Chapter 790: Battle of Genoa
Chapter 791 The Battle of Genoa
Nelson continued: “In fact, the current position of the Toulon fleet is very unfavorable.
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“When Genoa’s supplies are exhausted, they will have no choice but to fight us in a decisive battle.
"At that time, we can calmly choose the battle location and arrange the formation in advance.
"And once they were defeated - which was almost an inevitable result - they could only flee south into the port of Bizerte.
"We can then block the port and the French will not have any warships available on their southeastern coast.
"Our Marines can even capture the Port of Tollon."
"I very much agree with your judgment." Lord Hood nodded and turned to his staff. "Order the fleet to deploy towards Sardinia to prevent the French from slipping past us."
…
Southwest side of the Mediterranean Sea.
Sicilian waters.
68 sail warships moved forward slowly on the sea. Those huge hulls and the demeanor that covered the sky and the sun did not have much arrogant momentum.
On the contrary, it looked a little desolate.
This is the main force of the French Toulon fleet.
They are enough to defeat the navy of any country in the world, except Britain.
Unfortunately, the enemy they were dealing with in the Mediterranean at this time was the British fleet.
The largest ship in the fleet, like a city on the sea, is the flagship "Orient" of the Toulon fleet.
This is one of the few heavy battleships produced by the French Navy in recent years. It was originally named "Dauphin", but Joseph didn't like this huge ship that was sunk in Egypt in history, so he eventually decided to rename it. Changed to "Oriental".
The "Oriental"'s core parameters such as size, armament, and hull thickness exceed the British "Victory", and it is tied with the Spanish "Holy Trinity" as the strongest battleship in the world.
Although the "Holy Trinity" has more guns than the "Vostok", it is disadvantaged in terms of hull structure and flexibility. In terms of actual combat effectiveness, it may be even worse than the "Vostok".
At this time, in the spacious combat conference room of the "Orient", the commander-in-chief of the Toulon fleet, Brues, looked at the chart with a serious face, constantly measuring the longitude and latitude on it, and circling some locations.
The Fleet Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Anthony Gundom, looked out the window and sighed softly:
"We are so unwilling! I guess the British are laughing at us somewhere in the sea."
Brues said without raising his head: "Being a bait is definitely not pleasant, General Gundom, you have to get used to this.
"But speaking of ridicule, I believe there will always be a day when you laugh at the British."
Yes, no one could have imagined that the main force of the French Toulon fleet was just a decoy.
Their purpose was to lure the British Mediterranean Fleet away from Genoa and do everything possible to avoid a fight.
As the main force of this operation, it is the newly formed "Mediterranean Rapid Squadron".
This squadron is all equipped with steam-powered warships, with a total of 25 frigates and 8 fifth-level cruisers. Commanded by Brigadier General Blanqui di Chayera.
Their mission was to break the British blockade of Genoa.
Currently, stuck off the coast of Genoa is Hotham's powerful squadron.
Normally, the third and fourth level ships in Hotham's hands alone would be enough to destroy the "Fast Squadron", but Dichayela had to defeat them, or at least drive them away.
Brues finally straightened up, pointed at the chart with his pencil, and said to Gundom:
"Next we turn towards Sicily. Lord Hood will definitely think that we are going around Sardinia and heading towards Genoa from the east."
Gundom showed a rare smile:
"Then we will change to sail westward. Maybe there will be a chance to join the Spanish fleet."
Brueys nodded:
"I hope General Dichayela can successfully complete his mission."
Dozens of nautical miles away, the British Mediterranean Fleet sailed northward for a while, preparing to intercept the Toulon Fleet, and then angrily pursued the latter toward the Spanish coast.
…
25 nautical miles south of the port of Genoa.
On the British third-tier battleship HMS Theseus, Rear Admiral Hotham personally arranged the patrol route of the frigate. After making sure that everything was in order, he let out a long yawn.
The main force of the French Toulon fleet is far away in the Sicilian waters, and it is impossible for the Spanish fleet to come to attack Genoa - even if the Spaniards are really crazy, there will still be Louis' squadron watching them, and they can get warning in advance.
However, Hotham was not in a good mood.
There is no mistake, every song is released and the content is read one by one!
He was unable to participate in the battle that defeated the Toulon fleet, which made his future promotion a step slower than those of his colleagues.
He walked out of the cabin, came to the front deck, and looked at the sea in the distance:
"God, at least let the French send some transport ships."
If we could capture a large amount of supplies destined for personnel, we might be able to barely make up for some of our losses in military exploits.
It seemed that his casual prayer was really heard by God. A galloping galley in the distance continuously played semaphores.
No one else needed to convey it. Hotham was almost the first to see the semaphore. He was immediately overjoyed, turned around and said to the herald:
"Quick! All ships prepare to fight! There is a French fleet approaching!"
He walked to the command room at the bow and said to the staff:
"Tell me immediately when you have the specific number of enemy fleet intelligence."
Usually, the first patrol ship to discover the enemy will return to warn at the first time, and then another ship will scout the specific number, ship type and other information of the enemy, and then make a detailed report.
However, this time Hotham did not wait for the detailed information of the enemy fleet.
Because his reconnaissance galley was not as fast as the French "fast squadron", it had been left out of sight.
An hour later, Hotham finally learned the specific number of the enemy fleet - he saw it with his own eyes. At this time, the French fleet had rushed to a place less than 3 nautical miles away from him.
Hotham put down the telescope and sneered disdainfully.
The French sent only 8 cruisers with more than 20 frigates.
This is no different from sending death. His squadron has 4 third-level ships and 5 fourth-level ships. These ships are enough to crush the French boats. And he still has 5 cruisers and 16 frigates.
Hotham was not unaware of the French steam battleships. Many British merchant ships and frigates had been sunk by them before.
However, the British Navy quickly developed a countermeasure, which was to use its powerful firepower and solid hulls to form a battle line and fight steadily.
The French ships only had the advantage of high speed. As long as they entered the range of the battleships, they would be blown to pieces almost immediately.
As Hotham's flagship "Theus" issued a series of orders with flag signals, more than a dozen British warships quickly formed a straight battle line and calmly occupied the upper wind.
