After all, Prussia is an emerging industrial country, and its foundation is much worse than France. In order to prepare for this war, Prussia drained almost all its national power before it could build a powerful army that could compete with the French army.
Prussia no longer had money to invest in the navy, and it did not even build a fort on such an important strategic location as the East Frisian Islands.
The limited forts are concentrated in Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven and other places. These long coastlines are completely undefended!
Moreover, Bismarck's order to the navy this time was also very simple, which was to stand still and wait for reinforcements. No naval ship could take the initiative to go to sea to engage in a decisive battle with the enemy, because the result of a decisive battle would definitely be death.
In order to retain some naval seeds for the future empire, Bismarck even left two armies on the west coast of Prussia. He relied on the army to defend the long coastline.
It is precisely because of the navy's grand strategy of passively avoiding war that Hoff's fleet is able to run rampant as if it were in an uninhabited land!
Borkum Island, Ust Island, Norderney Island, and Lange Island, these four important islands, were easily captured by the French army with almost no resistance. Across the strait between the islands and the mainland, the French army had already We are ready to land from Lower Saxony.
However, Hof's ambition is not just to conquer Bremen and Hannover. These places have no political value. What he wants is the Free City of Hamburg.
At this time, the people on the Prussian coast had been awakened by the sound of artillery that lasted for more than two hours. Countless people flocked to the coast, watching in horror the war on the islands across the strait in the icy sea wind.
"Oh God! The French are coming... It's the French fleet. What should we do?"
"Why doesn't our fleet go to war? There are not many warships in Wilhelmshaven?"
These simple farmers and fishermen may never be able to figure out the difference between pure ironclads and those pseudo-ironclads with a wooden shell and an iron plate on the outside.
These people don't even understand the tonnage of various warships and the types of artillery. They don't even understand that the navy really takes time and a lot of money to build.
In this era, apart from the British Royal Navy, France is the well-deserved second overlord on the ocean!
"It's useless. The bells in Wilhelmshaven are ringing now, and the military port has entered a defensive state... None of our warships have left the port, and none of them have left the port..."
The sea breeze was getting stronger and colder. These pessimistic and helpless Prussian people could only kneel on the ground and pray to God, praying that these tiger and wolf-like French troops would not land from their hometown.
They are also praying to God to bless the Kingdom of Prussia so that this nation full of disasters can survive this disaster!
The Prussian nation's self-confidence was still in the process of slowly building up. The Franco-Prussian War had not yet ended. At this time, many people in Prussia were indeed anxious.
Many people even have a fear of failure in their hearts. They are afraid that Napoleon III will be like his uncle, riding horses and soldiers in Berlin.
But no matter how uneasy they are, there is nothing they can do. There is nothing they can do in the face of this war!
Just as the French landing force was burning, killing, looting and brutally massacring the garrison on the East Frisian Islands, Captain Hough on the sea suddenly ordered to stop the bombardment. The six main battleships quickly changed their formations and sailed to the northwest gun port. He was wary of the dark shadow coming from the southwest.
This is the most classic T-shaped battle formation in naval battles. Whoever can seize the top horizontal line of the T-shape first will have a wider shooting surface.
This is an excellent tactic determined by the structure of the battleship, because the battleships are all long and narrow, the artillery is concentrated on both sides, and there is only one small-caliber self-defense artillery at the bow and stern.
It is precisely because of this kind of battleship structure that the firepower on the side is much greater than that on the main side. In a naval battle, whoever grabs the crossbar on the T-shape first, that is to say, whoever is first prepared for the side salvo will win. It has the advantage of naval warfare.
During the movement, always ensure that your side's formation is a horizontal line on the T. This is the key to victory in artillery battles!
Now that the unidentified fleet appeared in the southwest, Hoff asked the battleships to cross northwest in advance and form a long snake formation, so that all the artillery on the port side of the six battleships became a huge shooting surface.
The 140- and 150-caliber artillery were all ready, and the searchlight light formed white beams of light on the sea. The figure of the unknown fleet in the distance became increasingly clear.
Hof also became nervous at this moment, because in his telescope field of vision, the number of warships in the distant fleet was increasing.
In the dark waves, one, two, three... more and more warships could be distinguished, and soon the number of independent silhouettes of black shadows exceeded ten.
"Oh God! What kind of fleet is this? It can't be Prussian! Absolutely impossible...Look at the number, this fleet has at least twelve warships!"
At this moment, the lookout suddenly shouted, "There is a signal... The other party has sent a signal... The other party has a light signal coming..."
Anyone can hear the excitement in the roar of the lookout. These people know that the other party sends a signal instead of firing when they come up, which means that the other party is not the enemy.
"God...that's great!" Captain Hough couldn't help but draw a cross on his chest, "It must be the British fleet. Since they didn't choose to fire or change formations, but sent signals to communicate, this must be the British Royal Navy! "
You are absolutely right. The fleet that suddenly appeared on the battlefield was the British Royal Navy, and its flagship was actually the battleship Sovereign, the fastest in the world's navy at the time.
This is a behemoth with a displacement of more than 8,000 tons. It is powered by a combination of sails and propellers. In the night, the white sails are like a cloud pressing towards the French fleet.
"Captain, the other party has sent a signal. The British fleet is escorting the special envoy to Berlin to mediate this war! The special envoy is the British Duke of Newcastle!"
"There are eleven battleships in total, and the flagship is the Monarch!"
Listening to the correspondent's translation, Hoff swallowed and cursed in his mind, "Damn it, these British guys are so rich. Is the Navy so wealthy?"
"Just to send the special envoy to show off his power, eleven battleships were dispatched in one go... My expedition to Prussia only had six battleships, and the rest were cruisers..."
"You really can't compare with others!"
After muttering a few words, Hough said loudly "Signal to the British, convey my respect to the Duke, and send the Queen good health!"
"Please forgive me of the British fleet. Now France and Prussia have entered a state of war. At this moment, the sea area has become a battlefield..."
"For the safety of the special envoy, please do not enter the battlefield. Please choose to transfer the train from the Netherlands to Berlin!"
