Above the clouds, the air is thin and the sun is dazzling. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Accompanied by the roar of powerful engines, 16 IK-43T carrier-based bombers in two air formations flew from south to north under the tight cover of a large group of IR-44T carrier-based fighters. The eagles, whose fuselages and wings were painted with the clover logo, seemed to have been favored by Lady Luck, and they had a good ride before flying over the rough Strait of Otranto, saving a lot of time and fuel, and when they approached the Italian mainland, they were not intercepted by Italian fighters, so they entered the battle in the best condition......

Sidles-Doe, who fought in the Philippine naval battle three years ago, is now a veteran non-commissioned officer in the new United Kingdom Navy, serving as a bomber in a squadron of IK-43Ts. In the past three years, the high-altitude bombing tactics of the new British naval aviation with carrier-based bombers and radio-guided bombs have become more and more mature, and in terms of technology, reliable mechanical sights have been combined with advanced radar sights, and the "angel flying wings" with higher accuracy and greater power have completely replaced the first-generation radio-guided bombs nicknamed "one-eyed." In addition to the in-depth theoretical research, the actual combat efficiency of this kind of precision bombing has become more astonishing.

At an altitude of nearly 8,000 meters, Hidles-Doe saw the Italian battleships clearly through the optical sights, like beautifully crafted models, with battle arrays on a blue curtain, and the smoke and dust rising from the ship's chimneys formed bands of smoke that dispersed in the wind over the fleet.

In the late 40s, the Italian Navy had a total tonnage of 926,000 tons, second only to Germany, the United States, and Japan. The core of the Italian fleet during this period consisted of 6 modern battleships and 4 combat carriers, as well as 6 heavy cruisers, 12 light cruisers, 49 destroyers and 102 submarines. Benefiting from the developed shipbuilding industry, most of the Italians' ships are built for their own country, and the design, construction quality and maintenance of the ships are first-class, and the rigorous and scientific training system has made the technical and tactical level of the Italian naval officers and sailors always in the forefront of Europe.

In contrast to the vigorous trajectory of the Italian Navy, the Austro-Hungarian Navy went downhill after the death of Archduke Ferdinand. In the twenties, the economy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was once dead, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy lost no time in launching four Franz-Joseph I-class battleships, but with the arrival of the economic crisis and the turmoil in the domestic situation, the construction progress of these powerful warships was delayed again and again, and it was not until the mid-30s that all of them were completed and put into service, and the first and currently the only aircraft carrier of the Austro-Hungarian Empire took nearly 6 years from laying the keel to completing the service. The problem of the quality of the troops, which had long plagued the Austro-Hungarian Navy, was never resolved, and as a result, the gap between the Austro-Hungarian Navy and the Italian Navy not only failed to narrow, but widened......

Since the fighters providing air cover for the Italian fleet were being pinned down by the Austro-Hungarian air forces, this wave of carrier-based aircraft of the New Kingdom Navy, which had flown from more than 400 kilometers away, broke through the "forbidden zone" of the Italians very smoothly. In Sidles-Doe's field of vision, two Italian aircraft carriers in a traditional straight-through layout were flying their carrier-based aircraft into the wind, and he quickly targeted one of them - despite its almost identical outline to his own mothership, St. Patrick, Doe did not hesitate to drop the bomb, and then used the bombing sight to continuously calibrate its trajectory.

By this time, the Italian ships on the sea had realized that they were being targeted by death, and they opened fire into the air like crazy, and the smoke from the explosion of anti-aircraft shells and the smoke screens cast by the escort ships could interfere with people's normal vision, making it difficult for optical instruments to function, but not hindering radar sights. After 48 seconds of flight, the nearly 700-kilogram "Angel Flying Wing" smashed down on the flight deck of the Italian aircraft carrier with huge kinetic energy, and it successively penetrated the top deck and the hangar deck, and exploded inside the hull under the action of the time-delay fuse.

Above the clouds, the explosion was like thunder, and the air was surging. Doe in the cabin couldn't hear the sound of the sea, but the sparkling light from the sight and the ensuing mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke convinced him that he had hit the ground running, making a beautiful start for the new UK-Austro-Hungarian forces!

Meanwhile, 2,000 kilometres away, a light rain was pouring from Limerick. In the reception room of the "Forest Palace", a group of Italians anxiously awaited an audience from His Majesty Joachim I, King of the new United Kingdom, led by Amedeo, a member of the Italian royal family and the third Duke of Aosta. The middle-aged man with sorrow written between his eyebrows was dressed in the uniform of an Italian field marshal, and wore a golden Iron Cross on his left chest and a double sword medal with gold trim on a red background—the former was the Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle of the German Empire, a commendation for his five consecutive years as a member of the Military Joint Conference of the Western Allies; The latter is a medal for the Battle of the Azores, an honor he received for leading the Italian army in the Battle of the Azores.

In this reception room, almost everyone, including Sir Petro, the diplomatic ambassador of the Kingdom of Italy to Limerick, seemed anxious. Just a week ago, the new United Kingdom Navy's "North Tipperelli" and the Italian Navy's "Archimedes" were both sunk in the Eastern Mediterranean. In recent days, the new United Kingdom has shown a rare aggressive posture, and Austria-Hungary has also taken the opportunity to attack, so that the Kingdom of Italy is facing the unfavorable situation of being caught between the two powers. What made the Italians cry even more was that the Germans, who dominated the world order, not only did not mediate forcefully, but also put on a gloating face, clearly looking for an opportunity to settle the old account that Italy had repeatedly violated the resolutions of the League of Nations and secretly colluded with the Japanese......

Unlike those self-righteous guys in Italy, the Duke of Aosta has served as the representative of the Italian military to the highest military institutions of the Western allies for many years, has frequent contacts with European and American generals, and has participated in joint exercises many times, so he has a very clear understanding of the development of the military strength of European countries. He knew that, with the current military strength of the Kingdom of Italy, it would not be a problem to single out Austria-Hungary, but with the addition of a new United Kingdom, the situation would not be so rosy.

After the eagerness of the Italians, the chamberlain of His Majesty Joachim I finally came to the reception room and greeted him with court courtesy: "Your Royal Highness the Duke, and Your Excellency the Ambassador, please come with me!" ”

Duke Aosta turned his head and glanced at his entourage, nodding helplessly. Sir Petro, who was tall, and the man had no choice but to watch them leave the room.

"May God bless Italy!"

An Italian military attaché based in the new United Kingdom had a cross on his forehead and chest.

"It doesn't feel good!" Another senior diplomat muttered, "If we really fight, we may not lose, but ...... It's really hard to win against them! ”

"Win?" The military attache sighed heavily, and everything was silent.

In the King's office, not far from here, Natsuki and Prime Minister Aemond Dee Warren stood side by side in front of the window, each looking out of the window with their own thoughts. Just a quarter of an hour ago, a secret telegram arrived from the New United Kingdom Embassy in Rome in which the Ambassador had presented to the Italian Prime Minister a prepared declaration of war. Whether the Italians accept it or not, the reality is that the two countries are already at war at the moment.

When the Duke of Aosta and Ambassador Petro walked into the office, the two men in front of the window turned around.

Natsuki spoke: "I'm sorry, my old friend, there is nothing we can do about it. ”

"What?" Duke Aosta was stunned for a moment, then looked at Ambassador Petro, "Do you mean...... Our two countries are already at war? ”

"Hopefully, this is an extremely short war, and by the time we wake up, peace will return." Natsuki replied.

Shocked, Ambassador Petro asked rhetorically: "But we are a signatory to the treaty of alliance!" Does the war between us mean that the great and sacred Treaty of the Central Powers is a thing of the past? ”

"It seems that Mr. Ambassador has not studied our Confederate Treaty thoroughly and thoroughly." Prime Minister Aemond Di Warlira replied unhurriedly, "In fact, the outbreak of war between our two countries will neither lead to the end of the Allied Treaty, nor will it trigger the fulfillment of the obligations of any third country to participate in the war." ”

Ambassador Petro was speechless for a moment, but the Duke of Aosta argued very unwillingly: "However, Italy and Austria-Hungary are in a state of war in essence, and after your country entered the war, Italy was actually attacked by two great powers at the same time, and according to the three basic provisions of the Treaty of the Central Powers, all the States parties should fight together!" ”

Xia Shu responded: "Austria-Hungary is indeed among the great powers, and the new United Kingdom, with a territory of 100,000 square kilometers and a population of more than 10 million, can only be regarded as a medium-sized country at best. ”

It is true that with the exception of nuclear weapons, the new United Kingdom could hardly be classified as a great power by any of its statistics, but any of its data could be classified as a great power. The Allied Treaty was originally set up against Britain, France and Russia, after two world wars, Britain ceased to exist, France fell to the bottom, only Russia still maintained a strong military strength, the Allied Treaty has long lost its original meaning, the so-called three basic provisions are just some pale words.

The Duke of Aosta stood there stunned, not knowing whether to continue the conversation and talk about the terms of the armistice, or to leave immediately and wait until the two sides were superior on the battlefield before saying an armistice.

"A declaration of war has been handed over to your government, and in view of the enormous and sustained destructive power of nuclear weapons, we solemnly promise that we will not use them in war." Natsuki said word by word.

Duke Aosta took a deep breath and resolutely stretched out his right hand: "Goodbye, then, Your Majesty!" May we all be favored by fate! ”

Natsuki did not refuse to shake hands with him: "I'm sure we'll see you again soon!" ”

"It seems that Your Majesty has been prepared for this war for a long time, and is determined to win."

Duke Aosta nodded, and then said meaningfully: "I hope that after the war is over, we can still be friends!" ”

(End of chapter)