White clouds are flying, the sky is high, and a fleet of more than 20 warships of various types is sailing slowly on the clear blue sea. Compared with the tall and majestic British battleships and the majestic German ships, these battleships with the flag of the Royal Italian Navy are more like exquisite works of art. Their slender hulls and well-proportioned bridges resemble the graceful bodies of young girls; And the just right layout of the main turret is like the finishing touch, which makes people feel pleasing to the eye when they look at it, and completely forget their dangerous attributes as powerful killing weapons.

In the early hours of August 8, 1913, the Allied Mediterranean Fleet sailed out of the military port of Taranto in the dark of night and headed for a combat cruise in the eastern Mediterranean. Admiral House, who has six first-class capital ships in full combat force, is eager to show his skills in the Mediterranean and spread the prestige of the Habsburg dynasty to places he has never reached before. The current fleet, which consisted almost entirely of Italian warships, was the avant-garde advance force sailing 20 nautical miles ahead of the main fleet. They are like the light cavalry in the land war of the Middle Ages, undertaking the task of throwing stones to ask for directions, reconnaissance and vigilance; If a large number of British and French warships are found, they can calmly guide the rear fleet to seize the battle position and launch the T-shaped battle column that every fleet commander dreams of.

In fact, House did not deliberately want the Italians to be the cannon fodder. It was really because of the objective performance of the tripartite ships that it was decided that only Italian battleships could serve as the avant-garde.

From the time of ironclads, Italian designers put the firepower and speed of battleships in the first place. The ITALIA-class large ironclad ship, which they started in 1876, was able to reach a speed of 18.4 knots, which not only completely crushed all the capital ships of its time, but even surpassed most of the cruisers that were still on the drawing boards. After this. Although the fanaticism of Italian designers for extreme speed has waned somewhat. But its concept of building an army with fast heavy artillery. But it has continued and has never changed.

At present, the Italian Navy's two Pisa II and two St. John's class are the most powerful fast warships in the Mediterranean without battle cruisers. They are equipped with two twin 254 mm L45 main guns and four twin 190 mm L45 secondary guns, with a maximum speed of 23.2-23.75 knots; The 200 mm thick main armor covers the staggering freeboard height, and the protection of key parts such as turrets, gun mounts, and conning towers is also among the best in the world among the orthodox patrol families. Whether it is the 14,600-ton British Minotaur class, the 14,500-ton American Tennessee class, or the 13,850-ton French Quinnet class, their comprehensive performance cannot match the Italian battleships with a standing displacement of 9,800-10,200 tons!

Compared with. The Austro-Hungarian Navy did not have a single fast capital ship of comparable performance. The only fast ship they could get on the table was the light cruiser USS Spearn, which was completed in late 1910: it had a standing displacement of only 3,500 tons and firepower of only seven 100mm guns. Although its speed can reach 27 knots, which is not inferior to the most advanced light cruisers of Britain and Germany, its weak offensive and defensive capabilities are destined to be used only as peripheral reconnaissance and cannot break into battle. The Turks, who were shy in their pockets, did not have spare money to invest in this kind of fast cruiser that burned money, and in addition to the dreadnoughts they bought by smashing pots and selling iron, there were only two Abdul-class scum protection cruisers that had long been unable to take on the task. So, in the reconnaissance detachment of the current Allied Combined Fleet. It was almost entirely Italian ships; The slightly slower Austro-Hungarian battleships were in the rear, ready to support the Italians.

The Mediterranean Sea is far less vast than the Atlantic Ocean. And the size on the Eastern Mediterranean is even inferior to that of the North Sea; However, for a warship with a field of view of only about 24 kilometers at most, it is still a vast sea of sky that is difficult to see. It is not an easy task to find the target fleet and seek a decisive battle in this sea. The Allied fleet wandered at sea for two days in a row, but did not find the main Allied fleet cruising in the eastern Mediterranean. However, during this period, the Italian reconnaissance detachment succeeded in capturing 3 more Allied merchant ships, and judging from the reaction speed of the Allied fleets in the past, they estimated that it would not be far away!

"Your Excellency, the light cruiser 'Galt' has sent a signal that they have spotted a thick cloud of soot in the direction of 164, and it is estimated that it is very likely to be a convoy or a cluster of warships of the Entente!"

"Boom ......" With the screeching sound of the steam actuator pushing open the 305 mm thick door, a staff officer quickly walked into the "Dante?" The command tower of the battleship "Aligre" reported the news to Vice Admiral Lefel, who was standing at the top. After Italy declared war on France, Leifel, who had previously held the post of chief of naval staff, was appointed commander of the fleet by the government, and his flag was raised on the only dreadnought ship in Italy that had formed a full combat capacity. And thanks to Dante? The Arigli was incorporated into the avant-garde as a cruiser, so the current fast fleet was under the command of Lefeel himself.

Hearing the adjutant's report, a sharp glint suddenly appeared in Lefer's eyes. After two days of cruising, the French finally responded to their provocations; This time, however, the Dante was not fighting alone, and it had a fleet large enough to wipe out the French capital ship group in its rear. Lefeldden, who had someone behind him, felt more confident, and he thought for a moment, and then said to the adjutant who walked into the command tower: "Send a signal to the Galt to immediately go and reconnoiter whether the target is a merchant ship or a fleet." The fleet turned two compass points to the right, the speed was increased to 14 knots, and all members entered the second level of combat readiness!

The sea breeze blows, and the flag hunts. The helmsman struggled to turn the heavy steel compass in his hand, and the direction of the billowing current, stirred by the four propellers, changed sharply; The 21,600-ton behemoth battleship began to turn slowly, and the bow of the ship caused a large white splash on one side. Inside the boiler room, Italian sailors adjusted the power of the blower and controlled it through the guò valve to achieve a steady increase in the flow of the main feed water; The diligent stokers began to wave their shovels and increase the amount of coal according to the charter, so as to ensure that the four working Parsons steam turbines could carry enough power output. The working conditions of the Italians were clearly much better than those of the stokers who worked on the capital ships of other countries that were under construction at the same time. Of the 23 Blychton-type boilers equipped with Dante, 7 were oil-fired boilers that used heavy oil as the sole fuel; The other 16 boilers are also kerosene mixed combustion, and the coal that needs to be shoveled in manually accounts for less than half of the total weight!

After a short time, a muffled thunderous rumbling sound suddenly sounded in the distance of the southern sea, like thousands of wild lions and fierce horses running and rushing on the plain. Lyfer's heart sank, he grabbed the telescope and looked at the junction of the sea and the sky in the distance, only to see a few small silver-white dots, which suddenly appeared in a blue ocean and the sky. The experienced Leffel instantly realized that this was at least a column of water stirred up by a medium-caliber shell falling into the sea; And at present, it is impossible for your main battleship to appear in that sea area!

"The French are coming!" Leffel let out a strange cry of excitement, and his fist-clenched right arm swung fiercely in the air. After two days in the Mediterranean, he finally got his wish and ran into the Allied fleet. And since Britain had sent all of its advanced ships back to the mainland to fight the German navy, the Italians had completely ignored their former Mediterranean hegemon, and only one of them was left with France, which could still pose a threat to them. Soon, however, the excitement on Lyfair's face faded like a whale sucking water; Because he suddenly reacted, his desire and confidence in discovering the French fleet turned out to be based on the 4 Austro-Hungarian battleships and 1 Turkish battleship in the rear!

"When the 2 Cavour, 3 Leonardo da Vinci and 4 Caracciolo are ready to fight, the great Royal Italian Navy will surely stand on the brink of the Mediterranean again!" Leffel muttered silently in his heart, with a hint of dreamlike reverie. At never before has Leifer hated the country's weak industrial base and the lack of skilled workers. If it weren't for their own family, even if they worked non-stop shifts, it would often take more than four years to build capital ships, and the dominance of the combined fleet would have fallen into the hands of those barbarian Austrians who would only work behind closed doors in the Adriatic Sea?

"Order, the fleet accelerates to 18 knots, and all ships enter the first level of combat readiness, always pay attention to the flags and orders issued by the flagship!" Lyfell took a deep breath, swept away all the clutter in his heart, and gave a loud command in the conning tower. The shrill alarm bells rang in every corner of the battleship, and the decks, cabins, and gangways were full of Italian sailors who broke through the doors and began to run quickly towards their posts. All kinds of organic flammable materials such as blankets, fabrics, and curtains were quickly collected, and the damage management troops wearing orange life jackets were lined up with rubber water cannons. In the four majestic triple main turrets laid along the central axis, the gunners had already loaded the first shell and the corresponding propellant into the chamber; Driven by a diesel-electric motor, the 655-ton behemoth began to rotate slowly, and the majesty of the dreadnought, which alone belonged to the dreadnought, made every sailor's blood boil. (To be continued......)