Lütjans thought too much...... This is a tragic fact. After a brief thought, he figured that the Allied fleet would retreat north, as it was the shortest way for them to get home. He felt that his opponent would directly adopt the most unlikely retreat route in order to confuse him, which was the best answer he could think of from the enemy's point of view.

But who would have thought that the cunning Dudley Pound would directly use the most childish retreat route to avoid his carefully arranged pursuit. After the fleet moved at full speed and sent carrier-based planes to search, Lütjans found that he had found nothing. It so happened that at this time, a German patrol plane reported what he wanted to know most about the situation ahead.

"We didn't see an enemy fleet passing by, not even a trace of it. Very few British fleets pass by here, and if there were, we would have found them easily. The returning butcher reconnaissance plane reported what they had seen, and Lütjans knew that he had indeed been fooled.

It was very difficult to find the enemy's fleet on a vast ocean, especially since Lütjans did not dare to leave the Strait of Gibraltar too far. Another of his tasks was to blockade the strait against the Italian fleet that might appear. So after initially choosing the wrong direction, he was doomed to lose this big fish of the allies.

Annoyed, he slapped the chart table with his palm, and then reluctantly gave the order to return to Gibraltar: "Return! When you meet the Italian navy, help me get this breath right! Damn, who commanded this Allied fleet, isn't it the old fox Dudley Pound?"

In order to get rid of the slower transport fleet as soon as possible, the fleet of tens of thousands of US troops could only go south along the coastline, and could not even go back to their hometown. They have to be replenished in South Africa or South America and then go back home in a big circle.

And the main force of the faster British fleet, rushing towards the southwest, after they got rid of the German fleet, everyone really let out a long breath. At least they were not wiped out by the Germans at sea, and the spark was preserved after all.

There are more than 270 Sherman tanks in the transport fleet, but unfortunately the number of American troops is not as large as when it was originally planned. The two divisions of U.S. troops only have about 40,000 men, and if you count some necessary logistical support personnel and a Canadian light infantry division, the total is only a little more than 60,000.

After careful consideration, the more than 60,000 Allied troops would eventually be sent to India, and then it would be studied whether these forces would go to the Middle East or attack Japan in Southeast Asia. In short, these unfortunate poor creatures will be adrift at sea for a long, long time, and will only be supported by the unreliable logistical supplies of Africa.

However, compared to the current situation of Italy, their luck is already very good. If it weren't for the fact that the Germans were busy putting as much of Italy's heritage as they could, they might have really pursued the Allied ocean-going fleet.

Just when General Dudley Pound broke out in a cold sweat and was reborn under the fangs of the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft, the main Italian fleet in the Mediterranean was about to reach the Strait of Gibraltar. This fleet is not a patchwork of goods, but a real main fleet of the Italian Navy!

The battleship Roma was not in this fleet because it was stationed in Alexandria because of various problems, but the rest of the Italian battleships were pulled out. Including the Veneto, which had partnered with the Germans, and the Cavour.

The Italians drove 4 battleships alone, which was much worse than the lack of effort when they supported the German army. If you add heavy cruisers, the Italians can be said to have invested enough money this time, and it can be regarded as a real letting go of the war.

If you count the German batteries in Gibraltar, the heavy artillery that can be put on the table is pointed in the direction of the blockade of the strait, and if the Italian navy arrives close and opens fire with heavy artillery, it can indeed cause great trouble to the Germans. At least after two rounds of shelling, it is a question whether the Germans will be able to turn their guns and return fire.

Inside the turret of the Italian Navy battleship Veneto, several loaders were looking at their gun commander with strange eyes. They had just received an order to reload their shells, and then someone ordered them to aim their guns at the fortress of Gibraltar, which was too strange for them, so the atmosphere in the whole turret suddenly became heavy.

"What are you kidding? Shelling the fortress of Gibraltar? That's where the Germans are stationed! If we fire now, aren't we attacking our allies?" said an Italian soldier in a life jacket looking at his commander, then at the cannon that had already been loaded.

"That's right, it was inexplicable to go to sea this time, and it ended up in the Strait of Gibraltar...... When I first set off, I thought I was going to the Suez Canal to shell the Allies...... Now let's shell the Gibraltar fortress again, isn't the fleet commander crazy?" another soldier complained reluctantly. It's not that he is unwilling to carry out the order to shell, but that the order is too weird.

The officer at the head also looked helpless, and when he received this order, he also had this idea. And he was a little further than his men thought - his family was in northern Italy, and if the Germans were angry and began to attack Italy, wouldn't his homeland be reduced to a war zone?

"I said, 'No...... The cannon of the No. 1 turret did not go off...... "A slightly more agile soldier reacted, and at this time everyone realized that the order had been given for a long time, but the other turret on this battleship that they were close to did not fire......

"The order is canceled! I am the deputy captain! Now that I am taking over the command of the captain, he is crazy! He wants to die, but we don't want to be buried with him!" In the communication channel, the voice of the deputy captain came: "Cancel the order to open fire! Oh my God! German plane!"

The order to open fire was not carried out by the Italians, and even some of the battleships were not loaded at all. After seeing the German planes appear over the fleet, all these Italian naval warships flew the white flag. It is a pity that the Germans did not cancel the bombing, but dropped a bomb on the Italian warship, which did not fire at all.

Unfortunately, the old battleship Caesar's chimney had been blown in half, and the Germans saw the white sheets and flags hanging everywhere on the ship. The Italians, instead of being annoyed by the bombing, sent clear telegrams over and over again, asking the Germans to board the battleships.

"Send the message again! Oh my God! I saw the Caesar hit! Didn't you see the white flag we hoisted? Hell!" the current fleet commander, the vice-captain of the battleship Veneto, turned his head in annoyance and looked at the captain who had been tied to his chair: "It's all you bastard! Mussolini raised idiots!"

"It's too late! It's over! The Germans will sink you, and if you fight back, there's a slight chance of winning!" shouted Mussolini's henchman, tied to a chair. There was a hint of smugness in his eyes, as he felt that his mission should have been accomplished. At least the Germans are now attacking this fleet, and after a little while, the Italian fleet for self-protection will also return fire, so that the whole situation will get out of control.

It is a pity that at this very time the voices of the Germans appeared on the radio, who demanded that the entire fleet leave immediately, return to the ports of southern Italy, and then surrender to Marshal Garibaldi, who was waiting for them there. This request relieved the whole fleet - they did not have to surrender humiliatingly to the Germans, and they did not have to surrender their motherland's warships to the Germans, which was a good deal anyway, so the Italian fleet did not delay a minute and began to turn.

After all, Lütjans was not able to annihilate any fleet in Gibraltar, and he went in the wrong direction, which eventually led to a great naval battle that turned into a multinational naval parade. The navies of Britain, the United States, Germany and Italy almost fought the largest naval battle in human history here, but only one bomb was dropped, and it ended hastily.

The Italian fleet, which ultimately failed to carry out Mussolini's mad decision, then returned to the southern Italian seaports, where it was absorbed by Garibaldi. The two newest battleships were allocated directly to the German Navy to form the new Combined Axis Fleet for the Mediterranean, which would be responsible for Axis naval operations throughout the Mediterranean theater of operations.

Most of the remaining warships eventually belonged to this fleet, with the difference that about 10,000 German naval ships were stationed in these ships, which was considered to be complete control of Italy's maritime power. Mussolini's influence on the Italian fleet was completely eliminated, and a new Axis maritime power was taken under the control of the Germans.

If we add several warships of the French Navy, the Axis naval forces seem to have surpassed the hostile Allied Atlantic Fleet. If we do not consider the relationship between command difficulties, it is even possible to change the offensive and defensive posture in the Atlantic.

And there is good news enough to cheer the Axis powers -- as long as Libya's oil production starts to rise, the oil shortage that has plagued the Axis countries will be alleviated to a large extent. Those terrible butcher bombers and these fuel-guzzling warships can finally be dispatched with impunity.