I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 1004: They’re Hunting Us—We’re Doomed!
After inquiring about the battle situation in detail via telegram, General Winter finally understood what was happening at the rear.
"Shire’s aircraft carrier doesn’t just launch fighter jets, but also bombers!" General Winter frowned deeply.
Although he hadn’t figured out what was amiss, he had an uneasy feeling that the battle was not as simple as he had imagined.
His eyes were fixed on the map, and his mind unconsciously recalled Shire’s warning at Pondisai Castle: "If a similar situation occurs again, we will consider it an act of war and sink all of your navy ships. All of them!"
Could Shire be speaking the truth?
Relying on these bombers that can take off from a carrier?
No, that’s impossible, they’re just a few planes.
They’re like flies in the air; how could they possibly sink ships weighing tens of thousands of tons and costing millions of pounds?
After a moment of silence, General Winter ordered: "Instruct the mobile fleet to head to the southwest waters to search, and once the target is found, sink it at all costs!"
"Yes, General!" the staff officer replied and passed on the order.
After a pause, General Winter added: "Immediately change course to assist the mobile fleet in besieging the French aircraft carrier!"
"General!" Captain Ethan was somewhat concerned: "If we leave here, will there be issues with the main battlefield?"
General Winter insisted on his decision: "Besieging the enemy aircraft carrier is more important!"
He had already sensed the danger.
If Shire’s bombers, taking off from carriers, could destroy two British aircraft carriers, does it mean they could also destroy other warships or even battleships?
If possible, the battle would undergo a cataclysmic change:
Battleship range is only a dozen kilometers, whereas the French aircraft carrier’s attack radius is about 150 kilometers.
The latter far exceeds the battleship’s range.
Therefore, the carrier could sink battleships one after another from outside their range.
However, this is just speculation; General Winter believed there was still a chance: carriers are slow, with inadequate close-range firepower and defense. Once approached by battleships, they would have no opportunity to launch fighters and bombers.
Thus, they must quickly catch up and eliminate them!
...
Under the communication of signal lamps and flags, three battleships and two battlecruisers, accompanied by over a dozen destroyers, left the main battlefield heading to the southwest waters.
The three battleships were the flagship "Canada," the "Queen," and the "Prince of Wales."
(Above is an image of the "London class" battleship, with a speed of 18 knots. This class included five ships and was considered relatively outdated pre-dreadnoughts during WWI. The fourth and fifth ships were "Queen" and "Prince of Wales," which entered service in 1902. These names were later used for modern British aircraft carriers.)
The two battlecruisers were the "Renown" and "Repulse," with eight destroyers.
These constituted General Winter’s "mobile fleet," originally tasked with rapid maneuvering on the battlefield, reinforcing wherever danger appeared.
(Above is an image of the "Renown class" battlecruiser, with a speed of 31.5 knots, comprising two vessels: "Renown" and "Repulse," completed in September 1916.)
Over twenty warships advanced through the ocean like iron beasts, with sea winds howling and sweeping across the waves as if forming an invisible barrier trying to halt the fleet’s progress.
The ships emitted deep, muted roars, warning these obstacles ahead.
Their bows were like sharp blades, splitting the waves neatly, with splashes of water surging high instantly, and the sound of waves crashing against the hull sounded like the ships’ agonizing cries.
General Winter personally commanded this siege as he marked the sea chart with his instrument:
"The enemies are approximately 80 nautical miles (about 150 kilometers) from us."
"Assuming the target’s speed is 20 knots."
"With our mobile fleet’s speed of 31.5 knots, it might take six hours to catch up and enter range."
General Winter checked his pocket watch and said: "Order the mobile fleet to advance at full speed; ensure we catch up and sink them before nightfall!"
"Yes, General."
Under General Winter’s command, the fleet split into two groups:
The slow battleship group, led by the flagship "Canada," was responsible for frontal enclosure.
The fast mobile fleet, led by "Renown," was tasked with encirclement.
Simultaneously, each battleship launched seaplanes for reconnaissance. Their role was to locate the enemy fleet and report, enabling the fleet to approach and surround the target in the shortest time possible.
However, the battle unexpectedly erupted at this time.
Before the seaplanes could fly far, a dozen French military aircraft appeared in the sky.
"Damn, they’re French fighter jets," General Winter cursed.
The inverted gull wings of the fighter planes were clearly visible through the binoculars and easily recognizable.
Seaplanes, burdened with heavy floats, had a maximum speed of only 130 kilometers, whereas the French "Jenny A" model had a speed of 245 kilometers, making them fundamentally different tiers of equipment.
Although the seaplanes had a numerical advantage, to the "Jenny A," they seemed like pigeons newly trained to fly facing the eagle’s talons.
In merely ten minutes, the seaplanes were shot down one after another by intermittent machine-gun fire.
There was a case where a "Jenny A" dived into the target group, consecutively shooting down three seaplanes, making the seaplanes almost like training targets to the "Jenny A."
Captain Ethan snorted coldly: "This changes nothing. They are attempting to avoid our pursuit with this tactic, foolishness!"
The fast battlecruisers would eventually catch up to them, Captain Ethan thought.
General Winter agreed, so he ordered the fleet to speed up the search.
Over two hours later, with his attention on the nautical chart, General Winter gradually regained his senses.
He sat weakly in his chair, holding his forehead in pain: "No, Ethan, we were wrong, terribly wrong."
"What?" Ethan, calculating distance and position, lifted his head and looked at General Winter in confusion.
General Winter rubbed his face with both hands, seemingly trying to clear his mind.
"Do you think we’re hunting the French aircraft carriers?" General Winter slowly shook his head, hoping his thoughts were incorrect.
"Aren’t we?" Ethan spread his hands on the nautical chart: "They’re running away!"
"No!" General Winter sighed: "Quite the opposite, they’re hunting us, Ethan, we’re doomed!"
"This..." Ethan looked at General Winter in disbelief:
"It can’t be, General."
"They’re carriers, they lack many cannons, and we have battleships, and battlecruisers."
"We have dozens of large-caliber artillery pieces, and thick armor..."
General Winter interrupted Captain Ethan:
"None of those will be of any use."
"Don’t you understand? We’ll never catch up to them, even if battlecruisers are 11.5 knots faster than them."
"If we can’t catch up, our artillery is as worthless as scrap, and the thick side armor will serve no purpose!"
