The Fox of France

Chapter 397: The Battle for the Landing

After the sudden blow, the Turkish fleet lost its courage to continue forward and turned away from the Tripoli fortress. During this process, two more ships were hit by the fortress, but the damage from solid shot projectiles was not significant.

This tentative attack came to an end. After the Turkish offensive, the Barbary pirates became active again. Astonishingly, two ships sailed out of the harbor, dropping large barrel-like objects into the sea outside the harbor.

"Pirates are laying mines! Captain, should we stop them?" Lieutenant Coler quickly asked.

"What did we promise? Isn't the deadline only tomorrow?" Admiral Treville asked.

"Yes, Your Excellency, but they are actively threatening our freedom of navigation," Lieutenant Coler replied.

"Ah, so we are acting in self-defense?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. I am very certain."

"Very well! Since they have actively threatened us, we should not hesitate to counterattack, not giving the enemy a chance for a second shot..."

Thus, several French warships equipped with new cannons, including the battleships "Englado," "Caesar," and the armored cruiser "Free Trade," "Common Market," formed a line. The turrets on the warships began to rotate, aiming at the target.

"All ships, target the enemy, fire at will," ordered Admiral Treville, and these four state-of-the-art warships fired in succession. At this time, the distance between the French warships and the Barbary pirates' mine-laying ships was quite far, approximately one and a half kilometers.

In the past, even on land, it would have been difficult to hit a target at such a distance. What more at sea? However, the results of this round of shooting were beyond everyone's expectations. The first volley did not hit any projectiles, but judging from the landing points, the closest point to the pirate ships was only a few dozen meters away.

Based on the observed landing points, the French fleet quickly adjusted and fired another volley. Although this second volley did not achieve direct hits, the result of the shooting made Admiral Treville very happy. The observation post clearly saw that this second volley formed a straddle.

A straddle means that although the projectiles fired by the warships did not directly hit the enemy ships, the range of their landing points surrounded the enemy ships. In other words, projectiles fell around the enemy ships from all directions, indicating that the data for the artillery fire was accurate. At this point, hitting or missing was purely a matter of probability. With a few more rounds, hits were guaranteed.

This straddle terrified the Barbary pirates. They never expected the French projectiles to be so accurate at such a distance. The water columns stirred up by the earlier projectiles even splashed onto the decks.

"Quick, drop those torpedoes!" Captain Ali shouted.

Several men dragged a small cart carrying a torpedo toward the stern of the ship. At the stern, they pushed the cart onto a slide. A black crew member took out a small knife, ready to cut the rope on the torpedo—separating the cart, anchor chain, and the torpedo's warhead so the torpedo could function properly. However, at that moment, a projectile hit the ship, splashing seawater onto the deck. The black crew member slipped on the wet surface, causing the torpedo with the uncut rope to slide off the slide.

"Damn it, you idiot! You wasted a precious torpedo. Do you know how expensive these things are?" Captain Ali grabbed a whip and rushed over, intending to teach these foolish crew members a lesson. However, his ship suddenly shook, and a loud bang reached his ears—his ship had been hit by a projectile.

"Quick, retreat!" Captain Ali didn't care about whipping the crew members anymore. There were still several torpedoes on his ship that hadn't been launched. If these things were hit by a projectile, it could be disastrous.

The two-masted sailboat clumsily turned around, preparing to return to the harbor. But at this moment, French projectiles rained down like hail.

"Praise be to the Almighty, Mohammed is the messenger of God..." Ali operated the steering wheel personally, continuously making irregular turns to evade the gunfire. At the same time, he fervently prayed to the Almighty.

It seemed that the Almighty did favor him because, after the French fired, the projectiles missed his ship by a small margin every time. Several times the projectiles landed not far from the ship, splashing seawater even onto the deck, but none hit the ship.

"Great God, please unleash your thunder upon these rebels!" Seeing that the French had started firing, but the pirate ship continued to evade the projectiles like it was divinely assisted, Pasha also couldn't help but devoutly pray to the Almighty.

At this point, Captain Ali's two-masted ship was approaching the harbor. The French did not seem to pursue it further, determined not to sink it. From a considerable distance, they fired a final salvo and then—the two-masted ship exploded into pieces before Pasha's eyes—evidently, a projectile had hit the ship and detonated the torpedo.

"Great God is mighty! Great God is mighty!" Pasha cheered, and the Turkish soldiers around him also cheered. If Joseph had witnessed this scene, he would have found it familiar, with only two missing elements: an AK-47 and a Toyota pickup.

Thus, the day's engagement came to an end. The French did not take any further action, and the Turks, after losing a warship, showed no inclination to continue the headstrong attack. Combined with the late hour, the sun had gradually sunk below the horizon, concluding the day's operations.

In reality, the military actions for that day had not ended. That night, several small boats rowed out from the Turkish fleet. These boats carried the bravest warriors, tasked with landing first, infiltrating the harbor, and acting as infiltrators when the main force landed.

Simultaneously, on the same night, the Barbary pirates organized a night raid. The raid consisted of single-masted fast ships with explosives, intending to launch an attack on the Turkish fleet. The situation, however, was not suitable for such an attack on that night. The visibility was excellent at sea due to the clear night, and the night raid fleet was discovered before it could get close. Then, the Turks unleashed a barrage of cannon fire, forcing the night raid fleet to retreat.

Of course, neither the Turks nor the French attempted to pursue these pirates. Everyone knew these pirates were troublesome. Their ships had shallow drafts, making them unable to hit the underwater mines hidden in the sea. Still, if you foolishly pursued them, there might be a thunderous explosion...

That night, the Barbary pirates came out again to lay mines. However, the French paid little attention since they knew the British had supplied the pirates with a limited quantity of mines, far fewer than the Turkish fleet. So, what was there to worry about? Moreover, mines, especially those of this era, had many limitations and were not invincible.

Early the next morning, as the sun once again turned the sea red, the final ultimatum from the French to the Barbary pirates also expired. Now, the war could officially begin.

According to the plan agreed upon in the joint combat meeting the previous night, the French navy would first launch a firepower attack on the Tripoli fortress. The Turkish fleet would

wait a distance away to prevent the Barbary pirates from launching a surprise attack while the fortress was being attacked.

The target of the French navy's bombardment was the Tripoli fortress, which the British had previously reinforced. After this attack, the Turkish army would land troops to capture the fortress.

If this plan went well, the next step would be to land a large number of troops and continue the attack. If this plan went poorly, the French navy and Turkish army would be in a perilous situation.

All the naval guns fired simultaneously, and the projectiles accurately hit the Tripoli fortress, causing a huge explosion.

"Excellent, hit the enemy with all our might! We will capture the fortress later!" shouted Admiral Treville excitedly.

The warships continuously fired their artillery, forming a barrage against the fortress. Even though the Barbary pirates had prepared for this, the firepower of the French fleet was overwhelming. The fortress, despite its reinforced structure, was gradually showing signs of damage.

On the Turkish side, the fleet had maintained its distance, and the soldiers stood ready for action. The French fleet focused on the fortress, and the Barbary pirates, who had planned to take advantage of this moment, could not launch a successful attack.

The battle continued for several hours, with the French navy relentless in its bombardment. As the fortress neared collapse, the Turkish army prepared for the landing. The French navy would provide cover, and the Turkish soldiers, along with their allies, would storm the fortress once the artillery fire ceased.

However, just as the fortress was about to crumble under the intense fire, a series of unexpected events unfolded.

Firstly, a thick smoke began to rise from the fortress, obscuring the view of the French navy. Then, a thunderous explosion echoed, causing a shockwave across the sea. The fortress, rather than collapsing, exploded into fiery debris.

"What just happened?" Admiral Treville exclaimed.

"The fortress exploded! It's a trap!" Lieutenant Coler shouted.

Indeed, it was a trap. The Barbary pirates had set up explosives inside the fortress, planning to detonate them when the French navy was at its most vulnerable. The thick smoke not only hindered visibility but also served as a signal for the pirates to execute their plan.

As the smoke cleared, the French navy saw the remnants of the fortress and the chaos within its ranks. The explosion had caused significant damage to several warships.

"Brace for impact! Man the defenses!" Admiral Treville ordered.

Meanwhile, the Turkish fleet took advantage of the confusion caused by the explosion and started moving towards the French navy.

The situation had taken an unexpected turn, and the joint French and Turkish forces found themselves in a perilous position. The Barbary pirates, despite their initial setbacks, had successfully executed a surprise attack, and the battle for Tripoli was far from over.