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

Chapter 1802 The Vanished Fleet

In fact, Sir Chabbotton's defeat was not unjust, because the Austrian Empire had more than one scout ship and more than one patrol.

That's right, General Robert was only holding off a patrol.

At least initially there was only one patrol team present. Under the cover of night, neither side knew how many ships the other had, let alone whether the other's ships were battleships or cruisers.

Sir Charles Chatterton's main force is still very strong, which is why they were able to break through the defense and enter the Mediterranean.

However, he still underestimated the speed of the Austrian Imperial Navy. Even at this point, the British steamships could not escape the pursuit of the Austrian Imperial Navy.

It was only then that Sir Charles Chatterton realized just how vast the gap between the two sides truly was; at this point, the British Navy still displayed considerable courage.

Even knowing it was a losing proposition, the British New Mediterranean Fleet did not choose to surrender. They would never hand over their ships, even at the cost of their lives.

"Britannia rules the seas! We will never surrender!"

In fact, fleeing without a fight was not his choice, but unfortunately he had no choice but to follow the orders of politicians, abandon his comrades, and escape back to Britain in the most humiliating way.

Sir Chabington even envied Dundas somewhat, at least the latter could die a fair death.

However, at this point, Sir Charles Chatterton no longer cared about anything else. The politicians' reckless command was the root cause of this tragedy, and now he had to fulfill his duties and oath.

By this time, the British generals who had not yet chosen to leave were all true men of courage and honor. So when the flagship issued the order to engage, they immediately turned back.

However, the Austrian Imperial Navy at this time was no longer the inland river escort force composed of patrol boats and armed merchant ships.

At this time, the main fleet of the Austrian Imperial Navy far surpassed the British Mediterranean Fleet in both number and tonnage.

Historically, the British Royal Navy has achieved numerous brilliant victories against overwhelming odds, giving them a certain psychological advantage.

However, things were different now. What was truly disheartening was the technological gap; the performance of the ships from both sides had become significantly different.

Sir Charles Chatterton even felt that the Austrian navy might be able to win even if it launched a strong attack on the strait, and that at this point it was probably more of a strategic necessity.

In reality, the gap between the two sides was not limited to this; the Austrian Imperial Navy's training was also very targeted.

From the very beginning, Friedrich's hypothetical enemy was the British Navy, so all those years he had been researching solutions specifically targeting the British Navy.

The Austrian Imperial Navy had conducted countless simulations of battles against the British Navy, and had studied the parameters of British naval weapons and equipment, and even the personalities, experiences, and tactical characteristics of the captains of each ship.

The battle began with a complete and overwhelming advantage, and the number of Austrian Empire's Trieste-class battleships had doubled.

The number of Venetian-class ships had increased to twenty, which was unexpected by the British Navy, because what they saw in Athens was not the entire main force of the Austrian Imperial Navy.

The outcome of the battle was never in doubt, and Sir Chabbotton's slogan was quickly changed to...

"Even if Poseidon comes, we will burn off his beard!"

Unfortunately, the British Mediterranean Fleet did not have this opportunity, as the firepower of the Austrian Imperial Navy far exceeded the British military's expectations.

Moreover, the design of steam paddlewheel warships had a fatal flaw: once the paddlewheel was destroyed, the warship would become a sitting duck.

Even if they were forced to accelerate, they would mostly just spin in place. There weren't many warships with hybrid power, and Sir Chabbot could only watch his companions dwindle one by one.

Such unilateral slaughter quickly broke down the morale of some British troops, who chose to lower their flags and surrender.

Sir Chabbot was anxious, but he understood their choice; after all, the battle was hopeless from the start, and the fighting itself was suffocating and despairing. However, Sir Chabbot was unwilling to give up, and he ordered the remaining ships to ram them.

The Russians had used this tactic before, and it turned the tide of the battle in one fell swoop, even killing Admiral Dundas.

At this point, Chappington also wanted to replicate this miracle, and the other captains in the British Navy naturally knew what the order meant.

Unfortunately, Friedrich didn't get carried away like Dundas. Franz had already told Friedrich that he wanted a complete victory, not a bloody one.

In reality, Friedrich himself was a perfectionist. He wanted the British to be unable to hit him at all, which is why the Austrian Imperial Navy was always vying for the T-series.

Moreover, Austrian ships were superior to British ships in terms of performance, and under continuous bombardment, the last few British ships gradually lost their mobility.

However, Sir Charles Chabbot ultimately chose to scuttle his flagship to salvage his dignity and prevent it from being captured by the Austrian navy, which would then be able to replicate British technology.

To be honest, Friedrich really wanted to sink all the British ships, since they were of little value to the Austrian Imperial Navy anyway.

However, this was only his personal opinion; other naval commanders were still very interested in these spoils of war.

Besides being a source of pride, these ships could also be sold for money. Although these ships were of little use to the Austrian Imperial Navy, and were even somewhat looked down upon.

But this is not the case for private HNA companies, since they do not have government support or virtually unlimited funding.

Selling these ships to shipping companies or businessmen would undoubtedly be a huge profit. While it might be difficult to make any big moves with that money, it would be no problem to treat the soldiers.

In fact, Franz took several captured British warships to Venice for auction, and the auction prices exceeded the navy's expectations.

The transaction price for each ship was even higher than its original listing price, which does not mean that British ships had a particularly good market in Austria.

On the contrary, these ships are quite despised because of their poor performance, high cost, and complicated operation, and are often used as negative examples.

However, at a time when Austrian national pride and self-esteem were excessive, such trophies with special commemorative value became highly sought after.

The Vienna Royal Museum bought one to display, while Venetian merchants bought one and converted it into a floating restaurant.
The other ships met a similar fate, which the British found very embarrassing, but the rational British would not be fooled and would not let the Austrians make money.

"The British also gave several ships to Russia."

Friedrich said, somewhat displeased.

"Isn't this great?"

Franz, however, didn't seem to care at all.

"Why would the Russians, who have no resources, cause trouble for the British?"

Friedrich did not entirely agree with Franz's statement.

"We should still nip it in the bud."

"You consider the Russians to be your adversaries?"

Franz asked.

"No."

Friedrich replied with a smile.