Chapter 185 Naval Battle Results and British Expansion

When Arthur, who was far away in Australia, received the final report of the naval battle between the Russian Empire and the island country, it was already noon the next day.

Not only Arthur and the Russian Empire and the island country, but also the British Empire, the German Empire, the United States and the Russian Empire's ally France, were all very concerned about this naval battle that could determine the situation in the Far East.

The Russian Empire currently has one thing in common with the island country, that is, their logistics are very dependent on sea transportation.

Although the most controversial areas in the Far East are adjacent to the Russian Empire, the Far East and the European region of the Russian Empire are adjacent to the distant Siberia, which is a cold and desolate land.

In addition, because the Siberian Railway has not been completed, it is impossible to rely on road transportation.

This also led to a huge flaw in the Russian Empire, that is, the logistics cost in the Far East is several times that of the island country.

Neither the island country nor the Russian Empire can afford the cost of a failed naval battle. If the advantage is lost on the sea, the logistics of fighting in the Far East will be enough to drag down the entire country.

The detailed results in Arthur's hand were still provided by Germany. As countries that were also very interested in this war, Germany and many European countries sent a joint observation group. This result was also estimated by the participating group based on the traces on the sea surface after the naval battle and the number of fleets of the two countries that returned to their bases. Even if it was not so accurate, it was at least mostly consistent.

According to this result, the Pacific Fleet and the Combined Fleet suffered heavy losses in this naval battle.

The island fleet responsible for intercepting the main force of the Pacific Fleet directly lost a battleship and four cruisers. The remaining battleship was also injured, and the six cruisers were more or less injured.

The main force of the Pacific Fleet was not doing well either. A Petropavlovsk-class battleship was directly seriously injured and had no combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

In addition, two cruisers were sunk and buried in the ocean outside the Port of Lushun.

But in general, the main force of the Pacific Fleet took advantage of the number advantage, and only used a relatively weak Petropavlovsk-class battleship to seriously damage and lose two cruisers to sink a battleship and four cruisers of the island country. The remaining battleships and cruisers were also more or less injured, which was a good victory.

Of course, the reason for such a good result is also the excellent command of Vice Admiral Makarov.

In addition to these, the island fleet was successfully driven to the minefield laid in advance, which is why the island fleet suffered such heavy damage.

The battle situation on General Wittheft's side was much more tragic. Although he received the assistance of General Makarov in time, he still sank a Petropavlovsk-class battleship, and the remaining battleship was not easy. It could not recover its former glory without a period of repair.

The result of the six cruisers was even more tragic. The two cruisers were originally chased by the second fleet of the island country and suffered some minor injuries.

In this naval battle, these two cruisers also took on a considerable part of the firepower. One was directly sunk, and another was seriously damaged and scrapped.

Of the remaining four cruisers, one was seriously damaged and three were slightly damaged. The slightly damaged ones can continue to fight after simple repairs, and the seriously damaged ones also need to undergo major repairs.

The main force of the island country's combined fleet seriously damaged two battleships and three cruisers, and lost two cruisers, which was more tragic than the Russian Empire.

This battle caused the Russian Empire to lose one battleship and three cruisers, seriously damaged two battleships and two cruisers, and almost lost one-third of the main warships of the Pacific Fleet.

On the island side, one battleship and six cruisers were lost, and three battleships and three cruisers were seriously damaged. The loss was even close to half of the combined fleet.

In terms of the goals of both sides, the main force of the island fleet has achieved its goal.

They successfully lured the Pacific Fleet's vanguard out of its hole and led it into the encirclement of the island nation's combined fleet.

The vanguard consisted of two battleships and six cruisers. In this naval battle, one battleship sank, one battleship was seriously injured, and only four of the six cruisers were left, with only three capable of combat.

But what the island nation did not expect was that General Makarov, the commander of the Pacific Fleet, was not in the vanguard, but led the main force one step behind.

This also made the island nation's plan fall through. They originally thought that General Makarov would go out directly. Combined with General Makarov's irritable and bold character, they believed that General Makarov would smoothly enter the center of their encirclement.

But what they did not expect was that it was General Wittheft who led the vanguard. This was a soldier who was cautious by nature. After he succeeded Makarov as the new commander of the Pacific Fleet in history, he did not even take any active and adventurous actions, which was enough to show General Wittheft's caution.

It was precisely because of General Wittheft's caution that the vanguard troops did not completely enter the encirclement of the island nation's combined fleet, and were able to successfully hold out until the arrival of the main force of the Pacific Fleet.

But anyway, compared to the island nation's loss of one battleship and six cruisers, and the serious damage to three battleships and three cruisers, the Russian Empire only lost one battleship and three cruisers, and only two battleships and two cruisers were seriously injured. Obviously, the Russian Empire's losses were smaller.

After this war, both sides currently have few warships that can be mobilized. The number of warships sunk in this naval battle can even be ranked in the top 20 in the world.

At present, the Pacific Fleet has only four battleships that can perform tasks normally, and the Pacific Fleet currently has only nine secondary main warships and cruisers as auxiliary warships.

As for the island nation, it originally had eight battleships and nearly 20 cruisers. After this naval battle, there are only four battleships that can continue to have combat effectiveness, and only ten cruisers.

Before the war began, the Pacific Fleet had the advantage in the navy.

But after the island nation successfully launched a sneak attack, the Pacific Fleet, which had suffered a serious injury to a battleship and a battlecruiser, fell into a disadvantage.

Originally, the island nation was still happy, thinking that after this sneak attack, the island nation would be at an advantage in both the army and the navy, and it would only be a matter of time before it defeated the huge Russian Empire.

But after this naval battle, the Pacific Fleet and the Combined Fleet currently have only four battleships that can be mobilized, and the number of cruisers is not much different, and they are basically at the same level.

More importantly, of the four remaining battleships in the Pacific Fleet, two are relatively powerful new warships, and the Crown Prince battleship, which was seriously injured in the sneak attack, has basically been repaired and can be put into battle immediately.

On the Combined Fleet side, the battleships lost in the naval battle are basically new battleships, and the remaining battleships can only maintain the same level as the battleships of the Pacific Fleet.

In fact, this is inevitable. Although the British Empire supports the island nation and the Russian Empire in their struggle for hegemony, it is impossible for it to cultivate a naval enemy for itself.

The warships sold by the British Empire to the island countries were basically second-class warships in the British Empire, and the most advanced warships were few and far between.

The result of the naval battle was unacceptable to both sides of the war. If anyone was to accept it, it might be the Russian Empire.

General Makarov was quite satisfied with the result of the naval battle. At least after the sneak attack, the Pacific Fleet finally regained the initiative on the sea. As long as the battleship Crown Prince was repaired, the Pacific Fleet would have an advantage in battleships again.

In fact, this is not far away. The damage suffered by the Crown Prince would take at most two months to repair in normal times.

However, due to the current war, there is a lack of certain resources, so the repair time will be delayed to three months later.

But now two months have passed, and it is expected that the Crown Prince will be able to perform tasks again at the end of next month at the latest, becoming the leading ship of the Pacific Fleet to control the situation in the Far East.

For the island countries, international morality is not mentioned, and the little advantage gained by the undeclared sneak attack on the Pacific Fleet no longer exists.

In the short term, the Combined Fleet and the Pacific Fleet can still maintain a certain advantage, but the Pacific Fleet's Crown Prince battleship has a shorter repair time than several severely injured battleships of the Combined Fleet. If the Crown Prince battleship regains its combat effectiveness, it will be bad news for the island country.

If the sea is blocked by the Pacific Fleet, the island country will also face heavier logistical pressure.

Although the island country is located in the Far East, the distance and difficulty of logistics are greatly reduced compared to the Russian Empire.

But this is also under the condition of mastering the sea advantage. As an island country, if the sea transportation lines and traffic lines are cut off, it will be a heavy blow to the island country's war.

Judging from the current results, the happiest ones should be the British Empire and the United States.

In terms of naval strength, the current Pacific Fleet and the Combined Fleet maintain a delicate balance, which also means that the war on land will become more anxious and fierce.

In the absence of naval advantages on both sides, if they want to win, they can only rely on the consumption of the army.

And the consumption of these two countries is something that the British Empire and the United States are happy to see.

There is nothing better than the current Russian Empire, the hegemon of the Far East, and the island country that may become the hegemon of the Far East, consuming each other, at least for the British Empire and the United States.

During the period when the Russian Empire, the hegemon of the Far East, and the competitor island country were busy with the war and had no time to care about other things, the British Empire also launched its own plan and began to seek expansion in northern India.

It has to be said that this is a good time period. In this area, the only ones who can pose a threat to the British Empire are the Russian Empire, the island country and France.

The first two countries are busy with the war and have been fighting each other. Naturally, it is impossible for them to get out and seek trouble with the British Empire.

On the French side, suffering from the threat of the Triple Alliance, France has been trying to win over the British Empire.

In addition, its ally, the Russian Empire, is facing a war, and France is also a little too busy to care about other things, and it is even more impossible to protest against Britain's behavior alone.

This also led to the extremely smooth expansion of Britain in India, and there were not many voices of opposition in the international community.

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