"But during our operation, a French fleet will go to the port of Dakar, among which is Charlemagne, which has just been launched this year, and another battleship, the Carnot, in addition to these two battleships, should be accompanied by 1 armored cruiser and 2 protective cruisers, the exact model is not clear."

"Dakar." The prince fell into deep thought, this military port in Senegal was one of the pillars of the French sea in Africa. After the defeat of France in World War II, the unfinished battleship Richelieu went there and fought the best battle of the French Navy in World War II, although the opponent was a former ally.

"Will they act together? Or maybe what did they get to hear about before that? The prince asked.

"It seems that no, the battleship Charlemagne, which has just been commissioned, is just a routine ocean-going trial, it should be accompanied by a protective cruiser, and the Carnot should be repaired and coaled in Dakar, but after that, it is estimated that it will stay in Africa for a while." Pol thought for a moment and replied.

"Charlemagne, how did you come into service so quickly?" The prince was a little shocked, the three Charlemagne-class battleships in history were completed between November 1899 and 1900, and now there is at least half a year before this time.

"That's right, the French feel threatened by our Caesar-class construction program, so their rate of ship construction has increased." Pol replied. "The main armor belt of the Charlemagne is about 12 inches, which is gradually reduced to 8 inches, and the upper armor belt is 4 inches, and the coverage area is not very clear. The bow and tail armor belts are 3 inches, and the turret armor is 15 inches. “

Equipped with 4 12-inch L40 main guns, 10 5.5-inch rapid-fire guns, 8 3.9-inch guns and 20 3-pounder guns, it is the latest French warship, because of the use of a new turret structure, it is said that the 12-inch gun rate of fire can reach more than 1 round per minute, the maximum output of the power pack is 15,000 horsepower, and the speed can reach about 18 knots. Overall performance was supposed to be superior to that of the British Dignity-class battleships. ”

"The French are improving, too." The prince sighed and said, at least the excessive main armor belt of the Charlemagne in this plane has been weakened, and the defense area may have increased. It's a little stronger than it was historically.

The data of another Carnot was also sent, which is a relatively old battleship with 2 12-inch L40 main guns and 2 10.8-inch second-class guns deployed in a cross shape at the four corners of the battleship, which can basically be seen as an enlarged version of the Captain Pilates second-class ironclad ordered by Chile from France, and there is no hardened armor, and the secondary gun is only 8 5.5-inch guns.

In general, the prince believed that the combination of 1 battleship and 3 armored cruisers of Germany was stronger than the combination of 2 battleships and 3 cruisers of the second rank of the opponent. In terms of tonnage, the German fleet did not suffer, and in terms of firepower, it was even more superior, and it was not a big problem for 2 Munich-class armored cruisers to clean up 3 second-class cruisers.

Don't look at the name of the armored cruiser on the Mainz, but it is nine out of ten against Charlemagne and Carnot. Charlemagne's 12-inch cannon was powerful, but it could not penetrate the main armor of the Marquis Bismarck. Although Mainz's 10-inch gun agreed that it could not do anything to the opponent, the shells weighing 200+ KG could still deal with the 4-inch upper armor belt and head and tail armor. In terms of projection, there is a huge gap.

As for the Caesar? Hehe, the two are not at all the same thing, the Caesar's strength is not only that it is close to the dreadnought 6-gun layout, but also has made great progress in fire control, at least to ensure that the enemy is not a big problem at a distance of more than 7 kilometers.

"The key is not to have an accident, and not to be caught alone!" The prince thought for a moment and said, "In principle, we can't fire the first shot at the opponent's warship, but we can prevent the opponent's civilian ship from entering the war zone by other means. As long as the French dare to fire, then do not hesitate and immediately counterattack! ”

"In the event of a shortage of troops, the fleet can withdraw first, and if the French dare to do anything to us, then the task force is to destroy all the French warships in West Africa. The task of breaking diplomatic relations and laying mines at sea was entrusted to armed merchant ships. The prince said.

Although the prince believes that it is unlikely that a full-scale conflict will break out directly between France and Germany, any plan must be made just in case, for an enemy country like France and Germany that cannot be resolved in a short time, the prince's meaning is very simple, that is, to fight! Fight until the other party is convinced!

The French are not stupid, when they realize the crisis of war or the gains outweigh the losses, they will naturally converge, the first Moroccan crisis in history was like this, although the French and German troops have been deployed on the border, giving people a state of sabre-rattling, but the French still dare not fight, otherwise they will not let a moderate figure serve as foreign minister, easing relations between Germany.

And in the second Moroccan crisis, the Germans simply acquired 270,000 square kilometers of land from France by recognizing French privileges in Morocco and ceding some territory! The area of German Cameroon has expanded considerably. After learning from history, Prince Ruprecht is still very confident in his plan. After all, at this time, France is also alone!

"In addition, there are two sets of codebooks here, the first of which was used to replace the old password half a month before the incident. The second set of codebooks is used for the exchange of information with the American fleet, and all warships must have a set of radio backup equipment on board, and after landing in a coastal city, we must control local radio and wire communications as soon as possible. ”

"Some of our ammunition and fuel supplies can be obtained from the Americans, and the Americans can help us if the battleship is damaged. However, it must be reminded that the things that cannot be disclosed in the document should be kept confidential. The prince concluded.

"Actually, our formations can be replaced, the two strongest battleships should be disassembled at the beginning, the Caesar and the Munich go to the United States, and then the Marquis Bismarck and the Hamburg go to Africa in the name of ocean trials." Pol hesitated for a long time to make this suggestion.

"Can we maintain Mainz in our ports in Namibia?" The prince asked, frowning.

"We looked at Lüderitz Bay, where there are deep berths large enough to accommodate Caesar-class warships, and although there are no large floating docks, the port infrastructure is very good. That's your turf, you should know it well? Pol said with a smile.

"Okay, just do as you say." The prince also did not expect that the Bavarian enclave in Africa was so well built, and since this is the case, so be it.

Thanks to the book friend First Tank Guards Brigade, Slow Tour K, Bighill1982 for the reward, as well as the book friend pure crisp entropy, love, a product of Huangshan smoking is harmful to health, xiongxj11, Hanyu Kenshin monthly ticket support ~~~, please subscribe and ask for a reward~~~! (To be continued.) )