I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 1007: Capturing the Fleet

Captain Ethan forgot one thing: the faster and more isolated a warship is, the more conspicuous it becomes, and the easier it is to be attacked.

For enemy aircraft carriers, speed means potential escape, evasion, and even posing a threat.

Being alone means that when bombers launch an attack on it, there will be no other ships’ anti-aircraft fire to provide cover.

The battleship "Canada" was over ten kilometers ahead of the formation, and the bombers of the French Army flying in the air immediately spotted it. Subsequently, over a dozen bombers chased it down and launched an attack.

Captain Ethan attempted to use the serpentine maneuver of "Reputation" to avoid the bombing.

However, "Canada" is a true battleship, with a speed of only 22.75 knots, far slower than "Reputation" at 31.5 knots. Despite all efforts, it could not evade the bombing.

(Note: This is another reason why battleships were made obsolete by aircraft carriers. The advantages of battleships are completely ignored by bombers and attack planes: large-caliber artillery is ineffective against airborne targets, thick side armor is meaningless, and bombers and torpedo attacks target the deck and armor below the waterline. Their shortcomings, however, are amplified: slow speed and large size make them excellent targets for bombers, while small and fast destroyers have stronger survivability.)

"Boom Boom!"

...

Explosions echoed on the deck, and each time a bomb hit, the hull shook violently, followed by blazing fire and billowing smoke.

Crew members screamed and reported the damage to the command cabin:

"The steam pipe on the starboard side has been blown up, the bridge communication is cut off!"

"The aft deck has been hit and is on fire!"

"The No.3 secondary gun has been hit and is inoperative!"

...

General Winter could only smile bitterly. At this point, are they still concerned about the usefulness of the secondary guns?

Everything, including the main guns, was a burden. If he could, General Winter would not hesitate to order them all thrown overboard.

This would enhance speed and increase chances of survival.

Captain Ethan, in a panic, shouted at General Winter, "What should we do, General?"

General Winter was at a loss for words.

This guy seemed to forget that he was the captain.

But it’s understandable, few people can remain calm in the face of death.

"General!" the communications officer shouted loudly, "The boiler gas supply pipeline has been blown up!"

General Winter’s heart sank, this meant the battleship was going to lose speed.

At this moment, everything seemed to fall into silence, as if giving General Winter time to think.

Everyone’s eyes were on General Winter, including Captain Ethan, filled with anticipation.

General Winter knew what this meant, he hesitated for a moment, then gently nodded, "Surrender, you’ve already tried your best."

A white flag slowly rose up the mast of the "Canada," and two dive bombers approaching with bombs noticed it, pulling out at the last moment.

The gust from the wings swept past the mast-top white flag, making it flutter as if loudly pleading for mercy from the French warplanes.

Soon, two "London"-class battleships and over ten destroyers following the "Canada" all raised white flags.

They were terrified by the battle before them.

This was not war, it was a one-sided beating.

The "Canada" was much more advanced than them. If it couldn’t withstand such intense bombing, what could the other warships do?

Especially the destroyers: if the battleships were bombed into raising the white flag, what choice did the destroyers have?

But they actually misunderstood.

For bombers and torpedo attack planes, the real challenge was precisely these small, fast destroyers.

If the destroyers dispersed and fled in various directions, bombers would usually focus on the battleships and ignore the smaller warships.

...

Carter, commanding this battle from the air, looked at the white flags fluttering below and was at a loss.

"Damn!" he cursed, "Shire only taught us how to destroy enemy warships, not how to accept surrenders!"

Turning to look at both sides of the cockpit, Carter cursed again, "Am I supposed to jump into the sea to accept their surrender?"

After a moment of thought, he ordered his wingman to immediately return to the carrier to report the situation.

Other bombers continued circling in the air, threatening the fleet below that had slowed down.

...

Aboard the flagship carrier "Normandy," Major General Pierre was stunned upon hearing this news, "The enemy fleet surrendered?"

That was the Royal Navy, the world’s strongest navy, with three battleships and over a dozen destroyers.

This lineup could destroy a nation, and now it was surrendering under the bombing of an aircraft carrier?

"Could it be a trap?" Major General Pierre asked.

The contrast was too great for him to believe.

The reporting pilot was visibly excited, answering proudly, "I don’t think it’s a trap, General. You weren’t there to see the situation."

"The enemy ships were unable to fight back under our attack, leaving them with only two choices: be sunk or surrender."

"The problem is, we, flying in the air, cannot accept these ’prisoners’."

Major General Pierre nodded slightly.

When judging from the battle situation, it indeed seemed so. Within just over half an hour, the aircraft carrier had successively sunk two advanced battlecruisers and now crippled the flagship.

This shattered the confidence of the other warships to resist.

Realizing this, he no longer hesitated, "Send out seaplanes in cooperation with the 5th Fleet to the battlefield to receive the prisoners."

...

Liege Fortress, Pondisai Castle.

Shire had no time to return to Malta to command this naval battle, which could be called a "turning point."

Not because Shire didn’t want to, but because the British Army’s attack was too sudden.

The British Fleet declared war half an hour before the battle after a night of preparation, catching the French Army off guard.

This was the main reason for the losses of the fleet under General Gephardt’s command in Malta, even putting them in peril.

At that time, there were only two battleships in the port of Malta: "France" and "Jean Bart."

These were France’s most advanced "Courbet"-class Dreadnoughts.

(Note: During World War I, France had only 4 dreadnoughts, while the other 10 were older pre-dreadnoughts.)

If the British Fleet forcefully broke through the "Green Water Navy" defense line, they could likely approaching Malta and bomb the airfield.

However, this was not a major problem.

The seemingly vulnerable airfield was actually difficult to completely destroy.

The oil depot, ammunition, and parts were deeply buried underground, making it hard to blow them up.

The French Army could avoid losses by promptly flying aircraft away before being bombed.

Even if the runway was blown off, all that was needed was to organize personnel to fill it back.

This was the situation when the German Army bombed Malta’s airfields during World War II. Unless occupied by ground forces, they would quickly restore, like ’spring revival’ in a few days.

While Shire was perusing telegrams from the front, a staff officer reported, "Vice Admiral, you may not believe it, but we captured a squadron, including three battleships."

Shire responded with an "Hmm," finding nothing strange, as battleships would not be a match for aircraft carriers.

However, the staff officer added, "We also captured General Winter!"

Shire raised his head, looking at the staff officer, "Captured Winter?"