Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 1154

Capítulo 1154: WW1: Cape Town(1)

7th September 1698

Vijay stood on the deck of a Ramachandra Class Battleship at the port of Mangaluru, clothes fluttering in the wind. In his hand was a large gun engraved with tiger and elephant patterns and trigrams, but this gun was neither a lethal firearm nor a new pistol; it was the newly developed flare gun. Looking at the surroundings, where dozens of ships were peacefully floating on the sea, he did not hesitate anymore and pointed the gun towards the sky and fired a flare to signal the start of the journey.

“BLARE!!!” A high-pitched sound was heard from various directions in unison, making the people on the harbour flinch and break out in applause in the next moment.

Within the twelve steel battleships, precise amounts of high-quality coal and oil were thrown into the furnace, and soon enough, the twelve Ramachandra Class Battleships began to roar in unison as they let out pressurised steam and began to move. The dual four-cylinder reciprocating steam engines in each of the battleships began to operate in full capacity, and the twin screw propellers began to turn slowly, pushing out large amounts of water in every rotation.

Soon, the speed picked up, and the 12 Ramachandra Class Battleships that spearheaded the fleet were already in the Arabian Sea, leaving the coastline far behind.

Right behind the Ramachandra Class Battleships, the sails of the Delhi Class, Guwahati Class, Colombo Class, Chennai Class, and other class warships all began to unfurl in a tacking setting and began to use the lift produced by the angle to sail against the winds of the South West monsoon.

The entire navy was not stationed in the ports on the West Coast alone. In fact, most of the ships were not even in the vicinity of the mainland. Vijay only set off with part of the fleet; the rest were in the various bases of the Bharatiya Mahasamudra and various islands on the West Coast of Africa.

Looking at the disappearing silhouettes, a naval officer at the port with a single star badge on his shoulder could not help but mutter, “Looks like His Majesty is really serious this time.”

His companion, who stood right next to him, nodded in agreement. “Our Mediterranean Defence Fleet has been heavily damaged, and it is said that only over 100 warships are left, and even then, most of them are damaged and have to go for repairs. Now tell me, could His Majesty not choose to retaliate?”

The officer finally took his eyes off the ocean and looked at his companion with doubt. “I know that, but I’m just a little confused. His Majesty took half of the warships from both the Bharatiya Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet, making the new fleet’s strength not lower than either the Bharatiya Fleet or the Atlantic Fleet.”

“With such a lineup, added with the hundred ships that are undergoing repairs and the ships that have gone to reinforce it, it should have been enough to defeat the Europeans and take back the lost strategic bases, but why is the fleet setting off towards the south?”

The companion was left in thought, and he only shook his head and shrugged. “Who knows, but I’m sure if we are promoted a few more levels, that information would be shared with us.”

The officer nodded and showed a look of envy. “It’s a pity I was not chosen.”

The companion became silent. As a matter of fact, he was envious as well. Participating in an actual war almost never happens, and whenever it does, the people involved are promoted extremely quickly. “Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s just hope we get a chance in the future.” He said and let out a deep breath.

The fleet travelled quickly, and on the way, more warships joined. Warships came from the islands like Socotra, Lakshadweep, and others.

At the end of the day and after a journey of 8 hours, the fleet finally reached Madagascar and the naval bases surrounding it. The journey did not continue at night. If it did, the fleet could have reached the southern tip of Africa by morning, but Vijay decided to let the soldiers take plenty of rest before the battle. Although by doing so, he allowed for two flaws within the battle plan. Number one, the Europeans would most definitely know of their arrival and could retreat beforehand, or even set up an ambush. And number two, the Europeans could leave their base and come to the Bharatiya Navy’s bases proactively in order to attack. But Vijay was not worried about either of the possibilities.

For the first possibility, he did not care if the Europeans ran away, since at the end of the day, the only thing he wanted was the colony occupied by the Europeans, and to erase their influence from the south of Africa. As for the second possibility, this was slightly dangerous, but at the same time advantageous. Even though the fleet would not be complete without the warships from the Atlantic Fleet joining it, it would have a bigger strategic advantage by occupying the Strait of Mozambique, several naval bases in the islands of Mayotte and Comoros, the island of Madagascar, and Mauritius.

With these bases, it is not a problem to wipe out the European fleet, even if it is doubled in number.

A night passed in the blink of an eye, and the fleet began to move once again. Vijay met with the commander of this battle, Vice Admiral Yashvardhan Keshav Pandapani. “Are the preparations done?” he asked.

“They are, Your Majesty, we are ready for the battle.”

“Good.” Vijay nodded with satisfaction.

Cape Town, South Africa.

General Sir Thomas Herbert sat in a conference room with a gloomy look on his face, and General Cornelius Tromp was no different.

They had just received intelligence from the reconnaissance fleet about the arrival of the Bharatiya naval fleet, and they immediately realised that the Bharatiyas were going to launch an attack on them.

So, without hesitation, they brought together all the European representatives in Cape Town to ask them to join hands and form a coalition to combat the Bharatiya fleet, but who would have thought the representatives actually felt like they were lying? Although the strength of other European kingdoms in Cape Town was not too large, everything added up together was still a considerable number.

Soon, a pair of footsteps was heard, and two men entered the room with panicked expressions on their faces.

“What Sir Thomas Herbert said is the truth. The Bharatiya fleet is really approaching Cape Town.” One of the men immediately declared.

As soon as his words fell, the expression on Lorenzo Marcelo, the representative of the Italian Federation, changed, because the man who spoke out was his own subordinate, part of the Italian Navy.

He did know about the conflict that occurred in Europe a few months ago, and he did know that the Bharatiya Empire was bound to retaliate, but he had thought that the Bharatiya Empire would only attack the European coalition fleet and refused to accept that the Bharatiyas were attacking Cape Town. It is for this reason that, when the British general mentioned it, he had thought that the British had come up with a sneaky way to annex the naval strength they had built up in Cape Town, but who would have thought he was not lying?

When the other man also repeated what he saw, the expressions on the representatives of countries like Portugal and Spain completely changed.

“I agree to form a coalition.” Now that the situation had come to this, Lorenzo Marcelo, who was previously adamant about not joining the coalition, was the first one to change his mind and declare that he would be joining the coalition. “Although our power is not too much, the 11 battleships, 12 heavy units, 40 frigates, and nine logistics units will still be of great use, and I am willing to take on a position in the leadership and obey the commands of Sir Thomas Herbert.”

Like a domino effect, one after another, representatives stood up and pledged to join the coalition, along with agreeing to follow the commands of the British General Sir Thomas Herbert.

Thomas Herbert let out a sigh of relief. Even though he was quite annoyed that he had to show the representatives of these countries firsthand proof before they could agree to his suggestion, it was better late than never.

“Alright, gentlemen. Thank you for placing your trust in me,” he said as he stood up. “However, I must also bring troubling news. The Bharatiya Empire has mobilised all of its metal warships for this battle.” His expression darkened. “These vessels have never been tested in combat, so their true capabilities remain unknown. Still, from what we can infer, they are likely to be extremely dangerous. Our intelligence indicates that they carry naval guns larger than anything we have ever faced, mounted on both batteries, along with several other advanced weapon systems.”

The air in the room grew heavy and tense. Sensing the shift, he quickly continued, his tone firm but encouraging. “That said, we hold a stronger strategic position and command a greater number of ships. Victory and defeat are not decided by gimmicks alone.”

He paused, then looked around the room, meeting their eyes. “So I ask you, representatives, let us work together and bring down this formidable opponent. If we succeed, just maybe…” His eyes flared with sudden passion, catching everyone off guard. “We can push directly into the Red Sea and strike the Bharatiya fleet blockading the Suez Canal. That would open the passage for our coalition fleets on the other side to enter the Indian Ocean.”

At the mention of this possibility, blood rushed to their heads and their faces flushed with excitement. Many of them had spent long years stationed in Cape Town, and if anyone truly understood the wealth and prosperity of the Bharatiya Empire, it was they.

Even if outright conquest was beyond reach, seizing even a handful of ports through superior naval power would yield immense profit, enough to propel their nations rapidly toward further industrialisation.

With that realisation firmly in mind, the representatives wasted no time. Within barely half an hour, they used their respective channels to issue orders to their militaries, both naval and land forces, stationed at Cape Town. Assisted by a small but tireless team of officers working relentlessly behind the scenes, the disparate forces were swiftly coordinated, command structures aligned, and a coalition took shape with remarkable efficiency.

Like it ? Add to library！