Episode 947: Battle of Corsica. (3)


    The Vian leaders, who heard the story through French and Spanish messengers, were intrigued.


    “Hoo? This might be good in its own right…”


    Although it faded with the advent of the empire, Venice’s navy was renowned as the strongest force in the Mediterranean.


    Likewise, although it was overshadowed by the emergence of the Empire, it was one of the pioneers who attempted to mount cannons on battleships.


    Historically, they foughtrge and small naval battles against Genoa and continued to gain practical experience against pirates in the Mediterranean region.


    “The ‘Land of Flowers’ ships are powerful, but if you use the terrain and numbers well, there is a surprising possibility.”


    “yes. And as you can see from the cases of Pavia and Alexandria, ground battles must be avoided.”


    “Especially going on the offensive is a no-no.”


    “You can’t lose the initiative in negotiations.”


    These were Venice’s independent factions who still did not give up hope for ‘first-bread-and-then-negotiations’.


    “Then it would be best to ept the French-Spanish guys’ offer as long as a few prerequisites are met.”


    “What would be better?”


    The prerequisites that came out after discussion between the independent factions were as follows.


    -France and Spain will also mobilize all avable naval power. We already know the naval capabilities of the two countries well, so don’t try to deceive us.


    The same goes for the Habsburgs.


    -Themanding authority of thebined fleet is exercised by Venice.


    France and Spain may know the Antic Ocean well, but we know the Mediterranean Sea better.


    The independence faction, which organized the requirements in this way, showed them to the integration faction.


    “What do you think?”


    Although they were politically conflicting, the unificationists were also Vian nobles. Without their cooperation, maintaining the Vian navy would be very difficult.


    The integrationists, who had carefully examined the requirements written by the independent factions, soon nodded.


    “You look okay. “Let’s move forward like this.”


    “Good.”


    “Then let’s focus on defense first in the ground war. Do you agree?”


    “I agree.”


    Things progressed smoothly as both sides made small concessions to each other.


    * * *


    Venice conveyed its demands to French and Spanish envoys. At the same time, they sent a messenger to Vienna to convey their demands.


    “Insolent…”


    The first reaction of the monarchs who received Venice’s requirements was ‘insolent.’


    Although it was an economic powerhouse along with Florence and Mn, it was still only a city-state.


    A country so small that it would be too much to call it a small country was telling it to follow its lead.


    The problem was that it was very difficult to abandon Venice.


    Since they had already suffered fatal defeats at Pavia and Alexandra, they had to avenge this. If the news of victory was not announced through a revenge war, the power of the monarchs would be seriously damaged.


    But again, it wasn’t a good idea to do arge-scale rotation on the ground.


    This was because the powerful power of the Empire-Florence alliance was confirmed through two battles.


    “In order to win the battle, we need more troops and weapons than we have now.”


    More time and budget were needed until the preparations werepleted. And to secure this, the people’sbor and wealth were needed.


    The problem was that if exploitation was unconditional, the number of dissatisfied people would increase more quickly than expected, which would soon weaken the monarch’s power.


    In the end, the monarchs, who were worried over and over again, gave orders to their subjects.


    “It may be arrogant, but they have a point. “Coordinate it.”


    “Yes, Your Majesty.”


    “Although time is running out, remember not to make too many concessions.”


    “I’ll keep that in mind.”


    * * *


    In this way, the three axis countries of the alliance and the Vian diplomats and naval admirals engaged in a fierce war of words.


    However, since both parties were well aware that there was no time to spare, they did not usemon techniques such as deliberately procrastinating the meeting.


    Thanks to this, their coordination took only a historically short period of time, just five days.


    Afterpleting the coordination, the result was as follows.


    -France, Spain and Habsburg agree to mobilize all avable naval power.


    -Thebined fleet ismanded by ‘coordinating’ the opinions of each country’s navalmanders.


    -However, since the area where the naval battle takes ce is the Mediterranean Sea, the opinion of the Vian navalmander is ‘respected’ and ‘considered greatly’.


    And the navalmanders of each country, especially the captains, who saw this agreement, all had gloomy expressions.


    “Quick on-the-spot judgment was overlooked.”


    Because of the special nature of naval warfare and battleships, battleship captains were very independent. Even so, it was the suprememander’s responsibility to draw the big picture. Middlemanders and captains moved within that framework in their own way.


    However, if you look at the agreement, there were four suprememanders of thebined fleet.


    It was a structure that could never produce good results.


    “This is unsettling…”


    * * *


    It wasn’t just the captains who were anxious. The topmanders of each country’s fleets were equally anxious.


    In the end, a horn fight broke out, and the final winner was Venice.


    -You may know the Antic Ocean well, but I know the Mediterranean Sea best!


    -fire power? Don’t you know our Vian Gallius?


    Among the navies gathered, the most powerful battleship was the Gallius, owned by Venice.


    There were as many as 8 ships.


    In the end, the topmanders of the three-axis navy had to ‘respect’ the Vianmander and ‘listen’ to his opinions.


    The strategy that came about after listening to his opinions was as follows.


    -The French Navy breaks through Portugal’s check and passes through Gibraltar to join.


    -To help the French Navy pass through Gibraltar, the Spanish Navy attracts the attention of the Portuguese Navy.


    -The French Navy, after passing Gibraltar, rests and undergoes maintenance in Barcelona.


    -Once France passes Gibraltar, the main fleet of the Spanish Navy moves to Naples, rests and maintains in Naples, and waits for the Vian and Habsburg navies to join.


    -The Vian and Habsburg fleets bypass Sicily and head toward Naples.


    -After finishing rest and maintenance in Naples, thebined fleet of Venice, Spain, and Habsburg heads north to the Tyrrhenian Sea.


    -From now on, the fleet departing from Naples will be designated as the 1st Fleet, and the fleet departing from Barcelona will be designated as the 2nd Fleet.


    -The target of the 1st Fleet heading north is Corsica.


    -2nd Fleet also joins from Corsica.


    -1st Fleet blocks the sea route between Corsica and Tuscany.


    -The Imperial Fleet will sortie to unblock the 1st Fleet.


    -While the 1st Fleet and the Imperial Fleet sh, the 2nd Fleet bypasses the ind of Corsica and raids the rear of the Imperial Fleet.


    “Hmm… The 1st Fleet bes the anvil and the 2nd Fleet bes the hammer?”


    “exactly.”


    A French naval admiral who was looking at a map pointed out a ce on the map.


    “Wouldn’t it be a problem if the Imperial Navy diverted through the small waterway between Tuscany and Fiorentina?”


    “The canal is less than 3 leagues (about 12.6 km) wide. And there are reefs in between. It is impossible forrge wires to pass quickly. And if necessary, you can ce a few wires to block it.”


    In response to the Vian naval admiral’s answer, the French naval admiral nodded and closed his mouth.


    After that, the Spanish Navy Admiral spoke.


    “The problem is that Corsica belongs to Genoa. How about fighting near Naples instead? The navy of the Kingdom of Naples is also useful.”


    “You mean to fight in that wide Tyrrhenian Sea? Have you forgotten how fast those Imperial ships can move? “We must not forget that the speed of the imperial ships is their most powerful weapon.”


    “….”


    The Vian naval admiral silenced the Spanish admiral and exined in detail once again.


    “The reason the strait between Corsica and Tuscany was set up as a battlefield was to tie up the imperial navy. It is also to prevent the imperial navy from using its cannons properly…”


    -If many battleships are concentrated in the narrow strait between Corsica and Tuscany, the imperial battleships will not be able to use their unique mobility.


    -Also, as many battleships gather together, problems arise where their firing lines ovep. What this means is that the Empire can’t use that damn cannon properly.


    -In the end, the firepower of both sides bes simr.


    -There, the 2nd Fleet will take on the role of hammer.


    “But can you be sure that if we go that way, they wille that way too? “Can’t they bypass it just like our 2nd Fleet can bypass it?”


    The Vian Navy Admiral responded to the Habsburg Navy Admiral’s point with a confident expression.


    “They have no choice but toe. Detour? Then we can go straight to Livorno. Considering the number of battleships they have, Livorno’s defenses will be greatly weakened.”


    “aha!”


    Many admirals expressed exmation at the words of the Vian Navy admiral. Meanwhile, there were still some admirals who were very worried.


    “But I’m worried about the imperial cannons. They have firepower, but aren’t they the ones who carry so much that it’s so hard to grind your teeth? “Even if it bes such a tangled battle that we can’t use it properly, wouldn’t we still be able to use a lot of numbers?”


    “Our navy’s Gallius also has many cannons. Of course, the Empire’s cannons are powerful. However, if a melee with shells exchanged right in front of us urs, our cannons will also show considerable power.”


    “But aren’t Imperial battleships famous for their sturdiness?”


    “Aren’t those ships made by the Empire’s headquarters? Aren’t the imperial ships currently in Livorno the ones built in that ce called Shinji and Prince Henry’s Port? “I don’t know how strong the trees in Shinji are, but don’t we know the defensive power of the ships built in Prince Henry’s Port?”


    “Hmm…”


    Hearing the Vian Navy Admiral’s words, the other Navy Admirals did the math again.


    -The main numerical force of the Imperial Navy currently stationed in Livorno are ships made in Prince Henry’s Port.


    -Those ships can be easily defeated in a melee situation.


    -If the battleships that are the main force in numbers disappear, all that remain are battleships from Shinji. If you use your quantitative superiority, the probability of defeating them will gradually increase.


    As that conclusion was reached, the gathered naval admirals began to smile.


    If the Vian admiral’s n had worked out correctly and they were trapped in that narrow strait and a melee broke out, the game would have been a close one.


    It was well known that the Imperial Navy was extremely averse to melee.


    To paraphrase this, it means that the Imperial Navy was vulnerable to melee.


    On the contrary, melee and hand-to-handbat were their strengths.


    ‘If you do this well…’


    It was an opportunity to give a big blow to the imperial navy that had been showing off in front of them. Of course, if I encountered a real regr fleet of the Imperial Navy in the ocean, I would have to run away, but the exhration of getting a shot in the arm wouldst a long time.