I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 999: The Aircraft Carrier Trap

Belfort was accusing the Minister of Military Supplies.

Because the assistance provided to the French Army in constructing aircraft carriers was orchestrated under his leadership in exchange with the French Army, and now it might cause significant trouble for them.

However, the Minister of Military Supplies smiled, satisfied: "Yes, I did it. But if you think it’s my fault, then you’re mistaken."

As he spoke, the Minister of Military Supplies turned his gaze to General Winter.

This matter had consistently been followed up by General Winter.

Understanding the cue, General Winter took out documents and distributed them while speaking:

"When we helped France build the aircraft carrier, we set a trap."

"We suggested to the French to retain the rear ship guns, and told them this would provide the carrier with necessary defense capabilities."

"And they clearly believed it."

Minister of the Navy Belfort wasn’t quite sure: "What impact does this have on the battle? Are you saying that retaining the rear ship guns would prevent their warplanes from taking off from the carrier?"

He didn’t know much about aircraft carriers; the research and development in this area were being conducted by the Minister of Military Supplies.

He was just thinking: If "unable to take off," France wouldn’t be stupid enough to be deceived, would they?

"Of course not." The Minister of Military Supplies smiled and explained:

"They can take off, but we have conducted many tests; the short deck makes landings and scheduling extremely difficult."

"It takes 10 minutes or even longer to take off one warplane. Consider how long it takes to launch six warplanes?"

The people in the conference room exclaimed with an "Oh" in understanding.

That would take an hour, and they have just formed up in the air by then, and the first warplane has already consumed an hour’s worth of fuel.

General Winter added:

"The issue is not just this. Aircraft carriers without straight-through decks have many uncontrollable turbulences, making plane landings prone to accidents."

"Moreover, there isn’t much space on the deck for aircraft to prepare and wait."

"With a straight-through deck, our aircraft carriers can launch one warplane every 6 minutes on average, with a sortie of 6 warplanes in about half an hour."

The Minister of Military Supplies proudly concluded:

"Think about it, gentlemen."

"Even if the French send out the aircraft carrier for battle, it is certain that their warplanes will still be at an absolute disadvantage."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go deal with them!"

The conference room erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Even General Winter, who had been hesitant, now believed Shire would lose this battle.

Shire isn’t a god, he thought, no matter how talented he is, he can’t solve this kind of "hardcore" trap.

...

However, Colonel Will on the front line wasn’t so optimistic.

The French Army unexpectedly did not dispatch "torpedo planes" to fight; the first to be thrown into battle were the "Camel" and "Snip" models.

...

The one commanding this battle was Admiral Gephardt, who had set up his command base on Malta Island, right within the airport.

Many officers advised Admiral Gephardt not to do this, as it was too dangerous.

Shire contacted Admiral Gephardt specifically for this matter:

"You’re in the navy, Admiral."

"I think a warship would serve as a more suitable command center than an airport."

"This ensures your safety and also provides a more ideal command platform!"

But Admiral Gephardt politely declined:

"I know, General."

"But the Malta airport is the key to this battle; if we lose it, it’s as good as losing the fight."

"Besides, you must not be aware that the radios on the warships are always malfunctioning, and I’m fed up with it!"

The last line was an honest remark because the warship environment, with high salt and humidity, would cause the radios to malfunction with even mild sea turbulence, making losing connection a regular occurrence, relying more on signal lamps and signal flags to transmit orders.

Shire thought it over and realized Admiral Gephardt made a valid point.

If it’s leading a fleet into battle, commanding from a ship might be fine, but if one must command an airport in collaboration with the navy, it’s almost impossible from a ship.

The problem is, the airport where Gephardt is located is quite likely to be bombarded by the French battleships.

Admiral Gephardt didn’t seem to mind this at all; his command post was in the airport’s control tower, high and conspicuous.

Joking with his subordinates, he said: "As everyone knows, the British use a coincident image rangefinder; even if we’re a target given to them, they can’t hit accurately!"

(Note: Although British ships are advanced, their sighting equipment is relatively backward; whereas France and Germany have started using stereoscopic rangefinders.)

The British Fleet launching an assault on Malta Island had long been anticipated by Admiral Gephardt.

His strategy was to use France’s unique "Green Water Navy" to maneuver against the British Fleet.

And the battleships served as support, maintaining distance from the enemy battleships to form a threat.

This defensive tactic of battleships at long range, destroyers at medium range, and Thunder Strike Ships at close range was surprisingly effective against the much more powerful British Fleet.

The command center’s radios were noisy, and Admiral Gephardt remained glued to the maps.

He was somewhat surprised at the current situation.

To his understanding, the "Green Water Navy" shouldn’t have been able to hold off the British Fleet, which comprised 7 battleships and over 30 cruisers and destroyers.

While the French Army only had 2 battleships, 19 destroyers, and over 50 Thunder Strike Ships.

Even though the French Army had advanced torpedoes making British warships wary, if the British Fleet was willing, they could certainly advance towards Malta Island.

Admiral Gephardt was prepared for a strategy of fighting and retreating.

But to ultimately stop these battleships from bombing the airport, the 30 "torpedo planes" poised and battle-ready at the airport were to be relied on.

However, the British Fleet was stopped, stopped at the 150-kilometer line.

If it so happens that merely using the "Green Water Navy" could defend against the British Fleet, what makes the British dare to declare war on France?

While Admiral Gephardt pondered, the staff officer reported:

"General, the enemy’s warplanes have joined the battle, it’s the latest ’S.E.5a’ fighter aircraft."

"There are more than 20 of them. They probably took off from a nearby aircraft carrier."

"Should our forces engage?"

Air superiority is crucial in naval warfare.

When the warships begin battles, numerous seaplanes battle it out, providing information and intelligence for the warships below.

If the enemy’s fighter planes join the battle, it’ll soon wipe out the French seaplanes like autumn leaves swept by the wind.

Then, the sky would belong to the British, and the French Fleet wouldn’t be able to see anything beyond 40 kilometers.

They wouldn’t know whether reinforcements were coming, or if there were bombers nearby...

Admiral Gephardt was just about to order the warplanes to take off and provide reinforcements, but the next moment he swallowed the words he was about to say.

He suddenly realized why the British Fleet had been unable to breach the defenses of the "Green Water Navy."

It’s not that they couldn’t breach it, but that they intended to set the air combat battlefield in the sea area 150 kilometers away!