While sending the plan to the Second Fleet and ordering it to conduct exercises according to the plan, Raeder's First Fleet was also maneuvering as it advanced.

The exercise was as simple as dividing the fleet into two, with one team acting as the first fleet and the other playing the second fleet, and then constantly calculating the safety angle according to the distance between each other and the height of the warship, and giving instructions for the gunners to quickly adjust the elements.

Of course, the shooting and so on are all simulated, and the gunners do not have real targets, although such an exercise is not very effective, but at least it tells the soldiers what to do or pay attention to when the battle starts, so as not to make a mess and make some low-level mistakes.

Raeder took Qin Chuan and others to watch the exercise, the German Navy is indeed well-trained, and is very proficient in operating all kinds of equipment on the warship, including the warship's maneuver evasion of enemy bombers and torpedoes...... One of the most important is the "S-shaped" mobile artillery bombardment when the warship escapes from the enemy ship.

The French warship also has a very strange design, that is, the main guns are all placed in the bow, and the stern only has the secondary guns.

There will be no problem with this in air defense, there are secondary guns in the bow and stern, and if there is a problem, it is its 75-degree elevation angle.

But......

If an enemy ship appears in the rear, or if a French warship needs to flee from the enemy ship due to numbers or other reasons, it will be devastating: the 130mm secondary gun will probably pose no threat to the enemy ship at all, and the enemy ship can safely chase and fight in the rear until the French warship is sunk.

As a result, French warships have a characteristic "S-shaped" maneuver, which can take advantage of its high speed (French warships are characterized by high speed) to turn sideways away from enemy ships and let the main guns fire at the rear.

This requires a high degree of coordination between the main gun and the warship, because it requires the main gun to point directly behind when the warship turns sideways, and the main gun is ready to fire again when it is sideways to the other side and adjust the new elements...... If the warship is sideways to this side and the main gun is pointing in the opposite direction, it is a joke.

Being able to do this fully shows that the German Navy has mastered the control of French warships and learned their tactics, and even outshines the blue over the blue, such as the air defense method of mutual cover that Qin Chuan said...... Raeder came up with a name for this tactic: "cross-air defense".

It's a bit of a fitting name, it's like two machine guns forming crossfire with each other to minimize dead ends.

Darlan looked more and more heavy as he watched this scene...... He seemed to realize that the shame of the French Navy would last a long time, not only because of the German naval victories, but also because of the German naval victories.

This was certainly not what Darlan wanted to see, but he could do nothing about it.

"Marshal!" While Raeder and the officers were holding binoculars to watch the exercise, a staff officer rushed up and reported: "I just got the news that an enemy group has been found in the direction of Sicily!" ”

Raeder couldn't help but be stunned, and immediately walked back to the headquarters with the officers, and then asked the map: "Location!" ”

"Here!" The staff officer pointed to a point and replied, "Over Colleone!" ”

Raeder couldn't help but look at the staff officer in surprise: "Over Colleone?" God, the British flew over Colleone before the Italians discovered them? ”

It's no wonder Raeder was so surprised, Colleone is the hinterland of Sicily......

Under normal circumstances, the Italian 6th Army in Sicily should have sent warships, submarines, and reconnaissance planes to reconnoiter after receiving the warning, so that the British fleet would be discovered by the Italian army and reported to the Germans as long as it had just taken off or even assembled it.

But this is clearly not the case.

A large group of British aircraft passed through the search area of Italian reconnaissance planes, then through the reconnaissance area of submarines and warships, and through the coastal defense line of Sicily, until it was discovered and reported to the Germans in the sky over Colleone!

"God!" Raeder glanced at Qin Chuan, shook his head and said, "I was so wrong, I would actually hope that the Italians could block the British plane, now it seems that ...... We should ignore the existence of these Italians! ”

"Marshal!" Colonel Slane said, "You'll get used to it all!" ”

"Luckily!" A staff officer said: "We changed the plan in time to correct this mistake, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable!" ”

Raeder asked, "How long will it be before enemy planes reach us?" ”

"Half an hour!" The staff officer replied: "The enemy aircraft did not fly at the highest speed, presumably temporarily lost our exact position!" ”

This is a common occurrence in naval and air combat...... It cannot be said that hundreds of fighters are swarming to find the enemy's warships, and if they can't find them, it will be in vain.

However, because of the slow speed of submarines, as long as the ship group is at full speed, it is easy to leave the enemy's reconnaissance submarines far behind.

Therefore, the enemy should send several reconnaissance planes to reconnoiter first, reconnoiter and track the position obtained by the submarine and the speed and course of the enemy ship, and then let the aircraft group fly to the enemy ship at the fastest speed.

Raeder nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, "We only need twenty minutes to join the Second Fleet!" ”

At this time, another staff officer took a telegram and reported: "Marshal, the enemy reconnaissance plane has been discovered!" ”

The atmosphere immediately became tense, and the discovery of the enemy's reconnaissance plane meant that the reconnaissance plane had also discovered the fleet, that is, the British group had already determined the location of the target, and the group would probably rush to the sky over the group within 30 minutes.

"Get ready for battle!" Raeder gave the order without thinking about it.

"Ready for battle!"

"Ready for battle!"

……

One order after another was conveyed, and this time it was a real gun and not a drill.

However, because of the previous exercises, the German Navy was actually ready for battle, the difference was to load various weapons with live ammunition.

"Do you want to notify the Air Force?" The staff officer asked.

Normally, this is to notify the air wing to let them come and provide air cover for the fleet, but Raeder thought about it, shook his head and said: "No, when they arrive, the battle is over, and they can't help much!" ”

It was this correct order that completely changed the outcome of this battle.

Ten minutes later, a lookout shouted from above: "I see them, Second Fleet!" ”

The officers raised their binoculars and looked in the direction of the lookout, and sure enough, the shadows of warships appeared on the hazy sea, led by the "Richelieu," the flagship of the Second Fleet.

Almost at the same time, someone shouted: "Planes, fleets of the British!" ”

British fighters arrived almost simultaneously with the Second Fleet.