My Italian: Chapter 629 Speed showdown
The Germans began to prepare for battle, which was a chain reaction after the British dispatched four battleships.
Of course, at this moment, the Mediterranean fleet and the reinforcement fleet cannot be the consensus of the alliance camp.
In the early morning in the winter Mediterranean Sea, there was some mist. At this time, a group of tall warships loomed in the fog, and the flags flying on their warships declared that they belonged to the British Empire.
That's right, the fleet was the Mediterranean fleet led by Admiral Cardon, and they were heading off Sirte at the moment.
Although fog shrouded the sea, the speed of the Mediterranean fleet did not drop and remained at a high speed of 18 knots. (Although the maximum speed of the battleship is higher, this speed cannot be sustained. Generally speaking, 18 knots is the maximum speed that the battleship can maintain all the time. No matter how high it is, it will cause continuous pressure on the power system. And the higher the maximum speed of the battleship, the higher the speed. The shorter the sustainable time, for example, a battleship can guarantee a top speed of more than 20 knots for more than ten hours, but a destroyer can only last for about an hour with more than 30 knots.)
The Mediterranean Fleet was very happy about the early fog that appeared, which at least made it harder for the annoying airships in the sky to find themselves.
"Report Commander Your Excellency, I just received a telegram reporting the location of the reinforcement fleet. They are only more than 340 nautical miles away from us."
At this time, the communications officer took a telegram and reported the location of the reinforcement fleet to Admiral Cardon.
In view of the current situation and the dangers they face, the two Allied naval fleets decided to report their positions every two hours, so that the other party could find them clearly.
Of course, the secret message of the sending location is also of the highest level. In the Mediterranean Fleet, only Admiral Carden, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Robeck and the confidential communications staff are aware of it. Impossible to be taller than three people.
This was to prevent the telegram from being cracked by the Italians, resulting in its location being grasped by them.
Although it is unknown how much this can play a role, it still has some effect, at least at night and in complex weather.
As for now, the officers and men of the Mediterranean Fleet hope that the fog will last as long as possible.
Unfortunately, their prayers were not heard by God. At nine o'clock, the fog gradually dissipated, and the annoying airship overhead came again.
And more than one, over the Mediterranean fleet, three airships closely followed them all the way.
Faced with this situation, the Mediterranean Fleet has no choice. The airship looks huge, and the distance is not too far. It seems to be easy to fight, but the reality is very different. First of all, it is in the sky, and the speed is much faster than the battleship.
It was not that the Mediterranean Fleet did not try to lure them over to shoot them down before, but these airships were very good, they were only hung from a distance and did not enter the fleet five kilometers above the sky, which made people uncomfortable.
"It's not really good news that our position is now fully exposed to the Italians."
Outside the conning tower of the flagship Orion, General Cardon let down the telescope in his hand and sighed.
"I don't know where the Italian fleet has gone, which is really disturbing. Especially as the reinforcements are getting closer and closer, this kind of worry is even more difficult to calm down."
Admiral Carden certainly knew what his chief of staff was talking about, and he was equally worried about the Italian fleet, especially after it had been reinforced by three Austro-Hungarian battleships.
"Our opponents should not be underestimated. Just going to sea suddenly with one hand will make us uneasy."
Admiral Carden is definitely a compliment, not only he but also the British Admiralty for Leifer's sudden leadership of the fleet to leave Taranto.
Maybe some people are not convinced, what's the matter, I can do it for me.
Excuse me, when you don't know the enemy's position and don't know the enemy's movements, you can make the most uncomfortable actions for the enemy just by clues. What a terrible sense of war.
Early, Carden can coordinate the re-entry time of the reinforcement fleet. If it is too late, it will face the Allied fleet after the confluence of the two fleets. come).
It was the day before the reinforcements were discovered that they went out to sea, and Carden and Stidi had no way to turn back, so they could only bite the bullet and quickly converge.
"Yeah, the enemy will definitely prevent us from converging now, but I don't know which side the enemy is on and how far away it is from us."
The worries of the enemy in the mouth of Lieutenant General Robeck are actually not far from them.
In the waters more than 170 nautical miles northwest of the Mediterranean Fleet, a fleet that is currently the largest in the Mediterranean is sailing rapidly.
The flags flying on the battleship indicate that it is the combined fleet that the Allied navies are most worried about at the moment.
"Report, the airship reconnaissance force sent a message that the Mediterranean Fleet is still 170 nautical miles away from us."
"understood."
On the flagship Cavour, the communications staff reported to Lefer the news of the Mediterranean Fleet just received.
On the side of the command tower, several staff officers quickly marked their location on the chart. The position of each formation is also marked on this chart. Of course, the most important is the position of the fleets of the two British and French navies, which are clearly marked with red flags.
At this moment, Leifer is looking at the chart, but his heart is not as calm as it appears.
In his heart, it may be a fluke at this time, and out of prudent consideration, he let the combined fleet leave the port in advance, and then it went all the way south into the Mediterranean Sea to wait.
His original idea was to go to sea first to make it easier to support Malta or intercept the Mediterranean fleet.
As for the three French battleships, he did not think it would work.
Even if the other party goes to Malta to harass, with the strength of the reserve fleet, they can stop the other party.
As for its reinforcements to the Mediterranean Fleet, he did not think the French would do so, because if the French had this idea, they would have done it long ago, how could they have waited until now.
Who would have thought that the British gave him a big surprise, and the French navy also took out their wealth.
This one shot seven battleships, including two super dreadnought ships, which broke his estimation of the battlefield.
The enemy's strength has surpassed the combined fleet, so it is necessary to prevent the other side from converging.
As for the issue of choosing which fleet to intercept first, he also stared at the Mediterranean Fleet against all odds. On the one hand, this is the opponent's strongest formation and its main force. As long as they are defeated, their reinforcement formations will not be a concern. Therefore, the route direction of the Combined Fleet has always been staring at the Mediterranean Fleet.
"Report, the second battleship squadron is generating electricity. All ships have been inspected and can enter combat status at any time."
"Report, UUkanshu www.uukanshu.com The third battleship squadron generates electricity, and its battleships in the formation have also been inspected and can enter the combat state at any time."
"The reconnaissance formation in front sent a telegram. The ships of the reconnaissance formation have been inspected, and they can enter the battle state immediately."
"The cruiser formation sent a telegram..."
"The expulsion formation sent a telegram..."
With the compilation of these reports, Leifer also suppressed other thoughts.
"Now I order that the formations increase their speed to twenty knots, and we will go to meet the British Mediterranean Fleet."
Following Leifer's order, the combined fleet, which was not slow at first, increased its speed by two knots, and rushed towards the Mediterranean Fleet.
A sea battle is about to take place in the Mediterranean.
(End of this chapter)