Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1202: WWI: The All-Out Atlantic War (3)

The largest European battle group, composed of over five hundred warships, moved due south, its position directly between the main Canary Island and La Gomera Island.

Admiral Luther Van Gogh was feeling tense as he clenched his fists in anticipation.

"Please work," he muttered, unable to hide the tension he was feeling, his brow revealing an unmistakable sense of uncertainty.

It was his decision to fight the Bharatiya amidst the Canary Islands, because after studying the battle capabilities of the Bharatiya navy, he came to the conclusion that beating the Bharatiyas out in the open, unless he had an overwhelming advantage, an advantage like fielding three times the number of warships as the Bharatiyas, is extremely hard or even impossible.

Luther had enough self knowledge to understand that although his fleet combined with the remnants of the Mediterranean fleet really had an advantage over the Bharatiya Empire in the number of warships, unfortunately the advantage was not great enough to give him confidence, not to mention when it comes to the battleships, vessels that ultimately decide who the winner will be, both the fleets were not too different, making him even more unwilling to choose the route of frontal combat in an open sea.

So his plan was to use the advantageous geography around the islands and make use of it to the fullest. After brainstorming for several days with the senior officers, the plan to ambush the Bharatiyas was finalised. A battle group would be stationed behind the El Hierro Island in secret, waiting for the Bharatiya main battle fleet to arrive. A battle group would be stationed behind the La Palma Islands as well, their intention no different.

’If everything went according to the plan, the battle group behind El Hierro Island and La Palma Island should have already taken action and entangled the Bharatiya Navy. ’ He never hoped that they could defeat the entire Bharatiya fleet by themselves; he just wanted them to hold back the Bharatiyas long enough for him to arrive.

Although he felt like the task he assigned was difficult, it was not extremely hard. With some effort, keeping the Bharatiya fleet in place is definitely not a problem.

’Weird!’

"!!"

Sadly, as his fleet got closer and closer to the point where the ambush had been set up, he noticed something amiss. The sounds of artillery were not heard at all. If anything, it was too quiet.

’They failed?’ This thought suddenly popped up in his mind, and like a parasite nourished by his doubts, it only grew larger and larger, until eventually he could no longer think of any other possibility.

His body shivered, but he forcefully suppressed it, deceiving himself with plausible explanations. ’The crafty Bharatiyas might have realised the trap and halted their advance’, or ’the battle group may have been unable to cope with the Bharatiyas and retreated to a safer position until his fleet arrived’. ’Yes, that must be it.’

With these reassurances, he gradually regained control over his emotions. The light of anticipation and hope reignited in his eyes, but it was mercilessly extinguished the moment his fleet appeared on the horizon, reaching the very spot where the Bharatiyas were supposed to be ambushed.

Semi-floating ships, floating dead bodies, devastated warships with hulls still blazing with flames, and thousands of debris littered everywhere on the sea. It was no less than an image of utter devastation.

Luther Van Gogh did not know how to react. His eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. His hands trembled, and his already tanned face flushed red at an astonishing speed, making him look like a bomb on the verge of exploding.

" What....happened...here"

He managed to get three words out with gritted teeth.

His officers and various captains were at a loss for words as well. Their mouths were wide open, and their eyes stared unblinkingly at the scene of desolation.

"S-So much debris... h-has the f-first battle group been c-completely wiped out?" A battleship captain couldn’t help but mutter with a panic-stricken tone.

Another captain standing on the bow of a heavy frigate noticed something and voiced it aloud, "Isn’t the s-second battle group also supposed to e-engage the enemy? W-where are the ships from the s-second battle group?"

The moment those words were spoken, it was as if a bucket of icy water had been poured over the European officers, dragging them even deeper into a freezing abyss and sending chills racing down their spines.

"Maybe they’re running late?" someone came up with a reason, but that tone was not convincing at all. Instead of having an effect of bringing in some hope, it had the opposite effect, further plunging everyone into fear and despair.

Edward Russell, the previous admiral, looked at the scene in front of him, his emotions turbulent as he bit his lips until they bled. Since Luther wanted him to take on the post of the admiral once again, and he pestered him endlessly, even if Edward did not want to get involved with the decision-making of the fleet, he was forced to listen to the brainstorming sessions, and he also understood the plan that was developed to handle the Bharatiyas.

Even though he did not comment anything about the plan, in his heart, he was satisfied with it, so a seed of hope rekindled in his heart. Maybe what he could not do, Luther could do, he thought. But now, heh, it might have actually been better if he had not shown the hope at all.

Edward let out a deep breath and shook his head in dejection. He could see farther than the other captains. Now that their first battle group is destroyed, he immediately guessed that the Bharatiya navy might have anticipated their plan beforehand and handled their second battle group as well, and since no Bharatiya warships are in sight, it could only mean that the Bharatiyas have reversed the game.

It is no longer the European fleet that is ambushing the Bharatiya fleet, but the Bharatiya fleet that is ambushing the European fleet. That means, when the main fleet came to the place of ambush to reinforce their supposed fleets that were supposedly fighting the Bharatiya’s, they ironically stepped into the trap they had laid out for themselves.

Edward Russell, anticipating something, looked towards the rear from the direction they had come from, and sure enough, a large Bharatiya battle group popped up from the horizon.

Looking at the Bharatiya warships that were getting closer and closer, and feeling the chaos that had ensued within the main fleet, Edward, for some reason, did not feel tense or nervous, nor sad nor angry.

It was as if his mind was empty, relieved from all the burdens he had carried until now, burdened to carry the weight as the greatest naval commander who had defeated the Bharatiya Mediterranean fleet, burden to prove that he deserved that title even though his peers knew he didn’t, burden to maintain and enrich the name and reputation of the Russell noble family, and finally the greatest burden of it all, the burden to lead a victorious campaign against the Bharatiya navy. All of it vanished, and he suddenly felt a lot lighter.

Without any words, he reached into his holster and pulled out a large musket. "Well, you win, Emperor of the Bharatiya Empire, Prince of the Bharatiya Empire, and Admiral of the Bharatiya Empire. I admit my defeat."

"Bang."

---

Even though he had commanded hundreds of naval battles, at the end of the day, Luther was not Edward after all. Faced with a situation that was overwhelmingly disadvantageous to him, he could not immediately recover, and since he was already feeling doubtful and tense before the war even began, the period of recovery only took longer. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Quick, retreat, full speed ahead."

Thankfully, when he came back to his senses, he immediately issued orders to retreat. In terms of sheer numbers, both fleets were roughly equal, around five hundred warships each. However, against the Bharatiya Empire, numerical superiority alone was not enough. To stand a real chance of victory, one needed at least three times their number of ships, and he clearly did not possess that advantage. Faced with this reality, he arrived at the only logical conclusion: retreat while he still could and seek another opportunity to strike later.

But then a problem arose. The only place they could retreat was the south, which is further from the European mainland and closer to the Bharatiya naval control, but it could not be helped. When he considered breaking through the north west in the direction of La Palma Island, another battle group popped up on the horizon, advancing at a rapid pace. Although it was a little late, he realised that his second battle group had fallen as well. Understanding that the Bharathiya Empire took advantage of his strategy and killed his battlegroups one at a time, his eyes darkened, and his heart pounded like a drum.

Sadly, he was too late. Although he made a very good decision, since it took a bit too long for him to recover, the Maharaja Ramachandra class battleships, sailing at full throttle, reached the range where their artillery could work.

The next moment, without hesitation, the bombardment commenced, and salvo after salvo of artillery shells plunged into the rear of the European main fleet.

The European warships at the rear shook violently, each successful hit putting a large hole in the hull, allowing the water to flood into the ship, cutting down its speed almost immediately, and allowing the ship to be destroyed in a few more hits.

Luther Van Gogh knew that the situation was dire, but he was in no position to counterattack.

"Assume a defensive formation and give it your all."

He ordered, but right at this time, the second battle group of the Bharatiya Empire that was sailing from the direction of the La Palma Island also reached the range at which their artillery could engage.

Without any surprise, the situation of the European fleet got only more dire. Sadly, maybe it was a stroke of luck, or maybe even God had seen enough bloodshed today, the winds picked up in favour of the Europeans, and over 200 to 250 warships managed to escape the encirclement, disappearing on the horizon.

Vijay felt a brief flicker of disappointment, but he soon shook his head, and his expression settled back into calm. He knew there was no longer any chance of catching the retreating European fleet. They might attempt to exploit the lack of a rear guard and strike at the West African colonies, but he doubted they would take such a risk. There was a simple reason for that. Any such attack would hand his fleet another opportunity to annihilate them completely, something he was certain the enemy commander understood as well. Far more likely, in his judgment, was that they would slip into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, where tracking became nearly impossible, and make their way back to the Mediterranean.

’Right, if I can catch them before they enter the Mediterranean, we still have a chance.’

An idea suddenly hit him.

"Regroup and set off. Our next destination, Gibraltar."