African Nationhood

Since war has not yet been declared, the French were not too vigilant even if they entered the waters of South China. After all, how powerful can the navy of an autonomous territory be?
Little did they know that as soon as the French fleet entered the waters of Southwest Africa, the Nanhua submarine patrolling nearby discovered their traces and reported it to the Navy Department immediately.

After determining the number of the attacking enemy fleet, the South China Navy began to analyze the French's intentions.

After discussions between the Admiralty and the General Staff, it was felt that the French were unlikely to divide their forces, and that would be foolish.

In this case, the sea area for the decisive battle with the French can be determined.

Since the decisive battle is to be fought in Southwest Africa, there is no need for the King of Wu's fleet on the East African coast to continue to defend. It can be transferred to the coast of Southwest Africa for support, and the defense of the East African coast can be left to the King of Wei's fleet which is about to return to the homeland.

While the Admiralty sent a telegram to King Wu's fleet on the East African coast to dispatch ships to the coast of Southwest Africa for support, it also ordered submarines to follow the French and report news to the Admiralty at any time.

……

The French "island protection fleet" all comes from the coast of Africa. There are French colonies along this route, and supplies and anchoring are relatively safe.

The reason why they did not go through the Suez Canal was that it was controlled by the British. They were afraid that the British would suddenly change their minds and detain or deny navigation to French warships.

Second, January has entered the summer season in the Indian Ocean, especially along the East African coast, where tropical storms occur frequently.

The French were afraid of encountering unexpected weather and being missed by the South China Navy.

The wind and waves in the waters of the Skeleton Coast are very terrifying. There are strong winds of level 8 blowing here all year round. The strong wind blows the sand and makes a terrifying roar. Therefore, early Portuguese sailors called it the "Hell Coast".

And because this is where the Benguela cold current converges, there is often thick fog on the sea. In addition, the seabed in this area is densely covered with reefs, and ships often get wrecked.

This 500-kilometer-long desert coast is dotted with white skeletons, both of animals and shipwrecked people, and it gradually became known as the Skeleton Coast.

After the French ships arrived here, they did not dare to be careless. The nine ships lined up and sailed carefully.

At first, when they entered this sea area, their sailing was very stable, and there was unusually no strong wind on the sea surface.

Because the cruising speed of French warships is 10 knots, it takes them more than a day to cover a 500-kilometer coastline.

The French fleet sailed for a night, and the sea breeze gradually increased in the early morning of the next day.

The battleship "Jena" in the "Island Protection Fleet" is a pre-dreadnought ship built by France in 1898. It is an enlarged and strengthened version of the "Charlemagne" class.

But this warship failed to solve the stability and seakeeping problems common to French battleships.

Compared with the previous type, the displacement of the Jena battleship has increased by 700 metric tons, but this warship still retains the inward-inclined shipboard structure of the previous type. This design will greatly reduce the stability of the warship.

Because the French designers did not realize this at this time, it led to the tragedy of the "Jena".

Under the dual influence of strong sea winds and turbulent waves, it deviated directly from its course. Although the helmsman tried hard to control the ship in an attempt to return the giant ship to the set course, it was unfortunately too late.

Amidst the loud "rumbling" sound, the ship's hull shook violently and tilted slightly.

After the stunned French navy soldiers were awakened by the loud noise, they immediately fell into endless fear, and their panic became even more confusing.

Although the captain, first mate and other officers on the ship tried their best to comfort the soldiers on the ship, they still could not save the fate of the 10,000-ton ship that ran aground on the rocks.

……

Under emergency communications, other ships were helpless.

After all, it is very difficult to rescue a ship in the huge waves in the pre-dawn darkness.

The other ships were unable to stay due to the strong wind and could only continue to move forward.

The battleship "Jena" was abandoned in the endless strong wind, and they could only pray for God's favor.

The Nanhua submarine following far behind discovered the stranded "Jena" through its periscope. They did not stop. No one on this coast could resist the power of nature.

Regardless of the final fate of this ship, this 10,000-ton battleship can no longer threaten the Nanhua Navy.

Moreover, the Army of the Western Military Region will not let go of any enemy who stands on Nanhua soil.

...The French had a bad start. They lost a main battleship just after entering the South Island waters. The morale of the entire fleet was inevitably low.

The commander of this French naval attack was Navy Captain Lucien Marie Jean Lacaze. Although he was in a heavy heart, he still reported the fleet situation to the French mainland.

The French Admiralty believed that such an accident was normal and told Colonel Lacaze not to worry too much. They would order the nearest French colony to send rescuers.

The mission of the "Island Protection Fleet" continues, and they are ordered to attack quickly.

The native French colonel, who was born in Reunion Island, had no choice but to obey the orders of the mainland and continue to move forward with the fleet.

But when they entered the waters off Anhai Town (today's Swakopmund, Namibia), they encountered the Nanhua Navy, which was waiting for them.

"We are the South China Navy. You have entered the territorial waters of the South China Autonomous Territory. Please indicate your intention quickly.

Otherwise, we have the right to attack the trespassing warships! "

The shouting in English and French continued several times. Colonel Lacaz looked at the formation of more than a dozen warships lined up in front of him, and he panicked in his heart.

The warships in the front row of the South China Navy had high bows, and the main gun barrels were no worse than French naval guns. He was a little hesitant to take action directly.

But their mission this time was to fight a battle with the Nanhua Navy.

I just don’t know why the news leaked out, but the Nanhua Navy had already ambushed here.

He had no time to think, he had to make a decision early.

Colonel Lacaz ordered his men to report to the mainland that they had been intercepted by the South China Navy, and the South China Navy was very powerful.

On the other hand, he issued battle preparations to each of his ships.

The French Admiralty was inevitably confused when it received the telegram from Colonel Lacaze.

It is impossible for the French Navy to give in and retreat in front of the Nanhua Navy, because the French Navy cannot afford to lose this person.

It is even more impossible for the French navy to surrender to South China without firing a single shot. Otherwise, the angry French people will directly overthrow the government, and the vast overseas colonies may not be preserved.

All things considered, the only option is to fight without declaring it.

As long as you win, you can mediate at any time.

Admiral General Auguste, then French Minister of the Navy, decisively ordered: "Attack!"

The telegram from the Admiralty was quickly sent to Lacaz. The naval captain no longer hesitated and ordered to his men: Fire!
"Bang Bang~~"

The French ships, which hurriedly adjusted their formation, couldn't wait to fire their cannonballs to relieve their long-simmering anger.

It's a pity that most of these cannonballs fell into the seawater and caused huge splashes.

One is because the shooting distance of the naval gun is not enough, and there is also the reason why the first shot tests the shooting angle of the naval gun.

Commander Xue Youfu of the South China Navy immediately ordered, "Full counterattack!"

The submarines that had already dived and cruised nearby couldn't wait to select the target and launch torpedoes.

While the French were still nervously preparing for war, a sailor in charge of the lookout exclaimed, "Torpedo! There is a torpedo coming towards us, please avoid it!"

"Boom~"

A series of explosions resounded throughout the entire sea area, and the three cruisers at the rear who were still desperately adjusting their formation were hit by torpedoes.

Among them, the cruiser "Cecil" was directly blown through the cabin. Fortunately, this ship has 15 airtight compartments and cannot be sunk for the time being, but its mobility has been significantly reduced.

The other two protected cruisers "Suchet" and "Tago" protected cruiser were damaged to varying degrees, but it was not serious for the time being.

After hearing the reports of losses from each ship, Colonel Lacaz realized that the South China Navy was more powerful than they thought, and they actually had submarines. (End of chapter)