The Egyptian campaign had to start first, and there was a precondition for it, that is, it needed to have sea supremacy. For this reason, the Navy, as the vanguard of the campaign, must be ready to face the opportunities that arise at any time.

At this time, the Navy will have to make a big move, that is, to transfer the station of the combined fleet from the port of Taranto to the port of Tobruk.

Why should a transfer be considered a big move?

Because this represents the offensive posture of the Combined Fleet, the whole journey from the port of Taranto to Alexandria is 1,600 nautical miles, and at a speed of 16 knots, it takes more than four days. And from Tobruk to Alexandria, it takes only 19 hours at the same speed.

In addition, the journey from Taranto to Chania in Crete is also at a speed of 16 knots and takes 30 hours, while the journey from Tobruk to Chania takes less than 16 hours.

As it stands, Tobruk is a better option than Taranto. In addition, the water depth of 11 meters in the port of Tobruk is also a suitable option for the combined fleet to go out to the eastern Mediterranean.

And the Italian Navy began to build on the port of Tobruk as soon as it occupied the province of Libya. Especially after entering 1905, the pace of construction accelerated suddenly.

There is a large shipyard, with one dock capable of accommodating 35,000 tons, two 10,000-ton docks, and three 5,000-ton docks. There are also many warehouses, oil depots, barracks, etc., which are completely built into a large dual-use port.

In addition, the defense of the place is also in place, with 19 large and small batteries, of which the largest No. 3 and No. 7 batteries are equipped with two 305 mm shore guns. In addition, there is an infantry brigade stationed there, as well as a squadron of airships and a squadron of aircraft.

Since the outbreak of war, the area has increased its strength and equipment, and now there are four divisions and more than five times the number of airships and aircraft.

In addition, the port of Tobruk was also a logistics base for the Egyptian campaign, so there will inevitably be more personnel and supplies in the future.

The navy attached great importance to this transfer, and Admiral Yagil, who was the head of the navy, personally saw off the fleet.

At this time, facing the neatly arranged officers and soldiers of the fleet in front of him, Admiral Yagill was speaking impassionedly at this time. "The Combined Fleet is an example of our cooperation with the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and you are all the best officers and men. You have made the enemy scared and frightened through one battle after another, and now you are getting closer to the enemy's lair, are you afraid? ”

"Don't be afraid."

At this time, the deafening shouts expressed the inner thoughts of the officers and men of the United Fleet. For his own defeated generals, although the enemy's strength has recovered, he is even stronger. The battleship they were familiar with behind them gave them full confidence, and the tallest and most powerful Roman class was an existence that the enemy could not match.

Admiral Yagill was satisfied with the answers of the officers and men, and he continued to speak in a loud voice. "You are good warriors, and you have defeated the invincible British. Now we have to chase down the enemy's lair and deal a heavy blow to them, let them know that the Mediterranean is not the place for them, and let them get out, the Mediterranean is our sea. ”

"Hooray!"

The Italian officers and soldiers present at this time were all excited when they heard that the Mediterranean Sea had become ours, and the last time the Mediterranean Sea was turned into ours was back in the Roman Empire.

Bringing Italy back to the glory of the Roman Empire is something that many people dare not think of, and who can not be excited when it comes out of the mouth of the top at this time.

Admiral Yagill looked at the excited fleet officers and men with great satisfaction, the Italian officers and men were excited about this goal, and the Austro-Hungarian officers and men were also excited because of their expression of benefit-sharing.

For Austria-Hungary, the interests of the Mediterranean were quite small, and the sharing of Mediterranean interests with Italy, although it would divide most of them, but the small part that fell on its head was enough to make Vienna's heart move. At that time, as the vanguard of the protection of interests, the navy will inevitably grow, and this is also an opportunity for the Austro-Hungarian navy to grow.

Thinking about how the four dreadnoughts came to be, Archduke Ferdinand traveled all over the region and made a lot of promises, so that there were four combined forces battleships. As long as Austria-Hungary had sufficient overseas interests, then Vienna and Budapest would not dare to ignore the navy.

At this time, all the officers and men of the Combined Fleet were moved by Admiral Yagill, and at this time they only thought about defeating and defeating the enemy's Combined Fleet, so that they could enjoy the benefits of the Mediterranean Sea alone.

Admiral Yagill was very satisfied with the speeches of the officers and men of the Combined Fleet, and then to the sound of military music, the officers and men of the Combined Fleet returned to the battleship in a procession.

Of course, the combined fleet is not fully on board, at least the officers of the fleet command have not yet boarded.

"I won't talk about the task you transferred to Tobruk this time, you are already very clear, and you don't need to mention it as an old man. You're all very good generals, but I'd like to mention it here. ”

As he spoke, Admiral Yagill looked at the upper echelons of the fleet in front of him. "You are well aware of how important this Egyptian campaign is to our two navies. So you need to keep the fleet as big as possible, and we're going to go to India. ”

Faced with the admiral's words, the triumvirate of the fleet immediately replied. "Rest assured, we won't risk our fleet."

The words of the three satisfied Admiral Yagill. In the previous series of combat performances, it has already shown that the three of them are excellent.

"Gomes, as the vanguard of the fleet, you occasionally have to carry out missions alone, and I hope you can be more calm while ensuring your agility. I know these two personalities are in conflict, but I still hope you can do it. ”

In the face of the general's expectations, Gomes was unwilling to live up to the other party's good intentions. "Admiral, I will not disappoint your expectations and will definitely be able to do it."

As for why he said it to Gomes alone, it was because he had a tendency to take positive risks, and Admiral Yagill was afraid that he would follow in Betty's footsteps, so he specifically mentioned him.

The commander of the original local battle patrol formation, in the duel between the main British and German navies on the Dogger sandbank, made a serious mistake that caused the main force of the fleet led by Jericho to have to fight. Therefore, when he was held responsible, he was relieved of his post as commander of the battle patrol formation and sent to the Strait Fleet as commander.

It was a fleet of cruisers, destroyers, minelayers, etc., whose main duty was to guard the English Channel.

The man had high hopes from the Navy that he could reach Nelson's heights. But now he can only lead a small fleet to guard the English Channel, which is really impermanent.

And this can also see the painstaking efforts of Admiral Yagill.

After a few brief explanations, several people from the fleet also got on board. At this time, the combined fleet was ready, and under the watchful eye of Admiral Yagill, it slowly left the port of Taranto.

And at the head of the pack was the cruiser formation led by Lieutenant General Gomes. Five battle cruisers, nine cruisers, and 12 destroyers left the harbor in a majestic manner, followed by the main force of the fleet, 13 battleships, leading nearly 100 warships of various types and more than a dozen transport ships.

It's certainly not easy to move, and there are so many bottles and cans that you definitely need to bring them all.

The cruiser formations that went ahead of the country picked up speed all the way after leaving the port, and they still had a task to do, and instead of going with the main force of the fleet, they were going to Crete.

As for the reason, it was to provide support for the Republican Army and get the Anglo-Greek troops out of the island.

(End of chapter)