Another World: Naval Storm

"The actions of the government of the Kingdom of Forins have seriously affected the free trade of the empire and are a serious provocation to the Drake Empire! In order to maintain the dignity and honor of the empire, the Drake Empire declares a state of war with the Kingdom of Forins!"

On February 1904, 2, the last day of February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Drake Empire officially issued a declaration of war. When the Drake Empire Ambassador submitted the declaration of war, Prime Minister Frings was so frightened that he almost fainted!

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from Drake, a task force commanded by Major General Apevin was heading towards Promont, the largest seaport city in Angola. Four minesweepers led the way, followed by the flagship Dreadnought, two transport ships carrying 4 army officers and soldiers, three old-style protected cruisers from the colonies on both sides, and finally the Arminius armored cruiser commanded by Leo. The original captain had difficulty adapting to the climate in Africa and had to stay in Dallas Samir to recuperate.

"Where is the Frankish fleet?" Apewen asked, putting aside the declaration of war document handed over by the staff officer.

"The specific situation is unclear, but according to intelligence from the country, the Franks have the intention of interfering in Angola. The Frank fleet has six warships on standby at the port closest to Promont and can set sail at any time." The staff officer replied.

"Do we have enough supplies?" Apewen said after thinking for a moment.

"According to the plan, an Imperial supply ship has arrived in the waters near Promon. The supplies on board are enough for the fleet to sail for 20 days."

"Then let's go meet up with the supplies first and then head to Promont." Since neither the Draks nor the Franks dare to act first, whoever occupies the important port first will have the advantage.

Four minesweepers first discovered the mines floating on the sea. The loud noise of the mines exploding told the Flins that the Drake Empire was coming.

It’s not that the people of Flins didn’t want to resist, but at this time there were only more than a hundred people stationed in Promon.

When the Drakians landed in Promont, the Franks' fleet also left the port. A fleet consisting of two Charlemagne-class battleships and three cruisers began to sail towards the Promont area. The battleships were Charlemagne-class battleships commissioned in 1897, a 6500-ton Dupuydrom armored cruiser, and two 5000-ton Tyka-class protected cruisers.

Just as the two fleets were approaching each other at a rapid speed, Apewen finally received a telegram from home.

"When facing the Frank fleet, you must not open fire first. Only after the Frank fleet takes hostile action can the Imperial fleet launch necessary counterattacks." This is a limited authorization, indicating that the Drake Empire does not want to go to war with the Franks now.

The Drak's declaration of war frightened the Flemish government, and they immediately asked for help from the Flemish, hoping that the Flemish would intervene quickly. The Flemish government, on the one hand, asked both sides to exercise restraint, and on the other hand, ordered the fleet to rush to Angola. This action undoubtedly exacerbated the situation, and the relationship between the two sides instantly became tense.

To be honest, the Drak people are not afraid of fighting with Fran. After all, the Drak Empire is much stronger than Fran now, and the Rakshasa people are deploying troops in the Far East and have no time to care about Fran. As long as it is not a full-scale war, a small-scale conflict will be fought.

At this time, the Taren people suddenly joined in the fun. The Taren Kingdom announced its support for the Fran Republic and demanded that all relevant countries maintain the status quo. It then stated that it would send an observation team into Angola.

The Tarun people were happy to see the tension between France and Germany. In Tarun's view, the normalization of the relationship between France and Germany was the biggest threat to Tarun's "balance of power on the continent" strategy.

"The trouble maker is here to cause trouble again!" Emperor William was very dissatisfied with Taron, especially after the rapid increase in the strength of the navy.

"Should we withdraw our troops?" asked Prince Lichnovsky.

"Absolutely not! The whole world is watching our next move! If the Talens say so, we have to give in. How will the people of the empire view us?" Piltz asked back.

"What should we do? Talen's power in Africa is too strong. If we unite with France, we will not be able to move forward in Africa!" Prime Minister Hohenlohe was also deeply worried.

"By the time Talen has gathered all the forces in Africa, we would have occupied the Promont area. By then, will the Talen fleet join forces with the Fran fleet to deal with us? Are the Talen people crazy?" Piltz's words strengthened Emperor William's wavering position.

"Tell Apewen to adapt to the situation!" Emperor William was unwilling to give in.

Although the Talens asked everyone to exercise restraint and send warships, they actually did not take any action at all. They wished that France and Germany would beat their brains out, and they were just trying to please the Franks with words.

On the vast ocean, the Franco-French fleet was heading towards the Aperven fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Thierry Rousseau.

"Order the fleet to speed up and control as many Forling colonies as possible before the Drakes!" Lieutenant General Thierry gave the order while blowing out a smoke ring.

"The Drakes are already off the coast of Promon," the chief of staff reminded.

"Then land near Promont and have the army surround the Drak people. Don't let them occupy any more land."

"The order from home is not to fire first! But if the Drakes take the initiative to attack us, we must fight back resolutely!"

"Haha, we should really let those officials try!" Thierry, feeling the pressure, couldn't help but smile bitterly. Calculating the cards he could use, two Charlemagne-class battleships, which were the best warships in the Franconian Navy at present, should be able to match the Drakes' new dreadnoughts.

排水量吨的查理曼大帝级拥有两座双联装305mm主炮，10门单装138mm副炮，8门单装100mm副炮，20门单装47mm炮，4具鱼雷发射管。

The 305mm main gun is quite powerful, but the main gun projection of two Charlemagne-class ships is not as good as that of one Dreadnought. Not to mention the weak armor of the Charlemagne-class ships, and the speed of 17.5 knots is even worse than that of the Dreadnought.

不过还好，舰队里还有一艘排水量6500的装甲巡洋舰杜普伊德洛母号，2门7.6英寸主炮和6门6.4英寸速射炮对德拉克帝国老式巡洋舰威胁比较大。

As for the two protected cruisers on our side, it was easy for them to deal with the three old cruisers of the Drake Empire.

Lieutenant General Thierry was not optimistic about the possible outbreak of a battle, as the two sides were almost in a state of equal strength.