diskusbooks Chapter 71 Overlord Operation — ． －－－－
Chapter 71 Overlord Operation — ． －－－－
12.1 Bonus Chapter for Rich Guy's Donation (7/2)
Outside the port of Hilla, a fleet as large as a mountain set sail. In the distance, the sun was setting, a red sun sinking below the horizon, painting the clouds and waterline with a rosy hue.
The white sails were billowing, and the clipper ship's huge sails and low hull gave it a greater speed. The main fleet took the lead, with three Hiun-class ships and eleven level 90 gunboats cutting across the sea. In order to save fuel and motor hours, the boilers were not used, and pure sail power was used instead, which also ensured that the fleet's speed was uniform. The bosun's orders could be heard from time to time on the sea.
On the "Hiun," which serves as the command ship, Alice is repeatedly emphasizing the operational rules. A group of naval officers are gathered around a map, watching Alice, dressed in a black vampire hunter outfit, emphasize the combat tactics.
"Gentlemen, it is clear that our fleet excels in artillery range and ship speed. The three Flying Cloud-class ships, as our main force, must enter the battlefield and fire upon the enemy fleet from advantageous positions."
Under the magic lamp, Alice pointed to the sea chart. The final refit of the Feiyun-class cruiser added radio communication capabilities to her. All three main cruisers were equipped with high-power magic crystal radios, which could send and receive messages at sea. Communication between ships in the fleet relied on flag signals and light signals. The lighting system added in the final refit was not only to replace the dangerous kerosene lamp, but also to install a light signal array and a high-power searchlight.
A bright moon hung high in the sky, and under its light, the fleet headed south. The radio transceiver room worked day and night, and the maps in the combat readiness command room were brightly lit. Through messages sent by secret intelligence agents, the combat readiness command room updated the location of the church fleet every half hour. It could be said that the church was completely transparent to them.
"The church fleet is expected to arrive at the port of Brittany's capital tomorrow evening, meaning the church will appear in the Gulf of Caro on the evening of the 26th."
Alice received the news in the middle of the night. She stayed up all night. Vampires who have drunk blood once do not need to sleep every night. As a combat officer, she has a unique advantage.
"The fleet is roughly composed of the following ships: one flagship, the Queen Glory, a third-class battleship; eleven second-class battleships; fifteen third-class battleships; and about thirty small and medium-sized warships of various types."
Alice nodded. The church's objective was clear, and its strategic intent was evident. She immediately ordered, "We already know. Heh heh~ Notify the First Task Force and the Second Fleet that the enemy fleet has been identified and its numbers are as expected. Execute Operation Overlord!"
Operation Overlord is the code name for this operation. First, the Brittany Republican Fleet needs to carry out close-range defense operations, resisting at Port-e-Carlo after the arrival of the Church and before the arrival of the First Task Force, and holding out for at most one night.
The primary mission of the First Task Force was to completely destroy the Church's main fleet, including all ships, including the Glory Goddess battleship, and to deliver a fatal blow. Based on the Church's military equipment, the Naval Command equipped the ships with a large number of high-explosive shells, with the ratio of armor-piercing shells to high-explosive shells being about 1:5. This was the case for both the 122mm Dahlgren and 75mm Dahlgren, while the 30mm Hotchkiss cannons were also mostly equipped with high-explosive shells.
Several Type 90 escort ships carried a large number of Hale rockets. These rockets were not very useful in naval warfare; they were mainly used to attack land targets, such as church landing forces. The Hale rocket was an explosive weapon. Due to the large amount of explosives it carried, several Type 90 fire support ships were positioned at the rear of the fleet. Alice did not want these ships to be hit and cause an explosion, which would affect the entire fleet.
On the afternoon of the 26th, the fleet advanced to a location approximately 60 nautical miles northwest of Caro Bay. Alice issued an order to enter a state of combat readiness. All steam boilers were preheated and started to fire, with thick black smoke billowing from them. The sailors moved quickly, and the side bulletproof nets were opened one by one. The fire and damage control teams were put on standby, and fire hoses were connected to the pumping system, ready to extinguish fires at any time.
"All unrelated parts, fences, and wooden products were removed and placed below the deck."
Alice stood on the deck like an old sea lion, her round hat with a large brim blocking the rising sun. At 16:00 on the 26th, Alice received news that the Church had already attacked the Republican Navy outside Caro Bay.
"Report: Our agents in Carroll Bay have sent word that the waters in Carroll Bay are calm. The Church's galley landing fleet is attempting to bypass the Republican Navy, while the main fleet is bombarding the coastal defenses."
Alice nodded. The calm sea meant there would be no unexpected events, which would give her maximum control over the battle. She didn't want any unexpected incidents to occur. Although her fleet was outnumbered, it far surpassed the Church in terms of ship quality, firepower, and crew skills. She was confident in the battle.
Intelligence reports were transmitted from Caro Bay to the radio transceiver room of the Flying Cloud. An elite special agent team was dispatched to mark the distribution of the Church's fleet one by one. Using maps, sextants, and telescopes, they calculated the approximate locations. By midnight, the positions of the Church's main ships had been remarked, and the coordinate map was full of data.
At 3 a.m. on the 27th, Alice ordered the entire fleet to have breakfast. The First Task Force advanced in a single column, with three Type 90 escort ships leading the way, followed by the Hiun-class cruisers and the remaining steam-powered warships. The Second Task Force followed two nautical miles behind the First Task Force. Since the fleet was entering the battlefield at night with low visibility, Alice ordered all fleets to implement a blackout, and not to turn on any external lights except for faint navigation lights.
Two hours later, Alice could already hear faint rumbling sounds. The Church was unable to attack at night, but it still put pressure on the Republican Army with intermittent artillery fire. The Republican Navy had been almost wiped out in three hours of fearless fighting. As night fell, the Church's vanguard captured the port of Caro, while most of the fleet remained anchored in the harbor. The lights on the ships were scattered, indicating that the Church had no concept of blackouts, which provided Alice with precise guidance for her firepower.
"Order! First Task Force, all units to battle positions, ammunition depots open, prepare to fire!"
Dawn was breaking, and the fleet's port side was Carlow Bay. All the ships had lowered their sails and were sailing by steam power. The two 122mm Dahlgren guns of the Hiyun-class ships rotated their mounts and pointed at the church fleet inside the harbor.