Port Said, Alexandria and Matrouh, known as the three largest ports in Egypt, are also some of the best deep-water ports in the Western Mediterranean.

During the British occupation of Egypt, Fleet C was home to Alexandria. Especially after the discovery of the Allied battlefleet in the waters north of Benghazi, near Gavzos Island, Cunningham subconsciously believed that the direction of the main force of the northern fleet must be the vast sea area between Crete and Egypt.

Admiral Cunningham's biggest basis for this judgment seems somewhat nonsensical: the battleships that the Italian Navy could get their hands on were all in the port of Matru, mixed with the battleships Fengxian and Wenju of the Han Navy.

This point of view is actually quite marketable among the generals of the Entente fleet, especially the chief of staff of the Greek Navy, Sakelario. As a pair of old enemies in the Mediterranean, the Greek and Italian navies have always been at odds, especially after Mussolini came to power, the Italian army invaded Greece, and the navies of the two countries tore their faces and fought. Before Britain and France declared war, the relatively weak Greek navy suffered no less.

After the full-scale war, the few remaining warships of the Greek Navy followed behind the C Fleet, throwing bricks and sticks, and they did not fail to attack the Italian Navy.

This time, the Entente side has formed the most powerful fleet in history, and Sakeirario will certainly not beat the chance of the water dogs, and his eyes are even more fixed on the poor few warships under the old rival Italian Vice Admiral Gilicziani.

"From what I know about Gilichiziani, the Italian navy has been frightened by our army, and their remnants will definitely not dare to act alone from the main force of the Han navy."

Cunningham nodded, Sakeralio was a good comrade. Although the strength of the Greek navy was almost negligible, the chief of staff was a good observer and respected the British aristocracy.

On the Sicily side, with the Valletta naval base in Malta under surveillance, the Allies could not play any tricks. The admiral waved his hand, and the scouts on several aircraft carriers came out in unison. More than a dozen Royal Navy "Red-headed Gull" water reconnaissance fighters, supported by submarines, carried out 24-hour uninterrupted monitoring of Egypt's coastline and military ports.

The "Red-headed Gull" all-weather water reconnaissance fighter is also one of Cunningham's trump cards. He believed that with the powerful reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities of the "Red-headed Gull", the Allied Combined Fleet would be like the name of the British light aircraft carrier - the Hundred-Eyed Giant.

In modern naval warfare in which aircraft carriers win and air forces win, everyone understands the importance of intelligence. The first to discover means to attack first, and the first attack of the aircraft carrier fleet duel is more profitable than the first move in the Chinese game of Go, which is no longer a matter of letting the son equalize.

Thinking about the various advanced carrier-based aircraft in the fleet, Cunningham does have the capital of self-confidence. It's just that the largest aircraft carriers and the most advanced carrier-based aircraft are all from the United States, which makes the British, who have always regarded themselves as the hegemon of the world's navy, quite uncomfortable. It's just that defeating the hateful Han people is the most important thing, and as for larger and more advanced aircraft carriers, "as long as the war is won, everything will be there." ”

Yes, Cunningham was right, World War II was a war to redivide the interests of the colonies, and winning the war meant a bigger share of the pie.

Leave the battlefleet in the port of Matruh, and if necessary, leave Delna to bombard Benghazi. Guan Canghai knew very well that the result of this was that the second battleship Fengxian was likely to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors.

The first Bongsin was sunk by the Japanese battlefleet in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, in order to cover the aircraft carrier formation.

This time, "it could be even worse!" Guan Canghai also followed His Majesty's example and pinched his nose. Commander Guan was an eyewitness to the Battle of the Yellow Sea, when he was only the captain of the aircraft carrier Gongjin, assisting Long Zhou in commanding the Northern Fleet.

However, this time, the battlefleet led by the Fengxian and the Wenju, as well as the four destroyers of the Italian Navy that took the initiative to ask for battle, may not even have a chance to charge bravely, because they have to face not the Japanese Combined Fleet battleship fleet, but the combined fleet of the entire Entente Powers, with a super-large fleet of 23 aircraft carriers.

Once Cunningham decided to make a move on the battlefleet that Malut was tasked with luring the enemy......

Guan Canghai didn't want to think about it anymore. "Some sacrifices are necessary, as long as the war is won, there will be anything! There can be more advanced warships to inherit the prestige and glory of the Bongsian. ”

The two fleet commanders, the commanders of both sides of the naval battle in the Mediterranean, said in unison: as long as the battle is won, there will be anything.

Perhaps, this is the true meaning of war, the mission of the soldier is not to engage in any knightly duel, but to win.

When the task force of the aircraft carrier Glory and the battleships Warrior and Sovereign entered the Gulf of Sirte and approached Benghazi; When the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, led by CV-9 Essex and CV-10 Yorktown (after the CV-5 Yorktown was sunk in Shanghai, the U.S. Navy reassigned the CV-10 to Yorktown) approached Valletta and continued to bomb air force airfields at the southern tip of Sicily and the Apennine Peninsula; While the aircraft carrier Eagle, the light carrier Majestic and the battleship Elizabeth, which had just been restored, preemptively bypassed the site of Plani in an attempt to seize the strategic location of Derna, Cunningham was still a little puzzled by the sluggishness of the Han Navy.

Although the smooth deployment of our fleet in the Gulf of Sirte was almost foreseeable to be able to smoothly take over the Eighth Army. But...... This is a bit abnormal, the Han ship in Egypt, although the strength is not as good as its own, but it is impossible to do nothing like this, sit back and watch themselves save the British army in Benghazi, plus regain control of the Central Mediterranean, "Could it be that the Han State has given up Italy?" ”

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the Glorious has sent a telegram that they are about forty nautical miles off the coast of Benghazi!"

"Report, sir, the bombing operation of Catania by the U.S. task force was going well, and Admiral Ingersoll said that the enemy resistance was weak."

…… One piece of information after another seemed to be good news, but Cunningham's brow furrowed even tighter. "What about the enemy? Could it be that cowering in Gibraltar is walking and encountering ghosts - scaring yourself? ”

"Report, urgent telegram, the discovery of the Han army's Linglong carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft in the Ionian Sea on the side of the US military......"

Cunningham, who was a little impatient, snatched the telegram and startled the telecommunications staff on the flagship King George V, but Cunningham's horror was much greater than his.

In the Ionian Sea between Greece and Italy, there was an aircraft carrier of the Han army? This situation made Cunningham's head "buzz" instantly. No wonder the operation near Sirte Bay was so smooth, no wonder not so many "red-headed gulls" have not found the aircraft carrier of the Han army in the eastern seas, "No! On my orders, order the Eagle and the Glory to launch a tentative attack on the port of Matruo. I suspect that the main forces of the Han navy were not at all in Matru and Alexander. ”

Cunningham realized that the fleet in Matroux was not the main force of the northern fleet of the Great Han, and even farther away in Alexandria, there were no aircraft carriers of the Han Kingdom.

It's just that he understands a little late! Guan Canghai used the huge size of the battleship to confuse the British reconnaissance planes, and in Alexandria, he made a big fuss.

According to the naming convention of the Imperial fighter, the code name of the "Eagle" was officially changed to J-15A after it was put on board. After Guan Haicang completed the deployment of the J-15 squadron's aircraft carriers, he immediately ordered the six aircraft carrier battle groups in the fleet to pull anchor and leave Alexandria and Port Said after receiving the order from Jiang Yunzhi to "take full charge of naval warfare."

For this battle plan, Guan Canghai implemented the highest standard of secrecy system, and the specific plan was only issued to the commanders of each formation, and even the captains of those carriers were not clear, but some clever people heard four words from Commander Guan: royal dispute.

Enough, these captains have already got a lot of information in four words.

Although it is not yet known where the fleet will go, it is not wrong to "kill the British".

Crete, the pearl of the Mediterranean Sea captured by German paratroopers after paying heavy casualties, did not play much of a strategic role in the subsequent battles of the German army.

But for the Northern Fleet of the Dahan Royal Navy, it is definitely the best barrier. The movement of the main forces of the Northern Fleet through the Strait of Kasos into the Cretan Sea and the use of Chania Bay at Cape Spanda as a temporary anchorage, like a warm breeze in the Mediterranean, did not attract any attention from the Allies.

At the air base in Paleoscartron, it was also ensured that the carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft and the "red-headed gulls" of the combined fleet of the multinational forces did not dare to get too close to Crete.

This made Guan Canghai even have the leisure to send a telegram to General Chiang, suggesting that Cape Spanda be used as a permanent base for the Imperial Royal Navy in the Mediterranean.

Soon, Commander Guan received a call back, with only seven words: Eat radish and salt, worry about it!

Haha, at a time when the war is in a critical period, it's a bit ...... to think about this Guan Canghai laughed, "This place is really good as a naval base!" ”

Ordered each battle group to release the Linglong reconnaissance plane, "Be careful, don't let people's radars target you, exposing the position of the fleet." ”

This is because the Royal Navy likes to do it the most.

With the development of radar technology, the search for the enemy's air base through the route of the enemy's reconnaissance aircraft on the return route was a tactic invented by Admiral Long Zhou, deputy commander of the Navy, in the Pacific Ocean. Many of the secret bases of the US military hidden in the Indian Mountains were exposed in this way.

Guan Canghai carried forward this tactic and used it to find the location of the enemy fleet, not to mention, it was really good.

A radar base station near Karamai on the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece actually discovered the location of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet task force with three large aircraft carriers and four escort carriers.

Although the Northern Fleet's combat goal this time was to completely destroy the main force of the British Royal Navy and win the "royal battle," as another participant in the "Three Kingdoms Struggle for Landlords," the US naval force could not be ignored. USS Essex, USS Yorktown, plus the old-fashioned CV-2 Ranger, and the four Borg-class escort carriers that can take off the F-2 Banshee and have quite strong anti-submarine capabilities.

"This is also a piece of fat! Beat the Yankees away, and then go head-to-head with the British! ”