I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 289

< Trafalgar (1) >

A desperate gamble, with everything on the line.

A true duel between men, deciding everything in one fell swoop.

It’s a simple and intuitive method where all forces clash head-on, but in reality, these kinds of battles rarely happen.

There are many reasons, the biggest being that commanders see no advantage in fighting this way.

Even Admiral Villeneuve, in command of the French forces, had no intention of indulging in such foolishness.

“Why fight now when the situation keeps improving if we just wait a little longer?”

However, the higher-ups, thoroughly intoxicated with the glory of France, seemed to think differently.

Admiral Villeneuve personally believed that relying on Nouvelle France [New France, a historical French colony in North America] might negatively affect his future rewards.

Masséna, the temporary Grand Admiral, didn’t seem to have such concerns, but his lack of naval understanding was another problem.

“If we can blockade the English Channel for a short time, we can land our 150,000 troops in England. I’ve already devised the plan, so Admiral, just follow my lead.”

“Oh…”

Villeneuve was astonished by the incredibly detailed and meticulous timetable in Masséna’s operational plan.

Not out of admiration, but because it clearly revealed how little the French high command understood naval warfare.

‘Seriously? Do they think the navy can keep such precise time, down to the minute, like the army…?’

The sea is a complex and unpredictable place where a fleet’s progress can be endlessly delayed by even a slight change in the wind.

Especially when operating sailing ships, it was practically impossible to manage troops with such precision.

This wasn’t a matter of the French forces’ skill; it was structurally impossible, regardless of whether it was the British or their ancestors.

It might be different if all the ships were steamships, but the current fleet wasn’t composed that way.

France was pouring enormous resources into this battle, scraping together everything, including steamships and wooden sailing ships.

Even among the steamships, only the newly built, state-of-the-art ones were powered solely by steam engines.

The rest were closer to auxiliary steamships, using both sails and steam engines.

No matter how much Villeneuve argued, he had no decision-making power, so he decided to buy time however he could.

“We need to buy time until the Mediterranean fleet arrives, so let’s consolidate our forces at an intermediate point.”

Since the French forces also needed time to organize the large army for the invasion of England, this request was accepted.

Villeneuve, judging that it would be dangerous to be defeated piecemeal before the Mediterranean fleet arrived, led the fleet to the port of Cadiz in Spain.

His plan was to stall indefinitely under the pretext of repairs and supplies, then set sail around the time the Nouvelle France fleet arrived.

However, Nelson wasn’t so easily fooled as to let this continue.

“Divide and conquer. That’s the only opportunity we should aim for.”

Even from the fleet’s passive movements, which contrasted with the atmosphere in mainland France, it was easy to guess the current situation.

The higher-ups wanted an immediate victory, while the commander wanted to be cautious.

Nelson had seen this kind of situation more than once, so he immediately knew how to lure the enemy out.

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the field commander can’t overcome the pressure from above.

This was a truth that would never change, no matter how much time passed.

“Send a few fast ships to drop some cannonballs off the coast of France.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Right now, their heads and hands aren’t working together. There’s no way they’ll be able to respond properly.”

When it came to provoking the other side, no one in the world, including France, could match them.

The prediction was spot on.

The number of cannonballs that fell off the coast of France was directly proportional to how enraged the French high command became.

-If you don’t sink all those British ships right now, I’ll replace you with another admiral! Be warned!

For a soldier, there’s nothing more shameful than a dishonorable discharge.

In the end, it wasn’t even a few days after Nelson started to provoke the French that the movements of the French forces changed dramatically.

“Gentlemen, the opportunity has finally come. They will probably leave the port of Cadiz within a few days. We will begin our advance, targeting that time.”

“Doesn’t France coming out mean that their fleet from the New World is also within sight?”

“Good point. If I were the French admiral, I would probably try to time it as close as possible. I would be closely watching the pressure from above and when our reinforcements arrive.”

According to intelligence from our allies, the French warships had set sail from the New World a little while ago.

It was earlier than expected, but that meant the number of warships coming from the New World wasn’t that large, and hastily gathered old-fashioned battleships had also been spotted.

In other words, they haven’t finished their construction work either.

Of course, this is only the best-case scenario. To put it another way, the reality is that even though they haven’t even started their full-scale offensive, they’re already on par with our forces.

It’s closer to a nightmare than reality, but God hasn’t abandoned England yet.

“The French have always been like this. They always become complacent when they think they have the upper hand. But that moment of carelessness won’t last long. Gentlemen! Do not be afraid. I will personally stand at the forefront and lead you to victory!”

Nelson’s fleet, having completed all preparations to destroy the enemy, set out to sea with a determined resolve.

Almost simultaneously, the French fleet led by Villeneuve also left the port of Cadiz to join the fleet coming from the New World.

Whether it was God’s guidance or the devil’s trick, in the calm waters off Cape Trafalgar.

The British and French fleets finally spotted each other.

※※※

“What, what is this? Have our movements been anticipated?”

Admiral Villeneuve, who had no intention of fighting the British forces before his allies joined him, tried his best not to show his panic as he scanned the British fleet with his telescope.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have brought the Spanish fleet with me… No, those guys wouldn’t be of much help anyway. It would have been more helpful to have them suppress the Russian fleet.’

If the commander-in-chief showed signs of panic, confusion would quickly spread to the entire force.

“Everyone, form ranks! Show those guys the power of the great French Navy!”

They seemed to be chasing after us, aiming for a piecemeal defeat, but it’s not like I didn’t anticipate this possibility at all.

If we stall here, they might be caught from behind by our reinforcements, who should be heading here by now.

It’s only about 10 battleships and 1 auxiliary steamship, but if they join us, they’ll become a force that can’t be ignored.

Villeneuve finished his strategic assessment in that moment.

“Since we’re forming ranks first, they won’t be able to break through easily!”

Villeneuve, who had led the battle against the Ottomans to victory, was confident that he wouldn’t lose to the British as long as the situation progressed smoothly.

If we maintain a line-of-battle formation and exchange fire with them, we’re guaranteed to at least trade evenly.

Fortunately, the British forces appeared on our flank, so I thought we had enough time to respond.

However, Nelson was reigning supreme over Admiral Villeneuve’s head.

He sent a message via flag signals so that the entire fleet could see it.

“England expects that every man will do his duty. Fear not the enemy.”

Kwakwakwang!

With this signal as the starting point, the British forces, who had launched a preemptive strike, charged towards the French fleet, which was trying to form a line-of-battle formation.

Seeing this charge, Villeneuve momentarily failed to understand the situation and made a fatal mistake of freezing up for a moment.

It wasn’t because he was an incompetent admiral.

It was simply because no one had ever charged like this before.

In this era, over 90% of the weapons used in naval battles were cannons.

The French fleet had recently started using explosive cannons and rockets, but these weapons were only mounted on a few of the newest warships.

Due to the ship’s structure, not many gun emplacements could be mounted on the front of the ship, so the most powerful firepower a warship could display was naturally from its sides.

For this reason, naval battles were a fight over how long you could keep your sides facing the enemy and prevent the enemy’s sides from facing your front or rear.

But it was impossible to understand why the British forces, who were said to be the best in naval warfare, were rushing towards them like crazy, with their fronts exposed to their sides.

Of course, Admiral Villeneuve had experienced many naval battles. He was by no means a fool.

After watching quietly for about a minute, he realized what Nelson was aiming for.

“Ah, no! What they’re aiming for is to divide our formation! Concentrate fire to prevent them from getting close!”

“They’re breaking through towards our battleships, making it difficult to maneuver!”

“Damn it! Was it a mistake to bring everything we could to fill the numbers?”

It goes without saying that sailing ships, which move only with sails and without oars, cannot be handled unless the officers and sailors undergo grueling training.

The French forces were gradually transitioning to steamships and auxiliary steamships, and they were only using the battleships they had built before.

They were originally less skilled than the British forces, and they hadn’t gained enough experience, so there was no way they could make immediate judgments.

In particular, it was obvious that if the British forces broke through and started a melee, the French fleet, which lacked this experience, would not be able to exert its full strength.

“Turn the warships with strong firepower forward! Sink them all before they get close!”

The French forces hurriedly tried to reorganize their ranks at Villeneuve’s command, but they couldn’t do it in time due to the limitations of their shipbuilding skills.

Nelson cleverly aimed for the battleships with the weakest firepower in the French fleet and charged in a straight line, so he didn’t suffer as much damage as he thought he would.

“Everyone, if you stop, you die! Break through thoroughly and increase the enemy’s confusion!”

Nelson sensed that his gamble had succeeded and pounded his wildly beating heart with his fist.

It seemed like a huge innovation, but it was actually a reckless act left to chance.

If the French forces’ shipbuilding skills and the sailors’ proficiency were even slightly higher.

If Admiral Villeneuve had spread out the warships with strong firepower and not given them a gap to break through.

If they hadn’t recklessly fired at the small number of ironclad ships that the enemy had placed at the forefront as bullet shields, but had calmly cut off their tails.

If they had done just one of these things properly, the British fleet would have suffered enormous damage without getting their money’s worth and would have started the battle at a disadvantage.

Above all.

The difference between Nelson, who had set out from the beginning with the determination to die if he failed, and Admiral Villeneuve, who thought he would win if he just bought time, made all the difference.

“Not yet! It’s not over yet! Don’t let your guard down, soldiers! Keep pushing the French forces!”

Although they had successfully broken through, unfortunately, this was just the beginning.

Nelson, who had boldly come out on the deck at the forefront, raised his voice loudly.

< Trafalgar (1) > End