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The Strait of Gibraltar is the strait that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It is located between the southernmost part of Spain and northwestern Africa, with a length of 58 kilometers, and the narrowest point between Cape Marroqui in Spain and Cape Sires in Morocco, which is only 13 kilometers wide. Gibraltar, on the other hand, is a city and port at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. On the northern shore of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar, when the Atlantic Ocean is the main route of communication with the Mediterranean, to the south is the city of Ceuta, a North African territory of Spain.

Gibraltar's strategic location was very important, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, which strengthened its position as a strategic point for the east-west route. In the 8th century, the Arabs landed from Gibraltar during their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. It was not recovered by the Spaniards until 1410 and officially incorporated into its territory in 1501. In 1703, France and Austria resorted to war for the succession to the Spanish throne, and England, the Netherlands, and Austria formed an alliance, and their combined forces conquered Gibraltar in 1704 and established a military fortress. In 1713, Spain signed a treaty with Great Britain ceding Gibraltar to Great Britain. In 1830, Gibraltar became a British colony and a major naval base. Since then, the military and political affairs of Gibraltar have been overseen by the Viceroy appointed by the British Crown. At the same time, it is also the home port of the Mediterranean Fleet of the British Navy!

After the Battle of Sicily, the combined fleet of the British and French navies, led by British Admiral Jericho, suffered a crushing defeat, and the remnants of the forces retreated to Gibraltar. It's just that at that time, the main force of the Indian fleet of the Chinese Navy had returned to the Indian Ocean to support the combat operations of the army. Therefore, no blow was inflicted on the remnants of the Mediterranean Fleet of the British Navy! Merely. Now the time seems to be ripe!

"Gibraltar's location is really important. As long as we capture this place and build a complete defense system in Gibraltar, we don't even need to deploy a fleet, we only need to use large-caliber coastal defense artillery to block the entire strait! If some more combat aircraft are deployed in Gibraltar, it will be completely possible to control the Strait of Gibraltar! When the time comes, the entire Mediterranean Sea will also become our sphere of influence! Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, said. Now China's operations against India and Australia have ended, the Indian Ocean Fleet has completed its rest, and the main forces are returning to the Mediterranean. With the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet. As long as you have a certain number of marines, there is almost no problem in taking the Strait of Gibraltar! Although the British Navy still has a certain strength, it is obviously no longer able to compete with China for maritime supremacy!

"This time in the world war, we are already in sight of victory! However, the Germans were now attacking France with all their might, and the Anglo-French forces, although they were still struggling to resist, were obviously powerless! If the Germans had captured France, it would have given Germany a big leap in strength. When the time comes, Germany will become China's worst enemy! The capture of Gibraltar now is very beneficial for our future plans! Marshal Li Dingxin, commander of the home fleet, also agreed!

"Since everyone has no opinion! So. The plan to capture Gibraltar was thus decided! How long will it be before the main forces of the Indian Ocean Fleet will be able to reach the Strait of Gibraltar? "Marshal Zhang Cheng, Minister of the Navy, asked!

"The fleet has now reached the Suez Canal and will be able to reach the Strait of Gibraltar in a week at most. Then go on the offensive! Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, said. The main force of the Home Fleet and a part of the Pacific Fleet annihilated the main force of the combined US and British fleets in the Bahamas, which is the envy of the Indian Ocean Fleet! After a few months of rest, the Indian Ocean Fleet is very eager to win another victory. War is the best time to obtain military merits, and it is also the best opportunity for promotion!

"That's good! The attack on Gibraltar was set for a week later! After today's meeting, General Lee rushed to the fleet! Going straight to Cairo by plane, and then catching up with the fleet by destroyer, it should be in time! "Navy Minister Zhang Cheng said!

"Yes, sir! However, can you send two aircraft carriers to support us? After all, the British and the French have already begun to switch to advanced fighters, and if air supremacy can be controlled in our hands, it will be more advantageous to capture Gibraltar! Admiral Li Haitao said. In the Battle of the Bahamas, the Navy's carrier-based aviation has proven their combat effectiveness, although the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet no longer has capital ships, but in Gibraltar, the British have built a lot of coastal fortifications. Many of these coastal fortifications were fortified fortresses, and if they were bombed by warplanes, the effect would certainly be much better than that of warship shelling. In addition, Admiral Li Haitao also hopes to further strengthen the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet. With the addition of aircraft carriers, the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet will inevitably be raised to a higher level.

The Admiralty Chancellor pondered for a few seconds before nodding. At present, the Chinese Navy has only four 'Emeishan-class' aircraft carriers, and another 'Kunlun' aircraft carrier, which is used for training, is too poor in combat effectiveness. The first batch of newly built 'Wuyue-class' aircraft carriers are not expected to be delivered to the troops until the second half of the year. The second batch of 'Wuyue-class' aircraft carriers will not be delivered until 1915. But now there is no war in the western Atlantic, and the four aircraft carriers staying there are no longer of much use. As the war progresses, the next operational target of the Chinese Navy will definitely be Europe, and the main fleet of the Navy will definitely move to the eastern part of the Atlantic!

"I will order the aircraft carriers 'Jiuhuashan' and 'Putuoshan' to go to the Strait of Gibraltar to join the Indian Ocean Fleet and temporarily integrate into the Indian Ocean Fleet to fight! In addition, the fleet pays special attention to anti-submarine. Although the premise technology of the British is not as good as ours, it is certainly no worse than the Americans, and the narrow strait area is the most vulnerable to enemy ambushes, so don't overturn the ship in the ditch! Zhang Cheng, Minister of the Navy, admonished! The more you want to win the final victory, the more you have to be cautious. It is absolutely unforgivable if you lose a lot of money because of negligence. This can also have a very bad effect on everyone's attempts!

"That's right, pay attention to anti-submarine! When the expeditionary fleet was in the United States, it was almost attacked by American submarines. If it weren't for the fact that our 'Lop Nur-class' frigate had discovered the incoming submarine, maybe it would have been caught off guard by the Americans! Marshal Li Dingxin, commander of the home fleet, also said!

"Yes, I see!" Admiral Li Haitao nodded, these are all valuable battlefield experiences! The Indian Ocean Fleet also has 15 'Lop Nur-class' frigates, and these frigates will definitely be taken seriously when the time comes. The Strait of Gibraltar is relatively narrow, and as long as a few 'Lop Nur-class' frigates are deployed in the strait, it is likely that the entire strait can be blocked. The submarines of the British wanted to sneak attack the Chinese Navy, and they would not succeed so easily!

"Gibraltar will be our first target! I'll tell the Emperor in a moment, and our plan will definitely get through!" Taking Gibraltar is just our first goal! I believe that with the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet, there will be no problems in taking Gibraltar! So, after taking the Strait of Gibraltar, where is our next goal? Marshal Zhang Cheng asked.

"My lord, I think that after taking Gibraltar, we can attack Italy! Italy was originally a member of the Central Powers, but they treacherously threw themselves into the arms of the Entente! However, the Italians don't seem to be very good! Millions of people attacked Austria-Hungary, only to be beaten back, and instead invaded by the combined forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany! It can be seen that the combat power of the Italian army is very rubbish! If we attack Italy, there shouldn't be much of a problem! "The commander of the Pacific Fleet, Gao Yihai, will build a road!

Marshal Zhang Cheng nodded, the terrain of Italy is very peculiar, from the map, it looks like a boot stretching from the European continent into the Mediterranean. The former Roman Empire, but a powerful country in the world, regarded the entire Mediterranean Sea as an inland sea. It's just that the descendants of the Romans no longer have the will to fight that their ancestors. I can't even fight an African country, and now I'm even more out of the war in the war. Now that the Chinese Navy has controlled most of the Mediterranean, by the time the Battle of Gibraltar is over, the entire Mediterranean will be under China's control. Italy's long coastline will also allow China to attack Italy at will. No one doubts that with China's strength, it will be completely easy to take Italy!

"Italy is one of the leading powers in Europe, but their military strength is terrible! Now that we have taken Sicily, if we can defeat the Italians, we may be able to force them to cede Sicily to us! Vice Minister of the Navy Marshal Deng Shichang also said. Sicily's geographical location is very important, and if you occupy it, you can influence the whole of the Mediterranean!

"But if you want to defeat Italy, you need the help of the army! With the strength of the navy alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat them! Marshal Li Dingxin said! After all, no matter how weak Italy is, it has nearly two million troops, and the Chinese Navy now has only ten marine divisions in total, and in addition to the troops deployed around the world, there are no more than five divisions that can be used.

"I'll contact the War Department about the Army! I believe that Marshal Zhao Bowen of the War Department will not let go of this opportunity to destroy the country! Marshal Zhang Cheng said. He knew that the War Department would definitely agree to cooperate with the Navy and destroy Italy, which would also be a huge result for the War Department!