The Fox of France

Chapter 396: A Tentative Attack

Not long after, the French fleet appeared off the ports of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis.

This wasn't the first time the French fleet had appeared here. Previously, they had been here to "ensure the safety of the sacred fire." However, this time, the pressure brought by the French fleet on the Barbary pirates was noticeably greater. The French consulate had just evacuated, almost a signal of declaring war.

However, the French were quite honest. They said they would give the Barbary pirates three days, and indeed, they did. They didn't immediately launch an attack but stayed outside the harbor, monitoring it beyond the range of the harbor's cannons.

The Pashas of Barbary knew that war was inevitable. No matter how many days they were given, they couldn't hand over the French sailors that the French demanded. Those people had long been buried inside the belly of a fish. They also knew that their pirate ships were no match for the steam-powered warships of the French navy, let alone the old-fashioned battleships the French navy used to maintain its fleet. So, naval battle was out of the question, unless the French were foolish enough to run aground while chasing pirates.

In recent years, the Barbary pirates had bought a fair number of cannons from the French. These were mostly breech-loading rifled steel cannons (forget about breech-loading bronze cannons; those had been turned into wires). Even the old-fashioned bronze cannons in the hands of the Barbary pirates had been exchanged for new ones by the French. Previously, the Barbary pirates had mounted these cannons on their pirate ships for looting or collecting tolls. But now, leaving these cannons on the ships would be meaningless. So, the three days provided an opportunity for the Barbary pirates to move these cannons from the ships to the nearby harbor cannons.

These cannons were placed on the harbor cannons, posing a greater threat to attackers than if they were on the ships. However, the French didn't care much. Not only because there was a difference in firepower between the French cannons and those of the Barbary pirates, but also because it wasn't the French who would be charging into the cannons but the Turks.

There were also rumors that the Barbary pirates had obtained some torpedoes from the British, possibly deployed near the harbor. Although this information wasn't very reliable, the French preferred to believe it rather than dismiss it. So, maintaining a safe distance seemed like a better option.

Time passed quickly, and two days had already gone by in the blink of an eye. At this moment, a massive fleet suddenly appeared at sea. It was a fleet composed of hundreds of ships of various sizes. On the masts of these warships, the green crescent moon flag fluttered, reminiscent of the era of Sultan Suleiman.

Indeed, it reminded people of that time. This was the Turkish fleet, a fleet filled with a heavy sense of history. This fleet almost retained the majesty it had when it dominated the eastern Mediterranean centuries ago. However, times had changed, and the tyrannosaurus rex was outdated.

Although the Pashas of Barbary hadn't received the official declaration of war from Turkey, considering their recent inexplicable conflicts with Turkey, they had a premonition.

"Damn Turks, they're colluding with infidels!" Yusuf Pasha of Tripoli slammed the table and roared. "They have the nerve to claim they are faithful believers!"

However, cursing wouldn't solve the problem.

As soon as the Turkish fleet arrived, the commander of the Turkish expeditionary force, Teyyip Pasha, contacted the French. He met Admiral Treville on the flagship "Constitution." The two sides discussed the matter of joint operations.

"According to the agreement we reached earlier, our army will suppress the firepower of the pirates' cannons, and your country's army will be responsible for the landing operation," Admiral Treville said. "Although the ultimatum we issued to them won't expire until tomorrow, it won't constrain your country's army. So, your army can start the operation now. However, because our navy is limited by the promised time, we cannot provide direct firepower support today. Therefore, I don't recommend launching a large-scale operation immediately. Still, some small-scale reconnaissance attacks to understand the enemy's artillery situation are acceptable."

In essence, this meant using the lives of Turkish soldiers as the cost for a firepower reconnaissance, allowing everyone to understand the level of the Barbary pirates.

Teyyip Pasha was well aware of this, but he didn't oppose it. Since Turkey had people to spare, just as the French didn't care much about Turkish casualties, the Turkish generals themselves weren't too concerned about it.

So, Teyyip Pasha replied, "Alright, I will arrange a tentative attack to expose their firepower as much as possible."

Teyyip Pasha was a decisive person. Since he made this decision, he immediately took action. Returning to his own warship, he ordered more than ten warships to approach the port of Tripoli, giving the appearance of intending to bombard Tripoli.

"Boom, boom!" The Barbary pirates on the harbor cannons started firing at the Turkish warships. Admiral Treville, on the bridge of the "Constitution," watched the pirates' artillery through a telescope.

"General, they started firing too early, and their artillery skills are...," a young officer commented on the side.

"Ah, Coler, isn't this natural? Pirates lack sufficient artillery training because gunpowder is too expensive, and maintaining high-level training costs too much. The Barbary pirates might have money to buy cannons, but they can't afford the money required to maintain high-level training. "Admiral Treville replied.

Indeed, as Admiral Treville pointed out, the pirates fired at too long a range, making their accuracy not very high. However, as the Turkish fleet continued to approach, their artillery gradually became more accurate.

"Boom!" A shell hit the hull of a Turkish warship, making the ship seem to shudder. However, the pirates' shells were solid, and one hit wasn't enough to render the ship combat ineffective.

But this hit made the Turks panic. They even started releasing smoke to conceal themselves.

"Damn it! These Turkish idiots!" Lieutenant Colonel Coler, who was recording and evaluating the pirates' artillery fire on the side, cursed. The smoke also blocked his view, making it impossible for him to see the situation on the artillery platform.

Admiral Treville shook his head. He was about to say something when suddenly there was an explosion over there. A huge water column rose into the sky, almost surpassing the masts of the Turkish warships. When the water column fell, the unlucky Turkish warship had turned into floating debris on the sea.

"Damn it, there really are torpedoes!" Admiral Treville said with a grim face.