I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 89



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-French War (4)

“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”

-Ding ding ding ding!

With a loud ringing of bells, French naval officers began to prepare their men for battle, urging them to stay afloat for weeks at sea.

“Approach at full speed until you reach that ship!”

“Yes! Increase speed!”

As the French fleet, under the orders of Admiral Armand, advanced at full speed toward the new Mexican warships, the Mexican fleet also drew closer.

As soon as the figure came into view, the watchman who counted quickly reported.

“Two 74-gun class ships of the line, three 104-gun class ships of the line, five 32-gun class frigates, four 44-gun class frigates, four 44-gun class armored frigates, four of those new ships, and twelve other small and medium-sized warships.”

The new ship was that strange ship with two large cannons.

“An armored frigate?”

Admiral Armand, who was slightly surprised by the larger-than-expected size of the Mexican Empire’s fleet, asked back when he heard that it was an armored frigate.

“Yes, it looks like it’s surrounded by armor.”

“I guess the money is rotting away. They’re not sending us the money they owe them, but instead are making stuff like that. It’s definitely an option for them to consider.”

It is not unlikely that Britain and France did not consider the idea of ​​armouring warships. The idea itself was considered a hundred years ago. The reason it was not implemented was simply that there was no need to do so.

Even for ships of the line, the production cost was so high that most countries had difficulty even building a few ships. What about ironclad ships? Only the wealthiest countries would not even attempt to do so. However, the wealthy countries already had strong existing naval forces, and introducing ironclad ships was a disadvantageous decision that only incurred additional costs and lowered the value of existing ships.

‘They’ve become somewhat necessary recently because of explosive shells, but they’re still weak. They show weaknesses.’

Admiral Armand calmly assessed the situation and gave orders to his adjutant.

“Swish your battleships around, form a line, and prepare to fire! Build the 100-gun ships of the line on the left, and the 90-gun ships of the line on the right! The 118-gun flagships ‘Souverin’, ‘Trocadero’, and ‘Friedland’ will take up the middle! All ships should form a line while maintaining strict spacing!”

“yes!”

As the Mexican fleet came into range, the French fleet, as was natural, formed a single line and attempted linear tactics.

As the name “ships of the line” suggests, their basic tactic was to form a line and attack with a large number of cannons placed on the side of the ship.

Boom!

“A shell fired by an enemy new ship hit the side of the 100-gun battleship Hercule!”

“What about the damage?”

“It bounced off, but I think it was on the verge of penetrating.”

“···The size is big, so the destructive power is definitely strong.”

As the enemy new ships got closer, they fired their guns and retreated, but surprisingly, their turrets continued to rotate and target the French ships.

“The turret rotates too. ···If that’s the case, then I can understand why there are only two. It’s a large caliber.”

“I see. Let’s call that ship a ‘rotary turret ship.’”

In Mexico, the ship that the Crown Prince named “Monitor” became a “turret ship” in France.

***

The commander in chief of the Mexican Imperial Fleet, Admiral Salvador Martinez, also responded with linear tactics.

Against ten enemy battleships, five battleships and four armored frigates were deployed.

“Widen the gap to match the width of the enemy lines! Monitor ships should be in the rear!”

“yes!”

Although the monitor ship is heavily armored and has an ironclad body, it has the fatal flaw of low freeboard, making it unable to engage enemy battleships directly.

A low freeboard means that the ship is vulnerable to waves. That’s why it is only used along the coast. If it receives a salvo from an enemy battleship, the ship may capsize.

Therefore, a line that would engage enemy battleships was essential. The strategy was for the battleships and armored frigates to form a line and hold it while the monitor ships fired their large-caliber guns between the gaps in the line from the rear.

“Frigates and small and medium-sized ships, keep a check on both edges of the battle line to prevent the enemy from bypassing!”

“yes!”

The Mexican Empire fleet, which was in a waiting position, turned its ships around first and waited.

It was the moment when the enemy ships began to turn their ships at the end of the range.

“Shoot!”

“firing!”

Kwakwakwakwang!

The Mexican fleet, which had turned its ships around and waited while the enemy approached, opened fire first.

Kwakwakwakwang!

Kwakwakwakwang!

The cannons on the sides of the battleship were not fired all at once, as this would have caused the ship to capsize. Hundreds of cannons were fired sequentially.

bang!

A French naval officer waiting to fire just after completing the turn was killed, unfortunately because a shell had landed in the gun port.

The French fleet suffered minor damage and a few deaths from the hail of shells, but they launched a counterattack as if nothing had happened.

Kwakwakwakwang!

Kwakwakwakwang!

Kwakwakwakwang!

The bombardment by a total of 10 battleships, including three 118-gun battleships, was intense.

Thump thump!

“Oh! It bounced off!”

Some soldiers marveled at the shells bouncing off the armor, but the armored frigate was not immune to damage.

bang!

Wood crunch!

“Ugh! It hit the mast!”

The armored frigate was basically a steamship, but it also had sails and masts. Whether by design or bad luck, the shell hit the middle part of the mast, which was not armored.

Boom…thud!

“The mast is falling! Get out of here!”

On the rocking ship, the soldiers who had looked up hurriedly rolled over.

The officer who shouted for them to get out checked the wounded.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“doesn’t exist!”

Unlike the armored frigates, which suffered little damage, the ships of the line, especially the Spanish-built 74-gun ships of the line rather than the Mexican-built 104-gun ships of the line, were suffering frequent damage.

“Damn it! The size difference is too big! How can I deal with that!”

The soldier shouted as he hastily patched up the broken hull with wood.

“Shut up and go hammer away!”

The officer who had just graduated from the Naval Academy this year and was commissioned shouted so, but the soldier’s words were not wrong.

It was true that a 74-gun class battleship, which was also quite old, had a hard time dealing with an enemy 100-gun class battleship.

Battles between battleships usually end with close combat after gradually accumulating damage and wearing down enemy ships rather than destroying them, but with such a large difference in weight class, they could be destroyed with just artillery fire.

bang!

“Ugh!”

The shell hit right next to the soldier who was just sighing and hammering. Right next to where it had hit once. Fortunately, it didn’t penetrate, but the impact was fully transmitted to the soldier.

“Hey! Conscripts!”

The officer immediately called the medical officer.

“It looks like his arm is broken. His life is not in danger.”

It was when we were exchanging such a huge amount of shells and carving away at each other’s flesh.

Kwakwang!

Wheeeeeeeek-!

thud!

The monitor’s large-caliber cannons were steadily targeting the French 90-gun ship of the line.

Unlike the cannons of the ships of the line and frigates of both countries, which had shells weighing between 12 pounds (5.4 kg) and 42 pounds (19 kg) and calibers ranging from 3 inches (76 mm) to 7 inches (178 mm), the caliber of the Mexican monitors was a whopping 350 mm (13.8 inches).

In a battle where they were gradually cutting each other down, only the monitor was dealing significant damage with each shot.

The four monitor ships targeted the ships of the line at the edge rather than the center, as it was much faster to target the 90- and 100-gun ships of the line than to disable the ridiculously large 118-gun ships of the line.

Boom bang bang bang bang!

Boom bang bang bang bang!

At some point, the ships in both battle lines gave up on sequential group firing (rolling broadside) and started firing independently.

The screams of those who were unfortunately hit by shells were buried under the sound of the shelling and could not be heard.

“Move quickly! Move faster!”

Huh- Huh-

There was no answer to the officers’ nagging. Every soldier was moving without a moment to breathe, trying to fire one more shot.

The direction of the artillery battle depends on how quickly and precisely you move to reload. This is because, like firearms in this era, the rate of fire of cannons varies significantly depending on skill level.

In fact, the experienced British fleet fired one shot per minute, while the French fired one shot every two minutes and the Spanish fired one shot every three minutes.

It wasn’t just Mexico that was harassing its soldiers.

“Does it make sense that our French fleet can fire at the same speed as those Mexicans? Move faster!”

The situation was humiliating to the French officer, who had no idea how much shooting training the Mexican sailors had undergone, but nagging did not speed things up any further.

The soldiers were already moving, risking their lives.

During that fierce artillery battle, the smoke of gunpowder seemed to fill the vast sea.

***

Admiral Armand felt a sense of crisis.

The turret ships were the variable. There were also armored frigates, but they were just holding out, unable to inflict much damage on the French fleet.

It was not invincible because it was covered in armor. The armored frigate was so small that it shook violently whenever it was hit by artillery fire, making it difficult to fire properly. It was attacking masts and gun ports that were not covered in armor. This means that it was possible to attack them.

“That rotating turret thing is the problem.”

The average weight of the ships of the line was much larger here, so if only those turret ships were gone, France could have won. However, there was no way to attack those turret ships that were far away.

Kwakwang!

Wheeeeeeeek-!

“Admiral! The 90-gun class battleship on the starboard side, Inflexible, has been destroyed.”

The news brought by the ferry confirmed Admiral Armand’s ominous prediction. As a seasoned admiral, he was fully aware of the current situation.

‘If we continue like this, we will be defeated. Our French fleet will be defeated by the Mexicans.’

Admiral Armand, who had been worrying so much that his head suddenly became hot, made a decision.

“We’re going into close combat now!”

The adjutant was surprised by those words and asked without realizing it.

“Isn’t it a little early?”

The adjutant was also an experienced officer. Judging by the extent of the damage to both lines, it was too early to attempt close combat.

“Right now···.”

Wedge-

thud!

A shell fired by an enemy 104-gun ship of the line unfortunately landed near the quarterdeck where the admiral and his adjutant were standing. Admiral Armand was unhurt, but gave up trying to explain and shouted at his adjutant.

“There’s no time to explain, just do it!”

“yes!”

This side is bigger in weight class. Naturally, it should have an advantage in artillery battles, but because of those four annoying turret ships firing from behind the battle line, France is taking more damage in artillery battles. But what about close combat?

Not to mention their armored frigates, their battleships are smaller than ours. Naturally, their crews will be much smaller. In close combat, numbers are important, so battleships carry a lot of soldiers. Anyone can see that France has the advantage. If they are completely stuck, it will be difficult for the monitor ships to fire at them recklessly. That was the calculation.

“Turn around! Attach to the enemy fleet! This is close combat!”

While sending signals through signalmen, orders were transmitted in duplicate through contact lines.

Soon the French fleet turned and began to engage the Mexican fleet. Nine ships of the line, except one that was half-damaged and immobile, began to close in on the Mexican fleet.

“Commence firing!”

A French officer who had been watching the situation from the deck gave the order.

Tata tata tang!

As the distance grew closer, a gunfight broke out and casualties began to occur on both sides.

“Ugh!”

The Eduardo Rifle Model 38 (AR-38) of the Mexican Imperial Navy was superior in rate of fire and range to the French Percussion Carbine rifle recently introduced by the French Navy.

“Those guys, their rate of fire is no joke!”

“There’s no way! I can’t not shoot at this distance! Keep shooting!”

Although the French soldiers were astonished by the individual firearms capabilities of the Mexican Imperial Navy, the Mexicans did not have the advantage.

Screams were also heard in Mexico.

“No! Fernando! Shit! Their ground is much higher!”

The larger size of the French ships meant that their decks were higher, and firing from above was much more advantageous in a gunfight.

In the case of Mexico’s 104-gun class ships of the line, the height difference between their decks and that of the opposing ships was not that great, but the situation was serious for the 74-gun class ships of the line and armored frigates.

The battle, in which both sides had advantages and disadvantages, was soon over, with Mexico having better weapons and France having higher ground.

Kuung-

Because the warships were completely stuck together.

The French officers shouted.

“Now is the time! Get on board the enemy ships! There are only a handful of enemies left.”

“Wow!”

The large size of the ships also gave them an advantage in close combat. There was no need to climb up using grappling hooks or ladders. The French soldiers could simply jump onto their opponents’ decks.

“Haha! This is already a win!”

The soldiers jumped down first, and the French officers jumped down after them, sensing victory. The number of enemy soldiers was smaller than ours!

Then the Mexican officer on deck shouted:

“Now! Take out your revolver!”

“yes!”

Every soldier in the Mexican Empire drew his pistol from his belt.

“What? A gun?”

While the French soldiers charged, loaded or bayonets were brought in, the Mexicans aimed their pre-loaded pistols.