Naval Battle (4)

Pressurized ventilation, a method of squeezing the last bit of power from the steam engine, easily leads to boiler overheating, shortens boiler lifespan, and in more serious cases, can even cause boiler explosions. However, the Queen Elizabeth no longer needs to worry about boiler lifespan. Even if everything goes smoothly and it successfully rams and sinks the Imperator, it will certainly be doomed on its own. Therefore, boiler lifespan is meaningless.

As for the boiler explosion, the two sides are only a little over a kilometer apart. The chances of such a thing happening at such a distance are not high, at least lower than the chances of a shell hitting an ammunition depot.

However, the acceleration of a warship is not like that of a liter-long motorcycle, where you twist the throttle and instantly reach speeds of over 100 km/h. The acceleration of a warship is quite slow, so slow that often you won't even notice it if you're not paying attention.

But the France artillery reacted much faster. The 150mm guns on HMS Imperator, HMS Caesar, and the 100mm guns on other cruisers rained down on Queen Elizabeth. A 150mm shell struck the port side, penetrating the armor and exploding in the freshwater tanks—fortunately, no casualties were reported. Another 150mm shell hit and exploded near the waterline on the port side, tearing a hole that allowed seawater to rush in. However, the hole was small, so no one addressed it immediately—two-thirds of the damage control personnel had already been killed or wounded, and such minor damage was simply beyond their capabilities.

However, the distance was already very close, so this little bit of water ingress wasn't too important—as long as the boat hadn't sunk when it collided with the other vessel, that was enough.

As for the 100mm shells, even more hit. None of these shells had any chance of penetrating the armor of the Queen Elizabeth, but they completely shredded the superstructure of the Queen Elizabeth. In fact, considering the effect of that near miss, in today's battle, at least so far, the greatest damage to the Queen Elizabeth has not come from the 150mm guns of the France battleships, but from the 100mm guns of the France armored cruisers.

"Order to immediately flood all ammunition magazines. All soldiers, prepare to abandon ship." As the enemy ships drew closer and more shells continued to hit the warships, Nelson issued this order.

Flooding the ammunition magazine meant that once the warship's guns had fired all the shells already loaded into the turrets, they would have no more shells to fire. However, this order also ensured that even if a France shell pierced the ammunition magazine before the Queen Elizabeth rammed the enemy ship, the entire magazine would not explode, thus preventing the entire warship from being blown away.

In fact, the order was very timely, because just two minutes after it was given, a shell fired from Imperator penetrated the armor of the forward main gun's ammunition magazine—the two sides were now very close, making previously impenetrable armor easily penetrated. If the ammunition magazine hadn't been flooded beforehand, this shell might have taken the Queen Elizabeth's life.

On Imperator, Grand Admiral Treville had figured out the Britain intentions: Britain were attempting a ramming attack. He had two choices. One was to maintain the current course, which would be most advantageous for firing his guns and using his superior firepower to destroy the enemy before they could ram him. The other was to turn his ship to face the enemy. This would force him to use his stern guns, but it would increase the time it took for the enemy to catch up, and when they did, they would be forced to ram the Imperator's stern. While being rammed from behind might sound unpleasant, the chances of sinking a warship from that angle were significantly reduced, practically impossible.

If Napoleon were making the decision at that moment, he would undoubtedly choose option one without hesitation: Don't be a coward, just fight! Let's see if you'll run me over, or I'll smash you first! The west wind blows, the war drums beat, who in this world is afraid of whom?

If Joseph were making the decision at this moment, he would undoubtedly choose option two without hesitation: turn around immediately. Survival is the top priority; even if someone bumps into him from behind, he won't die. Victory is already assured, so there's no need to take risks. Besides, if it were Joseph, he certainly wouldn't allow himself to be on the battlefield.

However, Grand Admiral Treville was neither Napoleon nor Joseph. So, well, initially he was determined to adopt the Napoleon plan. However, as more shells hit the enemy ship, but instead of exploding and sinking, the enemy ship's speed increased and the distance closed further, Grand Admiral Treville hesitated. He felt that at such a short distance, artillery fire alone would be insufficient to prevent the enemy ship from ramming him. Therefore, he ordered the warship to turn. This order was considered a major reason in the post-battle analysis for the heavy damage suffered by the "Imperator" and its eventual abandonment.

Marshal Treville and Captain Mo Lao underestimated the loss of the warship's turning ability after losing its bow. So when the Britain Queen Elizabeth approached to within 400 meters, the Imperator began to clumsily turn to avoid it.

However, the speed at which the "Imperator" turned was far beyond everyone's expectations. It took a long time to turn more than 45 degrees before the "Queen Elizabeth" crashed into it head-on, engulfed in flames.

If the "Imperator" has already completed its turn, at most a few compartments at the back will be damaged. Aside from the propeller being destroyed and the ship needing to be towed, there shouldn't be any major problems. After a major overhaul, it might still be usable.

If it hadn't changed course at all and had been struck head-on by the Queen Elizabeth, the damage would have been severe; the central compartments would certainly have been destroyed. However, the damage would have been limited to the central compartments. It probably wouldn't have sunk, and as long as the keel wasn't damaged, it could have been towed back for repairs. At the very least, it could have been sold back to the Turkey.

However, the situation was completely different when they collided at a 45-degree angle. The bow of the Queen Elizabeth slid along the port side of the Imperator, tearing open almost all the watertight compartments on the port side.

The surging seawater rushed into the ship's hold. Even though the damage control personnel on the "Imperial" were relatively well-organized, they were still helpless in the face of this situation. In order to prevent the warship from sinking, the France could only urgently lock all the watertight compartment doors on the port side. As a result of this action alone, as many as 110 naval soldiers drowned.

As water rapidly entered the port side, the "Imperator" began to list rapidly to the port. To prevent the ship from capsizing, rescuers had to flood some compartments on the starboard side to try and regain balance. However, too many compartments on the port side were damaged, and if they were to try to restore balance, the "Imperator" would essentially become a submarine.

Fortunately, due to Joseph's insistence, the Navy designed the warship with relatively small compartments, dividing it not only horizontally but also longitudinally. This design provided the "Imperado" with excellent anti-sinking properties. So after these maneuvers, the "Imperator" was still barely afloat and did not sink. However, the ship was listing at nearly 30 degrees, making it impossible for people to stand on the deck, and the steam engines were naturally shut down.

Of course, the Queen Elizabeth wasn't in much better shape. She was already taking on a lot of water. The impact smashed her bow to pieces, allowing seawater to rush in rapidly. The Queen Elizabeth had a large compartmentalized design, and with the damage control personnel suffering heavy losses, they were unable to control the situation. So, her bow sank first, while her stern rose high, exposing the brass propeller, the red-painted hull, and the barnacles and other marine life clinging to it. Some sailors grabbed various floating objects and jumped into the sea, swimming desperately towards the horizon. They all knew the ship was about to sink, and if they didn't swim far enough before it did, they would be dragged to the bottom by the whirlpool created as the ship sank.

Because the stern compartments also contained a large amount of seawater, the downward pressure caused the keel of the Queen Elizabeth to creak. Simultaneously, the seawater flooded the compartments, forcing air out through various gaps, producing a whistling sound similar to a ship's horn, a truly terrifying noise. Ultimately, the keel of the Queen Elizabeth could no longer withstand the pressure, and with a deafening crash, it broke in two. The stern slammed violently into the water, creating a huge wave, and then the broken warship quickly sank to the bottom of the sea, leaving only a large whirlpool on the surface. Many soldiers who jumped overboard to escape were caught in the whirlpool as the ship sank and sank to the bottom as well.

According to postwar statistics, of the more than 600 officers and men on the Queen Elizabeth, only six were ultimately rescued. The rest, including Fleet Commander Admiral Nelson, perished with the ship.

The battle that followed became completely one-sided. Although the France battleship "Imperator" was no longer combat-ready, the second squadron had arrived. Under the crossfire of the France fleet, any Britain warships still on the battlefield were severely damaged. As "Queen Elizabeth" charged "Imperator," three British Army cruisers were already slowly sinking.

After the sinking of the Queen Elizabeth, the France diverted their firepower from the ship, making the situation even more precarious for the remaining Britain warships. While the British Navy certainly lived up to the Queen Elizabeth -flag raised by Admiral Nelson and the order that "England demands everyone to perform their duties," the course of the battle was not determined by personnel. Within just half an hour, all the Britain warships were either sunk or sinking. The France had ceased firing and dispatched small boats to salvage the Britain soldiers who had fallen into the water.

Meanwhile, Grand Admiral Treville had boarded a small boat and transferred to the battleship Caesar. Most of the crew had also left the battleship Imperator, except for those sailors who were locked in watertight compartments and still banging on the deck with wrenches or similar objects.

The France cruiser Lyon approached the battleship Imperator and towed it back to France with a cable. The ship's keel was not broken; after repairs, it might even be sold to the Turkey for money.

However, as evening approached, the wind picked up at sea, and the waves grew higher and higher. The condition of the "Imperator" deteriorated rapidly, and its list quickly increased to about 40 degrees and continued to widen. Around 8 p. m., the entire ship suddenly capsized and began to sink gradually.

Under the orders of Admiral Treville, the Lyon released the mooring lines towing the Imperator. At 9:15 p. m. that evening, the Imperator sank into the icy North Atlantic Ocean under the watchful eyes of the entire fleet.

By this time, the outcome of the entire battle was clear. The Britain had lost the battleship Queen Elizabeth, two supercruisers, and six armored cruisers; only the supercruiser Yorkshire managed to break through. Thus, the British Navy had lost all of its new battleships, except for another half-built ship of the same class as Queen Elizabeth, which was still under construction. It now possessed only four supercruisers and ten armored cruisers. While this number was still respectable compared to other nations, with this force alone, it was impossible for them to contend with the France for control of the sea. The British Navy could now likely only serve as a coastal defense force, under the cover of coastal artillery and mines, to prevent a potential France amphibious landing.

On the France side, they lost the battleship "Imperator," and other warships also suffered varying degrees of damage. However, only two armored cruisers required major repairs and were estimated to be out of combat capability within three to six months. In short, the France fleet still largely maintained its combat effectiveness. This was a truly nightmarish outcome for the Britain.