The French navy is on alert in the Strait of Dover.
The newly appointed Admiral Richelieu personally led a patrol fleet of 6 Fortress-class cruisers to shuttle on both sides of the strait to prevent attacks by the British Royal Navy.
There are more than a hundred remaining small and medium-sized sailing ships in France, and a group of three or four ships is on guard between Dunkirk and Margate, the British mainland, escorting the transport fleet.
Berthier, with his victorious troops, boarded the ship and began to land at Margate.
The first batch of French Army troops, about 30,000 men, landed on the British mainland again after the Norman Conquest.
In the Atlantic, the Brest, which had completed its superstructure repairs, once again went to sea as a flagship to find the main fleet of the British Royal Navy.
Brest, 6 fortress-class cruisers and 11 supply galleons formed the most powerful fleet in France's history.
Four days later, fleet commander Rear Admiral Philips finally discovered traces of the British Royal Navy.
After confirming the reliability of the information, Philips made adjustments to the fleet.
After 11 supply ships provided excess supplies to the Brest and 6 Fortress-class cruisers, they began to return to the port of Brest.
Subsequently, seven of the most advanced warships in the Atlantic Ocean, fully loaded with supplies, began to speed up the pursuit of the British Royal Navy.
Without the drag of the large sailing ship, the fleet's speed increased to 7 knots, making it very fast.
Philips studied in Daming.
Although it only lasted a few months, Ming Dynasty gave enough face to these French people.
They visited large factories in Xinxiang and saw the powerful power of the "Tai Shang Lao Jun" steam engine.
They experienced the training and life of a standing division at the training ground, and they also touched guns and fired a few bullets.
To this day, Philips can't forget the scene when he controlled a heavy machine gun to mow down a big tree.
What is even more unforgettable is the four tall and mighty battleships.
Philips has been on the Dingyuan.
I have seen her thick armor, her thick and long cannon, and her advanced hanging rail ammunition supply device...
It is precisely because he has seen it that Philips knows better how to use these new era warships.
First of all, to maintain the fleet's speed advantage, warships with similar speeds must be grouped together.
Therefore, before the war began, Philips let the sail supply ship break away from the formation and return home.
"It would be nice if the supply ship was also a steamship..."
This is the idea of Philips and the idea of all sailors who have come into contact with the new battleships.
The sail supply ship's speed was too slow. Even if it relied on the Atlantic currents, it could not exceed three knots, which greatly hindered the fleet.
However, a fleet without supply ships is incomplete and is destined to be unable to carry out long-term operations.
Philips was thinking about preparing for the end of the naval battle, and proposed to Napoleon to commission the Ming Dynasty to build a dozen large steam supply ships.
At this time, the urgent brass bell alarm sounded, and the observer reported a very good news.
Large swaths of ship shadows were spotted on the sea and skyline.
It's the Royal Navy Fleet of the British Empire!
Philips came to the trestle outside the command tower, and through the newly loaded large telescope, he could clearly see hundreds of warships five nautical miles away.
There are 12 first-class sailing battleships, 37 second-class sailing battleships, and nearly a hundred other types of sailing ships.
It is the main fleet of the Royal Navy of the British Empire!
"Notify all ships to rush in as a single column!"
Philips gave a brief order, and the correspondent passed the instructions to the fleet through the light and semaphore system.
Philip's fleet gathered the best sailors in France.
There are dozens of naval soldiers on the Brest who have studied abroad in the Ming Dynasty.
Everyone's cooperation was quite smooth.
"Battle alert!"
"Dingling bell~"
"Tap tap tap~"
Fighters from various groups filed out of the lounge, and the sound of leather boots on the floor and stairs was heard.
They arrived at their posts quickly and orderly.
The gun doors of the six fortress-class cruisers were opened, and the gunners released the safety bolts and pushed the 120 80mm naval guns on both sides towards the gun doors.
The artillery began to load.
Compared with the muzzle-loading guns and solid spherical shells commonly equipped in various countries.
The fortress-class cruiser's naval gun is a noble rear-mounted version.
Moreover, the shells are also cone-shaped solid shells, and their armor-piercing capabilities can easily deal with sailing battleships.
In the boiler room on the ground floor, navy soldiers with bare chest hair became "shovel-dancing class fighters", quickly shoveling coal into the boiler.
The Ming Dynasty's Fortress-class cruiser is a type of special ship specially built to eliminate sail battleships.
The number of guns is not inferior to that of a first-class sailing battleship.
Compared with the sailing battleship, the fortress-class cruiser is covered with a layer of iron armor, which can protect against spherical shells very well.
Conical shells penetrate hardwood hulls better.
The large cabin can store more cannonballs.
The surging power provided by the steam turbine made it impossible for the sailing battleship to escape.
The Fortress-class cruiser can be called a "sail battleship hunter".
As time went by, the fleets of both sides became very close, almost 500 meters apart.
But neither side opened fire, and only the pre-war depression remained on the sea, as well as the rich whistle of the Philips fleet.
Philips was in no hurry to fire.
The supply ships have returned, and the fleet's artillery shells are now limited.
In order to destroy the main force of the Royal Navy of the British Empire in one battle, the use of every cannonball must be carefully considered.
Philips saw two very familiar ships through the telescope, as well as two familiar people standing on the deck.
Victory and King Power, Nelson and Collingwood.
Nelson was also waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a chance to fire at close range.
When Philips's single-column fleet penetrated directly into the Royal Navy fleet of the British Empire, both sides opened fire.
The silence of the sea was broken, and the sound of artillery fired one after another.
The six fortress-class cruisers opened fire, firing hundreds of cone-shaped shells at the sailing battleships passing in the opposite direction on both sides.
With the blessing of the breech-loading cannon, there is a fixed charge package wrapped in silk.
The French gunner fired an excellent result of 40 seconds, which is 20 seconds faster than the experienced gunners of the British Empire Navy.
The smoke was thick, and the conical shells were like hot knives cutting butter, smashing into the gun room from the ship wall, killing and injuring all the British gunners inside.
When the sailing battleship passed the side of the fortress-class cruiser, the entire ship had been turned into a hornet's nest.
There were dense holes on both sides of the ship's side, and countless British sailors fell to the floor and howled.
The battle damage of the Fortress-class cruiser was large and small dents in the armor.
The most serious ones were a few unlucky gun emplacements, where shells were poured into them through the gun doors, killing many soldiers.
"Boom boom boom~"
The Fortress-class cruiser roared again.
The exterior of the sail battleship exploded, sending sawdust flying.
The splinters of wood were carried by the cone-shaped shells and swept across the gun room, turning the gun room into a hell on earth.
Within two minutes of firing, the Royal Navy of the British Empire lost nearly 20 sailing battleships.
The French fleet suffered only minor scratches.
It was as if those sailing battleships were lining up to die.
After driving to the side of the fortress, the bombardment started, and then the "GG" was played amidst the laughter of the French.
