My Italy

If there is laughter on the Roman side, then today is a day worth mourning for the British, the main participants on the other side of this naval battle.

At this time, in the Prime Minister's Office, a meeting about this defeat was being held.

A tired Asquith had to call the meeting because this was the first defeat for the Royal Navy in more than a century.

"Mr. Churchill, can you tell us what happened during this battle?"

In front of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers, the young Churchill stood up. "Everyone, this is what happened in this naval battle... After research by me and my colleagues in the Navy, we can believe that the boys of the Royal Navy actually did their best in this defeat. Mainly because the Italians used airships to control our entire battle. Our whereabouts are under the surveillance of the enemy. In this case, there is no way to win. "

Well, what Churchill said was very level. He directly stated that everyone was right. The weather was to blame. The Italians' use of airships was a bit unexpected, leaving all the cabinet ministers speechless and stumping the young navy. Does the minister just want to absolve himself of his responsibilities?

Asquith, as Prime Minister, didn't care about what other cabinet ministers thought, he just spoke. "Your Excellency Churchill, regarding the current power imbalance of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, I wonder if your Admiralty has any solutions?"

Yes, this lawyer-prime minister, who has left such a great reputation in history, is now first concerned about remedial measures. The damage has been done, and how to remediate it is the most important priority.

Churchill was well prepared for Asquith's inquiry. Before coming, he discussed it with Marshal Fisher, the First Sea Lord, and finally came up with a good remedy plan.

One more thing to say here is that Churchill and Fisher do not get along well at present. Both of them are strong characters and want to work together, so who will listen to whom?

Fortunately, the conflict between the two is not deep enough at present. In addition, the current situation of the British Navy is not optimistic, so both of them have temporarily suppressed their inner resentment. Otherwise, the Admiralty of the British Empire would be busy.

"Prime Minister, our Navy Department has formulated remedial measures. Although it cannot restore the original strength of the Mediterranean Fleet, it is at least enough to contain the Italians."

Churchill's words surprised everyone else present. How could this man be so confident? Without letting them wait any longer, the young admiral said.

"First of all, we talked with Commander Jellicoe of the Home Fleet, and he was willing to leave the Agincourt to the Mediterranean Fleet. In addition, our Admiralty hopes to keep France's three Guba-class battleships, so that the Mediterranean Fleet The number of battleships can be restored to the previous level. As for the battle cruisers, the Valorant, which has been in service for four months, and the Glorious, which has been in service for six months, can be given priority to replenish the Mediterranean fleet. "

From Churchill's words, it can be seen that the British Navy has a good financial situation. After losing six main battleships, it will find a way to replenish it in six months. Although the quality is not the same, the quantity is the same.

The two ships, HMS Brave and Glory, are newly built first-class battle cruisers by the British after the Lion class. Different from history, the Brave class at this time has similar data to the Lion class, and can be regarded as an improved version of the Lion class. This is all because of the changes brought about by this butterfly in Italy.

Of course, it is not the role of the Navy Ministry to just replenish the fleet with warships, so this man continued. "In addition, we also found many problems that need to be urgently solved in this naval battle..."

Churchill then revealed all the problems discovered by the Navy in this naval battle, such as the problem of insufficient penetration of artillery shells against heavily armored battleships, the Navy's lack of enough airships, insufficient underwater protection of battleships, and insufficient firepower of small and medium-sized battleships. Many issues were raised.

Churchill spoke for more than an hour at a stretch, but no one in the room seemed impatient and they all listened to his story attentively.

"...Okay, these are the issues that our Navy Department has summarized as needing improvement."

After Churchill finished speaking, Lloyd George, the Minister of Munitions at this time, spoke. "Your Excellency Churchill, can you explain how you plan to let the French keep three Guba-class battleships?"

At this time, this man did a good job in the military supply work, which ensured a substantial increase in the production of arms during the war.

Faced with the inquiry from the Minister of Munitions, Churchill immediately spoke. "Actually, it's very simple. Haven't the French been asking us to send more troops to recapture the capital Paris? In fact, we can use this as a condition to ask three French battleships to stay in the Mediterranean Fleet."

Churchill's words didn't sound right at first, as if they wanted the French to keep these three battleships at the expense of the army. In fact, the cabinet has already passed the decision to increase the number of troops in France. Now it's just a condition, and it's impossible for the French to refuse.

As for why those present are so sure, it is because France is currently in the worst situation among the participating countries.

The industrial area in the northeast was occupied by the German army, and the most fertile Paris Basin became a battlefield. French manpower and industrial losses were huge. Of course, if that were the case, the French could still hold on, but Italy was also attacking them in the east. Although this was a diversionary offensive, it still captured the Savoy region and also contained 300,000 French troops.

And this is not just a matter of restrained troops, because Italy's participation in the war has made the French Mediterranean less safe. This threatened France's use of Mediterranean ports and also restricted the deployment of more than 100,000 French troops here.

In addition, this also affects the import of French materials. Affected by the Atlantic Ocean, the ports available in France are concentrated in the Mediterranean or the English Channel.

Now one half of the ports on both sides is occupied by Germany, and the other is directly threatened by the Italian navy. As a result, French port throughput dropped sharply, reaching only half of what it was before the war. The war led to a large increase in French imports. This plus and one minus resulted in a large amount of French materials not being able to reach the shore, and France was experiencing a shortage of various materials in the country.

In terms of agricultural output, due to the impact of conscription and occupation, France's current agricultural output is only 37% of its pre-war level, making it the country with the most serious reduction in output among all countries. Industry is also not optimistic. In addition to the military industry, French industry has only reached 43% of the pre-war level, not much better than agriculture.

Therefore, there has been an undercurrent among French people, and various extreme ideas have become popular.

Of course, for France, Paris, which was occupied by the Germans, urgently needed to be rescued. The first key is to at least recapture the richest Paris Basin, otherwise the angry French people will drive them out of power sooner or later.

Therefore, for the current France, British help is indispensable, so there will be no obstacles at all on the battleship issue.

"No problem, I will send a telegram to Bordeaux (the temporary capital of France)." Prime Minister Asquith immediately agreed to Churchill's request.

"In addition, our navy hopes to obtain more funds for the purchase of airships, the development of new artillery shells, and the improvement of unreasonable aspects of warships."

"No problem, your Navy Department will come up with a list as soon as possible."

At this time, Prime Minister Asquith was surprisingly easy to talk to.

Subsequently, the cabinet meeting discussed other issues, mainly how to guide the defeat of the naval battle so that the people believe that this is not the navy's responsibility.

After talking for two or three hours, the cabinet came up with a specific plan.

When everyone had finished talking and was about to leave the meeting, Churchill was stopped. "Your Excellency Churchill, please stay for a while."

After being stopped, Churchill, who was not yet fat, could only wait for the others to leave.

"Someone must be held responsible for the defeat of this naval battle."

Prime Minister Asquith made his attitude clear as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Prime Minister, please listen to me..."

"No, you don't need to explain," Prime Minister Asquith said seriously, waving his hand to interrupt Churchill's explanation. "Although we will package this defeat as a victory, a defeat is a defeat, and someone must be responsible."

Facing the serious Prime Minister, the young Churchill was quickly defeated. "Admiral Kaden sent me his resignation, but I rejected it."

Asquith then continued. "Very good. I think General Cardon is very talented. He can definitely be transferred back to London in a month to take on a more responsible job. What do you think?"

"I believe Kaden will be very happy."

"It looks like the Mediterranean Fleet needs a new commander."

"Yes Prime Minister."

Early the next morning, news about the Battle of Sirte appeared in major London newspapers. When the Mediterranean Fleet was rescuing the island of Malta, it was insidiously ambushed by the Italian and Austrian navies in the waters of Sirte.

The enemy dispatched all its battleships to besiege it. The Mediterranean fleet fought desperately and sank the enemy's Teghov and severely damaged six of its battleships, including Istvan, Intrepid, and Dante. However, there were too many enemy ships, and the Mediterranean fleet was outnumbered. Four battleships including the Montague, Collingwood, and Centurion sank heroically, and the battlecruisers Invincible and Indomitable also sank.

At this critical moment when the Italians were about to complete the annihilation of the Mediterranean fleet, Lieutenant General Sturdy arrived with reinforcements, and the Italian and Austrian navy was frightened and fled in panic. The heroic Royal Navy defeated the opponent's sinister intention to annihilate the Mediterranean fleet in a sneak attack and dominate the Mediterranean. The British navy retained the strength to continue to confront it in the Mediterranean.

In addition to this report, there are also many comments from military commentators in the newspaper, all of which analyze the naval battle. There are many types of analysis, but the general meaning is that although the British navy fell behind in tactics, it achieved strategic victory and prevented the other party's attempt to dominate the Mediterranean.

Okay, I finished writing and went to bed. The chapter should be titled, Strategic Victory. Mistake!