My Italian: Chapter 625 Battle of Malta 7

The news of the appearance of the Mediterranean Fleet was quickly sent back to Italy.

And the officers of the United Fleet, who were waiting for the Mediterranean Fleet to wait, immediately lifted their spirits after receiving the news.

Immediately, Leifer called everyone to discuss.

"Everyone, we have just received news that the airship N18 has spotted the Mediterranean Fleet 60 nautical miles west of Crete. According to the news, most of its ships going to sea are here."

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

"I finally found the figure of the Mediterranean Fleet. I thought they had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Why haven't they shown up for a long time?"

"As far as I'm concerned, since they've shown up, let's not wait any longer and just rush over to let them feel the anger of our United Fleet."

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

…

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

And all of this was seen by the fleet commander, Lieutenant General Lefer, who coughed suddenly.

"uh-huh!"

The voices in the venue became quieter, which also shows Lefer's prestige in the United Fleet.

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

Of course, just relying on the status of the Italian navy, Lefer could not convince the Austro-Hungarian navy. What really convinced them was Lefer's equal treatment in the combined fleet, and there was no distinction between Italian officers and soldiers and Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers.

Maybe this is nothing in the eyes of later generations, but in this era, it is rare to be able to really do this. After all, nationalism is prevalent in all countries now. 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. Lefer also convinced the officers and soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian navy with his outstanding ability. Compared with the Austro-Hungarian admirals who have not experienced naval battles in the past few decades, Leifer 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 allows Lefer to be able to hold down the officers and soldiers of the two navies.

"Everyone, about..."

Just as Lefer was about to speak, suddenly a staff officer hurried up to him with a telegram.

"Commander, this is an urgent telegram from Rome."

At this time, all the people present showed strange expressions, because it must be a very important situation to be able to break in directly at this time, especially the urgent telegram from Rome.

Lefer satisfied the curiosity of everyone present. "Everyone, the urgent telegram I received only said one thing. The three French battleships of the Guba class went to sea this evening."

The French Navy sent three dreadnoughts at this time (the Paris was unable to set sail together due to mechanical failure). In fact, in addition to supporting the Mediterranean Fleet, they also had the intention of participating in this decisive battle of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Wasn't the French unwilling to join the British Mediterranean Fleet before, why are they willing now?

In fact, this is also from time to time. The reason for the rejection was that the war had not yet broken out. France did not think that it was weaker than the Germans, and its need for the British was not particularly urgent.

As for now, after three months of fighting after the start of the war, even the capital Paris has been occupied by Germany, and the mentality of wanting to grasp the straw is naturally very much in need of the British to share their pressure.

Then the British sent a request at this time, so the French must treat it more carefully.

Besides, the sea power in the Mediterranean is also related to the replenishment of France's overseas manpower and materials. You must know that half of France's overseas materials are landed through Mediterranean ports, and most of the rest are through ports in northeastern France on the English Channel. As for the western coast facing the Atlantic Ocean, apart from Bordeaux, there are few usable ports. (Because it faces the Atlantic Ocean directly, it will cause high winds and rough waves, which is not suitable for ships to dock and unload)

As for now, most of the ports in northeastern France have fallen, allowing more goods to go to the Mediterranean Sea. If Italy has mastered the sea power in the Mediterranean Sea, it will be a disaster for many French people. This is why the French suddenly cooperated with the British so much. One of the main reasons.

Of course, the secret reinforcement formation composed of four British fearless and super fearless ships also added to France's courage. As long as they merge with the Mediterranean Fleet, the strength of the Italian-Austrian joint fleet will undergo earth-shaking changes. Its capital ships will change from 17 to 13 to 17 to 20. The number of battleships will change from 12 to 10 to 12 to 17, which will properly occupy the numerical advantage.

It is very possible to keep the 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 United Fleet are still not clear about the secret reinforcement formation, but they have already seen clearly the actions of the French.

As for the venue, Lefer's words also made all the officers present explode.

"The French are too 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. Besides, they may also join the British Mediterranean Fleet, so we can't ignore these three French dreadnoughts. "

"But if the warships are dispersed, then that would be against the principles of the campaign, and it would be putting the cart before the horse."

"This is putting the cart before the horse. Don't you care about the three dreadnoughts of the French? The reserve fleet may not be able to fight these three dreadnoughts. And if the French merge with the British, won't it increase their strength? Then The confrontation 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 fleet commander, Lefer is very aware of the difference between the two opinions.

If the officers who agree with the rescue look carefully, they will find that they are basically Italian naval officers, because the island of Malta is more used by Italy, and they don't want to see the French go there to make trouble.

As for the Austro-Hungarian naval officers who are keeping an eye on the Mediterranean Fleet, there are also a small number of Italian naval officers among them. They are more concerned about sea power.

From Lefer's heart, he actually agrees with the latter. Because the island of Malta is a dead position, it does not matter if it is not defeated 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 Lefer to directly agree with a certain party's point of view at this time, which will lead to disharmony within the fleet, so Lefer plans to start from another aspect.

"Okay, everyone be quiet."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were attracted to him, Lefer spoke. "Now is not the time to argue about this~www.mtlnovel.com~Since the British and French navies are trying to distract us, we can't be led by the other side. Now I order the fleet to go to sea tomorrow and let them guess what we want to do .”

Leifer's words made many officers' eyes shine, and this is indeed a good way. Staying in Taranto all the time is completely in the light, but after going to sea, who knows where the United Fleet is, this is to turn the fleet into a dark place.

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

As the chief of staff of the fleet, Lieutenant Admiral Sidoror, speaking at this time was entirely for Leifer.

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

So after a busy night for the United Fleet that night, they also went to sea the next morning.

At this time, the pressure came to the British and French navies, and it depended on how they responded.

(end of this chapter)

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