in the name of the queen

Chapter 247 Sussex needs everyone to do their job
Naval battles are completely different from land battles.

Naval tradition takes hundreds of years to form.

The moment Bridges stood on the command post and drew his sword, the legendary admiral who emerged from the history of Sussex seemed to be possessed by his soul.

At this moment he represents the naval heritage of Sussex.

This is a battle for the Fourth Fleet to restore its dignity. It cannot retreat, let alone fail.

The Royal Navy must fight every enemy it encounters!

Full sail, set sail!
Although the enemy had an advantage in the number of warships, and the number of battleships that could enter the battle line was more than doubled. The enemy's flagship Valmi had a displacement of nearly 6,000 tons and was known as an unsinkable maritime fortress, but he had no fear. .

The King's Power has never failed since it was launched.

This is his bottom line.

The Royal Navy's invincibility relies not only on its bravery and fearlessness, but also on its superb naval warfare technology.

He was going to teach Villeneuve a lesson today.

The name of this class is Courage and Decision.

The naval guns of this era were basically front-loaded solid shells, and their lethality came from huge impact.

The naval guns are arranged in the cabins on both sides of the battleship according to a precise design, so the firepower output is the highest on the sides.

A solid shell hitting the hull will cause irreversible damage.

When the damage accumulates to a certain extent, the battleship will capsize and sink.

According to the characteristics of battleships, naval battles in this era always follow one principle: seize the T advantage.

Whoever can turn his fleet broadside against the enemy will easily win.

This is common sense in naval warfare.

But Bridges didn't intend to grab the T advantage at all today.

Although he is confident of victory, he will not underestimate the enemy.

The overall strength of the Jinyuan Kingdom fleet is not as good as the Sussex Navy, but in this local sea area, they have the upper hand.

After carefully observing the wind direction and ocean currents, and considering the number of warships and the quality of the sailors on both sides, Bridges quickly calculated the result.

The chance of successfully grabbing the T-best is less than 20%.

Once they fail to seize the T advantage, this naval battle will become a one-sided massacre.

Not only would he lose the naval battle and his life, but he would also ruin the undefeated reputation of the Royal Navy and be nailed to the pillar of shame forever.

He still has a family and he can't lose, so he has to make a surprise move.

Since there is no T-excellence, just give up.

Bridges issued an order to the entire army to line up the main battleships in a single column, open all sails, and allow the speed to reach the limit.

This is an order that violates the principles of naval warfare.

In the age of sail, speed and maneuverability were contradictory.

While gaining top speed, it will also be very difficult to adjust the course and fleet formation.

But Bridges had no intention of changing course.

He let the fastest third-tier battleship HMS Perth take the lead.

This battleship acts as a human shield and decoy, and will most likely be sieved by enemy salvos.

Captain Green of the Perth ship is not a fool, of course he understands.

Green asked in semaphore whether the order was wrong, and Bridges answered in the affirmative.

"Victory requires everyone's courage and sacrifice. I cannot guarantee your life safety, but I promise that your achievements will not be buried after victory."

The captain of the Perth ship was silent for a moment and responded with a flag signal.

"As you command, General!"

He knew very well that this charge would most likely be the end of his military career, but he did not refuse.

Bridges' candor helped dissipate some of his resentment.

As a soldier, the greatest shame is to die of old age and illness.

He can die, but not in vain.

He knew General Bridges and he knew Governor Rowland.

As long as he can win, his military exploits will not be forgotten.

Although he himself cannot enjoy the title he won, he has a family and children.

This is enough.

The Lando family will surely prosper in the future, and future generations will remember his name, Green Lando.

Captain Green turned around and looked ahead, straightening his neat uniform, straightening his hat, and looking at the enemy warships emerging from the horizon with a smile.

He has a mysophobia, and even if he has been at sea for a month and a half, his military uniform is still neat and tidy.

It's not that he's very diligent, it's just that the orderly doesn't want to be whipped.

When going to the final feast called death, of course you have to dress neatly and look like an impeccable gentleman.

He raised his sword and gave the order to speed up.

With full sail and a favorable wind, the Perth ran the fastest speed since it was built and launched.

Section 12.5.

In an era when the maximum speed is generally only 8-10 knots, this speed is simply like Usain Bolt participating in a sports school sports meeting.

In order to seize the T advantage, the Jin Yuan fleet must maintain a strict formation and must constantly adjust the sail direction, and its speed is far from rapid.

The entire fleet maintained a formation turn, allowing their speed to be generally around 6 knots.

This speed is already the limit when the large fleet turns, demonstrating the strength of the Golden Kite fleet.

Their commander Villeneuve stood in the command room of the flagship Valmy, raising his telescope and observing the sea calmly.

He saw the Perth coming towards him like a sharp sword.

He was stunned.

Is it the wrong way to open it? Or have you been too tired recently?

Villeneuve was a little confused. He put down the telescope, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and after confirming that his mental state was normal, he raised the telescope again.

A Sussex battleship was approaching at full speed.

He was not wrong.

Although he confirmed that he was right, Villeneuve was even more confused.

The enemy's completely unconventional tactics disrupted all his plans.

In his script, the Sussex Fourth Fleet was a hateful and respectable enemy, and even a small number of battleships would cause him huge trouble.

Not only did he think about how to annihilate the Sussex Navy after being T-optimized, he also thought about how to change the formation after being unable to obtain T-optimized. He thought of everything, but he didn't expect that the other party wouldn't grab the T advantage.

It's such a terrible feeling to walk down the stairs cautiously only to come up empty.

After being stunned for several seconds, Villeneuve's face instantly turned red.

He felt hugely insulted by his opponent's completely random behavior. This shame must be washed away with the blood of the enemy.

He suppressed his anger and issued instructions to the messengers around him.

"The entire army remains in formation and continues to seize the T advantage. It is forbidden to fire in advance without my order."

Although he did not understand why the Sussex people were so stupid, he would not stop his enemies from committing suicide if they wished.

The rules of naval warfare will not change. The T-superior means that you can do whatever you want. This is a lesson learned through blood and tears in hundreds of years of naval warfare.

Don't grab the T-beauty, are you just playing tricks?
In the past, there were people who showed off their cleverness in naval battles like this, but they were severely taught by cannons.

I thought Bridges was a famous Sussex admiral, but he turned out to be a fool.

The stupidity of the enemy made Villeneuve feel a little bored.

Victory came too easily, and it was difficult for him to enjoy it to the fullest.

The sea breeze is gentle and the waves are rolling.

A total of more than fifty capital ships from both sides continued to approach, and a larger number of auxiliary warships also began to chase and fight each other on the periphery.

Cruisers and destroyers are not qualified to go to the battle line for bombardment.

Their mission is to expel the enemy's small warships, collect intelligence, and wait for opportunities to attack.

After all, it is the main battleship that determines the outcome of the war.

The Perth is getting closer and closer to the Golden Kite Fleet.

As the distance approached, the two captains could see each other's expressions through the binoculars.

Villeneuve saw Captain Green's face.

He felt something was wrong.

The other captain's expression was very calm, with no negative emotions such as anger, depression, or self-abasement.

He was as calm as rushing to a royal dinner.

Villeneuve's anger was kindled.

He couldn't figure it out, why should the enemy be?
He tried to calm himself down and not be dominated by negative emotions.

In any case, the number of battleships on both sides is 34:18, and the advantage is on his side.

What's more, the displacement of the enemy's flagship Sovereign is less than half that of his flagship Valmi.

Coupled with the fact that he was sure to grab the T-win, he had no idea how to lose.

"All battleships focus on the Perth and sink her!"

Of course he knew what the Sussexans wanted to do and rushed in to engage in a boarding battle.

There are always fools who think their boats can run faster than cannonballs, and they must be given some color.

As long as the Perth is blown to pieces, the Sussex people will be shaken. Their general may have unique ideas, but the soldiers don't care about this. They will only think that the commander is an idiot.

How can we fight if our confidence is gone?
With so many warships firing salvos, there is no doubt that the Perth will sink.

Villeneuve is confident about this.

Even as Villeneuve gave the order, Bridges calmly observed the battle situation.

He did not stare at the opponent's commander, but at the muzzle of the enemy warship.

After seeing the enemy warship's gun muzzle turning and aiming at the Perth, he let out a sigh of relief.

Green, my friend, your sacrifice will never be in vain.

He murmured.

He would insist before the Governor that the first credit for this battle should be given to Greene and all the sailors of the Perth.

This is what they deserve.

Fortunately, each of them has complete files, one is placed in the Royal Archives and the other is placed in the Governor's Palace in Hanseatic City, so their sacrifices will not be in vain.

Bridges fell silent at the thought of some young men without families.

The distance between the two fleets got closer and closer, and the Perth finally broke into the firing range of the Golden Kite Kingdom fleet.

"accelerate!"

After Captain Green gave the last order, he straightened his military cap and smiled like an elegant gentleman.

There was a piercing roar and the shriek of shells tearing through the air.

He couldn't see how many shells there were, but he knew there would be no less.

He gripped his sword tightly and pointed the tip of the sword directly at the Valmi. His roar was swallowed up by the waves, the wind and the bombardment.

The shells spread over a wide range, and most of the shells fell into the water, splashing huge water columns.

The hit rate of naval guns in this era was very low. But after all, it was a salvo of hundreds of cannons, and it didn't matter how low the accuracy was.

The Perth's luck was not too bad, and she was only hit by five shells.

But Green was very unlucky. One of the shells hit his body impartially, turning him into a ball of blood mist.

The first mate calmly took command.

He stood on Green's post, picked up Green's sword, and continued to issue advance orders.

Villeneuve coldly ordered to speed up the reloading and continue the volley.

The Perth's speed was getting slower and slower, and it only took a few more salvos to send him to the bottom of the sea.

The caliber and firepower of naval guns far exceed those of army artillery, but the side effect is that the reloading speed is much slower.

As the Golden Kite fleet was frantically reloading, the Perth was getting closer.

This was a charge driven by courage, and a reckless action that led them into the abyss of death.

The second and third volleys came quickly.

The reloading speed of the Golden Kite is much faster than that of ordinary battleships.

The Perth's main mast was hit, and its speed became slower and slower, almost equivalent to a target ship.

The hit rate of the Golden Kite people is also getting higher and higher.

The captain, first mate, second mate, and third mate of the Perth were all killed, and they lost command. More than half of the sailors were killed or injured.

But they don't need command at all.

All the sailors watched their comrades around them fall one by one, their blood surged, and they showed no intention of backing down.

They have only one target, the Golden Kite flagship Valmi.

(End of this chapter)