"They actually blew Faro and Ragush to the ground? Allied marines landed 20 km west of Faro? The Confederate troops in Spain attacked from the south of Portugal? Looking at the briefing on the table, Thomas couldn't help frowning. If this is the case, with the defeat on land, our blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar will be retreated at least 100 kilometers. I'm afraid it won't be long before both Lisbon and Setúbal will become war zones, right? ”

On September 3, 1918, at least three divisions of the German Army, under the command of Mackensen, with the cooperation of the Spanish Army, launched an attack on the Faro area. The whole attack was unusually smooth, and under the cover of hundreds of large-caliber naval guns, the fortifications of the city of Faro and the surrounding area were completely razed. Steel giants lined up on the sea, and launched a fire suppression for up to 2 hours against the city in the distance! IN THE FACE OF THE ATTACK OF 350MM NAVAL GUNS, THE LESS THAN 40,000 ARMY AND ARTILLERY DEPLOYED BY THE ALLIES IN THE REGION WERE LIKE PAPER PASTE! "We had an armed march more than a fight, and the counterattack was nothing to mention, and we walked past the places where the guns had plowed, full of broken fortifications and craters, and if we looked closely, we could see some minced flesh and charred corpses. It was rare for so much heavy artillery to be put into such a small battlefield during the entire war. We quickly broke through Faro and continued on our way to the west coast of Portugal! This is how Mackensen described the battle of Faro in his diary.

The sudden attack of the Central Powers caught the Allies by surprise. Portugal and France did not share a border, and if they wanted to transfer troops, they had to go by sea. And it will take time for capacity to readjust at sea. And it seems unlikely that the current garrison will stabilize the battlefield. Immediately upon receiving the report, Thomas sent a telegram to Magifine, asking him to lead the fleet to join and enter the waters south of Portugal to engage the Allied Mediterranean Fleet or force it to leave. Then from the sea to cooperate with the army to fight a counterattack.

In this regard, Majifen expressed his support, but also mentioned that it will take at least 5 days to reach Spain. "Damn, five days is enough time for the Germans to hit the West Coast! Then they will go north to cooperate with another army from Badajoz to threaten Lisbon! When the time came, we would have to stay in the port of Lisbon and use naval guns to assist in the defense. Upon seeing Magiffin's telegram, Thomas angrily threw his pencil on the table. After synthesizing a series of analyses and inferences. Thomas knew that the entire Entente was calculated, and they fell into a quagmire that was getting deeper and deeper!

Which is more important, the expulsion of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet from the Gulf of California South or the encirclement of Lisbon? Apparently the latter! Not to mention anything else, just from a political point of view. Encircling an allied capital from being occupied was the minimum commitment of the Entente to its allies. Except, of course, in the case of Belgium and the Netherlands, where there is really no way around. In the face of the pleading Portuguese representatives, it was obvious that the top leaders of Britain, France, the United States and other countries would not allow Thomas's fleet to leave Lisbon and fight the Allied Mediterranean Fleet in Tycho. What's more, even after joining up with Majifen, rush to the Bay of Cádiz. As soon as the Tycho fleet withdrew to Gibraltar, it would be all gone! It was impossible for Majfin to command the fleet to break into the fortress of Gibraltar, which was defended with the assistance of the Tycho fleet. That's looking for death! In other words, as long as Tycho is not stupid, even if he goes south to the Gulf of Cádiz, the result is just a game of hide and seek with the other party!

"I ask Your Excellency and Your Excellency's fleet to provide Lisbon with an impenetrable net of fire. The Entente Atlantic Fleet had to do everything in its power to guarantee the security of Lisbon. All other qiē tasks can be pushed back! Looking at the telegram forwarded, Thomas felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart. Now, let alone going north to support General Jericho, even the blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar has become out of reach, and the entire fleet will have to stay in Lisbon for a considerable period of time to resist the attack. ”

It is not that the German offensive was so strong that it would take hundreds of large-caliber naval guns to suppress it. Thomas estimated that leaving at most one detachment of battleships would be able to block the attack, but the problem was. After leaving a whole battleship detachment, will the remaining forces be enough to fight the Mediterranean fleet in Tycho? Don't forget, there are two more ships in the shipyard in France! If the rest of the fleet wants to get out, it will be a disadvantage! In this very delicate moment, the slightest mistake will bring irreparable losses, Thomas does not dare to attack without permission when the strength is weaker than the opponent, if he loses, it will be the rhythm of the collapse! It can be said that before the arrival of Entente reinforcements in Lisbon, the Allied Atlantic Fleet will definitely not be able to get out!

If things get to the point where things don't deteriorate, the Entente will still be acceptable, but Thomas and the others know that this is just the beginning, both for the Navy and the Army! For the navy, it not only meant the loss of a military port that could be used as a support point, but more importantly, with the arrival of the Allied air force, every move of the Entente in southern Portugal would be known to the opponent, maybe the fleet would be known to Tycho not long after it went out, and Thomas's fleet would be endlessly blocked and pinned down by the Allied air force. And what about the Army? The Allied armies had to fight the mighty German-Spanish Army in the wilderness without permanent fortifications. This is undoubtedly more beneficial to the Alliance.

"It seems that General Jericho will have to survive the darkest hour on his own!" Thomas looked out the window at the fleet and said helplessly. The entire Entente Atlantic Fleet was to be bogged down in this quagmire of Portugal. Even the ability to prevent the other party from breaking the relationship will be reduced. Plans to go north to Jericho's aid came to naught. Jericho obviously could not wait for the Admiral-class battleships to enter service before engaging the German High Seas Fleet, after all, the German Navy, which had already controlled many Norwegian ports, was too much of a threat to the British sea lines of communication.

"Everything will be known in the near future, and I will have to lead the weak fleet to fight the other side to buy time. If my efforts do not save the British Empire, then I hope that after this battle is over I will be able to find a suitable opportunity to negotiate peace with the Germans. We are no longer striving for victory, but from perdition. The Americans joined too late, so that even if the Entente had won, the ultimate winner would have been the United States. By the way, there is Huaxia. There is no need for us to fight any further, and the truce may still allow the glory of the British Empire to continue, and the result of continuing to fight will only be suicide. After receiving the news that Thomas was unable to go north, Jericho no longer had any hope of foreign aid, and after writing this text in his report, Jericho will command the fleet to Norway for a decisive battle against his lifelong enemy!

Thanks to the book friend hukaikaka for the tip~~~, and the book friend 9166067813 the monthly pass support ~~~. There is something to do today, a little less, and a double more ~~~ tomorrow. Ask for subscription and support~~~. It's the end of the month.,It's still a double monthly pass period.,Everyone's help.,The author's monthly pass situation this month is very sad——! (To be continued......)