The Fox of France - Chapter 449 (Patreon)

Chapter 449: Underhanded Moves

Considering that the U.S. military, from its organization to training, cannot yet be considered a fully regularized force—in the context of the Qing Dynasty, it might be likened to militia forces. Furthermore, in many respects, the military strength of the United States at this time bears similarities to that of the Qing. That is, in the Qing, the equipment and morale of the regular troops are generally inferior to those of the militia; in the United States, the federal troops' equipment, morale, and treatment are generally inferior to those of the state militia.

This time, however, the situation was supposed to change, because weren't the weapons provided by the French to the federal forces? But when it came to distributing weapons, these resources were primarily allocated among the states, due to the small size of the federal army.

Since you see the grand army as essentially a group of militia, then the way they are utilized must naturally differ from that of a formal military. Therefore, the French advisory group, led by French Army Colonel Sevigne, proposed a strategy based on their research in Turkey. This strategy targeted forces that had a huge material advantage but lacked training and organization:

"We need not pay any mind to the various actions of the British forces. All we need to do is ensure our fortifications are solid, rendering their schemes useless. Then, we can rely on our real strength to drive them out of Cleveland!"

This method of "building strong forts and fighting a protracted war" would likely have been unacceptable to Americans previously. However, after being struck twice in succession and even having the Presidential Mansion turned into an adult art center, even the proud Southerners had to admit they were militarily inferior, and that bravery alone was no longer enough to ensure victory.

Consequently, the U.S. military set up camp near Cleveland and began extensive construction of defensive fortifications, digging trenches, setting up barbed wire, and laying mines... effectively encircling Cleveland on land.

However, merely encircling the land was not enough to truly threaten Cleveland. Because Cleveland is a port city, it could maintain its supply of personnel and materials through the Great Lakes. Cutting off Cleveland's waterborne traffic would not be easy.

In fact, the French had a way to cut off Cleveland's water traffic. They possessed small mines designed for shallow areas such as inland waters. Each mine weighed just a few tens of kilograms, allowing even a small boat to carry many. The ships used for inland navigation were not as robust as seagoing vessels, and even these mini mines could easily sink one. By using small boats at night, they could gradually block the shipping lanes to Cleveland.

However, the French advisors did not propose this. The reason is quite simple: they were unaware that such weapons existed in the French arsenal. And the reason they were unaware was that selling these mines to the Americans did not align with France's interests.

For the French, the best outcome of this war would be for both sides to bleed dry and harbor deep, multi-generational grudges, keeping them in constant conflict. This would ensure they posed no significant threat to Louisiana. If the Americans had such mines, the British, upon discovering the American mining operations, would surely retreat. This would allow the Americans to reclaim Cleveland without significant sacrifice.

Thus, the French advised encirclement followed by repeated artillery bombardments to slowly wear down the British defenses. This tactic was certainly time-consuming and laborious, but it served France's interest in having the Americans and British exhaust each other.

Consequently, the Americans and Canadians were locked in a prolonged bloodbath in Cleveland.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the French military exercises in the Calais region had concluded smoothly. The French invited observers from various countries to watch the exercises, showcasing their new amphibious warfare techniques to the world, especially the British. For instance, they demonstrated quickly deployable floating docks made of concrete and floating breakwaters that could be moved on the water and sunk at appropriate locations.

These technologies meant that once the French secured a landing site, they could quickly offload large numbers of troops and materials without needing to capture an enemy port, increasing pressure on British defenses.

However, dealing with this pressure was a problem for the future. For now, with the French fleet returning to its home ports and the army gradually leaving the exercise area, the British could catch their breath.

After organizing such large-scale exercises, the British believed that the French would not be able to immediately organize an invasion of Britain, granting the British some temporary freedom of action.

Thus, the British quickly decided to dispatch a fleet, including the newest "Queen Elizabeth" battleship, to escort an expeditionary force to America to defend British territories in North America.

The movement of the British expeditionary force was an open secret in Europe. Just as in every major French naval base, there were British or economically tied to Britain merchants, similarly, around Britain's major naval bases, there were French "legitimate businessmen."

Part of their

job was to count the ships in port daily. "Hmm, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5... the British naval main force is still here..."

One day, upon counting, they noticed the "Queen Elizabeth" and several other ships were missing. Thus, the deployment of the British fleet was quickly confirmed.

However, because transatlantic communications still relied on ships, and civilian vessels couldn't match the speed of warships, even though the "Queen Elizabeth" wasn't particularly fast, news couldn't reach North America as quickly as the British fleet.

"Lucien, do you think our leased ships to the Americans will face danger?" Napoleon asked with a bit of concern, "I'm not worried about the 'Free Trade' and 'Common Market.' I know they can't outfight that old British virgin, but they are faster than British ships. The British can't catch them. But I'm a bit worried about the two cruisers Louis later leased to the Americans. You know, those are colonial cruisers, theoretically faster than British battleships but not faster than British cruisers. Will there be any problems?"

"No, there won't be any of our ships being sunk or captured by the British, causing trouble for your propaganda." Napoleon replied confidently, "We have prepared for this."

Indeed, the French in North America had made preparations. Although they did not know when the British fleet would arrive, they knew when their exercises would end. Thus, they could roughly guess when the British would arrive.

Therefore, at the earliest possible time of the British arrival, they had already ordered the two colonial cruisers to leave the most dangerous Cabot Strait under the pretext of "mechanical maintenance" and return to New Orleans for "repairs."

In reality, these ships were new and didn't need immediate dock repairs. But with Frenchmen on board claiming mechanical issues that needed maintenance, the few Americans on board couldn't disagree.

Thus, the two colonial cruisers were the first to leave.

If the British went directly to the Cabot Strait, they could encounter the American fleet performing blockade duties, including the "Free Trade" and "Common Market" and two American hybrid-powered cruisers.

But...

"If we go directly to the Cabot Strait, we're sure to catch the American fleet. But do you think we can keep those two French ships?" General Nelson, the fleet commander, said in the spacious conference room of the "Queen Elizabeth."

"General, you know those ships are much faster than ours. Unless they enter a narrow area by themselves, we can't possibly keep them," Captain Hardy of the "Queen Elizabeth" replied.

"Based on the intelligence we had before we left, the American fleet, besides those two French ships, probably includes two steam-sail hybrid cruisers. We could capture those," Nelson's aide continued.

"General Nelson, if we can only sink two completely outdated old warships but let the Americans prepare for our arrival, I think it's pointless," a military officer spoke up.

"Wellington, what do you think?" Nelson turned to ask.

"I think we can't just see ourselves as a convoy of merchant ships," General Arthur Wellesley said, "The French won't give us much time. At most two to three months later, they will stir up something in Europe. So, our fleet can't stay here for more than a month and a half. Within this month and a half, we must strike a significant blow to the Americans, or it's hard to say how the war will develop. And my troops, if they enter Canada first and then slowly push south from Canada, it's hard to deliver a decisive blow to the Americans within a month and a half. Therefore, my suggestion is, we don't go to Canada; we go straight here!"

General Arthur Wellesley pointed at a spot on the map with his gloved hand.

Nelson looked down at the map and nodded in agreement.

The two French colonial cruisers were sailing south along the North American coastline. Leading the way was the "Fleur de Lune" cruiser, followed a bit behind by the "Vent de Lune" cruiser.

"In another hour, we should reach Savannah. We can rest there a bit, replenish some supplies, and let the boys go ashore to relax," Captain Armand of the "Fleur de Lune" told his executive officer, Edmond.

Savannah, the oldest port city in Georgia, remained the state capital and one of the most important ports in the South at this time. Southern products like cotton and tobacco were shipped to Europe from here.

Therefore, Savannah was quite prosperous, with plenty of entertainment for sailors. Everyone was looking forward to resting in Savannah, especially after receiving combat pay from the Americans.

Soon, Savannah Harbor was visible through the telescope, but at that moment, the lookout shouted: "Fleet spotted, at ten o'clock!"

Armand quickly looked in that direction, and indeed, there were smoke plumes

on the eastern sea. The distance was still too great to see the fleet's flags.

After a while, the fleet's masts finally rose above the horizon. Atop those masts fluttered the proud Saint George's flag—this was the British fleet!

However, Armand wasn't worried, as they had lowered the American flag and raised the French tricolor when they decided to return to New Orleans. Thus, their current identity was not as a U.S. warship but as a French warship. Would the British dare to fire on a ship flying the French flag?

Although the British Navy was notoriously aggressive, the current situation should keep them sufficiently sober. Moreover, if they really had the gall, it would give the French a legitimate reason to fully engage British colonies in the Americas.

So Captain Armand wasn't worried about his safety.

Soon, the British fleet was fully visible to Captain Armand. He immediately recognized the British "Queen Elizabeth."

"The British sent this old virgin? The Americans are going to be in trouble," Captain Armand immediately concluded.

To be honest, Captain Armand and the crew of the "Fleur de Lune" had a good impression of the Americans, thanks to the gold and silver coins used to pay their wages. But upon recognizing the "old virgin," Captain Armand had no desire to engage the British at sea. Two colonial cruisers against a massive fleet, including the "Queen Elizabeth"—did you think you were invincible?

The problem was, there were Americans on the "Fleur de Lune."

"Captain Armand, it's the British fleet! We must stop them to give Savannah time to prepare!" Major Francis, the American representative, shouted loudly.

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