Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1201: WWI: The All-Out Atlantic War (2)

All four battle groups began their advance, and Vijay, standing on the bridge of a Maharaja Ramachandra Class battleship, was among the warships moving into battle as well.

He knew full well how dangerous this was. Admiral Yashwant had tried again and again to persuade him to change his decision, but Vijay understood his own abilities and responsibilities that came with it; it might be a cliché, but the greater the ability indeed meant greater the responsibility. Even without him issuing commands in real time, the fleet could still achieve victory, but that victory would come at the cost of heavy casualties. That was something he could not accept.

By personally commanding the fleet, however, he could rely on his instincts and his heightened sense of danger, guiding the battle groups as naturally as moving his own arm. With his direct involvement, he was confident he could steer the battle toward victory while keeping losses to the absolute minimum.

The first battle group advanced steadily toward the eastern coast of El Hierro Island, its pace swift and resolute. Then, without warning, an unexpected turn occurred. Just as the battle group was about to leave the vicinity of El Hierro, several European battle groups suddenly emerged from the rear, catching the rear admiral of the first battle group completely off guard.

"Ha ha, we got them, fire." The senior officer commanding the European battle group, a brown-haired and green-eyed nobleman with a sharp nose, disdainfully roared.

His subordinates, mostly captains of the various warships and battleships, did not hesitate and ordered for the salvo to commence.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Like guided missiles, the artillery shells shot into the air at unimaginable speeds, almost breaking the sound barrier, and plunged directly into the rear of the first battle group of the Bharatiya Empire.

The battleships at the rear shook violently, and the sailors were startled by the impact, but the captain, who was already informed of what was about to come, did not look worried at all. He simply held onto the railing tightly and shrugged off the impact, his expression conveying a sense of nonchalance.

"Oh....no, humph...you’re not going to sink this battleship today," he muttered, neither anger nor sadness perceivable in his tone.

The European officer, looking at how the Bharatiya ships did not even turn back after being ambushed and only concentrated on retreating, couldn’t help but laugh.

"Pfff..."

"Look at these cowards, a slave in my manor knows how to fight back better than these godless apes."

"Haha."

However, his laughter came to an abrupt halt when emergency bells rang out behind him. He turned sharply, and his eyes widened. On the horizon, several fireworks shot into the sky, the unmistakable signal that an enemy was approaching at high speed.

The European officer’s mouth fell open. The laughter stuck in his throat felt like a bone he could neither swallow nor spit out.

The second battle group, which had rotated around the western coast of El Hierro Island under the orders of his majesty the Emperor, emerged from the pass and immediately ran into the European battle groups that were attacking the first battle group.

"Looks like his majesty the emperor made the correct prediction." Vice Admiral Raghunathan, who now commanded the second battle group, commented with a hint of admiration in his tone and looked at his executive officer, "Commence the firing."

The artillerymen, a mix of both survivors from the Northwest Atlantic Naval Battle and fresh reinforcements from the empire, were both itching to press the trigger. Both had the same reason to do so; they wanted revenge for their fallen comrades, so the order to fire in their ears sounded like the sweetest melody of Mother Saraswati herself.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Ramachandra class battleships, Maharaja Ramachandra class battleships, Delhi class battleships, Colombo class frigates, Chennai class clippers, Kolkata class frigates, Amaravathi class clippers, and the battle cruisers all unloaded their firepower as if there was no tomorrow.

Each shot sent tremors coursing through the ship, powerful enough to even slightly reduce the forward momentum they had while moving forward.

The explosive shells, armour-piercing shells, and blunt heavy shells were all mixed together, making it impossible for the European battle group to cope.

The European officer watched in horror as an artillery shell, nearly the size of his head, hurtled closer and closer, its dazzling glare reflecting in his widened eyes. In that instant, all the strength drained from his body. The raw fear of death seized him completely, freezing his limbs and cementing his feet to the deck as he stood rooted in place.

"Oh lord, hel-"

"Boom!"

Panic took hold of the European fleet. The Bharatiya second battle group had struck from the rear while all their attention was fixed on the first battle group. They were in no position to launch a counterattack, so when the captains of the various warships and battleships realised that no orders were coming through, they understood that the leadership might already have perished.

Unfortunately, by the time this realisation set in, it was already too late. Too many warships had sunk, and with no proper command structure left amid the chaos, any coordinated counterattack became all but impossible.

"Retreat, quick, retreat!"

"Hard left rudder, hard left rudder, turn the fucking turrets around, fire at the enemy, quickly fire."

The battle became a stark demonstration of human instinct when faced with sudden challenge. With no clear leadership and little coordination, several captains chose to retreat, triggering their flight response, while others turned back to attack, acting on their fight response.

Which choice was correct was difficult to determine. Both carried their own advantages and disadvantages. If everyone chose to fight, the fleet would not be annihilated without resistance. Some ships would certainly be destroyed, but if the rest could hold out long enough, they might survive until His Excellency’s fleet arrived. If everyone chose to retreat, a portion of the fleet would inevitably be crushed, but the remaining ships would have a much higher chance of survival. All they needed was to regroup with His Excellency the admiral’s fleet, and then counterattack the Bharatiyas.

Sadly, with people choosing both options, the Europeans could neither retreat properly nor counterattack properly. They were getting absolutely annihilated by the second battle group of the Bharatiya Empire and part of the battleships from the first battle group that were in the rear, which had rotated the turrets, which the European ships could not do yet.

The initial operation was a huge success, and Vijay, who was moving with the first battle group, had a smile at the corner of his lips, but he did not let the emotions get to his brain. He was still calm, analysing the next move.

Moments later, he sensed a searing danger closing in. Further analysis confirmed that it was coming from the largest of the Canary Islands, approaching from the east. At the same time, he could feel another threat emerging from the west, from the direction of La Palma Island. Yet instead of worry, a victorious glint appeared in his eyes. His original prediction had proven correct.

Admiral Yashvardhan Keshav, now commanding battle groups three and four, realised the same truth and was left stunned. "His Majesty was truly spot on," he muttered, his voice filled with awe.

The 3rd and 4th battle groups were ordered to be on the western coast of La Palma Island, waiting for an opportunity to strike the enemy. Yashvardhan did not for a moment doubt the plan of his majesty the emperor and was always worried, but all that worry and doubt completely disappeared when a huge European battle group, fielding over 200 warships, sailed right at the southernmost edge of the La Palma Islands from its east coast.

"Engage the enemy." He ordered, filled with a sense of disbelief. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

His battle with the European battle group was so hard, with nearly two-thirds of his fleet being wiped out and tens of thousands of sailors being dead, but now he was having a little trouble reconciling with the fact that the people who were getting butchered right in front of him were the same people he had fought so hard against.

For some reason, he felt powerless. The Europeans played right into the game that His Majesty the emperor had set up. It should have been a happy thing, but in the end, it ended up making him feel guilty. It even gave him a slight sense of self-loathing. Witnessing how easily his majesty the emperor had handled the Europeans, he felt incompetent in comparison.

Vijay had no idea that he unintentionally demoralised and completely broke the psyche of Admiral Yashvardhan, to the point of doubting and hating himself, feeling extremely guilty and seeing himself as an incompetent officer who was worse than all naval commanders the Empire ever had.

But even if Vijay knew, he could not do anything. After all, he could not comfort the admiral now, could he? What was he supposed to say, ’It’s not your fault, it’s just that I have a superpower that allows me to detect the danger?’ Yeah, no. He could not see that ever happening. In the end, Vijay could only take the loss of a competent admiral in exchange for a better victory.

He soon ordered the fleet to advance eastward, away from the largest Canary Island. He had no intention of making direct contact with the massive European fleet he could sense approaching. Then he sensed something, and his eyebrows raised as he looked west meaningfully. The ominous danger he had previously sensed from the west, from the direction of La Palma Island, had almost completely vanished. "Heh, it looks like Yashvardhan has taken action," he muttered, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Have the first battle group finish the job quickly and retreat towards La Palma Island, "he ordered.

P.S. I will upload a map explaining the changes in the battle tomorrow, if possible, so check out the comments.