My Italian: Chapter 625 Battle of Malta 7

News of the appearance of the Mediterranean Fleet was quickly communicated back to Italy.

And the officers of the Combined Fleet, who were waiting for the Mediterranean Fleet, were immediately refreshed after receiving the news.

Immediately, Leifer convened everyone to discuss.

"Everyone, we just got the news that the N18 airship has found the Mediterranean Fleet sixty nautical miles west of Crete. According to the news, its ships are basically here."

As the news was announced, the scene of the briefing immediately became lively.

"I finally found the figure of the Mediterranean Fleet. I thought they sank to the bottom of the sea, why didn't they show up for a long time."

"According to me, since they have appeared, let's not wait any longer and rush over to let them feel the wrath of our combined fleet."

"I think it's better to wait, don't let it feel wrong and go back."

…

At this time, the scene of the briefing was full of people, and the captains and formation commanders of the ships present expressed their thoughts one after another.

And all this was seen by Lieutenant Admiral Lefer, the commander of the fleet, and he suddenly coughed.

"uh-huh!"

The voices in the venue just became smaller, which also shows the prestige of Leifel in the combined fleet.

Of course, he deserves all of this. First of all, Leifer is famous for his outstanding military exploits and excellent abilities in the Royal Navy. It can be said that as early as ten years ago, this Vice Admiral Leifer was rated in the Italian Navy. At the helm of the next generation of the Navy. This evaluation is not too high, and it fully demonstrates Leifer's status in the Navy.

Of course, only relying on the status of the Italian Navy, Leifer could not convince the Austro-Hungarian Navy. What really convinced them and admired Leifer's equal treatment in the combined fleet, there was no distinction between Italian officers and soldiers and Austria-Hungary officers and soldiers.

Maybe in the eyes of future generations, this is nothing, but in this era, it is rare to be able to do this. After all, nationalism is prevailing in all countries. If you want to do this, are you not afraid of the rebound of your own officers and soldiers?

Of course, it is not enough to treat everyone equally. Leifer also convinced the Austro-Hungarian naval officers and men with his excellent ability. Compared with the Austro-Hungarian naval generals who have not experienced naval battles in these decades, Lefer has experienced several naval battles in Italy in the past 30 years, and his rich experience is unmatched by the Austro-Hungarian generals.

It is the ability and prestige that enables Lefer to hold back the officers and soldiers of the navies of the two countries.

"Everyone, about..."

Just as Leifer was about to speak, a staff officer hurriedly ran up to him with a telegram.

"Commander, this is an emergency call from Rome."

At this time, everyone present had a strange look on their faces, because it must be a very important situation to directly break in at this time, especially the emergency call from Rome.

For the curiosity of everyone present, Leifer gave satisfaction. "Everyone, the urgent telegram I received only said one thing. The three French battleships of the Lonebar class went to sea this evening."

The French Navy dispatched three dreadnoughts at this time (the Paris was unable to sail together due to mechanical failure), in fact, in addition to cooperating with the Mediterranean Fleet, it also planned to participate in the decisive battle of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Didn't the French not want to merge with the British Mediterranean Fleet before, why are they willing now?

In fact, this is also a moment and a while. It was rejected because the war has not yet broken out. France does not think that it is weaker than the Germans, and the demand for the British is not particularly urgent.

As for now, after three months of fighting after the war, even the capital Paris has been occupied by Germany. It is the mentality of wanting to grasp the straw. Naturally, it is very necessary for the British to share their pressure.

Then at this time, the British sent a request, then the French must be more careful.

Besides, the sea power in the Mediterranean is also related to the replenishment of France's overseas manpower and materials. It should be known that half of France's overseas materials go ashore through Mediterranean ports, and most of the rest pass through ports in northeastern France in the English Channel. As for the western coast facing the Atlantic Ocean, there are few ports available except for Bordeaux. (Because facing the Atlantic Ocean, it will cause high winds and waves, which is not suitable for ships to dock and unload)

As for now, most of the ports in the northeastern part of France have been occupied, allowing more goods to go to the Mediterranean Sea, and if Italy holds the sea power of the Mediterranean Sea, it will be a disaster for so many French people, which is why the French suddenly cooperate with the British so much One of the main reasons.

Of course, the secret reinforcements of four British Dreadnoughts and Super Dreadnoughts also added French courage. As long as they merge with the Mediterranean Fleet, the strength of the combined Italian and Austrian fleet will undergo earth-shaking changes. Its capital ships will go from 17 to 13 to 17 to 20. The battleships will change from 12 to 10 to 12 to 17, which properly takes the advantage of numbers.

There is a very good chance of retaining sea power without letting Malta fall into the hands of the Italians, allowing it to continue to play the role of a nail.

Of course, the officers of the Combined Fleet were not clear about the secret reinforcement formation, but they had already seen the actions of the French.

As for the venue, Leifer's words also made all the officers present fry.

"The French are so obvious, they are just trying to distract us."

"It can't be said that if we ignore them, then these three dreadnoughts are likely to go to Malta to make trouble, and in addition, they may also merge with the British Mediterranean Fleet, so we can't ignore these three French dreadnoughts. "

"But if the warships are used scattered, then it would be against the principles of this campaign and put the cart before the horse."

"Why is this putting the cart before the horse? Don't you care about the three dreadnoughts of the French, the reserve fleet may not have beaten these three dreadnoughts, and if the French merge with the British, wouldn't that increase their strength? The showdown with the British Mediterranean Fleet will be full of more variables."

The renewed quarrel in the venue represented two different opinions.

As for why there are two different opinions, it is because of their different emphases.

Of course, as the commander of the fleet, Leifer is very aware of the difference between the two opinions.

If the officers who agree with the rescue look closely, they will find that they are basically Italian naval officers, because the island of Malta is more used for Italy, and they do not want to see the French go there to make trouble.

As for the Austro-Hungarian naval officers who are closely watching the Mediterranean Fleet, there are also a small number of Italian naval officers, who are more concerned with sea power.

From the heart of Leifer, he actually agrees with the latter. Because the island of Malta is a dead position, it doesn't matter if it is not shot down once, as long as the British Mediterranean fleet is resolved, then the island of Malta can eat whenever it wants.

However, as an excellent fleet commander, it is impossible for Leifer to directly agree with one party's point of view at this time, which will lead to discord within the fleet, so Leifer intends to start from another aspect.

"Okay, everyone be quiet."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were attracted to him, Lefer said. "This is not the time to argue about this, UU read www.uukanshu.com Since the British and French navies are trying to distract us, we can't be led by the nose. Now I order the fleet to go to sea tomorrow and let them guess what we think what to do."

Leifer's words caught the eyes of many officers, which is indeed a good idea. Staying in Taranto all the time is completely in the light, and after going to sea, who knows where the combined fleet is, this is to turn the fleet into a dark place.

"Okay, since the commander has issued an order, everyone should obey it. We will also go to sea tomorrow."

Lieutenant-Admiral Sidorol, who was the chief of staff of the fleet, spoke at this moment for the Lefer platform.

Since the two commanders of the Combined Fleet have unanimously agreed, it is of course impossible for the captains and formation commanders present to express any objection.

So that night, after a busy night, the combined fleet went to sea early the next morning.

At this time, the pressure hit the British and French navies, and it was up to them how they responded.

(End of this chapter)