It is not an easy task to secure sea supremacy in the English Channel and the North Sea with a small fleet of six ships. Duan Qing also knew this very well, but as an invincible and proud officer of the Tang Dynasty, he did not have the slightest fear or cowardice. In the British Royal Navy, only the Warrior class and the Monarch class are worth noting, and the rest are not in Duan Qing's eyes.

The Royal Navy has only four capital ships in the English Channel, the rest are small frigates and cruisers of around 1000-4000 tons. It's okay to deal with the navies of other countries, but it's a bit weak to deal with the Datang Navy. Of course, the North Sea Fleet is now small, so the difference in strength between the two sides is not large.

"Strictly speaking, the current operation of our North Sea Fleet is neither a struggle for sea supremacy, nor a decisive battle on the high seas and oceans, but an escort for the land forces entering the European theater." Liu Yuan, political commissar of the fleet, said.

Duan Qing naturally knew this, but he still sighed with some regret: "It's also a pity that you can't fight a good battle. ”

Liu Yuan smiled: "There is always a chance." ”

Based on this core idea of small fighting, the scale of the troops sent by Datang to fight in Europe is relatively limited. The mixed brigade and the Gurkha brigade of the special corps will all be put into the European theater, and Datang will also send the second mechanized regiment of the Marine Corps to participate in the battle. The total number of troops is about 14,000, which seems to be quite a lot. Just as the North Sea Fleet will be stationed in Europe after that, the Special Corps Mixed Brigade, the Gurkha Brigade and the Second Marine Regiment will also be stationed in Europe to safeguard Datang's interests in Europe.

If you want the army to land, you must ensure that the troop carriers are not harassed by the enemy at sea, and the Datang Navy will escort these troop carriers and transport ships in batches, and the task is not light. Fortunately, the technical advantages are still relatively obvious. The core ships of the Datang Navy all have radar, which can detect the enemy in advance, and this gives the Datang Navy an excellent ability to avoid danger and ambush the enemy in advance. And the Dingyuan-class heavy cruisers were seaplane-carried. It also has a relatively large reconnaissance range.

"The radar detected a target suspected of being the enemy fleet, number 7. Defense 0-2-7."

Duan Qing grinned and said, "I didn't expect to meet so soon, we have just entered the English Channel." ”

Liu Yuan said: "The British control the English Channel is also very strong, and there are quite a few warships cruising here. Now are we fighting or avoiding? ”

Duan Qing thought for a moment and said, "Let's take a look, there is no obvious disadvantage in terms of numbers, and the ships we escort are all faster than the British battleships." There is no need to be afraid, now we will let the British know that we are already here! ”

Duan Qing continued: "Inform the water reconnaissance plane of the enemy's fleet and grasp the enemy's real-time situation. ”

A Water Reconnaissance-3, which was already in the air, received the order and flew towards the target area, and soon spotted a fleet of the British Royal Navy under the clouds.

"It's confirmed, it's either a merchant ship or the Royal Navy. In total, three light cruisers and three frigates. Liu Yuan said with a smile.

"The fleet is in battle formation, ready to cut in."

At this time the British Royal Navy cruiser USS Africa. Captain Ramsey frowned as he looked at the seaplane hovering in the sky, his mind occupied by uneasy emotions.

"Is this the Don's plane?" Ramsey silently watched the arrogant reconnaissance plane hovering low above them. Since Datang declared war on the anti-French alliance, the tasks of the Royal Navy have suddenly become heavier. Although the lords of Whitehall judged that the Tang people would not make a big move, because the Tang people did not act too drastically and did not prepare too carefully, compared to the Tang and Western Wars back then. But this did not make Ramsey feel relieved, because he knew the strength of the Tang Navy.

Since the Royal Navy began to fight the Datang Navy in the seventies, it has never won a single victory, sinking a single battleship of the Datang Navy. While the Royal Navy has made amazing progress over the years, the Tang people are not spinning in circles. Better warships and weapons were applied to the fleet, like this reconnaissance plane in the sky right now. Ramsey could naturally think of its purpose, and the direction of the fleet must have been detected by the Tang Navy fleet at this time.

"Get ready for battle!" Ramsey did not dare to hesitate. Maybe the Tang people will appear soon.

He looked at the water reconnaissance plane in the sky, hoping very much that it was the Royal Navy's own. However, Britain has repeatedly asked Datang for such equipment. Datang refused. Ramsey thought it was normal, and if the British had made such an excellent weapon of war, they would not have sold it to others easily. There is also a problem, the Tang people have completely mastered radio technology, and the British are still not very good at this aspect, although there are already some British people through various channels have known the working principle of radio, but it will take a while to manufacture suitable communication equipment.

It is not known how many warships the Tang Navy has, but Ramsey does not plan to escape, because as long as there is such a plane on his head, the Tang Army will always find him.

Not long after, six Datang Navy warships appeared on the other side of the sea level, and Ramsey breathed a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, it's only six warships, it should be able to fight." ”

"Is it four cruisers and two frigates?" Ramsey was a little dignified, Datang's heavy patrol was the capital ship, with the ability of these ships in his fleet, it was difficult to give such a powerful heavy patrol as the far class any damage. He regretted a little that he hadn't retreated sooner, but he also knew that there was no way to retreat.

Soon, Ramsey discovered that four cruisers were in a column, while the other two frigates did not seem to be in the battle line. Ramsey believes that the caliber of Datang's frigate is relatively small, only five inches, while the armor of the Africa has been specially reinforced and should be able to withstand the blows of five-inch naval guns.

In fact, this is also an important idea for the British for a long time in order to be able to achieve victory. In terms of power, Britain is difficult to match, and Datang's lead in the power industry is too great. Therefore, the British tried their best to make up for it in terms of firepower and protection, so they tried their best to install large-caliber and more guns for the battleships, and at the same time strengthened the thickness and strength of the armor, so as to be able to carry out an effective counterattack after withstanding the artillery bombardment of the Tang Navy.

This has to be said to be a more realistic strategy. (To be continued.) )(.. )