"These Italians, at the beginning, they couldn't even win against the indigenous Africans, and now it's a good scar and forget the pain, even if we don't intervene, they can successfully take Tripolitania and Cyrenaica?" Jochen was a little scoffing.

"The Ottoman army in North Africa was very small, and the Italians had absolute naval superiority, as long as they controlled the shipping lanes, they could cut off the support of the Ottoman army, so the Italians thought that only a small number of Ottoman troops in North Africa should be able to win the war." Machar responded.

The Ottoman troops stationed in North Africa were not only small in number, but also weak in combat effectiveness, and could not be compared with the troops trained by German instructors on home in terms of equipment, training and morale, and the Italian navy's crushing advantage over the Ottomans was unquestionable, so most people would have the same opinion as Marchar.

"I don't think so, I agree that the Italians can win at sea, but on land I don't think the Italians will go so well. The Ottomans were able to resist more than just armies in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. Jochen said with a smile.

"I understand that even if the Italians crush the Ottoman army, they will constantly encounter resistance from the locals." Mashal immediately understood: "Italy is likely to be in the same situation as it was in Abyssinia." ”

"Not only that, but the Italians are not prepared for this situation, and I think the arrogant Italians must think that they have a big advantage, right?" Jochen said playfully.

Although it has been deployed in North Africa, the historical Italy was very unprepared for the war itself, and the Italians, who thought it could be easily handled, even thought that only 300,000 lire of military expenses and 20,000 troops would be enough to occupy Tripolitania and Cyrenaica.

In this case, it is not surprising that the Italians have made a big mistake. For a long time, the Italian government's war expenses were as high as 800,000 lire per month. As a result of this high investment, the Italian army still did not have full control over most of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica until 1920.

To put it simply, the Italians think they have a big advantage, Italy A goes up, and Italy plays GG. Although the Ottomans wanted to end the war with Italy as soon as possible in response to the threat of war in the Balkans, it was true that their power in North Africa could not defeat the growing number of Italian troops. The Italians had to succeed, but the scale of the war was not what the Italians had originally intended.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Although the disdain for the Italians could be heard in His Majesty's tone, Italy was an ally of Germany after all, and Mashal was not sure what His Majesty the Emperor wanted to do with this matter.

"Although I would love to see the arrogant Italians learn a lesson, in reality it is not good for us that as long as war breaks out between Italy and the Ottomans, no matter who wins or loses." Jochen put away the smile on his face and said, "First of all, Italy, their navy is an important part of our future Mediterranean strategy.

The French finally started construction of their dreadnoughts this year. This makes it even more difficult for us to control the Mediterranean, so we need the Italian Navy, and we need the four dreadnoughts that they have already started. If it were to become the case with Abyssinia again, the cost of the war would be much higher than the Italian government expected, which would seriously affect Italy's finances and delay the building of their navy, which would be quite unfavorable to us. ”

Just a few days ago, the French laid the keel of a new battleship. Although it is not known whether this new ship will perform the same as the historical Coubert-class, and it is not even certain whether this class of battleships will be called the Coubert-class. After all, the current Kubert is different from history, and he is a defeated general who can't even be defeated by the Qing Navy. But Jochen understood well that the French had finally taken the step of catching up.

As it stands, the balance of power in the Mediterranean is more complicated than historically, with the Croatian-Slovenian kingdom nearing completion of two dreadnoughts, and the Ottoman Turks' dreadnoughts, which have already begun and seem to have taken the lead. But the speed with which the French built ships would soon wipe out this opportunity.

And since the fact that Croatia and the Ottomans were about to have dreadnoughts, it was inevitable that a chain reaction would not be triggered, and the rumors that the Greeks were now seeking to buy dreadnoughts was a huge change. Originally, Germany sold only two old Brandenburg-class dreadnoughts to the Ottomans in history, so the Greek Navy bought two Mississippi-class dreadnoughts from the Americans in response.

Although these two warships were inferior in performance, many flaws, and the Americans also slaughtered Greece with a knife. But in any case, it was enough for the Greek Navy. Moreover, such warships have little effect on the change in the balance of power in the Mediterranean, and even the Brandenburg-class of the German Mediterranean Fleet can now fight against the Mississippi class.

But if the Greek Navy had purchased dreadnoughts, the situation in the Mediterranean would have been even worse for the Allies in the future, since the German Navy had always been weak in the Mediterranean, so it would either have to draw the main forces from the North Sea to support the Mediterranean, or it would have to rely on its allies.

The redeployment of the main forces from the North Sea would inevitably weaken the fighting force for a future decisive battle with the British, and relying on the allies, Jochen found it difficult to believe that the Croatian and Ottoman navies alone could bring about any fundamental change.

In this case, the Italian Navy, which has already started construction of 4 dreadnoughts, has become a pivotal force in the Mediterranean, and if the Italian Navy is not co-opted, then all Mediterranean strategy will be empty talk, so Italy's attitude must be treated cautiously for Germany.

And Jochen doesn't want to see his allies spend their military, money, and energy in that desolate place, and you can at least ease the pressure on Germany on the Western Front by spending it on the Italian-French border, right?

"And the Ottomans are also an important link for us to contain Russia and block the Suez Canal in the future." Jochen continued: "If we do nothing, then the Ottomans will be dissatisfied with our laissez-faire behavior in Italy, which will lead us to have a negative influence on the continued deepening of our influence over the Ottous army." ”

In any case, Italy was still an ally of Germany, and if Italy did go to war with the Ottomans, it would be impossible for Germany to stay out of it. Jochen didn't dare to bet that Ottoman would be able to cooperate with Germany without any guilt after being beaten by Italy. Historically, the Ottomans had oscillated between the Alliance and the Entente, and then waited for the outbreak of war to finally overwhelm the League due to a series of events, but now Jochen was ready to draw the Ottomans closer to the Alliance as soon as possible, and if Italy and the Ottomans went to war at this juncture, things would be difficult.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we must stop the Italians from moving, and although I have instructed the Foreign Office to signal to the Italians that they do not want them to start a war, it is not known whether the Italians will be able to listen to them. Italy has clearly coveted Tripolitania and Cyrenaica for a long time, and if we take a tougher stance and hastily stop their actions, we may not only be effective, but will be a mustard. "Machar was a little worried.

Italy could not have attacked Germany at all, because it was obviously impossible for Germany to help the Ottomans fight for itself, and as long as the contradictions between Germany and Britain remained, then Germany would not be able to drive Italy out. So what can Germany say after it single-handedly won the Ottoman victory and created a fait accompli? This line of thinking is completely thought out by the heads of those wall-grass with mysterious self-confidence.

"Yes, both Italy and the Ottomans can play a very important role in our future strategy, and a war between them now will have a negative impact on the execution of our future strategy from any point of view, and if we can, it is better to let the Italians stop, the Italians should not have the courage to directly oppose our opinion now, as long as we take a tough attitude, it should not be a problem to stop the Italians from acting." Jochen was also very troubled: "But when the time comes, it is likely to create a gap between the Italians and us, as you said." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Mashal also has a headache for this: "If we want to stop the Italians from making unwise moves, we have to be clear about it, but we must take care of the Italians as much as possible. ”

"What do you think of joint military exercises with the Ottomans?" "The joint military exercises with the Ottomans show that the military cooperation between our country and the Ottomans is not just superficial, but has a deeper meaning, so that we show our attitude and at the same time we do not take too the Italians," Jochen asked.

In this way, the Italians would be able to stop their military adventures first, so that we would have more time to maneuver in them, and it would not be impossible for the Ottomans to make appropriate concessions, and when the Italians found that the price of a war with the Ottomans would be greater than they had expected, the Ottomans should be able to reap the benefits. ”

"I think we can give it a try." Marchar nodded.

Because of this exchange between the German Emperor and the Prime Minister, the Misudis will now appear in the battleships of the German Navy.

Although it was only a political exercise, the process of the exercise was not so simple as letting these unsuspecting Ottomans go. (To be continued......)