Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 1125: Chapter 139: A Far-Reaching Victory
 

“Everyone was thinking of leaving their teammates in the lurch, and then tragedy struck. Once the signal to retreat was emitted, the British-Japanese Allied Army started to scatter and run back, causing complete chaos on the battlefield.

The speeds of the warships varied, and once they ran at full power, the original battle formation instantly collapsed. Everyone was busy trying to save their own life; no one stayed behind to cover the retreat.

Originally, each side intended to trick their ally, but it turned out that both had the same idea. In the end, they didn’t just ensnare their allies but also caught themselves in the process.

As the saying goes, ‘defeat is like a collapsing mountain,’ and the British-Japanese Allied Forces actively contributed to an episode of ‘Sea Escape.’

From a distance, hidden by the waves, periscopes occasionally emerged, surveying the entire battlefield.

For this war, they had lain in ambush underwater for a day and a night, waiting for this moment.

From the onset of the battle, Major Wallace, as the captain, kept a close watch on the large screen, not daring to relax at all. Only when the Allied Forces were defeated did his tense nerves finally ease somewhat.

The images transmitted back were not very clear, but there was no problem in determining the enemy’s position.

Seeing the enemy’s warships enter the attack range, the atmosphere inside the submarine tensed up again. Major Wallace said, ‘Let those small fries in front pass. Our mission is to take down the enemy’s main force ships!’

Unaware of the trap ahead, the British-Japanese Allied Forces had only one thought—run. No need to run fast, just faster than your teammates.

In terms of speed, the Royal Navy had the upper hand. The performance of the ships of the Far Eastern Fleet was generally better than that of the Japanese Navy; coupled with more abundant experience and skills, the escape naturally favored them.

Those with faster ships charged ahead, and the slower ones were forced to become the rearguard. In this regard, they had to thank their Japanese allies.

Fortunately, the Japanese warships at the rear fought desperately to buy time for the retreat; otherwise, it would have been lucky if half the ships escaped.

However, Admiral Mitchell couldn’t be happy. Although they had pulled away from the Shinra Navy, his flagship, the Elizabeth, had been targeted by enemy aircraft.

There were still over a dozen fighter planes circling overhead, dropping bombs intermittently—it was clear they had no intention of letting them go.

Not just the Elizabeth, any larger warship was now receiving special attention.

‘Even ants can eat an elephant,’ is no joke. Just look at the Elizabeth now; it was completely riddled with holes.

A third of the main guns were inoperable, over two hundred officers and soldiers were casualties, and even the power system was affected.

Even if they could make it back to Cam Ranh Bay, the ship would need repairs for several months at the very least, and it was out of question to engage in combat again anytime soon.

With a whoosh.

‘Torpedo!’

Someone shouted, followed by the sound of a violent explosion. The hit destroyer began to tear apart and slowly sank.

Having narrowly escaped disaster, Admiral Mitchell was soaked with cold sweat. The enemy in the sky hadn’t been dealt with, and now another had emerged from the water.

Under normal circumstances, they could have found and destroyed the submarine based on its direction; but now they couldn’t, as they were too busy trying to escape and had no time to waste.

As if a signal had been detonated, ever since the first torpedo was fired and exploded, a series of subsequent explosions followed one after the other.

Almost after every loud bang, a decent victory was achieved. Realizing something, Admiral Mitchell hurriedly ordered, ‘The enemy has laid an ambush, order the fleet to scatter and break through!’

There was no choice; the fleet swarming in one direction was like grouping targets together on a training field. Even if one missed the No. 1 target, one could hit Nos. 2, 3…targets.

Seeing the British warships ahead getting into trouble, General Ito Yohiro at the rear did not feel the slightest relief, but was instead even more solemn.

By this point, one would have lived in vain if one didn’t realize that they had fallen into an enemy trap.

The greater the loss of the British, the more prepared the enemy appeared to be, and by the same token, the less likely they were to escape.

Akiyama Masakazu suggested, ‘Commander, we should separate from the British! The Empire has already sacrificed too much for this war.

At this point, there’s no need to remain tied to the British. Besides, in the eyes of the enemy, we’re only small fry right now.’

‘Misplaced confidence’—for once, it was not. From the number of aircraft overhead, it was evident that the Far Eastern Fleet was receiving much more attention.

Such treatment was determined by strength; in comparison with the mighty Royal Navy, the Japanese Navy was far behind in both combat achievements and reputation.

The disparity in hardware was even greater; constrained by domestic industry, the main ships of the Japanese Navy mostly relied on foreign purchases, with no end in sight for self-reliance.

A country unable to independently sustain its military industry naturally would not be taken seriously. Not being taken seriously wasn’t entirely a bad thing; at least escaping was a lot less difficult.

Before General Ito Yohiro could make a decision, a loud ‘boom’ was heard, followed by the ship beginning to shake violently, and the people in the command center were thrown about.

‘We’ve been hit!’

These were the last thoughts of Ito Yohiro before he lost consciousness.

…”

The cruel battle continued, with straggling ships either surrendering or being sunk, and the sea was filled with a large amount of debris, through which one could vaguely make out human figures.

Fortunately, the loud explosion sounds terrified the sea creatures, or else those unlucky ones who had fallen into the water would have been feeding the sharks by now.

Nightfall rescued the remaining British-Japanese Allied Forces, but that didn’t matter much, as after this battle the Far Eastern Fleet and the Japanese Navy were almost completely destroyed.

More than nine-tenths of the main ships over ten thousand tons had been lost, with countless auxiliary warships also suffering losses. Most of those that had escaped were the faster cruisers, fit for raiding and attacking merchant ships, but reversing the situation was out of the question.

The bloody battlefield didn’t affect Admiral Arest’s good mood. Such a neat and decisive victory had completely exceeded his expectations.

“Order the fleet to cease attacking, rescue the people in the water, and tally the losses.”

As victors, they needed to show the magnanimity of victors. Today’s battle was over, and it was time to capture prisoners.

They were prime labor force; in the upcoming struggle for the Indochina Peninsula, their blood and sweat would be needed.

…

“Your Majesty, good news! This afternoon, our Southeast Asian Fleet engaged in a decisive battle with the British-Japanese Allied Army in the Strait of Malacca and emerged completely victorious!”

Snatching the telegram, Emperor Franz, who was preparing to sleep, was now wide awake.

After confirming the news several times, Franz showed a smile that had been absent for a long time, visibly relaxing.

The specific battle results had yet to be detailed, and even their own losses were estimated, but it did nothing to lessen the magnitude of the victory.

Sinking two dreadnoughts, five old battleships, capturing one old battleship—the British Far East Fleet and the Japanese Navy had, more or less, been entirely decimated.

Without their main ships to act as combat strength, no matter how many other ships escaped, the British-Japanese Alliance was all but extinct.

Their fate was now to be hunted by the Shinra Navy in the days to come. They did not even have to act personally; the Spanish and Dutch fleets alone in Southeast Asia could complete the task of beating the drowning dogs.

The victory of the Battle of the Malacca Strait not only turned the situation around in the Far East but also impacted the global situation.

The myth of the invincibility of the Royal Navy had been shattered, with the biggest impact not being on military power but on the confidence of the world towards the war.

Purely militarily speaking, the Far Eastern Fleet accounted for at most 15% of the Royal Navy’s strength, and even if it was completely destroyed, the Royal Navy still held the overall power advantage.

But the blow to confidence was not as simple as a set of figures. The British-Japanese Alliance, having considerable superiority, had been overturned by the Southeast Asian Fleet—who could guarantee that the Royal Navy would definitely win in the coming battles?

Especially for the members of the Oceanic Alliance, they now had to reconsider whether to continue this war.

Everyone had joined this war not only because of the British cheat but most importantly because of interests.

However, interests were based on the premise of defeating the Holy Roman Empire; if they lost the war, they would have to pay dearly.

Since everyone had only declared war recently and had not actually started fighting, it was not impossible to withdraw by paying a certain price.

While shaking the confidence of the Oceanic Alliance, it would also spur the enthusiasm of their allies to participate in the war. Although the post-war division of interests was not clear, everyone still knew the style of the Vienna Government.

In a distribution model where the payment and earnings were proportional, anyone who wanted a share of the post-war spoils would have to make a sufficient contribution.

If one only wanted to make up the numbers and be incidental, they would face the same situation when it came time to distribute interests after the war.

If everything went as expected, the British were about to be on the run. Even if the London Government could give up the Far Eastern region, they couldn’t possibly abandon the Indian Ocean altogether, could they?

Without the distraction of the Far Eastern Fleet, it was inevitable for the Southeast Asian Fleet to move into the Indian Ocean. To ensure the shipping routes between the British Isles and India remained open, the British would inevitably have to station forces.

Redeploying the fleet was not so simple in practice. The Royal Navy was indeed massive, but the amount of mobile forces they could deploy now was limited.

The home fleet had to contain the Shinra Navy, and several overseas fleets had to maintain trade routes. Drawing a force capable of contending with the Southeast Asian Fleet was no easy task.

After some thought, Franz made a decision, “Release the results of the naval battle immediately, order the propaganda department to launch a worldwide opinion offensive to shake the morale of the Oceanic Alliance.

Notify our allies to rush the printing of a batch of leaflets overnight, so that tomorrow, when the air force strikes, they can conveniently scatter them over the British Isles.”

If they did not capitalize on this opportunity to pursue the victory, they would indeed be failing God.

It remained to be seen whether the British public could withstand such a blow. Less than a week into the war, they had already suffered consecutive airstrikes and defeat at sea.

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

After consideration, Franz decided against personally entering the fray. It was not easy for intelligence officers either, executing such orders was definitely a hard task.

Internal strife in Britain was common when there was no external threat. But in such a serious situation, the Opposition party was not foolish.

Political disputes are political disputes, with the premise that the Great Britain Empire must exist. They wouldn’t completely abandon national interests for the sake of political struggles.

Even if some individuals couldn’t read the situation and wanted to seize the opportunity to cause trouble, the interest groups would not tolerate their meddling.