"What the hell is going on? Count Spee actually activated the dumb puzzle machine? Was it bitten by Thomas? Tycho looked at the telegram in front of him and muttered to himself with a gloomy face. Count Spee's actions seemed to him to be very abnormal, and an ocean-going fleet would not normally be able to send a report, which could have been side-locked by the opposing party's radio. Count Spee is not a rookie and naturally knows this. Then sending a report in this case can only show one problem, they have been discovered by the other party, and the distance between the two sides is not very far!

Secondly, Count Spee actually used a dumb puzzle machine! This has never been encountered in previous operations, and it is not too late for the dumb puzzle machine to come out, it has been equipped with troops as early as 1916, but it has never been used, and it has been hidden for more than a year! As a result, it was finally used this time. Judging from the telegram, the Count of Spee was in great trouble, and actually asked the fleet to enter the Atlantic to meet him. What the hell is going on? The sudden arrival of the telegram disturbed Tycho, who seemed to him to be most likely to be the Count of Spee.

In the following days, Tycho received some more telegrams, and in the light of the above situation, he finally felt some eyebrows, and the situation of Spee's fleet was not so bad, and it was Thomas's fleet that had been following him, and the Majiffin fleet did not appear. And it seems that there is no trace of Majifen in the nearby sea. You know, the Allies also have some ears and eyes at sea, if the Majifen fleet is there, they can hide for three or four days, but it is absolutely impossible to hide for too long! Even if they were able to destroy all the camouflaged raiders and reconnaissance ships they encountered, they would not be able to find out all the submarines under the surface.

"It looks like this is a failed break. Spee didn't sink many merchant ships, but the raiders and auxiliary ships on our side were killed by Thomas, and the gains outweighed the losses. Tycho smiled wryly. The battle is getting harder and harder to fight. The teacher and General Yang Yonglin were right, Ma Jifen was indeed difficult to deal with. It's only been a few months, and I've figured out a way to limit the fast fleet. While looking at the charts to arrange the voyage, Tycho analyzed the next possible move of the other party. And he probably didn't expect that this time, the target chosen by Majifen was himself instead of Count Spee!

And at this time, in the Bay of Biscay, Ma Jifen, who had planned such a large layout, had already begun to sharpen his knives! Of course, people don't kill pigs and sheep. If you want to fight, you will come to a big one, and the target is the Tycho fleet, and from the current point of view, everything is unfolding according to the predetermined plan. The presence in the air and at sea also allowed Thomas to easily bite Spee's fleet, and the "rat-fighting" operation at sea also turned a large number of Allied ships into garbage on the bottom of the sea. According to the intelligence, the Allies have lost at least 6 supply ships, so that means that the other side has lost at least two opportunities to supply the entire fleet! It's time for them to go back, right?

But the only fly in the ointment is. It seems that the other party has suddenly adopted a new set of ciphers. This cryptographic system is very different from the previous ones. In the eyes of cryptographers in the Entente countries, these are almost all garbled characters, and no matter how much speculation or conjecture is possible, it is impossible to draw a suitable conclusion. This situation made the Entente's cryptographic experts at a loss, and the Count of Spee must have used this set of ciphers to convey vital information, but unfortunately, Magifin did not know the contents, but even so, Magifin was probably able to guess the actions of the other party, according to the informant in Italy. The Confederate fleet cowering in Taranto had begun to load supplies and prepare to set sail. "Whatever, as long as you get out of the Mediterranean. That's it. Order the reconnaissance units in Portugal to intensify their reconnaissance, and I want them to report the whereabouts of the Tycho fleet at any time! Magiffen ordered.

Let's take a look at the background of the two sides, Majifen put the models representing the fleet on the sand table. That's all Tycho has for now. 4 Caracionot-class battleships, 1 Count Cavour-class battleship, and 2 Austro-Hungarian Prinz-class battleships. And what about what you have on hand? The United States alone has 5 super-dreadnoughts, as well as 2 French Brestani-class battleships, 2 Dutch Amsterdam-class fast battleships, and the Malaya. 10 to 7! And there are 3 fast battleships, how should this be how to fight! Plus there is mental arithmetic and unintentional. The only problem is that I only know that the Italians have moved, but I don't know where and when they will arrive, which is a fly in the ointment.

Tycho is still a little level, maybe the overall situation and strategic thinking are poor, but at least people are meticulous, this time he fully learned the lesson of Count Spee, and when he went out, he also took an emergency modified seaplane aircraft carrier with a water plane to drive out those annoying reconnaissance planes. And this made Ma Jifen's ability to control the situation a lot worse, but he had to send it when he was ready to shoot. After receiving the news of the departure of the Tycho fleet, Majiffen sailed to Portugal with the entire fleet, but his fleet did not dock, but roamed the open sea, all supplies were supplied at sea, and then waited for the Tycho fleet to take the bait!

If Tycho and Majiffin were playing hide-and-seek. Then Thomas and Count Spee are playing cat and mouse, Thomas's fleet, which is not very strong, and the mouse of Spee's fleet kept a short distance, after Count Spee received the information that Tycho was ready to respond, he turned around and went south without saying a word, and used the cover of the weather and night to successfully widen the distance between the two sides to about 65 nautical miles, but it didn't take long for it to be discovered by a British submarine hidden underwater, and then the submarine decisively surfaced to report the location of Spee's fleet, The submarine used his life to allow Thomas to once again discover the whereabouts of Spee's fleet. However, this time it was clear that Thomas, who had taken the inner circle, had the upper hand, and the slight speed advantage of the German fleet was offset by the disadvantage on the route. Soon, Spee's fleet spotted Thomas again!

But this time the other party didn't seem to be following closely. The auxiliary warships accompanying the escort spotted the other side significantly less often, and they were all far away. But the other party has been in the southeast direction of himself. This made Count Spee feel a little uncomfortable, and after careful analysis, he felt that the other party might already know his plan to return to the Mediterranean, and according to the position of the other party, nine times out of ten he was going to the Strait of Gibraltar to block himself. Now the situation seems to be clear, that is, to see who can get to the Strait of Gibraltar first, if the Earl of Spee preemptively joins Tycho, then Thomas can only go home empty-handed, but if the other party arrives first, then it will really block himself. Looks like it's time to run away.

But the fleet of Magifin, which has never appeared, is the sword of Damocles hanging high in the heart of Count Spee, "Where the hell is Magifin?" Are you waiting for me in front of you, or are you busy with something else? Thomas can keep an eye on me, and there is no reason why Magiffen should not know? Could it be that the other party is ready to catch Tycho? It was only for a moment that Count Spee felt like he had grasped the truth of the matter. But then he gave up, because he judged that Magifin's advantage was not great, and Thomas's fleet was dealing with him, so that Magiffin's men only had 5 American super-dreadnoughts, 2 French super-dreadnoughts and 2 Dutch super-dreadnoughts. 9 to 7 seemed to have a certain advantage, but the two fast battleships of the Netherlands had only 6 main guns. Moreover, the level of training of the Americans is relatively low, and the gap in actual combat power will be even smaller. Supposedly, they won't do it if they don't have enough advantages?

Although after some consideration, the Count of Spee had already vetoed the possibility of Majifen going directly to Tycho for a decisive battle. But he always felt a little uneasy. He even wondered if it was right or wrong for him to ask Tycho to come out and answer him. Invisibly, it was originally an entanglement between the two sub-fleets, but now it has become a contest between the main fleet, and the scale of the battle has been expanded in this way, which is very unfavorable for the Allied fleet. The disadvantage in intelligence made Count Spee feel that every step was in the calculation of the other party!

"No, I have to leave it behind." After half an evening of being close to the charts and the sand table, the Count of Spee finally decided to send another telegram to Tycho, asking him to arrange at once for a supply convoy to depart from Alexandria, of course, not across the Mediterranean into the Atlantic, but across the Red Sea, and then across the Indian Ocean around the Horn of Africa into the Atlantic. It's shocking, isn't it? That's right, Count Spee had already figured out his way out, which was to go straight along the coast of Africa, bypassing the Horn of Africa, from the Indian Ocean back to the Mediterranean, in case he found that the situation was not right and could not join Tycho! This road has traveled tens of thousands of kilometers in vain, but it is the safest, if Thomas wants to spend it with himself, then come!

Of course, this plan must not be used unless it is absolutely necessary, not to mention the manpower, powerlessness and time required to organize such a fleet, even if your own large fleet returns to the ports of the Mediterranean, you will not be able to think of it within a few months! The reason is simple, after such a long voyage, all battleships had to be thoroughly maintained. Checking the power system and fixing minor faults on the ship would give the Allies months of recuperation. The other side can transport supplies and soldiers relatively safely. If this had happened, the Allied Mediterranean Fleet would have done nothing in the first half of 1918. The sword, which had been pinned on by the Allies and was said to be against the main artery of the Entente, would have to be temporarily retracted into its scabbard. It was a very difficult decision! Because a decision can mean a strategic failure.

"But it will at least minimize the risk." Finally the Count of Spee comforted. According to his new plan, if he is not sure to enter the Strait of Gibraltar before his opponent, then he will make a detour to the Horn of Africa. And the Tycho fleet will also quickly return to the Mediterranean. In this case, no matter how Majifen acts, he will not find a chance to fight a decisive battle! It's a great idea, but it's too late to implement it!

Thank you for the tip of huhaikaka ~~~. (To be continued......)