My Italian: Chapter 626 Battle of Malta 8

The sudden departure of the Combined Fleet to the sea caused the British and French spies in Taranto to make a big move. However, because of Italian control, it was impossible for them to go out to sea to observe, so the radio waves informed London and Bordeaux of the situation. Regarding the joint fleet's move to sea, Britain and France immediately notified their own fleets. At this time, all the naval formations of the Allied countries in the Mediterranean had received the news. "Your Excellency Lieutenant General, this is a telegram from London." On the Thor off the coast of Tunisia, the communications staff officer handed over the latest telegram from London to Lieutenant General Stedy, the commander of the secret reinforcement formation. Lieutenant General Stedy took the telegram and looked at it ten lines at a time, but the content of the telegram made him frown involuntarily. "What's the matter, Your Excellency Commander." The chief of staff on the side saw that the situation was not right, and immediately asked. "London sent a telegram saying that the enemy combined fleet left port this morning, and its whereabouts are nowhere to be seen." Obviously, this sudden disappearance of the enemy fleet will become the heart of Lieutenant General Stedy, who is preparing to lead the team through the enemy's maritime blockade. of a thorn. "It seems that our opponent is very smart." "Our opponent is not simple at all, I have never underestimated this. The French, Japanese, and Americans have suffered from him before, so rich And an excellent record, if he is a British, he can compete for the commander of the home fleet." Obviously, the Admiral Sturdy was a little dissatisfied with the commander of his home fleet. There is also a reason for this. When considering the local fleet commander before, Lieutenant General Stedy was also considered, and it was relatively advanced. As a result, Marshal Fisher pushed Admiral Jellicoe so that the others had no chance, so it is normal for this man to be a little resentful. However, this is the only one who can say that the other officers did not dare to discuss this topic as if they had not heard it. Although he complained occasionally, Lieutenant General Stedy was still worthy of being a candidate, and he continued to speak. "I'm more interested in knowing when the French will be here than our hidden opponent. We've been in this damned Tunisian coast for so long, why haven't we heard from the French yet?" Lieutenant-Admiral Stedy felt impatient. In addition to the unknown whereabouts of the Italian fleet, the slow movement of his ally, the French, made him even more anxious. Speaking of which, the Admiralty had to take into account the fact that even if there were reinforcements, they could not have a sufficient advantage in terms of strength compared with the combined fleet, so before their departure, London would pay attention to the four French dreadnoughts. And this time the French were happy and agreed to their request. So the reinforcements that set out soon got a telegram from London, saying they were waiting to join the French formation off the coast of Tunisia. After a covert voyage, when the reinforcements arrived off the coast of Tunisia, they were told that the French formation would have to wait for a while, and that there were originally four dreadnoughts, but because of the mechanical failure of the Paris, the number became three. Three, just three, it's better than nothing. Lieutenant General Sturdy was actually quite impressed with the number of French reinforcements for battleships. But the most unbearable thing for him was that the French were delayed, they had been waiting here for a long time, and the French formation had not arrived yet. That's right, Lieutenant-General Sturdy is now the most indignant about the delay of the French. Because this secret reinforcement is very time-sensitive, you must know that without these four warships, the local fleet will no longer have an advantage when facing the German high seas fleet. Therefore, reinforcement operations must be kept secret and time-limited. According to the plan, the time limit for their reinforcements is seven days, and after seven days, regardless of whether they fight with the Italians or not, they need to consider the issue of returning. And waiting for half a day off the coast of Tunisia is a waste of time, and it increases the risk of being discovered. How could this not make Lieutenant General Stedy anxious. At this time, if it is discovered by the Italians, it will be exponentially more difficult to merge with the Mediterranean fleet. Lieutenant General Stedy would not think that after Italy knew about their reinforcement formation, they would just watch themselves and General Cardon converge. "Hurry up the French again and let them hurry." "Okay, I will send a telegram to Tunisia myself." Just as the two were anxious about the slowness of the French, they saw the communications officer holding another copy The telegraph came in. "This is a telegram from Malta." Before Lieutenant General Stedy took it, the chief of staff took it first. However, after a glance, the chief of staff did not look very good. Without waiting for Lieutenant General Stedy to ask, he explained first. "This is a telegram from Major General Behrens on the Island of Malta, who wants us to help the Island of Malta a little while passing by." "What?" Lieutenant General Stedy was shocked by the words of the chief of staff. Don't blame Lieutenant General Stedy for the sudden surprise, because the trip to Malta was not planned. "What's going on with this Major General Behrens." It was precisely because of this that Lieutenant General Stedy felt uneasy. This is what happened and why did things change one by one today. At this time, the chief of staff carefully handed him a telegram. Lieutenant General Stedy, who took over the telegram, then understood why, it turned out that the defenders of the island of Malta could no longer carry it. Although there are many defenders on the island of Malta, they are only nearly 10,000, and the attacking Italian side has sea and air advantages, and there is no shortage of troops and materials. If it weren't for the fact that the island of Malta had been stationed for the Mediterranean fleet for many years and had numerous fortifications, the island would have been taken away by the Italians long ago. At present, although the United Kingdom is still clinging to it, its situation is not good. Now the defenders on the island currently only cling to two places, one is the former Mediterranean station in Port Valletta, and the other is Dingley Heights, the commanding height of the island. All but these two places were indeed abandoned by the British. The reason for giving up is very simple. The Italians attacked too fiercely, causing many casualties to the British defenders on the island. In order to save troops, they could only stick to the most important positions. In just a few days, the British army had to retreat to the last two key points. In addition to the powerful offensive of the landing Marine Corps, the naval preparations were also inseparable. You must know that in order to ensure the firepower and the supply of ammunition for the landing force, the navy built two movable temporary docks in advance. Although this cannot allow transport ships of thousands of tons to dock directly, but ships of about 1,000 tons have no problem at all. Therefore, although Italy has not yet captured the port of Valletta, it does not affect its transportation of personnel and materials. In addition, there are also transport boats temporarily used by landing craft as a supplement, coupled with airship attacks in the air and battleship support at sea. Although it is impossible to achieve, it makes the defenders feel heavy pressure. As its commander, Major General Behrens, UU Kanshu www.uukanshu.com remembered the reinforcement formation that was about to arrive, and wanted to ask him to help the Maltese defenders relieve the pressure. However, the abacus of Major General Behrens was wrong, and Lieutenant General Sturdy said. "Let's bombard the landing site in Malta. It's a good idea, but it doesn't fit our purpose. Send a telegram to Major General Behrens and tell him we're in an emergency. There's no way to stay in Malta, so it's hard to get angry." Just a moment." Seeing that the communications officer was about to send a report, the chief of staff immediately stopped the other party. "Lieutenant General, is it not good to refuse directly like this, it will make our formation appear too passive." Lieutenant General Stedy certainly knew what his chief of staff meant, but he immediately asked. "Chief of Staff, did you say that Major General Behrens sent a telegram to Admiral London and Carden for help from France? Don't forget that the other party also has a former dreadnought formation near Malta." The drum can become a formation without a heavy hammer. Of course, the chief of staff is not an ordinary person, and he understands it at one point. Since the telegrams were sent to their reinforcements, Rear Admiral Behrens must have also sent telegrams to London and the Mediterranean Fleet. Neither side has sent any news to themselves, so many things need to be comprehended by themselves. "I think it's better to inform London and General Cardon." The chief of staff added cautiously. "You can figure it out. As long as we win the naval battle, the crisis in Malta will be lifted immediately." Just as the two of them had just dealt with the request from Malta, they saw another communications officer hurried in. "Your Excellency Commander, the French sent a telegram. They are still more than 30 nautical miles away from us, and they will arrive in two hours." These words made the big stone in Lieutenant General Stedy's heart fall. "That's it, send a report to General Cardon, telling them that we are about to cross the Central Mediterranean Sea, pay attention to the timely location to facilitate the meeting."