Chapter 322: Battle of the Adriatic

While Berengar's Jaeger Corps was in the process of hunting down and eliminating the Italian Skirmishers who had embedded themselves along Berengar's path to Milan, Grand Admiral Emmerich had begun the single most decisive Naval Battle of the Austrian War for Independence.

A massive force of several hundred Italian Warships had gathered; their goal was simple. To cause as much damage to the Royal Austrian Navy as possible. Unfortunately for them, the size of the Austrian Armada had been growing as the weeks passed by, and the Austrians now he over eighty Berengar class Frigates at their command. 

Meanwhile, the cities of Venice and Genoa had been devastated to the point where they were incapable of producing new vessels. After the Privateers and Austrian fleets had begun sinking the Imperial trade convoys, the Emperor was left with only one option on the sea, and that was to trigger a large-scale naval battle and hope that God favored him. 

As such, 80 Frigates flying the Austrian Flag had gathered in the Adriatic sea, across from them was what remained of the Imperial Navy, a mix of galleys, carracks, and caravels, most of which were armed with less than five cannons on board. 

Grand Admiral Emmerich was at the lead vessel, the SMS Berengar, where he stood upon the bow, gazing at the hostile fleet in the distance through his binoculars; From what he could gather as he observed the enemy vessels, they were loading what few cannons they had with whatever they could arm them with. 

Emmerich had a smug grin on his face as he gazed at the enemy armada; his Executive Officer noticed his expression and sighed heavily before asking the question on his mind.

"Sir, what are your orders?"

In response to this, Emmerich stowed away his binoculars before addressing the Executive Officer's concerns.

"Have the fleet load the guns; we are going to sail in between their fleet and tear them apart!"

In response to this, the Executive Officer sighed once more before accepting his orders.

"As you command Admiral"

After saying this he immediately proceeded to inform the fleet of their tasks. It did not take long for the fleet to be fully armed and prepped for battle, as such, They immediately began to sail towards the Imperial Armada. 

When the Imperial Admiral saw this, he thought that the Austrians must have gone mad; after all, they were sailing right into the trajectory of their cannons. As such, he made a jest to his executive Officer as he witnessed the Austrian frigates closing in on them.

"It appears the Austrian Admiral has lost his mind, well, I am glad to see that they are making this easy for us!"

When the executive officer heard this, he began to chuckle before asking the question on his mind.

"Your orders, Admiral?"

In response to this, a wide grin appeared on the Admiral's face before letting his decision be known to all. 

"Open fire when they approach; I'd like to see how their ships survive the barrage of our combined might!"

After saying this, the Imperial fleet prepared themselves for the upcoming battle. Though the Imperial Admiral's mood was relaxed, the same could not be said about his sailors. Many of them had heard rumors about the effectiveness of the Austrian weapons and spent what they viewed to be their last minutes praying to God for salvation.

Before long the Austrian vessels got into range of the Imperial Armada's primitive cannons, When the Imperial Admiral noticed this he gave the command

"Open fire"

Upon hearing this, the gunners lit the first set of guns where they were quickly fired off at the swiftly approaching Frigates. As the few cannons mounted on the galley fired onto the bow of the SMS Berengar, something happened that outright shocked the Imperial Admiral; the bow of the Austrian Frigate deflected the cannonball.

Due to the thin layer of steel plating covering the hull of the Austrian Vessels, they were well defended against basic cannonballs, and as such, it would take more than a few of them to pierce through the hulls of the Berengar Class Frigates. 

When the Admiral saw this. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he quickly began to panic. After all, he knew their weakness was that they had far fewer guns than the Austrian vessels and that once the Frigates reached their broadside range, they would be completely defenseless. As such he called out to his sailors to take swift action.

"Quickly reload and fire! Fire at will!"

As such, the hundreds of Imperial ships began to fire their three-pound cannons at the oncoming vessels; however, the solid balls fired from these primitive bronze cannons were far from enough to inflict severe damage onto the Austrian Frigates. 

The most damage that the frigates had suffered was from a few of these projectiles landing upon their wooden decks and causing minor destruction. Before long, the agile steel-plated ships made their way in between the Imperial Vessels, where Emmerich gazed at the enemy Admiral with a wicked grin on his face before giving the ultimate command.

"All guns fire!"

The moment this command was driven all 3520 explosive shells were launched from their cannons onboard the 80 frigates, where they were propelled into the ranks of the hundreds of Imperial Vessels. The moment these shells impacted, they exploded, causing massive devastation to the tar-treated wooden ships. 

Those who weren't immediately blasted into smithereens were quickly engulfed in the resulting flames of the hundreds if not thousands of small explosions. The Imperial Admiral, who was so confident not thirty minutes prior, could only gaze in horror for a brief second before dozens of cannonballs impacted upon his war galley, instantaneously blowing the vessel apart, and he along with it. 

However, Emmerich was not satisfied with the results, as the enemy Armada lay torn asunder and engulfed in flames on the Adriatic sea. There were still a few partially intact vessels, and as such, he gave an order. 

"Reload all guns and fire once more!"

Despite such an action being complete and total overkill, the ships within the fleet soon heard the command and, as such, reloaded their guns. The few sailors who had survived the initial volley gazed in horror to witness the grim reaper descend upon them and claim their souls. The moment the second volley was fired onto what few ships remained partially intact, the fiery explosions filled the air and engulfed what remained of the imperial fleet.

Emmerich gazed with a wicked grin on his face as he broke out into mad laughter; with the overwhelming technological advantage of the explosive shells and the 24 lb cannons capable of firing them, his fleet would be utterly unchallenged on the world's oceans for years to come. 

He was amazed that Berengar could invent such unique Naval Technology and was glad to be the First Grand Admiral of the Royal Austrian Navy. As such, he turned around to boldly declare their victory over the Empire in this war. 

"Men, we have done it! In a matter of minutes, we have single-handedly brought down one of the largest powers on the Mediterranean; with the overwhelming advantage of our ships, nobody in this world can challenge our might on the seas. It is a dawn of a new age; the era of Austrian dominance is upon us! You all have witnessed this historical moment with your very eyes. For King and Fatherland!"

The moment Emmerich said these words, the crew aboard the SMS Berengar shouted at the top of their lungs in response. 

"For King and Fatherland!"

The more they repeated this phrase, the more the nearby ships joined in, as the chant began to spread across the whole Austrian fleet like a virus. Tens of thousands of voices could be overheard in the middle of the Adriatic Sea, among the burning wreckage of the Imperial Armada as they chanted over and over again the words that had become one of several battle cries among Austria's Grand Military. 

With this Victory, Austria had defeated any armed support the Holy Roman Empire could provide as an escort to their remaining merchant vessels, meaning that privateers and pirates alike were now free to raid the Imperial shipping without fear of recourse from the Holy Roman Empire.

When news of this victory eventually spread to the other powers of the Mediterranean, it would begin a new Naval Arms race. The balance of power in the western world had shifted overnight, and Austria now claimed to be the region's most supreme power. 

Only by experimentation and construction of new vessels could the other powers hope to contend with the Austrian Navy. For now, the Austrian sailors who had taken part in the brief but historic battle decided to sail back to port and celebrate their overwhelming victory. 

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