On the blue sea, a fleet is hurrying all the way.

They were Task Force 2 under the command of Rear Admiral Fernandez, and the fleet was sailing in a column in the Mediterranean, with dozens of warplanes in the sky defending his fleet's airspace.

Rear Admiral Fernandez, who was the commander of the fleet, looked at the sea with a serious expression. "How far are we from the goal?"

"According to the results of the reconnaissance ten minutes ago, there are still 120 kilometers left. It's just that the other side should have discovered that our first two reconnaissances were desperately heading towards Crete. ”

Hearing the words of the communications staff officer, Major General Fernández glanced at him with some dissatisfaction, and then asked again. "What is the speed of the other party now, and are there any signs of scattering?"

After being glanced at by the major general, the communications staff officer, who was a little flustered in his heart, hurriedly replied. "At present, the speed of the opponent's ship is about 14 knots, and I haven't found that the opponent has any re-scattering moves, probably because we were frightened by our previous actions."

"Okay, I got it. Now order all the ships to continue to increase their speed, raise the speed to 30 knots, and I will see the enemy fleet today. ”

With the order of Rear Admiral Fernandez, the ships were even more powered, and the white waves in the stern of the ships were even longer, and the speed of the fleet was further improved.

While Rear Admiral Fernández gave the order, Colonel Colcos, as the commander of the transport fleet with target number B-12, was anxiously waiting for news in the mailroom.

"Crete, haven't you called back yet?"

"Your Excellency Colonel, there has been no call back yet."

"It's been almost two hours, haven't they figured out a way yet, you know, we're here to reinforce them."

Colonel Kolkos was anxious to scold his mother. As a veteran of the Battle of Jutland (first mate of a destroyer), Colonel Kolcos had a hundred reasons to be dissatisfied with his assignment to command the transport fleet.

But the situation was not up to him, because Alexandria was attacked by air raids, and the commander of the fleet, General Cunningham, and the chief of staff, General Hawkins, were ordered to retire. The new General Somerville, now in office, is a tough old fellow, and he does not dare to resist this appointment in any way.

This time, the B-12 transport fleet he was in charge of had more than a dozen transport ships, which were loaded with supplies to support Crete, and there was also a British-Indian infantry brigade on board to reinforce Crete.

In fact, the B-12 transport fleet was the last fleet to transport to Crete. During the Romanian seizure of the Cyclades, the Greek government, which had retreated to Crete, repeatedly appealed to the British for help. They not only wanted military supplies such as weapons and ammunition, but also food and daily necessities, and also hoped that Britain would send reinforcements to help them defend.

Considering that Greece is an ally and Crete is also very important to Britain, Britain has sent several fleets to take the opportunity to transport a lot of weapons, ammunition and supplies ashore. More importantly, Britain also sent reinforcements, nearly 20,000 troops from India and Australia and New Zealand, who were fighting alongside the Greeks in Crete, commanded by Major General White, and he also commanded all the British military forces in Crete.

And this time, there are also many materials and personnel that he has specified in need, especially the more than 50 anti-tank guns and more than 180 anti-aircraft guns that accompany the ship, which are the equipment he urgently needs.

And Colonel Kolkos's hope is that the major general can pay attention to this batch of equipment, and he will be able to send planes to support him.

The receiver, who was waiting, saw that the radio light was green, and hurriedly said something. "The telegram is coming."

When the receiver had prepared the message, Kolkos took it. There are only a few words on it, enter the Cretan defense circle as soon as possible, and we will send planes to support you.

Kolkos was waiting for this telegram, only to see him shout, "Immediately inform the crew of this news and let them know that we have not given up." ”

So this telegram from Crete was immediately sent to every ship.

In addition to the low morale of the fleet because of the attack by Romanian fighters, there was also their pessimistic attitude that this was a transport mission.

Because this is all visible to the eye, the youngest transport ship in the fleet is the Martin, which is 15 years old. Not to mention other transport ships, which generally start in 20 years. As for the warships escorted by Kolkos, they are all old-fashioned, and there is not a single warship newly built after the war, and they are all old-fashioned characters.

Take the cruiser Karaddock at his feet, for example, which is the oldest light cruiser in the Navy today, with a history dating back to World War I. You must know that small warships are different from large warships, and the replacement cost of small warships is not as high as that of large ones, so countries basically replace small warships much faster than large warships.

So Karaddock is a complete old guy, but this old guy is also the backbone of this small fleet, and the rest of the goods are even more unbearable.

The Panyan destroyer on the right is obviously the style of a lightning strike ship before World War I, but looking at its slow pace, don't think about lightning strikes, be careful to anchor halfway. The Antelope on the left is much better, at least in the style of World War I, the only bad thing is that the failure rate is high, and it has been repaired three times along the way.

Just such a group of veteran remnants, protecting this transport ship, no one has confidence in exchange.

This is not to say that Britain did not have good warships, but that the transport route from Egypt to Crete was too dangerous. In the case of the loss of sea supremacy, the old ships that can be used are resolutely not the new ones, because they are all vulnerable in front of the Romanian intercepted capital ships.

And this telegram somewhat boosted the confidence of the fleet, at least letting them know that there would be rescue planes coming. So the flotilla still maintained the maximum formation speed of 14 knots and fled towards Crete.

As an additional note, the B-12 flotilla was the last transport fleet in Crete. Because Britain needed Crete to delay Romania's footsteps, instead of filling the bottomless pit of Crete with British troops and supplies. The British hoped that the island would be more resistant to the Romanian attack for more than a month, preferably for three months, so that the British colonial troops would gather in Egypt and the Middle East.

Every move of the B-12 fleet is under the noses of Task Force 2, and Rear Admiral Fernandez, who holds three fleet aircraft carriers, will naturally not let this fleet run away. If he hadn't wanted to capture the other party, the carrier-based aircraft of just three aircraft carriers would have been able to send them to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.

He may not be sure of attacking a warship formation, but the transport fleet is like shooting a target.

The time passed slowly in the pursuit and escape of the two fleets, and when the time came to four o'clock in the afternoon, a pillar of smoke and dust had appeared in the sky.

This made Kolcos's heart sink, because it meant that the Romanian fleet had caught up.

"How far are we from Crete now?"

Impatiently, he pulled the captain over and asked for distance. As the old navy Kolkos, this pillar of smoke knew at a glance that there were many ships coming, and the only thing that appeared at this time could be the Romanian fleet that was pursuing him, and now no one dared to approach the waters near Crete.

The navigator, who was also frightened, replied truthfully: "At present we are still about 100 kilometers away from Crete. ”

"Now this speed can't get rid of the Romanian fleet chasing after us, let the transport ship go first, and we will block the Romanian pursuit."

At this moment, Colonel Colkos was possessed by the soul of the British Navy for a hundred years, and he wanted to block the Romanian fleet.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Following his order, the escorting warships slowly broke away from the convoy and let the transports pass first. Now they intend to use their own warships to hold off the pursuing enemy and buy time for the convoy.

"Damn, didn't you say the island would support us, where did the plane go?"

Despite the order to intercept the incoming Romanian fleet, Colonel Kolkos still hoped to be supported by aircraft, even if it was to harass the Romanian fleet.

"Report, this is a telegram from Crete, the reinforcement group they sent was stopped by the Romanian fighter group, it is reported that the number of intercepted fighters is more than 70, the reinforcement group has suffered heavy losses, and it is no longer able to support us."

The words of the communications officer sent Colonel Kolkos' whole heart to the bottom.

"Okay, I got it."

"Now I command, raise the Z-flag, and tell all the crew that the British Empire needs everyone to do their duty."

Although later generations knew that the Z-shaped flag was used more by Japan, it was just a Japanese imitation of the British Navy. At the Battle of Trafalgar, Viscount Nelson used it for the first time in a naval battle.

And now Colonel Kolkos, intending to imitate the feat of his predecessors, also uses this flag. Although he did not have the strength and means to defeat the invading Romanian army, he wanted to show the Romanians that the British Empire would never give in.

So I saw five old British warships rushing towards the incoming Romanian fleet without hesitation.