"Turkey finally can't resist the pressure and allows the Axis powers to use the Istanbul Strait!" Throwing the message in his hand on the table, Zhukov said with a headache.

Sitting on the sofa in his office was General Vatutin, who was helpless at this time, so he could only sigh.

Zhukov could contend with Guderian at Kursk, but he could not prevent the Germans from entering the Black Sea to attack his soft underbelly.

After all, Ukraine is still in the embarrassing situation of being surrounded on three sides, and Zhukov also knows that one more day he stays in Kursk, the more dangerous it will be.

You must know that the German army may attack the coast of Ukraine from the sea at any time, and it can also flank the Soviet army from Kursk and other areas.

Coupled with the pressure from the frontal defensive line, Zhukov did not know whether he should hold out in this part of Ukraine.

After all, the local Ukrainians hated the Russians and were willing to leave the Soviet Union and join the German family.

"I heard that the Germans are still relatively restrained, and only 5 destroyers have entered the Black Sea, and they have not approached the vicinity of Odessa." Vatutin asked.

Zhukov nodded: "The Black Sea Fleet still has a certain combat capability, and the fighting spirit of the Navy is also stronger. The Axis powers will not be able to shake Sevastopol in the short term! ”

Although he said this, he still had no bottom in his heart. After all, the Axis powers were now very strong in naval strength, and they were far from being comparable to the Soviet Union.

Although Zhukov often stressed that the Sevastopol military port could not be lost, this was based on the premise that the enemy's fleet could not enter the Black Sea.

If the Axis fleets could enter Sevastopol, no one knows how long the Soviet fleet would be able to hold out, or how long it would be able to survive.

Speaking of the Black Sea Fleet of the Soviet Union, it was actually still a very powerful navy: by the beginning of the Soviet-German war, the Black Sea Fleet was the second largest of the four fleets.

This fleet has 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 13 destroyers, 2 frigates, and 47 submarines. Just looking at this data, it is still very bluffing.

Because this fleet alone was much stronger in overall combat strength than the weak Chinese Navy at that time.

In addition, this fleet includes 4 gunboats, 3 minelayers, 15 minesweepers, 22 armored boats, 28 submarine hunters, 7 minesweepers, and 84 torpedo boats.

And near Sevastopol, the Soviet army also deployed more than 300 aircraft. Among them, there were 146 fighters, 58 attack planes and bombers.

In addition, the Black Sea Fleet also has 33 shore artillery batteries under its jurisdiction, and has 117 coastal defense guns of various types and calibers.

Among them, the largest caliber was 8 305 mm guns, plus 18 203 mm, 14 180 mm, 35 152 mm large-caliber guns.

These artillery pieces are enough to pose a threat to the enemy's fleet, and the whole of Sevastopol can be said to be impregnable.

The rest of the artillery is not enough: 18 130-mm, 4 120-mm, 4 100-mm and 16 75-mm guns.

There were 50 companies of anti-aircraft guns, armed with 300 anti-aircraft guns - this was the data at the beginning of the Soviet-German war, and now more than half of these anti-aircraft guns have been withdrawn.

In addition, because of the war, Sevastopol was docked with various auxiliary ships and civilian ships, with a hundred dry cargo ships and at least 20 oil tankers.

The quality and quantity of these coastal defense guns alone may exceed the total number of heavy artillery pieces equipped by the Chinese army at that time.

Now, these weapons and equipment have also become prey in the middle of the Axis encirclement. They can't escape, they can only wait for the end to come.

"I'm afraid that today it will be 5 destroyers, and tomorrow it will be 5 battleships!" Vatutin shook his head and said with a sigh.

The Soviet Union has long known that the current naval power of the Axis powers can be said to be firmly on the throne of the top three in the world.

Not to mention the German Navy, which received the British naval heritage, let's just say that the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean, there are more than 4 battleships that can be drawn out now!

Moreover, these battleships were all cutting-edge battleships equipped with 380 mm or 320 mm guns, which were not comparable to the old Soviet battleships.

Italy alone could have drawn several battleships, plus the German fleet...... The enemy that Sevastopol will face may really be as simple as five battleships.

Even though there are more than 40 submarines here, most of them are small submarines of several hundred tons, and their combat capabilities are very limited.

Most of the more than 300 aircraft deployed are I-16 and the like, and their combat effectiveness can only be said to be better than nothing.

Not to mention that there are only more than 100 of them, if the Germans really pull the aircraft carrier over, even if there are 200 fighters like the I-16, the F-190 fighters of the naval aviation will be able to pack up.

If the Germans were more cautious, taking off road-based fighters from Odessa and other areas, they were also more numerically than the Soviet ones.

Moreover, if well prepared, the fighter can take off from the roadbed, and you can also use a more elite TA-152 fighter, which is more powerful than the ME-109 and F-190.

Speaking of aircraft carriers, one has to say about Italy. The Italian Navy has also recently been building its own aircraft carriers, and if all goes well, the Italian aircraft carrier Eagle in 1942 will be ready for service.

Germany's use of aircraft carriers irritated not only the Japanese and Americans, but also the French and Italians.

The French government has tried again and again to recall its exiled aircraft carrier USS Béarn - but unfortunately the United States has not let people go, insisting that the aircraft carrier is owned by the French government-in-exile.

And the Italians, for their part, accelerated the program of refit of aircraft carriers. The refit of the aircraft carrier, which was supposed to take shape only in 1943, began to bear fruit in June 1941.

Like Germany and Japan, Italy is also following the path of converting cruise ships. And the performance of these two aircraft carriers is not very good, and they can only carry about 40 aircraft.

"Thankfully, at least Turkey is not turning to the Axis, and the Baku oil fields are safe for the time being." Seeing that Vatutin was a little pessimistic, Zhukov could only open his mouth to comfort him.

Turkey's ambiguous attitude was to curry favor with the Axis powers while secretly aiding the Soviet-American alliance – which could be good news for the Soviet Union.

"Yes! If Turkey had fallen to the Axis powers, the war would have been avoided. Vatutin sighed with emotion.

If Turkey were to side with the Axis powers at this time, needless to say, just taking off Axis planes from Turkey and bombing the Baku oil fields would have been enough to make the Soviet Union worse.

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There will be a change to make up for yesterday's update in a while, it may be later, you can watch it tomorrow morning.