The blue sky is clear, the white clouds are like jade, the brilliant morning sun rises from the junction of the sea and the sky in the east, and the air is full of the unique atmosphere of the Mediterranean climate.

In the stormy military port of Taranto, the light white painted warships are neatly moored in an area, and it is the owner of this harbor - the fleet flying the flag of the Royal Italian Navy. The two Count Cavour-class battleships equipped with three triple and two twin 305 mm L46 guns, and the battleship Dante, equipped with four triple guns of the same type, are in the center, showing the world the heritage and majesty of this traditional naval power in the Mediterranean. Next to them, 4 Queen Elena-class, 2 Queen Margaret-class, 2 Dee Lee. Saint. The wave class and 3 older Umberto-class old battleships are surrounded by stars and moons. Plus 2 ships of St. With the George class, 2 Pisa II, 3 Garibaldi, 2 Pisa I. armoured cruisers, and a large number of protective cruisers and torpedo boats, the Italian fleet was a majestic scene in the Mediterranean.

More than 1,000 meters away, a gray-black fleet confronted the Italian fleet: the red and white crown flag was flying in the sea breeze on the towering thick mast. The core fleet of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including 1 Combined Forces class and 3 Radetz-class, also appeared in the Taranto military port with almost all the lineup. Although the number of auxiliary warships was somewhat shabby compared to that of the Italian fleet, there were only 6 Habsburg-class dreadnoughts, 5 old armored ships, and 6 light cruisers of different old and new; But with this dreadnought group, second only to France in the Mediterranean, the Austrians also have the confidence and capital to be ambitious and look forward to the future.

On 3 August, all the first-line ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy set sail from the Bora naval base. Via the Strait of Otranto. Arrive at the military port of Taranto, located at the base of the boot soles of the Italian peninsula. This was after more than a dozen joint naval meetings between the Italian and Austrian navies. The only consensus reached on the formation of a joint fleet between the two sides. Compared with the port of Bora, the Austro-Hungarian naval base in the northernmost part of the Adriatic Sea, Taranto, Italy, which faces the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and can be attacked, retreated and defended, is obviously more suitable for the combined fleet to carry out operations.

However, when it comes to the question of the ownership of the command of the fleet, the two sides do not have such a good tacit understanding.

In the eyes of the Italians, the command of the fleet could undoubtedly belong only to their side. The Italian Navy, with an active fleet of nearly 500,000 tons, is more worthy of this leader than Austria-Hungary, which has only a 320,000-ton navy. Besides. The Italians also expressed their superiority that their fleets had been cruising the Mediterranean for many years and were well aware of the climate and hydrology of the seas; The Austro-Hungarian fleet, on the other hand, was only cowering in the Adriatic Sea, with a strong smell of green water and shallow naval qualifications, and was not qualified to command the Italian fleet at all.

In the face of the confident cries of the Italians, the Austrians, not to be outdone, immediately retorted. They mercilessly reverted to the Battle of Lisa nearly half a century ago, and the Ethiopian War at the end of the last century, and in the red eyes of a group of high-ranking Italian officers who almost wanted to kill, they proved in unequivocal words that the other side was really a foreign power, and only suitable for studying gourmet ramen and not good at war at all. The Austrians made it clear. Although it is inferior to Italy in the total tonnage of the fleet, it is far superior to it in the field of capital ships that form combat effectiveness; Today, when dreadnoughts decide the victory or defeat of the sea. The simple and refined Austro-Hungarian fleet was clearly more dynamic than the bloated Italian navy. Therefore, the commander of the combined fleet should be assigned only by the commander of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, Anton? Admiral House was in charge, and the flagship should only be the United Forces Super Dreadnought, which was armed with eight 350mm L42.4 heavy guns.

For the next three days, Austria-Hungary and Italy insisted on their own words and did not back down, and the repeated and boring quarrels made the soldiers guarding the entrance of the venue drowsy. Rear Admiral Rauf, who then led the battleship Khairettin and four torpedo boats to join the alliance, could not bear the farce of negotiations between the two allies, who had been fighting openly and secretly for half a century. Since the threat of the Russian Black Sea Fleet had not been completely eliminated, the Turks, who had just completed the construction for 100 days and still had to run in personnel and equipment, had no ambition to leave on their homeland; When Italy and Austria-Hungary were at loggerheads, Rauf chose to catch fish in the port of Taranto.

Within a few days, however, the quarrel between Austria-Hungary and Italy, which seemed to last for a century, took a radical turn.

On 6 August, the Italian Army suffered another crushing defeat in the Western Alps. A large Italian army of three divisions was launching a large-scale attack on the French border defenders, when its scouts suddenly spotted another French army in a roundabout way in the flank forest. Out of a visceral fear of the second largest European power, the Italians immediately believed that a large number of French troops were approaching and would soon encircle them. Without any reconnaissance and confirmation, the panicked Italians fled ten times as fast as they came, throwing away a lot of baggage, artillery and munitions along the way, only hating why their parents didn't give them two extra legs. In fact, this French army was only a mountain battalion composed of natives attached to the current French 78th Reserve Division; And the reason why they appeared on the flank of the Italian army was entirely because the division commander, Brigadier General Briss, felt that it was hopeless to resist the Italian army head-on, so he figured out that Guò, a temporary unit formed by the locals, took advantage of the familiarity of the terrain to attack the supply lines of the Italian army in the mountains and forests, so as to relieve the pressure on the front line that was better than nothing!

The retreat of the Italian wolf bèi stunned the French, and then they were overjoyed. Brigadier General Bliss immediately gathered his force, which numbered less than 8,000 men, including civilians, and marched forward to cover the killing. The French mountain battalions bluffed and fired guns everywhere to stimulate and frighten the fleeing Italian troops; The Italian troops, who were being pursued by the French in the rear, were even more convinced of the speculation that a large number of French troops would come to encircle. A large number of Italian wolves fled, and even took the initiative to surrender to the French army with their rifles held high. A French private with a damaged rifle captured 17 Italian soldiers in a single charge with just wielding a picked up Italian pistol.

Two days later, the Italian corps had shrunk from three divisions to less than three brigades; Nearly 30,000 prisoners, 120 cannons, and 90 machine guns became the victors' trophies, while the French lost only the first few pursuits, not even the slightest flesh wounds. Chauffiten, who was fighting the Germans in the city of Paris, was in a fierce battle from house to house and alley, and immediately proclaimed this victory in the Franco-Italian border battle to the whole country, calling it "the greatest victory of France since 1792". And Brigadier General Briss has become a contemporary Napoleonic hero in the eyes of the French, and the medal he has won can be hung on his chest as body armor!

The successive crushing defeats of the Italian Army undoubtedly greatly shocked all high-ranking Italian personnel, including Prime Minister Giolliti. According to their planned war script, the Italian army commander drove straight into the heart of France, quickly swept France's rich southeastern provinces into the bag, and then negotiated peace with them. The entire course of the war will take no more than two months.

However, the current situation is that the French only relied on the border guards of a few reserve divisions to defeat the main Italian army, and if it were not for the lack of French troops to make any trouble on the more than 200-kilometer-long border, the Italian army might have been counterattacked into its own homeland! This situation has alarmed the Italian leadership. You must know that 60% of the coal used by Italy is imported from Britain, and the reason why they dared to declare war on France before was to rely on the advantage of the army to take advantage of the situation and negotiate with the Allies in a quick battle. And if it is delayed for a long time, Italy will inevitably fall into a deep energy crisis. Although Germany has abundant coal reserves, in the current war, its own domestic consumption has surged, and the amount that can be used for export to Italy must be quite limited!

In this situation, the Italian government undoubtedly urgently needs to make a breakthrough in other directions. The navy, which was not favored by the top brass before, was thrown out by the top government officials who were in a hurry to seek medical treatment. On August 7, the day of the defeat of the front-line army, the Italian government ordered the navy to strike a major blow to the British and French fleets in a short period of time, in order to seize sea supremacy in the Mediterranean, cut off the French mainland from the African colonies, and thus force the Allies to surrender to Italy. The Italian navy, having received the order to take action as far as possible, no longer had the confidence and mood to continue arguing with the Austrians.

On August 7, amid the mournful eyes of the Italians and the deafening cheers of tens of thousands of Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers, a broad command flag was slowly raised on the towering mast of the United Forces. Anton, who is over sixty years old. Admiral House burst into tears. For the commander of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, there was nothing more exciting and exhilarating than bringing under his command a long-cherished enemy for decades. And for the Italians, this was undoubtedly another shameful day in their naval history after the Battle of Lisa. The only thing that gave them some comfort was that the battleship Dante, due to its speed of up to 23 knots, did not join the battle line, but was incorporated into the avant-garde fleet as a mounted cruiser. This meant that the decisive battle mission undertaken by the Dante would be greatly reduced, and most of the really difficult bones would be shared with the main Austro-Hungarian fleet. (To be continued......)