Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

20 minutes later, more than 30 French warships appeared on the southeastern sea.

When the British sailors aboard the “Thesius” saw those small French boats spewing black smoke, they couldn’t help but sneer in mockery—

The largest of these ships were merely fifth-rate, unqualified to even enter the battle line on their side, only relegated to peripheral patrol duties.

Meanwhile, the formation of the French fleet was loose and disorganized—not a standard diagonal attack formation, let alone a proper battle line. It looked more like a fleet of leisurely sightseeing boats.

Additionally, the wind at sea was presently southwest, yet the French were sailing from due east, nearly against the wind…

Some British sailors had begun speculating that the French might not even be here to fight, as they seemed to have committed nearly every blunder possible in a naval battle.

However, Major General Hossem and other British officers maintained appropriate caution toward the fleet billowing black smoke in the distance.

They had noticed that, even in a semi-upwind state, those ships still maintained remarkably high sailing speeds.

The captain of the “Thesius” turned towards Hossem and suggested, “General, the wind direction favors us greatly. If we charge straight ahead with the wind, we should be able to crush those small boats instantly.” [Note 1]

In this era of naval warfare, whoever seized the windward position could use wind power to quickly adjust formations and choose optimal angles of engagement during combat, effectively securing half the victory.

All the more so when bullying a group of light warships.

Hossem hesitated and shook his head. “No, observe first. The French are not fools. If they dare approach directly like this, they must have something to rely upon.”

He looked at the Order Officer beside him. “Have the ‘Four-Wheeled Carriage’ lead a few oar and sail ships forward to disrupt their course.”

“Yes, General!”

Soon, the fifth-rate cruiser “Four-Wheeled Carriage” on the left side of the British battle line led two other cruisers and eight escort ships, swiftly advancing from the French fleet’s right-front side.

This was an obvious act of intimidation against the smaller French ships, as even the auxiliary warships of the British fleet were enough to threaten them.

If the French warships chose to turn left and use their broadside cannons to meet the “Four-Wheeled Carriage” and other ships, the latter would immediately disengage from battle, and the French warships would lose the optimal angle of entry due to the premature turn.

Typically, the charging warships wait until they are within 800 to 1000 yards of the opposing battle line before turning to engage in broadside exchanges.

Turning too early would merely force them to circle around at sea to find another entry angle.

But with the British fleet’s main forces positioned at the windward side, watching like tiger eyes, there would be no chance for a second attempt. Any turn would invite a direct charge, with the British fleet utilizing their precise formation to crush them outright.

The captain of the “Four-Wheeled Carriage,” Ed Burn, stared intensely as his ship reached 800 yards from the French vessels, immediately raised signal flags and ordered a left turn to sweep past the left-rear side of the French fleet.

Of course, if the French insisted on maintaining their course, they would be drawn into combat.

Although they would suffer losses, the engaging French warships would be pinned down, making it possible for the western-positioned “Thesius” to charge in within 15 minutes and finish the fight.

However, the French fleet responded in a manner that caught all the British sailors completely off guard—they turned left!

The sea surface instantly traced dozens of white furrows as the French fleet executed an astonishing 90-degree turn, nearly perpendicular, positioning themselves suddenly crosswise ahead of the “Four-Wheeled Carriage” and pointing their dark gaping cannons at the bows of the British warships.

The crews of the “Four-Wheeled Carriage” and its accompanying ships were instantly horrified.

This was utterly against all logic!

The French managed such a sharp turn against the wind. No—under favorable wind conditions, it would have required at least twice the turning radius to pull off such a maneuver and position themselves directly ahead.

The French warships seemed as if propelled by some unseen force from beneath the sea, shoving them sideways to point their bows northeast.

In other words, the French fleet had just completed a textbook “T-head” tactical maneuver.

Burn hurriedly ordered signal flags raised, signaling the ships behind him to follow his lead in turning right, hoping to use wind power to quickly sail southward and minimize contact with enemy ships.

He had heard tales before of the French steam warships having incredibly high turning efficiency, but he had never imagined it could be this extreme.

Due to the long-standing confidence—some might say arrogance—cultivated by the British Navy, many reports from ships that narrowly escaped the guns of French steam warships had always been dismissed as exaggerated.

After all, in the chaos of an attack, no one could precisely measure turning speeds, only report vaguely that “French ships turn extraordinarily fast.”

The British Navy Department, after analyzing these reports, concluded that as long as the wind conditions were advantageous, the sailing skills of British sailors should not leave them at too much of a disadvantage in turning maneuvers.

It was only now that Burn and the others realized how badly the Navy Department had misled them.

The sailors aboard the “Four-Wheeled Carriage” and its companions desperately adjusted their sails, the helmsmen turned their wheels to the maximum, yet having initially prepared for a left turn, their movement now reversed was already too late.

The dozen ships barely managed to turn their bows by 20 degrees before entering the range of the French warships’ guns.

The 32-pound cannon on the port side of the French steam cruiser “Tunis” was the first to roar, followed closely by the volleys from the cruisers and escort ships trailing behind.

The surface of the sea was soon cloaked in heavy white mist, as if descending into a celestial realm.

The “Four-Wheeled Carriage,” its bow still pointed at the enemy ships, was utterly unable to retaliate and could only endure the onslaught.

Burn listened to the shrieking whistle of cannonballs flying past, his heart clenched in a knot, as the sheer density of fire seemed almost overwhelming.

It felt as though they were facing third-rate battleships!

Soon after, a sharp “crack” sounded from below the left flank—a cannonball had torn through the hull.

Next came similar sounds from the gun deck on the port side, followed by the anguished screams of wounded sailors and the frantic shouting of the boatswain ordering sail adjustments.

Aboard the distant “Thesius,” Hossem held his telescope grim-faced.

It was his first time witnessing a French steamship in action, and the astounding speed and turning efficiency left him feeling immense pressure.

Moreover, the French warships’ attack formation was unusually peculiar.

Instead of the standard battle line, they formed an arc-shaped arrangement, creating a semi-encirclement of the “Four-Wheeled Carriage” and its accompanying ships.

This formation allowed them to unleash their firepower at a level two to three times greater than that of a traditional battle line.

[Note 1] According to British naval combat regulations, fleet commanders did not directly manage flagships—they merely used the flagship as a platform for issuing commands. Flagships were independently captained.

This system had several advantages, particularly the ability for fleet commanders to quickly transfer to another ship and designate a new flagship should the current one be sunk, avoiding disruption in the command systems of the new flagship.

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