I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 90



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-French War (5)

bang!

A French officer jumped onto the deck of an enemy ship and was shot between the eyes just 30 seconds after he had declared victory.

“Now! Charge before we reload!”

They couldn’t continue to panic. The surviving French officer ordered a charge. The warship was large, but how big was its deck? It was a size that wouldn’t take even a minute to run at full speed.

Tata Tang!

The French officers’ hopes that charging while reloading would provoke a melee were shattered. The Mexicans fired again without reloading.

“Ugh!”

“What the heck! You’re shooting without reloading!”

“This is a do or die situation! If you stop, you die!”

Tata Tang!

A distance of 3 to 15 meters.

At that close but not quite intimate range, the six-shot revolver was devastating.

“What the hell! I got totally screwed.”

Admiral Armand looked down at the miserable situation of close combat and felt like cursing, but he quickly assessed the situation.

‘I guess they were all crowded together on the opposite deck, they knew this would happen.’

For easy close combat, we turned our ships so that their sides were flush against the enemy ships’ sides.

In a typical close combat situation, even if you maintain your formation at the beginning, you will soon enter a melee. Because the distance is so short, there is no way to stop the enemy who is rushing in. However, the Mexican Empire army managed to do it.

On the other deck they were densely packed and firing their pistols, and the French were taking devastating losses in just ten metres. They were also firing at the dense mass of enemies, but the exchange rate was hopeless.

‘You shouldn’t have just gone over there. You should have just kept shooting at the ship.’

The rifle’s performance was better on the other side, but it also had the advantage of being able to shoot downward from a high place, so the exchange rate was about half and half. I gave that up and hastily proceeded with close combat.

Admiral Armand regretted it, but it was already done. He had to find a next move quickly.

‘If we can’t win, we must at least preserve the fleet. That way we can win the next battle.’

Admiral Armand made a decision.

“We must retreat. Send the signal to retreat!”

“Huh? Right now?”

Most of the soldiers had already crossed over to the enemy ships. The French soldiers were barely able to fight alongside the enemy, suffering enormous casualties. The enemy would not let them retreat now, so the return journey would be just as hell.

“Can’t you hear this sound now? Enemy turret ships are targeting the frigates and brigs.”

“That means···.”

Aside from the main battle line where battleships were fighting, fierce fighting was also taking place on the edges between frigates and brigs.

If the rotating turret ships, which can inflict heavy damage even on ships of the line, start attacking the frigates and brigs, they will be destroyed in an instant.

“Yes, we need to retreat now, as we could be surrounded if the medium and small ships are destroyed.”

Admiral Armand interrupted his adjutant and continued speaking quickly. Only then did the adjutant grasp the overall situation on the battlefield.

“Yes! I will give the order to retreat immediately!”

Ding ding ding ding-

The bell rang urgently, sending a signal to retreat and a contact line.

“what?”

The French officer, who was fighting fiercely on the deck, felt a chill down his spine when he heard the signal. Wasn’t that the signal to retreat?

“What the hell! We’re finally starting to fight properly!”

The cartridges in the pistols ran out, and the long-awaited melee finally broke out. It was an inevitable choice for the Mexican army, as they were in such a dense formation that they could not avoid the enemy’s swords.

From here on out, it was left to the individual’s own capabilities. Some immediately took out their swords and swung them, others stabbed with bayonets attached to their rifles, and still others ran around here and there, finally loading six rounds into their revolvers.

No matter how well-armed you are, in a melee like this, one mistake can result in fatal injuries and the loss of your life. The French army is finally starting to inflict significant damage on the enemy.

“Huh, retreat!”

It was an order that even the officer himself could not accept, but the ship would not wait forever.

“Retreat? What the hell are you talking about!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

The French naval soldiers could not understand the order at all. After all the sacrifices they had made, they were now ready to fight, and now they were told to retreat? And if they retreated, the enemy would just let them go? It was an absurd order.

The battlefield situation was also quite favorable. The French army suffered an overwhelming number of casualties, but they had far more total troops, so they still had enough troops left to do something.

The soldiers were unconvinced, but the officer was desperate.

“The ship is leaving! We must retreat now! Retreat!”

“What the fuck!”

Some soldiers wanted to retreat at the desperate cries, but the situation was not so easy.

Even on the deck of the French warship, they were actively providing support fire downwards and lowering ladders, but how could I run away when it was obvious that the guy in front of me would stab me the moment I turned my back?

puck!

“Ugh!”

Some men pretended to swing their weapons at the enemy, then kicked them to gain distance and quickly climbed up the ladder, but not all French soldiers had that ability.

Captain Armand was also watching the scene anxiously, but now he had reached his limit.

Enemy turret ships were hunting down friendly frigates and brigs with too much ease.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have time to wait any longer.”

“···Yes, I will set off.”

The adjutant gave the order.

The soldiers who had remained on the ship to provide support fire began to move busily and prepare for departure.

“Huh? Huh? The boat is leaving!”

“What? What the fuck!”

There are still over a hundred French soldiers fighting in the middle of the enemy deck, and you are leaving?

The officer who couldn’t bear to leave first shouted.

“Wait! Surrender! Surrender! All French troops surrender!”

This happened all over the battlefield, but not everyone was able to surrender like that.

Ships at either end of the line could not hear the signal because of the great distance and the noise of the fierce battle, and the contact ships arrived late.

“Where are you going! Sons of the Mexican Empire! Board the enemy ships! We will take control of the ships in return!”

“Wow!”

Unlike the 118-gun class ships of the line, which had a huge number of soldiers assigned to them in keeping with their size and importance, the 90-gun and 100-gun classes had relatively few soldiers on board.

After suffering devastating losses in a revolver attack, the balance of battle was completely broken, and close combat ended before the retreat.

“Hang on the hook! Hang on to all the ladders!”

Chin! Chin!

Even though there was a height difference, the enemy had completely closed the ships together, saying they would fight in close combat. Mexican soldiers easily boarded the French ships using hooks and ladders.

“There’s only a handful left!”

“This ship is ours now!”

“Surrender! If you surrender, you will be spared!”

As the Mexican officer shouted in French, which he had memorized, the French officer shouted back:

“Do not surrender! Anyone who surrenders will be summarily executed!”

The French resisted fiercely, trying to keep their ships, but it was no use. Their close combat capabilities were already completely exhausted.

The battle was quickly settled.

As the flagship of Admiral Armand and the 118-gun class ships of the line on both sides moved first, the ships next to them also began to retreat. However, there are ships that are not moving. The two ships on the left and the two ships on the right are not moving.

“It’s been a while since I sent the order to retreat, and there are still ships that haven’t followed suit. Try sending a contact line again.”

“yes!”

The ferry, which had been halfway there, returned after discovering something.

“What?”

“Admiral, it appears that the ships have been taken over by the enemy.”

“···What?”

Only then did Admiral Armand realize that his judgment had been flawed. He had thought he had a good grasp of the situation, but he had been basing his judgment on the situation of his flagship.

“Damn. The order to retreat was late.”

As the admiral muttered, no longer able to express his anger, the adjutant asked cautiously.

“What should we do?”

“What should I do? I should retreat like this.”

The retreating ships were not in a safe situation either, as they were being pursued by enemy warships.

In fact, this kind of pursuit between ships of the line was often meaningless, since they were sailing ships and had the same wind, so they would have similar speeds. But steamships were different.

Boom!

The Mexican Empire’s armored frigates and turreted ships followed relentlessly, firing their cannons.

“We must protect the remaining battleships at all costs.”

“yes.”

The 118-gun class battleship is the pride of France. If they lose this ship, which has already suffered many casualties, even if they retreat safely, their lives could be in danger.

Of the ten ships of the line, one was destroyed and four were captured, leaving only five. We cannot afford to lose any more.

“It looks like the rotating turret ships aren’t following along anymore.”

“As expected, it would be dangerous to sail the ocean with that ship. Ignore the armored frigate and sail at full speed.”

“yes.”

The 44 cannons, which were not even large caliber, could not inflict much damage on the ships of the line. The remaining frigates and brigs were the victims.

However, the armored frigate could not pursue them all the way and turned back halfway.

The French fleet, relieved, was left with five ships of the line, five frigates, and nine brigs.

More than half of the fleet was lost.

***

The Mexican Empire’s fleet, having triumphed in a major naval battle with France, entered the Cuban port of Havana, just ahead.

At Shipyard No. 3 in Havana, repairs began to be made to ships that were in poor condition.

“I think it would be better not to repair the 74-class battleships.”

“Well, it looks like it’s in bad shape, but is it too bad to repair?”

The admiral asked the shipbuilder at Shipyard No. 3.

“It can be done, but the damage is worse than expected, and the wood is a bit different from the one in Mexico.”

“Hmm… Then let’s start repairing the other ships first. Let’s reserve judgment on the 74-class battleships.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The fact that the gun battle was not long was the standard for a 100-gun class ship of the line and an armored frigate. It must have been quite harsh for a 74-gun class ship of the line.

“Even in that situation, you won the close combat and captured the enemy ship. I think the people on board that ship should be given additional rewards.”

As the admiral was making up his mind, the results of the battle were also reported to the Mexican Empire’s port of Veracruz.

“You won?”

“Yes, it is Mahayana!”

“Great victory! Tell me more about it.”

The crown prince also believed that he would win, but he couldn’t hide his excitement when he heard that it was a great victory.

“We have partially destroyed one enemy 90-gun class ship of the line, and captured two 90-gun class ships of the line and two 100-gun class ships of the line! Our only damage was the partial destruction of two 74-gun class ships of the line.”

There were also damages to frigates and brigs, but I’ll leave that out. All together, it was a great victory.

“We fought, but the number of battleships increased? Hahahaha! Is there such a happy thing?”

“Oh, there are about one thousand five hundred prisoners.”

The crown prince felt like throwing a festival right away, but there were many dead people. Even if he were to congratulate them, it would be better to hold a funeral first.

“Make sure the families of the fallen soldiers are given generous compensation.”

“yes.”

After the funeral, news of the defeat reached France as the Mexican Imperial Navy landed on the French Caribbean colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The fleet arrived at the French port of Brest, half as small as when it set out.

This incident had enormous repercussions in France.