I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 1016 Actually, it was Ciel who misled you.

However, what shocked them even more was far from that.

Or rather, the Minister of Munitions and his associates simply did not understand what it meant for an aircraft carrier to be sunk.

In naval battles during and after World War II, the complete sinking of an aircraft carrier was tantamount to "failure," a total defeat.

All other ships had no choice but to flee, otherwise they would be hunted down and sunk by the aircraft carrier.

The Minister of Munitions and others lacked this awareness; they were still thinking:

"We also have battleships, whose firepower is something that French aircraft carriers cannot match."

"Yes, the 'Argus' was converted from a merchant ship, and the 'Wraith' was converted from a light cruiser. Being able to sink them doesn't prove anything."

“Sinking a battleship won’t be that easy. General Winter will teach these arrogant Frenchmen a lesson they won’t forget!”

(The image above shows the British ship "Argus," which was converted from the merchant ship "Earl Rosso" and had very poor survivability.)
But the situation at the front lines dealt them another heavy blow.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister," the staff officer reported, "two of our battlecruisers have been sunk. General Winter has ordered the fleet to retreat!"

Prime Minister George and others were calculating the time it would take for the squadron to catch up with and sink the French aircraft carrier while looking at nautical charts, and even began to depict the scene of battleships bombarding the vulnerable carrier with their massive guns.

Their conversation was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation, sweeping away the gloom that had followed the sinking of the aircraft carrier.

Upon hearing the staff officer's report, they all looked up simultaneously. Some of them hadn't even had time to change their smiles, and their forced smiles were full of embarrassment.

Prime Minister George asked with difficulty, "Again, was it done by carrier-based bombers?"

“Yes, Your Excellency the Prime Minister.” The staff officer nodded. “General Winter said that the French army’s new aircraft can also drop torpedoes, and the ‘Renown’ was sunk by a torpedo.”

First Lord of the Navy Balfour exclaimed in surprise: "That means they have the capability to sink battleships."

Although battleships are tough and resistant to sinking, they cannot withstand torpedoes blasting holes in them below the waterline.

The Minister of Quartermaster, with a stern face, had a different focus than the others. He angrily said to his staff:

"Order General Winter to continue the advance."

"We need to get closer to the enemy, not push them away."

"Now should be the best opportunity. Perhaps the enemy's aircraft carrier is right in front of them. All he needs to do is take a step forward, just a small step."

The others nodded in agreement.

The word "retreat" does not exist in the dictionary of the world's most powerful British Royal Navy; they must always move forward.

But they completely overlooked a common-sense fact:
How can a battleship with a speed of 18 or 19 knots catch up with an aircraft carrier with a speed of 21 knots?

Moreover, battleships don't know the location of aircraft carriers, while aircraft carriers know the location of battleships perfectly well!
This is a strategic intention that can never be realized unless the enemy on the aircraft carrier has even sent their lookouts back to their cabins to sleep.

What happened next left those who were unaware of the actual situation on the front lines speechless:
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the HMS Canada has been bombed by enemy aircraft."

"Sir, General Winter is preparing to surrender to the enemy."

"We lost contact with the USS Canada, possibly because its communications equipment was destroyed in an explosion."

……

The Minister of War, his eyes gleaming with malice, gritted his teeth and ordered, "Contact the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales immediately. If the Canada surrenders, they must sink it!"

It is an utter disgrace that the British Royal Navy surrendered to the enemy without even seeing them!
This is absolutely unacceptable!

In particular, the surrender of the HMS Canada, being the flagship, would affect the morale of the entire army.

However, the responses from HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales were as follows:
“We will not do that, Your Excellency Prime Minister. We believe we should surrender.”

"Because this is a meaningless battle, persisting won't change anything."

“We must be responsible for the lives of all the crew members on board, and General Winter’s decision was correct.”

"If sacrificing our lives could bring us something or change something, we would be willing to do it. But it can't. We have already failed!"

...The telegrams left everyone completely bewildered.

what happened?

Those were true battleships.

Although they were relatively outdated pre-dreadnoughts, their armor and artillery were not much different from those of dreadnoughts; the only differences were speed and the uniformity of their artillery caliber.

(Note: Pre-dreadnoughts typically had a speed of 18 to 19 knots, while dreadnoughts usually had a speed of 21 knots.)
They actually had to surrender under bombing raids?
Then they thought of another, even more terrifying question: if the pre-dreadnoughts were forced to surrender, would it mean that the dreadnoughts would do the same?

If that's the case, then can the British Royal Navy still exist?

Is it still the world's most powerful navy?
With this question in mind, everyone turned their attention to the Minister of Munitions.

They didn't say it aloud, but their eyes betrayed their thoughts:
"This was your idea; you were the one who proposed declaring war on France. Now what are we going to do?"

"Didn't you think this battle was a crushing defeat for the French Navy? Is it still a crushing defeat? It's the French crushing us now, isn't it?"

"You claimed your battle plan was 'flawless,' but now it's 'full of loopholes.' Shouldn't you be held responsible for this outcome?"

……

Prime Minister George considered another issue and asked the Minister of Munitions:

"I remember you said before that you misled the construction of the French aircraft carrier."

"So the French aircraft carrier wouldn't have much combat power, but now it seems that's not the case."

Don't you want to explain?

Sweat uncontrollably trickled down the minister's forehead.

“I believe that this is the change that Charles made.”

"It's possible that he was making improvements to the aircraft carrier while developing a new type of carrier-based aircraft."

"so……"

Prime Minister George understood:
"So, he played you, didn't he?"

"He makes you believe that the French aircraft carrier does not have a through-deck, which makes us underestimate the enemy."

"But the result is completely the opposite. Is that what you're trying to say?"

Prime Minister George's gaze was cold.

If this is true, then the Minister of Munitions was a pawn of Charles from the very beginning, and Charles used this pawn to lead Britain step by step into the abyss.

The Minister of Munitions himself was unaware of it.

“I… I’m not sure, Your Excellency,” the Minister of Munitions replied. He actually understood what was going on, but dared not say.

At this point, a telegram and sketches sent by the staff confirmed this.

That was a layout diagram of the French aircraft carrier sent by General Winter to Rear Admiral Alves, who then forwarded it to London.

George took the sketch, glanced at it, gave a bitter smile, and helplessly handed it to the Quartermaster.

"This is what you call France's outdated aircraft carrier. An aircraft carrier without a through-deck."

"You think you've misled Ciel, but actually Ciel has misled you!"

"Well done, Minister of Munitions!"

The Minister of Munitions took the sketch, glanced at it, and was immediately dismayed.

Two running tracks, one straight and one angled.

How could this be considered an outdated aircraft carrier?

It is many times more advanced than British aircraft carriers!
(End of this chapter)