The catastrophe of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius came and went quickly. A month after the volcano stopped erupting, part of the province of Campania, where Naples is located, had returned to normal. In addition to the people who lost their loved ones in this catastrophe who are still in pain, the eruption has long since become a topic of conversation in the mouths of others.

Of course, Napoli's losses were not small, according to post-mortem statistics, the total value of its losses was around 46 million lire. The main losses came from the destroyed town of Ottaviano and the shutdown of the surrounding factories caused by the volcanic ash.

However, these losses are not borne by the people or the factories themselves, and the government has more or less come up with a relief fund to compensate for some of their losses.

So for this volcanic eruption, it has also become the memory of most people.

The disaster caused by the volcanic eruption is basically over, and life will still go on.

And one day, more than a month later, the port of Naples welcomed a large number of warships. As long as there are people who are familiar with the navy, they will definitely be very surprised, because at present, the Italian navy has a large number of warships gathered here, I am afraid that the port of Naples is not intended to be a military port, right?

It is not surprising that some people think so, because at present there are very few warships that Italy can come up with, except for one Dreadnought, the others are thousands of tons of warships, and there is not a single one of tens of thousands of tons, which makes the famous Italian Navy a little embarrassed.

There is no way, who let the Italian Navy sell ships too hard before, and in order to build ships, a large number of old warships have also been decommissioned, resulting in today's green and yellow situation. I can't even find a battleship that supports the façade.

But don't worry, there are currently two Dante-class battleships that are about to enter service, and two more are about to be launched. And one of the new large cruisers of the Taranto class is about to be launched. It will only take a year for the Italian Navy to be much better, and as for the current small difficulties, it is good to overcome them.

In addition, although Italy cannot handle large warships, small and medium-sized warships are different. The 26-knots Piedmont-class light cruisers and the 30-knots new destroyers are all very interesting small roles.

There is naturally a reason why these warships are gathered here, because the visiting fleet from the United States is about to arrive in Naples, so Italy, as the host, naturally needs to send warships to meet it.

Some of you may have already thought of it, yes, this time it is the famous Great White Fleet that is visiting. The visit was timed two years earlier than in history.

The reasons are also due to many reasons: First, after the victory of the Russo-Japanese War, Japan was too active in the Pacific Ocean and was suspected of squeezing US interests in the region. Therefore, this round the world visit of the US fleet has an element to show its strength.

Second, the new US President Roosevelt Sr. was an admirer of the theory of sea power (like Wilhelm II), and he attached great importance to the navy and was willing to support the navy to show its strength to the rest of the world.

Third, the United States has built quite a few warships in recent years, and in just six or seven years, the United States has built 16 large warships. It was precisely after the family had sufficient funds that the United States had the idea of showing itself to other countries.

This is not just to show off the strength of the U.S. Navy, but also because it benefits the United States. For example, on the issue of the Panama Canal, the United States relied on its expanded navy to force the French to let go of the Panama Canal.

The U.S. Navy, which has tasted the sweetness, intends to take advantage of the fact that the warships in its hands are not outdated to show it to other countries. I feel that the effect is not bad, and Japan, which was a little noisy before, immediately showed enough enthusiasm.

When the fleet arrived in Japan, the Japanese Navy sent 16 of its best warships to greet them. After that, the fleet was not only summoned by Emperor Meiji, but also the commander of its Combined Fleet, Admiral Heihachiro Togo, also had a pleasant conversation with the officers and men of the United States Navy. And the celebration lasted for a whole week, which made the US Navy quite happy.

No way, the 16 newly built former dreadnoughts do look magnificent, enough to show the strong industrial power of the United States. So much so that in order to allow it to pass through the Suez Canal, the canal had to temporarily close other ships for 4 days.

And now that this imposing visiting fleet is about to arrive in Naples, the Italian side, as the host, of course, cannot displease the guests, so all kinds of warships that Italy can get their hands on gather here and wait for the arrival of the American fleet.

Gu Mo

"Vice Admiral, the American fleet is almost here."

On the flagship Intrepid, Vice Admiral Hilma, the commander of the home fleet, who was in charge of leading the greeting, spoke immediately after hearing the words of the communications officer. "Order, each ship is ready in turn to meet the American friends who have come from afar."

Vice Admiral Hilma's words are literal, because the relationship between the two countries is very good at present, so giving each other enough respect is the character of the Italian Navy.

With the words of Vice Admiral Hilma, the Italian battleships also began to be activated, and they waited in a long queue for the visiting American fleet.

In the distance, the American fleet was already showing its figure, and it was heading towards Naples at high speed.

With a salute of welcome, the visiting American fleet entered the port of Naples in turn.

"Hello, Major General Sperry, welcome to Italy."

During the welcoming ceremony, Vice Admiral Hilmar stepped forward to shake the hand of Rear Admiral Sperry, commander of the Great White Fleet of the United States.

"Hello, Lieutenant General Hilma, thank you for your welcome."

As the commander of the Great White Fleet, Rear Admiral Sperry has also visited many countries and ports, and is familiar with diplomatic etiquette.

Then the generals of the two sides shook hands with each other, and Rear Admiral Sperry said with a somewhat complicated look when he walked up to a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of a rear admiral of the Italian Navy.

"Hello, Major General Leffel. Your Excellency's name is like a thunderbolt, and my colleagues in our country admire your command skills. ”

The words of the Major General Sperry show that they know at whose hands they are losing. Of course, this is not to settle old scores, but to be respected.

In the face of Sperry's meaningful words, Leffel, who had been promoted to major general, could only answer with a smile. "Thank you for your recognition, but it's all over, and we should look forward."

"Your Excellency is right, we should look forward."

At the welcome dinner that night, the officers from the United States frequently toasted Leffel, and even Lefeel, who had been tested in battle, could not resist it, and did not even know how to leave.

This also shows that what the Yankees said was a bit insincere.

However, finding the venue at the wine table was not the main reason for the visit to Italy, and the officers of the US Navy knew this.