My Italy

A few days later, in a room at Admiralty House in London. A secret hearing is being held, and those who can sit here are senior navy personnel. In addition, the government has also sent people.

However, there were not many people in the room, and the total number of people in the room did not exceed the number of hands.

"Everyone, based on our calculations and research over several days, we have finally come up with the most feasible secret plan to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet."

A staff officer began to tell the people present about the plan they had spent several days painstakingly formulating.

"First, we determine the time when Italy will attack the island of Malta. Only after determining the time can we start the implementation of the plan."

At the beginning, the staff officer explained the prerequisites for the plan. That's right, it is necessary to determine Italy's attack time first.

Because the purpose of secretly reinforcing the Mediterranean Fleet is to attack the Italian Fleet by surprise. So if the time of its attack on the island of Malta cannot be determined, this will cause the reinforcement formation to fail to arrive accurately.

Because according to the calculations of the officers of the Navy, if you want to conceal the movements of the four battleships of the Home Fleet, even with the cooperation of various British departments, you can only hide them for ten days at most. If they don't show up after ten days, they will definitely be known by the three countries of Germany, Italy and Austria. Then the unexpected fighter planes will be lost, and the two major fleets in the mainland and the Mediterranean will be put into an embarrassing situation.

Therefore, the timing of the plan must be just right, and it needs to be quite precise, which is what the plan particularly emphasizes.

After specifically emphasizing this premise, the staff officer continued. "After the time for Italy's attack on the island of Malta is determined, Jellicoe will lead the Home Fleet out of the port under the pretext of conducting military exercises in the North Sea. It will then be composed of four battleships: Monarch, Thor, Agincourt, and Ireland Secret formation, bypassing the British Isles..."

The officer told the story that the secret reinforcements would skirt the British Isles and busy shipping lanes before using the cover of darkness to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean. Then, under the cover of the French, it passed through the Tunis Strait and then came to the most dangerous central Mediterranean. Here, the formation needs to avoid various detection methods of the Italians. The solution given by the British Admiralty is very simple, that is, the formation will sail at maximum speed, taking advantage of the cover of night, and try to cross the Central Mediterranean before being discovered by Italy.

Of course, the British Admiralty did not place any hope that the formation would safely pass through the sea area. Because it still has a back-up, that is, the Mediterranean Fleet led by Admiral Cardon will also attack at that time. Regardless of whether Italy discovers it or not, both parties will rush to the island of Malta after the round.

Yes, at this time the preconditions for the British Empire's Admiralty to formulate this plan were revealed. If the Italian fleet did not come out, its troops already on the island of Malta would be in dire straits, and the purpose of the campaign it launched would also fail.

If the Italian fleet comes out, then the British Empire can take advantage of this perfect opportunity to severely damage its opponents.

Of course, this is an ideal situation. If the outcome of the naval battle is not ideal, the Mediterranean fleet will return to Alexandria to prepare for the defense of Egypt.

Regardless of the outcome, the reinforcement formation will return to the homeland as quickly as possible after the battle. If the reinforcement formation is damaged, intact warships will be transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet to supplement the home fleet.

It can be seen how high the requirements of this plan are for the British Navy. Of course, this is also the confidence of the British Admiralty in its officers and soldiers, and it believes that it can do it.

After the staff officer finished speaking, Admiral Jellicoe, the commander of the Home Fleet, spoke with some concern. "Whether the plan has considered the threat of the German fleet? According to the intelligence we have received, the German High Seas Fleet has been very restless recently. Its fleet has bypassed the Jutland Peninsula and is currently anchored in Wilhelmshaven."

For Admiral Jellicoe, his character is very cautious. It is precisely because of his character that he was recognized by the navy under Fisher's urging and became the commander of the Home Fleet.

Obviously this character also made him pay close attention to the main target, the High Seas Fleet, so he invested a lot of energy in moving the High Seas Fleet from the Baltic Sea port of Kiel to Wilhelmshaven facing the North Sea.

It’s impossible not to pay attention, because under the influence of someone from Italy, German battleships are much stronger than in history. In terms of artillery caliber alone, Germany is much better than before. In terms of main gun selection alone, there are 305 mm 45 times caliber guns, 305 mm 50 times caliber guns, 350 mm 45 times caliber guns, 380 mm 45 times the caliber gun, so many types of naval guns to choose from, making German warships even better than the British in firepower.

In addition to naval guns, in terms of warship structure, power, gun control and many other technologies, relying on the advantages of the three countries' alliance for many years, Germany is not inferior to the United Kingdom in warship technology.

The influence of these technologies has also made German warships more powerful than in history, so the High Seas Fleet is also more deterrent.

Of course, more importantly, because of Italy's share of the burden, the German Navy is more aggressive than historically. Since the beginning of the war, German warships have been extremely active. Among them, small warships have been involved in confrontations with British Navy warships in the North Sea.

In addition to small and medium-sized warships, Germany's battle patrol formation led by Lieutenant General Hipper also came to join in the fun. It adopted hit-and-run tactics, which put a lot of pressure on the home fleet.

And now the High Seas Fleet collectively sneaks from Kiel to Wilhelmshaven, which is more convenient for attack (the Kiel Canal is still under expansion). Who believes that this is not a move against the High Seas Fleet.

It is obvious that the German navy is cooperating with its Italian colleagues.

It is precisely because of the actions of the High Seas Fleet that Admiral Jellicoe has some concerns. If the German Navy takes this opportunity to engage in a decisive battle with the Home Fleet, there is no guarantee that it will win. To be more precise, his estimate of the winning rate was only 60% at most. In fact, this is still the result of his inner partiality, and his true inner thoughts are only 50% at most.

Some people may say that since the winning rate is only 50% which is not safe enough, the local fleet can avoid fighting during this period. This is true in theory, but definitely not in practice.

Who is led by Admiral Jellicoe? It is the absolute main force of the British Empire's home fleet. If they shrink back when the German High Seas Fleet asks for war, then how will the people see them and how will other countries see this navy that has dominated the world for hundreds of years? This will lead to the belief that the British Navy has always believed in attacking the enemy on sight.

Even if Admiral Jellicoe is indifferent and avoids the war in order to win the most, what should we do if the German navy bombards the mainland with such arrogance and what should we do if we block the transportation in the English Channel? The face of the British Empire as the world's hegemon is really about to appear. All will be lost.

It was this mentality that made the British Admiralty know that the reinforcements were risky, but still chose to formulate a secret rescue plan.

Of course, the Admiralty also took into account Admiral Jellicoe's concerns, and the staff officer answered. "We at the Navy Department have also considered your concerns, but any plan has risks. In order to prevent the Mediterranean from being occupied by the Italians, we must take this risk."

Faced with the staff officer's words, Jellicoe originally wanted to refute, but he suddenly swallowed it back because someone behind him patted his shoulder. It was Marshal Fisher's hand.

As the party who made the biggest sacrifice, Jellicoe stopped speaking, and it was even less likely for others to raise objections. So the meeting called a hearing, which was actually a meeting to assign combat tasks, came to an end.

When Jellicoe packed his things and was about to leave, he saw Marshal Felscher walking up to him behind him.

"Let's go for a walk together."

"Okay, Marshal."

Facing a highly respected marshal who was also the benefactor who pushed him to the big stage of the Home Fleet, Jellicoe could not refuse.

Then the two walked slowly in the Admiralty Building.

"Do you know why I stopped you from speaking?"

"Know something."

Seeing Jellico who was still unwilling, Fisher looked out the window at the busy street. "Because we need to protect this peaceful life, you also know that we are at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean. If Malta is lost, the Mediterranean will be cut off by Italy, which will reduce the speed at which we can obtain manpower and materials from Asia to half. In addition to this, I think If we want to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet, we have to go to the Cape of Good Hope. We cannot afford this price. "

Having said this, Marshal Felscher glanced around and continued. "In fact, in my heart, I think Italy is the biggest threat to our navy. If it were me making the decision, I would rather risk being attacked on my homeland than concentrate warships to destroy the Italian fleet first."

Marshal Fisher's words made Jellicoe widen his eyes because these words were too shocking.

Fisher was not surprised by Jellicoe's surprised expression, knowing that he himself was startled by the thoughts that came to his mind at first.

"Because I think the Italians are the weakest link in the alliance camp. We only need to concentrate our warships to destroy the Italian navy. Then they will be like a tiger without claws and no threat. And since they lack a navy, we are just right We can rely on the naval superiority to bombard and blockade any point on its long and narrow coastline.”

Speaking of which, Marshal Fisher continued.

"Actually, if you look closely, you will find that Italy is a bit like us. We both have a long coastline. In addition, we have the English Channel to block mainland countries from peeking at us, while the Italians have the Alps. This means that they do not need to be too powerful. The army can ensure its security, and all other energy is spent on the navy. This is their advantage and disadvantage. As long as the navy is destroyed, Italy will no longer be a threat. "

When Fisher said the word "hit", he pumped his fist vigorously, as if to increase his persuasiveness.

Jellicoe listened carefully to the marshal's words and thought that there was some truth in them. At this time, he asked. "Marshal, why haven't I heard you mention it before?"

Upon hearing Jellicoe's words, Fisher looked at him and said. "Do you think it can work?"

Recalling the scene in which those who opposed the marshal had forced him to step down, this time he really proposed not to explode. If the navy gives up defending the homeland and concentrates its warships to attack the Italians, it is possible that the marshal will be said to be a German spy.

"Okay, don't think too much. Go and prepare the reinforcement formation. If you want to complete this secret reinforcement, your local fleet will have a big task."

After sending Jellicoe away, Fisher felt much better about speaking his mind. He came out again. Despite his appearance, his actual power was not as good as before.

In fact, he still has many ideas, but because of too much resistance, there is no possibility of implementation. Over time, Fisher could only keep these thoughts in his heart.

Now he is just an old man who checks for leaks and makes up for the vacancies. He uses them when necessary and supplies them when not. (This is true. When Germany was engaged in submarine warfare, he also wrote a letter to Tirpitz. "I don't blame you for submarine warfare. I have wanted to do it for a long time. It's just that our navy Those fools at home don’t believe it.”)