My Italy

The Germans began to prepare for battle, which was a chain reaction after the British dispatched four battleships.

Of course, at this moment, it is the consensus of the alliance camp that the Mediterranean fleet and the fleet of reinforcements cannot be allowed.

In the early morning in the winter Mediterranean, there was some mist. At this time, a fleet of tall battleships loomed in the fog. The Union Jack flag flying on the battleships declared that they belonged to the British Empire.

Yes, this fleet is the Mediterranean Fleet led by Admiral Cardon, and they are rushing towards the sea off Sirte at this moment.

Although fog shrouded the sea, the speed of the Mediterranean Fleet did not slow down and remained at a high speed of 18 knots. (Although the maximum speed of a battleship is higher, this speed cannot be sustained forever. Generally speaking, 18 knots is the maximum speed that a battleship can maintain. Any higher speed will cause continuous pressure on the power system. And the higher the maximum speed of a battleship, the other The shorter the sustainable time, for example, a battleship can maintain a top speed of more than 20 knots for more than ten hours, but a destroyer can only maintain a top speed of more than 30 knots for about an hour.)

Everyone in the Mediterranean fleet was very happy about the early fog, which at least made it more difficult for annoying airships in the sky to find themselves.

"Your Excellency, Commander, we have just received a telegram from the reinforcement fleet reporting their position. They are only more than 340 nautical miles away from us."

At this time, the communications officer took a telegram and reported to Admiral Cardon the location of the reinforcement fleet.

In view of the current situation and the dangers they face, the two Allied naval fleets decided to report their positions every two hours so that the other party can clearly find them.

Of course, the secret message from the sending location is also of the highest level. In the Mediterranean Fleet, only Admiral Cardon, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Robeck, and Confidential Communications Staff Officer know about it. Others cannot decipher it at all. Of course, in the reinforcement fleet, there is no way. It couldn't be taller than three people.

This was to prevent the telegram from being cracked by the Italians and causing their location to be known to them.

Although it is unknown how effective this can be, it still has some effect, at least at night and in complex weather.

As for now, the officers and soldiers of the Mediterranean Fleet hope that this fog will last as long as possible.

But unfortunately, their prayers were not heard by God. At nine o'clock, the fog gradually dissipated, and the annoying airship overhead came again.

And there was more than one. In the sky above the Mediterranean Fleet, three airships followed them closely in a Z-shaped formation.

Faced with this situation, the Mediterranean Fleet had no choice. The airship looks very large, and it is not far away and seems easy to fight, but in reality it is very different. First of all, it is in the sky, and its speed is much faster than that of a battleship.

It's not like the Mediterranean Fleet has never tried to lure them over and shoot them down before, but these airships are very sophisticated and only hang far away, not within five kilometers of the fleet. This is very uncomfortable.

"Now our position is completely exposed to the eyes of the Italians, which is really not good news."

Outside the command tower of the flagship Orion, Admiral Cardon put down the telescope in his hand and sighed.

"I don't know where the Italian fleet has arrived. This is really uneasy. Especially as the reinforcement formation is getting closer and closer, this kind of worry makes people unable to calm down."

Admiral Cardon certainly knew what his chief of staff was talking about. He was also worried about the Italian fleet, especially after it was reinforced by three Austro-Hungarian battleships.

"Our opponent cannot be underestimated. Just a sudden move to the sea will make us uneasy."

Admiral Cardon was definitely a compliment. In fact, not only him, but also the British Admiralty was full of praise for Leifer's sudden move to lead the fleet away from Taranto.

Maybe some people are unconvinced. It doesn't matter, I can do it if I do it.

When you don't know the enemy's location or movement, you can make the most uncomfortable move for the enemy based on clues. What a terrible sense of war this is.

If it's early, Carden can coordinate the time for the reinforcement fleet to re-enter. If it's too late, he will face the Allied fleet after the two fleets have merged (if the United Fleet received news of the reinforcement fleet's appearance in Taranto, it will definitely not be able to catch up. come).

It was just the day before the reinforcement fleet was discovered that they went to sea. Cardon and Sturdy had no way to turn back. At this time, they could only bite the bullet and rendezvous quickly.

"Yes, the enemy will definitely prevent us from joining together now, but we just don't know which side the enemy is on and how far away from us."

Lieutenant General Roback's worries about the enemy are actually not far away from them.

In the waters more than 170 nautical miles northwest of the Mediterranean Fleet, one of the largest fleets in the Mediterranean is sailing rapidly.

The flags flying on the battleships indicate that they are the combined fleet that the Allied navies are currently most worried about.

"Report, the airship reconnaissance force sent news that the Mediterranean Fleet is still 170 nautical miles away from us."

"knew."

On the flagship Cavour, the communications staff reported to Leifer the news they had just received about the Mediterranean fleet.

On the side of the command tower, several staff officers quickly marked their location on the chart. The positions of each formation are also marked on this chart. Of course, the most important thing is the position of the two British and French naval fleets, which are clearly marked with red flags.

At this moment, Leifer looked at the chart, but his heart was not as calm as it seemed.

In his heart, it might be a fluke at this time. Out of caution, he let the combined fleet leave the port in advance, and then headed south into the Mediterranean to wait.

His original idea was to go to sea first so that it would be more convenient to support Malta or intercept the Mediterranean fleet.

As for the three French battleships, he did not think they would succeed.

Even if the opponent goes to Malta to harass, the strength of the reserve fleet can still stop the opponent.

As for reinforcing the Mediterranean fleet, he did not think that the French would do so, because if the French had this idea, they would have done it long ago, how could they wait until now.

Who would have thought that the British had given him a big surprise, and that the French navy had also given up its wealth.

This time there were seven battleships, including two super-dreadnoughts, which shattered his estimate of the battlefield.

The enemy's strength has exceeded that of the combined fleet, so it is necessary to prevent the other party from joining together.

As for the issue of choosing which fleet to intercept first, he also defied all opinions and firmly focused on the Mediterranean fleet. On the one hand, this is the opponent's strongest formation and its main force. As long as they are defeated, their reinforcement formations will not be a concern. Therefore, the route direction of the combined fleet has always been staring at the Mediterranean Fleet.

"Report, the second battleship squadron is generating electricity. Each ship has been inspected and can enter combat status at any time."

"Report, the third battleship squadron is generating electricity, and its formation battleships have also been inspected and can enter combat status at any time."

"The forward reconnaissance formation sent a telegram. All ships in the reconnaissance formation have completed their inspection and can enter combat status immediately."

"The cruiser formation sent a telegram..."

"The deportation formation sent a telegram..."

As the reports were compiled, Leifer also suppressed other thoughts.

"Now I order each formation to increase its speed to twenty knots, and we will meet the British Mediterranean Fleet."

Following Leifer's order, the combined fleet, which was not slow at first, increased its speed by two knots and headed towards the Mediterranean Fleet.

A great sea battle is about to take place in the Mediterranean Sea.