I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 792: Battle of Genoa II
20 minutes later, more than 30 French warships appeared on the sea on the southeast side.

When the British sailors on the Theseus saw the French boats emitting black smoke, they couldn't help but smile sarcastically.

The largest ships are level five ships, which are not even qualified to join the battle line on our side and can only be responsible for outer perimeter surveillance.

At the same time, the French fleet's formation was loose - it was neither a standard charging oblique formation nor a linear formation, it was just like a group of leisurely sightseeing boats.

Moreover, the wind was blowing from the southwest, but the French were coming from the east, half against the wind...

Some British soldiers had already begun to suspect that the French were not coming to fight because the latter had made almost every mistake that could be made in a naval battle.

However, British officers such as Major General Hotham still maintained due caution towards the fleet emitting black smoke in the distance.

Because they had noticed that even in a semi-headwind condition, the ships still maintained a very high speed.

The captain of the Theseus turned his head and suggested to Hotham:
"General, the wind direction is very favorable to us. If we rush directly into the wind, we should be able to crush those small boats directly." [Note 1]

In the naval battles of this era, whoever seizes the upper wind position can use the wind to quickly adjust the formation during the battle and freely choose the angle of entry, which can be said to be half the battle won.

Not to mention just bullying a group of light warships.

Hotham shook his head hesitantly. "No, let's observe first. The French are not idiots. They dare to rush over like this, most likely they have something to rely on."

He looked at the herald at the side and said, "Let the Four-Wheeled Carriage take a few galleys to meet them and disrupt their route."

"Yes, General!"

Soon, the fifth-class cruiser "HMS Carriage" on the left side of the British battle line, led by two other cruisers and eight frigates, approached rapidly from the right front of the French battleships.

This was clearly an attempt to bully the French because their ships were small and the British fleet's auxiliary warships could threaten them.

If the French warships chose to turn left and use their broadside guns to meet the "Four-Wheeled Carriage" and other ships, the latter would immediately withdraw from the battle, and the French warships would lose the best angle of entry because of turning prematurely.

Generally speaking, the warships of the charging side would wait until they were about 800 to 1000 yards away from the enemy's battle line before turning and engaging in broadside fire.

If you turn too early, you will have to circle around the sea and find a new angle of entry.

But the main force of the British fleet is still eyeing you from the upper wind, how could they possibly give you a chance to re-enter? As long as you dare to turn your head, they will rush over directly and defeat you in one fell swoop using their neat formation.

When Captain Ed Byrne of the "Four-Wheeled Carriage" saw that the French ship was within 800 yards, he immediately raised the signal flag and ordered to prepare to turn left and pass behind the left rear of the French fleet.

Of course, if the French forced their course, they would be engaged in battle.

Although they would suffer losses, the French warships that entered the battle would also be entangled, and the "Theseus" on the west side would only take 15 minutes to rush over and end the battle.

However, the French warships reacted in a way that was beyond the expectations of all the British - they actually turned left!
Dozens of white streaks instantly appeared on the sea surface. The French fleet turned sharply at almost a 90-degree angle and suddenly stood in front of the "Four-Wheeled Carriage". The black muzzles on the side of the ship pointed directly at the bow of the British warship.

The people on the "Four-Wheeled Carriage" and a dozen other ships were suddenly horrified.

This is totally against common sense!
The French actually made such a sharp turn in the face of headwind. No, even with tailwind, the turning radius would have to be at least twice as large to be able to cross in front of them. The French warship was like being pushed from the side by an invisible monster on the seabed, and the bow was pointed directly to the northeast.

In other words, at this time the French warships had completed a standard "T-shaped horizontal head" tactic.

Bourne hurriedly ordered the signal flag to be raised, asking the warships behind him to follow him and turn right, using the wind to sail south as quickly as possible to minimize the contact time with enemy ships.

He had heard before that French steam battleships had extremely high turning efficiency, but he had never imagined it to be to this extent.

Due to the British Navy's long-standing confidence - or arrogance - reports of ships escaping from the cannons of French steam battleships were always considered to be greatly exaggerated.

After all, when under attack, no one could carefully measure the turning rate. All they could report was "the French ship turned very quickly."

After analysis, the British Admiralty believed that as long as they had a favorable wind, with the British sailors' ship-handling ability, they would not lose much to the French ships in turning.

At this moment, Bourne and others realized that they had been badly betrayed by the masters of the Admiralty.

The sailors on the "Four-Wheeled Carriage" and other ships tried desperately to adjust the sails. The helmsman turned the rudder to the front, but they had been preparing to turn left, and it was too late to adjust the reverse direction.

A dozen ships had just turned their bows less than 20 degrees when they were already within the range of the French warships' cannons.

The 32-pound gun on the port side of the French steam cruiser "Tunis" roared first, and then the cruisers and frigates behind it began to fire salvos one after another.

Thick white fog suddenly filled the sea, making it seem like a fairyland.

The bow of the "Four-Wheeled Carriage" was basically facing the enemy ship, and it was unable to fight back and could only passively take the beating.

Bourne's heart was beating hard as he listened to the whistling sound of artillery shells flying around him. He felt that the density of firepower seemed too great.

It's like facing a third-tier battleship!
Soon, a "crack" sound was heard from the lower left, which was caused by the shell tearing through the hull.

Then, the same sound was heard on the port gun deck, followed by the screams of the injured sailors and the boatswain's orders to turn the sails.

On the "Theseus" in the distance, Hotham, holding a telescope, also had a gloomy expression.

This was the first time he saw a French steamship in action - the amazing speed and turning efficiency made him feel a heavy pressure.

Moreover, the formation of the French warships launching the attack at this time was also very strange.

It was not a standard linear array, but an arc formation, forming a semi-encirclement of the "Four-Wheeled Carriage" and other ships.

This formation allows them to unleash firepower that is 20 to 30 percent stronger than a linear array.

【Note 1】According to the British naval combat norms, the fleet commander does not directly manage the flagship, he just stays on the flagship to command the entire fleet. The flagship itself has its own captain.

This mode has many advantages, one of the more important of which is that when the flagship is sunk, the fleet commander can transfer to another ship and quickly switch flagships without causing confusion in the command system on the new flagship.

(End of this chapter)