Chapter 280: Pillar of the Nation

(The picture below shows the sunk "Goliath")

At about 10:30 the next night, Charles, who had just finished work, returned to the dormitory as usual. He planned to read a book for a while before going to bed.

In modern times, Charles doesn't like to read books. He usually checks his mobile phone, but in this era, it seems that books are the only thing that can be used as a pastime before going to bed.

Just when Charles' eyelids were heavy and he was feeling sleepy, there was a sudden knock on the door from the direction of the Gallieni lounge two rooms away.

Charles was suddenly awakened, and then he sat up. Knowing that the battlefield might have changed, he immediately got up and put on his military uniform.

Sure enough, a signal soldier knocked on Charles's door soon, and he reported nervously: "Colonel, Dardanelles battle report, the battleship 'Goliath' was sunk!"

Charles was stunned, hurriedly put on his shoes, buttoned up his military uniform, opened the door and walked towards the combat headquarters with the communications soldier.

Gallieni was already waiting there. His military uniform was rumpled, as if he had slept in his clothes.

This is a good habit, Ciel thought. There is no time to take off and put on clothes on the battlefield, so this step should be omitted.

Gallieni casually handed the telegram to Charles and said: "Half an hour ago, the 'Goliath' was attacked by a sneak attack, hit by two torpedoes, and sank within two minutes. The reason is not yet clear. 750 people Most of the crew members are missing and are still undergoing emergency rescue, but..."

Needless to say, if the battleship sank within two minutes, it would probably suffer as many casualties as the Bouvet.

The operations department became busy, information came one after another, and the war situation gradually became clear:

At that time, the battleship "Goliath" was carrying out a night bombing mission under the cover of a destroyer. An Ottoman Empire's "thunder strike ship" sneaked up in the night and fired three torpedoes at a distance of less than 100 meters. Two hits hit, and the "Goliath" was instantly sunk.

(Note: Thunder strike ships are actually torpedo boats, but for the sake of cheapness, they are driven by coal-burning steam engines, so there are so-called "thunder strike ships". They generally have a displacement of about 600 tons)

Gallieni's face was grim.

Unlike the previous warships that were sunk by mines, this time the Ottoman Empire took the initiative to use "thunder strike ships" to sink the Allied battleships, which was no small matter.

"This means that it is not safe on warships." Gallieni said with concern: "In addition, sinking a battleship with only a small 'thunderstrike ship' will have a great impact on the morale of the troops. Big blow!”

Then Gallieni turned his attention to Charles: "You have to hurry up, they may take this opportunity to 'denounce' you again."

Ciel nodded, this is a good opportunity for capitalists.

…

Sure enough, the next day major newspapers reported this shocking news:

"The Ottoman Empire's 'Thunder Striker' fired three torpedoes and sank the 'Goliath'!"

"The Ottoman Empire has a total of four such 'thunderstrike ships'. Does this mean that the Allies cannot carry out bombing missions at night? Will the war situation reach a stalemate again?"

“Who was the David who sank ‘Goliath’?”

…

The final title is a reference to the Bible.

The name of the ship "Goliath" is taken from the giant Goliath in the Bible. He was killed after being knocked down by a stone thrown by the young David.

The reality is quite similar to the story in the Bible, and people have speculated who is the "David" who killed "Goliath".

Soon the news came that the Ottoman Empire was celebrating their "National Pillar" "Thunder Strike Ship", and its captain was promoted to major. Captain Feller, who planned this operation, won many medals, including the German The Iron Cross First Class.

A voice was loudly heard among the people:

"They can't win this war because there are no charr."

"It's time to send Charles into battle and teach those stupid Englishmen how to fight."

"Only the Ciel can win this war!"

…

Brest, more than 600 kilometers west of Paris, is home to the Port of Brest, one of the two major military ports in France (the other is the Port of Toulon), as well as the largest shipyard in France.

Various machines in the shipyard rumbled, and there were noisy banging and shouting. Workers were busy around several prototypes of small boats in an orderly manner.

Wells and Tijani stood aside, holding the design drawings and comparing them with the actual objects while discussing what to pay attention to.

"I think the pedals on the bow can be thickened and raised." Tijani pointed to the drawing and said: "It can just balance the weight of the engine at the rear, and it can also provide better cover for the soldiers."

"It cannot be raised any higher." Wells rejected the idea: "Otherwise it will affect the stability of the hull."

"We usually choose to land when the weather is calm." Tijani insisted on his point of view: "I think the safety of the soldiers is more important."

"Of course," Wells replied, "but you don't seem to have considered the enemy's shells?"

Tijani was speechless for a moment.

Enemy fire will cause considerable waves around the hull. If a nearby explosion can overturn the ship, the soldiers will also be unsafe.

Wells looked at Tijani with a smile and said with relief: "You don't seem to be against the navy!"

"I have never been against the navy." Tijani shrugged: "What I am against is the useless navy!"

Wells nodded slightly.

Tijani had said something similar before, but Wells didn't believe it. He thought it was just an excuse from Tijani.

How could the navy be useless?

Only with a navy can there be colonies, and only with colonies can a country be a great power!

How many people are crazy about a strong navy, but Tijani said that the navy is useless.

Now, Wells somewhat understands Bai Tijani's idea, because he saw it with his own eyes. Charles is gradually making the "useless" French navy "useful".

At this moment, the butler walked up to Wells with a newspaper: "Sir, I think you should take a look at this!"

Wells took the newspaper and saw the headline on the front page: "The battleship 'Goliath' is suspected to be sunk by a 'torpedo ship'".

Tijani, who came up, also saw it. The two looked at the details for a while, raised their heads and looked at each other in shock.

Wells sighed: "This is what Charles said about developing torpedo boats to protect the coastline."

"Yes." Tijani nodded: "This is to prove Charles' theory is correct with actual combat. This is just a 'torpedo boat' with a speed of only 35 knots."

(The picture above is the Ottoman Empire's "Pillar of the Nation" "torpedo boat", the main weapon is three torpedo tubes, and there are two 75MM guns)