Just when the Arican forces faced setbacks both at sea and on land, good news finally arrived from the ocean. After searching the seas for over half a month, the cruisers "Free Trade" and "Common Market" finally located a British squadron and engaged it in battle. They dealt a significant blow to the British—sinking two of their old-style battleships. However, under their cover, the remaining ships managed to escape, albeit with varying degrees of damage. It's estimated they won't be combat-ready for so ti.
This battle highlighted that old wooden warships converted into steamships stood no chance against true ironclads. In the fight, the Arican (should be French, in context) 120mm caliber naval guns fired high-explosive shells that easily tore through the wooden hulls of the British ships, causing death with astonishing efficiency.
On the other hand, the British, despite upgrading their ships with steel rifled cannons, were limited by the original build of their old wooden vessels—not worth the investnt to fully upgrade. They simply replaced the old iron cannons with steel ones, which were generally smaller and of limited firepower, unable to penetrate the armor of the "Free Trade" and "Common Market."
Additionally, the difference in speed ant the entire battle was akin to two French warships thrashing a retirent ho—utterly one-sided.
Of course, the French sailors aboard the "Free Trade" and "Common Market" didn't see it that way. They were quite pleased with themselves since, according to the contract they signed with the Aricans, they would receive a substantial combat bonus for every ton of British warships or vessels they sank or captured—a sum at least ten tis what their Arican counterparts received. More importantly, the Aricans promised to pay their wages in gold coins. Although in theory, a dollar bill is equivalent to a gold dollar, in tis of Arican military setbacks, the bright yellow gold was far more appealing than the greenback.
Regrettably, after spending a long ti at sea hunting enemy ships, the "Free Trade" and "Common Market" nearly depleted their supplies, making it impossible for them to intercept the fleeing British warships. They knew the British vessels were damaged and had to return to Halifax Harbor imdiately. If only they had enough fresh water and coal, they could have taken advantage of their speed to beat the British to Halifax and block them. But now, they had no choice but to give up on this opportunity and head back to resupply and collect their rewards.
However, the French victory at sea wasn't enough to turn the tide of the war. On land, they were still outclassed by the tactically superior British forces. After burning Detroit, the British forces continued south. Near Cleveland, over ten thousand hastily assembled Arican soldiers faced off against General Isaac Brock's seven thousand British forces (mainly Canadian militia) in a pitched battle. The British taught the Aricans a lesson in tactics, introducing them to skirmish tactics and the coordination of infantry and artillery. With minimal losses, the British routed the Arican forces and advanced towards Cleveland.
Fearing a fate similar to Detroit, the Arican forces didn't even attempt to defend Cleveland and retreated from the city. The British, upon entering Cleveland, captured several Arican-made river gunboats in the shipyards—the Aricans had retreated too hastily to destroy these vessels.
The British paused in Cleveland for a while because they had expended a great deal of supplies in the previous battles. They needed to stop to regroup and wait for more supplies and reinforcents to arrive via Lake Erie.
anwhile, the Aricans hurriedly gathered troops from other areas in an attempt to drive the British out of Cleveland.
During this ti, the United States and the Republic of Saint-Domingue reached a leasing agreent, adding two cruisers to their fleet alongside the "Free Trade" and "Common Market," returning to Halifax Harbor. However, this fleet, flying the Arican flag but almost entirely manned by Frenchn, didn't find any British ships at Halifax—seemingly, the British knew Halifax was too risky and had retreated into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence instead.
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence, with its shallow waters and nurous reefs, was a region the French dared not enter. So, they instead blockaded the Cabot Strait and Belle Isle Strait to prevent British vessels from entering Canada.
But by then, the British had already received news of Arica's declaration of war, making foolishly loaded British ships a rarity without escorts. This was a disappointnt for the French naval officers and sailors who had dread of striking it rich.
On another front, while General Isaac Brock awaited supplies in Cleveland, the Aricans began amassing more troops around Pittsburgh, about two hundred kiloters from Cleveland. Smuggling ships, boldly flying the French flag, continuously entered New York, unloading various smuggled civilian weapons and ammunition. These supplies were quickly loaded onto trains and sent to Pittsburgh, preparing to counter the British forces that could leave Cleveland at any mont to march south towards Washington.
Additionally, a group of
"French advisors" was temporarily hired at a high price to assist the Arican forces. Officially, the French governnt did not acknowledge the presence of these advisors among the Arican forces; they were rely "volunteers" willing to help the Aricans.
The inclusion of these French "volunteers" and the information they provided was an eye-opener for the Arican officers. However, it also made them increasingly concerned about the prospects of the war. They realized the vast gap between the Arican military and the armies of the European continent. There simply wasn't enough ti to train the soldiers, let alone the officers, in new tactics.
General Isaac Brock soon received the reinforcents he had been waiting for. His forces now numbered twenty-five thousand, with both artillery and cavalry units strengthened. His superiors hoped he would march towards Washington to force the Arican forces into a decisive battle. Given the difficulty of mobilizing large numbers of troops dostically due to French interference, a prolonged war would likely exhaust the less populous and industrially weaker Canada first. Therefore, General Brock was urged to quickly defeat the Arican forces and force the United States into seeking peace. Ｒ
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