Chapter 467: , Declare war

To say that recently there is a real opportunity to send warships to Britain. Last year, the British also opened the "Queen Elizabeth", which had just been in service for less than a month, to France for a friendly visit. Of course, they also took the opportunity to demonstrate to show that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is not easy to mess with. meaning.
At that time, Napoleon once commented: "The Englishman is like a pufferfish, trying to bulge himself up, it seems a little scary."
Now, the French used the return visit as a reason to send a warship back to Britain. Of course, because of Napoleon's stinginess, the warship he sent was naturally less noticeable-just an armored cruiser.
If only the visit of an armored cruiser is used as a return visit to the battleship "Queen Elizabeth", which has shown a high degree of contempt and made the British feel dissatisfied, the armored cruiser sent out is actually beating the British. face.
The French dispatched the armored cruiser "Vicentoli", and this ship was the French cruiser that hit the British cruiser USS Berkshire not long ago. After this collision, the French not only refused to apologize to the British for this barbaric act, but instead issued an order to commend all the officers and soldiers of the "Vicintoli" and awarded them a collective second-class merit. The cruiser "Vicentoli" was also sent a banner of honor with a picture of a knight holding a shield high up against the enemy.
Of course, if it's just that, it's fine. It is nothing more than the French being shameless in their own home. But the French also drove the ship to Britain for a "goodwill visit", which is very much like in another space. The Austro-Hungarian Empire first launched military exercises with Serbia as an imaginary enemy on the border with Serbia, and then sent the crown prince to The streets of Sarajevo, the Serbs, are stumbling.
What's even more hateful is that the French warship actually hung the honor flag in Portsmouth.
Such rude practices certainly made the British angry.
The British newspapers denounced the French for being rude, and the locals even launched demonstrations against the French. However, something unexpected happened immediately afterwards. That was at about 12 o’clock that evening, the cruiser "Vicentoli" exploded, and the ship sank quickly. Fortunately, most of the soldiers lived in some special places on the shore. There were not many people, so although the wear sank, there were no casualties.
At first, when they heard the news, the British were still a little gloat. They wondered whether it was because the French had always been sloppy and did not do a good job in the maintenance and management of warships, which caused the ammunition depot to explode. Some people even made it more specific, that is, the coal in the French bunker burned spontaneously, and then the French were not in good military discipline, and the soldiers were not on the ship, but went ashore to find the girl, so that the coal bunker caught fire. No one noticed. Then the fire spread to the ammunition depot, and with a bang, the ship sank.
Of course, this statement is totally unreasonable, because if the ammunition depot really banged, the "Vicintoli" would definitely sink quickly, and would not give the people still on board any time to escape.
Fortunately, the ship sank on the berth of the British military port. The water depth in that place is limited and easy to explore. People from the French Navy are good at diving and can even dive directly to the sinking location to check the situation. According to them, there was a big hole on the right side of the bottom of the boat.
This is also normal. If it wasn't for a big hole, how could the ship sink so fast? However, another situation is very problematic, that is, the steel plates at the breaches are all bent inward.
Under normal circumstances, if the explosion occurred inside the ship, the steel plate at the breach must be bent from the inside to the outside. But now that this happens, it can only explain one point-the French warship was sunk by explosives outside!
The French immediately seized on this issue and started writing. They first accused the British to be responsible for it. Asking the British to surrender the killer within a time limit, the French public opinion machine also started. They claimed that Portsmouth is a military port and is heavily guarded. Is it possible for ordinary people to send bombs in? This must be done by someone from the British government.
In this regard, the British government certainly said that this is completely shameless slander. The British ambassador to France also held a special press conference to dispel rumors. He said that there is no need for the British to do such a thing.
"If the sinking is a warship similar to the'Inbredo' that will directly have a decisive influence on the power of the French navy, that's fine. Only use this method to blow up a ship like'Vicintoli An armored cruiser like the USS has a very small influence on the power of the French Navy. In this case, we British are not stupid, how could we do this?
However, after the reporters returned, the title of their report was like this:
"The British ambassador said: It is a pity that it was not "Inbredo" and "Caesar" who were sunk! 》The Sun
"Britain's malice against France has reached the point where it is unabashed"-Pravda Science
...
When the country’s propaganda machine was launched, the truth is no longer important. Immediately afterwards, the French government submitted an ultimatum to the British government, demanding that the United Kingdom agree to send personnel from the French Ministry of Public Security to the United Kingdom to conduct a full investigation of the incident. The British government must unconditionally cooperate with investigators sent by the French Ministry of Public Security.
It is obviously impossible for the British to agree to such a request, let alone Portsmouth as a military port, which contains a lot of military secrets. Let people from the French Ministry of Public Security investigate. Doesn’t that mean that everyone’s underwear is stripped? How does that work! In addition, even if the issue of confidentiality is not considered, this is a public violation of the British judicial sovereignty. Besides, what conclusion will the French draw? That must be a conclusion that is not conducive to Britain. At that time, the French, through an "investigation", concluded that this matter was organized by the British royal family. Could it be possible to extradite the king or the prince to the French?
Of course, the British refusal did not disappoint Napoleon, because such a request was made to make the British refuse. So after the British officially rejected the unreasonable request of France, Napoleon immediately delivered a speech at the State Department, asking the State Department to allow him to declare war on Britain.
Of course, the State Department’s rubber stamp immediately approved Napoleon’s motion. Napoleon’s speech caused tsunami-like applause at the State Council many times. Almost every time he finished a sentence, the three-handed member of the State Council (Napoleon came to meet everyone, so he hurried up to shake hands; Napoleon asked everyone to vote, raise your hands quickly ; Napoleon gave a speech, quickly clap your hands.) We will applaud and cheer.
After being authorized by the State Department, Napoleon first declared war on Britain on behalf of the French Republic.
Soon after, Napoleon announced in the name of the Roman Emperor that in accordance with the "French Republic-Roman Empire Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance" signed between the Roman Empire and the French Republic, when any contracting party is invaded by a foreign enemy, the other contracting party will It is obliged to take all necessary means, including dispatching armed forces, to help allies resist aggression.
Today, France’s mobile land, the French warship, has been attacked by the British for no reason. This is how France was invaded by Britain. Therefore, in accordance with the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance between the French Republic and the Roman Empire, the Roman Empire followed France and declared war on Britain.
The news that the French declared war on the United Kingdom did not exceed the expectations of the British, because just two days ago, the capital ships of the French Navy left their ports and their destinations were unknown.
The entire United Kingdom has increased its vigilance. The strength of the British navy can no longer keep up with the French at this time, but it is not impossible to fight with the cover of the home port and the fort. It's just that the "Queen Elizabeth" has not yet returned, so the British fleet is temporarily unable to go to sea to fight the French fleet. But when used for defense, it can withstand a period of time. When Nelson's fleet returns, Britain can find a chance to fight the French navy.
However, the rapidly assembled French fleet did not directly pounce on the British mainland, but bypassed the United Kingdom westward and sailed into the turbulent Atlantic Ocean.
In the Atlantic, the Nelson fleet is still sailing slowly at a speed of six knots. They did not have a radio, so they knew that at this time, they also did not know that Britain and France had declared war on each other.
At a further distance, a French cruiser was following far behind.
After discovering the boat, Nelson was not too nervous at the beginning. The French rooted them, the intention is very obvious. They were worried that their fleet would suddenly kill a carbine, so they followed behind. Once they did this, they could use their speed advantage to rush back to report to the Americans.
Of course, it is perfectly normal for Nelson to make such a conjecture because he did not know that the French have radio technology.
On the French fleet, Marshal Treville kept receiving news from the French cruiser "Portugal", clearly grasping the information of the British navy.
With the help of staff officers, Marshal Treville quickly worked out the marching route. To ensure that the fleet can appear in front of the British fleet at the most suitable time.
Relying on the superiority of intelligence, Marshal Treville constantly adjusted the speed and route. Now the two fleets are rapidly approaching each other, but Admiral Treville knows when and where he will encounter the British fleet; and Nelson, he doesn't even know that France has declared war on Britain.
According to the arrangement of Marshal Treville, the two sides will meet in the early morning. This is a very good time. When the two sides were still approaching quickly, because of the cover of the night, no one could see the smoke column from the chimney, and as the sun rose, the distance between the two sides had made the fight unavoidable.
And the position of the two fleets will also be particularly advantageous to the French. The French fleet is to the east, while the British fleet is to the west. So when the sun rises, the sight of the British will be disturbed by the sunlight coming from the east.
To be honest, everything was executed well according to this Marshal Trewell's plan, except for one thing-the weather. It was originally planned that the morning sun would be a great help to cover the French army's operations, but on the last night before the encounter between the two sides, the weather suddenly changed and the sky became overcast.
This makes it impossible to count on the sun the next morning. However, considering that the French fleet is much stronger than the fleet in Nelson's hands, Marshal Treville decided to continue to advance as planned and prepare for the decisive battle tomorrow.
Because of the gloomy weather, even in the morning, visibility may not be better. So Admiral Trewell also ordered the fleet to reduce its speed slightly.
At around seven o'clock the next morning, a large fleet appeared in Nelson's sight.
Nelson raised his binoculars and looked at the French fleet approaching him. His face is solemn, because he has recognized the lineup invested by the French Navy.
"That is the battleship ‘Inbrador’, and the battleship ‘Caesar’. Then there are the super cruisers ‘Silk Road’ and ‘Enterprise’. Almost the entire French navy is here!

If the "Queen Elizabeth" was not damaged before, Nelson would still have a little confidence in defeating such an enemy, but at this time, his most important capital ship could not sail at high speed because of damage. This is true. He couldn't help being nervous.
The two sides continued to approach. At first, the French army blocked in front of the French army in a horizontal manner. At this time, they began to turn, trying to seize the T position.
At this time Nelson also knew that the situation was not good, and he quickly ordered, and the fleet also began to turn to avoid being occupied by the enemy ship's T-head position.
The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer. When they were five kilometers apart ~EbookFREE.me~ the "Inbrador" and "Caesar" in the French fleet first fired at the British army.
This round of shooting did not make a hit, but the French quickly made a salvo. This round of volley still failed to hit any target. But in the middle of these two rounds of shelling, the time spent was too much less.
Both the Inberardo and the Caesar used retreat cannons, which made their shooting speed naturally much faster than the British still using retreats. Although the two rounds of volleys did not achieve much, but Nelson's face is still very ugly.
"Accelerate, rush up, we must contain the French battleship, otherwise, they will soon wipe out our other ships." Nelson ordered.
Although the "Queen Elizabeth" broke a big hole, it was not patched. But their power system was not damaged, so at this time, Nelson's warship can still force itself to throw more than ten knots of speed.
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