28 March 1848, Western Mediterranean.

Edward Clinston dispatched ten capital ships and twenty auxiliary ships of various types to Durrës in accordance with the plan of the London side to prepare for the blockade of the Adriatic Sea.

His plan was to suppress the Great Eastern Fleet of the French with the main forces, and then blockade the Austrian Navy with the sub-fleet and the advantageous position of Durrës.

Although the British Mediterranean Navy would be relatively inferior to the French Great Eastern Fleet in this way, it is difficult to guarantee that the French regime will have sufficient combat effectiveness.

And Edward Clinston had enough confidence in his fleet, not to mention the Great Eastern Fleet, even if the French transferred the Great Western Fleet, he could escape even if he couldn't beat it.

After all, at this time, the speed of the warships of the British Navy was the fastest in the world, and in the windless belt of the Mediterranean, it was impossible for the French to create miracles, which is why he was so confident.

As for the blockade of the Austrian Navy with twenty battleships, Edward Clinston felt that there was some fuss.

He didn't question the intelligence of the Austrians, but the Austrian naval commander must have been an idiot, because he wanted to build an iron-hulled ship.

In fact, Edward Clinston did not believe that ironclad ships could drift at sea, not only because most of the British Navy's admirals at this time thought that ironclads were nonsense.

Then combined with some not-so-good rumors about the Habsburgs, Edward Clinston easily came to the conclusion that Friedrich was an idiot.

Especially after the latter married an Arab woman, he could already conclude that Friedrich had some serious illness in the boy.

And if you take 10,000 steps back, even if the Adriatic naval battle is lost, the British Navy can still withdraw to the port of Durres.

This kind of port offensive and defensive battle is possible for several months unless one side has an absolute advantage in the battle situation.

Moreover, the Austrians' goal was Pius IX of Rome, and even if they succeeded, it would not hurt, and the British government could unite other countries to continue to sanction Austria.

The most difficult thing to do was the small boats that the French were transporting supplies

March 29, 1848, fog.

Edward Clinton hated fog the most, because the view from the sea was almost completely blocked, and he didn't know what would happen when the fog cleared.

In the port of Toulon, the French Great Eastern fleet poured out, and the commander of the fleet, Buckway Reynaud, refused the appointment of the provisional government, but he would fight for France until the last moment of his life.

Buckway Reynaud threw the marshal's scepter and medal awarded by the French Provisional Government into the sea, and then ripped off the royal coat of arms, which symbolized the Orleans dynasty.

"Brothers! The warships of the British are on the outskirts of the port of Toulon! This is the inland sea of France, can we endure it as soldiers of France?

The enemy is spreading wilderness at our gates, so why should they intercept our ships? Why not recognize our country?

The British never lost! The British consider themselves the best navy in the world! But they met us today! They're going to be finished!

They thought we wouldn't dare fight! But we don't, Nile Estuary, Copenhagen, Trafalgar! A hundred years of blood feud must be repaid by them!

Today we are not for the king, nor for the predators! We're just for France! Today, even if we die at sea, we are dying for honor.

This battle is related to the honor of our French nation, to the life and death of millions of French people abroad, and to the dignity of our French nation!

We can only win and not lose, and anyone who takes a step back, including me, can immediately enforce military law! ”

When the fog cleared, the last thing Edward Clinton wanted was when a whole French fleet appeared before them.

"! Can't they just stay in the harbor? That's good for all of us! ”

Edward Clinston roared hysterically, because at this time he only had thirty capital ships in his hands, and dividing his forces into battles had always been taboo in naval warfare.

However, as a seasoned naval officer, he still ordered the fleet to spread horizontally and seize the T head at the first time.

Although the British Mediterranean Fleet is not as elite as the North Sea Fleet, it is also a fleet with high hopes, and with such an excellent commander as Edward Clinton, the tactical execution is very resolute, and the formation is deployed at the first time.

But they soon found out that this was completely superfluous, because the French had no intention of playing with them at all, but dozens of ships rushed straight at the British fleet.

The tactic of grabbing the T can last for a hundred years, and the British army, which seized the head of the T, inflicted heavy losses on France as soon as it came up, and the two 3,000-ton battleships were directly seriously injured.

Buckway Reynolds's flagship was even broken by one of the masts, and Edward Clinston spotted the enemy's flagship through his telescope, and he immediately ordered the flagship to be sunk by concentrating all firepower.

"You brought it on yourself!"

Edward Clinston said coldly.

Buckway Renault watched as the first mate, who had followed him for years, lay in a pool of blood, and it was the old friend who had just used his chest to block the flying deck for himself.

But he didn't have time to grieve for even a moment, so he pushed away the dead helmsman and shouted.

"Everyone! Right full rudder! Get ready to take on the enemy! ”

The abrupt change of direction of the French flagship evaded most of the firepower of the British fleet, but still suffered heavy losses.

But that didn't matter, because Buckway Renault's flagship was already stuck straight in the center of the British Mediterranean Fleet, next to a British third class battleship.

A bloody and brutal artillery battle immediately began between the two sides at zero distance, and the gunners on both sides could see the sweat and tears on each other's faces.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

The commanders on both sides shouted in tears, but the next second their voices were gone.

A huge solid catapult pierced the ship's side, scattering sawdust and flesh in all directions. The destructive power of artillery at almost zero distance is unimaginable, and some soldiers were directly beaten into a mist of blood.

But it was only the beginning, while the British were still looking for a living gunner in the ruins to prepare for a second round of fire, countless anchor hooks were thrown at the British ship, and the French were ready to fight hard.

This is only a microcosm of the battlefield, and the French soldiers are not lacking in blood, in fact they have been suppressed by Guizot and Louis Philippe for too long.

In addition to making France's diplomatic situation worse than ever before, the nascent French Provisional Government was also very afraid of the British, and strictly forbade the Great Eastern Fleet from fighting.

Buckway Reynolds, like all the navy soldiers, had to get drunk day and night in the port of Toulon, and at the same time had to endure the people's pointing and fingering, and even some prostitutes laughed at them as unseeded soft eggs.

One day, however, they were found by the Count of Chambord, and Buckway Reynaud at first thought that he was just another usurper who had wooed him.

But the Count of Chamball said that he could help the French deal with the British fleet, but it was only up to them to take a gamble.

(End of chapter)