I Am the Crown Prince in France - Chapter 776

Chapter 772 Ranger Tactics (asking for double monthly tickets)

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The British merchant ship never expected that it would be attacked by a French frigate even though it was escorted by a Royal Navy cruiser.

The ship was in chaos.

The second mate commanded the sailors to throw the cargo into the sea in an attempt to reduce the weight and increase the speed of the ship to escape.

The gunner whipped the gunners who were huddled in the cabin and ordered them to fight back.

In this era of pirates, merchant ships are equipped with cannons. Of course, merchant ships are far inferior to professional warships in terms of artillery power, quantity, and protection.

The gunner of this merchant ship was very lucky. An 18-pound cannon shell hit the ribs of the “Overlook” in the first firing.

However, the short-barreled guns on the merchant ship only left a dent on the side of the Overlook, which then attracted a more violent attack.

After more than ten rounds of salvos, the French frigate had already blasted the merchant ship into pieces, but the British galleys behind it also caught up.

In the era of sailing warships, it was very difficult to sink an opponent with solid shells. Usually, it took dozens of salvos to do it, or you had to be lucky to make a hole below the waterline of the target.

The Overlook was preparing to adjust the angle of the hull to fight, but accidentally destroyed the rudder of the merchant ship in the last round of salvos.

The captain immediately changed his strategy and ordered to abandon the target that had lost its ability to move and chase another merchant ship that had just disappeared on the sea level.

On the sea surface one nautical mile away, a British merchant ship named “Box Jellyfish” caught fire under the fierce bombardment of “Great Tide”. The sailors on the ship jumped into the sea one after another under the licking of the flames, and the screams could be heard even by Maderno.

Half an hour later.

The “Overlook” made a big circle on the sea, but failed to find the British merchant ship that fled to the southeast. It seems that the captain of the ship has very rich experience in escaping at sea.

Maderno shook his head regretfully when he heard the order to give up the pursuit, but soon felt relieved.

The merchant ship could run so fast, it must have thrown all the cargo into the sea, which was enough to make the British feel distressed for a while.

He glanced at the British galley that had been following them relentlessly and smiled disdainfully.

At most an hour later, the ship would be thrown away because of the decline in the physical strength of the rowers.

Then, the “Overlook” turned southwest and rushed to the agreed coordinates to meet up with the other two ships in the formation.

At two o’clock in the afternoon, the three French warships reunited and exchanged flag signals with each other to exchange their achievements.

“Seagull Wing” and “Great Tide” both sank their targets, but “Overlook” was greedy for a “double kill” and failed to sink any ship.

Not long after, the flagship “Seagull Wing” sent a flag signal, ordering everyone to turn back and completely destroy the merchant ship that had lost its ability to move.

However, just as they sailed seven or eight nautical miles north, the battle alarm sounded again on the ship.

Maderno looked up at the lookout. The latter pointed to the sea in the distance and shouted:

“There is a British cruiser 1.5 nautical miles ahead!”

What they didn’t know was that the British commander Hicks was furious because three merchant ships were destroyed under his nose.

He ordered his warships to search for French frigates in the nearby waters, hoping to sink one or two to save some face.

At this time, the British cruiser also discovered the French warship and immediately rushed over with murderous intent.

After the French frigate formation confirmed that there was only this cruiser nearby, the flagship “Seagull Wing” decisively issued an order to attack.

Madno’s heart was hanging again.

It was easy to use speed to abuse merchant ships, but with the small body of his frigate, wanting to challenge the 44-gun cruiser was like three hounds fighting a brown bear!

However, he remembered the “Ranger Tactics” trained before, and the tension in his heart dissipated slightly. He turned around and shouted to the sailors around him: “What are you still standing there for? Return to your post immediately!”

The British cruiser approached the “Seagull Wing” without fear. As long as it was allowed to enter the range, the fierce firepower on the ship could severely damage the frigate within a few minutes.

However, the flagship of the French formation turned around flexibly and pointed the three 32-pound guns at the stern at the British cruiser.

At the same time, the Overlook and the Great Tide each drew an arc and headed towards the tail of the British warship.

10 minutes later, the stern gun of the Seagull Wing opened fire first.

The long guns that the French loved the most finally played out their theoretical range advantage at this time.

The British cruiser relied on its thick hull and chased after it, but its bow gun was extremely weak – the mainstream tactics of this era was to fire heavy guns from the side, and who would install heavy guns on the bow and stern – so it could only be hit and could not fight back.

When the British warship chased 4 nautical miles, it finally realized that the French frigate in front was teasing it by slowing down. Although the three 32-pound guns at the stern only hit it twice, they still smashed two eye-catching holes in its bow.

In the correct version!

Then, the other two French frigates rushed over from the side and rear.

Hicks hurriedly ordered a turn and pointed the broadside at the French, but the “Seagull Wing” immediately turned its bow and approached his stern at a very fast speed.

The three frigates circled around the British cruiser like light birds, firing a few shots when they had a chance, and using their speed to get away when the enemy approached.

This is the “Ranger Tactics” formulated by the French Naval Staff for steam warships – avoid direct confrontation, make full use of their own speed and turning advantages, and wear down the powerful but clumsy enemy ships bit by bit.

More than 20 minutes later, Hicks’ flagship was bombarded with devastation, especially a 24-pound cannon shell near the starboard waterline. Although the breach was not large, as long as the ship maneuvered significantly, seawater would rush in there…

Hicks suddenly felt a strong sense of fear.

According to this trend, he would be sunk sooner or later.

He began to regret breaking up the formation to search for French warships. If the “Starry Dream” was next to it at this time, the two ships could cover each other and should not fall into such a passive situation.

In fact, he didn’t know that because the French Navy’s steam warship had been in service for too short a time, the captain and the crew had not yet mastered the “Ranger Tactics”, otherwise his ship would have been sunk ten minutes ago.

However, the French frigate still had plenty of time to play with him slowly…

…

11 nautical miles outside the port of Marseille, the flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet, the “Victory”, floated on the sea like a towering mountain.

This first-class battleship, which is more than 70 meters long, has a displacement of more than 3,000 tons and is equipped with 108 cannons, is the pride of the British Royal Navy, and its combat effectiveness can be ranked among the top three in the world.

At this time, in the spacious officer meeting room of the “Victory”, Lord Hood, commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, was looking at the order just sent by the British Navy with a dark face.

“…Your Excellency failed to fulfill his due duties, resulting in merchant ships being attacked many times in the Mediterranean Sea…”