Prison Break Operation (1)

Over the years, the Irish Sea has been almost the only relatively wide sea area where Britain warships can operate freely. Training for new Britain warships has almost always been conducted in this sea area. This has naturally led to fierce battles between the two sides at the two outlets of the Irish Sea.

In the North Sea Strait, the France acted swiftly, seizing Islay first. The Britain, reacting quickly, strengthened their defenses around Campbeltown, a little further south of Islay.

Campbeltown is a peninsula that extends into the sea from Scotland, and it is also the narrowest point of the North Sea Strait, only twenty kilometers wide at its narrowest point. The Britain laid mines here—of course, they left themselves a safe passage.

From the France -controlled Islay to the Irish Sea, the narrowest point is thirty-seven kilometers wide; of course, the navigable section is not that wide. The France also laid mines here, but of course, they also left themselves a safe passage.

Every night, France minesweepers would depart from Islay to clear mines near Campbeltown; Britain minesweepers, on the other hand, would depart from Campbeltown to clear mines near Islay. During the day, the France would replenish their mines on their side, and the Britain would do the same on their side. Of course, everyone rested on public holidays.

What actually worries the France most is the waterway east of Islay. Turning east from Islay towards Taynish, there's another waterway, about six kilometers wide, narrowing to about three kilometers at its narrowest point, entirely under Britain control. This waterway has complex hydrographic conditions, riddled with reefs. Previously, it was practically unnavigable. But these are extraordinary times; who knows?

For a time, the France also tried to lay mines in this area. The result? One night, their men went out in their minesweepers, and three days later, they returned in lifeboats—before they could lay a single mine, they ran aground on a reef. In short, if you're not familiar with the waterways there, going there during the day, let alone at night, is just as dangerous as going directly into a minefield.

The France also sent scouts to monitor the waterway and discovered that the Britain were indeed using it—although only small boats were using it. However, according to the scouts, they heard explosions in the area, which likely indicated that the Britain were clearing the waterway in preparation for larger ships to enter and exit the Irish Sea.

The exit of this narrow waterway is about 100 kilometers from the Islay Anchorage. It is impossible for a single fleet to simultaneously guard both the Islay exit and another exit 100 kilometers away. Therefore, to block them, the Britain fleet must be trapped in the narrow waters outside the Campbeltown exit. Otherwise, once the Britain fleet breaks free, they could potentially enter the North Sea before the main France fleet arrives, sweeping through Europe ships entering and leaving the Denmark Strait and driving away the cruisers carrying out the blockade along the Britain coast. Of course, more importantly, simply by appearing on the ocean, even without doing anything, they could force the France to concentrate their fleet, search for them across the ocean, and guard their own shipping lanes, thus rendering the naval blockade of Britain ineffective. As long as the fleet is not destroyed and does not return due to resupply problems, the France will lack the strength to maintain a tight blockade of Britain.

By then, Britain's connections with its overseas colonies would be somewhat restored. Furthermore, lured by high profits, some Europe would smuggle various goods into Britain, just as they smuggled goods into France in Ninety-Three. In fact, even now, many Europe and Britain are risking this business for high profits. Even the France Ministry of Truth and the Ministry of Police are involved in this trade. Of course, their motivation is likely to gather intelligence, not to make money. Moreover, with their intelligence support, the French Navy has apprehended many smugglers.

Given the situation in Britain, which is difficult to sustain indefinitely, the blockade must be broken as soon as possible. According to various intelligence reports, if the blockade is not broken within a month, a large-scale revolution is highly probable. Therefore, the Britain fleet should take action within the next two weeks.

Thus, the main France fleet, stationed at Carroll Port, Ireland, began its operation. A portion of it sailed south to blockade the St George's Channel. The St George's Channel had the best hydrographic conditions, and once the Britain fleet emerged from there, it posed the greatest threat to France coastal shipping lanes. Furthermore, retreating was the easiest option should anything be amiss. Therefore, the France were always on high alert in this area. Even in peacetime, several specially equipped, power-enhanced Britain cruisers (equipped with larger steam engines and with reduced weaponry and coal loads for increased speed) were always stationed in the strait. Their mission was to immediately radio Britain France fleet upon spotting it and to continuously track it. Consequently, these cruisers earned the nickname "Lightbulb."

The other fleet headed north and entered the Islay Anchorage.

Islay has a nice bay, perfect for sheltering from the wind, but converting it into a port would be extremely difficult. The bay is surrounded by typical glacial terrain, with high cliffs on the side except for the outlet. Building a large port here is simply impossible.

The France did have a small port near this bay, specifically for the use of the island's army and minesweepers. In addition, they also kept two large coal carriers anchored in the bay to support any fleet that might come to anchor here in the future. But even so, a large fleet could only stay here for a limited time, as this was not a port.

On the other hand, the fleet could stay here for two or three months without any problem. But Britain's current situation makes it unlikely that it can hold out for more than a few months.

In fact, during this period, the Britain government had already expressed its sincerity for peace to France through neutral countries. However, while the Britain felt they were very sincere, the France felt that even if the Britain were not entirely without sincerity, their sincerity was still insufficient.

For example, the Britain expressed their willingness to return the colonies that France had ceded to Britain after the Seven Years' War, including their colony France India, and agreed to completely abolish the Navigation Ordinance to achieve free trade. In the eyes of the Britain, this was already a very sincere gesture, and could even be considered a pleasant surprise to the France.

However, the France stated that if the Britain had shown such sincerity before the Battle of the North Atlantic, it would have been truly surprising. But now, they scoffed, "This is hardly a surprise?"

The France then put forward their conditions:

First, the Britain domestic market should be fully open to France and other Europe countries, removing all restrictions on foreign capital. All trade disputes should be submitted to the Roman Imperial Trade Arbitration Committee for fair arbitration, rather than taking unilateral action.

Secondly, the Britain must amend its domestic laws, adopt trade laws that are in line with international standards, and accept supervision from Europe countries.

Third, Britain must follow France's example and formulate labor laws to protect workers' rights.

Fourth, Britain must adopt an attitude of religious freedom, abolish the state church, allow any other legal religion to preach in Britain, and refrain from discriminating against or persecuting believers of other religions in any way. In this regard, Britain must accept the oversight of a religious freedom commission, including the Holy See Rome.

Fifth, the size of both the British Navy and Army must be limited. The Navy must no longer retain any warships with a displacement exceeding five thousand tons. Coastal fortifications such as batteries must be dismantled within a specified time. The Army must hire France instructors and receive France guidance in its construction.

Sixth, all of Britain's colonies were placed under the trusteeship of the Roman Empire, guaranteeing the human rights of the colonists.

In short, the France put forward a total of twenty-one demands. It is said that when Foreign Minister Talleyrand informed the Britain representative of these demands during a secret negotiation codenamed "Operation Parasol Tree," the Britain representative, after reading the twenty-one demands, was furious and slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming. "You don't want peace, you want the complete annihilation of Britain! These twenty-one demands are the Twenty-One Articles for Britain's Destruction!"

Clearly, the demands of the two sides were far too different; the sincerity the France wanted was something the Britain simply couldn't offer.

When the negotiations finally broke down, it is said that Foreign Minister Talleyrand said to the Britain: "These conditions are indeed a bit harsh, but if we agree to them, Britain will still be a kingdom... Isn't becoming a republic a more terrible thing than accepting these conditions? The key question is, do you want to save Britain or the King?"

"What exactly do you mean?" the Britain representative, who was about to leave, couldn't help but ask.

"To protect Britain means to keep Britain great. Well, whether Britain is ruled by a king and nobles, a Lord Protector, or a 'Committee of Public Safety' and a 'Revolutionary Tribunal' is irrelevant. To be honest, we have prepared another peace agreement for the revolutionary government of Britain. And I can tell you with certainty that the peace agreement we have prepared for the revolutionary government is much more lenient than the one you are seeing now, which is aimed at the royal government. Do you know why?"

Seeing that the Britain representative still didn't react and seemed not to understand, Talleyrand continued, "We are doing this not because we have any ill will towards the Kingdom or any preference for the Republic, but because the Republic naturally has more appeal than the Kingdom. France was able to survive the most dangerous period because the people were willing to support the Republic at all costs. If the Britain people could support the Royal Government at all costs as they did in Ninety-Three, then our terms would be relatively more lenient. But what is the relationship between the Kingdom and the people? It doesn't belong to the people—after you suppressed the Chartist Movement, you can no longer get the people to fight for you like that. Only a post-revolutionary Britain government has such appeal and can offer better terms. If you want to protect Britain, then wait until after the revolution, and then we can talk. If you want to protect the King, or more accurately, to preserve the current distribution of benefits, then I advise you to seriously consider our 'Twenty-One Demands'."

The Britain, or to put it more bluntly, the Britain upper class, do not believe they have reached a dead end. They feel they can still salvage the situation, and perhaps even turn the tables.

"They won't surrender so easily unless their navy is completely crushed. They still have hope." Talleyrand reported this to Napoleon when briefing him on the progress of Operation Parasol Tree.

In order to utterly destroy Britain hopes, Napoleon issued an extraordinary order to the navy, "Even if it costs us the entire fleet, we must not allow the Britain fleet to break into the ocean!"

According to France estimates, the most likely direction for the Britain fleet was the St George's Channel to the south. This area was wider, and the Britain coast was densely populated and relatively well-developed. The Britain had built fortifications there, allowing Britain to deploy their forces relatively safely under the cover of shore artillery when entering and leaving the channel. In case of unfavorable circumstances, the fortifications also facilitated a easier retreat. Therefore, Grand Admiral Treville naturally led the main fleet to guard the vicinity of the St George's Channel.

As for the North Sea Strait, it was entrusted to Admiral François - Paul Brueys. In the original history, Brueys encountered Nelson's main fleet in the Battle of Egypt and was killed in battle. However, in this timeline, the Battle of Egypt never took place, so Admiral Brueys is naturally still alive and has been promoted to admiral.

In fact, Admiral Brueys very much hoped to lead the main fleet to intercept the Britain fleet in the St George's Channel, because he believed that the Britain fleet was more likely to emerge from there. If he could lead the main fleet to intercept and destroy the Britain fleet there, he would certainly become a Grand Admiral.

Admiral Treville was promoted to admiral precisely because of his victory in the Battle of the North Atlantic. Admiral Brueys believed that Treville's command in the Battle of the North Atlantic was flawed in many ways. Brueys even felt that if he had been the commander, French Army losses would have been much smaller; at the very least, the battleship "Imperator" would certainly not have been lost.

Brueys, in a post-battle debriefing at the Naval Academy, publicly declared, "Despite having an overwhelmingly superior fleet, we ended up with a near one-for-one exchange. Strategically, it was undoubtedly a great victory, but tactically, it was utterly lackluster. The only commendable aspect was our determination to annihilate the enemy."

However, when it came time to assign tasks, Brueys failed to seize St George's Channel because he was aiming to become a Fleet Admiral, while Treville, who had already become a Fleet Admiral, was still dreaming of becoming Grand Admiral.

Napoleon ultimately chose Grand Admiral Treville to guard the St George's Channel because, when he consulted with the two generals about their battle plans, Grand Admiral Treville emphasized that as long as the enemy fleet was blocked, France would surely win. Brueys, on the other hand, mistakenly claimed that he could definitely annihilate the Britain fleet.

Indeed, the adventurous Napoleon was emotionally more inclined to support Admiral Brueys's plans. However, as a strategist, Napoleon also clearly understood that unnecessary risks were unnecessary. In warfare, victory is of course desirable, but the pursuit of a so-called "perfect victory" should be avoided. Often, the very idea of achieving a "perfect victory" can easily lead to all sorts of inexplicable mistakes, ultimately letting a sure victory slip away.

Therefore, Napoleon, as a strategist, decided to have Grand Admiral Treville guard the St George's Channel, where the Britain fleet was most likely to be encountered, while sending Admiral Brueys to the North Sea Strait.

Brueys then led the Second Squadron to the Islay Anchorage. The main force of the fleet moved into the anchorage to take off, and sent out "Lightbulb" carrying radios to the Campbeltown Peninsula exit to monitor the Britain movements.

Admiral Brueys believed he was likely making a wasted trip. Although Brueys frequently spoke publicly about Grand Admiral Treville as a mediocre commander who only knew how to bully others with superior numbers of ships and cannons, he also knew that Treville's side was unlikely to make any mistakes. If the Britain did manage to leave through the St George's Channel, Grand Admiral Treville would certainly be able to block them back, even if his kill count and exchange ratio weren't impressive. He was certain he wouldn't lose strategically. He also knew that after this battle, Britain would likely be finished. There wouldn't be any major naval or army battles for a while. Therefore, he estimated he would only ever be an admiral. Meanwhile, that mediocre commander might actually become a Grand Admiral.

However, Brueys did not relax his guard—what if, just what if the Britain were looking out for him and actually came from this side, and he, due to insufficient preparation, let the Britain fleet escape? Not only would his chance to become a marshal be lost, but he would also surely become a fool repeatedly mentioned in future naval academies.

So he rallied his spirits and encouraged everyone to stay vigilant and not let the Britain escape.

"After the Britain fleet leaves Campbeltown, it's about 70 kilometers to the Taynish Waterway, and our anchorage is 80 kilometers from there. Once the enemy fleet enters the Taynish Waterway, our interception will be a complete failure. Fortunately, we have a series of observation posts in Belfast, Ireland. That section of the water is only a little over 30 kilometers wide, and our Ireland allies can provide us with some early warning information using lookouts and small boats. If their warnings are timely, we can intercept them relatively easily; otherwise, this race will be quite difficult. If the enemy fleet appears at the Campbeltown exit without warning, then the ships responsible for surveillance, in addition to immediately sending back telegrams, will have the important task of harassing the enemy as quickly as possible to buy time for our main fleet. Do you all understand?" After carefully assigning the tasks, Admiral Brueys concluded with these words.