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Sicily is located about 1,600 kilometers from Port Said. The Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy departed at 8 p.m. on July 6 and arrived in the waters near Sicily, which is expected to take three and a half days, which is also to take care of the fact that the transport ships of the 8th Marine Division can only reach a speed of 12 knots. Otherwise, the Indian Ocean Fleet will be able to reach Sicily in two and a half days at most.

This time, all 8 battleships and 8 heavy cruisers of the Indian Ocean Fleet were dispatched, plus nearly twenty light cruisers and destroyers, which was enough to form an overwhelming advantage over the Italian Navy. In addition, the Navy's submarine forces will also rush to the waters near Sicily to deploy defenses. After the seizure of Sicily by the Chinese marines, a submarine base will be established on the island for the permanent garrison of submarine forces. When the time comes, submarine forces and naval aviation will become the main forces of the Chinese defense of Sicily.

The eight battleships of the Indian Ocean Fleet were the battleship "Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty" among the "Han-class" battleships, the battleship "Qin Shi Huang" and the battleship "Prince Fusu" among the two "Qin-class" battleships, the battleship "Huaxia" and the "Shenzhou" battleship among the two "Zhonghua-class" battleships, and the other three battleships were battleships of the British Navy and the French Navy captured in the Mediterranean and Red Sea battles a few years earlier. Among them, the lead ship of the British Navy's 'Dreadnought-class' battleships, 'Dreadnought', was named the 'Middle East' after being repaired and refitted by China. The other two French Navy's 'Guba-class' battleships, the 'France' and 'Paris', were renamed 'Zhongnan' and 'Nanyang' after being repaired and refitted by China. Although the performance of these three battleships is relatively poor, after refit, the combat power can barely be compared with the 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy. At that time, there was a lot of pressure on the Indian Ocean Fleet, so all three battleships were given to the Indian Ocean Fleet. Right now. That's when it comes in handy.

By the time the morning sun of July 7 shone on the huge fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet was already far from Port Said. 8 battleships formed a battle line, in the very center of the fleet. Thirty transports of the 8th Marine Division, which were transported, were behind the battleships. On the periphery are 8 'River-class' heavy cruisers. The rest of the light cruisers and destroyers were surrounded by four. The Mediterranean Sea is also a place where submarines from various countries haunt, and the Chinese Navy must also take strict precautions. Although the submarine technology of Britain, France and Italy is relatively backward, it is still possible to cause a catastrophe if you are careless. No one wants such a catastrophe to happen to them, so the officers and men of the Indian Ocean Fleet are on alert.

On the battleship 'Emperor Han Ming,' the flagship of the Indian Ocean Fleet, Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the fleet, and Vice Admiral Wu Zhiyuan, chief of staff, were analyzing the information they had obtained. It is expected to be around July 10th. They will arrive in the waters of Sicily. If the Italian Navy had not been encountered, the fleet would have covered the landing of the marines first. If the main force of the Italian Navy is discovered, the fleet will first destroy the Italian Navy in order to be able to completely solve the trouble. Only, for now. Italy did not notice the Chinese move, and the main force of the Italian navy was still facing off against the Austro-Hungarian navy in the Adriatic.

"Commander, the information just came from the country. The British Navy shows no signs of moving south, their main naval force is still in the North Sea, and it seems that the British will not take action until those battered capital ships are repaired! Vice Admiral Wu Zhiyuan, chief of staff of the fleet, said.

"That's a pity, I'm going to let the British know once again in this naval battle that we're awesome!" Admiral Li Haitao said with a smile. Merely. No one took his words seriously, and if the main force of the British Navy really appeared in the Mediterranean, it is estimated that it was the Indian Ocean Fleet that escaped. In addition to one 'Han-class' battleship and two 'Qin-class' battleships in the Indian Ocean Fleet, the combat effectiveness of the other two 'Zhonghua-class' battleships and the three battleships converted by the captives cannot be compared with the cutting-edge battleships of the British Navy.

"What about the French Navy? Did they make any other moves? Admiral Li Haitao asked. The French Navy suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of the Red Sea. After the four cutting-edge 'Lone-class' battleships were either sunk or captured, the French navy inevitably declined. Although France also rebuilt the 'Brittany-class' battleships before the war, it was because of the growing threat from Germany. Only three battleships of this class were built. In the early days of the war, it was also deployed in the North Sea. Assist the British Royal Navy against the German Navy. It was only after the defeat of the German High Seas Fleet by the British Royal Navy that the battleships returned to the port of Toulon in southern France.

"The three 'Brittany-class' battleships of the French Navy have all entered the shipyard for repairs. Not a month will not be on the sea again! Therefore, all we have to worry about is the Italian navy! Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said.

"So, is the Italian Navy still in the Adriatic?" Lieutenant General Li Haitao asked. The Italian Navy now had a total of 6 battleships, the first dreadnought-type battleship 'Dante. The battleship 'Alig Ichery', three 'Count Cavour-class' battleships and two 'Andrea'. Doria-class' battleship. The battleships of the Italian Navy have a common feature, that is, the displacement is not large, only more than 20,000 tons, but the number of main guns is very large. In addition to the 12 305mm guns, the battleship 'Count Cavour' and the 'Andrea'. The Doria-class battleships all had 13 305 mm guns. It also has a large number of secondary guns and rapid-fire guns, and it is completely like a monster full of cannon barrels. It's just that although such a battleship has great firepower, its seaworthiness is not high. At the same time, because there are too many main guns, a salvo cannot be fired, otherwise it will cause great damage to the structure of the hull, and there is even a possibility of falling apart. Therefore, the Italian Navy has quite a few battleships and a very large number of main guns, but in terms of real combat power, it is simply not comparable with the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

"The main force of the Italian navy is still confronting the Austro-Hungarian navy in the northern Adriatic Sea, for fear that the Austro-Hungarian navy will attack the Italian coastal areas." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said.

Of the battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, there was only one such as a 'Combined Forces class' battleship, and the number was 4. The 'Combined Forces' battleship is a flat-deck ship, with a compact overall layout and a short hull. It is mainly active in the offshore waters of the Mediterranean Sea, so it does not have high requirements for seaworthiness. The combined-force battleships are equipped with 12 305 mm guns, four triple gun turrets, and two symmetrical knapsack arrangers along the center line of the hull. Due to the ammo lifting channel of the main gun turret, the ammunition supply speed is limited, and the advantages of its main gun configuration cannot be fully utilized. The ship is equipped with four triple main turrets on a shorter hull, and its center of gravity is raised. The defense structure under the waterline of the hull is outdated, and the underwater mine protection performance is poor. However, even so, the overall performance of the four 'combined forces' battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was no longer below the battleships of the Italian Navy. Therefore, after Italy declared war on the Central and Entente powers, it immediately transferred the main naval forces to the Adriatic Sea to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from launching an attack on the northern coastal cities of Italy. And this undoubtedly gives the Chinese Navy an excellent opportunity.

"Is there a possibility of war between the Italian Navy and the Austro-Hungarian Navy? The Adriatic Sea is a little bigger, and only about 100 kilometers wide. More than a dozen capital ships of the two navies are crowded inside, and it is inevitable that there will be misfire! Lieutenant General Li Haitao said. Although the Indian Ocean Fleet has the strength to deal with the Italian Navy, if the Italian Navy can fight the Austro-Hungarian Navy first, the Indian Ocean Fleet may be able to deal with the Italian Navy at the lowest cost.

"Neither the Italians nor Austria-Hungary are fools. Although the two countries have been at war on land, at sea they have exercised restraint. After entering the Adriatic Sea, the Italian Navy was stationed at the Venetian naval base. And the main naval force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which also stayed in its home port of Yaste, showed no signs of going to sea. It seems that they do not want to waste the combat power of the navy before the victory or defeat is determined on the land battlefield. After all, there is a big gap between the naval strength of the two countries and that of the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany! Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan analyzed.

"A bunch of cunning guys. However, if they want to stay in the Adriatic, they should keep them all in it. When we arrived in the waters of Sicily, we sent several destroyers to the southern Adriatic Sea to spy on the Italian navy. When we have sent the 8th Marine Division to Sicily, we will rush and block them in just then! Commander Lieutenant General Li Haitao said. In fact, Italy's defenses in Sicily were very weak, and the provision of fire support to the marines was able to do so with heavy and light cruisers. The reason why the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet was escorted was that they were afraid of encountering the capital ships of the British or French Navy.

"Yes, Commander. By the time we arrived in Sicily, it was time for the Italian Navy to receive the news. I just don't know if they will have the courage to fight out of the Adriatic by then! Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said with a smile!