Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 530 The Fate of the United States
Several British warships at the forefront were quickly wrecked by the Allied bombardment, and even one dreadnought was severely damaged.

However, at this point, the British Home Fleet clearly couldn't manage the first few warships. Although they might lose a few ships, if they could take the opportunity to get most of their main warships to change course and prepare for battle, it would actually be a worthwhile trade-off for Britain.

Just as the French Atlantic Fleet decisively sacrificed two dreadnoughts during its escape, sometimes we cannot only look at the losses, but also at the results achieved after paying the price.

After sacrificing the first few warships, the main British naval force finally had time to turn its guns around and retaliate against the Allied warships.

With the British warships' counterattack, this naval battle involving multiple countries finally reached its climax. However, Britain was still at a disadvantage in the naval battle because the Allied fleet had more dreadnoughts than the British home fleet.

The British Navy adopted a strategy of fighting while stalling, hoping to buy time until German naval reinforcements arrived. Meanwhile, the Allied Navy, having chosen to support the French Grand Fleet, was well aware that the Central Powers might also be deploying their full strength, given their decision to support the French Grand Fleet.

The Allied Powers were prepared to deal with the main British naval force, and naturally, they were also prepared to deal with the main German naval force.

General Martin Hernandez saw through the British strategy of fighting and retreating to buy time perfectly.

Fighting was inevitable, but to prevent the German navy from flanking and attacking the Allied navy from behind, Admiral Martin Hernandez ordered the Allied submarines to spread out and circle around the main fleet to scout the surrounding situation and look for opportunities to launch surprise attacks on enemy warships.

While it's not so easy to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's main warships, submarines can easily destroy those slightly outdated battleships and cruisers.

Destroying an old battleship or cruiser doesn't do much good in naval warfare, but if a large number of old battleships and cruisers are destroyed, it's enough to make the British feel the pinch.

Although these older battleships and cruisers were not expensive to build, they were still quite important to the British Navy.

Although the British Navy boasts the largest total tonnage among its peers, it has several large-scale regular fleets deployed around the world, not to mention the smaller fleets in its colonies.

These fleets cannot all use dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts as their flagships; sometimes they have to use older battleships or cruisers.

These outdated battleships and undersized cruisers were nothing new to the British Home Fleet, but they were an invaluable addition to the British colonial fleet.

The more old battleships and cruisers Britain lost in naval battles, the more of the same type it would have to build to fill the gaps.

After all, a sizable fleet cannot rely solely on dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts; other types of warships are also very important.

Because they were prepared for the German fleet, the Allied fleet spotted the main German fleet before it was surrounded.

By this time, nearly two hours had passed since the Combined Fleet and the British main fleet went into battle. Upon learning that the German main fleet had come to their aid, Admiral Martin Hernandez did not seek personal glory and ordered the fleet to begin a slow withdrawal.

At this time, the main German fleet was still some distance from the main battlefield, while the British fleet's closest ships to the Allied fleet had been sunk. Even if the British fleet wanted to catch up with the Allied fleet, it would have to go around those ships that were slowly sinking.

Moreover, the British fleet was also in a combat posture at this time, so they would need to slowly turn their ships around if they wanted to catch up.

This also means that now is the best time for the Combined Fleet to evacuate. If they don't evacuate now, and the main force of the German fleet joins the battle, then they will have no choice but to fight to the death.

Given that the Combined Fleet had a slightly smaller number of dreadnoughts than the main British and German fleets, the outcome of this naval battle was truly uncertain if it continued.

Night had fallen, and under the cover of darkness, the main force of the Allied fleet successfully withdrew from the battlefield before the main British and German fleets could rendezvous.

Although several small warships were left to cover the retreat, the sacrifice was entirely worthwhile compared to the gains made in the naval battle.

Even taking into account the gains of the French Atlantic Fleet, the Allied Powers still managed to gain some advantage.

Throughout the naval battle, the Allied Powers lost a total of five dreadnoughts, two old battleships, fifteen cruisers, and fourteen submarines, as well as more than ten other small warships of various types, with a total tonnage of nearly 24 tons.

France lost three dreadnoughts, Spain lost one, and Italy lost one.

On the Allied side, although only three dreadnoughts were lost, two of them were super dreadnoughts, and both were British dreadnoughts, which was a huge loss for Britain.

In addition to these three dreadnoughts, Britain also lost three old battleships, two battlecruisers, sixteen cruisers and twelve submarines, as well as nearly twenty other warships of various types, with a total tonnage of nearly 35 tons.

As for the German fleet that arrived later, the Allied fleet adopted a conservative strategy of avoiding battle, which resulted in very few losses for the German fleet. Only one cruiser at the front was sunk by a Spanish submarine, and the total tonnage of the lost warships did not reach 5000 tons.

After the Combined Fleet successfully withdrew from the battlefield, it immediately reported the final results to the Allied Naval Command in Gibraltar.

When Carlo learned of the final results, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, Carlo was actually quite worried about the fact that the main force of the Allied fleet had been mobilized this time.

Although Spain defeated Britain a few years earlier, it was because Spain had surpassed Britain in dreadnoughts, and Britain's negligence led to the naval defeat.

Things are different now. After that defeat, Britain intensified its research and development of dreadnoughts, not only building more dreadnoughts than Spain, but also developing super dreadnoughts at the same time as Spain.

If we only consider the naval strength of Britain and Spain, the Spanish Navy still lags behind the British Navy to some extent. This means that Britain's dreadnoughts are not entirely deployed on its home turf; otherwise, Spain would never have been able to launch a naval campaign at this time.

Although this naval battle did not cripple Britain, it further narrowed the naval gap between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers.

Following this naval battle, Britain will likely be more cautious about naval warfare. After all, the losses from naval battles are real, and Britain will need to invest substantial sums to compensate for the losses caused by the sunken warships.

If we only consider the cost of the British capital ships sunk—two super dreadnoughts, one dreadnought, three old battleships, and two battlecruisers—it would be close to ten million pounds. Add to that the dozens of small and medium-sized warships and the naval personnel on board, and the losses to Britain from this naval battle would be no less than twenty million pounds.

Although the Allied fleets also suffered significant casualties, the losses were primarily concentrated in the French Atlantic Fleet. Spain and Italy each lost a dreadnought, and with the loss of other smaller warships, the economic losses amounted to approximately three million pounds, a mere drop in the ocean compared to the British losses.

This victory was not only good news for Spain, with Britain suffering heavy losses, but also good news for the French navy.

After losing three dreadnoughts, France's naval strength was significantly reduced, instantly bringing it to the same level as Russia, Italy, and the United States.

Although these countries also have dreadnoughts, compared to the top three—Britain, West Germany, and France—France has no chance of rising in the naval arena.

If we had to pinpoint the rise of the French Navy, it would probably have been after the end of World War II, when France sought to acquire warships from Britain and Germany.

After the World War, the victorious nations would certainly divide up the spoils of the defeated nations. If Britain and Germany were defeated nations, then the large naval forces built by both countries would naturally be among those to be divided.

If France could acquire most of the warships from Britain and Germany, it would still have a chance to regain its status as a naval power after the war, and even contend for the throne of naval supremacy.

Carlo had also given this matter careful consideration.

If the French government wanted to take over warships from Germany or even Britain, Carlo and the Spanish government would be happy to see it. Taking over the warships of defeated nations could significantly strengthen a navy, but it would also mean a several-fold increase in naval spending.

For France, whose domestic industry and economy had been severely damaged, taking over a powerful navy all at once was not a good thing.

Furthermore, the strengthening of the French navy would likely intensify Anglo-French tensions once again. Although Britain had already entered the World War, defeating Britain through this war would be extremely difficult.

Britain is isolated from the European continent, so to truly defeat Britain, one must land on British soil.

It was foreseeable that after the Allied powers joined forces to defeat Germany, no country other than Spain would be able to send troops to land on British soil.

Forcing a direct confrontation with Britain was not a good option for Spain either. After all, considering the two countries that were about to rise in World War II, Europe still needed established powers like Britain and France to maintain the status quo.

Compared to Britain during World War II, Carlo was more wary of the rising power of Germany and Russia. Therefore, if possible, after jointly defeating Germany, Carlo would still want to make peace with the British government.

Whether France and Italy would be willing to make peace with Britain at that time was not something Carlo should worry about.

If the French government did not want to negotiate with Britain, then it would have to send troops to land on British soil itself. Spain could provide assistance to France, but whether the French government was willing to launch another attack on Britain was not up to Carlo.

Upon receiving this victory, Carlo did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered the major newspapers and media outlets controlled by the Spanish royal family to speed up the dissemination of this good news.

The victory in the naval battle not only boosted morale among the people and the military, but also made other neutral countries realize that the Allied Powers had gained the upper hand in both land and sea warfare.

With the air force yet to gain a significant advantage, the Allied powers were able to gain superiority in both land and sea battles, meaning that the balance of victory was steadily tilting towards them.

The reason for urging the newspapers to spread this news was twofold: firstly, to boost the morale of Spain and even the entire Allied Powers; and secondly, to subtly remind the US government to act quickly and not miss the opportunity.

The US government's entry into the world war was certainly motivated by a desire to gain a share of the spoils. If the situation in Europe had been settled before the US joined the world war, then there would have been no need for it to participate.

The US government will understand Carlo's intention: if it wants a share of the spoils in the world war, it must make a sufficient contribution.

The major Spanish newspapers acted swiftly. In fact, they had already been preparing victory reports long before the outcome of the naval battle was decided.

This does not mean that the major newspapers believed the Spanish navy could win, but rather that Spain absolutely could not back down in terms of public opinion.

Regardless of who won the naval battle, Spanish newspapers were required to report that Spain was the victor. Admitting defeat would not only damage the morale of the Spanish military and people, but would also disappoint the other Allied powers and cause them to lose faith in the war effort.

The British actually shared the same view as Spain. Although there was no true winner in this naval battle in theory, judging from the losses on both sides, Britain was definitely the loser.

However, this did not affect the British government's propaganda. In the reports of major British newspapers, the main naval forces of Britain and Germany jointly defeated the Allied fleet and sank five Allied dreadnoughts, making them the true victors in the naval battle.

British newspapers had mastered the art of propaganda. Their news reports employed a 70% truth and 30% falsehood approach, quickly convincing the British public, who were largely unaware of the naval situation, that Britain had won the battle.

Indeed, the newspaper reports of Allied naval losses were accurate. The Allied Combined Fleet did lose five dreadnoughts, which was considered a considerable loss by the British public.

Since the Allied navies suffered such enormous losses, the Allied powers were naturally the defeated side, and the Central Powers were naturally the victors.

By presenting the Allied losses, the public would naturally associate the Central Powers with the victorious side, which would not only make the public believe the news reports, but also make them believe that Britain would win the war.

This tactic was very effective; no one questioned the newspaper's report, and everyone naturally assumed that Britain had won the naval battle.

This led to a very strange situation, with both the Allied Powers and the Central Powers claiming to be the victors in the naval battle, and both sides presenting approximate casualties of the other, arguing that the other side suffered heavy losses in the naval battle.

Because many warships have already sunk to the bottom of the sea, even if people from various countries went to the vicinity of the battlefield, they would still be unable to determine the specific casualties on both sides.

This also gave the Allied powers a lot of confidence when they claimed to be the victors, and they didn't care at all whether their lies would be exposed.

Carlo also noticed the British maneuvering in public opinion, but he didn't care.

Such actions can only affect the morale of one's own military and civilians, but cannot affect the actual situation on the battlefield.

What good are the British government's repeated claims that they and Germany were the victors in the naval battle? This has in no way affected the next steps of the Allied fleet, nor has it affected the Allied forces' fierce attack on Austria-Hungary.

A few days after the naval battle broke out, the United States, far away in the Americas, also received news of the battle. The American ambassador personally went to the Allied fleet's base and, after finding that the Allied fleet had not suffered significant losses, chose to believe the Spanish account that the Allied fleet had won the naval battle.

After learning of this news, the US government also knew that it was time to take action.

If this drags on any longer, even if the US government were to participate in a world war, it would be impossible for it to sit at the same table with France and Spain to divide the spoils of the defeated nations.

On March 22, 1915, the U.S. State Department issued a public statement declaring that the United States, as a model of free and democratic nations, supported the Irish people's resistance against their oppressor, Great Britain, recognized the legitimacy of the Republic of Ireland, and considered the war waged by Great Britain against the Republic of Ireland to be blatant aggression.

The US government demanded that Britain immediately cease its invasion of Ireland, or the US would provide aid to Ireland as a neutral party.

The sudden threat from the US government surprised the British government, but the British government did not take the threat seriously.

At this time, apart from its relatively strong industrial and economic sectors, the United States' military strength was utterly pathetic. Moreover, being located across the Atlantic, what difference would it make even if the US entered a world war? It posed absolutely no threat to Britain.

In response, the British government issued a reply that was not concerned at all. It not only condemned the so-called statement of the US government, but also announced that starting from March 23, it would impose an embargo on civilian ships flying the US flag and prohibit all civilian ships flying the US flag from approaching British and British colony ports.

The British government had assumed that, given Britain's strong response, the US government would definitely back down.

Surprisingly, the US government not only did not back down, but also responded very strongly.

After the British government announced a ban on ships flying the American flag approaching British and its colonies' ports, the United States also announced a ban on ships flying the British flag approaching American ports and imposed an embargo on Britain.

At the same time, the US government announced it would provide a large amount of aid to the Republic of Ireland. This included not only food, daily necessities, and medical supplies, but also military equipment such as rifles, machine guns, and artillery.

The US government's tough stance towards Britain actually revealed its own intentions. European countries also understood that the United States, the only major power that had not participated in the world war, was finally going to join the war and get a share of the spoils after waiting quietly for nearly three years.

(End of this chapter)