The Germans began to prepare for battle, which was a chain reaction after the British drew four battleships.

Of course, at this moment, the consensus of the alliance camp cannot be let be the Mediterranean Fleet and the reinforced fleet.

In the early morning of the winter Mediterranean, there is some mist, and at this time a tall warship looms in the fog, and the rice flag fluttering on its battleship declares its belonging to the British Empire.

True, the fleet was none other than the Mediterranean Fleet led by Admiral Carden, and at this moment they were rushing to the sea off Sirte.

Although fog shrouded the sea, the speed of the Mediterranean Fleet did not slow down and remained at a high speed of 18 knots. (Although the maximum speed of the battleship is higher, this speed cannot be sustained forever, generally speaking, 18 knots is the maximum speed that the battleship can maintain all the time, and no matter how high it is, it will cause continuous pressure on the power system.) Moreover, the higher the maximum speed of the battleship, the shorter the duration it can last, for example, a battleship can ensure a maximum speed of more than 20 knots for more than 10 hours, but a destroyer can only maintain about an hour for more than 30 knots. ）

The entire Mediterranean fleet was very happy about the early fog that appeared, which at least made it more difficult for the nasty airship in the sky to find itself.

"Report to Your Excellency Commander, I have just received a telegram from the reinforcement fleet informing us of the directions, and they are only more than three hundred and forty nautical miles away from us."

At this time, the communications officer took a telegram and reported to Admiral Carden the location of the reinforcement fleet.

In view of the current situation and the dangers faced, the two Allied naval fleets decided to report their positions every two hours, so that the other side could clearly find themselves.

Of course, the secret telegram of this transmission position is also the highest level, and in the Mediterranean Fleet, only Admiral Carden, the chief of staff, Vice Admiral Robeck, and the confidential communications staff officer are clear, and the others can't solve it at all, of course, on the side of the reinforcement fleet, it is impossible to be higher than three.

This was to prevent the telegram from being cracked by the Italians, leading to its location being taken into their hands.

It's not clear how much this will do, but it can help, at least at night and in complicated weather.

As for now, the officers and men of the Mediterranean Fleet hope that this fog will last as long as possible.

Unfortunately, their prayers were not heard, and at nine o'clock the fog cleared and the annoying airship overhead returned.

And there was more than one, and in the sky above the Mediterranean Fleet, three airships followed them tightly all the way in a zigzag shape.

Faced with this situation, the Mediterranean Fleet also has no way. The airship looks huge, and the distance is not too far to fight, but in reality it is very different, first of all, it is in the sky, and the speed is much faster than that of a battleship.

It was not unheard of before that the Mediterranean Fleet had tried to lure them over and shoot them down, but these airships were very fine, and they only hung far away, not entering the air above the fleet's five kilometers, which made people very uncomfortable.

"Now that our position is completely exposed to the eyes of the Italians, it's really not good news."

Outside the command tower of the flagship Orion, General Cardin put down his telescope and sighed.

"I don't know where the Italian fleet has gone, which is really unsettling. Especially as the reinforcement formations are getting closer and closer, this worry makes it even more difficult to calm down. ”

Admiral Carden, of course, knew what his chief of staff was talking about, and he was equally concerned about the Italian fleet, especially after it had been reinforced by three Austro-Hungarian battleships.

"Our opponent should not be underestimated, just by suddenly going to sea, we will be unsettled."

Admiral Carden was definitely a compliment, but not only him, but even the British Admiralty was amazed by the sudden departure of Leffel from Taranto with the fleet.

Maybe some people are not convinced, what is this, I can change me.

What a terrible sense of war it is to be able to make the most uncomfortable move for the enemy just by relying on clues when you don't know the enemy's location or the enemy's movements.

It's early, Carden can coordinate the time for the reinforcement fleet to re-enter, and if it's late, it's the Allied fleet after the two fleets converge (if the combined fleet gets the news of the reinforcement fleet in Taranto, it will definitely not be in time).

It was the day before the reinforcements were discovered that Carden and Sterdy had no way back, and at this time they could only hurry up and converge.

"Yes, the enemy will definitely prevent us from converging now, but we don't know which side the enemy is on and how far away it is from us."

The concern that Lieutenant General Robeck said about the enemy was actually not far from them.

More than 170 nautical miles northwest of the Mediterranean Fleet, the largest fleet in the Mediterranean is currently sailing rapidly.

The flags fluttering on the battleship indicate that it is the combined fleet that the Allied navies are most worried about at present.

"Report, the airship reconnaissance force sent a message that the Mediterranean fleet is still 170 nautical miles away from us."

"Got it."

On board the flagship Cavour, the communications staff officer reported to Lefehr the news he had just received from the Mediterranean Fleet.

And on the side of the conning tower, several staff officers quickly marked their location on the chart. The position of the formations is also marked on this chart, and of course the most important is the position of the two fleets of the British and French navies, which are clearly marked with red flags.

At this moment, Leffel looked at the chart, but his heart was not as calm as it seemed.

In his heart, it might have been a fluke at this time, and in the prudent consideration of it, he let the Combined Fleet out of port in advance, and then waited all the way south into the Mediterranean.

Originally, his idea was to go to sea first, so that it would be easier to support Malta or intercept the Mediterranean fleet.

As for the three French battleships, he did not think they would be able to do it.

Even if the other party goes to Malta to attack and harass, with the strength of the reserve fleet, it can stop the other party.

As for its reinforcement of the Mediterranean Fleet, he did not think that the French would do it, because if the French had the idea to do it a long time ago, how could they wait until now.

Na Cheng thought that the British had given him a big surprise, and the French Navy had also taken out his own funds.

This time there were seven battleships, including two super dreadnoughts, which broke his estimate of the battlefield.

The enemy has outnumbered the combined fleet, so it is necessary to prevent the other side from converging.

As for the question of choosing which fleet to intercept first, he also resolutely stared at the Mediterranean Fleet despite public opinion. On the one hand, this is the strongest formation of the opponent, and it is also its main force. As long as they are defeated, then their reinforcement formations are not a cause for concern. Therefore, the direction of the route of the Combined Fleet has always been staring at the Mediterranean Fleet.

"Report, the second battleship squadron generates electricity, and the ships have been inspected and are ready to enter combat state at any time."

"Report, the 3rd Battleship Squadron generates electricity, and its formation battleships have also been inspected and are ready to enter combat condition at any time."

"A telegram was sent from the reconnaissance formation at the front, and the ships of the reconnaissance formation have been inspected and can enter combat status immediately."

"A telegram from the cruiser formation ......"

"A telegram from the expulsion formation ......"

As this report was summed up, Lefell also suppressed other thoughts.

"Now I order, the formations to increase the speed to twenty knots, and we will meet the British Mediterranean fleet."

With Leffel's order, the Combined Fleet, which was already not slow, increased its speed by two knots, and it hurried towards the Mediterranean Fleet.

A sea battle is about to take place in the Mediterranean.

(End of chapter)