"Boom! Rumble! Boom ......"

The roar of bomb explosions resounded again in the city of Rome, accompanied by the hum of aircraft motors and the firing of various anti-aircraft guns and machine guns. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

It was a rather noisy night, and the military observer groups gathered in Italy had not yet seen the majesty of the Italian navy, but had first seen the power of the British Royal Air Force in the city of Rome!

Although the daytime bombardment was a tactical mess, it was strategically successful. The British Empire launched a surge that even the Vatican would be bombed, not to mention Madrid and Paris?

Moreover, more than 30 tons of bombs were dropped, and many places of interest were blown up, which made people feel distressed to watch.

At night, the scale of the bombing was even greater. There were not only 13 B-17s and 12 "Lancasters" flying from Gibraltar, but also Wellington bombers and Blenheim night fighters flying from Crete and the Peloponnese (bombs could also be hung). There were 145 bombs in total, and the bombs dropped were not just 30 tons, but hundreds of tons.

Helsmann, who had long expected a big bombing tonight, did not hesitate and went into the former underground cellar of the Medici Villa (now a "World Cultural Heritage" bomb shelter) early. He also asked people to invite Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto, two Japanese devils, to explain to them the latest mode of naval and air warfare.

A "liar god of war", now he is going to teach Yamamoto fifty-six to fight naval battles, and I don't know if it will be bad?

However, Yamamoto Fifty-six and Kuroshima Kameto listened very carefully, and they also brought a notebook and recorded while listening, which was a bit like a good student. The two of them were not deceived by Hersman, because in their professional eyes, the naval battle in the Eastern Mediterranean was truly epic.

And Hersmann, the field marshal's level of commanding naval warfare, is really high, so that it is an eye-opener for Yamamoto and Kuroshima, two guys who have studied naval warfare for most of their lives.

"Admiral Yamamoto, now I have 18 squadrons of JU88 bombers, 20 squadrons of S.M.79 torpedo bombers, 5 squadrons of Z.1007 medium bombers, 15 squadrons of Fokker Zeros (including 3 Italian squadrons), 3 squadrons of FW-190 - they are currently the most powerful fighters in the world, and 3 squadrons of BF-110 night fighters. In addition, I had an Italian naval fleet of 5 battleships and 6 heavy cruisers. If you're Cunningham, how are you going to fight? ”

A map was spread out on a table between Hersmann and Yamamoto and Kuroshima, showing the situation in the Mediterranean theater and an approximate list of British troops.

In response to Hirschman's question, Yamamoto Fifty-six and Kuroshima Kameto glanced at each other, and then both fell into deep thought.

After a long while, Yamamoto Fifty-six said lightly: "Marshal, your shore-based aviation is too strong, and Cunningham's fleet simply does not dare to approach Crete or the port of Tubruk in good weather during the day. This is a complete death, even if two aircraft carriers are equipped with 100 SeaSpitfire fighters...... So, Crete and Tubruk can't be held! The Greek and Yugoslav battlefields are even less to consider. The only feasible thing was to concentrate forces on the Nile Delta, keep the Suez Canal, and block the road from Africa to the Middle East for Germany and Italy. ”

Hersmann nodded lightly, and these days he and Hans. Jeshunek, along with several senior staff officers of the Italian Navy, were also studying Cunningham's possible strategy.

Because the superiority of Germany and Italy in shore-based aviation is too great - the dive bombing of the JU88 and the torpedo attack of the S.M.79, and the air superiority of the Fokker Zero and FW-190 are simply invincible.

Moreover, the Eastern Mediterranean was nothing more than a small pool, and the British fleet had little room to operate if it wanted to avoid the threat of German and Italian aircraft.

"The withdrawal of the fleet from the Mediterranean?" Hersman asked quietly, he was actually trying to trick Yamamoto Fifty-six and Kuroshima Kameto's words.

The Italian admirals were mostly inclined to let the British Mediterranean Fleet run away and leave the army and air force to defend North Africa - but this was a death search for Hersmann, so that Rommel would have sea supremacy. And this time Hirschman also gave him 2 armored divisions and 1 light division, and the British plus their Indian Ah San couldn't beat it even if they were drugged!

Yamamoto and Kuroshima Kameto conversed in Japanese for a while, then switched to English and said to Hersmann: "If I were Cunningham, I would let the aircraft carrier go, and then fight the Italian fleet again with the surface fleet!" ”

It is understandable to let the aircraft carrier withdraw, because the British biplane torpedo planes are so weak that they can wipe out the whole army at every turn. The reason why it was possible to sink two Italian aircraft carriers last time was solely due to the fact that shore-based aircraft taking off from Crete entangled part of the Fokker Zero. This time, however, Cunningham had no chance at all, as Hersman chose to destroy British shore-based aircraft and airfields in Crete and Tubruk before launching a landing operation. But the idea of a decisive battle with the surface fleet puzzled Hersmann a little.

Hersman thought for a moment and then asked, "The surface fleet fights at night?" ”

"Of course, it's a night fight, but if the weather is not suitable for the plane to take off, you can fight during the day." Although there is no certainty of victory, it is certainly better than no war, and if there is no war, then there is a possibility that the Battle of the English Channel will take place before September 41...... If two Veneto-class ships could be heavily damaged in the engagement, it would have been possible to postpone the Battle of the English Channel until 1942. ”

The "Immortal Staff" had analyzed that if Cunningham had gone without a fight, the two "Veneto" and two "Richelieu" classes would have joined the German High Seas Fleet before the weather in the English Channel turned bad in September.

At that time, it will be 6 new battleships (including 2 Bismarck) plus 2 "Dunkirk" plus "Gneisenau" and 7 old battleships against the British "Hood", "Nelson", "King George V", "Prince of Wales", 2 "Prestige" class, 2 "Revenge" class and 5 "Queen Elizabeth" class.

In this way, in terms of the number of battleships, it would be 16 German, Italian and French against 13 British, and the German, Italian and French side also had air superiority, and the British chances of victory would be quite low.

Hersman asked, "Where will it be fought?" ”

The Black Island Turtle Man replied respectfully: "Marshal, where your army lands, it is possible for the British surface fleet to seek a decisive battle." Because the landing operation could not be completed in a single day, at night the fleet had to take on the task of protecting the beachhead and the landing force. ”

The analysis is quite in place! Hersman nodded, he knew that the Japanese Navy was actually an apprentice of the British Royal Navy, and the apprentice still knew the master relatively well - sitting and waiting for death, it could not be the style of the British Navy.

Moreover, with the level of the Italian Navy, even if the strength is superior, it is not necessarily possible to win Cunningham. The battle of the fleet at night was clearly the best chance for Cunningham.

However, in addition to the powerful shore-based air force, Hersman also has another trump card - Erwin. Rommel, he's not a character Cunningham can deal with.

At this moment, Colonel Schnetz, Hersmann's aide-de-camp, suddenly walked in quickly, then leaned over to Hirschmann's ear and whispered: "Field Marshal, Reinhardt. Major General Heydrich reported that His Majesty the Pope, in his ward at Queen Margaret Hospital, had just been hit by a 50-pound British bomb! ”

Reinhardt. Heydrich was a rear admiral on this time and space (he was originally a naval officer), but he served in the Central Security Bureau, was Admiral Canaris's confidant, and was originally the senior intelligence chief responsible for the implementation of the "highest security measures". Before Hersmann came to Italy, he gave Canalis an order to send Heydrich to Italy to take charge of the Roman intelligence station......

Hersmann remained silent, but waved his hand lightly, and told Colonel Schnetz to retire - now he should not have known about the Pope's ascension, so he began to discuss the cooperation between the Japanese and German navies with the two Japanese.

"Are you building four 70,000-ton super battleships? Will the lead ship be commissioned this year? ”

As soon as Hersman spoke again, he asked a question that surprised both Yamamoto and Kuroshima. The construction of four ships of the "Yamato" class of the Japanese Navy was completely secret and was not revealed to the Germans at all.

Seeing that the two Japanese were stunned, Hersman sneered and said, "Aren't they just four 70,000-ton battleships, what is there to hide?" I can also tell you that we are also building four 70,000-ton battleships now. However, our work started relatively late, and the keel was only laid in August last year...... It was four ships that started work at the same time! If the works went well, they would have been able to enter service by early 1944.

However, the recently adopted U.S. Twin Ocean Navy Law also outlines plans to build five 70,000-ton battleships. If it is fully promoted, it will be completed by 1944 with the national strength of the United States. In addition, the United States has also planned the construction of six 45,000-ton battleships, four 35,000-ton battleships that are under construction, and two 'North Carolina' class ships to be built and three of the world's seven major ships, the Colorado class...... A total of 20 super battleships. In addition, the United States intends to start construction of 18 fleet aircraft carriers! If we wait for all these battleships and aircraft carriers to be built, even if we combine the strength of our two countries, we will not be able to defeat the United States at sea! (To be continued.) )