Chapter 281: Wait quietly

Marin did not make up his mind to destroy the British fleet after all, because once he destroyed the British fleet, it was only the French who were cheap. France was originally a dry duck, and if it occupies Britain, it will master the "Five Ports Alliance." In this way, the French short board at sea will be filled.

By then, all over Europe will see a amphibious amphibious overlord. Even as a traverser, Marin will kneel down and call his father. Therefore, Marin finally gave up the idea of ​​eliminating the British fleet.

Moreover, giving up to destroy the British fleet can also give Marin a lot of gunpowder. Because the naval battle is too expensive. The last time he fought a big battle in Jutland, Marlin's gunpowder directly consumed half of it. If this time to destroy the British fleet, it is estimated that gunpowder will run out.

In fact, Marin did not know that his decision today saved his life. Because the alliance between Denmark and Saxony and Brandenburg is so large, if Marin did not want to use gunpowder, it is estimated that there is no hope of winning.

In France, originally due to the fiasco of the Italian battlefield, which led to domestic complaints, Louis XII's prestige also fell sharply. However, with the capture of the Calais fortress, the whole of France was boiling.

You know, Britain is France ’s deadly enemy, and it caused tremendous trauma to France in the Hundred Years ’War. Moreover, the centuries-old war between Britain and France has not ended for decades. Many elderly people still remember the **** winds of those years.

This time the Louis XII troops conquered the last stronghold of the British on the European continent, making the French ups and downs rejoiced. As for the defeat in Spain on the Italian battlefield, everyone directly ignored it. Or, some people simply made excuses for the failure of the French army-all of them were killed by Italian mercenaries ... If Louis XII hired 20,000 Italian mercenaries to stumble, the French might win ...

Seeing that the prestige lost because of the defeat of the Italian War rose back, Louis XII was very happy. As for Jean Paul, the biggest hero to seize the fortress of Calais, he was promoted by Louis XII to the Baron of Calais and became the garrison commander of the fortress of Calais, responsible for preparing for the British counterattack.

Moreover, in order to guard against the British counterattack, Louis XII directly ordered the expulsion of all Britons in the Calais area and demolished the pier of the Calais fortress, so that even if the British wanted to land, there was no pier.

In fact, Louis XII's capture of the Calais fortress this time is indeed significant. Because once the British lost the Calais fortress, it was difficult to send troops to land in France to fight. With the Calais fortress, the British can calmly transport tens of thousands of troops to the European Union, and then go out to attack France. If the Calais Fortress is lost, it will be difficult for the British to land in the future. Because there are not many ports in northern France. It's not that the coastline allows you to land easily. This requires the troop carrier to go deep into the sea and dock at Changqiao Wharf. Otherwise, the troop carrier is likely to run aground.

There is no towing power boat this year. Once the boat is stranded, it is very difficult to handle. Unless, like Marin, a large boat with a small boat, after approaching the coastline, the soldiers boarded the boat and then waded to land.

This trick is a common landing method for later generations, but it is not very popular in this era. The main reason is that people in this era have been oppressed by the Holy See for too long, and their minds have become rigid. And Marin, seeing the landing wars and landing exercises of later generations, all carried landing ships and landing craft. If you use the dock to log in, the ghost knows how long it takes to log in. If the landing time is too long, it is easy to be attacked by the enemy halfway. However, with the current IQ of the British, the French overcame the Calais Fortress, and they really lacked a good landing method.

Originally, Louis XII wanted to take advantage of the chase to attack the British mainland. However, I didn't expect that as soon as the reconnaissance vessel was close to the British mainland, I saw a dozen or so warships approaching the sea. As a result, the reconnaissance ship was frightened and ran back to report.

At this time, in order to protect the local security, King Henry VII has mobilized all large merchant ships to participate in the defense of the strait. Therefore, the British warships now reached as many as 160 ships. The number of warships on the northern coast of France is only 50 or 60, which is difficult to compare.

In this era, few European countries except Denmark, Portugal, Hanseatic League and other maritime overlords, few countries have a standing fleet. Generally, the navies of all European countries are recruited from the private sector. Usually, those warships are ordinary civilian merchant ships.

For example, Britain, the main force of its fleet comes from the "Five Ports Alliance". Normally the King of the Kingdom did not set up a standing fleet, only one or two royal warships were built to be strong enough to serve as a flagship in naval battles.

The same is true in France, which usually does not have a standing fleet. If it is necessary in wartime, it will go to several ports in the north to collect merchant ships. Of course, the merchant ships on the Seine in Paris are also the targets of the call. Think about it, how big can the riverboat on the Seine?

As for the fishing boat, it is not to be recruited for combat. Because, it's too small ... after all, the fishermen are poor, how can there be money to build a big fishing boat?

There is a lack of ports in northern France. There are only a few ports such as Brest and Caen. Ports like Le Havre have not yet been established. Therefore, only dozens of warships can be recruited from the northern coast.

In fact ~ www.wuxiaspot.com ~ Marine shipping in the southern Mediterranean region of France is quite developed. Marseille, for example, is an important trading port on the Mediterranean. In the south, dozens of merchant ships can also be put together as warships. But the problem is that for the merchant ships of Marseille to organize to the north coast to participate in the war, they need to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar controlled by the Spanish. Will the Spaniards allow the French fleet to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar? Obviously impossible, the biggest possibility is to eliminate in situ ...

Because at this time Spain and Britain are allies and in-laws. Princess Catherine of Spain had previously married to Arthur, the eldest son of Henry VII. After Arthur died, he was engaged to marry Prince Henry (Henry VIII). Therefore, at this time Spain and England are still in the honeymoon period. It wasn't until Henry VIII and Princess Catherine divorced that Spain and Britain completely tore their faces. But at that time, Britain was already stronger. Because, during the reign of Henry VIII, he vigorously developed the navy and formed a standing fleet, which made the UK officially begin to rise as a maritime power. At this time in Britain, naval warfare also needed to rely on the "Five Ports Alliance."

In desperation, Louis XII had to give up the idea of ​​continuing to attack the British mainland. However, the coastal ports have strengthened their vigilance. Because if the United Kingdom is relieved, it will definitely retaliate against France. If nothing else, the British are definitely not willing to give up in Calais. Abandoning the Calais Fortress means that the United Kingdom has given up its qualification to intervene in European affairs.

Now, Louis XII can only pin his hopes on Earl Edward, hoping that he can defeat the British army of 20,000. In this way, the United Kingdom, which was badly injured, was unable to retaliate against France.

And at this time in the UK, it was also a mess. A 10,000-strong Scottish army galloped across northern England, looting. By all means, the British can't make up for the army at this time and can only wait quietly, waiting for news from Ireland ...