Fox of France

Over the years, the Irish Sea is almost the only relatively wide sea area where British warships can move freely. The training of Britain's new warships is almost all completed in this sea area. This naturally also led to a fierce struggle between the two sides at the two exits of the Irish Sea.

In the North Sea Strait, the French acted quickly and preempted the Islay Island. The British who reacted strengthened their defenses around Campbelltown, a little further south of Islay.

Campbelltown is a peninsula protruding into the sea from Scotland. It is also the narrowest place in the North Sea Strait. The narrowest place is only 20 kilometers. The British laid mines here-of course, they left a safe passage for themselves.

From the island of Islay controlled by the French to the coast of Ireland, the narrowest point is 37 kilometers. Of course, the navigable place is not so wide. The French also laid mines here, of course, they also left a safe passage for themselves.

Every night, the French minesweepers set off from Islay to clear mines at Campbelltown; the British minesweepers set off from Campbelltown to clear mines at Islay. During the day, the French fill mines on their side, and the British fill mines on their side. Of course, on statutory holidays, everyone rests.

In fact, what worries the French most is the waterway on the east side of Islay. Turning east from the Isle of Islay, towards Tenish, there is another waterway completely under the control of the British, about six kilometers wide and about three kilometers at its narrowest point. The hydrology of this channel is complex and full of reefs. In the past, it was basically unusable for navigation. But these are special times, who knows?

For a while, the French also tried to lay mines here. As a result, the night before, their men went out in a minesweeper. Three days later, they came back with lifeboats—they hadn’t had time to lay a mine. It hit the reef first. In short, if you are not familiar with the waterway over there, passing by during the day, let alone at night, is as dangerous as going directly into the minefield.

The scouts also sent by the French went to monitor this waterway and found that the British were indeed using this waterway-although only small boats entered and exited from here, according to the scouts' reports, they heard The sound of explosions - it is likely that the British are clearing the channel for larger ships to enter and leave the Irish Sea.

The exit of this narrow waterway is about 100 kilometers away from the anchorage of Islay Island. It is impossible for a fleet to hold the exit of Islay Island and another exit 100 kilometers away at the same time. Therefore, to block them, it is necessary to block the British fleet in the narrow sea area outside the Campbelltown exit. Otherwise, once the British fleet is out of trouble, they may enter the North Sea before the French main fleet arrives, sweep the European ships entering and leaving the Denmark Strait, and expel those cruisers that are performing blockade missions along the British coast. Of course, more importantly, as long as they appear on the ocean, even if they do nothing, they can force the French to gather their fleets, search for them all over the ocean, and guard their own routes, thus preventing the British sea blockade. become dead in name only. As long as the general is not wiped out and does not return due to supply problems, the French will not have the power to tightly block Britain.

At that time, the connection between Britain and its overseas colonies will be restored to a certain extent, and even, attracted by high profits, some guys in Europe will smuggle various materials to Britain, just like in 1993 They smuggle all sorts of things into France. In fact, even now, many Europeans and Britons, attracted by high profits, venture into this kind of business. Even the French Ministry of Truth and the Ministry of Public Security have a share in this business. Of course, they should be in order to obtain better intelligence, not to make money. Moreover, with the support of their intelligence, the French navy also caught many smugglers.

Considering the domestic situation in the UK, it is difficult to maintain for a long time, and the blockade must be broken as soon as possible. Judging from various intelligences, if the blockade has not been broken within a month, then there is a high probability that a large-scale revolution will occur. Therefore, the British fleet should take action within half a month.

So the French main fleet, which had been stationed in Port Carroll, Ireland, began to move, and part of it went south to block the St. George Strait. The hydrological conditions of the St. George Strait are the best. Once the British fleet comes out from here, it will pose the greatest threat to the routes along the French coast. In addition, if something is wrong, it is the most convenient to go back. Therefore, the French have always been on the best alert on this side. Even in normal times, there are always a few special power-enhanced colonial cruisers (replaced with larger steam engines and reduced weapons and coal loads in exchange for higher speed) staying in the strait. When the British fleet is discovered, immediately use the radio to inform the French fleet of the movement of the British fleet and keep track of them. Therefore, this cruiser has a nickname, called light bulb.

The other fleet headed north, entering the anchorage of Islay.

Islay Island has a nice bay, which is perfect for shelter from the wind, but it is very difficult to change it into a port. Because the bay is surrounded by typical glacial terrain, the bay is surrounded by high cliffs except for the exit side. It is simply impossible to build a large port here.

The French do have a small port near this bay, which is specially used by the army and minesweepers on the island. In addition, they also have two large coal carriers berthed in the bay for a long time to support the fleet that will come and berth here in the future. But even so, the time that a large fleet can support here is limited. After all, this is not a port.

But on the other hand, there is no problem for the fleet to stay here for two or three months. As for the current situation in the UK, I am afraid that it will be difficult to sustain it for a few more months.

In fact, during this period of time, the British government has expressed its sincerity for peace to France through neutral countries. It's just that although the British feel that they are very sincere, the French feel that even if the British cannot be said to be insincere, their sincerity is not enough.

For example, the British expressed their willingness to cede the colonies ceded to the British by the French after the Seven Years War, and even return the colonies in India to France, and agreed to completely abolish the navigation regulations to achieve free trade. In the eyes of the British, this is already very sincere, and it can even be said that it has given the French a surprise.

But the French said that if the British were able to show such sincerity before the North Atlantic naval battle, it would be a surprise, but now, is this TMD a surprise now?

The French put forward their own conditions:

First, the British domestic market is fully open to France and other European countries, and all restrictions on foreign capital are lifted. All trade disputes should be submitted to the Roman Empire Trade Arbitration Commission for fair arbitration instead of unilateral actions.

Second, the UK must revise its domestic laws, adopt trade laws that are in line with international standards, and accept the supervision of European countries.

Third, Britain must follow the example of France in formulating labor laws to protect labor interests.

Fourth, the UK must adopt an attitude of religious freedom, abolish the state religion, allow any other legal religion to preach in the UK, and must not discriminate against or even persecute believers of other religions in any way. In this regard, Britain must accept the supervision of a religious freedom commission including the Holy See.

Fifth, the size of both the British navy and army had to be limited. The Navy is no longer allowed to keep any warships that displace more than 5,000 tons. Defensive facilities such as forts along the coast must be demolished within a time limit. In terms of construction, the army must hire French instructors and accept the guidance of the French.

Sixth, all British colonies were entrusted to the Roman Empire to ensure that the human rights of the colonized people were not violated.

...

In short, the French made as many as twenty-one demands in one go. It is said that when Foreign Minister Talleyrand informed the British representative of these requirements in a secret negotiation code-named Sycamore Tree, the British representative was furious after reading the 21 articles and said: You guys You don’t want peace, you want to destroy Britain completely, and these 21 are the 21 that will destroy Britain!”

Obviously, the requirements of the two sides are too different. The sincerity that the French want, the British really can't show.

When the negotiations finally broke down, it is said that Foreign Minister Talleyrand said this to the British: These conditions are indeed a bit harsh, but if they are agreed to, Britain is still a kingdom... Isn't it better to become a republic? Are these conditions more terrifying? In fact, the key to the matter is whether you want to protect Britain or the king.

What do you mean? the British representative who was about to leave couldn't help asking.

To preserve Britain means to keep Britain great. Well, it doesn't matter whether Britain is ruled by kings and nobles, or Lord Protector, or 'Salvation Council' and 'Revolutionary Tribunal'. Honestly, we Another peace agreement has been prepared for the British revolutionary government. And I can tell you responsibly that the peace agreement we prepared for the revolutionary government is better than the peace agreement for the Kingdom government you see now Much more lenient, do you know why?

Seeing that the British representative still didn't respond, as if he hadn't figured it out yet, Talleyrand continued, We did this not because we have any malice towards the kingdom or a preference for the republic. It's because the republic is naturally more appealing than the kingdom. France can survive the most dangerous time because the people are willing to support the Republic at all costs. If the British people can support the Royal Government at all costs as they did in 1993, then our conditions will be relatively lenient. But the Kingdom What does it have to do with the people? It’s not about the people—after you suppressed the Chartist movement, you couldn’t let the people work for you like that. Only the British government after the revolution has such appeal. We can negotiate better conditions. If you want to preserve Britain, we can talk about it after the revolution. If you want to preserve the British king, or more precisely, to preserve the current profit distribution model, then I advise you, or Seriously, our '21'.

The British, or to put it more clearly, is that the upper class in the UK does not think that they have reached the end of their rope. They feel that they can still save a life, and maybe even fight back.

They won't succumb so easily without completely destroying their navy. They are still holding on to hope. When reporting on the progress of the Sycamore Tree project, Talleyrand reported to Napoleon in this way.

In order to completely destroy the hopes of the British, Napoleon issued an extraordinary order to the navy: Even if the entire fleet is wiped out, the British fleet will never be allowed to break into the ocean!

According to the estimation of the French, the most likely direction of the British fleet is still the St. George's Strait to the south. It is wider here, and it is also a densely populated and well-developed area along the coast of the UK. The British built forts there. At least when entering and leaving the strait, the British can safely deploy their troops under the cover of shore artillery. shape. In fact, when the situation is not right, it is more convenient to retreat back under the cover of the fort. Therefore, Admiral Treville naturally led the main fleet to guard near the St. George Strait.

As for the North Sea Strait, it will be led by Admiral François-Paul Brues. In the original history, Brues encountered Nelson's main fleet in the Battle of Egypt and was killed in battle. But in this time and space, the Battle of Egypt did not happen at all, so General Brues is naturally still alive and has been promoted to admiral.

In fact, Admiral Brues very much hopes to lead the main fleet to intercept the British fleet in the direction of St. George Strait, because he believes that the British fleet is more likely to emerge from here. If he can lead the main fleet to stop the British fleet here and destroy them, then he will definitely become the admiral of the navy.

Didn't Admiral Treville get the chance to be promoted to admiral because of his victory in the North Atlantic naval battle? In the view of Admiral Brues, Admiral Treville's command in the North Atlantic naval battle actually had many problems. Admiral Brues even felt that if he was the commander of this battle, the losses of the French army would definitely be much smaller. At least, the battleship Imberado would definitely not be lost.

When Admiral Brues even reviewed the battle in the Naval Academy, he publicly declared: Relying on the overwhelming advantage of the fleet, the result was almost a one-for-one record with others. This battle, in the strategic Of course, it is a great victory, but in terms of tactics, it is really lackluster. The only thing worthy of praise is the determination to destroy the enemy.

However, when it was time to assign tasks, Admiral Brues failed to grab the St. George Strait because he wanted to become the admiral of the navy, and Treville, who had already become the admiral of the navy, still wanted to become the admiral of the navy. What about the Grand Marshal?

Napoleon finally chose Admiral Treville to guard the Strait of St. George because when he asked the two generals about their operational concept, Admiral Treville emphasized that it was enough to block the enemy fleet, as long as they If you can't come out, France will win. Admiral Brues falsely claimed that he could definitely annihilate the British fleet.

Indeed, Napoleon, who loves adventure, prefers Admiral Brues' plan emotionally, but Napoleon, as a strategist, also clearly knows that there is no need to take unnecessary risks now. In wars, of course we must pursue victory, but we should not pursue the so-called perfect victory. In many cases, once you have the idea of ​​pursuing perfect victory, it is easy to make all kinds of incredible mistakes, and finally let the roasted duck fly away again.

Therefore, Napoleon, as a strategist, made Admiral Treville to guard the St. George Strait where he was most likely to encounter the British fleet, and let Admiral Bryes go to the North Sea Strait.

Admiral Brues led the Second Squadron to the anchorage of Islay Island. The main force of the fleet entered the anchorage generation plane, and sent a light bulb carrying a radio station to the exit of the Campbelltown Peninsula to monitor the movement of the British.

Admiral Bryes thought he was probably going to waste his trip. Although Admiral Brues often publicly said that Admiral Treville is a mediocrity, he only fights the battle of relying on the ship with more guns and bullying others, but he actually knows that Admiral Treville will definitely There can be no mistakes. If the British really go out from the St. George Strait, Marshal Treville will definitely be able to complete the task of blocking the enemy back, although the ratio of the number of enemies he wiped out and the exchange may not be good. But he certainly won't lose strategically. And he also knew that after this war, Britain would probably be doomed. In the future, neither the navy nor the army will have any major battles in a short time. Therefore, I estimate that I will be an admiral in my life. But that mediocrity, maybe he really became a generalissimo.

But although Admiral Brues did not relax—in case, in case the British took care of him and really came from here, and he let the British fleet go because of lack of preparation, it would not only be a marshal If the opportunity flies, I will definitely become the fool who is repeatedly mentioned in the future Naval Academy.

So he cheered up and encouraged everyone to be vigilant and not let the British escape.

After the British fleet came out of Campbelltown, it was about 70 kilometers away from entering the Tenish Waterway, and our anchorage was 80 kilometers away from the corresponding position. Once the enemy fleet entered the Tenish Waterway, our interception would be very difficult. It failed completely. Fortunately, in Belfast, Ireland, we have a series of observation posts, and the width of that section of water is only a little over 30 kilometers. Our Irish allies can also provide us with certain observation posts and small boats. Early warning information. If their early warning information is timely, we can stop them relatively easily, otherwise, this race is really a bit difficult. If the enemy fleet appears at the exit of Campbelltown without warning, then the ships responsible for monitoring, except immediately In addition to sending back telegrams, we must take on the task of harassing the enemy as quickly as possible and gaining time for my main fleet. Do you understand? After assigning tasks in detail, Admiral Brues finally Said so.