Napoleon II Reborn - Chapter 551

“Shoot the hull! Prepare to fire!” The five battleships of the French South Atlantic Fleet took advantage of the time when the battleships of the French Channel Fleet entangled the battleships of the US Combined Fleet, circled a large circle, and directly moved to the US Combined Fleet. The front of the fleet intercepted them. seized a favorable position.

Under Bennett’s order, the five warships of the South Atlantic Fleet all slashed their hulls and turned all their firepower to the United States Fleet.

“Damn it! Turn!” On the ‘Michigan’, Harold gave the order through gritted teeth. For the sake of the naval battle now, he no longer expects to be able to defeat the French fleet. Being able to escape without being annihilated is already blessed by God. [bsp; “Boom! Boom!” The U.S. Combined Fleet turned rapidly to the right, preparing to avoid the interception of the French South Atlantic Fleet, but the French Fleet followed suit, firmly suppressing the U.S. Fleet. And the shelling began.

A large number of shells hit the U.S. Combined Fleet, and they seemed to be walking through the rain of bullets. From time to time, shells hit American warships, and even the “Michigan” was hit by small-caliber shells for a long time. Fortunately, the skin was rough and fleshy, so it didn’t cause too much damage. But the sailors on the deck suffered heavy casualties. In addition, the ‘Michigan’ has now become the main attack target of the French fleet. Not only the first three warships of the Channel Fleet are targeting her, but the South Atlantic Fleet blocking them also aimed all their guns at him. .

The 3 fleets are like three long dragons rolling in the sea. The shells flew across the sea, splashing large swaths of water.

“Boom!” The ‘Marseille’ looked very brave. Although her armor was relatively weak, she kept attacking the front line after the ‘Paris’ was sunk. The U.S. fleet, also aware of her weakness, aimed their guns at her one after another, and the ‘Marseille’ became a shell magnet.

“Boom!” There was a loud noise from the sea in the distance, and even the shelling of the fierce naval battle was completely covered up.

All eyes were on the source of the sound. It turned out that the “Superior” sank. The damaged “Superior” was besieged by more than a dozen destroyers of the French fleet. Moreover, many of her secondary guns were damaged, so that her defensive circle appeared dead.

In order to deal with the violent lightning strikes of the French Navy destroyers, the U.S. Navy specially added a few quick-fire guns to each battleship. The destroyer has a high tonnage and fast speed. Although the main gun is extremely powerful, it can often smash a destroyer with one shot. But the launch speed is slow, as long as the destroyers of the French Navy are not unlucky, it is generally difficult to be hit by the battleship’s main guns. The quick-fire cannon fires fast, and although its power is much smaller, it is still enough to deal with thin-skinned destroyers. Therefore, the quick-fire gun has become the main weapon for the battleship of the US Navy to defend against the lightning strikes of the French destroyers.

In addition, the U.S. Navy has also increased the number of destroyers and cruisers in each fleet. Two years ago, each fleet consisted of only thirty warships. Now there are a total of forty, and the increase is basically for destroyers and light cruisers.

The ‘Superior’ was bombarded repeatedly by the French fleet before. Although the ‘Paris’ was sunk, she was also in a desperate situation.

Her fate was sealed when a dozen destroyers of the French Navy attacked her.

The counterattack of the “Superior” was very tenacious, and the soldiers on it also persisted. However, the secondary guns in the stern of her ship have all been damaged. French destroyers can take advantage of this place, approach directly, and then launch torpedoes. The ‘Sullibil’ fought back while evading. In the end, it was inevitable to be hit by a torpedo. Among them, a torpedo hit her stern again, causing her to completely lose speed, and could only float on the sea, becoming a living target. In the end, what ended the life of the “Superior” was a torpedo that broke through near the waterline and detonated her ammunition depot. A large number of projectiles were martyred, causing the hull of the “Superior”, which was tens of thousands of tons, to be lifted from the water by more than two meters, and then fell back to the sea heavily, directly breaking in two . Then it quickly sank to the bottom of the sea. Of the more than 200 people on board, only two escaped successfully, and the rest were all buried at the bottom of the sea.

The counterattack of the “Superior” also made the French destroyer formation that besieged her pay a certain price. A ‘Bayone’-class destroyer was sunk, and a ‘Bayonet’-class destroyer and a ‘Dolphin’-class destroyer were damaged. The sunk “Bayonet” class destroyer was unlucky, and none of the 305mm naval guns hit it. Her thin hull was blown to pieces in an instant, and no one survived on the entire ship. However, at the cost of sinking one destroyer and damaging two destroyers, it is quite cost-effective to sink an American battleship.

“Damn it! Sink the ‘Marseille’ for me!” On the bridge of the ‘Michigan’, Harold was furious. The ‘Marseille’ was the culprit who severely damaged the ‘Superior’. If it weren’t for her, the ‘Superior’ would not have been seized by the French destroyer and sunk with torpedoes.

“General! The Admiralty is calling! General Davis asked us to get rid of the French fleet as soon as possible and preserve our strength as much as possible. If necessary, we can abandon cruisers and destroyers!” The chief of staff of the 6th Fleet said to Harold. His face was a little unnatural. Obviously, there is some resistance to this order from the Ministry of the Navy. But at the same time have the ability to understand. The capital ship construction cycle is too long, and now is the time when the battle is fierce. Even if the construction is overtime, it may be built, and the war is over. As for destroyers and cruisers, the construction period is relatively short, and even if they are worn out, they can be replenished quickly.

Harold hesitated. Because of such an order, it is a bit too cruel for the soldiers who are not capital ships. Once they give up their words, there are only two possibilities for their fate, either to be sunk by a French warship or to become a prisoner.

“General, General Godfrey is calling. I hope we can make a decision as soon as possible. There are still two hours before dark, as long as we survive these two hours, we can escape.” A staff officer said.

Obviously, Godfrey also received the telegram from the Admiralty. So, the urging started. The 5th Fleet, the USS “Florida” has sunk, leaving only the USS “Tennessee”. If this ship is also sunk, the 5th Fleet will exist in name only, and it will be in the same situation as the 7th Fleet.

While Harold was hesitating for a while, the battle situation changed again. First of all, the “Marseille” of the French Channel Fleet was hit by two 305mm naval guns and several shells of other calibers one after another, which undoubtedly sounded the death knell for this scarred battleship. The entire battleship, midship and stern, was completely smashed. A large amount of sea water poured into it, causing the bow of the ship to tilt high, and all the people and shells on the deck fell into the sea. Within two minutes, the entire warship quickly sank into the sea. Now, the results of both sides are 2:2.

The “Marseille” was sunk, which boosted Harold’s confidence, thinking that he might be able to survive until dark without sacrificing those destroyers and cruisers. Therefore, he did not follow the orders of the Admiralty.

As a result, only ten minutes passed. The “Mississippi” in the US Combined Fleet, which is also the flagship of the Ninth Fleet, was also severely damaged. The French battleships ‘Le Havre’, ‘Orléans’ and ‘Caen’ fired three consecutive salvos, and each time they hit him with 305mm shells, especially in the second round, there were two 305mm shells. The shells of the naval gun hit his bow and bridge respectively. The former brought the firepower on the front deck of the Mississippi to a standstill, while the latter directly killed everyone on the bridge, including the captain. Before the leaderless ‘Mississippi’ had stabilized, the third round of salvo directly hit her waterline. And a huge, unblockable hole was broken near the waterline. This caused the ‘Mississippi’ to tilt quickly, and finally capsized after twenty minutes.

The unlucky next to the ‘Mississippi’ was the ‘Michigan’ which was now Harold’s flagship. The five battleships of the French South Atlantic Fleet have already locked on to her~www.mtlnovel.com~ Maybe ‘Michigan’ is more lucky. The battleships of the South Atlantic Fleet fired five times in a row, but she was completely surprised. narrowly escaped. But luck also ran out at this time. During the sixth salvo, the ‘Dordogne’ hit her, and the shell passed through the deck and exploded in the power cabin. The steam engine was directly destroyed, and the high-temperature steam killed all the sailors nearby, and also made the ‘Michigan’ completely lose power. Immediately afterwards, the sixth and seventh rounds played by the South Atlantic Fleet completely buried her. After two rounds of salvo, at least six 305mm naval gun shells hit her. This was a complete miracle, but for the ‘Michigan’, it was a disaster. No matter which warship was hit by six terrifying 305mm naval gun shells, there was only one result, and that was to sink.

Moreover, all the commanders of the 6th Fleet are on board the ‘Michigan’. After being hit, the ‘Michigan’ sank to the bottom of the sea within five minutes. Only a handful of people escaped. Unfortunately, neither Harold nor the chief of staff of the 6th Fleet escaped.

Godfrey took over command immediately after Harold was killed. He is well-deserved in terms of qualifications and command ability. No one objected. Godfrey gave only one order after taking command. All cruisers and destroyers cover the retreat of the capital ships. The remaining 6 capital ships all dispersed and retreated. Head to the base in the Caribbean to rendezvous. If you continue to walk together, you will only become the target of being attacked by the French fleet.