The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1796 It’s hard to escape even if you have wings

Austrian Imperial naval reconnaissance ships issued a warning with their lights, as the two sides were theoretically still in the midst of negotiations.

"Captain! The Austrians are sending us a warning!"

At this moment, General Robert, the commander of the British fleet, waved his hand.

"Ignore it, keep moving forward. Try to sink it before it can react!"

The British fleet remained silent and offered no response, continuing to slowly approach the Austrian naval reconnaissance ship.

The British had a very bad reputation in Austria, and there was little trust between the two sides to begin with.

The Austrian naval reconnaissance ship launched a signal flare and then began to maintain distance from the British fleet.

General Robert knew he had been exposed, but that was exactly what he wanted. He would lead his fleet in the exact opposite direction from the main force to mislead the main Austrian navy.

As for the reconnaissance ship, it was of course a witness to all of this, but the act had to be convincing in order to avoid arousing suspicion.

"fire!"

The British fleet immediately began firing freely, but because the Austrian reconnaissance ships had kept their distance in advance, no shells were able to hit them directly.

In fact, shooting at this distance is more like driving away or warning than attacking.

However, the Austrian reconnaissance ship did not flee, but continued to maintain its position, occasionally firing signal flares.

"Damn the British! Can't they just surrender obediently?"

"Something's not right. They're firing from this far away? Are British sailors really that unqualified?"

"Haven't the British always been like this?"

There was a group of military academy students on board the reconnaissance ship, who had never actually fought in a combat mission, but what was happening before their eyes was completely different from what they had learned in textbooks.

In fact, Austrian military academies place great emphasis on practical experience. Just because they haven't participated in war doesn't mean they haven't participated in simulations or lack hands-on experience.

"Captain, please report the situation here to headquarters."

The captain was starting to lose his composure.

"Do you kids even have brains? We're over 200 nautical miles from headquarters in Athens. How am I supposed to report to headquarters?"

If I don't follow these British guys, who knows where they'll end up on the vast ocean?
"Bring these little ones away, preferably in a lifeboat, and take them back to Trieste."

"Captain, you have no right to drive us away. And aren't you aware of the latest Maritime Communications Regulations?"

"What the hell is that?"

"We can use signal flares to send a message from here to the nearest port and let them figure out a solution."

The captain looked disdainful.

"I've never even heard of your damn 'Maritime Communications Regulations'!"

Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean others don't. Can you take responsibility for missing a crucial opportunity?

The captain looked helpless.

Soon, a large number of signal flares rose into the sky, which confused the British.

"Are the Austrians setting off fireworks?" General Robert couldn't help but remark.

"What do they want to do?"

A question arose in the minds of the British troops, but no matter what the Austrians were doing, they couldn't let them succeed.

General Robert noticed that the colors and the order in which the fireworks were released seemed to follow a certain pattern.
Unfortunately, sailing warships were no match for steam warships in terms of maneuverability. But the British soon had nothing to worry about, because the Austrian Empire's fleet arrived.

Because it was nighttime, neither side could clearly see the other's exact numbers, let alone their specific firepower.

Thus began a chaotic naval battle, with both sides only able to aim at each other's lights and general outlines.

The most painful thing was for the gunners, even the most experienced gunners didn't know if their shells had hit the target.

Although it's unclear whether the shot hit or not, we can't lose our momentum.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!"

Commanders on both sides were shouting, trying to overwhelm the other with their imposing manner. Both fleets were bathed in intermittent light, with only salvos of cannon fire able to briefly dispel the dense darkness.

Just as an unlucky fellow saw the muzzle flash of the enemy cannon, a black bullet appeared in his binoculars the next second, scaring him so much that he scrambled to his feet.

Some unfortunate ships, once hit in a vital spot and bursting into flames, would immediately become the target of everyone's fire, and the gunners who found the target would quickly sink it.

To be honest, none of us had much experience with night combat, so we tried out all sorts of shells, even the long-obsolete chain shot.

Also due to the darkness of night, neither side dared to get too close.

Because ramming is a less controllable option, the Austrian Imperial Navy, with its superiority, would not have chosen this tactic willingly, and the British would certainly not have used wood to ram steel.

Therefore, no boarding action occurred, but that does not mean the battle was not fierce.

Both sides are unleashing their full firepower, and neither side shows any intention of backing down.

After hours of fighting, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, blood, and burnt wood. The sea was littered with broken planks and floating corpses. Robert's fleet had lost a quarter of its strength, but it was better than he had expected.

However, the fleet is now largely ineffective, and Robert must retreat before daylight fully breaks.

This was done partly to preserve strength, and partly to continue to mislead the Austrians and prevent them from understanding their true strength.

To Robert's surprise, the Austrian navy did not pursue them, but instead headed south (towards Athens and the retreat of the British Mediterranean fleet).

Robert wanted to fight another battle to tie down the Austrian navy, but reason told him "don't be reckless."

Previously, the Austrian Empire's fleet could not exert its full strength at night, but now that it was broad daylight, continuing to fight would inevitably result in enormous losses.

Robert, who was willing to stay behind and cover the rear in this situation, was not a mediocre man who could only be sacrificed. On the contrary, he was the elite of the British Navy and was patriotic enough to possess almost all the virtues of a soldier.

Of course, Robert was also well-versed in battle reports. He knew the reasons for each of the British army's crushing defeats (as the British themselves speculated), and he knew what would happen if wooden sailing warships were used against steam ironclads.

Now Robert's task is to sail the ship to Sevastopol as planned and surrender to the Russians.

Robert, who was in charge of bringing up the rear, fulfilled his duty and lived up to England's expectations, just as they had sworn.

However, although the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet, led by Sir Charles Chatterton, escaped the Aegean Sea, it encountered the main force of the Austrian Imperial Navy in the southern Mediterranean.

The battle lasted for six hours, and all but six of the main British Mediterranean fleet's ships were sunk.

Sir Charles Chatterton, realizing that escape was hopeless, ordered his flagship to be scuttled.