Commander Cantrell in the West Indies(203)

“And how far between Santo Domingo and St. Eustatia?”

“Approximately four hundred and fifty miles. Let us assume contrary conditions, with a forward progress of one knot. A fleet, sailing steadily, would still reach us in no more than three weeks. Let us say four weeks, if they touched at Puerto Rico and refrained from sailing on moonless nights. Let us say five weeks if they encounter high weather.”

“But that is after they find us, and decide to gather a fleet to send against us,” Corselles said hopefully.

Simonszoon shrugged. “Yes, but finding us might not take more than two weeks.”

“But at one knot—”

“Superintendent Corselles,” Simonszoon interrupted sharply, “you have no doubt noticed that our jachts travel much more speedily than our fluyts, particularly when the weather is unfavorable?”

Corselles looked indignant, but too intimidated to speak. He simply nodded.

“Well, the Spanish pataches are akin to our jachts. Not so fast, not so agile, but they tack well and would be here in a week’s time, easily. They could make it back to Santo Domingo in half that. So although it might take them six weeks to send a fleet here, their scouts could arrive much sooner than that.”

“So we are to strike Santo Domingo,” Sehested murmured. “To disable them before they may exterminate us.”

“That is the gist of it,” Tromp said with a nod.

“And how do you propose to protect Oranjestad, while you are off on this mission?” Corselles’ eyes were large and bright. Eddie wondered if the man might be verging toward a breakdown. He hadn’t been so anxious when the flotilla first arrived, but it almost seemed that, with relief and resupply finally at hand, his spirit was not pliable enough to face new risks and uncertainties. “And if we manage to defeat their fleet, won’t the Spanish simply build another? How does this strategy furnish us with a lasting solution?”

Gjedde looked up. His voice sounded rough from disuse. “It is not a lasting solution. Nothing is. That is in the nature of contending nations. This stratagem answers the immediate threat and buys us time. But that time could be decisive. With the agreement forged between your Provinces and Brussels, you will soon have the renewed support of your homeland. The USE and my sovereign have established interests here, as well. You are no longer alone. Be consoled in this. It is a far brighter outlook than you had three months ago.” He folded his hands and lowered his chin again.

Sehested nodded at this interjection and turned to Tromp. “However, there is another, more pressing danger in this stratagem. It means dividing our collective forces into three groups, does it not?”

Tromp sighed. “Yes. It is, unfortunately, unavoidable. We may not leave our forces and interests on Trinidad unguarded. Nor may we leave St. Eustatia without defenses. But we must carry the attack to Santo Domingo unless we are content to wait here until they overwhelm us, even with the up-time steamships.”

Corselles’ eyes had grown even larger. “So even your ships could not destroy all the Spanish hulls that might try attacking us here?”

Eddie shook his head. “No. They can’t be every place at once, and we have a lot of strategic vulnerabilities that a knowledgeable enemy could exploit. The Spanish probably wouldn’t even come straight at us. They might realize that our greatest vulnerability on this island is actually food, and so go after St. Christopher’s instead, where we get our bulk provisioning. And then what do we do? Keep one steamship here, and send one there? And if they get a toehold on St. Christopher’s, they can land troops there, and then try to get them across the channel at night. It’s only eight miles, shore to shore.” Eddie leaned back. “Look, if the Spanish are at all smart, they’ll learn from the mistakes they’re sure to make, and which—being Spain—they can easily afford. And once they’ve learned those lessons, then, even if they can’t beat our steamships, they’ll outflank us and take us on land. It might be a long fight for them, and it would be costly, but in the end, the only thing the Spanish wouldn’t have beaten into submission are those two steam cruisers. And if those two ships have burned up their full supply of coal running back and forth, putting out fires—well, the wind can give us trouble just like anyone else. And we can run out of ammo just like anyone else, too.”

“So you’re saying your ships aren’t magic?” Simonszoon leaned over to smile at Eddie.

Eddie smiled back. “Damn,” he play-acted, “I guess I let that secret slip.” He shook his head seriously. “The fact of the matter is that our steamships are fundamentally offensive platforms. They are at their best when they are on the attack, not defense. And that means, among other things, that the attack on Santo Domingo is going to require more than just warships. We’re going to need to bring a number of Dutch fluyts along with us. We’re going to need to bring a lot of troops and a lot of supplies, because we can’t just beat their fleet. We have to hit the city itself so hard that they can’t use it any more. If we accomplish that, then their next closest reasonable base is on Cuba. That means that the next time they try to mount an offensive campaign against us here, they would have to project that force almost twice as far. That means a lot more ships, a lot more money, a lot more men to feed for a lot more weeks. And for us, that means a lot more time before they can mount that kind of offensive. And that’s what we’re playing for here: enough time for our side to send what we need to prevail.”