I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 621: Control of the Strait

Shire understood Wells’ point; the Thunder Strike Ship was only suitable for coastal combat, for long-distance operations it could neither withstand the waves nor carry enough fuel.

But Shire was not in a hurry. He calmly replied, "We can use the same tactic, the only difference is replacing the Thunder Strike Ship with destroyers."

Wells understood immediately.

Using the speed of destroyers to maneuver and engage in guerrilla warfare with the enemy fleet, and then using torpedoes with destroyers to besiege the battleships once the enemy destroyers were mostly eliminated.

"So, we need to build a large number of destroyers. Am I right, General?" Wells summarized enthusiastically, "I mean, we need to further expand our advantage. Our destroyers should not only surpass the Royal Navy in quality but also in quantity."

Shire nodded in agreement, indicating that Wells had grasped the essence of "asymmetric warfare," which is to strengthen one’s own strengths even more.

Wells was so excited he couldn’t contain himself. He paced back and forth in front of the sofa, analyzing:

"I think you’re right, so speed is more important, isn’t it?"

"With speed and proper tactics, we can use destroyers to defeat the seemingly powerful battleships."

"This is what you mentioned earlier about destroyers being the future. I had doubts about it before, but now it seems to be correct, very correct."

Then he paused his steps: "It’s a pity we’ve built over 200 Thunder Strike Ships, they might not be useful."

This was a problem left over from France’s "green-water navy" strategy when the French Navy hoped to use Thunder Strike Ships as the main force.

Although Thunder Strike Ships were not costly, the sheer number of over 200 was enough to cause pain.

However, Shire answered confidently, "They will be useful, very useful."

"What?" Wells did not understand.

Once the British fleet implemented a distant blockade strategy, the Thunder Strike Ships couldn’t reach them, so why would they be useful?

Shire did not answer. He looked around, got up, and spread the nautical chart on the coffee table, pointing to the map: "This is the location of the Brest Shipyard, do you see anything?"

(The marked point in the above image is the location of the Brest Shipyard; it is at the exit of the La Manche Strait, capable of both attacking and defending, and adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, making it difficult to blockade.)

Wells stared at the map for a while before exclaiming, "I see now, the Thunder Strike Ships can be used to blockade the La Manche Strait!"

"Not just blockade, Mr. Wells," Shire added, "Once our navy enters the La Manche Strait, we will be invincible, the entire strait will be our navy’s haven."

Wells froze, then opened his eyes wide and excitedly grabbed Shire’s shoulders, shaking him vigorously:

"You’re right, General, as long as our destroyers have an absolute advantage, we will have absolute dominance within the strait, even without battleships!"

"Fantastic, you really are a genius."

"Incredible, our navy is going to defeat the Royal Navy, the world’s number one Royal Navy!"

The La Manche Strait is 220 kilometers at its widest point, and only 34 kilometers at its narrowest. This distance is within the operating range of Thunder Strike Ships.

If the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom were conducting a distant blockade in the Atlantic, Thunder Strike Ships would be useless, and France could only use destroyers to serve as Thunder Strike Ships for besieging purposes.

Once the Royal Navy enters the strait, under "asymmetric warfare," the British fleet will face a massive onslaught of French destroyers and Thunder Strike Ships, with their battleships and cruisers having no chance of survival.

On the surface, it seems that the French Navy only achieves a local victory: controlling only the La Manche Strait, with less advantage outside of the strait.

But for the world’s number one navy of Britain, it’s a total defeat, a disgrace, the comprehensive collapse of sea power, international prestige, and even its colonies.

Britain would never allow this.

Shire continued, "What we need to do is build more ports along the La Manche Strait’s coast to supply the Thunder Strike Ships. And because of their speed, they can quickly concentrate in the battle zone from each port during wartime."

Wells nodded repeatedly:

"I’ll immediately report this plan to the navy."

"God, if they agree with this plan, the strategic focus will still be on the Brest Shipyard."

"No, they will absolutely agree with this plan, there’s no reason they wouldn’t."

This is a plan that might defeat the Royal Navy.

If anyone disagrees, it would only be for one reason: they are a British mouthpiece, a traitor to France.

Therefore, even the legislators wouldn’t dare to easily reject it.

"We also need to build large landing crafts," Shire said abruptly.

"Landing crafts?" Wells looked at Shire in astonishment. "Why build landing crafts..."

Shire tapped his finger on the map at London’s location: "Once we completely control the La Manche Strait, it will be possible to launch a surprise landing on the British mainland and raid London, Sir."

Wells understood and laughed: "Yes, General, large landing crafts, built to show the British."

Indeed, they were built for the British to see.

France was unlikely to go to war with Britain; at the moment, they were still allies, and there would be no significant conflicts foreseeable in the future.

But since Britain was being considered as an adversary to surpass, actual combat considerations had to be factored in.

Unlike a real enemy, this tactic had to be intentionally or unintentionally revealed to the British.

Only this way would the British sense the crisis, realize the chokehold France had on them, and then make political concessions.

Of course, this was just Shire’s first step.

In his view, airports should also be built along the La Manche Strait’s coast. The future control of the strait would be through aircraft to secure air superiority, then use bombers and torpedo planes in coordination with the navy to secure sea control.

The Dreadnoughts, super-Dreadnoughts, and all other heavily built and proud ships by Britain would just be targets.

As long as Shire maintained air superiority, the so-called world’s number-one navy would be of no consequence and could be easily wiped out.

These were the air force’s issues, and Shire thought there was no need to discuss them in detail with Wells.

Finally, as Shire and Wells raised their glasses in celebration, Shire casually remarked, "I plan to send some people to the shipyard to study dual-axis stabilization technology, is there any problem with that?"

Wells generously agreed, "Of course, there won’t be any problem."

He had no reason to refuse, as the assets controlled by Shire were all used for producing army equipment and had no competitive relationship with the shipyard.

Indeed, there was no competitive relationship, as Shire intended to transplant the navy’s dual-stabilization fire control technology onto tanks.

Of course, this would be a brand-new patent controlled by Shire.

As for Wells’ shipyard, Shire wasn’t worried.

As time went on, air superiority would become increasingly important in naval battles.

One day Wells would understand, he couldn’t do without Shire, because leaving would mean death.