The sea at sunset is a mess, floating debris, oil, corpses, and warships burning with flames, making people feel the cruelty of war.

As for the cruelty of the naval battle, the British officers and soldiers who had just fought a big battle and escaped the catastrophe had no time to catch their breath at this time, and they were arranged to work in various tasks. How passionate they fought before, how embarrassed they are now, as if the previous naval battle had exhausted their spirits.

The officers and men of the reinforcement formation looked at everything in front of them with different expressions, including yearning, pale and powerless, and indifferent.

As for Lieutenant General Steddy, who was the commander of the reinforcement formation, there was only remorse left. His reinforcement was completely ineffective, except for the final rescue of Admiral Carden's half-wrecked fleet, which did not achieve any desired results at all.

You know, he left the Agincourt behind and came all the way at full speed (the Agincourt was hit by a torpedo, which caused the speed to be reduced by three knots and could not keep up with the formation).

He was not reconciled, especially after learning that the Italian fleet had left only an hour later, he had always had a thought.

"Lieutenant General, General Carden has sent a telegram."

The communications staff officer handed him a telegram, and Lieutenant General Stedi, who received the telegram, quickly checked it.

This telegram was a report on the damage of the combined fleet of the opponent of the Mediterranean Fleet, and although the Mediterranean Fleet had suffered losses before, it had also caused enough losses in the battle with it. And Lieutenant General Sterdy was able to get this report, and General Carden's attitude was self-evident.

When did the British Imperial Navy suffer such a big loss, a naval battle that was supposed to have an advantage, but as a result, the loss was so great when it lost the opportunity that Carden, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was so angry that he vomited blood.

Think about how much the Mediterranean Fleet lost in this naval battle. Invincible and Indomitable in battle cruisers and battleships; The Montague was sunk, the Collingwood, the Captain of the Centurifies, the Avantgarde, St. Vincent, the Neptune, Hercules, the Colossus, and only Orion and the Conqueror suffered minor losses.

And that's just the main battleship, not to mention the cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats, and other small and medium-sized warships. Two lightning strikes (one for each enemy) caused it to lose more than two-thirds, and basically the Mediterranean Sea is now in a half-dead state, and it will be difficult to recover its combat effectiveness if it is not raised for half a year. How can you let General Cardon accept this result, and if you don't get fainted on the spot, you can be regarded as strong inside.

And Lieutenant General Steddy, who happened to be in command of the reinforcement formation, was also unwilling, saying that he could not let the Italians leave so peacefully.

"The Taghoff sank, the István was broken, the Dreadnought was broken, Dante was broken, Leonardo da Vinci was broken, Julio was broken, Petrarch was broken, and the United Forces ......"

Vice Admiral Stedi quickly calculated the losses of the combined fleet. After careful calculation, Vice Admiral Stedi decided that with the six battleships he had in his reinforcement formation, it would be enough to deal with the equally half-crippled Combined Fleet.

As for how to find the combined fleet that slipped away when there was still airship surveillance in the sky, it was thanks to Admiral Kaden.

Because of the tireless battle patrol, they are following each other. When General Carden saw that the Italians wanted to run, he ordered Major General Sinken, who had just arrived, to follow and spy on them.

With the Insatiable Trailing, Lieutenant General Sterdy was not at all worried about finding his target.

And he also received a telegram from Major General Sinken that the Italians were leaving in the north at a rate of seventeen knots. As long as Major General Sinken didn't lose him, he would dare to pursue the other party even in the dark.

Just as Vice Admiral Sterdy was about to pursue the main force of the Combined Fleet to the north, a column of smoke suddenly appeared on the southwest side of the observation post, and then one after another battleships appeared on the sea level, and the lookout post counted a total of five warships.

"A fleet of five warships was found in the southwest." As he spoke, the sharp-eyed lookout immediately saw the other party's flag and immediately shouted. "It's an Italian battleship, it's an Italian battle patrol formation."

Soon the news of the Italian war patrol in the southwest was learned by Lieutenant General Sterdi and General Carden.

Seeing the sudden appearance of an uninvited guest, the two commanders who were still thinking about chasing their opponents immediately calmed down.

Five battle cruisers weren't much, but they gave the two commanders enough problems. On the Orion, Admiral Carden sighed unwillingly. "Send a telegram to Major General Sinken and let him return. Lieutenant General Steddy was also informed of this decision. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency."

After giving the order, General Carden seemed to be a few years older in an instant, and he looked at his partner, Lieutenant General Robeck, and said. "When I get back to Alexandria, I will submit my resignation to London."

As a colleague for many years, Lieutenant General Robeck certainly knew what he was thinking and what he was for, but he still spoke. "Actually, it's not your fault, we're just cooperating."

Had it not been for London's command and the plans of his genius, they would not have fought this with Italy.

"No, I was indeed at fault for the defeat in this naval battle, we underestimated the strength of the Italians. In addition, I also underestimated the role of new technology in naval warfare, at least in the sky, which I really can't understand. ”

It is clear that this Carden general has a deeper understanding of the role of airships, and this naval battle is aggrieved. His every move is under the watchful eye of the enemy, and he has no idea where the other party is. This means that the enemy can choose the battlefield he wants, the time he wants, and how can he fight it?

"Order the ships to the southwest and force the enemy patrol to leave."

After Lieutenant General Robbeck put down the telegram in his hand, he gave a new order. At the same time he sighed and threw the battle-damaged telegram from the previous Combined Fleet into the trash.

He didn't blame Admiral Kaden, five enemy battle cruisers were on the side, and it was difficult to block the blow of the opponent's five battle cruisers with the crippled Mediterranean fleet in Admiral Carden's hands alone, so he really couldn't leave the Mediterranean fleet with the worst losses.

And on the side of the Combined Fleet, after seeing the Indefatigable that had been following closely behind, Leffel finally put his mind at ease.

This was the end of the naval battle at Sirte.

In this naval battle, the Italian-Austrian combined fleet fought 89 British and French warships with 116 warships, lost 57 warships (including 1 battleship), sank 59 ships of the Mediterranean Fleet (including 4 battleships and 2 battlecruisers), and won the naval battle.

In terms of the number of lost warships, the gap between the two sides is not large. But the tonnage is displayed in a completely different way. The combined fleet sank a total tonnage of 82,300 tons, while the British and French sides sank a total tonnage of 189,200 tons.

In terms of personnel losses, the combined fleet suffered more than 5,000 casualties, while the British and French suffered more than 10,000 casualties. The reason for the more casualties on both sides than in the historical Battle of Jutland was due to the prolonged exchange of fire between the two sides. (Battle of Jutland, Scheer found out that something was wrong and walked away, so the casualties were not large)

Of course, this naval battle taught both sides quite important lessons, and the importance of aerial reconnaissance almost dominated the direction of naval warfare in this naval battle.

In addition, the use of lightning strike tactics is becoming more and more standardized. The performance of the firepower and protection of the battleship on the battlefield is also thought-provoking.

Of course, all of this is not as dazzling as Lefel, who commanded the Combined Fleet to win this naval battle, and after this battle, the vice admiral's name is also thunderous throughout the world. Because he was the first admiral in a hundred years to win a decisive naval battle against the British Navy.

He broke the aura of the British invincible navy and stopped everyone from blindly following it.

I didn't finish writing it last night, so I made up for it in the morning.

(End of chapter)