Chapter 983 Welcome

Garibaldi had no interest in the war between France and Austria.

He preferred to continue repairing bridges and roads rather than fighting.

But as Sergeant Giuseppe, he had to join Benedek's expeditionary force because of the strong recommendation of his superiors and colleagues.

Baron Marcello and Sergeant Karen both believed that Sergeant Giuseppe and his team were the best in the entire recruit camp. Even though Sergeant Giuseppe seemed to have no interest in military training, their team's performance was far ahead of the rest.

This had to be said about Garibaldi's personal charm and leadership qualities. The outstanding people in the recruit camp would always unconsciously gather around him.

On the Italian battlefield, Austria and France invested more than 500,000 troops, but the entire battlefield was unusually quiet.

Malta Island.

An overly large fleet had to be anchored in two ports, and the residents of the entire island were not even as many as the number of this expeditionary force.

Fortunately, the huge British commercial empire could allocate materials from all over the world in time to solve the logistics problems of this fleet.

Old Edward Hobart Seymour was smoking a pipe and wearing a naval officer's coat, looking like a tough guy.

This could not help but boost the morale of the British naval soldiers, but at this time, old Edward Hobart Seymour was in trouble.

He was facing the same problem as Codrington at this time. Edward Codrington, the hero of the Battle of Navarino, defeated the arrogant Ottoman fleet and the savior of the Greeks, but he was the sinner of Britain and the culprit who let Russia out of the Black Sea.

As the commander of the British fleet, Edward Codrington defeated the combined fleet of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Navarino, but the order he received was to maintain the balance of power in the Mediterranean.

Although Edward Codrington had been defending his actions, he had never been forgiven by the British government and finally had to spend the rest of his life in pain.

Now old Edward Hobart Seymour is also facing this problem. The British government obviously does not want the French to dominate the Mediterranean.

Originally, this problem was not unsolvable. Although it was a joint fleet, as long as old Edward Hobart Seymour did not work hard in the war and let the French and Austrians fight, Britain would naturally be the final winner.

But the British government issued an order to recapture Crete and force the Greek government to negotiate peace.

These two orders put old Edward Hobart Seymour in a dilemma, so he thought of a way, that is, to get rid of the French fleet and act alone.

After all, the Austrians took Crete with the army last time, so it was normal for him to send troops to search the island carefully after occupying Crete.

If the Austrians were not stupid, they would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the French Navy.

Of course, even if the Austrians were all fools, there would be someone who would help them think of the proposal of a decisive battle. After all, there were friends of the British Empire all over the world, and Vienna was no exception.

When France and Austria decided the winner, he only needed to finish it.

After all, thirty-eight battleships, this number was almost equal to the total number of battleships of France and Austria. To be honest, he really didn't know how he could lose.

As for the rumored Austrian Imperial Army, he was even more dismissive, because at this time his army also had a large number of marines, and the total force of 40,000 people could almost make him invincible.

In addition, the mobility of this huge fleet is also the best in the world. At this time, the French Grand Orient Fleet could not even see their shadows, which was the best proof.

Of course, even with such a strong force, the subsequent island-grabbing operations would not be too easy.

Fortunately, the Greeks on the island were thinking of Great Britain, and would cooperate with Seymour's fleet on the island to seize control of the port.

Seymour decided to rest on Malta for a day before attacking Crete.

At the same time, he was also luring the snake out of the hole. Although his force was strong enough at this time, no one could guarantee that the Austrians would not repeat the same trick.

As for the rumored Austrian Empire aircraft, Seymour did not believe it. After all, the technology of the British Empire, which had produced Sir Newton, was the best in the world.

Nothing happened overnight, which made Seymour more convinced that the so-called army's island capture was simply a shameless lie, just the sophistry of the incompetent.

The new British Mediterranean Fleet set sail again, and did not encounter the main fleet of the Austrian Empire along the way.

When they arrived at Crete, there were only some light civilian ships in the port. Through the telescope, old Edward Hobart Seymour even saw the flag of the British Empire that had been raised, and he showed a very contemptuous smile.

"The Austrians fled at the sight of the wind, what a wise choice!"

The naval officers around him also laughed.

"What a group of cowards! Haha!"

"They made us win without honor."

"The Austrians made a very wise choice. Don't underestimate our opponents. The glory of the British Empire Navy can no longer withstand the slightest tarnish."

Old Edward Hobart Seymour said very seriously, and the officers on the side immediately shut up.

"Gentlemen! Prepare to dock. You must carefully search the entire island and then arrange defenses."

"Yes, sir!"

"Also notify all ships to let the gunners take their positions."

The messenger immediately climbed up the watchtower and played the flag signal, which made the atmosphere of the entire fleet tense.

This could indeed be a trap set by the Austrians, but the few turrets near the port alone obviously could not pose a threat to such a large fleet.

Moreover, the initiative on the battlefield was in the hands of the British. They could completely leave the battlefield and then choose the time and place to land on the island. In short, they were invincible.

The huge fleet slowly sailed into the harbor. The lookouts paid close attention to the movements of the turrets on both sides. There was no one nearby. The crowd seemed to be gathered in front of the dock of the port waiting to welcome the arrival of the British army.

Fleet Commander Seymour breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second there was a huge explosion in front of him, and the water column rushed into the sky. Then a cruiser in front of him that was responsible for opening the way slowly sank like it hit a reef.

"What the hell is going on? Hurry up"

Before Seymour finished speaking, there was another loud noise, and another light frigate began to sink slowly.

Only then did he notice that there were many floating barrels in the sea. Because he had paid too much attention to the two banks and the docks before, he ignored these inconspicuous barrels.

It was normal to see barrels and floating objects near the docks in this era, because many sailors at that time regarded the ocean as a garbage dump, and it was not uncommon to throw empty barrels into the sea.

"Damn it! It's a mine! Retreat!"

Seymour roared, and the messenger quickly climbed up the watchtower and sent a flag signal.

But it was too late. The barrels in the sea exploded one after another, and some small boats were directly blown into pieces. At the same time, the artillery on both sides also opened fire.