I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1414 Changes in the Maritime Situation
Upon hearing this, Joseph smiled as well.
"It seems I should write a congratulatory letter to His Majesty Carlos."

In recent years, after losing the ports of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Cuxhaven in Hanover, Porto has become Britain's last major supply port on the European continent.

In other words, if the British fleet wanted to intervene in the North Atlantic shipping lanes, it would have to depart from the mainland. This significantly reduced their supply efficiency and reaction speed compared to before.

More importantly, the distance for British transport ships to reach the Gibraltar fortress increased more than fourfold.

The capture of Gibraltar by the Franco-Spanish allied forces is just around the corner!
Berthier continued:
"Your Highness, the Juno Legion has been strengthened, including with eight newly manufactured 330mm mortars."

This short-barreled curved-fire cannon was specially developed by the Namur Royal Ironworks for attacking fortresses. It was capable of firing shells weighing up to 72 kilograms, which would then be blasted into the fortress from above via a curved trajectory.

Moreover, this cannon can use "spherical explosive shells" filled with gunpowder, also known as exploding shells, to cause huge damage to enemy troops in the fortress.

Yes, the explosive shells of this era had very low power due to the limited combustion speed of black powder. A typical 12-pound howitzer firing an explosive shell would probably only kill unprotected soldiers within 5 meters of the impact point. Solid shot would be far more effective; a simple jump would send the shell rolling dozens of meters, and with a bit of luck, it could crush a large number of people.

But this 330mm mortar is different. A 72kg shell can hold at least 20kg of black powder. Even if the explosion is slow, the sheer weight of the powder can kill you—this thing has a kill radius of over 25 meters.

Apart from the excessive weight of the cannon and the astonishing consumption of ammunition, it has almost no drawbacks and is the strongest firepower that current technology can achieve!
In addition to the giant mortar, there were more than 10 36-pound naval cannons deployed around Gibraltar, tearing at the fortress day and night.

"According to the General Staff's plan, Juno Corps will capture the Gibraltar fortress by the end of this year."

Joseph nodded: "Please tell General Juno that it's okay if it's a little late, but we should try to minimize casualties among the soldiers."

"Yes, Your Highness."

No sooner had Berthier left than the Marquis de Lessar, the Minister of the Navy, arrived and bowed to Joseph, saying:

"Your Highness, the British have escaped from Porto..."

Joseph raised his hand to interrupt him:
“I already know this news, you don’t need to repeat it.”

He shook his head inwardly. The General Staff and the Navy were not subordinate to each other; any talk of coordinated operations was just wishful thinking. It seemed a unified Ministry of National Defense needed to be established as soon as possible to manage the Army and Navy.

Marquis Lessar paused for a moment, then said:

"Your Highness, after losing the naval base on the Iberian Peninsula, Britain's control over the waters around the Gulf of Cádiz will be greatly weakened."

"The Spanish Navy wants to increase the number of merchant ships going to the Americas and hopes that our country can send a fleet to help them escort them."

Britain dispatched its fleet from the mainland to the Gulf of Cádiz, a transatlantic waterway off the coast of Spain, a journey of approximately 700 nautical miles.

This would force many warships to sail between their home ports and destinations, resulting in a decrease in the actual density of warships used for blockade.

The Americas were the economic lifeline of Spain, and Madrid was constantly hoping for more ships to sail there. Now was the perfect opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Joseph frowned and asked:

"What is the Navy Department's opinion?"

He now intends to cultivate the independent operating capabilities of each department, so he requires that a plan be put forward for everything before it is reported to him.

Marquis de La Salle quickly replied, "We believe that the risk of deploying a fleet in the Atlantic is still very high. We should continue to take advantage of the gaps in the British fleet and focus on small-scale merchant convoy transport." He was referring to the current model used by French and Spanish merchant ships.

The Atlantic Ocean is vast, and even if the entire British fleet were to be deployed, it would be impossible to completely blockade all shipping lanes. Many French and Spanish merchant ships would take their chances and head to the Americas.

About 60-70% of the merchant ships were able to evade the surveillance of British warships and slip out to sea.

Of course, most ship owners were unwilling to gamble with a one-in-three chance of going bankrupt, so since the start of the war, Spanish Atlantic shipping has been only half of what it was in normal times, and French shipping has been reduced to less than a quarter.

The Spanish navy was willing to risk escorting merchant ships, as the gold and silver mines of the Americas were their lifeblood. France, on the other hand, focused on continental Europe and the Mediterranean, and had no need to take such risks.

If the number of escort warships could be increased, then they could continue to sail against a small British fleet.

However, this also brings new risks – a large number of escort warships will attract the main force of the British Navy to encircle and suppress them, and once they are caught, the losses will be much greater than those of scattered merchant ships.

Joseph recalled that, historically, after the Great Depression, France opted for a large-scale escort strategy, which resulted in two major naval engagements: the "Glorious Battle of June 1st" and the "Battle of Cape Saint Vincent."

In the two naval battles, the French and Western combined fleets lost 7 and 4 battleships of the third tier or higher, respectively, and even more other secondary warships.

In particular, the Battle of Cape St. Vincent was a prime example, where the British defeated more than 30 ships of the French and Spanish fleet with only 15 warships, demonstrating the significant difference in ability between the two sides' commanders and sailors.

It is worth affirming that the Ministry of the Navy's judgment was very correct—after all, the French Navy today has not suffered the loss of a large number of excellent noble officers due to the Grand Duke's death, as was the case in history.

Joseph looked at Marquis Lessar: "So, you think we should refuse Madrid's request?"

"Realistically speaking, that would be best, Your Highness."

Joseph nodded: "Perhaps we can help them in other ways."

He knew very well that Spain had been fighting a long siege of Porto and Gibraltar, and its fiscal deficit was already very serious. It was necessary to help them out, after all, Spain had also sent troops to Mantua during the last anti-French coalition war.

Moreover, at least for now, France still desperately needs the Spanish Navy.

Marquis Lessar asked, "What do you mean?"

"To increase our country's maritime trade volume and contain the British fleet."

"what?"

Joseph looked at the map on the table:

"Our country and Spain have very long coastlines. If the ports are fully utilized, the British will have to further disperse their fleet to encircle them, which will greatly increase the gaps in their patrols."

Currently, France can also utilize the coastline of the Netherlands, and even Denmark can provide some convenience.

In other words, almost the entire western coast of Europe served as an outlet for French and Spanish merchant ships.

(End of this chapter)