Benson's strategy is definitely not the best, but it is definitely acceptable to the top of the Entente, whether it is Jericho or Magiffin, their overly aggressive strategy is a bit like a fierce medicine, which can solve the problem quickly, but at the same time, it will also lead to a sharp deterioration of the wound in a certain period of time. The top leaders of the Entente had to bear tremendous civil pressure. Magiffen's final warning did not touch President Wilson, so what about another two years of war? Anyway, the Germans have been fighting for three years, and since Germany is willing to continue, what if the Americans accompany you to fight for two years? The U.S. government is even willing to let Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy bleed well, only in this way can the United States gain more benefits. President Wilson just smiled. Because in terms of national strength, the United States at this time is far superior to the Allies, who have been fighting a war for three years!

The Americans said that it didn't matter, and the British were not a big problem, after all, it was Britain that relied most on the North Atlantic transportation route, and Britain would transfer materials and troops from the colonies to the United States in the end and then complete this last stretch of the road, (the entire Indian Ocean had been placed under the control of the Allies, except for the Chinese merchant ships transported to the Entente countries could pass through the Indian Ocean unimpeded, any other merchant ships carrying Allied goods had to detour through the Pacific Ocean, and then go to the Atlantic.) The entire North Atlantic shipping line is almost a lifeline for Britain. In this case, it would be better for the British to abandon the relatively unimportant North Africa and concentrate their forces to hold the lines of communication, while at the same time the British and American fleets were close together and took care of each other.

The only country that is unacceptable to this result is France. France, unlike Britain and the United States, has a large number of colonies in North Africa, and there are hundreds of thousands of troops fighting against the Allies. The withdrawal of the British and French navies from the Mediterranean is undoubtedly tantamount to giving away North Africa! There is a saying in China that the cub sells the field, and the heart does not hurt. North Africa has little to do with Britain and the United States, but too much to do with France! North Africa provided France with a lot of manpower, and at the same time, France put a lot of effort into defending the place. Britain and the United States said that they would withdraw, which was unacceptable to France, and their own interests were sold for no reason, which made the arrogant French government feel very angry.

But what if you don't accept it? The French Navy has existed in name only. Britain and France have to go, what can the French do? What's more, I played for a long time. Neither Britain nor the United States had been subjected to war, and the French capital was still under the threat of the Germans, and people had to bow their heads under the roof. What's more, the French still need the American fleet to protect their west coast, and isn't it to find fault with Britain and the United States at this time? So even if the French ten thousand are unwilling. Nothing can change that.

Before leaving, though. The Entente decided to leave some souvenirs for the Spaniards! The American and French fleets led by Magifin carried out a rather thorough sweep of the Spanish ports on the Mediterranean coast, and although the Spaniards had moved important supplies and equipment before the start of the war, the sweep still caused Spain to bleed. Moreover, the goal of the Americans was not only so simple, but also after entering the Atlantic, they also carried out a sweep of the ports in the direction of the Spanish Atlantic to retaliate against the destruction of the transport lines by the Spanish fleet, and of course, the most important thing was to immediately use the remaining fleet on the mainland to launch an attack on the colonies of the West Indies, which were almost defenseless. Eventually, the Americans occupied these places and accomplished what they had failed to achieve in the Spanish-American War.

And with it comes September 17. The arrival of the American fleet in the port of Brest heralded the Allies' final recognition of the Allied control of the Mediterranean, and made it possible for the Spanish fleet to make peace with the Allied Mediterranean fleet. At this point, a new allied Mediterranean Fleet will be formed, and the size of this fleet will rise again to the size of 14 capital ships. As a result, there is a capital that is holding on to the US Navy. What is even more rare is that with the fall of the fortress of Gibraltar on October 3, the door of the Atlantic Ocean was finally opened to the Allied Mediterranean Fleet, and everything was developing in a better direction. The situation of the war as a whole has also undergone a fundamental change.

With the accession of Spain, the geographical situation of the Entente was further deteriorated, especially France, which was in charge of the Western Front and the African theater of operations while also needing to draw part of its forces to deal with the Spaniards. With the Mediterranean completely controlled by the Allies, the hundreds of thousands of troops thrown by the French in North Africa and some American troops were completely alone, although they could support it for a while by relying on the supplies and supplies delivered in the early stage. But the entire situation in North Africa has completely turned into a backwater.

"The fleet of the Allies in the Mediterranean is too hateful! We must destroy them! And the warships of the US Navy are not suitable for fighting in such a situation, and the current battlefield is in the Atlantic, and in the face of the vast battlefield and the fast battleships of the opposing side, it is difficult for the heavy cavalry of the US Navy to play a role. The British and American navies are almost back-to-back, and in this case, further cooperation and exchanges between the two sides are necessary, and at a high-level naval meeting, the chief of naval operations Benson told Jericho.

"Your Excellency means that the British Imperial Fleet is responsible for dealing with the opposing fast battleships of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet, and your country is helping us against the German Navy?" Jericho said thoughtfully, this method looks very good, although the British fast fleet has been repeatedly damaged, but there are at least 4 Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, if you count other fast battleships, the Entente side can still make up 8 fast battleships, and the Allied side can be called fast battleships There are 7, although the number difference is not large, but the other side only has one Caesar the Great is a 15-inch gun, and the British fleet has 4.

At the same time, if the American fleet was willing to join the battle in the North Sea, the heavy knights armed with 14-inch guns were definitely better suited than the British warships to deal with the German fleet, which also took the heavy armor and heavy artillery route. Unlike the Iron Duke-class battleships improved by the British, the American battleships are good in both artillery battles and underwater protection, and the problem of being shot in the water will still be very big, but at least it will not be fatal, after all, New Mexico before the improvement was hit once, although it was heavily damaged, but it was not directly seconded like the British battleships.

First of all, it involves a question of command, and the fleets of the two sides will certainly not be fully exchanged, but only partially, for example, Thomas's fast fleet will enter the Atlantic, and Magiffen will also send some of his American battleships to the North Sea. Then the question arises, will Thomas do exactly what Magiffen commands? After all, unlike the situation where you can almost run into a situation when you pull out of the North Sea, the chase battle in the Atlantic can be described as a cumbersome one, and both sides will have their own opinions on the battle situation, if there is a disagreement, then who to listen to? What to do in addition to the problem? The situation at sea has re-entered the equilibrium stage with the addition of the Spanish Navy, and any mistake will lead to disastrous consequences, and the other point is that Jericho doubts the training level of the US Navy, after all, the Americans are not excellent in actual combat, and more importantly, they have not experienced a big battle, so don't pit yourself if you really fight!

Therefore, in the face of Benson's request, Jericho agreed in principle, but at the same time, the two sides first exchanged fleets on a small scale, first practiced cooperation, increased the understanding between each other, and then made arrangements for specific action plans, the time of the talks between the two sides was already October 1917, and the cruel year would pass like this, so the two countries finally decided not to take the initiative to launch a major battle plan this year, if a qiē shun lì, the two navies will prepare for action at the beginning of next year, The first active offensive will be responsible for attacking and neutralizing the fast battleship threat of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet, and if this plan succeeds, the next target for both sides will be the German fleet entrenched in the North Sea!

The Entente were actively calculating, the Allies were calculating something, and the German High Seas Fleet, squatting in Wilhelmshaven, had no idea this year, and even at the beginning of next year. The last decisive battle between the two sides was a draw, although the main battleships of Shen were not as many as the other party, but each battleship was injured, and more importantly, the auxiliary battleships consumed a lot, which was simply fatal for the Germans, who were relatively not thick, and although Huaxia resumed sea transportation to Germany, the things transported were still less than the demand, so the combat strength of the high seas fleet was still relatively slow.

As for the subjective point of view, the current Scheer does not want to fight with the other party. Now that the situation in the Mediterranean was clear, and with the entry of Spain, the Allies had a new asymmetric advantage, why not wait for the Atlantic war to change in favor of Germany? The Americans retreated to France, and the Allied Mediterranean Fleet had more room for maneuver, and wouldn't it be better if the Great Fleet of Great Britain could be guided to divide its forces?

At this time, the Allied Mediterranean Fleet also began to integrate, and with the departure of the American fleet, Count Spee could finally take three Spanish-class battleships to join the main fleet commanded by Tycho, so that the members of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet became 5, and the saddest of them was only 1 battleship, but considering that there were many German officers and soldiers on the Spanish battleships, it also saved a lot of decline. The fleet is large and there are many sects, so now it is necessary to think about how to unify command and action, so the Allied Mediterranean Fleet will not be able to carry out any major operations in 1917!

Thank you to the book friend zhouyu1976 and the book friend hukaikaka for the monthly pass support ~~~. (To be continued......)