I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 483 Double Bay Battle (End)

The sometimes dazzling bright light of white phosphorus bombs, the thick smoke rising in the waves, and the scorching temperature, as well as the poisonous gas emitted by the burning white phosphorus, did pose a great threat. The Brest fleet and the original bait The fire suppression caused by the fleet fell suddenly, and the besieged Cunningham fleet could not help but cheer up, the sailors and crew shouted excitedly, climbed the mast, waved hats and flags in thanks to the Sea King, until they were overwhelmed by their superiors. Roaring and driving them to where they should be - they haven't escaped the French trap yet!

Captain Cunningham stroked the short gun on his belt again. He even thought of suicide before, so as not to endure the pain of being drowned. Fortunately... He strode onto the deck, and the morale of the British crew was launching a counterattack. , drove the French back to their ships. The trouble is that even if the French have retreated, the "Charles I" and the wooden ship are still tightly together, like a pair of lovers who have reunited after a long time.

   "Why," said his chief mate, "why not bring some White Queens to this ship too!?"

Cunningham slapped him, but with a smile on his face, he obviously supported this approach. Unfortunately, the "white queen" is a special bomb, only available in a formal fleet like Portsmouth, his fleet Although it is also an ironclad fleet, he is well aware that his ironclad ships can only be counted as secondary in terms of armour and protection. And his class and seniority are not allowed to have such a sharp weapon.

  ——

   Contrary to Cunningham's desire, Admiral Sandwich did not look happy, but rather gloomy when he saw that the French ships were indeed retreating.

His first mate thought the admiral was unhappy to see that the French were dealing with the white phosphorous - the overwhelming water dragons sprayed from each other's boats, washing away the white phosphorous covering the deck and hull - to fight the burning white phosphorous, There are only two ways, one is to isolate the air, and the other is to reduce the temperature. Of course, at sea, it is most convenient and appropriate to use a water pump to pump seawater.

He couldn't understand that the current Admiral Sandwich, when most people were happy to turn defeat into victory, he was watching the French soldiers who were wailing and jumping into the sea because of the flames of white phosphorus. He is a veteran. He is used to seeing life and death on the battlefield. Of course, he will not pity his enemies, but... He has seen prisoners in prisons and secret rooms who are used to test the lethality of white phosphorus. The flame can burn to the bone marrow .

Even though he kept telling himself that it was not the British but the French who used the white phosphorus bomb first, but the first time Louis XIV used the white phosphorus bomb was to a world that mortals had no way of knowing, and once again to the pagans of Ottoman Turkey, The soldiers in the French fleet are all Catholics and Protestants. Although the United Kingdom has established a state religion, Catholics still have a place. These Angles can regard people who do not believe in them as livestock and grass, but they think Beings worthy of being called human beings, they will show a lot of outlandish compassion—a cruelty that may be used as a lever in the future by him or his son's political enemies.

   Even if this is for the UK.

   And those ignorant people, driven by people with a heart, will also turn into a torrent of riots, engulfing their "enemies" completely, as was the case with the former Charles I, and also with Cromwell, the protector of the country. What's more, their current king, Charles II, is in a mood to anger, and he is still qualified to serve his favorite ministers in the morning, and at night he is a distinguished guest on the guillotine of the Tower of London, because the Duke of York was originally in the navy, so that Charles II is still in the navy. Valued, but also alert, Admiral Sandwich did not feel that he could be treated differently by the king.

   "The French have escaped!" shouted one.

Then another shouted that more and more people saw that the swollen French fleet was indeed retreating slowly in the fog caused by white phosphorus, but what made the British cheered and then furious was that in the When they retreated, they still tried to take the four ironclad ships of Cunningham's fleet and leave together, especially the "Charles I", which was connected to the three-masted ship and could not be separated, and the The three-masted ship is actually chained to another ironclad ship, trying to tow it away together...

Although Cunningham immediately ordered the rest of the anchors to be dropped, the act was futile in the middle of the strait—the anchors could not be dropped more than one-third of the way down the chain, as the anchors needed to be inserted diagonally into the seabed to be effective. , but previous battles have shown that at least Cunningham's British crew could not stand up to the French crew - not that they were not brave enough, but that the French were superior not only in numbers but also in firepower, and the French ships It was the artillery and small cannons that the ships used to intimidate them. Their shells were insufficient, and the small cannons were not as far as the French.

   In addition, even though all their boilers were burning to the point of exploding, they were inevitably pulled away by the French who raised their sails and used the dual power of steam and sails.

The French did this, of course the British, who thought they had the upper hand, were furious. Even Admiral Sandwich, who didn't want to cause more trouble, couldn't watch the French **** the ship, otherwise he would have to be guillotined, he again. Estimated the strength of his fleet - he was careful to let them carry sufficient firepower, in addition to the eight ironclads in the fleet, other ships have also rushed to the battlefield, they are almost three times the French, so should they It's **** for tat, blood for blood, and if he can sink or capture the French ships in turn, it is also a great achievement enough for him to submit his resignation.

   "No," Admiral Sandwich shook his head: "Just drive away those French ships."

He said that his first mate was surprised and disappointed, but he looked at Admiral Sandwich's white hair and "understood" his thoughts, but he couldn't help but tumble in his heart with a strong unwillingness. The human fleet continues to spread, spread... Even the captain ignores the admiral's orders - it can be said that he blurs his orders, turning active defense into active offense, and communication at sea can only rely on eyes and flags when this happens frequently.

These French ships seem to the British without a sense of honor. With their excellent maneuverability, they are like a group of gadflies that can't be hit and can't be driven away, entangling the Portsmouth fleet. The front line has been stretched again and again.

The widest part of the English (La Manche) Channel is about a hundred nautical miles. When the sun is no longer so hot and the shadow of the mast begins to change from short to long, Joseph, who has been clenching his teeth, finally puts down his tight shoulders. It is well known that , In a conspiracy and battle, it is not difficult to charge, as long as you have enough courage, but you have to be the bait, to lure the enemy - let him be provoked by you, seduced by you, anytime, anywhere in a kind of "as long as In the state of "just reach out and touch it", it was as difficult as it was, and in order to complete this task, he even had the heart to abandon the wounded who fell into the sea...

   Seeing that they were pulled up by the British, he finally felt relieved and thanked his enemies, but it did not prevent him from carrying out the predetermined plan to the end.

At this time, the British fleet had been pulled into a thin line unknowingly. It stands to reason that veterans such as Sandwich should not make such mistakes, but Cunningham's flagship "Charles I" was in After getting rid of the shackles of the wooden three-masted ship, he was so angry that he was about to go crazy and vowed to sink the "temporary companion" who seemed to be dying. His impulse may be because of seeing the French ships. There were fires in many places aboard, and the smoke billowing—not just the wooden ships, but the ironclads, the crew seemed to have been busy putting out the flames.

"The 'Sea King' has raised the blue flag!" shouted the squire beside Cunningham. Cunningham turned and looked, yes, the blue flag was flying on the mast of the "Sea King". Ordering the fleet to return, he hesitated for a while, but nodded anyway. After all, at sea, if the commander had issued such a firm order, and if the generals under his command continued to be stubborn and refused to obey, they would really be hanged on the gallows.

   But at this time, they had already crossed the center line and came to the side of the strait close to France. About one-third of the place had been thrown into the arms of the Seine Bay.

The Seine is an oblate bay with a small harbour under Le Havre on its right - small on the map but big enough to hide the French fleet of Dunkirk in reality, This fleet also set out in the dark. When Cunningham's fleet was hiding on the Isle of Wight, they had also hid in the shadows under Le Havre. With the help of Cape Le Havre, they succeeded hidden until this very moment.

The fleet departed from the port of Le Havre when the smoke was seen rising, and they were separated from the British fleet by about half the width of the strait, a distance even if the British had the best hand-held telescopes With the sharpest eyes, it is impossible to be detected, and the connection between them and Joseph is only at the agreed time - if the Dunkirk fleet does not arrive on time, this result is undoubtedly the worst, the Brest fleet and Joseph's There is a good chance that the fleet will be swallowed up by the British fleet.

   But if Joseph failed to quell the hatred of the British, then they hurried, only to fail, turning an ambitious conspiracy into a joke.

Joseph had done everything he could, he even put white phosphorus in buckets to make his ship look like it was engulfed in smoke, and lowered the sails to make it look burnt, but once he saw the arc of the Seine I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief, because at the agreed place, the flag of the Sun King has been raised, indicating that the Dunkirk fleet has set off according to plan, and unless God provides it, it is now ready to kick on the UK The noble rear of the man.

  ————

   The Portsmouth Fleet meets the Dunkirk Fleet.

Admiral Sandwich murmured something, and the people around him couldn't hear it clearly, but he was stunned to find that the officer he thought had lost his enterprising spirit because of his old age instead burst out with amazing courage at such a moment. , He seemed to have expected it long ago, and he seemed to be looking forward to this moment. It was completely different from the previous hesitation, hesitation, and indecision. He commanded the fleet and rushed towards the French men aggressively.

His prudence and final courage are beyond reproach, but sometimes, neither prudence nor courage is of any use. This time, Jean Barr proposed that Louis XIV would agree, and after several admirals discussed and perfected the plan, there were almost no flaws. —Although anything can happen at sea, this time there was no accident. The Dunkirk fleet boldly gave up Calais and Dunkirk, sneaked into the Seine Bay, and used the Brest fleet and several ironclads as bait , is to destroy Cunningham's mixed fleet, and the Portsmouth fleet, these two fleets together, is half of the British Navy's viable force, without them, Charles II's ambitions will only be dashed.

   Don't say it's only half, maybe less, after all, the French never thought they could intercept all the ships. But for such a heavy loss, as a loser, Charles II will definitely be held accountable by Congress and will lose the respect of the people. He may go his own way and throw his remaining power in the Netherlands in a desperate attempt to seize the Netherlands in the name of William III. Make up for his mistakes; it is also possible that he can only turn this last energy into the country, suppress the nobles and the common people, to ensure that his throne is still stable.

   But the British Army is completely incomparable with their navy. All the military strength of William III is a drop in the bucket. The Netherlands has Viscount Turenne. Although he is very hard, Louis XIV is very relieved to the Netherlands with him. Charles II should also be able to perceive this - then... he should choose the latter, if he is still the king, with half the fleet and the guard and standing army enough to suppress the domestic power, then he can still have a future, and now he With an heir, no one can guess what will happen in thirty years, right, after all, when Louis XIII, everyone thought that France was a tree that was hollowed out and would fall at any time.

   But they had Louis XIV.

  ———

  Louis XIV could finally relax when he received the letter from the Calais wizards.

The battle in the Bay of Saint-Malo destroyed two of the most rampant sea powers, the Dutch van Basten and the pirate Gott, and the battle in the Bay of Seine captured two ironclads and destroyed three (except for an explosion in a boiler room) In addition to the sinking of the ship, there were two other ships that sank by the British after losing power), and five British ironclads were seriously injured and needed major repairs, and only two ironclads escaped.

Louis hurriedly skimmed the information about the British and landed on the list of battle damages for the Dunkirk fleet, and the French fleet also sank an ironclad, which was hit directly on a reef by the Sovereign of the Seas, so much so that two In addition to leaking water in the side cabins, which caused the boiler room to explode and had to be abandoned, and two ironclad ships that had to be returned to the factory for repairs, it was comforting that the battle did not lead to too much damage. Multiple deaths, the death toll is under a thousand, but those harmed by the white phosphorus may be disabled for life.

   "I really unleashed a man-devouring beast." Louis folded the letter and said.

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  Because the author has something to say, I can't put it here, so I put it here. (If less than 1,000 words are not included in the subscription fee, please read with confidence)

   There is a question about solid shells and charged shells, which I will explain here.

As far as I can see, solid shells will actually have applications even in 2020. After all, under the strong kinetic energy, heavy concrete can also explode with amazing lethality, but at the end of the seventeenth century, no matter how advanced artillery was, it would still be difficult. It is impossible to compare with the current cannons. The solid shells they shoot may still be useful for walls and fortresses built with mud and stones, but they are almost useless for later cement (steel) fortresses. So since then, people have been rebuilding fortresses while researching more lethal weapons.

However, at sea, the lifespan of solid shells is even longer. Until the ships are built larger and larger, and the thickness of the hull and deck plates is getting thicker and thicker, the damage caused by solid shells will not be satisfactory. .

In the real history, the improvement of artillery shells is faster than that of ships, that is to say, after the powerful charge shells, wooden ships are vulnerable, and there is a demand for ironclad ships, but here, then On the other hand, the appearance of ironclads has created people's demand for high-power charge artillery shells.

   As for the power of the charged shell, under the premise of the same firing conditions, it is definitely more powerful than the solid shell. A simple analogy is that you use a slingshot to hit a lit cannonball and a small stone. Which one does the most damage?

   is definitely the former.

   Then why did people not use charge shells in the first place, this kind of shells existed in the fourteenth century, the problem is that people can't deal with its fuze problem. People who have seen pirate movies of that period, or combat movies, can sometimes see crew members (soldiers) holding torches on a small pigtail pulled out of a round shell - the fuse, and then hissing. The rattling shells are stuffed into the barrels and fired!

   I also said in the article that the problem with this kind of shell is that it is sometimes slow and sometimes fast, the slow one is trampled out, and the fast one kills one's own people...

Therefore, the French use the trigger charge shells here, and use the letter tube, which is the early trigger device. To put it simply, the letter tube is inserted into the gunpowder, and the exposed part will press the internal firing pin once it hits, and the firing pin hits the chassis. Generate sparks, detonate explosives...

   In real history, the British did not use this fuze until 1835, but this kind of fuze was recorded in my country in the fifteenth century, so it is not impossible to invent it in advance if necessary.

   ps: Regarding the Sea King - hahaha, the author made a mistake, I'm sorry, it has been changed, and the other first-class battleship was a mistake, and it has also been changed, thank you for your corrections!

   (end of this chapter)