Chapter 841

All of them wanted to screw over their teammates, and then a tragedy happened. Once the retreat signal was given, the Anglo-Japanese Coalition Army began to run back. The battlefield was in complete chaos.

The speed of the warships was different. After running at full power, the original battle formation collapsed. Everyone was busy running for their lives, and no one stayed behind to cover the retreat.

Originally, they wanted to screw over their teammates, but they didn't expect both sides to think the same thing. In the end, not only did they screw over their teammates, but they also screwed over themselves.

The Anglo-Japanese Coalition Army used their actions to contribute a book called "The Great Escape at Sea."

Under the cover of the waves, heads popped out from time to time to observe the entire battlefield.

For this battle, they had been lying in ambush for a day and a night, waiting for this opportunity.

From the start of the battle, the captain, Major Wallace, had been staring at the big screen, not daring to relax. It was not until the Anglo-Japanese Coalition Army was defeated that his nervous nerves relaxed.

The image transmitted by the mirror wasn't very clear, but it wasn't a problem to determine the enemy's position.

Seeing that the enemy's warships had appeared in their attack range, the atmosphere in the ship became tense again. Major Wallace said, "Let the small fries in front go first. Our mission is to stop the enemy's main force!"

The Anglo-Japanese Coalition Army, who still didn't know that there was a trap ahead, only had one thought — run. They didn't need to run very fast, they just needed to outrun their teammates.

In terms of speed, the Royal Navy still had the advantage. The performance of the Far East Fleet's warships was generally better than the Japanese Navy. Coupled with their richer experience and skills, they naturally had an advantage in running.

The fast warships rushed to the front, and the slow ones were forced to cover the retreat. In this aspect, they had to thank their Japanese ally.

Fortunately, the Japanese warships at the back were fighting with all their might, buying time for the retreat. Otherwise, it would be lucky if half of the warships could escape.

However, Admiral Michel couldn't be happy. Although he had pulled away from the Shinra Navy, his flagship, Elizabeth, was targeted by the enemy's fighter jets.

There were more than ten fighter jets circling overhead, dropping bombs at irregular intervals. It was obvious that they wouldn't let them go once they caught them.

It wasn't just Elizabeth. All the larger warships were now the focus of attention.

It wasn't a joke that ants could bite an elephant to death. Just look at Elizabeth now, it was clear that it was riddled with holes.

One-third of the main cannons couldn't be used. There were more than 200 casualties. Even the power system was affected.

Even if it made it back to Jinlan Bay, it would need to be repaired for at least a few months. In the short term, it would be impossible for it to participate in battle.

Whoosh.

"Torpedo!"

Someone shouted, and then a violent explosion was heard. The Destroyer that was shot began to tear apart and slowly sank.

General Michel was drenched in cold sweat after escaping death by a fluke. Before the enemies in the sky were dealt with, the enemies in the water appeared.

If it were any other time, they would naturally be able to find and kill the submarine according to its direction. However, they couldn't do it now. They were busy running for their lives and had no time to waste.

It was as if a signal light had been set off. After the first torpedo was launched and exploded, a series of explosions rang out one after another.

Almost every time there was a loud bang, there would be a good result. As if realizing something, Admiral Michelle hurriedly ordered, "The enemy has set up an ambush. Order the fleet to disperse and break through!"

There was no helping it. The fleet retreated in the same direction like a swarm of bees. It was as if they had gathered all the targets on the training field together. Even if they missed the first target, they would still be able to hit the second, third …

Seeing that the British warships were in trouble, Admiral Ito Yuki didn't feel relieved. Instead, his expression turned serious.

At this point, if he still didn't know that he had fallen into the enemy's trap, he would have lived in vain.

The more losses the British suffered, the more prepared the enemy was. It also meant that the probability of them escaping was lower.

Akiyama Shinoyuki suggested. "Commander, let's separate from the British! The Empire had already sacrificed too much for this war.

At this point, there's no need to be tied to the British. In the eyes of the enemy, we're just small fries. "

"Blind confidence" wasn't the case this time. It could be seen from the number of fighter jets overhead that the Far East Fleet was obviously receiving more attention.

This kind of treatment was based on strength. Compared to the powerful Royal Navy, the Japanese Navy was far inferior in terms of achievements and reputation.

The difference in hardware was even greater. The Japanese Navy was limited by their domestic industry. Most of their warships were purchased from abroad.

A country that couldn't even have an independent military would naturally not be valued. Not being valued wasn't a bad thing. At least, it would be much easier to escape.

Before Admiral Ito Yuki could make a decision, there was a loud bang. Then, the warship started to shake violently. Everyone in the command center was also thrown into disorder.

"I got shot!"

This was Ito Yuki's last consciousness before he fainted.

…

The cruel battle continued. The warships that had fallen behind either surrendered or were sunk. The sea was filled with a large number of floating objects, and one could vaguely see the figures of people.

Fortunately, the violent explosion scared the creatures in the sea. Otherwise, these unlucky people who fell into the water would have been fed to the sharks.

The darkness saved the remaining British and Japanese forces, but it didn't matter much. After this battle, the Far East Fleet and the Japanese Navy were crippled.

Less than 10% of the warships that were over 10,000 tons were left, and the various auxiliary warships were also lost. Most of the warships that escaped were the faster cruisers. They could still cause trouble and ambush merchant ships, but it was impossible to turn the situation around.

The bloody battlefield didn't affect Admiral Arest's good mood. Such a clean and decisive victory was completely out of his expectations.

"Order the fleet to stop attacking. Rescue those who fell into the water and count the losses."

The victor naturally had to have the bearing of a victor. Today's battle was over, and now it was time to capture the captives.

They were all top-notch labor. They would still need to bleed and sweat in the upcoming invasion of Indo-China.

…

"Your Majesty, good news! This afternoon, the Nanyang Fleet fought the British and Japanese forces in Malacca. Our army has achieved a complete victory! "

Emperor Franz snatched the telegram. He was about to sleep, but now he didn't feel sleepy anymore.

After confirming it again and again, Franz revealed a smile that he hadn't seen in a long time, and his entire body relaxed.

The exact results of the battle had yet to be calculated. Even his own losses were only a rough figure, but it didn't affect the fact that this was a great victory.

They had sunk two dreadnoughts, five old battleships, and captured one old battleship. The main forces of the British Far East Fleet and the Japanese Navy had been almost completely wiped out.

Without the main warships to bear the brunt of the battle, no matter how many warships escaped, the British and Japanese forces only existed in name.

The fate that awaited them was to be surrounded and annihilated by the Shinra Navy in the days to come. They didn't even need to personally take action. The fleets of Singapore and Netherlands in Nanyang alone would be able to complete the mission of beating them down.

The victory at the Strait of Malacca had not only reversed the situation in the Far East Fleet, but it had also affected the situation of the world.

The legend of the Royal Navy's invincibility had been broken. The greatest impact wasn't on their military strength, but on the confidence of the various countries in this war.

Purely in terms of military strength, the Far East Fleet was at most 15% of the Royal Navy. Even if the entire fleet was wiped out, the Royal Navy would still have the advantage in terms of overall strength.

The blow to the heart was not as simple as a set of data. The British and Japanese forces had a complete advantage, but the Nanyang Fleet had actually turned the tables. Who could guarantee that the Royal Navy would win the next battle?

Especially for the members of the Oceanic Alliance, they had to reconsider whether or not to continue the war.

In addition to the British's deception, the most important reason for everyone to participate in this war was because of interests.

However, interests were built on the premise of defeating the Holy Roman Empire. If they lost the war, they would lose everything.

Anyway, everyone had just declared war and hadn't officially started fighting. As long as they paid a certain price, it wasn't impossible to withdraw.

While shaking the Oceanic Alliance, it would also stimulate the enthusiasm of their allies to participate in the war. Although there was no clear division of interests after the war, everyone knew the consistent style of the Government of Vienna.

Under the distribution model where the costs and benefits were proportional, if they wanted to seize a share of the benefits after the war, they had to make enough contributions.

If it was just to make up the numbers, then when the profits were distributed after the war, it would also be to make up the numbers.

If there were no accidents, the British would be exhausted from running for their lives. Even if the Government of London could give up the Far East, they couldn't just abandon the Indian Ocean, right?

Without the Far East Fleet to hold them back, the Nanyang Fleet would inevitably enter the Indian Ocean. To ensure the smooth sea route between the British Isles and India, the British would have to divide their forces.

It wasn't as simple as it sounded. The Royal Navy was indeed large, but there weren't many mobile forces they could use.

The local fleet had to restrain the Shinra Navy, and the overseas fleets had to maintain the smooth trade routes. It wasn't an easy task to transfer a force that could compete with the Nanyang Fleet.

After some thought, Franz made a decision. "Immediately release the results of the naval battle and order the Publicity Department to launch a public opinion offensive around the world to shake the morale of the Oceanic Alliance.

Inform our allies and have them print a batch of leaflets overnight. When the air force bombs tomorrow, scatter them on the British Isles. "

It would be unfair to God if they didn't take advantage of such a good opportunity.

He didn't know if the British people could withstand such a blow. Less than a week after the war started, they suffered successive air strikes and naval defeats.

If someone could take the lead and stir up trouble internally, that would be perfect.

After thinking about it, Franz gave up on the idea of going into action himself. It wasn't easy for intelligence personnel either. Asking them to carry out such an order was clearly forcing them.

The British had serious internal strife, but that was based on the fact that there was no external threat. The current situation was so serious, and the opposition party wasn't stupid.

Political struggle was political struggle, but the prerequisite was that the British Empire must exist. It was impossible to completely abandon the national interest for the sake of a political struggle.

Even if there were individuals who didn't understand the situation and wanted to take the opportunity to stir up trouble, the interest groups wouldn't tolerate them.