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Chapter 789: Maneuvering in the Mediterranean

Dumouriez's brows immediately furrowed.

Before he had entered Genoa, a group of reckless young men had burned down the grain warehouses, preventing him from obtaining any food supplies from the city.

By order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he was to hold Genoa for two months. Yet, food for over twenty days was still unaccounted for.

Over the past month, under the fierce onslaught of 50,000 enemy troops, his forces had suffered very heavy casualties. If food shortages were to occur again, the soldiers would likely collapse instantly...

The ground trembled again, and Junot burst through the door, anxiously exclaiming, "Commander, the enemy has launched a large-scale attack from the north!"

Dumouriez quickly grabbed his hat, clapped it onto his head, and with his aged legs, hurried toward the northern front. After a few steps, he turned back to his staff officer and called out, "Report to me immediately if any ships dock in the harbor!"

"Yes, General!"

Junot led Dumouriez's warhorse forward, somewhat dejectedly remarking, "The harbor is full of British warships; there's no way our ships can get in..."

With the assistance of an attendant, Dumouriez laboriously mounted his warhorse, panting, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince promised me supplies, so supplies will surely arrive.

With that, he swung his whip, galloping through the dust to a high ground that offered a better vantage point.

He took the telescope handed to him by his attendant, but instinctively glanced back at the harbor behind him, silently praying, 'Heaven help me, let me see those transport ships soon...'

...

Ten days earlier.

Northeastern Mediterranean Sea, in the Ligurian waters near Genoa.

In the officer's cabin of the British Mediterranean Fleet flagship, the Victory, Lord Hood was idly flipping through a yellowed logbook of maritime exploits, occasionally taking a light sip from his teacup.

A knock sounded on the cabin door, followed by Major General Collingwood's voice from outside: "Commander, the Old Silver Coin has just returned and reported unusual activity from the French fleet in Toulon Harbor."

A glint immediately appeared in Lord Hood's eyes. He rose, put on his coat, and declared loudly, "Assemble all captains and senior officers in the conference room."

"Yes, General!"

Twenty minutes later, in the Victory's conference room, Hood pointed to the sea lane between Toulon and Genoa on the map. "Colonel Nelson, I order you to command the frigate squadron and closely monitor this waterway. No French ship must be missed."

"Yes, General!"

Ordinarily, a frigate squadron would not be assigned to an officer of Colonel Nelson's rank — a Lieutenant Colonel was usually sufficient to command seven or eight frigates — but the core of this raid on the French fleet was to ascertain their movements. Hood could not afford any slip-ups, which was why he sent Nelson to personally oversee it.

Hood then looked at a staff officer beside him: "Immediately contact General Hotham's squadron and have him ready for battle at all times.

"He must at least hold the main Toulon Fleet for half a day."

Hotham was currently commanding a squadron including 4 third-rate ships, 5 fourth-rate ships, 5 fifth-rate warships, and 16 frigates, carrying out a blockade mission in the sea lanes outside Genoa harbor.

Although this squadron was far smaller than the French Toulon Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Fleet, Lord Hood believed that with Hotham's command ability and the skilled seamanship of British sailors, it would be enough to hold the French for six or seven hours.

Meanwhile, his main fleet was hidden 60 nautical miles southeast of Genoa.

From there, they could receive supplies at any time from the ports of Tuscany, and could reach Genoa to join the battle within half a day.

As long as the Toulon Fleet dared to show itself, he was determined to annihilate them completely this time!

The French might have anticipated the risks of going to Genoa, but Hood knew they had to go, even if it meant taking a gamble.

Because nearly 30,000 French troops were surrounded there, and if they could not receive logistical supplies by sea, that army would face only two outcomes: surrender or starvation.

Coincidentally, Hood had previously decided to lift the blockade on Toulon to lure the French fleet out of port and destroy them, and then the opportunity presented by the siege of Genoa arose.

Now, the battle for Genoa had been ongoing for nearly a month, and the French could finally no longer sit still!

Soon, as Hood's orders were relayed, all the warships of the British Mediterranean Fleet readied themselves for action, entering a state of combat readiness.

After more than half a day, a British dispatch boat swiftly sailed alongside the Victory, and the second officer delivered the latest intelligence to the conference room.

"The French fleet headed southwest?" Lord Hood looked at the frigate officer with a puzzled expression. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, General!" the second officer stood at attention. "The Long-Toothed Shark is still following them. There are a total of 16 main battleships, 20 secondary warships, and numerous frigates."

Hood immediately frowned.

This scale certainly indicated the main Toulon Fleet, yet they hadn't proceeded to Genoa.

Major General Collingwood on the side mused, "General, perhaps the French intend to rendezvous with the Spanish fleet and then proceed to Genoa together?"

Hood nodded slightly: "That's the only possibility."

He looked at the real-time fleet position map on the wall and ordered his staff, "Have Colonel Lewis's squadron immediately proceed to Valencia Bay to search. If they locate the French, try to interfere with them and report back to me at once."

Colonel Lewis commanded an escort squadron.

Because French frigates had been attacking British merchant ships everywhere, this escort fleet was also quite substantial, equipped with 2 third-rate battleships.

Currently, this squadron was located on the western side of the Barbary Sea, less than half a day's journey from Valencia Bay.

Hood then looked at the officers before him and declared loudly, "Order all warships to weigh anchor immediately. We are heading to Valencia.

"If the French and Spanish fleets have indeed converged, it will save us some trouble. We'll annihilate them all together this time!"

He had ample confidence in saying this, as even if the French and Spanish fleets were combined, they would only be 80% the size of the British fleet. Moreover, Hood still had a portion of the Netherlands fleet at his disposal.

Twenty minutes later, the hundred-plus warships of the British Mediterranean Fleet sailed majestically toward the western Mediterranean.

The following day at noon.

Just as Hood, full of confidence, was discussing with several senior officers how to defeat the French and Spanish fleets with the minimal cost, the frigate Long-Toothed Shark delivered the latest movements of the Toulon Fleet.

In the commander's cabin of the Victory, the frigate captain stood ramrod straight and reported, "General, the French turned south on the eastern side of the Gulf of Lion and should now be very close to the northern Barbary Sea."

Hood felt a surge of anger and said in a deep voice, "What exactly do the French intend to do? Go on vacation in North Africa?"

Colonel Nelson, who had just arrived — his patrol mission canceled since the Toulon Fleet hadn't gone to Genoa — looked at Lord Hood and said, "General, whatever the French are planning, as long as we maintain a position to their north, we can block their sea lane to Genoa."