Churchill couldn't stop shaking his head and sighing after reading the names of these warships, and everyone understood the meaning behind this sigh - although four battleships were prepared in three directions, none of them were the opponents of the Tirpitts, and even two combined battles could not necessarily stop the Tirpitts.

After pondering for a moment, he suggested: "Air force is of great value, the number of escort aircraft carriers is not enough, should each fleet be equipped with one more?" ”

Tovey and Pound looked at each other and said in embarrassment: "We have taken out almost all the available escort aircraft carriers and used them, and the Admiralty only has one in hand as a backup, and the other escort aircraft carriers have been assigned to the transport fleet, and they cannot be mobilized in a short time." ”

"Maybe I need to talk to President Roosevelt once and ask him to support us in the USS Independence first." Churchill explained, "We don't have a fleet carrier at the moment, and the two escort carriers have barely as many aircraft as one fleet carrier, but in the case of the Active, they are not fast enough and not strong in defense to fully perform the functions of a fleet carrier, which is too bad." ”

The light aircraft carrier USS Independence was commissioned and delivered three weeks ago, and has just completed the relevant sea trials, although it is still on the east coast, but it is planned to be transferred to the Pacific Fleet soon. Tovey was worried about how to talk to the Prime Minister, and Churchill himself said it.

"That's great."

"Are you sure you'll have an additional Independence?"

"This ......" Tovey glanced at the silent Pound and cautiously opened his mouth, "Now the force of blocking the Tirpitz is not even two-thirds of the original siege of the Bismarck, we ......"

There was silence in the congregation, and it took a long time for Churchill to speak: "It may not be blocked, but we must rush forward, otherwise the Atlantic route will face catastrophic consequences." In these extraordinary times, Britain needs everyone to do their duty. ”

"Yes, I will personally command." Tovey said with difficulty after speaking, "The naval aviation is insufficient, can you ask the Royal Air Force for some assistance?" ”

The Chief of Staff of the Royal Air Force, Admiral Portal, immediately stated: "There are no problems, the Royal Air Force will do everything to eradicate this scourge." ”

While the attendees were racking their brains about how to respond to the aggressive challenge of the Tirpitz formation, a staff officer stumbled into the hall and gasped and reported: "News is coming from the Italian direction that the Axis Navy has been dispatched, and the target is Malta!" ”

"How many troops?"

"6 Japanese battleships, 3 Italian battleships, 1 German battleship, 12 heavy cruisers and a large number of destroyers, and a large transport fleet, but no aircraft carriers!"

Everyone frowned when they heard this, not because they thought the enemy's strength was too frightening, but because they felt that the information was too detailed -- there were no words that are common in the intelligence system, such as "left and right, approximately, seemingly, and supposedly," and every figure was very conclusive.

"Is the information reliable?"

"Reliable, absolutely reliable!"

An hour and a half ago, the famous Italian military port of Taranto held a grand departure ceremony, and the people witnessed groups of German soldiers boarding the transport ships, and one after another naval warships slowly leaving the dock and heading for Malta, Italian Prime Minister Mussolini, German Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Front, Field Marshal Kesselring, Commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and other important figures were all present to see them off. The cannon was fired in unison, and the posture was stretched out - the Italians did not want to hide it at all.

A few minutes later, more definite news reached the conference room, and the Italian side published the "Book of Merten Urging the Maltese Defenders to Surrender Unconditionally" by telegram: "...... Peace war to stay, the deadline is 6 hours to reply, otherwise, the powerful navy of our Three Kingdoms Axis will completely destroy Malta! ”

"This is a demonstration!" Churchill hated it: apart from a dozen planes and a few old cruisers or destroyers, Malta now has basically no forces worth mentioning, that is, the shore artillery positions and anti-aircraft artillery positions deployed on the island are almost the same as in the indiscriminate bombardment of the German and Italian air forces in the recent period, and it is impossible to defend against such a powerful force, and it is not surprising that there are no aircraft carriers - Sicily is the largest natural aircraft carrier!

"What can we do for Malta?" Churchill asked.

No one answered his question, and everyone's eyes were full of despair.

In the end, Churchill could only reluctantly say: "Send them a telegram of condolence in my name, 'Great Britain will always remember your loyalty and devotion!'" ’”

Mussolini was of course most fond of Mussolini to hold the expedition ceremony, because the capture of Malta was clearly commanded by the Italians, and the Italian leaders wanted to put on a show, Hoffman originally wanted to refuse outright, but after careful consideration, he felt that it was still necessary: first, it was impossible for such a large fleet to go out to hide from those who wanted to do so, and since sooner or later it would be known to the British side, it was better to use this high-profile approach to show the strong force of the Axis; secondly, Mussolini's cooperation in many areas, including the integration of the German-Italian axis, had to satisfy his vanity as a reward, which also helped to increase the enthusiasm and confidence of the Italians in the Great War, and further consolidated the political position of the Italian leader in the party and at home; Third, this is a joint expedition of the three Axis powers, which needs to show the spirit of close cooperation between the three countries and work together to suppress the British Empire, and give some "neutral countries" that are still swaying from side to side to give a little confidence. If Malta can be taken quickly after the high-profile departure ceremony, Hoffman feels that the "advertising cost" will be worth it.

For the sake of this small island, of course, Horikichi would not end up in person, so the commander-in-chief of the Malta campaign was Admiral Iaginso, the commander-in-chief of the Italian navy fighting at home, and Tsukahara 243's mobile fleet was busy training and familiarizing itself with the new aircraft, and all remained in the harbor, so there was not a single aircraft carrier with him. Vice Admiral Nobutake, the oldest in service, assumed command of the artillery fleet and commanded all the battleships - because Japan produced the most battleships, and Admiral Krank, commander of the German Mediterranean Fleet, served as commander of the landing fleet to cover the landing of the army - because the landing force was all German.

As for the planes, all of which were sent by the Italian Air Force and the German Navy, Kesselring had deployed more than 500 planes for the Maltese campaign—so many planes could have been obscured from the entire skies of Malta if they had been so dense that they had swooped down together.

Before the start of the war, the Maltese side was sent an ultimatum ordering them to surrender unconditionally within six hours, otherwise they would be beaten back to the Stone Age with naval guns and bombs, and the idea was also devised by Hoffmann, which resulted in a crowd applauding.

Although six hours were given an ultimatum, it was believed that the Maltese defenders would not surrender easily, so they sent an ultimatum and told the fleet to hurry up and set the time for a general attack on Malta at 12 noon on 7 February, demanding that the occupation be completed before sunset.

In the evening, Hoffmann arrived in Rome with Keitel and Raeder on a special plane, and Mussolini led a large number of high-ranking Italian figures to greet them at the airport, as did the high-ranking Japanese navy who did not go on the expedition.

"Who is this?" Immediately after shaking hands with Hoffmann, Mussolini saw Eva, who followed him with grace and grace - she had been excited for a week, but when she finally received a call from Berlin asking her to join her on a foreign trip, she was so excited that she cried with joy.

Not only did he arrive in Berlin a day early, but he also carefully prepared all morning, and all the clothes, hairstyles, and makeup were all perfect, and Hitler would have been impatient for a long time, but Hoffmann generously expressed his understanding - what woman would not travel like this? Fortunately, although Eva tossed, she had a strong sense of time, and she acted immediately as soon as she said that she would go, without delay, and she would not pull Hoffman on the plane to comment.

After Mussolini's hand kiss, Eva introduced a little shyly: "Dear Führer, I am Eva Braun, the Führer's personal secretary. ”

"Oh......" Mussolini thought.

"She's my girlfriend, but her identity is still a secret for most ordinary people...... You wouldn't mind, would you? ”

"Of course not, I'm very honored to ......"

Hearing Hoffman's personal introduction, Mussolini's eyes immediately narrowed, he actually knew that Eva existed, and he had seen it in public a few times, but the Führer had never shown it as generously as today, he couldn't help but be a little suspicious, but he felt very normal - he himself has many lovers, men......

After hearing Hoffman introduce her "girlfriend" in person, Eva felt like her whole being was about to merge, and looked at Hoffman with affection, making the latter feel a burning eye on her back - the heat could be through winter clothes.

The second in line was Horikichi, who shook hands warmly as if they hadn't seen each other in years, even though they had never met, after being introduced by the second lieutenant Cole.

Hoffmann personally introduced to Eva: "This is the famous Japanese naval commander-in-chief, Admiral Horikikichi -- the British and American naval warships he sent to the bottom of the sea are stronger than the German and Italian navies combined." ”

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be...... Horikichi smiled again and again, "the Führer has contributed more to the German nation than the greatest leader in the world of all time, far more than the Emperor Napoleon." ”

"Hahaha." Everyone laughed, and even Mussolini applauded this "little brother" with a smile on his face - the Germans proved to be far more capable of fighting than the Italians, and the news from the direction of Ethiopia that the German army was under the city of Addis Ababa today, and Guderian invited him to attend the entrance ceremony, which satisfied the Italian leaders. (To be continued.) )