I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 1023 1023: Request for Reinforcements Telegram

In September, the Atlantic tore open its gentle facade, the ominous sky like a curved iron plate overshadowing the sea, with seagulls screeching in the sky as if warning people of impending bad weather.

Under the gray sky, dozens of warships were grandly heading towards France's Brest Port.

At the center of the fleet, there were two massive vessels, the "Queen Elizabeth" and the "Malaysia," both from the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class battleships.

Admiral Forbes stood on the bridge of the "Queen Elizabeth," peering through his binoculars at the approaching Brest Port. The mist mixed with the salty tang of the sea slapped against his cheeks, cold like steel needles piercing his pores, causing a stinging sensation.

However, Admiral Forbes did not feel it at all; his attention remained fixed on the target within the lens.

"20 kilometers." A lookout's shout came from above: "Within range."

The staff officer turned and repeated, "20 kilometers, target within range."

Admiral Forbes understood the staff officer's meaning.

"Queen Elizabeth-class" range is 21 kilometers. There's no need to get closer; bombing from beyond the enemy's range ensures absolute safety and is a comfortable approach.

"Continue forward!" Admiral Forbes ordered coldly, keeping the binoculars firmly in his grip.

These cowards, Admiral Forbes cursed inwardly. They were frightened by France's momentum and lacked the courage to approach the target.

As long as they could still think, they should know that France's most advanced "Glorious" class battleship has a range of only 13 kilometers.

Why not move closer to improve accuracy?

Suddenly, a loud "boom," and a destroyer was thrown into the air amidst an explosion and a towering water column, then listed to one side and disappeared beneath the ocean within two minutes.

"Mines!" someone shouted, "They laid mines here!"

Admiral Forbes was quite surprised.

This is a port, and the French laid mines outside their port?

Are they not worried about sealing their warships inside the port with no escape?

Thinking aside, he unhesitatingly ordered, "Change course, maintain distance, dispatch minesweepers!"

Then Admiral Forbes understood why the French laid mines outside their port.

As the minesweepers approached the area just over ten kilometers outside Brest Port, they were immediately bombarded by French battleships and coastal artillery.

Columns of water shot into the air, and those "Racecourse" class minesweepers, converted from civilian ships, were instantly blown to pieces by large-caliber shells and sank to the seabed.

Admiral Forbes was momentarily stumped by the French port: the sea ahead was uncleared of mines, making it risky to approach, yet the minesweepers sent ahead were easily targeted by enemy fire.

The British fleet could only cautiously approach Brest, led by the minesweepers, while the naval guns aimlessly bombarded Brest Port.

The British dared not even launch seaplanes to adjust the battleships' aim.

There were several "Camel" and "Curlew" fighter planes belonging to the French Army in the sky.

Without aircraft carriers, the Royal Navy had no ability to contest air superiority with the French and could only fire blindly towards the port.

But it didn't end there.

Before long, Admiral Forbes noticed dozens of high-speed Thunder Strike Ships rushing out from the port.

Admiral Forbes immediately gained a deeper understanding of the French defense strategy:

Thunder Strike Ships have small displacement and shallow draft, allowing them to navigate unimpeded by mines, while British warships were at a standstill.

British battleships found it difficult to hit these small, fast Thunder Strike Ships, and even if they were fortunate enough to hit one, the expended shells were possibly more valuable than the Thunder Strike Ship itself.

However, the torpedoes launched by those Thunder Strike Ships could potentially inflict fatal damage on British warships!

"A brilliant defense strategy," Admiral Forbes thought, surprised. Hesitating for a moment, he ordered, "Organize defenses."

Yet, at this moment, a wave of "Caproni" bombers approached, overtaking and flying over the reconfiguring British fleet, dropping dozens of torpedoes.

The British fleet was instantly thrown into chaos, frantically dodging the torpedo tracks like a swarm of headless flies.

Soon, amidst a series of explosions, the British lost 3 destroyers and 2 cruisers to torpedoes, along with another already sunk by torpedoes, totaling 6 ships lost.

Admiral Forbes initially thought this would be a simple task; his fleet comprised 2 "Elizabeth" class super-Dreadnoughts and 3 "Saint Vincent" class Dreadnoughts, as well as 5 pre-Dreadnought battleships.

(The above is the "Saint Vincent" battleship, of which this class has a total of 3.)

With such a formation against France's 2 Dreadnoughts and 4 pre-Dreadnoughts, it should have been a simple task.

Admiral Forbes had even outlined a battle plan: the super-Dreadnoughts would use their range advantage for long-distance bombardment, the Dreadnoughts would engage in close combat, and pre-Dreadnoughts and destroyers would launch attacks on the port.

However, the battle did not develop as he imagined; the fleet had lost 6 ships before even approaching the target port.

After hesitating for a moment, Admiral Forbes reluctantly ordered his staff officer, "Request reinforcements from command; we need more ships!"

...

In the Gibraltar Strait, Admiral Charles commanded the third fleet to blockade the strait.

He had not many ships, primarily consisting of 4 "Iron Duke" class battleships with long range, supplemented by 3 "Lion" class battlecruisers, and 30 light cruisers and destroyers.

This was determined by the "narrow" Gibraltar Strait, as the London operations command generally believed the French could not break through en masse.

Otherwise, they would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties or find themselves stuck in the strait, unable to maneuver.

Admiral Charles's plan was simple:

The "Iron Duke" battleships were positioned to blockade the strait's exit with gunfire.

Light cruisers and destroyers were spread out and camouflaged, ready to attack the moment a French aircraft carrier entered the Gibraltar Strait.

Battlecruisers would rush to provide support.

As long as they could buy some time, waiting for the "Iron Duke" to arrive at the scene and "catch" the French aircraft carrier, the battle would be almost over.

However, Admiral Charles received intelligence from a spy: "The main French fleet is approaching the Gibraltar Strait, numbering at least over a hundred ships, including 3 aircraft carriers, the main French battleships, and recently captured British battleships."

Admiral Charles was taken aback by this intelligence.

The main French battleships combined with those from the surrendered British, minus those damaged beyond participation, still totaled 14 or 15 main battleships.

This number against his 4 battleships and 3 battlecruisers was twice the strength.

Plus, the French had aircraft carriers, making the fight impossible.

Considering the overwhelming disparity, Admiral Charles quickly dispatched a telegram to London for reinforcements!