The decisive battle against the Third Reich

"Discovered the fleet in the Tyrrhenian Sea?" Montgomery couldn't help but be startled when he heard this. Then his eyes quickly fell on the map and asked: "The specific location?"

The staff officer read the telegram, then found a point on the map and replied: "Here are the data from half an hour ago!"

Montgomery couldn't help but look up at Eisenhower, and both of them realized that the opportunity had come.

Although the Tyrrhenian Sea is only more than a hundred kilometers away from Tunisia and within the combat radius of the German 27th Air Wing, the three-point German fleet is about the same distance from Tunisia and the island of Malta... So when the German army When the fighter planes received the intelligence and scrambled to take off to reinforce the Tyrrhenian Sea, they were afraid it was too late, because the battle would probably be over by the time they arrived.

"Order 'L27'!" Montgomery ordered: "Continue to track the German fleet and report the position at any time!" (Note: "L27" refers to the British L-class submarine, an old submarine produced during World War I)

"yes!"

"Order the Air Force to prepare for battle!"

"yes!"

"Order the fleet to leave port immediately!"

"yes!"

…

Obviously, Montgomery wanted to do something big.

Montgomery's plan was very simple. It was to take full advantage of the numerical superiority of British air power and divide the force into two parts:

Part of it consisted purely of air power, that is, a sneak attack over Sicily on the German fleet in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Montgomery believed that this would severely damage the German fleet. This was based on Montgomery's understanding of German warships... to be precise, his understanding of French warships, such as the "Dunkirk" class, whose main anti-aircraft firepower was dozens of It has a 130MM caliber secondary gun, but its elevation angle is only 75 degrees, which makes the large airspace directly above the French fleet almost a blind spot for air defense.

In this regard, the British Air Force can make corresponding targeted tactics. Fighters approach the enemy ship group from high altitudes, and when they enter the blind spot, they lower their altitude and carry out low-altitude bombing... At this time, the British fighter planes hardly need to consider the enemy's anti-aircraft firepower.

Then, Montgomery estimated that the German 27th Air Wing would be mobilized in large numbers to provide air cover for the fleet.

So the second part, that is, the mixed force with fighter planes covering the fleet, took this opportunity to break through the Tunisian Strait with all its strength.

It is conceivable that the main force of the German air force was attracted to the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the German navy suffered a heavy blow. With the British army controlling the air, the German navy would definitely be defeated by the British fighter planes and fleet.

If everything develops according to Montgomery's plan, then the German Navy will be completely defeated before it even realizes what is going on, and Redel's dream of reviving the Navy will be shattered immediately.

But unexpected things always happen on the battlefield. What Montgomery didn't expect was that Qin Chuan was on the German Navy flagship "Dunkirk".

"I'm afraid it's too late for you!" Darlan smiled gloatingly and said, "I would be happy to see you and my warship sink to the bottom of the sea under the British fighter planes!"

"I'm afraid you will be disappointed, general!" Qin Chuan replied: "We can meet up before the British fighter planes arrive! Unless the British planes take off now... But you know, they need to make some preparations, such as refueling , load the bombs, and then take off to assemble in the air, so it will take at least two hours for them to carry out the bombing! "

"I don't deny this, Lieutenant!" Darlan replied: "But I don't know if you realize that the French Navy is very special..."

"Are you talking about the warship's air defense capability?" Qin Chuan interrupted Darlan.

The French navy is indeed special. There is a reason why its fleet's air defense capabilities are weak... France considers itself to have Britain, a naval power, as an ally in the Atlantic direction, so it is not worried about maritime threats at all. Therefore, its navy was mainly established and developed for the Mediterranean, to protect France's transportation lines to the colonies and to pose a threat to the Mediterranean countries.

The Mediterranean Sea is not far from each other, and there are many islands in the middle that can be built with airports. Therefore, many people believe that it is unnecessary to use warships for air defense. France's land-based fighter jets can complete all air supremacy needs... Italy also considers this point, so like France, it believes that aircraft carriers are completely unnecessary.

Although this later turned out to be completely wrong, that was what everyone thought at the time.

This resulted in the performance of French warships focusing on protection and sea, ground and air firepower... Darlan was aware of it when the British launched the "Ballista Project". Several old-fashioned missiles launched from the British aircraft carrier "Eagle" Fighters and bombers can severely damage France's "Richelieu" battleship, which is known as the world's strongest and most advanced battleship.

"Uh-huh!" Darlan replied: "It seems that you have realized this, so you should know... Even if your two ships can merge, it will not help. It will only increase your losses!"

"That's not necessarily the case!" After some calculations on the map, Leidel and the staff raised their heads with some relief.

"Let's wait and see!" Darlan said.

Leidel ignored Darlan and turned to Qin Chuan and said, "Let's meet at full speed. It will take an hour and a half!"

"Do you have an air defense rehearsal?" Qin Chuan asked.

"Of course!" Reidel replied.

"Do I know how to do it?" Qin Chuan asked again.

Reidel was confused. He couldn't believe that Qin Chuan really wanted to teach the navy to fight.

But because Qin Chuan pointed out the flaws in his exercise plan at a glance, he patiently replied: "The 130MM secondary gun is responsible for long-range air defense, trying to intercept enemy fighters outside the safety line. The 37MM anti-aircraft gun and 13.7MM anti-aircraft machine gun are responsible for Internal close-range air defense..."

Darlan couldn't help but laugh. He had suffered in this area before, so he knew that this was not feasible.

Of course, Darlan would not explain why.

"I'm afraid this won't work, Marshal!" Qin Chuan said: "The enemy fighters will approach from a high altitude and dive bomb when they enter the blind spot of our 130MM secondary battery!"

Darlan couldn't help but look at Qinchuan in surprise. He couldn't imagine that these words came from an army lieutenant.

"Wow!" Colonel Slaine looked at Darlan's expression and said proudly: "General Darlan, the lieutenant hit your mark. He was right, right?"

"Whatever you think!" Darlan said, "Even if it is, you still can't find a solution, can you?"

Redel turned his attention to Qin Chuan, and he suddenly realized that he really needed this army lieutenant to teach him how to fight.