"This time we can forget it, but we must prevent this kind of thing from happening again, otherwise it will not only be a devastating blow to our national prestige, but also greatly increase the difficulty of our military operations." Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Info"Although he agreed with the King's approach, the Chancellor raised the possibility of indulging the Germans.

"Our fleet is limited in number and cannot control the coast of North Africa in a guaranteed blockade of the ****** Straits, as the Duke of Abu Qilu has already told you."

"I have thought about it, since the navy is limited, then let the army be responsible for the blockade of the coast, and I have now issued an order to add 30,000 more troops to control the coastal ports of the whole of North Africa. As long as the German fleet leaves the North Atlantic, we can also arrange patrol boats to intercept German transports, but not now. Umberto I thought for a moment and said. This time, the sword of the Germans was basically on the head of Italy, and if you don't want to coax it, you have to coax it!

At the same time, while the eyes of the world were attracted to the fleet of Count Spee, and Britain and France were speculating whether this fleet would sail into the Mediterranean, forcing Italy to abandon its attack on Turkey, two other fleets, numbered K and A in Germany, also sailed out of a remote port in East Prussia.

"To be honest, even if I was standing 500 meters away, I couldn't tell what the difference was between this battleship and a cruise ship!" Looking at the bridge, which had been rendered beyond recognition by various structures and camouflages, Scheer sighed with emotion. He really didn't expect his battleship to become what it is now.

First of all, the Prince Albert added two false chimneys in the harbor as camouflage, one on the Cambridge at the rear and the other even on the turret at the tail. At the same time, all the guns of the battleship are covered with special partitions, and these partitions are camouflaged, and there are even specially installed light bulbs. When sailing at night, when all the lights are turned on, it looks like a real cruise ship from a distance.

Secondly, the outer layer of the battleship underwent a full painting operation. The original German grey and Victorian white colour palette has been replaced with a blue livery. The dinghy placed in the middle of the hull was also placed on the outboard side of the boat. Even in the daytime, the ship, from the outside, was a cruise ship, not a warship.

Of course, there are troubles with such good camouflage, for example, if you want to turn into a combat state, it will take 2 hours to remove these partitions alone, especially the partition in the middle of the hull, which directly affects the firing of the two turrets. If the enemy is encountered at this time, only the front and rear main guns can fire quickly.

Another Swordfish attack ship that accompanied the Prince Albert to Turkey was also camouflaged, but because it was originally a merchant ship, as long as the artillery was camouflaged, the Italians came on board to inspect it, anyway, the ship's identity was a coal ship, and all the shells and mines were in the mezzanine inside the hold.

"Mr. Major General, it seems to be the Seawolf over there!" An officer pointed to the battleships that were coming to converge in the distance.

"According to the original plan, it seems that the Seawolf will act alone, why does it suddenly join us this time?" Looking at the telegram he had just received in his hand, Scheer was a little puzzled, but he still sent a signal to the Seawolf and sent his blessings. Although the three warships sailed in formation, the distance between them was still very large, and the Seawolf was 10 nautical miles apart from each other in the front and behind. And the Prince Albert and the Swordfish are separated by 5 nautical miles.

"It seems that they are going to help us find our way and avoid some ships that are not easy to meet." An officer said.

"Maybe, but I don't think it's going to be that simple." Now Scheer himself was a little confused, because he couldn't figure out how the plan was going to work. They will first arrive at the predetermined sea area within the specified time according to a predetermined schedule, and they will be asked to avoid all warships. Then the actions of the camouflage ship Seawolf arranged earlier, can be understood.

Secondly, after receiving a telegram signed as a shadow, he and his fleet will pass through the Strait of Messina! When Scheer received this telegram, his first reaction was, "Oh my God, this is almost impossible!" "The Strait of Messina is between Sicily and mainland Italy, and the northern entrance is only 3.2 km wide! The south is only 16 kilometers wide, and the Italians don't need to deploy a fleet at all, just pulling two mine nets is enough to block Scheer's advance, and it's still at night! If it runs into a mine, maybe this battleship will be handed over like this, how can you make Scheer not worry, how can he not be afraid?

But there is no way, this is an order and it must be executed. To Scheer's reassurance, it seemed that this was only part of the order, and that the final order would be sent to him by telegram after he had entered the Mediterranean, and that a never-used code book was snuggled in Scheer's pocket, which gave him more confidence in the success of the matter.

"Remember, don't give up any hope until the dust settles!" Before leaving, Admiral Bohr, who came to see him off, repeatedly emphasized.

And shortly after Scheer set off with the fleet, another ship sailed out of another harbor under the leadership of Rear Admiral Frederick, and if a German naval officer had seen the battleship with the number K at this moment, he would have exclaimed that this was not the King Albert.

That's right, it's a decoy boat! Under the leadership of Major Frederick, he would force his way through the ****** Strait, and then try to attract the main Italian fleet to pursue him. This is a high-speed merchant ship converted into a decoy ship, originally used as a German Navy steam turbine test platform, this experimental ship is equipped with a new type of steam turbine and kerosene mixed burning boiler, plus all the unnecessary things have been removed, the hull is relatively slender, although the tonnage is as high as 8000 tons, but its speed can still reach the speed of 24.5 knots that the world's large warships have not yet reached!

According to the plan of the German Navy, the first step of the whole breakthrough plan was arranged in such a way that a week later, Flotilla A, led by Rear Admiral Escher, would rush to the west side of the Strait of Messina, and the battleships K, commanded by Major Frederick, would rush to the west side of the ****** Strait, and if nothing else, they would enter the position in the evening! Then it will pass through the Strait of ****** and the Strait of Messina, respectively!

The second is more ~~~! Ask for subscription, ask for tips~~~!! (To be continued.) )