Port of Mumbai, battleship "George V".

In front of Admiral Jericho, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Entente with a beautiful glazed gold teacup, several telegrams and reports sent in the past two days were stacked on top of each other.

A telegram from the submarine E-8 reported the discovery of a "fast fleet of more than twenty in total, including five or six battle cruisers," in the Strait of Malacca.

A telegram from the Army Command in New Delhi, relaying a spy report that, after enumerating various crude data and describing in vivid picture the terrible sight of "the whole of Madaban Bay outside the port of Yangon being covered with ships with no end in sight," concluded that "the enemy has launched a landing operation unprecedented beyond our imagination in the last week." ”

The telegram sent by the Admiralty in London summed up the movements of the East Asian Combined Fleet and the Burmese and Indian armies of the Chinese army in the past month, reminding Jericho: A major war is imminent, and we must remain vigilant and make all-out preparations for war. Finally, there are several pieces of information that are difficult to verify: A "Pinghai"-class fast battleship and a "Dapeng"-class aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy ran aground or were injured by a mine between July and August, and may need to be docked for repairs for two to three months.

The report from the Army and Navy Joint Flying Team in India provides a brief overview of the combat readiness efforts made over the past month or so, and the final summary points out that although the Joint Flying Force had restored the total number of operational aircraft available to it to more than 300 by the end of August, not only was the number still insufficient to confront the enemy's shore-based aviation in front of them, but the combat performance of the aircraft and the level of pilot training were also unsatisfactory, and in particular, the pilots of the Army generally lacked experience in training at sea. Seventy percent of the army's crew will need at least three to four weeks of intensive training to reach the minimum level of a combat site at sea......

Report of Vice Admiral Hood on the readiness of aircraft carrier forces. Summarizing the efforts made by the Force to restore and enhance its combat effectiveness since the Task Force 11 attack on the Andaman Islands at the end of June, the report highlights that the lack of skilled pilots and on-board radio equipment has largely limited the combat capability of the Force......

Jellico rubbed his aching temples, let out a sigh of relief, put down his teacup, and reached out to wipe the stack of papers that he had read many times. Shake the handbell on the table.

Adjutant Captain Anson pushed the door open

"Inform the commanders of the fleets and detachments that at 2:30 p.m., come here for a meeting." Can arrive in the last day or two, before that. We need to confirm the battle sequence as soon as possible. ”

Colonel Brown, Chief of Staff of the Combined Entente Fleet, stood up and picked up a whip and walked to the white board hanging on one of the walls of the conference room, which was orderly pasted with image icons based on the side silhouettes of the ships in question.

"The backbone of the main fleet is the 1st Battleship Detachment of Vice Admiral Study, the 2nd Battleship Detachment directly under the Commander of the Combined Fleet, the 3rd Battleship Detachment of Vice Admiral de Funel, and the 4th Battleship Detachment of Vice Admiral Jeram. The sequence of voyages is, from left: 1st Detachment, 2nd Detachment, 3rd Detachment, and 4th Detachment. With the George V of the 2nd detachment as the flagship. The newly replenished Canada was assigned to Detachment 2 as the Queen's Ship of Detachment, and the Agincourt was assigned to Detachment 4. Also as a detachment of the rear ship...... The main fleet consisted of 18 dreadnought battleships. ”

"The direct forces of the main fleet are the 10 destroyers of the 8th destroyer fleet. It was supported by Rear Admiral Abbasnot's 1st Cruiser Squadron, Rear Admiral Haas's 2nd Cruiser Squadron, Colonel Murray's 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron, Commodore Campbell's 1st Destroyer Squadron and Commodore Hawksley's 2nd Destroyer Squadron - 8 armored cruisers, 1 water engine carrier, 2 light cruisers, and 40 destroyers. The order of sailing was: the 1st Cruiser Squadron was the avant-garde, the 2nd Cruiser Squadron was the rearguard, and the 1st and 2nd destroyer flanks were the flanks. The direct force escorted the 2nd aircraft carrier detachment with 4 destroyers. Sail behind the main flank, and the other 4 destroyers are manneuvered by the fleet commander at any time. ”

"Vice Admiral Beatty's reconnaissance fleet consisted of the 1st Battlecruiser Detachment, Rear Admiral Parkenham's 2nd Squadron, and Rear Admiral Thomas's 5th Battleship Detachment—five battle cruisers and five fast battleships. The sequence of voyages is. From the front: 1st Battlecruiser Detachment, 2nd Battlecruiser Detachment, 5th Battleship Detachment. ”

"The direct forces of the reconnaissance fleet were the light cruisers Dublin and Southhampton, as well as the 10th destroyers of the 4th destroyer. The attached forces were Vice Admiral Hood's 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron, Commodore Goodnov's 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, Rear Admiral Haas's 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, Commodore Napier's 5th Light Cruiser Squadron, Colonel Ferrey's 3rd Destroyer Squadron and Colonel Winter's 14th Destroyer Squadron - a total of 4 fleet aircraft carriers, 13 light cruisers and 29 destroyers. The order of sailing was as follows: the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron was the avant-garde, the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, and the 3rd and 14th Destroyer Flanks. The 5th Light Cruiser Squadron was the rearguard. Direct units escort the 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron. Sail ahead of the rearguard column. ”

"Vice Admiral Bernie's support fleet consisted of the 11th Battleship Detachment and the 12th Battleship Detachment of Rear Admiral Rhodok. and Rear Admiral Ender's 14th Battleship Detachment as the backbone - a total of 8 former Dreadnought battleships. The sequence of voyages was, from the front, the 11th Battleship Detachment, the 12th Battleship Detachment, the 14th Battleship Detachment. ”

"The combined cruiser detachment of Commodore de Lapbiton and the combined destroyer fleet of Colonel Chawson were attached to the unit, with a total of five old cruisers and nine small destroyers. The sequence of voyages was as follows: the combined cruiser detachment was the avant-garde, and the combined destroyer fleet was the flanker. ”

"In addition, Commodore Desai's Joint Submarine Fleet has 24 submarines that have been deployed or are in the process of being deployed, ready to adjust the cruising waters in accordance with the orders of the Combined Fleet Commander."

Speaking of this, Colonel Brown finally put down the whip in his hand: "Who has a problem? ”

The generals looked at each other and exchanged heads, but no one raised their hands to ask questions.

Brown nodded to Jericho, who was waiting at the conference table, "Then I will ask the commander to speak." "Climb ^ book ^ net, this chapter is first published by "".