Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 502 Aegean Sea Standoff

The Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits not only connected the European and Asian parts of the Ottoman Empire, but also served as important bridges for access to the Mediterranean Sea from the Black Sea.

The Bosphorus Strait is 30 kilometers long, but its narrowest point is only 700 meters wide. The Dardanelles Strait is over 60 kilometers long, but its narrowest point is only about 1.2 kilometers wide.

These two very narrow sea lanes severely restricted Russia's southward expansion, leaving Russia constantly constrained and threatened by the straits' controllers.

Russia's history of continuous colonial expansion is also a history of Russia's continuous search for ice-free ports.

Although Russia has a large coastline in the Baltic Sea, which is located in northern Europe, the Baltic Sea freezes over in winter, making it impassable for ships during cold periods.

The conditions in the Black Sea are better, but the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits restrict the free passage of Russian ships.

Only the ports in the Far East were not subject to such restrictions, but the Far East is too far from Russia and Eastern Europe, so the ports do not provide as much added value to the Russian mainland.

Upon arriving near the Bosphorus Strait once again, the Russian naval officers and sailors had rather complex feelings.

Before them lies the strait Russia has long coveted. Now, Russia seems to have the opportunity to control the Bosphorus Strait, and even hopes to occupy Constantinople through negotiations after the war ends.

According to an agreement between the Russian and French governments, their respective navies would control the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, achieving complete control of the Strait of Constantinople, in order to launch a landing operation on the Anatolian Peninsula.

This would be quite easy for the Russian Navy. The Bosphorus Strait is located at the southernmost tip of the Black Sea, meaning they would only face the navies of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.

On the contrary, France, which wanted to control the Dardanelles, not only had to face the Ottoman navy, but also the possibility of intervention from the British navy.

On the Aegean Sea at dawn, a thin layer of gray mist, like a curtain, shrouded the vast sea.

A massive warship was slowly sailing in the Aegean Sea, with another equally massive warship every few hundred meters behind it.

On board the French battleship Justice, the fleet commander, Rear Admiral Alain de Bernard, with a somber expression, observed the surrounding situation through his binoculars, preparing for the possible arrival of the British fleet at any moment.

The French fleet behind them followed the battleship Justice slowly, heading north towards the Dardanelles Strait.

Although Britain did not join the war, both France and Russia believed that Britain might intervene in the Franco-Russian fleet's occupation of the Strait of Constantinople.

There was no way around it; Constantinople and its straits were simply too important, so important that they could potentially cause the British to turn against them.

The French and Russian governments have made relevant preparations for this.

The Spanish Mediterranean Fleet is ready and is temporarily stationed in the eastern Mediterranean under the guise of patrol.

Once the Franco-Russian combined fleet and the British fleet engage in naval battle, the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet will immediately head north to provide support, aiming to sink all the British fleets first.

Both France and Russia, as well as Spain, were prepared for the possibility of Britain joining the war. If Britain joined the war, it would mean that from 1914 onwards, the world war would become a real war, and the number of major powers involved would increase to six.

The warships had been sailing for several hours without seeing any trace of the British fleet. This relieved Rear Admiral Alain de Bernard, who wondered if the British fleet had abandoned its intervention against the Franco-Russian fleet.

But not long after, a messenger came urgently: "Commander, a warship in the rear reports that a fleet of no less than 10 warships is rapidly approaching us, more than ten kilometers behind our fleet."

Upon hearing the messenger's report, Major General Alain de Bernard's expression turned serious, and he thought to himself, "So the British have come after all?"

Without much thought, Rear Admiral Alain de Bernard immediately issued the order that had been prepared beforehand: "Order all warships to line up in a row and point all their cannons at the fleet behind them."

At the same time, contact was made with the French fleet in the Bosphorus Strait to prepare for naval battle.

Hopefully, it won't be the British who arrive, otherwise the course of the world war might be significantly altered.

Following Rear Admiral Alain de Bernard's order, the French fleet's warships immediately adjusted their formation, pointing all their main guns at the position of the unidentified fleet behind them.

A sudden change of course would take a long time, but fortunately the fleet behind was more than ten kilometers away, and it would also take some time for them to arrive nearby.

About ten minutes later, the messenger came to report the news again, saying in a hurried tone: "Your Excellency, the fleet in the rear has been confirmed, and it is indeed the British fleet."

They are rapidly approaching us; we expect to see the British fleet within three minutes at most.

Upon hearing the report, Major General Alain de Bernard's expression changed again, and he then ordered: "All warships, prepare to fire. Prioritize targeting the British battleships."

If negotiations fail, a naval battle is inevitable. We must seize the initiative in the naval battle; if the British gain the upper hand, winning the battle will not be so easy.

About three minutes later, the French fleet could also clearly see the general outline of the British fleet.

A British warship approached, billowing smoke, and then signaled to the French fleet.

"Sir, the British fleet has ordered us not to approach the Dardanelles. They say that the belligerent nations do not allow us to approach public waterways," the messenger reported verbatim after carefully reading the enemy's flag signals.

Major General Alain de Bernard, his face grim, replied: “Tell the British that the Ottoman Empire, which controls the Dardanelles, is an enemy of France.”

Since the Ottoman Empire was involved in the war, France naturally had the right to occupy the Dardanelles Strait, which was controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

On the contrary, ask Britain why they refuse us access to the Dardanelles Strait? If I remember correctly, Britain should still be a neutral country at this time.

With such blatant violation of the Neutrality Treaty, isn't Britain afraid of being condemned by other European countries?
Keep these British away from us. France and the Ottoman Empire are at war, and we will take military action against the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, which are under Ottoman control.

If the British fleet gets too close and gets caught in the crossfire, it won't be our problem.

Whether it's the centuries-old animosity between Britain and France, or Britain's support for Germany, France's greatest enemy, both have severely diminished French goodwill towards the British. Forget about responding strongly to the British; if France could find an opportunity to strike back at a weakened enemy, most French people would likely be willing to treat the British well.

Moreover, before the French fleet set sail, the French government had specifically instructed the fleet's commander-in-chief, Major General Alain de Bernard.

While it is still necessary to avoid Britain joining the war to help Germany as much as possible, this does not mean that France should back down.

If the British were to take a hard line, France would have no choice but to respond with an even harder line, making it clear to the British that getting involved in this world war was not a wise choice.

When the French fleet relayed Rear Admiral Alain de Bernard's words to the British fleet using flag signals, such a tough stance naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the British.

The British could not accept such a tough and arrogant attitude from the French. The British Royal Fleet was the world's largest fleet, possessing the most battleships.

Given France's status as the world's fifth-largest navy, what gives them the right to speak so aggressively and arrogantly to the British?

The British fleet commander, his face ashen, ordered: "Tell the French that the state of war between France and the Ottoman Empire must not affect the normal passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles."

If the French fleet continues to disregard our advice, it will be considered a major breach of the interests of the British Empire, and we will need to take military action to ensure that the interests of the British Empire are not harmed.

To demonstrate Britain's stance to the French, the British fleet commander ordered all warships to point their guns at French vessels as a form of deterrence.

When Major General Alain de Bernard saw through his binoculars that the British warships were pointing their guns at him, he knew that the British had made up their minds.

But are the French just weak?

Although he was only a minor general, Major General Alain de Bernard harbored great ambitions.

For him, this war was an opportunity not to be missed, a chance to quickly accumulate military merits and thus seek the rank of lieutenant general or even general.

As for the British before him, they were merely stepping stones for his own advancement in rank. The Russian fleet was north of the Bosphorus Strait, and the Spanish fleet was waiting in the eastern Mediterranean.

Under such circumstances, Major General Alain de Bernard would not be afraid of the threat from the British fleet at all.

He even hoped for a naval battle, because only war could create greater opportunities.

"This is my final reply to the British. We are currently conducting military operations against the Ottoman Empire. All fleets of unrelated countries are to withdraw immediately, or they will be considered an obstruction to French military operations."

"If the British don't want to get involved in the war, let them get as far away as possible. I'm only giving them one hour. If these British warships haven't left by then, don't blame us for taking military action." Rear Admiral Alain de Bernal carefully observed the distant British fleet through his binoculars before issuing the order.

The French's tough stance took the British by surprise, and even the British fleet commanders were somewhat undecided.

Compared to the well-prepared French, the British Mediterranean fleet seemed to be deployed in a panic. The British government was completely unprepared and naturally did not discuss the possibility of war with the fleet commander beforehand.

This presented the British fleet commanders with a difficult choice: whether to back down or launch a hard-line war.

This matter has far-reaching consequences and cannot be resolved by a single naval battle. If the British and French fleets were to clash at this moment, it would mean that war between Britain and France would also be highly likely.

One's own order could drag Britain into a world war, and unless one is a very radical warmonger, one should think it over carefully.

"Has there been any news from Greece yet?" The British fleet commander asked the messenger, his voice tinged with urgency.

It was already 1914, and radio had long been used in warfare.

In fact, as early as ten years ago during the Russo-Japanese War, command ships equipped with radios appeared to facilitate communication between naval vessels.

However, radio technology at that time was still relatively primitive. Ten years later, radio technology has undergone a new round of development and has achieved some results.

Of course, it is clearly impossible to achieve ultra-long-distance communication using current radio technology.

This is why the British fleet inquired about information from Greece. They contacted the British embassy in Greece by radio, and then through the embassy, ​​they made contact with the British government.

Upon hearing the commander's question, the messenger shook his head helplessly, indicating that he had not received any news from Greece.

Although radio communication was relatively fast, the communication between the British Embassy in Greece and the British mainland was still conducted via wired telegraph.

The communication delay of wired telegraph was significantly greater than that of radio. In addition, the British Embassy received the message and then sent it back, the British government received the message and then sent it back, and then the British Embassy received and sent it back again. This back-and-forth process naturally took even longer.

Upon hearing that no news had come from Greece, the British fleet commander's expression changed, and he ultimately dared not issue the order.

On the one hand, Britain is still unclear about the purpose of France and Russia's gathering in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits.

Occupying the strait was not so easy; the Ottoman Empire, with the land on both sides of the strait, could also indirectly control it.

Neither the French nor the Russian fleets could remain in the straits indefinitely. Once these fleets left, control of the straits would revert to the hands of Britain and the Ottoman Empire.

If the French and Russian fleets' objective was merely to gain control of the Straits for a short period, it wouldn't be unacceptable to Britain.

After all, as long as Constantinople remained under the control of the Ottoman Empire, control of the straits would eventually return to the Ottoman Empire.

It seems less than worthwhile to clash with the French navy over the Channel now. After all, Britain, as a neutral country, has profited immensely from this war.

At present, Germany's value has not been fully exploited. If Britain were to join the war now, it would inevitably have to pay a price, which would not be easy for the British government to accept.

(End of this chapter)