"Welcome, my old friend."

Cunningham was not tall, had a hearty smile, had a typical Irish face, and was impulsive but very alert and wise. It is this mixed personality that makes a good naval officer need to be bold, resolute and calm. He was an old acquaintance of Bai Yutang, who had acted alongside the British Navy as an observer for the Chinese Navy in the European War, and had stayed on the destroyer he served. In the subsequent exchanges between the navies of the two countries, the two also met each other many times and exchanged greetings.

The British Navy attached great importance to Bai Yutang, because he was the first to create a submarine ambush fleet in the Battle of Qingdao and won the battle. Today's Bai Yutang is no longer the high-spirited overseas Chinese who returned from Europe, his temples are slightly white, but he still walks and talks with a tough military style.

According to naval custom, Cunningham first took two men to inspect the Mediterranean fleet. The British spent hundreds of years in Alexandria, creating a well-established and comprehensive naval fortress. According to the agreement reached in Cairo, the capital ships of the Chinese Third Fleet must also come here if they need to undergo routine maintenance. Because the entire Indian Ocean is currently difficult to find a shipyard that can do maintenance for 30,000-ton warships. This problem is very serious, you must know that it is impossible for ships to soak in the sea for a long time, especially aircraft carriers and battleships, which need to be maintained every six months, so after taking the Chagos Archipelago, the navy first asked for the establishment of a dry dock and maintenance center that can accommodate 70,000-ton ships.

With sun, sand, white robes and the occasional camel bell, Alexandria is laid-back and peaceful. A year of war has almost paralyzed the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, which once had two aircraft carriers, seven battleships, twelve cruisers, and is known as the strongest in Europe (the Mediterranean Fleet ranked higher than the home fleet before World War II), with only three capital ships left, the flagship battleship "Warweary", two battleships and the aircraft carrier "Glory", which is currently the only force that can deter the Mediterranean. Cunningham and the British naval officers were helpless about this, otherwise they would not have proudly asked the Chinese Third Fleet for help.

The focus of the help is to raid the Mediterranean tyrant who is feared by the British, and an old fox commander, the commander of the Italian Navy, Inigo Campuoni.

After the declaration of war by Italy, the army marched in North Africa, but at sea, Campuoni hung up the card of exemption from war. Even if the Hood was sunk and the strength of the Mediterranean Fleet was sharply reduced, this old fox was so angry that Musoniri even scolded the Navy for being a waste. However, the old fox knew very well how big the gap between the two navies was, so he hid six battleships, seven heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and eight destroyers in Taranto, and adopted the tactics of fighting and leaving, and was reluctant to engage head-on. Cunningham also thought about using destroyers as bait, but the old fox just wouldn't take the bait, until the news of the Chinese navy's surprise attack on the Japanese navy on August 23 inspired him to take an air strike at Taranto.

Whitehall did not want the Chinese Navy to meddle in Europe, and was ready to use the two aircraft carriers, the Brilliant and the Eagle. But at this time, the news came that the Soviet Union had sold ships to Germany in large quantities, and that Bismarck and Zeppelin had been launched one after another, so Admiral Alexander had to transfer warships from the Mediterranean Fleet again, and also transferred the aircraft carrier Eagle back to the mainland, and finally even the battleship Lorraine of the French Navy was taken with him. Cunningham, who had only one aircraft carrier left, felt that the odds were not good, so he contacted the Chinese Navy's Third Fleet.

The Chinese Navy's Third Fleet (known as the Indian Ocean Fleet) is currently the largest fleet in the Indian Ocean, with 51 warships of various types, and controls the navies of Saudi Arabia and Iran. The main forces included three aircraft carriers, the Lanzhou (Liaoning-class), the Xizang and Xikang (Sichuan-class), the battleships Anhai and Dinghai, the heavy cruisers Foch, the heavy cruisers Diplake, the heavy cruisers Tourville, the light cruisers Yalujiang, the light cruisers Songhuajiang, the light cruisers Glorious, the light cruisers Marseillaise, the light cruisers Moncalm, the light cruisers Beltin, and seventeen other destroyers and eight frigates. In addition to the French battleship Dunkirk, the battleship Strasbourg, and the heavy cruiser Algeria returned to China for refit before the war, a total of 14 warships leased from France, half of which were replaced by Chinese officers and men, and after more than four months of training and running-in, they already possessed quite strong combat capability.

Of course, according to the Sino-French naval Lend-Lease agreement, French ** ships cannot cross the Suez Canal to participate in the war. However, Cunningham does not value the French ** ship, he needs a total of 282 fighters on three aircraft carriers. Compared with the Mediterranean Fleet's aircraft carrier Radiance, which has only 33 aircraft, the lineup of 96 Lightning fighters, 84 Osprey torpedo planes and 98 Yaksha dive bombers can be called luxurious.

"This is a reconnaissance photo from the port of Taranto." After reviewing the troops and arriving in the conference room, three officers with very different personalities but all very direct quickly entered the details of the operation. Cunningham placed a stack of magnified photographs on the table, took two magnifying glasses and handed them to the two, and introduced them one by one: "There are six battleships, namely the Veneto, the Litorio, the Cavour, the Caesar, the Andrea Doria, and the Duilio. Seven heavy cruisers, Zara, Fum, Grazia, Taranto, Trieste, Borgano and Gryage, two light cruisers, Cleoni and Babiano, and eight destroyers. ”

"How many anti-aircraft guns are there? Wait, what is this? Zhu Binhou, who was born as an ace pilot, didn't care about the name and model of the ship, and for the aircraft, the anchored ship was just a target. He was more concerned about Taranto's air defense capabilities, and when he saw a group of small white dots arranged in an orderly manner and evenly spaced on the photo, he subconsciously became alert.

After Cunningham saw it clearly, he said to Major Williamson, who was in charge of the plan, "William, you come to introduce. ”

Williamson was an excellent pilot and captain of the Radiance. As soon as the plan was proposed, he took full responsibility for the development of the entire raid operation, exercises and the required equipment. Hearing the order, he immediately introduced Taranto's defenses: "This is an air-proof balloon, tethered above the pier with a steel cable, at a height of about 500 meters, with a spacing of less than 270 meters, which is very dense!" Even on the surface of the sea. You can see it clearly during the day, but at night the cable is barely visible under the moonlight, and if you're not careful, you can hit the cable and cut off the wings! There are two annular anti-aircraft belts in the dock and the city, about 300 anti-aircraft guns, and there are tight anti-mine nets around the anchorage, so this time the main attack will be carried out by torpedo planes, and dive bombers only need to drop bombs at an altitude of 500 meters to interfere with air defense. ”

Anti-air balloons first appeared in the middle of the European war, after the start of the Sino-Japanese war, there are also a large number of such facilities in coastal cities and seaports such as Shanghai and Qingdao, just to prevent sneak attacks by aircraft at night. Especially the dive bomber, once it enters the dive channel, the range that can maneuver before dropping the bomb is very small, and the balloon is not fixed, it will swing back and forth with the wind direction, once the dive is not well controlled, the probability of aircraft destruction and death is extremely high! "We need to keep the suddenness, so the fleet cannot attack head-on from Taranto, it needs to maneuver towards Gibraltar first, and then turn back to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The attack will be divided into three waves, with the first group departing from Policastro Bay and heading inland for about 40 minutes to weave around the Basento River to the west of Taranto, from where it will strike in advance. At the same time, the decoy machine will fly over the bay, dropping flares. General, the first wave of attack aircraft had to first avoid most of the balloons at an altitude of 2,600 feet, quickly descend to 700 feet after approaching the coast, and slow down to 95 miles, cutting into the bay from a low altitude. Night flares can't help us distinguish the steel cables, so we have to visually search for the boat moored the balloon and bypass the dangerous steel cables, so fly very low! Very low! Then it was also necessary to fire the torpedo at a distance of 450 yards from the target in order to avoid the torpedo becoming entangled in the mine net. Of course, we have already prepared a magnetic torpedo, and as long as the firing distance is well controlled, we believe that satisfactory results will be achieved. The second and third waves will cross Calabria, fly over the peninsula and attack along the coastline! Major Williamson bit the word low and kept gesturing the desired flight maneuver. Because according to calculations, after the torpedo machine descends rapidly, it must be depressed, at least 650 feet, to be able to see the fishing boat moored at the sea. Night flights are carried out at this altitude, and the slightest deviation will hit the sea, so they are very worried about the ability of Chinese pilots.

"450 feet for a single machine and 600 feet for a large formation, we can do it." Zhu Binhou converted it and raised his head with confidence.

"General, this is not a joke!" Major Williamson was not convinced. To talk about a single-plane raid, 300 feet he believed, but a large formation of 650 feet (about 200 meters) at an altitude, he was skeptical. Moreover, the Osprey is a monoplane torpedo aircraft, and compared with a biplane like the Swordfish, the monoplane is fast, and the disadvantage is that it is not as stable as the biplane at low altitude. Zhu Binhou didn't speak, because the 200 meters were modest. The pilots under his command are all at an average altitude of less than 150 meters at night. So he avoided and said: "There is no problem with the bombing distance, we have our own magnetic torpedoes." For a total of three waves, I need ten experienced navigators. ”

In the Asian region, the Chinese Navy can use the pre-war exchange and reconnaissance aircraft of various countries to clarify the situation, but Europe and the Mediterranean cannot for the time being. So if you want to raid Taranto, you first need an experienced navigator. Cunningham was a little surprised by the level of aviation of the Third Fleet, and subconsciously looked at Bai Yutang. The latter smiled slightly: "General, since we are here, we are ready." ”

"Okay then." Cunning's heart thought to himself that even if China failed and used them as cover, the twenty-two Swordfish of the Radiance should be able to complete the mission, so he nodded: "There is no problem with the navigator, but I hope to leave tomorrow night." ”

"So fast?" Bai Yutang and Zhu Binhou were both stunned. Although the specific time has not been determined before, when the United States declares war imminently, it stands to reason that this matter should be determined first. Cunningham, of course, had his own ideas. Because Roosevelt had secretly told Churchill that he would not declare war on the Soviet Union until he had gained an advantage over Germany, in order to avoid forcing the Soviet Union to the point of a real alliance with Germany. But doing so will undoubtedly displease Beijing, which fears that Yang will be angry and cancel cooperation, so he hopes to complete the operation by November 5. These words are difficult to say, because the matter is still absolutely secret, so the excuse is "Yesterday there is intelligence, Italy is worried that the United States has declared war and will transfer the fleet to Trieste in the near future, so we must do it before this." Two, is there a problem? ”

Zhu Binhou didn't care, at the beginning of the month, he and the three aircraft carriers had already made all the preparations, and they also carried out several targeted combat training, and transported a large number of airborne magnetic torpedoes from China, so they looked at Bai Yutang. Although the latter felt that it was too urgent, he didn't think much about it, just frowned: "Three aircraft carriers, two light cruisers and six destroyers, they can pass through the canal tomorrow night." But when such a large formation passes through the canal, it will definitely be discovered. ”

"Rest assured, I'm not going to gamble on the safety of Britain." Cunningham was very confident. When it comes to hide-and-seek in the Mediterranean, I'm afraid there are really few people who can compare to him-

Just as thirteen battleships of the Third Fleet were passing through the Suez Canal at night, a German Navy JU52 transport plane also slowly landed at the Roman airfield. "My dear old friend, it makes me happy that you are here in Italy." Seeing Raeder walking out of the cabin, the commander of the Italian Navy, Campuoni, smiled with a smile on his face, strode forward, and gave a warm hug.

Raeder was also very happy to see him as soon as he got off the plane, shook his hand and joked: "Marshal Campuoni, thank you for coming to meet me personally, but aren't you worried that I will kidnap your fleet?" ”

"That's great, they can go and beat up the British." Campuoni, the old fox, of course, knew that Raeder was envious of him, and deliberately damaged his German counterparts who were on the defensive in the Atlantic. Raeder was in a good mood and ignored the sarcasm, smiling and getting into the car. After the car door closed, the conversation between the two naturally turned to the United States, and Kempioni also took the opportunity to test the truth of the "Nantucket incident".

"Of course not!" In the past few days, the news of the Nantucket incident and the imminent declaration of war by the United States has already annoyed Germany very much. In the face of the powerful propaganda offensive of the League, even Hitler doubted that the Navy had done it secretly. If it weren't for the fact that there were no submarines on the other side of the Atlantic at that time, and all submarines were connected, I am afraid he would have even had the idea of dismantling the navy. Now hearing Campuoni ask, Raeder suddenly became angry again: "This is a conspiracy of the Americans!" Just like the Maine. Damn it, they used this trick to deceive the world! ”

Campuoni is an Italian Navy evergreen and, of course, an old fox, with a twinkle in his eyes: "Damn Americans, this is a mockery of us!" He cursed, but he was uneasy. After handing the Cuban cigar to Raeder, he said worriedly: "Marshal Raeder, I heard that the two North Carolina-class battleships of the US Navy are about to be delivered, and they are still building four South Carolina and six Iowa-class battleships, and they have just recently passed the naval plan to build 100 warships. ”

"That's what worries me the most." Raeder understood what he meant, and was worried. No matter what the truth of the "Nantucket incident" is, in fact, it has not been able to stop the United States from entering the war. Besides, how can there be an answer to such a thing? At the beginning, the Spanish government spent 30 years investigating the Maine incident, and in the end it was all unsuccessful, so the most important thing at present is not to investigate, but to block the road to Europe for the United States as soon as possible!

Therefore, the purpose of his visit this time was to persuade the Italian Navy to cooperate with Germany in implementing the Great Mediterranean Plan.

Germany was well aware of the strength of the United States, and if it was bombed indiscriminately by the eighteen battleships and five aircraft carriers of the US Navy (only before the war) into the Mediterranean, Italy would not be able to hold out for half a year. What's more, in the face of endless English air battles, Hitler also lost confidence, and had secretly ordered the indefinite cessation of the Sea Lion program a few days ago. Millions of troops have nothing to do other than to be stationed in Romania not long ago to protect the vital Pristina oil fields. Hitler also asked to study an attack on the Soviet Union, but his interest waned after Stalin sold warships and signed the Soviet-German Five-Year Peace Pact, promising to export at least four million tons of crude oil at low prices a year, as well as large resources such as iron ore and copper ore. Of course, this was mainly the result of the army's struggle, and even Guderian, who had the most confidence, said that it was a very foolish thing to engage the Chinese armored forces that swept through Central Asia for the sake of a Soviet Union that was basically unable to obtain the maximum benefits.

In the face of this embarrassment, the General Staff again brought up the matter of reducing the army. Hitler, of course, was unwilling, and although finances began to shift to the navy and air force, the army was his treasure. So after Roosevelt spoke, he suddenly calmed down a lot in the face of Franco's rejection again. In order to cut off the United States' access to Europe, drive out the "North American nouveau riche", and to prevent the army from being wasted, Hitler decided to implement the Great Mediterranean plan and let the army develop a plan to attack Spain, Gibraltar and North Africa.

As the proposer of the Greater Mediterranean Plan, the three most crucial rings in Raeder's plan are Gibraltar, Malta and the Suez Canal! As we all know, these three places are the most important passages in the Mediterranean, and either one determines the belonging of the Mediterranean. Of course, Gibraltar can't be shared with Italy, so this place must be fought by Germany itself, the Suez Canal is guarded by Cunningham and Zhu Houbin, two famous British and Chinese naval generals, and nearly 100 warships, the Italian navy that can't rely on the turtle can't be retracted, and the only one that can fight and has the hope of success is Malta!

The capture of Malta also meant that the Luftwaffe could radiate all of North Africa from here, protect the security of the convoy, and help the Army enter North Africa and cut off the land access of the United States to Europe.

"Malta?!" Campuoni puffed out white smoke, his eyes a little straight.

"The Führer has agreed that Malta will be handed over to you and your country for management, and we will only garrison troops temporarily." Raeder threw the bait: "We will send out airborne troops to take the enemy by surprise." But the airborne lacks heavy weapons, so the Führer hopes that your country will send your air and navy to distract Cunningham and provide fire cover. ”

It's not a day or two that Italy covets Malta, the problem is that Britain has a fortress here, and it is basically useless to attack from the sea, so you can only watch the dripping saliva. But the Airborne Forces are now the weakest time for Britain, and even if the United States declares war, the troops will not be mobilized until the end of the year at the earliest. India was no longer able to provide soldiers for the British, Malta had only more than 4,000 troops in garrison, and Germany had very rich experience in airborne operations, so it was not necessarily impossible to fight!

"How many warships are needed?"

"Two Veneto-class battleships and five heavy cruisers can be dispatched to contain the fire of the fortress."

"Seven." As soon as he heard that seven main forces were to be dispatched, especially two Veneto-class battleships, the corners of Campuoni's mouth twitched a little. Raeder was most disgusted with this kind of stinginess, but now he had a request for the other party, and had to throw the sweetness again: "The Führer promised that he would immediately provide 100,000 tons of heavy oil for your fleet to use, provided that it was dispatched as soon as possible to divert the attention of the British."

Much of the reason for Campuoni's conservatism is due to the lack of crude oil reserves before the war. The Libyan oil field, which was developed in cooperation with Germany, is still in its infancy, with a monthly oil production of less than 50,000 tons, and it cannot be shipped back, so it cannot be relied on until the battle is completed in North Africa. So 100,000 tons of heavy oil is indeed a huge fortune for him and the Italian Navy. Of course, he also knew that the real person who was responsible for the heavy oil was not so much Hitler as Stalin. That damn guy, in order to avoid a war on both sides, sends 200,000 tons of oil to Germany every month for nothing. It seems that it is necessary to persuade Mussonili to deepen relations with Stalin.

After a few words of the Shattering Curse, Campuoni began to calculate the gains and losses: "Marshal Raeder, I need to think about it. ”

"Okay." Redder was upset, but he couldn't force him.

Ten minutes later, the convoy arrived at the naval command in Rome. Before he could enter the door, a staff officer hurriedly ran to him: "Marshal, the latest information." Three hours ago, the Chinese fleet passed through the Suez Canal. ”

"What do they want to do?" Raeder furrowed his eyebrows, his expression suddenly tense.

The latest chapter of the peerless Tang Gate