January 7, 1914, sunny, breezy and good sea conditions.

At this time in the Mediterranean, the two fleets were gradually approaching.

This is not yet possible for the two sides to visually detect each other, but for the Combined Fleet, it is one-sided transparency, and a large amount of information is constantly being aggregated.

"The airship reported that the enemy fleet was still sailing west at a speed of 18 knots, and that we were still thirty nautical miles from the enemy. It is expected that the enemy ship will be visually detected in half an hour. ”

"A telegram was sent from the reconnaissance formation, and they could already observe the enemy reconnaissance formation with the naked eye."

"The airship that observed the reinforcement fleet sent a report that the enemy fleet was still eighty nautical miles away from us, and its speed was still eighteen knots."

Report ......

An officer kept reporting to Leffel about reports and news from various places, and all kinds of pressure came at him.

However, in the face of these pressures, Leffel was not stumped, and he continued to give orders based on the information that was gathered.

And in the midst of these orders, Leffel also gave an order that seems a little strange today.

"Order the ships to prepare food and let the officers and men eat after half an hour."

Although it was only two o'clock in the afternoon, no one raised any objection to this order. Because everyone knows that there is a bad battle to be fought next, and no one knows when the next meal will be waiting. So if you don't take something to pad your stomach now, you won't have time to eat during the battle.

With Leffel's order, the galleys of the various battleships began to get busy. Fortunately, the chefs in charge of the kitchen had already made the ingredients into semi-finished products, and it was not difficult to make them in half an hour.

So the smell of the galleys of the ships was wafting, and all kinds of delicacies were prepared by the skilled cooks, and then delivered to the officers and men of the battleships.

At this time, on the warships of the Combined Fleet, the officers and men were gulping down the last meal before the battle broke out.

While the officers and men of the Combined Fleet had completed their final preparations before the war, the Mediterranean Fleet, which had been its target, was not at a loss.

"Robeck, the enemy should be near us."

At this time, on the flagship Orion, Admiral Kaden, who was the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, looked at several airships in the sky that had been following the fleet, and Leng Buding suddenly said such a sentence.

"Your Excellency, have you found anything?"

Admiral Carden's words startled Robek, who was the chief of staff of the fleet, and the other staff officers around him were also taken aback.

Feeling the many inquiring glances cast on his body, Cardin would not explain.

Since the admiral didn't want to explain, the others who dared to come forward to ask, fortunately, someone satisfied their curiosity.

"Admiral, your joke is not funny at all."

It was Lieutenant General Robeck who spoke, and only he could say it in a mocking tone, and of course he was also trying to make up for the tension caused by Admiral Carden's words.

However, Carden did not praise Lieutenant General Robeck's words to ease the atmosphere, but gave an explanation after a glance at the other party. "I have a reason for saying this, although I don't know the current location of the other party, but before the reinforcement formation is exposed, the other side is definitely hidden in the area from Malta to Crete Central Ring."

At this point, Admiral Carden glanced at the officers around him and continued. "And if I were the commander of the opposing fleet, I would have kept an eye on the Mediterranean Fleet."

Admiral Carden's words made the officers around him gasp. They are also capable and experienced officers, otherwise they would not have boarded the flagship and become part of the command center of the fleet. The Admiral predicted this scenario, and they have believed eighty percent.

"If that's the case, then wouldn't we be in great danger right now."

Someone muttered something in a whisper.

As if he had heard the man's words, Admiral Carden continued. "But as dangerous as it may seem, it's not without chance. Although we were targeted by the Italians, we were also holding them back, and as long as we could delay the arrival of reinforcements, that was our chance. ”

It was clear that the Commander of Carden had placed his weight on the arrival of reinforcements.

Of course, he also had the confidence to say this, because at this time they were less than a hundred nautical miles away from the reinforcement fleet and the sea. If you're lucky, you'll be able to meet in three hours, and if you're unlucky, you'll be able to meet in five hours.

However, good luck did not kiss them, and an officer hurried over with a telegram. "Admiral, the reconnaissance formation has sent a telegram that they have encountered the Italian cruiser formation, and its five battle cruisers are there."

These words made the hearts of everyone on the Orion sink, but they didn't expect that Admiral Carden's prediction was right, and the other party really rushed at him. Although this was only an encounter with the opposing cruiser formation, in this situation of being intercepted, the Italian battleship was definitely behind it.

At this moment, General Kaden, who was facing the news, obviously felt that the current atmosphere was heavy, and immediately opened his mouth to stabilize the situation.

"Immediately send a telegram to Vice Admiral Sterdi informing them of our imminent interception by the Italians, and order the ships to prepare for battle at once. And send this news to London, informing them of the imminent war with the Italians. ”

Admiral Carden's successive orders fully proved that he had already known all kinds of countermeasures, otherwise he would not have issued a series of response orders immediately after hearing the news of the discovery of the enemy.

By the time Calden gave the order to meet the Combined Fleet, the reconnaissance formation, which had already encountered its vanguard, was in a different situation.

At this moment, on the sea, two warship formations are constantly maneuvering. They maneuver for different purposes, and their purposes are also different.

"Turn left and bring up the speed to 23 knots."

On his own flagship, Rear Admiral Sinken, who was the commander of the battle formation, observed the movements of the opposing battle patrol while directing the battleship to evade the outflanking Italians.

True, after the two sides discovered each other, the cruiser formations, which were the spearheads of the combined fleet, tried to catch each other.

And the cruiser formations that discovered the Italian battle patrol formations were taken aback. In the face of the menacing Italian battle patrol formation, the cruiser formation immediately wanted to distance the two sides.

Although this is not in line with Nelson's spirit of seeing the enemy and attacking the enemy, when the difference in strength between the two sides is too large, it will be the main task for the commander Rear Admiral Sinken to contain the opponent's five battle cruisers with three inferior numbers and reduce the pressure on the battleship formation.

As for the miracle of defeating the opponent's five battlecruisers with three battle cruisers, I'm sorry that Rear Admiral Sinken is very self-aware, he doesn't think he has the ability.

So he chose another way, which was to drag his opponent down.

"Send a message to Admiral Carden, we will divert the enemy's battle patrol formation, may God bless the British Empire."

(End of chapter)