The Fox of France

If it were not in the midst of battle, even if there was an issue with the patch and seawater rushed in, it wouldn't pose much of a problem. Because at that time, the damage control personnel aboard the ship would be monitoring the situation around the clock. Should any issue arise, everyone would immediately spring into action, sealing off the watertight compartments. The ship might face some minor trouble due to one compartment taking on water, but it wouldn't lead to a significant problem.

However, the situation was different now. The "Queen Elizabeth" was on fire in multiple places, requiring the attention of damage control personnel everywhere, and the constant bombardment also resulted in heavy losses among them. So, when seawater started pouring in, the damage control team couldn't react immediately. By the time they noticed the issue, a significant amount of water had already entered. Although they managed to urgently close off some compartments (in the process, some sailors who couldn't escape in time were trapped inside. These sealed compartments quickly filled with seawater, leaving the trapped sailors with no way out but death), the extensive flooding caused the "Queen Elizabeth" to begin listing noticeably.

If the angle of the list exceeded a certain degree, the "Queen Elizabeth's" cannons, especially the 10-inch main guns, would become unusable. Therefore, the British had to employ methods to correct the deck's list.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Typically, the most common and effective way to correct a list is to flood the corresponding opposite side's watertight compartments to restore balance.

The British did just that, so the deck of the "Queen Elizabeth" gradually returned to level, and the ship's 5-inch secondary guns began to fire back at the French armored cruisers.

Compared to the French armored cruisers, the "Queen Elizabeth" provided a much more stable platform, so its secondary guns naturally fired with greater accuracy. But even with the secondary guns, their rate of fire was evidently too slow to suppress the French armored cruisers.

On the other hand, due to the passive flooding and the active flooding for balance restoration, the "Queen Elizabeth's" speed further decreased. Now her speed had dropped to around eight knots. However, her distance from the "Inflexible" had further narrowed.

"How far is the enemy now?" Ignoring the approaching flames, General Nelson asked very calmly.

"About 1700 meters," a staff officer replied.

"Let's get a bit closer, to 1500 meters, then let the main guns fire at the enemy ship," Nelson said calmly, as if the warship he was on wasn't engulfed in flames.

The distance between the two sides continued to close, and more 150mm shells hit the "Queen Elizabeth". Now that the distance was much shorter, the enemy's bombardment became significantly more efficient.

Fortunately, the "Queen Elizabeth's" ammunition magazine was reinforced with special armor. At least for now, there had been no incidents of the ammunition magazine being penetrated. However, at this time, the second French squadron had also come up from behind. Led by two super-cruisers, they were firing at the British armored cruisers from the rear.

Due to being significantly outmatched in numbers and firepower, most of the British cruisers were suppressed, although they fought with the duty to England as Admiral Nelson had demanded when he hoisted the Z flag. But the vast difference in strength was not something that could be changed by mere spirit. Although they did manage to damage a few French warships, the French achieved much greater success—nearly all of the British armored cruisers were ablaze under the French gunfire.

This outcome was quite expected. In fact, quantifying the numbers and firepower of both sides and inputting them into a bootlegged combat equation would show that the British performance in this battle was already quite commendable.

After taking several more rounds of bombardment, the "Queen Elizabeth" finally closed to about 1500 meters from the "Inflexible".

At this moment, a 150mm shell passed through the command bridge of the "Queen Elizabeth". The shell did not explode, but still caused significant casualties. Nelson's aide-de-camp was hit by a piece of shrapnel torn by the shell and lay unconscious on the ground; Nelson himself was struck by a piece of flying glass in the chest. He might have sustained some lung injury, as blood flowed from his mouth and nose, but he still managed to stand, leaning on the rail.

"Prepare the forward main gun! Aim at enemy ship number one, fi..." Nelson was shouting into the microphone when he suddenly started coughing violently, spitting out foamy blood from his mouth and nose.

"Fire!" Captain Hardy, also severely wounded, got up from the ground and issued the command.

The forward main gun fired at the "Inflexible," which was only a little over a thousand meters away. As two fireballs emerged from the muzzle, two shells shot straight towards the

"Inflexible."

One of the shells brushed past the "Inflexible's" bridge. If the shell had been a bit more accurate, it might have wiped out Admiral Treveil and his staff in one fell swoop.

The other shell hit the "Inflexible's" bow.

With a loud explosion, a large portion of the "Inflexible's" bow was blown off, allowing waves to pour directly in.

With its bow lost, the "Inflexible's" speed immediately decreased, and its stability was significantly compromised due to taking on water. Overall, though the shell disfigured the "Inflexible," it did not cripple the ship.

However, the British battleship's main guns were reloading too slowly, and since they were bow-on to the enemy, their aft main guns could not fire unless the ships had already passed each other.

Considering the speed of main gun loading, to be honest, by the time they passed each other, the forward main gun might not have been ready to fire. Initially, Nelson could have used better maneuvering to try to give the stern guns a firing angle, but now the ship was severely damaged and could no longer perform such maneuvers.

"Pressurize and increase ventilation, we'll ram and sink the Inflexible!" Nelson finally stopped coughing. He struggled to keep himself from falling, looking at the "Inflexible," now closer and clumsier due to the loss of its bow, and reduced speed, and issued such an order.

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