Chapter 791: Battle of Genoa II

No. 72

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20 minutes later, more than 30 French warships appeared on the sea on the southeast side.

When the British sailors on the Theseus saw the French boats emitting black smoke, they couldn't help but smile sarcastically-

The largest ships were level 5 ships, and they didn't even have the qualifications to join the battle line on their side, so they could only be responsible for the outer perimeter alert.

At the same time, the formation of the French fleet was also loose, neither a standard charging oblique formation nor a linear formation, it was just like a group of leisurely sightseeing boats.

Moreover, the southwest wind was blowing on the sea, but the French were coming from the east half against the wind...

Some British soldiers began to suspect that the French were not coming to fight, because the latter made almost all the mistakes that could be made in a naval battle.

However, British officers such as Major General Hotham still maintained due caution towards the fleet with black smoke in the distance.

Because they had noticed that even in a semi-headwind state, those ships still maintained a very high speed.

The captain of the "Theseus" turned his head and suggested to Hotham:

"General, our wind direction is very favorable. If we rush directly with the wind, we should be able to crush those small boats directly." [Note 1]

In the naval battles of this era, whoever seizes the upwind position can use the wind to quickly adjust the formation during the battle and freely choose the angle of entry. It can be said that half of the victory has been won.

Not to mention just bullying a group of light warships.

Hotham shook his head hesitantly: "No, observe first. The French are not idiots. They dare to rush over like this, most likely they have something to rely on."

He looked at the herald on the side: "Let the "Four-wheeled Carriage" take a few galleys to meet them and disrupt their route."

"Yes, General!"

Soon, the fifth-level cruiser "Four-wheeled Carriage" on the left side of the British battle line, led another two cruisers and eight frigates, and quickly approached from the right front of the French warship.

This is clearly bullying the French because their ships are small, and the auxiliary warships of the British fleet can threaten them.

If the French warship chooses to turn left and greet the "Four-wheeled Carriage" and other ships with broadside guns, the latter will immediately leave the battle, and the French warship will lose the best entry angle because of turning in advance.

Generally speaking, the warships on the charging side should wait until they are about 800 to 1,000 yards close to the opponent's battle line before turning and entering the broadside shooting state.

If you turn too early, you can only circle around the sea and find a new angle of entry.

But the main force of the British fleet is still eyeing you from the upwind side, how can they give you a chance to re-enter? As long as you dare to turn your head, they will rush over directly and defeat you in one fell swoop with a neat formation.

Captain Ed Bourne of the "Four-wheeled Carriage" saw that he was close to 800 yards from the French ship, and immediately raised the signal flag to order to turn left and pass from the left rear of the French fleet.

Of course, if the French forcefully maintain their course, they will engage in battle.

Although they will suffer losses, the French warships that enter the battle will also be entangled, and the "Theseus" on the west side will only take 15 minutes to rush over and end the battle.

However, the French warships reacted beyond the expectations of all the British-they turned left!

Dozens of white traces appeared on the sea surface in an instant. The French fleet turned sharply at almost a 90-degree right angle and suddenly stood in front of the "Four-wheeled Carriage". The black muzzles on the side of the ship pointed directly at the bow of the British warship.

The people on the "Four-wheeled Carriage" and other ten ships were shocked.

This is simply too unreasonable!

The French made such a sharp turn in the state of headwind. No, even if it was a tailwind, it would take at least twice the turning radius to be able to stand in front of them.

The French warship was just like being pushed from the side by an invisible monster on the seabed, and the bow was directly pointed to the northeast.

In other words, at this time, the French warship had completed a standard "T-shaped cross-head" tactic.

Bourne hurriedly ordered the signal flag to be raised, so that the warships behind him would follow him to turn right and sail south as soon as possible with the help of wind power to minimize the contact time with enemy ships.

He had heard before that the French steam warships had extremely high turning efficiency, but he had never thought it could be so high.

Due to the confidence, or arrogance, that the British Navy had cultivated over the years, the reports of ships that escaped from the cannons of French steam warships were always considered to be exaggerated.

After all, no one could carefully measure the turning rate when under attack. They could only report in general that "the French ship turned very quickly."

After analysis, the British Admiralty believed that as long as they had a favorable wind, with the ability of British sailors to maneuver, they should not lose much to the French ships in turning.

At this moment, Bourne and others realized that they were badly cheated by the masters of the Admiralty.

The sailors on the "Four-wheeled Carriage" and other ships desperately adjusted the sails, and the helmsman turned the rudder to the head. However, they were preparing to turn left before, and it was too late to adjust the reverse at this time.

A dozen ships had just turned their bows less than 20 degrees when they were already within the range of the cannons of the French warships.

The 32-pound gun on the port side of the French steam cruiser "Tunisia" roared first, and then the cruisers and frigates following it began to fire in succession.

One shot, one content, one look!

Thick white fog suddenly filled the sea, as if in a fairyland.

The Four-wheeled Carriage was basically facing the enemy ship with its bow, unable to fight back and could only take the beating.

Bourne listened to the whistling sound of shells passing by all around, and his heart was already pounding. He felt that the density of firepower seemed to be too great.

It was like facing a third-class battleship!

Soon, a "click" sound came from the lower left, which was caused by the shells tearing the hull.

Then there was the same sound on the port gun deck, followed by the screams of the injured sailors and the shouts of the boatswain ordering the sails to turn.

On the Theseus in the distance, Hotham, who was holding a telescope, also had a gloomy face.

This was the first time he saw a French steamship in battle. The amazing speed and turning efficiency made him feel heavy pressure.

Moreover, the formation of the French warships launching the attack at this time was also very strange.

It was not a standard line formation, but an arc formation, forming a semi-encirclement of the "Four-wheeled Carriage" and other ships.

This formation allowed them to exert firepower that was 20% to 30% stronger than a line formation.

[Note 1] According to the British naval combat norms, the fleet commander did not directly manage the flagship, he just stayed on the flagship to command the entire fleet. The flagship itself had its own captain.

This model has many advantages, one of the more important ones is that when the flagship is sunk, the fleet commander can transfer to another ship and quickly switch the flagship without causing confusion in the command system on the new flagship.