Munitions Empire
Chapter 1367: 1284 Mad Commander

Chapter 1367: 1284 Mad Commander

Nighttime is the best cover for attackers! At any time, obscuring the view can shield most of the opponent’s detection methods.

The naked eye is the best detection method; it can most accurately identify the opponent. Unfortunately, the United Fleet cannot find its opponent now.

“We have no way to counterattack! The carrier aircraft can’t take off at all!” The chief of staff said with a worried face to his superior, John Cleves.

“But we must find a way to fight back! This is our last chance.” John Cleves looked at his chief of staff, his face not looking good, as pale as a bloodless vampire.

Previously, he was so withdrawn that he could not even speak until just now, when the cook brought him a cup of hot tea with milk, which restored some of his sanity.

“If we keep fleeing like this throughout the night and can’t hold on until dawn, we’re finished! Completely finished!” John Cleves regained some sanity, making his analysis of the problem somewhat clearer.

The United Fleet’s forces have now lost nearly half, or rather, the core strength is almost half gone. In this situation, they indeed cannot hold out until dawn tomorrow.

Continuing to flee like this is basically no different from waiting for death. Now only counterattack, a determined counterattack is the only way out.

“But! Sir John Cleves, we have no means to fight back! Even if we launch the carrier aircraft, they can’t operate.” The chief of staff said awkwardly.

The representative from Qin Country responsible for liaising with the Qin Fleet has been present all along. His job is to supervise the Dornish commander, preventing him from doing anything foolish with the Qin Fleet at critical moments.

In this naval battle, from the beginning to now, the United Fleet indeed has had no means to counterattack. The representative of the Qin Army had nothing to say, so he could only stand there.

Later, when the Qin Fleet fell back to rescue, it was the fleet’s own request, and had nothing to do with the Dornish commander.

“Force them to take off! We’ve trained for night takeoffs! Launch dozens of aircraft! Continue to counterattack!” John Cleves was almost frantic, clenching his fists, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

“Radio navigation can’t provide any help to the air group! This isn’t a counterattack; it’s a suicide!” The chief of staff urgently reminded his superior.

“Even if it’s suicide, they must go! If they don’t go, we’re finished! The aircraft carrier will be sunk, exploding with them! Aren’t they dead too?” John Cleves raised his voice, questioning his deputy.

The atmosphere instantly froze, both sides staring at each other, with the remaining officers not daring to intervene, silently accepting the moment of silence.

Outside the porthole, a carrier from Dorne was blazing in a fierce explosion, while another, though on fire, wasn’t severely damaged yet.

This carrier, purchased from the Great Tang Empire, was an Essex class, so it had comprehensive damage control equipment and adequate performance, suppressing the fire.

Other warships weren’t so lucky: one Qin carrier had already exploded and sunk, and another battleship was capsizing.

The entire Qin Fleet suffered heavy losses, and the Dorne fleet was already battered; the morale of everyone had collapsed, as everyone knew this was a one-sided slaughter by the Tang Army, not an equal fight at all.

In fact, many warship captains had already started shouting in their bridges for a scattered escape. After all, the destroyers and cruisers were smaller targets and less valuable; a scattered retreat might indeed allow some to escape.

But the problem is, if they really flee in all directions, it means they’ve given up any chance of a counterattack. If the commander gives such an order, it means he’s lost his will to fight.

At present, the Qin Country still has two carriers temporarily intact, while Dorne also has two that can still operate.

Purely from the numbers, the United Fleet’s carriers have already lost more than half. However, because there are actually two Dornish carriers that are damaged, they are just incapable of fighting, not completely annihilated.

This means that the United Fleet still technically has 6 carriers, though two cannot continue to fight.

“But the problem is, we still don’t know where the Tang Army’s fleet is; these barely airborne carrier aircraft have no way to find the enemy.” The chief of staff patiently continued to explain.

The nearby carrier aircraft commander awkwardly added, “Commander, it’s possible to barely launch the planes, but they can’t operate in the dark.”

No way, the pirates and Stukas have no night operation capability; they can take off in the dark, but these planes can’t launch attacks.

The Stukas carrying torpedoes need to get close to the water to drop them, and they have no way to accurately identify the surface in the pitch black, nor confirm the enemy’s course to estimate the torpedo release angle.

Likewise, the dive bombers can’t find ships navigating the sea unless the Tang Army’s warships turn on all their lights to direct the United Fleet pilots to themselves throw bombs…

That’s not the worst disaster; the worst is how these Stukas and pirates are supposed to find their own fleet when returning? Without radio navigation, without precise coordinates, how can they find the carriers and land safely?

The entire mission is a suicide, a certain death suicide. How could anyone be willing to carry out such a task? If they could successfully attack the enemy fleet, it might be worthwhile, but if they can’t find the enemy and crash into the sea themselves… Isn’t that foolish?

“If the carrier aircraft simply won’t work, then have the battleship fleet change course!” John Cleves no longer cared. All he could confirm was that his fleet must do something.

“We absolutely cannot hold out until dawn! Use the battleships to counterattack! Turn the fleet around! The enemy certainly doesn’t have as many battleships as we do! Even sacrificing all the carriers, as long as the battleships can close in to firing range, we can sink to the bottom of the sea with the enemy!” John Cleves said maniacally.

He’s gone mad… this was the first thought in the minds of many officers in the bridge of the Majesty of Dorne Empire carrier.

If this United Fleet’s commander hadn’t gone mad, he couldn’t come up with such a crazy idea. Now they even think they are running too slow, turning back to counterattack, what is that?

And… a nighttime battleship charge… Isn’t that something the main fleet of Mirage Country used to do? Do you know where the Mirage Country’s main fleet is now? Do you think the anti-ship missiles of the Great Tang Empire are just for show?