The Fox of France - Chapter 467 (Patreon)

Chapter 467: Declaration of War

There was indeed an opportunity to send warships to England recently. Last year, the British had sent the newly commissioned HMS Queen Elizabeth to France for a friendly visit, which was also a veiled show of strength to signal that the United Kingdom was not to be trifled with.

At the time, Napoleon had commented, "The British are like pufferfish, trying hard to puff themselves up to look more formidable."

Now, the French, using the pretext of a return visit, sent a warship to England. Of course, due to Napoleon's pettiness, the warship they sent was hardly impressive—just an armored cruiser.

If the visit of this single armored cruiser was meant as a return gesture for the visit of the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, it already showed a high level of disdain, displeasing the British. The fact that this particular armored cruiser was the one that had rammed the British cruiser Berkshire not long ago made it even more of a slap in the face. After the collision, the French not only refused to apologize for this barbaric act but instead awarded the crew of the Victoire with a collective second-class merit and bestowed upon the cruiser a flag depicting a knight with a raised shield charging at the enemy, as a badge of honor.

If that was all, it might have been bearable as just shameless behavior on the part of the French in their own territory. But the French brought this ship to England for a "friendly visit," which felt as if the Austro-Hungarian Empire was conducting military exercises on the border with Serbia using Serbia as a hypothetical enemy, then had their Archduke strolling the streets of Sarajevo, crowded with Serbian nationals.

What was even more infuriating was that the French warship, while docked in Portsmouth, hung the honorary flag out for all to see.

This disrespectful act naturally enraged the British.

British newspapers denounced the French's impudence, and locals even staged demonstrations against the French. However, an unexpected event occurred later that night around midnight: the Victoire exploded and quickly sank. Fortunately, most of the crew were staying ashore at special locations, so although the ship was lost, there were no casualties.

Initially, the British were somewhat schadenfreude upon hearing the news. They speculated that the French, known for their lax discipline, might have failed to maintain their warship properly, leading to the ammunition depot exploding on its own. Some even more specifically guessed that the coal in the coal bunker had spontaneously combusted, and with the French military's poor discipline, the crew were ashore chasing girls, allowing the fire to spread unnoticed to the ammunition depot, resulting in the explosion and sinking of the ship.

Such theories were entirely baseless, as if the ammunition depot had exploded, the Victoire would have sunk immediately, leaving no chance for anyone on board to escape.

Fortunately, the ship sank in the berth of a British military harbor, where the water was shallow enough for inspection. French navy divers, skilled in underwater operations, could dive directly to the wreckage. According to them, there was a large hole on the right side of the hull.

Such damage was expected if the explosion had blasted a big hole, but what was puzzling was that the steel plates around the hole were bent inwards.

Normally, if the explosion occurred inside the ship, the plates would be bent outwards. The inward bending suggested that the ship was sunk by an external explosive device.

The French quickly seized upon this detail, accusing the British of responsibility and demanding the perpetrator be handed over within a certain timeframe. The French media machine also went into overdrive, arguing that Portsmouth, being a military harbor with tight security, could only have been breached by someone from the British government.

The British government, of course, dismissed these accusations as shameless slander. The British ambassador to France even held a press conference to refute the claims, stating that the British had no reason to undertake such actions.

"If the ship sunk had been one like the 'English Palladium,' which could have had a decisive impact on French naval power, then perhaps. But why would we bother to sink an armored cruiser like the Victoire, which has a minimal impact on French naval power? We British are not fools."

However, the headlines in the press following the ambassador's comments painted a different picture:

"The British Ambassador Regrets That It Was Not the 'English Palladium' or 'Caesar' That Was Sunk!" — The Sun

"The British Malice Towards France Has Reached an Unconcealed Level" — The Scientific Truth Gazette

...

Once the national propaganda machinery was in motion, the truth of the matter became irrelevant. Subsequently, the French government issued an ultimatum to the British government, demanding that the British allow French public security officials to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident on British soil, with full cooperation from the British government.

Such a demand was obviously impossible for the British to agree to. Not only was Portsmouth a military harbor filled with military secrets

, but allowing French public security officials to investigate would be akin to exposing one's most intimate secrets. Moreover, aside from the secrecy concerns, this constituted a violation of British judicial sovereignty. Furthermore, what conclusions could the French possibly draw other than those unfavorable to Britain? If the French "investigation" concluded that the British royal family was behind the incident, could the king or crown prince be extradited to France?

Naturally, Napoleon was not disappointed by the British refusal, as his goal was to prompt a rejection. Following the official British stance of refusal to meet France's unreasonable demands, Napoleon immediately delivered a speech at the State Council, requesting permission to declare war on Britain.

The State Council, essentially a rubber stamp, promptly approved Napoleon's motion. His speech was met with waves of applause; every sentence was followed by enthusiastic cheering from the council members, who were eager to shake hands with Napoleon, vote at his request, and applaud his speeches.

With the State Council's authorization, Napoleon first declared war on Britain on behalf of the French Republic.

Following that, in his capacity as Emperor of the Roman Empire, he announced that under the "French Republic-Roman Empire Mutual Assistance Treaty," when either signatory is attacked by an external enemy, the other is obliged to use all necessary means, including military force, to assist their ally.

Now, with a French warship attacked without provocation by the British, France considered itself invaded by Britain. Thus, according to the treaty, the Roman Empire joined France in declaring war on Britain.

The news of France declaring war on Britain did not come as a surprise to the British, as the main French naval fleet had left port two days prior, destination unknown.

The entire UK was on high alert, and although the British naval power was no longer on par with France's, they could still hold their ground with the support of home ports and fortifications. However, since the HMS Queen Elizabeth had not yet returned, the British fleet could not yet engage the French fleet in battle. But with defensive capabilities, they could hold off for a while until Nelson's fleet returned, giving them a chance for a decisive battle against the French navy.

However, the quickly assembled French fleet did not head directly for the British mainland but sailed west around Britain into the turbulent Atlantic Ocean.

In the Atlantic, Nelson's fleet was cruising at a slow pace of six knots, unaware of the war declaration between Britain and France, lacking wireless communication.

At a greater distance, a French cruiser was trailing behind.

Upon spotting this ship, Nelson was initially not overly concerned. It was clear that the French were following them, likely worried that the British fleet might turn around suddenly, allowing them to use their speed advantage to rush back and warn the Americans.

Nelson's assumption that the French were without wireless technology and thus following them for intelligence was entirely reasonable.

On the French side, Admiral Treveil continuously received updates from the cruiser Lune, keeping a close watch on the British navy's movements.

With the help of his staff, Treveil swiftly charted a course to ensure the fleet would intercept the British at the most opportune moment.

Relying on superior intelligence, Treveil adjusted the fleet's speed and direction, with both fleets rapidly closing in on each other. However, Treveil was aware of the time and place of the impending encounter, while Nelson was oblivious to even the declaration of war.

According to Treveil's plan, the encounter would occur at dawn—a strategically advantageous time. As the fleets approached under the cover of darkness, neither could see the smoke from each other's funnels. But as the sun rose, the distance had narrowed to the point where battle was inevitable.

Furthermore, the positioning favored the French, with their fleet to the east and the British to the west. As the sun rose, the British would be blinded by the sunlight coming from the east.

In theory, everything was proceeding according to Treveil's plan, except for one element—the weather. Originally, the morning sunlight was to aid the French in battle, but the weather turned overcast on the eve of the encounter.

This meant that the sunrise would not be a factor. However, considering the French fleet's superiority over Nelson's, Treveil decided to continue with the original plan, preparing for battle the following day.

Due to the overcast weather, visibility was still poor in the morning, prompting Treveil to order a slight reduction in speed.

Around 7 a.m. the next day, a vast fleet appeared on Nelson's horizon.

Nelson, peering through his telescope at the approaching French fleet, wore a grave expression, recognizing the composition of the French naval forces.

"There's the battleship 'English Palladium,' and the 'Caesar.' Along with the super cruisers 'Silk Road' and 'Enterprise.' Almost the entire French navy is here!"

Had the HMS Queen Elizabeth not been damaged earlier, Nelson might have been slightly more confident about defeating such a force. But with his main battleship unable to sail at full

speed due to damage, his anxiety was understandable.

As the fleets continued to close in, the French initially positioned themselves in a line across the British's path but then began to maneuver for a T-position,

Realizing the dire situation, Nelson also swiftly ordered a change in direction, aiming to prevent the French from achieving a T-head position.

The distance between the fleets narrowed, and at about five kilometers, the "English Palladium" and "Caesar" from the French fleet opened fire on the British.

This initial volley did not hit its mark, but the French quickly followed with a coordinated salvo. This second volley also missed, but the time between these two volleys was significantly shorter.

The "English Palladium" and "Caesar" were equipped with breech-loading cannons, giving them a natural rate of fire advantage over the British, who still used muzzle-loading cannons. Although these two volleys did not achieve results, Nelson's expression darkened.

"Accelerate and close in. We must engage the French battleships directly. Otherwise, they will quickly eliminate our other ships." Nelson commanded.

Despite the HMS Queen Elizabeth sustaining significant damage and a hastily applied patch, its propulsion system remained intact, allowing Nelson's ship to push itself to speeds exceeding ten knots.

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