My Italy

The battle between Italy and Japan in the waters near Jiaozhou Bay, where nearly 200,000 tons of steel collided, was the largest naval battle since the birth of ironclads, and naturally attracted the attention of the world.

However, there are only a few countries that have the strength to send warships to watch the naval battle in the Far East. There are only a few from Britain, France, Russia, the United States, Germany and Austria.

So when the warships of Italy and Japan were having an intense ping-pong match, on several warships in the distance, officers from various countries participating in the war stretched their necks and stared at the two warring parties.

"The Italian battleship is really good. It is indeed an epoch-making masterpiece."

The speaker was Lieutenant Colonel Bosman on the German ship Duli. As a German naval officer, he was drooling when he looked at the three majestic Turin-class ships in the distance.

The current leaders of the German Navy are the four Brandenburg-class battleships. These 10,000-ton battleships are simply not comparable to the 16,000-ton Turin class, which led the navy into the pre-dreadnought era.

"The battleship is the king of the sea."

These are the words of Major Aloyd, a French officer.

Although the French Navy and the Italian Navy compete fiercely in the Mediterranean, France, which has just ended its green water naval plan, pays more attention to this naval battle because it will provide more experience for the development of the French Navy.

"There is something wrong with the Italian fleet. This cooperation is too tacit. They must have communication methods that we don't know about."

The British looked at the problem from a very tricky perspective. They did not comment too much on the warships of the two parties. Instead, they paid attention to the cooperation of the Italian warships.

At this time, the British Empire's navy was arrogant and thought highly of itself. Seeing that the Italian fleet's cooperation was better than its own, it immediately realized that something was wrong.

I believe that officers from other countries would also notice it, but the British Empire felt something was wrong immediately, which fully demonstrates the high quality of the British Empire's navy.

Of course, no matter how they evaluated this naval battle, the naval officers from various countries who watched the battle unanimously agreed that the combined fleet was at a disadvantage in this naval battle. If effective changes cannot be made, failure is imminent.

However, as the combined fleet changed its formation, the reactions of officers from various countries were very different. However, in general, Britain, the United States and France gave a positive evaluation to the changes in the combined fleet.

In the words of French Major Aloyd, "The Japanese navy is flexible, knows the enemy's weaknesses, has determination and perseverance, and is very good."

Of course, where there is praise, there is also slander. The evaluation from Germany, Austria and Russia is very bad, in the words of Russian Lieutenant Colonel Ivanlov.

"The Japanese showed their despicability in front of everyone and actually wanted to use warships to sneak attack transport ships. This dishonorable behavior is simply a shame for their navy. In Russia, this will be tried by a military court."

The polarization of attitudes among countries watching the war also has a political basis.

Needless to say, Britain and the United States support Japan in using it to resist Russia's expansion in the East, so they naturally do not want to see Italy get involved. And France also sided with Britain and the United States because of Italy's involvement.

On the side of Italy, Austria-Hungary chose to support its actions because the war in the Far East had little impact on them, and because of its relationship with Italy, an increasingly powerful ally. Of course, it may not have the intention of directing Italy's energy to the Far East. After all, in the Balkans, although the two countries cooperate, there is also a sense of confrontation. It is much better for Italy to focus its energy on the Far East than on the Balkans.

As for Germany, in addition to its alliance, it has also used Italy to expand its influence in the Far East. After all, except for Italy, which is an outlier, other countries are dividing circles of influence in the Qing Dynasty, and Germany also wants to find a place here as its own circle of influence.

As for Russia siding with Italy, that is better explained. The Russians were unaware of the intentions of Britain and the United States. With Italy taking the lead, they naturally had to cheer for them. After all, yellow Russia also has a fatal temptation for them.

Well, as the party that actually participated in the war, the Qing Kingdom was directly ignored. There is no way, who made this big empire perform so poorly in this war, no matter whether it is sea or land, no one can produce results. This is the result of the Qing Dynasty's Westernization Movement for thirty years. It is like paper, and it was directly pierced by Japan. If Italy hadn't personally come to help, it could have directly announced its surrender and negotiated a peace.

But no matter which side they prefer, the final result depends on the performance of both parties.

On the battlefield, the warships of the two sides were still fighting, but they were just divided into two disconnected battlefields. Although they were not connected, they were still extremely related.

"Fire!"

The captain, Major Pez, looked at the menacing Japanese warship and bravely stopped in front of it to buy time for the follow-up rescue formation. As a high-speed cruiser that can run up to 24 knots, the Eagle is a master at using its speed advantage to seize position.

Following his order, the Eagle's six 152 rapid-fire main guns and eight 120 mm secondary guns roared.

14 shells filled with rage flew over a distance of nearly 4,000 meters and smacked the leading armored cruiser Yoshino.

"Boom, boom!"

"Two shells hit an enemy ship!"

At the top of the rail pole, the lookout post immediately loudly reported the results of the bombardment.

"Alas……"

The lookout sentry's report caused a burst of cheers on the warship.

"Let's kick the Japanese monkey's ass."

Encouraged by the victory, the officers and soldiers of the Eagle took the opportunity to launch another round of shelling.

The fact that the Eagle was beaten happily does not mean that the Yoshino who was beaten was so easy to bully.

The two 254mm main guns on its front deck and the two 152mm secondary guns fired back at random.

The shelling that came with the roar of death made the officers and soldiers of the Eagle tremble with fear. Because the Eagle has paid a high price for its high speed, when it is necessary to ensure firepower, the protection can only be adjusted, and the Eagle's protection is relatively weak. Its main armor is only 25-80 mm, and its height is not high. Only 2.8 meters.

This kind of armor is barely able to defend against 6-inch shells of the same level. For example, the 10-inch main gun on the Yoshino cannot be blocked. It is simply a one-shot hit.

Fortunately, the roaring 254mm artillery shells failed to hit them, and instead plunged into the nearby sea.

However, the 10-inch shells dodged, but the 6-inch shells did not. A 152 shell directly hit the middle of the ship, directly breaking off two armor plates. This was considered a great blessing among misfortunes.

Logically speaking, the Eagle should rely on its high mobility to start a swimming fight at this time to reduce the probability of being hit.

However, the Eagle cannot retreat now. Once it leaves its position, the transport ship that lacks protection will be exposed to the opponent. Just relying on the three thousand-ton unprotected cruisers Pernia, Courage, and Glory was simply costing them their lives, so the Eagle had no choice but to go up on its own.

As the incoming Japanese warships got closer and closer, the Eagle, which had lost its speed advantage, suffered more and more losses.

"Boom!"

A 254mm shell hit the 152mm main gun at the stern of the ship, easily penetrating its 115mm gun mantlet, and caused a violent explosion.

The violent explosion threw the cannon up, and at the same time swept the rear deck into a bloody mess, adding another horrific scar to the already riddled Eagle.

At this time, the Eagle suffered heavy losses. In just half an hour, the Eagle was hit by dozens of artillery shells, including many large-caliber 254 mm and 203 mm artillery shells. The half-hour attack caused the Eagle to lose most of its artillery, and its power was reduced to 13 knots. The casualties were more than half, and only one-third of the people who were still capable of action were left.

At this time, the Eagle was on the verge of death. If no one came to save it, its fate of sinking could be announced.

Fortunately, hope came. Under the leadership of two Venice improved-class cruisers, several cruisers rushed over aggressively.

"We are saved!"

With a bloody bandage on his head and a smoky left arm hanging down, Major Pez put down his telescope and said, "We are saved," and then fainted to the ground.