The Fox of France

Chapter 231: The Hunter and the Prey

From the surviving crew members, the British had already gathered some information about their target, the "Leviathan."

"The 'Leviathan' is a warship about the size of a frigate, with two masts and an angled prow. The crew unanimously claims they haven't seen any visible wheels on the 'Leviathan,' but its speed and smokestacks suggest it's a steamship. Based on the information we've gathered, the ship only has one gun deck with a total of sixteen cannons, which means eight on each side. According to the sailors, these cannons are likely 12-pounders. That means their broadside firepower is about four times that of our steam frigates.

However, based on what the survivors reported, the enemy vessel never fired from its bow. Additionally, we've deduced from the survivors' sketches of the 'Leviathan's' angled prow that it may not have bow chasers. Moreover, they didn't find any stern chasers either. If used correctly, this could be a significant weakness of the enemy ship.

For this operation, we have three third-rate ships of the line, eighteen steam frigates, and six cruisers. Each group consists of six steam frigates and one third-rate ship of the line. This means that any of our naval groups will have superior overall firepower compared to the enemy. Each group will be responsible for a designated area. Furthermore, we have twenty clipper ships that will participate in the operation. They will act as decoys and serve as messengers.

To aid in this, we've prepared signal rockets for all our ships that can be launched to a height of about 500 feet. During the day, we'll fire rockets that produce reddish-brown smoke in the air, while at night, the flares from the rockets can be seen from even greater distances.

In addition, all three third-rate ships of the line are equipped with hot air balloons that can ascend to over a thousand feet, providing us with extensive aerial surveillance. While these third-rate ships may not be able to match the 'Leviathan's' speed, they will greatly expand our field of vision.

Furthermore, just over a week ago, one of our cruisers encountered the 'Leviathan' in the waters near France. At that time, it was sailing under sail power, not steam, and its speed wasn't particularly high. The smokestacks only started emitting smoke after it spotted our cruiser.

This suggests that most of the time, the 'Leviathan' cruises at low speed. So, including the third-rate ships of the line, our sub-fleets should be able to keep up with their pace. Additionally, the 'Leviathan's' steam engine might not handle long periods of high stress. Our cruisers will patrol the area individually, with their mission being to force the enemy to frequently use steam power, thus undermining the reliability of their equipment."

In the preparations for the "Leviathan Hunt" operation, General Hood's adjutant, Major Carter, was briefing the commanders of the participating forces about these details.

After Major Carter had finished presenting this information, General Hood began assigning the tasks for the operation.

Meanwhile, just a few nautical miles off the coast of Le Havre, the frigate "Equality" encountered its first British warship since setting sail – the cruiser "Zephyr."

The "Zephyr" was a sailing cruiser armed with thirty-five large cannons, far outgunning the "Equality." Therefore, the "Equality" immediately stoked its boilers, activated its steam power, and turned upwind to quickly distance itself from the "Zephyr." While the "Zephyr" pursued, it also released a carrier pigeon, sending word back to England about the sighting of the "Leviathan."

This triggered a state of alert along the entire British coast. Three hunting teams were swiftly notified and set sail to intercept the "Leviathan."

At this point, Lieutenant Marten began to feel that something was amiss. He had already encountered British cruisers multiple times on this journey.

Of course, the British cruisers posed no significant threat to his ship. Once the smoke started billowing from the smokestacks, the "Equality" could easily outmaneuver any British cruiser. However, the problem was that the "Equality" was missing one of its masts. If they used the boilers, they couldn't outrun the British. And using steam power consumed coal and caused wear and tear to the machinery.

Yet, the wear and tear didn't seem significant, and the "Equality" had enough resources to complete its mission. However, a night encounter two days later almost turned disastrous. A sudden fog had risen on the sea, and an approaching British cruiser closed the distance dangerously. If it weren't for the lookout on the "Equality" spotting the threat first, they might have fallen victim to that British cruiser.

Clearly, the number of British warships in these waters had increased significantly. But, ironically, this only steeled Lieutenant Marten's resolve.

"At this point, there's no ship in the world that can catch up to the 'Equality.' What do we have to worry about?"

Two days later, they spotted a British clipper ship. Marten ordered the boilers fired up and the "Equality" steamed toward it. However, this time, he faced more problems. The British were more alert than before. Upon seeing the "Equality" emitting thick black smoke, the British clipper ship immediately increased its speed and continuously fired signal rockets into the sky, possibly seeking help from other British warships.

Marten knew that at this point, merely changing their course would leave the British warships attempting to hunt him empty-handed. But considering his ship's overwhelming speed advantage, he believed it was still possible to decide whether to fight or evade after seeing the British vessels.

So, he continued the pursuit.

The sea was calm at this moment, and though the British clipper ship had been accelerating as much as possible, its speed never surpassed ten knots. The "Equality" was already maintaining a speed of around eleven knots, and Marten estimated that by two or three o'clock in the afternoon, he'd catch up to the British ship.

The British clipper ship kept fleeing, launching signal rockets into the sky all along the way. Marten paid no heed and continued the chase. By one o'clock in the afternoon, the distance between the two vessels had become very short. However, on the horizon, several columns of smoke were now visible—clearly, these were British steamships.

Marten was somewhat familiar with British steamships, and he had even taken rides on the captured British steamship after its repairs. He knew that by increasing the pressure in the boilers to the maximum allowed, the "Equality" could easily gain almost three knots more than the British ships. So, these columns of smoke didn't intimidate him. After all, with the vast sea at their disposal, they could easily outmaneuver any pursuers.

So Marten gave the order without hesitation: "Continue the pursuit."

"Captain, should we increase the power a bit more?" First Officer Edgar asked.

At present, the "Equality" was cruising at just eleven knots, although it was capable of safely reaching close to fifteen knots. If they continued accelerating, they would have already overtaken the British clipper ship.

"No need," Marten shook his head. "Unless we can eliminate all the sailors on that ship, I don't want to reveal our top speed. Let's give the British a false impression that our top speed is roughly on par with theirs."

They continued the chase for a while. By around two o'clock, the "Equality" had caught up with the clipper ship, and at this point, multiple columns of smoke were much closer, revealing the British steamship beneath, along with its paddlewheels spinning on both sides.

"Before they catch up, we can sink this ship," Lieutenant Marten put down his binoculars, sneering as he ordered the attack.

This time, the "Equality" didn't opt for disabling the enemy's sails with chain shot and forcing them to surrender. Instead, they seized the weather gauge first and then sprayed the British clipper ship's deck with grape shot. They particularly targeted the two flamethrowers mounted at the bow and stern.

Grape shot, much like canister shot used by land forces, consisted of fewer but larger pellets than standard shot, which provided a longer range and more powerful impact.

After a few rounds of fire, there were no longer any men on the British clipper ship's deck. The flamethrowers at the bow and stern were destroyed. The "Equality" continued to close in and set the enemy ship ablaze. Many of the British sailors jumped overboard, some still on fire.

"Equality" paid no attention to these British sailors and put some distance between themselves and the burning clipper ship. They then turned away, seemingly preparing to elude the approaching British steam frigates.

By now, the British steam frigates had closed the gap considerably. However, during the "Equality's" attack on the British clipper ship, they had reduced their speed. Now, with the ship turning, their speed was further lowered. When the "Equality" had completed its turn, the British steam frigates had drawn even closer.

"Equality" began to accelerate.

"Accelerate slowly, don't exceed eleven knots, let them believe that with effort, they can catch us before sunset. Do they really think they're the hunters and we're the prey?" Marten chuckled.

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