships, not to mention the even worse armored 'Tiger Shark' class warships.
"Then do you want to dispatch the 'Glorious' fleet?" Dugor asked.
"If the 'Glorious' fleet is to be dispatched, the Admiralty will make unified arrangements. All we can do now is to trust Admiral Hercules. I believe he will bring victory to France." Xiao Jie said calmly. Anyway, it's useless to worry now.
The main force of the Strait Fleet led by Admiral Hercules left the home port in the evening. With the distance from Le Havre to the Isle of Wight, they had plenty of time to reach the Isle of Wight before dawn on June 13. Moreover, during this period, we must be prepared to encounter the main force of the US and Canadian fleets. Hercules has always been suspicious of Davis' real purpose of attacking the Isle of Wight this time. According to his guess, Davis, as the top person in charge of the US Department of the Navy, may just use the attack on Wight Island as a cover this time, and his real intention is to use the Strait Fleet out. After all, if the fleets of both sides continue to grow endlessly, the first country to collapse will definitely be France.
Therefore, the rescue of Wight Island has become a secondary task, and the main task has become to find the US and Canadian navy and defeat them.
The attack direction of the U.S. and Canadian navies is from the Atlantic Ocean to the English Channel. In order to prevent the French Atlantic Fleet from reinforcing the Isle of Wight, they must be intercepted before the French Atlantic Fleet reaches the Isle of Wight. Judging by the speed of both sides, the U.S. and Canadian navies are likely to have entered the English Channel by now.
Therefore, Hercules was even more cautious.
This time there are four fleets of the U.S. and Canadian Navy, and the supreme commander of the fleet is Godfrey, commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet. He has performed well in the past two years and has been trained by Davis as his successor. This time the war gave Davis a chance to test Godfrey. All the things he did before were just to avoid Fang's attention. Let the French side think that their goal is really the Isle of Wight.
After all, Davis is an admiral and has always advocated the supremacy of the navy. Moreover, as long as the French Channel Fleet can be severely damaged or eliminated, France will naturally not have the strength to land in the UK. A small Isle of Wight is naturally out of the question. He has great confidence in the US-Canada Fleet. After all, after two years of construction, the U.S. and Canadian navies have already been reborn. Not only has the powerful 'North Carolina' class battleship been added, but all other capital ships have also been replaced with new ones. It can be described as unprecedentedly powerful.
However, Hercules also paid the same attention. On leaving Le Havre they did not sail directly to the Isle of Wight, but diverted slightly. Finally, the two huge fleets met near the island of Alderney outside the Gulf of Seine.
So much so that both sides who are paying attention to the battle are a little confused. I don't understand why it happened there.
At that time, it was just dawn, and the sky was a bit gloomy. The navies of the two sides discovered each other almost at the same time. Therefore, in order to seize a favorable position, the navies of both sides inevitably appeared hunluàn. At this time, the quality of the navies of both sides is clearly displayed. While seizing a favorable position, the French Navy also dispatched a large number of 'Bayonet'-class and 'Dolphin'-class destroyers, using the night as cover, to quickly approach the US and Canadian Navy and launch lightning strikes.
At that time, the distance between the two sides was no more than 15 kilometers. With the speed of the 'Bayonet' and 'Dolphin' class destroyers, it only took more than 20 minutes to quickly approach the target.
As a result, hundreds of fast destroyers launched a hurricane to the US and Canada fleet.
Seeing this situation, Godfrey's expression changed drastically. He naturally knew the attack method of the French navy. Although the US fleet had taken many defensive measures against the lightning strike launched by this destroyer, it was still difficult to defend against it when it encountered it. Even the most powerful "North Carolina" class battleship, once hit by more than three torpedoes, it may only sink.
"Order the fleet to disperse!" Godfrey gave the order with a cold face. The U.S. and Canadian fleets gathered together can only become the target of French lightning strikes, and if they are dispersed, they will be easier to defend. It's just that if this is the case, they will not be able to form a powerful battleship formation.
When the distance was only two kilometers, the French destroyers launched torpedoes one after another. Due to the dispersal of the U.S. Navy in large numbers, the damage caused was not very large. Only some small warships were hit, and none of the "North Carolina" class warships were hit.
After the lightning strike, the French destroyer fleet did not immediately, but cruised around the US-Canadian fleet and launched artillery battles with the small ships of the US-Canadian fleet. The two sides fought happily.
After avoiding the lightning strikes of the French Navy, the American and Canadian fleet collided with Hercules' battleship formation. Ten powerful "Giant Whale"-class warships and "Tiger Shark"-class warships, all of which had their hulls turned horizontally, confronted the capital ships of the American and Canadian fleets with their powerful 305mm main guns.
The shocking artillery battle started. UU Reading www. uukanshu.com The U.S.-Canada Fleet almost became the target of the French Navy in the early stage. But Godfrey is also ruthless. After the two "North Carolina" class battleships were sunk and severely damaged, they also successfully approached the French Navy and dispatched a neat queue.
At this time, the two sides are evenly matched. The U.S. and Canadian navies have a numerical advantage of two ships, while the French navy is more powerful than the U.S. and Canadian navies in battleships and artillery.
The cruisers of the French Channel Fleet also decisively withdrew from the battlefield to deal with the weaker warships.
Fierce naval battles continued from dawn to noon. The two sides fought life and death on this piece of sea, and it can be said that each other won or lost. Among the remaining twelve "North Carolina" class battleships of the US and Canadian Navy, six were sunk and severely damaged. The French Channel Fleet also sank three "Tiger Shark" class warships, and two "Giant Whale" class battleships were severely damaged. the price.
At the critical moment, the French Channel Fleet organized another lightning strike. A total of thirty warships launched an attack on the US and Canada main fleet from all directions. Although the U.S. and Canadian navies fought back desperately, two warships were sunk again.
Seeing that there was no hope of winning, Godfrey decisively issued an order to retreat.