Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 1213: WWI: Taking back the Suez (3)

After several days of continuous travel, Rear Admiral Anurag Abhimanyu, as well as his battle group, finally made it to the vicinity of the Dakshinamuki Port, a port that had been inaugurated by his Highness Agni himself, located right at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Of course, the Europeans renamed the port as Northtown, but he did not have to pay attention to their nonsense.

"Have all hands on deck, prepare for battle," he ordered and continued to peer into the distance.

He had not yet spotted the enemy, and in fact, even the lookout had seen nothing so far. However, it was a clear day with few clouds and pleasant weather, giving them a visibility range of over 20 kilometres. Considering that his battle group was only about 30 kilometres from the target, he knew the battle was not far away.

’I wonder if the Dolphin battle group has set off?’ he stroked his chin in contemplation. In order to maintain secrecy, there wasn’t much direct communication between his Shark battle group and the Dolphin battle group. All their objectives came directly from high command, so he was not aware of the current situation of the battle group composed entirely of frigates and clippers.

’Wait!’ he suddenly thought of something. ’Our battle group is running a few hours late, so could the Dolphin battle group already be in conflict with the European fleet?’ This possibility immediately made him wary. At the same time, he was once again reminded of why the delay had occurred.

"Damn frogs!" he cursed, his face contorted into rage. If it weren’t for a relatively large French merchant ship group composed of over 20 merchant ships that had to be taken care of, he would have made it in time, but now he doesn’t even know the situation of the dolphin battle group.

As the ship advanced further and further, his anxiousness only grew until, eventually, as the battle group arrived at a distance of only 20 kilometres away from the coast, the lookout cried out.

"The Europeans are under attack, the aggressor seems to be," the lookout increased the magnification of the telescope and exclaimed, "The aggressor seemed to be one of our own!!!"

"Oh, deva, it looks like a battle group entirely composed of warships, around 50 to 60 in number, oh, it’s the dolphin battle group."

As his fears came true, Anurag’s heart sank, but he forcefully calmed his restless mood and the pessimistic thoughts, "What is the situation like?"

Looking through the telescope once again, the lookout showed a strange expression. "They seem to be doing alright. No, they seem to be doing great, actually. It looks like the Europeans are not able to get a proper hit on the Dolphin battle group."

He lowered the telescope slightly and informed the rear admiral, "They seem to be utilising skirmisher tactics, Your Excellency. Their losses don’t seem to be too great either. The amount of damage I have observed was not too bad."

Anurag Abhimanyu completely lost his tense and restless mood, and a look of surprise spread across his face. The result seemed somewhat beyond his expectations. Holding their own against a well-rounded fleet composed entirely of warships and battleships was unexpected, to say the least. But then again, after thinking for a while, he suddenly realised the reason behind such a situation.

’The mobility of the European fleet is inherently lacking due to them being forced to stick to the entrance of the Suez.’

’Their situation in reality is no different than a beast in a circus, so it is indeed possible for the warships to annoy the European fleet without suffering too many losses, while making them waste their ammunition in the process.’

He stood up, looked at the horizon with squinted eyes where he could vaguely see the flags flowing above the warships with his naked eyes and smiled, "The dolphin battle group has held up against the entire European fleet for so long, wouldn’t it be a shame if we couldn’t do better?"

"Raise the reserve sails, and speed up."

The European fleet

"What!" Pierre Martin swiftly turned his head around with such force that one would suspect whether his neck was still attached to his body.

"You’re joking, right?" he asked, unable to hide his disbelief.

The lookout, his face as pale as paper, trembled uncontrollably.

Looking at him like this, Pierre Martin immediately snapped, "You damn bastard, how dare you joke with me concerning such serious matters?"

Pierre Martin was visibly shaken with rage, unable to contain it any longer. He immediately reached for his sword, wanting to cut down the insubordinate pig with his own hands, but right at that moment, his executive officer spoke out with a sombre tone.

"Unfortunately, what the lookout said is the truth, Your Excellency."

Pierre had already pulled his sword halfway, but he immediately froze. "What did you say?"

The executive officer let out a frustrated sigh, "I said what the lookout informed was the truth, Your Excellency."

"How do you know?"

"Simply because the ships are already on the horizon, Your Excellency, you just need to turn your head around."

Pierre Martin immediately felt his limbs go stiff. For a brief moment, he still refused to believe it. He had been firmly convinced that the Bharatiya battleships that broke through the Bosphorus Strait were headed toward the various naval bases in the Aegean Sea. That assumption had seemed logical, even obvious.

Yet reason now whispered a harsher truth, one he could no longer ignore. He had been misled. The true target of the Bharatiya had been his fleet all along. The realisation settled in slowly, heavily, and he found it difficult to accept.

It felt as though lead had seeped into his body, weighing him down. Every inch he turned felt mechanical and strained, like a rusted machine creaking in protest as it forced itself to move.

When he finally allowed himself to see the horizon, his heart dropped to his stomach as a chill ran throughout his spinal cord, rising up goosebumps all over his skin.

’It’s really them,’ he muttered, his eyes open as wide as saucers.

"Your orders, Your Excellency?"

Pierre immediately snapped out of his stupor. "Right, orders."

He forced himself to think, pushing past the haze clouding his mind. After a few moments of intense, almost brain-burning contemplation, a strategy began to take shape.

"Form a defensive formation right at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Isn’t most of the canal, at least until its midpoint, filled with mines? We can use that to our advantage. The Bharatiyas approaching from the other side cannot bypass those mines without expending a large amount of resources, so it’s practically a temporary wall, one where we do not have to worry about our rear. Taking advantage of this, we will position several of our warships within the canal itself. That will give the fleet a stronger capacity to counterattack, and it will also reinforce our defensive position."

The Europeans acted quickly and started to put up their turtle shell.

Captain Harish Varma, who noticed the Europeans retreating, couldn’t help but let out a joyful laugh. But he quickly regained his composure.

"Follow the integration protocol and split up," he ordered.

After getting a good distance away from the European fleet, the Dolphin Battle Group, composed of 60 frigates and clippers, disintegrated by itself, with the warships spreading wide, ready to welcome the command of the battleships of the Shark Battle Group.

Rear Admiral Anurag Abhimanyu was greatly pleased by the preemptive initiative taken by the captain of the Dolphin Battle Group, so without further hesitation, he ordered the integration protocol to commence at once. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Though the two battle groups had never communicated directly before, the procedures had been drilled relentlessly. Sailors and officers from both formations had practised the protocols in theory and in mock engagements countless times. As a result, coordination came almost instinctively.

By the time the Europeans completed their turtle-shell formation, the two Bharatiya battle groups had already merged seamlessly, moving as though they had always been one. Within an hour, they stood united as a compact yet formidable fleet, composed of thirty-five battleships and sixty warships.

Interestingly enough, this was the first time in a naval battle between the Bharatiya Empire and the European Union that the Bharatiya Empire had an advantage when it came to the number of warships and battleships, so Rear Admiral Anurag Abhimanyu was even more confident about his victory.

"Push forward and immediately launch the torpedoes," he ordered.

The fleet immediately began to move as one. Captain Harish Verma was a little taken aback by the order, but he quickly figured it out, ’That’s right, there is no need to fear the opponent’s battleships anymore since we have our own. The time is tight, it is indeed the right decision to wage a frontal combat.’ He completely cooperated with the orders and actively mobilised the frigates he was in control of, and had them cooperate actively with the battleships.

Pierre Martin had only just heaved a brief sigh of relief after forming the most defensive arrangement he could devise, but the comfort lasted only a few seconds. As he watched the Bharatiya fleet surge toward him like a charging bull, its armoured hulls glinting and its forward cannons poised like sharpened horns, his throat tightened. He swallowed hard and instinctively traced a cross over his chest, silently seeking divine protection.

He knew the council had likely already discerned the true intention of the Bharatiyas, but could the reinforcements make it in time?

"Oh Lord, please let me hold on," he prayed devoutly. The arrogance he had displayed earlier, when he had been ready to strangle a Bharatiya battle group composed merely of frigates and clippers, had vanished without a trace.

P.S. Thank you, Sudhanva_SH, for the Ice cola X2🙏🙏