My Italian Chapter 681

The Egyptian campaign must start first, and there is a prerequisite, that is, the need to have command of the sea. For this reason, the navy, as the vanguard of the battle, must be ready to face opportunities that arise at any time.

At this time, the navy will have to make a big move, which is to transfer the station of the combined fleet from the port of Taranto to the port of Tobruk.

Why would a transfer be considered a big move?

Because this represents the offensive posture of the United Fleet, the whole journey from Taranto Port to Alexandria Port is 1600 nautical miles, and at a speed of 16 knots, it will take more than four days. From Tobruk to Alexandria, at the same speed, it takes only 19 hours.

In addition, it takes 30 hours to travel from Taranto to Chania in Crete at a speed of 16 knots, while from Tobruk to Chania takes less than 16 hours.

Judging from the current battle situation, Tobruk is a better choice than Taranto. In addition, the 11-meter water depth of Tobruk Port is also a suitable choice for the combined fleet to go out of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Italian Navy began construction on the port of Tobruk as early as after occupying the Libyan province. Especially after entering 1905, the speed of construction accelerated suddenly.

There is a large shipyard, including one dock that can accommodate 35,000 tons, two docks that can accommodate 10,000 tons, and three docks that can accommodate 5,000 tons. There are also many warehouses, oil depots, barracks, etc., which are completely built into a large military-civilian dual-use port.

In addition, the defense of the area is also in place, with 19 large and small forts, of which the largest forts No. 3 and No. 7 are equipped with two 305mm shore guns. In addition, there is an infantry brigade permanently stationed there, as well as a squadron of airships and a squadron of aircraft.

After the war broke out, the area continued to increase its troops and equipment. Now there are four divisions here, and the number of airships and aircraft has increased by more than five times.

In addition, the port of Tobruk is also the logistics base for the Egyptian campaign, so the number of personnel and supplies will inevitably increase in the future.

The naval side of this transfer station paid special attention to this, and Admiral Yagier, the head of the navy, even personally saw the fleet off.

Facing the fleet officers and soldiers lined up neatly in front of him, Admiral Yagier was speaking impassionedly. "The Combined Fleet is a model of our cooperation with the Austro-Hungarian Navy. You are all the best officers and soldiers. You have made the enemy fearful and terrified through battle after battle. Now you are getting closer to the enemy's lair. Are you afraid?"

"Not afraid."

The deafening shouts at this time expressed the inner thoughts of the officers and soldiers of the United Fleet. For his defeated generals, although the enemy's strength has recovered, he is even stronger. The familiar warship behind them gave them enough confidence, and the tallest and mightiest Roman-class was even more unmatched by the enemy.

Admiral Yagier was satisfied with the answers of the officers and soldiers, so he continued to speak loudly. "You are excellent fighters, you have defeated the invincible British. Now we have to go to the enemy's lair and give them a heavy blow, let them know that the Mediterranean is not a place for them, let them get out, the Mediterranean is ours the sea."

"Long live!"

At this time, the Italian officers and soldiers present were all excited when they heard that the Mediterranean became our sea. The last time the Mediterranean became our sea dates back to the Roman Empire.

Let Italy return to the glory of the Roman Empire, this is something that many people dare not even think about. At this time, it is said from the mouth of the high-level, who can not be excited.

Admiral Yagier was very satisfied with the excited fleet officers and soldiers. The Italian officers and soldiers were excited about this goal, and the Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers were also excited because they expressed interest sharing.

For AustriHungary, the interests of the Mediterranean are quite small, and Italy shares the interests of the Mediterranean. Although it will share most of it, the small part that falls on its head is enough to make Vienna's heart beat. At that time, as the vanguard of protecting interests, the navy will inevitably grow stronger. This is also an opportunity for the Austro-Hungarian navy to grow stronger.

Thinking about how the four dreadnoughts came about, Archduke Ferdinand traveled all over the region and made a lot of promises, so there were four battleships of the United Force. As long as AustriHungary has sufficient overseas interests, Vienna and Budapest dare not ignore the navy.

At this time, all the officers and soldiers of the United Fleet were persuaded by Admiral Yagier. At this time, they only wanted to defeat the enemy United Fleet and let their own side enjoy the benefits of the Mediterranean Sea.

After seeing the officers and soldiers of the United Fleet motivated by the speech, Admiral Yagier was very satisfied, and then amidst the sound of military music, the officers and soldiers of the United Fleet lined up and returned to the battleship.

Of course, not all members of the United Fleet are on board, at least the officers of the fleet command level have not yet boarded.

"I won't talk about the task of transferring you to Tobruk this time. You already know it very well, and I don't need to mention it as an old man. You are all very good generals, but I still want to mention it here. One word."

As he spoke, Admiral Yagier looked at the high-level fleet in front of him and said. "I think you all know how important this Egyptian campaign is to our two navies. So you need to keep the size of the fleet as much as possible, and we have to go to India to see it."

Facing the admiral's words, the three giants of the fleet immediately replied. "Don't worry, we will definitely not risk the fleet."

The words of the three will satisfy Admiral Yagiel. The previous series of combat performances have already demonstrated the outstanding abilities of the three of them.

"Gomes, as the forward of the fleet, you occasionally have to perform missions alone. I hope you can be more stable while ensuring your alertness. I know that these two personalities conflict, but I still hope that you can do it. .”

Facing the expectations of the general, Gomez was unwilling to disappoint the other party's kindness. "Admiral, I will not disappoint your expectations and I will definitely do it."

As for why I told Gomes alone, it was because he had a tendency to actively take risks. Admiral Yagier was afraid that he would follow in Betty's footsteps, so he specifically mentioned him.

The commander of the original local battle patrol formation made a serious mistake in the duel between the main forces of the British and German navies on the Doger Sandbank, and the main force of the fleet led by Jellicoe had to fight. Therefore, when the responsibility was investigated, he was dismissed from the post of commander of the battle patrol formation and sent to serve as the commander of the Straits Fleet.

This is a fleet composed of cruisers, destroyers, minelayers, etc., whose main duty is to guard the English Channel.

This man had high hopes from the Navy before and thought he could reach the heights of Nelson. UU reading www. uukanshu.com But now he can only lead a small fleet to guard the English Channel.

And this can also show the painstaking efforts of Admiral Yagier.

After a few brief explanations, several people from the fleet also boarded the ship. At this time, everything was ready for the United Fleet, and under the watchful eye of Admiral Yagier, it slowly left the port of Taranto.

And the cruiser formation led by Lieutenant General Gomes is the one who takes the lead. 5 battle cruisers, 9 cruisers, and 12 destroyers left the port majestically, behind them were the main fleet of 13 battleships leading nearly a hundred warships of various types and more than a dozen transport ships.

Moving is definitely not easy, there are so many bottles and cans, you must bring them all.

The leading cruiser formation speeded up all the way after leaving the port. They still had missions to do, and instead of going with the main force of the fleet, they were going to Crete.

As for the reason, it was to provide support for the Republican Army and get the British and Greek troops off the island.

(end of this chapter)

Chapter end