At 11 am on October 28, the French Atlantic Fleet and the US 4th Fleet officially met in the waters south of St. Lucia. Around this sea area, the decisive sea battle between France and the United States broke out.
On the bridge of the Azores, Kirkbride gave the order to attack. The 50 "Dolphin" class destroyers and 40 "Bayone" class destroyers owned by the Atlantic Fleet have formed a total of 9 destroyer squadrons. The 30 light cruisers were also organized into 3 detachments. After Kirkbride's offensive order was issued, the 9 destroyer squadrons, except for the remaining two, all accelerated towards the US 4th Fleet. The torpedo tubes installed on the bow of the ship had already begun to fill with water and were ready to launch at any time. Behind them, 3 formations of light cruisers and more than a dozen heavy cruisers rushed up fiercely.
The six battleships owned by the Atlantic Fleet consisted of three 'Giant Whale' class battleships, the "God", "Tuileries" and "Elysee", and rushed towards the main battleships of the US 4th Fleet. go. The other three "Tiger Shark" class warships, including the flagship "Azores", were targeted on other small warships of the US 4th Fleet. [bsp;In the previous naval battles, although the 'Tiger Shark' class had powerful firepower and speed, their weak armor kept them from being able to participate in the decisive battle of capital ships. This time, Kirkbride is going to use three 'Giant Whale' class battleships to confront the capital ships of the US 4th Fleet. The destroyer squadron used lightning strikes to sink all the capital ships of the US 4th Fleet.
At the same time, leaving three 'Tiger Shark' class battleships is also to guard against the other four fleets of the US fleet. After all, the US 4th Fleet is not the only one around here. The other 4 fleets may be hidden nearby. Waiting to give the Atlantic Fleet a fatal blow.
Almost at the same time that Kirkbride gave the offensive order, Trick, commander of the US 4th Fleet, also issued an operational order. More than forty warships of the 4th Fleet responded instantly. At the same time, Trick also sent a telegram to Aldrich, and Trick didn't know how long he could sustain the strong attack of the French Atlantic Fleet. Especially those dozens of destroyers that rushed up fiercely made his scalp tingle.
Under Tricker's order, the cruisers and destroyers of the US 4th Fleet immediately led the battleships and greeted the destroyer formation of the French Atlantic Fleet.
"Boom boom boom!" The dense cannonball sound came to mind. Rapid-fire guns and small-caliber naval guns are not very powerful, but they are superior in their fast firing speed, which can form continuous firepower strikes.
In the sky, shells flew horizontally, and on the sea, there were explosions one after another. The direct battle between the destroyers and cruisers on both sides entered the intense stage almost from the beginning.
The French Atlantic Fleet, relying on its overwhelming numbers and technological advantages, formed an overwhelming advantage in this battle. Regardless of whether it is a destroyer or a cruiser, the number is almost 3 to 1. Several warships fought around the American warships, especially the "South Carolina" class heavy cruisers of the American fleet, which were replaced by fifteen French "Heavy Cavalry" class heavy cruisers. Not to mention the siege, there are three other 'Tiger Shark' class warships also joined the siege. This made the six heavy cruisers of the US 4th Fleet very aggrieved, wanting to cry without tears.
The other three "Giant Whale"-class warships of the French Atlantic Fleet bypassed the messy sea and rushed towards the capital ship of the US 4th Fleet.
"Damn it, they want to get rid of our other battleships first, and finally deal with our capital ship!" Triker punched the table heavily, shaking the documents and charts on it.
"Send power to the 10th Fleet, 12th Fleet, and General Aldrich, and ask how long it will take for them to arrive at the battlefield. If they arrive late, the 4th Fleet will cease to exist." Trick ordered with a livid face. Now he has realized the power of the French fleet. At the same time, he also knew that Kirkbride must have known that the 4th Fleet was being used as bait, so he planned to eat this bait in one fell swoop to weaken the strength of the US fleet. As long as the action is quick, the 4th Fleet can be wiped out before the main force of the US Navy reacts.
At the same time, Trick also issued an order for the capital ship to meet, headed by the flagship 'Georgia', and the remaining 'Virginia', 'Kentucky' and 'Louisiana' lined up to the French Atlantic Ocean. The three 'Giant Whale' class warships of the fleet greeted them. Kirkbride was going to use three 'Giant Whale' class warships to resist the four capital ships of the US 4th Fleet, Trick, and was also going to make the French fleet suffer a big loss. He didn't believe that with his four battleships, he couldn't beat the three battleships of the French Atlantic Fleet.
The capital ships of the two sides engaged in a fierce artillery battle in the sea area tens of thousands of meters apart. But Trick had to admit that the French were cunning and tightly controlled the distance of the battle to more than 10,000 meters. This makes the US 4th Fleet, although there is one more capital ship, it cannot gain an advantage.
After receiving Trick's telegram, the US 10th Fleet and 12th Fleet are on their way to Saint Lucia. They only need an hour at most to arrive at the battlefield.
That's a whole fleet! No matter how powerful the French Atlantic Fleet is, it is impossible to eat it within an hour.
Despite thinking this way, after receiving the urgent report from Triker, Aldridge ordered the 10th Fleet and the 12th Fleet to speed up and make sure to arrive at the battlefield before 12 o'clock. At the same time, the 3rd Fleet and 8th Fleet also accelerated their speed, striving to arrive at the battlefield before 3 pm.
"Boom!" The "Azores" approached less than 8 kilometers from a "South Carolina" class heavy cruiser of the US 4th Fleet, and launched a fierce shelling on it. The 305mm naval gun, 210mm naval gun, and other secondary guns and quick-fire guns on the ship all fired. Hit the opponent so that his whole body is on fire and smoke.
"Damn it! Isn't this bullying? Using a capital ship to deal with a heavy cruiser is simply too shameless." The captain of the 'South Carolina' class heavy cruiser was almost crying.
Compared with the "Tiger Shark" class battleships, the "South Carolina" class heavy cruisers are obviously lower in terms of tonnage, armor, and naval gun caliber. Although their 210mm naval guns can also threaten the "Tiger Shark" class warships, it is difficult to cause fatal damage to them.
What's more, around them, there are fifteen French 'heavy cavalry' class heavy cruisers besieging them.
"Boom!" The fourth round of bombardment from the "Azores" accurately hit the bow of the aggrieved "South Carolina" class heavy cruiser. The huge power directly cut off a large part of the opponent's ship's bow, almost half of the ship's capital was gone.
A large amount of seawater surged in and poured into the heavy cruiser, causing its bow to sink straight into the sea, while the stern of the ship was raised high. In the end, the entire battleship was within two to three minutes. , they all sank into the seabed. Due to the sudden damage and sinking into the sea in a very short period of time, many people on the battleship did not escape in time.
This is just a microcosm of the battlefield. Under the siege of the French Atlantic Fleet, a large number of warships of the US 4th Fleet were hit by heavy cannon fodder. Then catch fire and burn, or be sunk directly.
The American counterattack caused no loss to the French Atlantic Fleet. Within half an hour of the war, more than a dozen destroyers and cruisers of the US 4th Fleet were sunk. As for the French Atlantic Fleet, only a few ships were damaged. Only two or three ships were seriously injured.
The entire battlefield is completely one-sided. On the other side, the U.S. 4th Fleet did not have the slightest advantage in the battle of capital ships. Although they had an extra capital ship, they rarely hit the French fleet during the shelling of the two sides. On the contrary, the French The three battleships of the Atlantic Fleet hit them repeatedly, causing injuries to all four battleships of the US 4th Fleet~www.mtlnovel.com~.
"Damn it! This battle is impossible to fight. In just over half an hour, half of the fleet is gone. Bring me closer and let the French have a taste of our power!" On the bridge of the 'Georgia' Inside, Trick almost went berserk. Under the onslaught of the French Atlantic Fleet, the 4th Fleet suffered heavy losses. If it weren't for what he was going through now, he couldn't believe that his fleet could not resist the French attack at all.
The capital ships of the 4th Fleet desperately wanted to get close to the battlefield, but they were all forced back by the capital ships of the French Atlantic Fleet, always keeping them out of the battlefield. The Atlantic Fleet, on the other hand, used its superior force to continuously consume the cruisers and destroyers of the US 4th Fleet.
"Boom! Boom!" Following the bombardment of the French Atlantic Fleet, the warships of the US 4th Fleet were constantly being hit, burned, or directly sunk.
"Very good, send them all to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish!" At least on the bridge of the Azores, Kirkbride's face was full of joy.
"Marshal, the reconnaissance ship found that 30 kilometers due east of the battlefield, there are a large number of American warships appearing, at least the size of two fleets." A staff officer hurriedly walked into the bridge and reported.