Chapter 46: The Omen of Defeat

The British artillery had just struck the 'Marseille', hitting its ammunition store and setting off a violent explosion that sent flames shooting into the sky and seawater rushing into the vessel. Despite the French sailors' desperate efforts to save their ship, their power was too limited to salvage the severely damaged battleship.

Eventually, engulfed in thick smoke, the 'Marseille' slowly sank into the sea.

"Excellent, look, General! The French 'Marseille' has been sunk," exclaimed the British officers in the command tower of the 'Victory', jubilantly. The 'Marseille' was the second largest ship in the French fleet, and its sinking significantly weakened the French naval forces. Now, the French stood even less of a chance against them.

"While the sinking of the 'Marseille' is indeed a cause for celebration, now is not the time to cheer. The more critical the moment, the more we need to intensify our attack. Order," said one officer, but he was cut off as the focus shifted.

Following the sinking of the 'Marseille', the British Navy targeted the remaining French flagship 'Orient'. Once the 'Orient' was sunk, the rest of the French ships would be at their mercy. By this stage in the battle, the French Navy was clearly showing signs of defeat. However, neither Brueys nor any other officers or sailors in the fleet would easily admit defeat. Unless all their ships were sunk, they would continue to fight like cornered beasts.

From the outset, the British Navy had seized the initiative in this decisive battle. They held a firm advantage not only in the alignment of their ships but also in the main fleet engagements, thoroughly suppressing the French Navy. The superiority of the British Navy in this battle was starkly apparent. The French Navy, now at a disadvantage, was merely struggling desperately, barely holding on. While the French still had significant combat power and no major ships had been sunk yet, it seemed only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed.

"The 'Coventry' has performed well in this battle. It seems after this war ends, I might propose to those in Parliament to build more ships of this model," Admiral Nelson mused aboard the 'Victory', visibly more relaxed now that victory seemed within his grasp. His earlier urgency had dissipated.

With the loss of the 'Marseille', the French fleet had lost nearly a third of its firepower. The British, if they remained steady, could now easily clinch victory.

"Indeed! But the combat capability of the French 'Marseille' was notable; its firepower was almost equivalent to our second-rate battleships. If not for their poor sailors, we wouldn't have been able to eliminate them so effortlessly," Nelson's aide-de-camp chimed in.

"Indeed, you're right. The strength of the British Empire is not just in our ships, but also in our excellent sailors. We've already won this battle. Now, all that remains is to send the 'Orient' to the bottom of the sea, and that will be the end of this battle," Nelson spoke softly.

"Boom!" came the sound.

The 'Orient' battleship shuddered violently. Brueys, caught off-balance, fell hard onto the deck, his face turning ashen. With the 'Marseille' no longer there to draw fire, the 'Orient' had become the next target for the British fleet. A swarm of British ships converged on the 'Orient', unleashing a barrage of cannon fire.

A 32-pound cannonball from the 'Victory' struck the 'Orient's' rear deck. The explosion destroyed a gun port at the stern, instantly reducing the 'Orient's' firepower by a fifth.

But this was just the beginning. Three minutes later, the 'Coventry' scored another hit on the 'Orient'. A cannonball struck the battleship's side hull.

The 'Orient', designed with an emphasis on firepower at the expense of armor, had only 29 millimeters of wooden side armor, clearly insufficient to withstand the British 32-pound cannonballs. More fatally, the hit was near the waterline on the side hull. The explosive force of the cannonball tore a large hole near the waterline armor, and seawater began to pour into the ship through this breach.

Upon seeing this, Brueys quickly ordered the damage control team to action, trying to plug the leak. However, the breach was too large. By the time the damage control team arrived, two compartments had already been flooded. With no other choice, the French sailors had to close the watertight doors, isolating these two compartments. But the influx of a significant amount of seawater caused the 'Orient' to start listing, significantly impacting its combat capability.