My Italian

Italy landed on the island of Malta, which seemed to be a commanding gun, which immediately made the Mediterranean Sea, which was originally covered with war clouds, unusual.

On the evening of the day the Italian army landed on the island of Malta, the Mediterranean Fleet in Alexandria sailed out of the station at sunset.

This time, the Mediterranean Fleet is full of elites. There are hundreds of ships of various sizes, such as dreadnoughts, former dreadnoughts, battle cruisers, loaded cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats, and supply ships.

The Mediterranean fleet went to sea, immediately emptying the slightly crowded port.

As for the news of the Mediterranean fleet going to sea, how could it be concealed from Italy and Austria? In Alexandria, where the dark lines are densely covered, even a mosquito flying out will be observed by them.

In fact, the Allies are not doing much better. They have a lot of spies in the port of Taranto. Even if the Italian intelligence department has cleaned up a lot, it is like mosquitoes in summer, no matter how to eliminate them.

After receiving the news that the Mediterranean Fleet had gone to sea, the combined fleet in the port of Taranto also moved quickly.

Airships from Libya and the Apennine peninsula filled the sky the next day, closely monitoring the waters east of the island of Malta. In order to complete the surveillance task, Italy not only transferred out the extra airships in its hands, but also transferred most of the small and medium-sized airships for the Malta battle.

In addition to airships, the Italian Navy has also dispatched many small and medium-sized warships to carry out reconnaissance missions, and there are also many camouflaged reconnaissance ships. It can be said that the sea from the west of Crete to the east of Malta was monitored by Italy and Austria. As long as the Mediterranean Fleet emerges, they will inevitably be known to the Combined Fleet.

Such a dense and daunting reconnaissance network is the first mover of the combined fleet. In order to grasp the movements of the Mediterranean Fleet, the staff of the Combined Fleet made this plan after carefully studying various materials in the Mediterranean Sea based on the situation in the Mediterranean Sea.

Yes, even the Italian Navy is already familiar enough with this sea area, but in order to prevent possible variables, it is necessary to refer to other information, such as climate, hydrology and so on.

Although the Mediterranean Sea is in good sea conditions because it is surrounded by land, there is still occasional tantrums in winter. Knowing and predicting the weather ahead of time is essential for the combined fleet. No one wanted to see that the Mediterranean Fleet was finally drawn out. After catching it, a sea battle that attracted worldwide attention was disturbed by the weather.

When the Italians searched for the Mediterranean Fleet east of Malta, General Cardon, who was being searched, was leading the Mediterranean Fleet in a slow voyage south of Crete, far from the shipping lane.

At this moment, for General Cardon, the Italians must know about the situation when he went to sea. He didn't have to think about it to know that at this moment Italians must be all over the central Mediterranean waiting for him to appear.

Of course, Cardon will definitely appear as they wish, but this time will have to wait.

"Where are the reinforcements?"

At this moment on the flagship Orion, General Cardon asked the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Robeck beside him.

"We got the news two days ago that the reinforcements led by Lieutenant-Admiral Stedy had bypassed the Irish coast and were heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar. As for now, we have no news. Considering the need for covert operations, I think No news at the moment is the best news, at least so far the plan is going well."

Lieutenant General Robeck's words did not reassure him.

"Robeck doesn't need to say these reassuring words. It's normal to go from the North Sea to the Strait of Gibraltar to not be discovered. The Atlantic Ocean is so wide, it's very easy to not be seen, but you know where I'm worried."

Although General Cardon didn't say it clearly, how could Lieutenant General Robeck not know where to be most easily discovered. The Strait of Gibraltar is located at a critical point, and it is also the only way to leave the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea. There are so many ships passing by every day. It is difficult to hide the passage of reinforcements.

Although the Admiralty has made careful plans before, according to estimates, the probability of being discovered is also very high.

"Admiral, we have to trust the abilities of Lieutenant General Stedy and Major General Miller (Governor of Gibraltar), but we can only pray to God."

Lieutenant General Stedy said this very bluntly, and General Cardon also knew that his worries could not help the reinforcement formation at all. But looking at the huge fleet, he only felt the pressure on his shoulders. Asking about the location of the reinforcement formation was just a way for him to decompress.

As for where the pressure of Admiral Carden came from, it is needless to say. No one can feel the ease of shouldering the heavy responsibility of the Mediterranean Fleet, one of the two pillars of the British fleet.

The reinforcement formation, which was missed by Carden and others, was driving slowly in a sea off the coast of Portugal that was far from the waterway. Four tall and mighty warships with several smaller ships, this is the reinforcement formation that Cardon will never forget.

At this moment, the reinforcement formation has slowed down its speed because it is waiting for night to fall. The Strait of Gibraltar is too busy. Without the cover of night, it is impossible to fool around. Of course, this also requires the help of the Gibraltar garrison.

"Reporting to Your Excellency Commander, Gibraltar has just sent a telegram asking us to follow the plan. They will block the strait with the order of the exercise at ten o'clock in the evening and end at four in the morning."

At this time on the flagship Agincourt, the communications officer was reporting to the commander, Lieutenant Admiral Stedy, the news he had just received from Gibraltar.

This battleship, which was ridiculed as a multi-turret religious relic in later generations, also had a rough fate. The battleship "Rio de Janeiro" was originally ordered by Brazil from the British Armstrong Company, but later Brazil was unable to continue to pay for the construction due to its economic crisis and financial constraints. It was then taken over by the Ottomans who wanted to revive the navy and was renamed the Ottoman Sultan. Continue building. However, when the construction was completed, a war broke out, and as a result, the battleship was taken over by the British who were in desperate need of battleships. Directly renamed HMS Akulkin and served in the British Navy. With the same fate as the Akulkin, there is the Irish, which was originally ordered by the Ottomans, the Resadih, which was also built in the United Kingdom and was also requisitioned by it.

What do you say about the original owner, the Ottomans?

It's not that simple~www.wuxiaspot.com~ I'll just give it back to the Ottomans when I run out of the British Empire. Don't these sick men of the Near East dare to have any opinions?

Haven’t seen that the warships built for Chile, Greece and other countries were also conscripted by the British Empire? Everyone treats them equally, so there is nothing to complain about (among the warships built by the conscripted countries in the United Kingdom, the Ottomans are treated the worst, and there is no such thing at all. Not to mention compensation, it is simply a humiliating condition).

Of course, how did the warships under his command come, Lieutenant Admiral Stedy doesn't care, he is now marking something on the chart.

"Order the fleet to increase speed to 10 knots and we will reach the Strait of Gibraltar by ten o'clock."

Lieutenant Admiral Stedy ordered after he put down the pencil he was drawing on the chart.

Following his order, the reinforcement fleet immediately sped up, and they headed for the Strait of Gibraltar, where they were most easily spotted.

(End of this chapter)