To be honest, although it has received reinforcements, the strength of the Allied fleet is still inferior to that of the Parliamentary fleet.
The reason why we finally achieved a brilliant victory is just because...
It's better to come early than to arrive well.
If the fleet led by Thomas Rodri had appeared from the beginning, it would have only caused some trouble for the parliamentary fleet at best.
With the overwhelming number of ships in the parliamentary fleet, Robert Blake can arrange it calmly without affecting anything.
However, the battle has entered a feverish state. This new force suddenly appeared, and the parliamentary fleet no longer has the ability to mobilize troops to deal with it.
Moreover, this new fleet followed the coastline and suddenly appeared in front of the peninsula, giving no time for the parliamentary fleet to react.
He entered the battle as soon as he appeared, and received extremely ferocious artillery fire from behind.
Otherwise, with the slow speed of sailing ships in this era, the parliamentary fleet would be able to detect it early even if it came from a distance.
Everything was such a coincidence, but it resulted in a victory that turned the world around.
On land, the Parliamentary army has defeated the Allies and is about to enter Scotland.
What the defeated Allied forces needed most was time to regroup and regain their strength. The parliamentary army was pressing forward step by step and obviously did not intend to give them this opportunity.
This was undoubtedly a disaster for Charles II and the Allies.
As a result, it was the navy that made extraordinary achievements at the critical moment.
After defeating Robert Blake, Marton Tropp was in high spirits and immediately ordered the mighty fleet to move towards the mouth of the Thames River.
He planned to attack London and knock down the mountain and shake the tiger.
If they can take the opportunity to completely destroy the British fleet, the Dutch will become the most powerful force in the entire North Atlantic.
"Commander, we cannot let the Dutch become big."
On the Imperial Fleet side, someone quietly reminded Kong Zhiguang.
The empire came all the way from Europe, and although its primary goal was to target Britain, it obviously did not want to see a powerful unipolar force emerge in Europe and cultivate a powerful overlord.
Kong Zhiguang is confident about this.
"Don't worry, London can't be captured."
Although he has not gone deep into the interior of England, he has already made a judgment based on the current map.
In his eyes, London, the British capital, is in a unique position.
It has an excellent port, which can make maritime trade prosperous. However, it is far away from the ocean, so it will not be attacked by enemies at sea.
If the enemy wants to attack London from the sea, they must capture many military fortresses along the Thames River.
Can it be done with the strength of the Allied fleet?
One day later, the Allied fleet, which had finished its rest, began to attack.
Mainly the Dutch and Scots were in high spirits.
At the military meeting, Kong Zhiguang clearly raised his objections. However, with the addition of six new third-level battleships, Marton Tropp's voice has greatly increased.
He decided to use this battle to gain prestige and realize the Netherlands' ambition to dominate the North Atlantic.
He excluded the Imperial fleet from the order of battle.
The Imperial fleet was naturally very happy and cruised leisurely in the outer sea, protecting the Allied fleet's retreat.
The Thames estuary is not very wide.
One advantage of this is that tight and solid defenses can be deployed on both sides of the strait to effectively block the enemy.
Marton Tropp commanded six third-level battleships to slowly approach the Isle of Sheppey on the south coast. He planned to capture this place and use it as a base for the next advance.
The British troops on the shore were already well prepared, and when the Dutch warships approached, they immediately fired back.
In this fight, the Dutch fleet suffered severely.
The third-level battleship is of course the king of naval battles in this era, with almost no opponents. There is no problem with the Dutch's operation, and the linear array can exert maximum firepower.
But the problem is, now we are attacking land!
In this era, warships from other countries could not defeat third-tier battleships. That was because the sea was too rough and the waves affected the range and accuracy of the front-mounted artillery.
It must be within three hundred meters before an effective strike can be carried out.
Third-level battleships can take advantage of this to bully the enemy and win easily.
However, the Parliamentary Army's fort on the Isle of Sheppey was a fixed fort.
As we all know, the range and accuracy of cannons on stable land are much higher than those on the sea.
Especially the forts on Sheppey Island are equipped with heavy cannons of more than 20 pounds in order to defend against large warships.
They could fire from a thousand meters away, far and accurately, and inflicted heavy damage on the Allied fleet on the spot.
However, when the bronze cannons on the third-tier battleships fired, the weak firepower could hardly cause any damage to the fort.
The artillery battle lasted for an hour, and half of the six third-tier battleships were hit by artillery fire, leaving them scarred and wounded. More than a hundred soldiers were killed or injured.
Seven of the remaining warships were sunk and four were seriously damaged.
The Scots were the first to give up and retreat one after another.
The royal fleet did not dare to leave its limited wealth here and also withdrew from the battlefield.
When Marton Tropp saw it, his face was red and blue, but he could only end the performance dejectedly.
At this point, the Allied fleets reached a consensus.
With their strength, there is no possibility of capturing London from the sea.
They simply controlled the entrance to the Thames River and blocked the remaining strength of the parliamentary fleet inside.
From now on, the Allies no longer have to worry about attacks and harassment from the sea by the Parliamentary Army.
Three days later, the Portuguese fleet also arrived to join them.
After learning that Portsmouth Harbor had been burned to the ground by the Portuguese, everyone's gloom finally dissipated.
News on land is always faster than on sea.
Charles II, who was in Edinburgh, faced the temptations of the Irish and Welsh envoys, and his attitude was very resolute.
He has already lost Scotland and cannot lose Ireland and Wales. Otherwise, what is the point of this king?
Just when he sternly rejected the attitude of representatives of both parties seeking independence, news of the failure of the land war came.
Hearing that the 100,000-strong army was defeated and that the Parliamentary Army was about to enter Scotland, Charles II and others were completely panicked.
Looking at it, Scotland may be big, but where can it go?
In panic, Charles II was like a drowning man, just trying to hold on to all hope.
Without saying a word, he agreed to the conditions of the Irish and Welsh people and agreed to the independence of the two places in exchange for their sending troops.
At this point, although he, the British king, is still nominally the co-owner of the four British islands, he is only in name only.
Scotland, Ireland, and Wales all received independent administrative powers, and they did not have to pay taxes or perform any obligations to the British government.
And just on the second day after the tripartite agreement was signed, news of the victory in the naval battle came in full force.
Charles II was stunned, feeling a fishy smell stuck in his throat, and fainted on the spot.
He was so stupid that he actually gave up Ireland and Wales.
