For Davis' order, McCain was actually very unconvinced. Why should the 7th Fleet be used as bait, let the 7th Fleet and the French South Atlantic Fleet fight desperately, and finally let the 6th Fleet reap the benefits. Why not the 6th Fleet as bait?
Of course, McCain only dared to complain like this, and he didn't dare to really say that to Davis. You know, in the US Navy, Davis has a lot of prestige. Almost no one dared to disobey his orders. Using the Seventh Fleet as a bait, McCain only dared to complain a few words, but he still had to do it honestly.
"Hmph! The strength of the French South Atlantic Fleet may not be much stronger than ours, it just has a few more warships than ours." McCain put down a piece of information about the French South Atlantic Fleet in his hand. In his opinion, his 7th Fleet is not as powerful as the French 7th Fleet. It is nothing more than one less capital ship than the French South Atlantic Fleet. The French South Atlantic Fleet has three 'Giant Whale' class warships and two 'Tiger Shark' class warships. The 7th Fleet has only 4 "North Carolina" class warships. However, according to information obtained from the Battle of the English Channel, although the French "Tiger Shark"-class warships are also very powerful, especially the 305mm naval guns, if they are hit, even the "North Carolina-class" warships will suffer heavy damage. However, the weakness of the "Tiger Shark" class warship is also very obvious. If it is hit by the main gun of the "North Carolina class" warship of the United States, the damage will be even more serious. Because their skin is too thin, this is the price of sacrificing armor for speed. The price of using high speed to bully those weak is okay, but it must be duel with battleships. This weakness is fatal enough. [bsp; Therefore, although the French South Atlantic Fleet has one more capital ship than the US 7th Fleet, McCain did not take the French South Atlantic Fleet seriously. If you are lucky, the US 7th Fleet alone can kill the French South Atlantic Fleet. In naval battles, sometimes luck is indeed very important. Especially in this era, the hit rate of shelling is generally not high. If one side gets lucky and the main artillery hits the target repeatedly, it is not impossible for the weak to defeat the strong.
Time passed by like this. Following this, the distance between the fleets of the two sides continued to narrow, and the pace of war was approaching step by step.
On the night of the 25th, Fortaleza was extremely busy. Especially the port area is brightly lit. Fortaleza basically has no electricity. Therefore, the French army lit countless bonfires in the port, shining brightly on the entire port area. On the road from the port to Fortaleza, there was a continuous stream of carriages. Many horses were already foaming at the mouth from exhaustion. After a tense day of unloading the ship, up to now, about 40% of the supplies have been unloaded. All 50,000 soldiers disembarked. In order to unload the supplies as soon as possible, Méng Di immediately ordered the ship to be unloaded overnight. Try to get all the supplies away on the morning of the 26th. Let the fleet out of danger as soon as possible.
At night, the soldiers who unloaded the ship in the port have changed a batch. After all, people are not made of iron, and they also need rest. Fortunately, there are so many soldiers in the French army that they can switch to two shifts.
One after another, the transport ships were unloaded, and then left the port, heading to where they had not yet assembled. Whenever there are 10 ships, they will return to France together. This time there is no fleet escort, if the target is too big, it will be more dangerous. Who knows if they will encounter a US warship on the way back. If they go separately, even if they are captured by the Americans, the loss will not be too great.
"Commander, at this speed, we can finish unloading them all tomorrow morning!" Elliott said happily.
"Well! Marshal Méngti has helped us a lot this time. The headquarters has agreed to our plan. Let the soldiers have a good rest. We will go south tomorrow to teach the Americans a lesson and let them know what to do with us in France. Right end!" Bennet laughed. He was very excited, and seemed to have seen the scene where the South Atlantic Fleet defeated the US 7th Fleet.
"It has already been arranged. According to the latest information received, the US 7th Fleet has arrived in the waters near Ilheus. If we don't take the initiative to go south, they will arrive in Fortaleza around noon on the 27th. The United States The combined fleet composed of the 6th Fleet and the 5th, 9th, and 11th Fleets has now arrived in the waters near Georgetown. It is expected to arrive in Fortaleza in the afternoon of the 27th." Elliott on the chart marked.
"Then, we will start going south tomorrow afternoon. If we maintain our cruising speed, we will probably meet the US 7th Fleet at Cape Bran. The time will be around 4 pm tomorrow. Very good, we will choose this place to meet the US 7th Fleet. 7th Fleet." Bennett used a pencil to draw a cross on the position of Cape Bran on the chart. There will become the battlefield of the South Atlantic Fleet and the US 7th Fleet, and it will also be the first naval battle since the French counterattack.
Time to enter the 26th. At 11 am, the last supply ship left the port of Fortaleza. Then after merging with other transport ships, it sailed to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The warships of the French South Atlantic Fleet, which were originally scattered around and responsible for vigilance, also gathered together and began to make preparations for the expedition.
"Marshal Méng Di, thank you for your help, otherwise so many supplies would not have been unloaded so quickly." Bennett said excitedly. In normal times, it would take at least 3 days to unload so much military supplies, but with the help of the 18th Army, it took less than a day and a half to complete it all. This saved a lot of time for the South Atlantic Fleet. Can calmly face the upcoming US fleet.
"It's all for the sake of France! Besides, if you send us supplies, of course we must try our best not to put you in danger. Well, I won't talk nonsense, I know you still have actions. I'll go first , See you when you return to France! I wish you victory!" Méng Di said very simply.
After watching Méngty board the transfer ship and leave, Bennett ordered the fleet to set sail. They will rush to the Cape Bran area, ready to meet the US 7th Fleet. I believe that their sudden appearance in front of the US 7th Fleet will definitely surprise them.
Thick smoke billowed from the chimney, and the French South Atlantic Fleet, after completing its turn, formed its fleet and headed south. To avoid detection, they sailed 20 nautical miles into the Atlantic before turning south.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the French South Atlantic Fleet had arrived 10 kilometers north of Cape Bran. Bennett ordered the fleet to stop advancing, and dispatched a 'Light Cavalry'-class cruiser and two 'Dolphin'-class destroyers to search south. Once they found traces of the US 7th Fleet, they would report immediately. The main force of the fleet stayed in this sea area and waited for the US fleet.
At around 3 p.m., the reconnaissance formation sent by the South Atlantic Fleet finally discovered the belated U.S. 7th Fleet in the waters near Recife. They immediately reported to the flagship, and then monitored the U.S. 7th Fleet from a distance. The movement of the fleet.
"General, three French warships were found 20 kilometers northeast of us." A staff officer reported to McCain.
"What, is it hundreds of nautical miles away from Fortaleza, how could the French South Atlantic Fleet's alert formation be sent so far away?" McCain said in disbelief.
"It has been confirmed that it is one of the French's 'Hussar'-class warships and two 'Dolphin'-class destroyers!" The staff officer added.
"Send a few warships to drive them away! Hmph! Even if we are found, so what? Unless the French South Atlantic Fleet can abandon those supply ships, it will not escape the fate of being besieged by us." McCain said confidently. He didn't know that the last French transport ship had left Fortaleza a few hours ago, and in front of them was the French South Atlantic Fleet waiting for him.
Under McCain's order, six American warships rushed towards the three French scout ships.
The U.S. Navy, also drawing on the experience of the French Navy, carried out a unified division of all warships. Divided into battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers~www.mtlnovel.com~Among them, battleships are named "North Carolina class" battleships, heavy cruisers are named "South Carolina class" battleships, and light cruisers are named "Washington class" class' battleships, destroyers were named 'Franklin' class battleships. Only the battlecruiser is missing. In the eyes of U.S. Navy generals, battlecruisers were of little use at all.
Seeing that the United States sent a fleet to attack its formation, the captain of the French light cruiser immediately ordered a retreat. Facing the main force of the US 7th Fleet, they are not opponents, and it is better to retreat as far as possible.
In terms of speed, American warships cannot be compared with French warships. Because in terms of steam engine technology, the United States is far behind France. Even after King William of Canada fled England and brought a large number of scientists, the gap narrowed, but still existed. The United States still has a long way to go to catch up with France in technology.
See the French battleship retreat. The American battleship had to stop. Anyway, even if they tried their best, they couldn't catch up with the French warship. Since it's useless, it's better to save some effort.
Bennett had also learned of the arrival of the American fleet at this time. He immediately ordered the fleet to set sail and rushed towards the US 7th Fleet. At this time, the two sides are facing each other on a narrow road, and they need to defeat each other in one go, completely defeat the other party, and not give the other party any chance.