The Fox of France

The "Cambridgeshire" super-cruiser, leading the charge, naturally became the target of concentrated fire from the French forces. This, in fact, was precisely the reason the British had the "Cambridgeshire" in the vanguard—to shield the "Queen Elizabeth" and preserve its full combat capability until it could close to an effective firing range.

British "super-cruisers" are known for their thin armor but large firepower. In pursuit of speed and to accommodate large-caliber cannons, British super-cruisers compromised on defense, equating, at best, to the level of British armored cruisers. Such armor, even against the standard armored cruisers, proves unreliable, let alone against the French battleships' 150mm long-barreled cannons, which could easily penetrate their defenses as if they were made of paper.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, the tumultuous North Atlantic seas came to their aid. If in the calm Mediterranean, even the French armored cruisers' 100mm cannons would have been enough to overwhelm them. These cannons, though limited in power, had a high rate of fire, pelting down like rain. The "Cambridgeshire," with its thin armor, could hardly withstand even such projectiles.

In the North Atlantic, the scenario was somewhat different. French vessels always prioritized high speed (if you can't outfight them, outrun them. At least, that was always Joseph Bonaparte's emphasis—speed, speed, speed! But this emphasis on speed necessitated sacrifices in other areas, such as stability.

For large ships like the "Inviolable" and "Caesar," this was manageable, but even for super-cruisers like the "Free Trade," stability was an issue. As for the French armored cruisers, with a displacement barely reaching two thousand tons, their stability was laughable. A slight storm could easily rock the ship by over a dozen degrees. In such conditions, hitting an opponent at a distance depended purely on luck, making the cannons' performance and the gunners' skills almost irrelevant.

Hence, while the French armored cruisers' barrage seemed endless, their accuracy was poor. With both sides about three kilometers apart, deviations of over a kilometer were common.

The "Inviolable" and "Caesar" with their 150mm cannons proved more effective as the distance closed to around two kilometers. The "Inviolable" scored the first hit, a semi-armor-piercing shell striking the "Cambridgeshire's" mast, taking out the mast along with a significant portion of the chimney.

Losing a mast was trivial, but losing a chimney directly affected boiler efficiency and thus power output. However, at this point, this issue wasn't critical. The "Cambridgeshire" had another chimney, and since the "Queen Elizabeth" could barely manage about ten knots, the "Cambridgeshire" didn't need to run at full power.

But with the first hit, inevitably came a second. The "Inviolable" soon landed another shell on the "Cambridgeshire."

This time, the "Cambridgeshire's" luck seemed to run out. A shell struck near the bow, easily piercing the thin armor and plunging into the forward magazine...

On the "Queen Elizabeth's" bridge, Nelson watched as the "Cambridgeshire" momentarily shuddered, then a massive fireball erupted from below decks, engulfing the entire super-cruiser.

The fireball and smoke rose, and Nelson saw the "Cambridgeshire" split in two in the explosion. The sound of the blast reached the "Queen Elizabeth's" bridge moments later, causing the glass to vibrate.

The "Cambridgeshire" sank almost instantly, leaving behind a large, foaming whirlpool.

Now, it was the "Queen Elizabeth's" turn to face the French fleet's barrage. The distance between the combatants had closed to about two kilometers. French shells began to fall incessantly, with 100mm cannonballs splashing near the "Queen Elizabeth," boiling the sea around it.

"The French cannons fire rapidly indeed," Nelson remarked to his aide, "Our estimates of French firepower were all wrong. They must have some technological secret."

The French closely guarded their hydraulic recoil mechanisms, so much so that even the invincible French army had not equipped such devices.

The British knew French naval guns were generally smaller in caliber compared to Britain's 10-inch guns. From this, they inferred the French were aiming for a higher rate of fire. Additionally, French cannons had notably long barrels. For instance, their 150mm guns were over six meters long, even longer than the British 10-inch barrels. Moreover, the wall thickness of French gun barrels was not thinner than that of the British 10-inch guns—indicating that despite its smaller caliber, the French cannon endured significant chamber pressure. Such barrels were difficult to produce, so despite their slender appearance like toothp

icks, they were not cheap, possibly even more expensive than the British 10-inch guns. At least, that was the case for the one Britain attempted to manufacture.

The British, following their understanding, also produced a long-barreled 150. The test results showed that its armor-piercing capability was only slightly inferior to their 20-caliber 10-inch gun, but its rate of fire was considerably faster. Of course, it was also more expensive, with the cost of two long-barreled 150s equivalent to three 10-inch guns. Yet, the greatest concern was the severe barrel wear, reducing its lifespan to a third or a quarter of the 10-inch gun. Considering this, the British navy felt the 10-inch gun was more cost-effective.

Despite British newspapers mocking French naval guns as mere toothpicks compared to British artillery, the British navy never underestimated the French 150s. Yet, they still grossly underestimated the firing rate of French guns.

As the distance closed, even the French armored cruisers' guns began hitting their mark. Amidst Nelson's reflections, a 100mm shell hit the "Queen Elizabeth's" forward turret. However, the 100mm shell couldn't penetrate the turret armor, exploding outside and causing no damage to the turret itself.

But that didn't mean the shell caused no damage. A shrapnel from the explosion flew towards the bridge, shattering a window pane.

"Commander," the aide said, "please move to the command tower for directing the battle."

The command tower was a thickly armored enclosure equipped with telephones for communication with other departments, designed to protect naval commanders.

"No, I'll stay here," Nelson replied. The command tower, despite its various communication equipment, couldn't provide a direct view of the battlefield, making command based solely on others' reports less effective.

More shells fell. Another 100mm shell struck the "Queen Elizabeth's" hull. Apart from damaging the paint, this shell had no significant impact.

However, a 150mm shell then hit the "Queen Elizabeth's" superstructure. Entering from the right, it passed through an empty crew rest cabin, shattered the bar next to the wine cabinet, pierced another cabin, drilled two holes in the chimney, and continued forward, falling into the sea on the left side.

This 150mm shell didn't cause any real damage, but its hit signified that the French battleships had targeted the "Queen Elizabeth," and a more effective firing phase was about to commence.

Indeed, another 150mm shell struck the "Queen Elizabeth's" bow. This shell pierced through the armor and exploded in a corridor, causing an unclear amount of damage.

Another shell from the "Caesar" then hit, penetrating the coal bunker and starting a fire. However, the British damage control was efficient, and the fire was quickly contained.

More 100mm shells fell on the "Queen Elizabeth," incapable of breaching the ship's armor. However, most of the superstructure was unarmored, and these 100mm high-explosive shells, falling one after another, devastated the superstructure.

The continuous barrage of 100mm high-explosive shells caused multiple fires on the "Queen Elizabeth," with the damage control teams suffering heavy casualties under the relentless shelling. The fires gradually became uncontrollable, creeping closer to the command deck.

Then, another 100mm shell fell near the ship. This shell, a near miss, didn't hit the "Queen Elizabeth." In naval warfare, near misses can sometimes be more dangerous than direct hits because underwater explosions, due to water's incompressibility, can have effects similar to torpedoes.

But a 100mm shell was not a large-caliber cannon, and the impact of its near misses was limited.

However, this shell exploded near a patch on the "Queen Elizabeth." The patch, already unstable from the long voyage, was further weakened by the explosion, tearing open and allowing seawater to pour in.