My Italy

The disaster of Mount Vesuvius erupted quickly. A month after the volcano stopped erupting, parts of the Campania province where Naples is located have returned to normal. In addition to those who lost their loved ones in this disaster and are still missing them in pain, among others, the volcanic eruption has already become a topic of conversation.

Of course, Naples' losses were not small. According to subsequent statistics, the total value of its losses was about 46 million lire. The main damage came from the destroyed town of Ottaviano and the shutdown of surrounding factories due to volcanic ash.

However, these losses are not borne by the people or the factories themselves. The government has also provided a more or less relief fund to somewhat compensate for some of their losses.

Therefore, this volcanic eruption has become the memory of most people.

The disaster caused by the volcanic eruption has basically come to an end, but life will still go on.

One day more than a month later, the Port of Naples welcomed a large number of warships. Anyone who is familiar with the navy will definitely be very surprised, because currently all the warships that the Italian Navy can handle are gathered here. Is this because they want to designate the Port of Naples as a military port?

It’s not surprising that some people think this way, because currently Italy has very few warships at its disposal. Except for the Dreadnought battleship, the others are all warships of several thousand tons, and none of them have tens of thousands of tons. This makes the famous The Italian Navy is a little embarrassed.

There is no way, who made the Italian Navy sell ships too harshly before, and also decommissioned a large number of old warships in order to build ships, resulting in today's situation of lack of supply. I can't even find a battleship to support the appearance.

But don't worry, there are currently two Dante-class battleships about to enter service, and two more are about to be launched. Moreover, a new Taranto-class large cruiser is about to be launched. In just one year, the Italian Navy will be greatly improved. As for the current small difficulties, just overcome them.

In addition, although Italy cannot handle large battleships, the situation is different for small and medium-sized battleships. The 26-knot Piedmont-class light cruiser or the 30-knot new destroyer are both very interesting little characters.

There is naturally a reason why these warships gather here, because the visiting fleet from the United States is about to arrive in Naples, so Italy, as the host, naturally needs to send warships to welcome it.

Maybe some people have already thought that it is the famous Great White Fleet that is visiting this time. Compared with history, this visit took place two years earlier.

The reasons are also caused by many aspects. First, after the victory of the Russo-Japanese War, Japan was too active in the Pacific and was suspected of squeezing American interests there. Therefore, this round-the-world visit of the U.S. fleet has the element of showing its strength.

Second, the new U.S. President Roosevelt is an admirer of sea power theory (like William II). He attaches great importance to the navy and is willing to support the navy in showing its strength to countries around the world.

Third, the United States has built a lot of warships in recent years. In just six or seven years, the United States built 16 large warships. It was precisely after the family's financial resources were sufficient that the United States came up with the idea of ​​​​showing off to other countries.

This is not just to show off the strength of the U.S. Navy, but also because it can benefit the United States. For example, on the Panama Canal issue, the United States relied on its expanded navy to force the French to let go of the Panama Canal.

The U.S. Navy, having tasted the sweetness, plans to show it to other countries while the warships in its hands are not outdated. I feel that the effect is quite good. Japan, which was a bit noisy before, immediately showed enough enthusiasm.

When the fleet arrived in Japan, the Japanese Navy sent 16 of its best warships to welcome the guests. After that, the fleet was not only summoned by Emperor Meiji, but also Admiral Togo Heihachiro, the commander of the combined fleet, also had a pleasant conversation with the American naval officers and soldiers. And the celebration lasted for a whole week, which made the U.S. Navy quite happy.

No way, the 16 newly built pre-dreadnought battleships do look majestic, enough to demonstrate the strong industrial strength of the United States. So much so that in order to allow it to pass through the Suez Canal, the canal had to be temporarily closed to other ships for four days.

Now that this majestic visiting fleet is about to arrive in Naples, Italy, as the host, of course cannot dissatisfy the guests, so all kinds of warships that Italy can handle are gathered here, waiting for the arrival of the American fleet.

"Vice Admiral, the American fleet is almost here."

On the flagship Dreadnought, Lieutenant General Hilma, the commander of the Home Fleet who was responsible for leading the reception, spoke immediately after hearing the words of the communications officer. "Order, each ship prepares in turn to welcome American friends coming from afar."

What Lieutenant General Hilma said is literal. Because the relationship between the two countries is very good at present, giving each other sufficient respect is the character that the Italian Navy should have.

Following Vice Admiral Hilma's words, the Italian warships also began to activate. They lined up in a long queue, waiting for the visiting American fleet.

The American fleet has shown its presence in the distance and is heading towards Naples at high speed.

Welcomed by gun salutes, the visiting American fleet entered the port of Naples one after another.

"Hello, Major General Sperry, welcome to Italy."

During the welcoming ceremony, Vice Admiral Hilma stepped forward and shook the hand of Rear Admiral Sperry, commander of the U.S. Great White Fleet.

"Hello, Lieutenant General Hilma, thank you for the welcome."

As the commander of the Great White Fleet, Rear Admiral Sperry has also visited many countries and ports, and is familiar with diplomatic etiquette.

Then the generals of the two sides shook hands with each other, and when Major General Sperry walked up to a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of an Italian Navy rear admiral, he spoke with a somewhat complicated look in his eyes.

"Hello, Major General Leifer. Your Excellency is well-known, and our colleagues all admire your command level."

Major General Sperry's words showed that they knew at the hands of whom they were suffering. Of course, this is not to settle old scores, but to show due respect.

Faced with Sperry's profound words, Leifer, who had been promoted to major general, could only answer with a smile. "Thank you for the recognition from your colleagues in the country, but everything has passed and we should look forward."

"Your Excellency is right, we should look forward."

At the welcome dinner that night, officers from the United States frequently toasted to Leifer. Even Leifer, who had been tested for many years in battle, couldn't resist it and didn't even know how to leave.

This also shows that what the Yang guys say about letting go is a bit untrue.

But finding space at the wine table is not the main reason for this visit to Italy, and the officers of the US Navy also know this.

Sorry, there was something delayed before. Now we will resume the update. There will be at least two updates today to compensate everyone!