78_78650On the same day that London fell, the Allied Mediterranean Fleet was hit in the head in the Strait of Gibraltar, although compared to the fall of London, this defeat did not hurt the vitality of the Allied Powers, but at least the morale of the Entente Powers, which was about to bottom out, was slightly improved, and it also made the Entente bigwigs who had been anxious during this time breathe a little relief.

After the victory of the Italian, Austrian, and Turkish navies in the "Battle of Corsica", except for the French coastline, the rest of the Mediterranean was already under the control of the Central Powers. But their ambitions don't stop there, especially in Italy, where the Corsica victory brought back memories of Gena, Venice and even the more distant Roman Empire using the Mediterranean as an inland lake.

Thus, in the eyes of the confident Italian Navy, the fact that the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal were controlled by the British became intolerable.

We all know that Italy as a country has always had a glorious tradition of bargaining, and this is true of the army, and the navy is no exception, although they can fight more than the army, but this racial talent will not change. Now Niu Niu has been beaten by Erdezi and can't take care of himself, if he doesn't take the opportunity to make a profit, then I'm sorry for the Italian people.

The Italians took the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, not only to satisfy their own vanity, but also to have huge practical interests. Once you control these two places, you control the entire Mediterranean. Whether militarily, politically, or even economically, there are unimaginable benefits. For example, the opium cow guards the Suez Canal, and the annual toll alone counts the money and cramps, and the sluggish profit is so angry that he can't do it.

Of course, the meal has to be eaten in one bite, and no matter how crazy Italy is, it is not sure that it will take the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal at the same time, so they set their sights on the weaving camel, oh, it is Gibraltar. Compared to the Suez Canal, Gibraltar is obviously more important, as long as it is opened here, it can join forces with the German Navy.

After several months of renovation, Italy again pulled in Austria-Hungary and Turkey to seize control of the Strait of Gibraltar.

This time, after discussion, they left behind two combined-force-class dreadnoughts of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, three Radetzky-class dreadnoughts, the aircraft carrier Budapest, and a small number of light ships, and let them watch the French Navy in the port of Toulon, and basically all the other ships were dispatched.

10 dreadnoughts (three Count Cavour-class and two Andrea in Italy?) Doria-class, two Austro-Hungarian Queen Elizabeth-class and two Combined Forces class, as well as the Turkish Fuxi), 8 ex-dreadnoughts (two Brandenburg-class in Turkey, two Queen Magritte-class and four Queen Elena class in Italy), 4 armored cruisers, 10 protective cruisers (including light cruisers), 40 destroyers, 30 submarines, 4 seaplane carriers, and 40 torpedo boats of various types.

In addition, they took with them two aircraft carriers that had just been commissioned, Sicily and Sardinia. The aircraft carriers of Italy and Austria-Hungary were all new ships that were commissioned only at the end of last year, and this is also the work of their fashionable follow-up after the Sino-Japanese war. The difference is that the Austro-Hungarian Budapest is not a professional aircraft carrier, it is converted with a large ocean-going passenger ship, the displacement is not small, enough 18,000 tons, but the speed is only a pitiful 23 knots, and because it is the bottom of the passenger ship, the modification that can be carried out is very limited, and the carrying capacity is only 31 aircraft. So this operation did not take it, but let it serve as a janitor to guard the French navy in the port of Toulon.

This is not the case with Italy's two Sicilian-class aircraft carriers, a specialized aircraft carrier specially designed and rebuilt. Italian designers are indeed of a high level, and although they refer to a lot of Yu Dynasty-level structures, they also have a lot of their own things. The Sicilian class is larger than the Yu Dynasty class, with a displacement of 15,200 tons and a speed of 28 knots, because the main combat areas are calm in the Mediterranean, so they use a high double-deck hangar, plus deck mooring, it can carry up to 65 aircraft.

Moreover, the Italians also had a brainstorm and came up with an even more powerful idea - to hang up tickets. They hung the planes on top of the hangar, so that the maximum capacity could be increased to 88 aircraft. Of course, if you use this extreme method, the hangar is too crowded, and it is very inconvenient to carry out daily operations, so it is generally useless.

According to the Italians, with the current strength of Britain guarding the Strait of Gibraltar, it is simply impossible to match this fleet. Yes, the fortress of Gibraltar, which has been operated by opium cattle for hundreds of years, is indeed very good, but didn't we bring an aircraft carrier? The 80 bombers on it are not for viewing. Although the performance of our aircraft is a little worse than that of China, and there are some problems in bombing warships that can run, there is still no problem in bombing fortresses that cannot move.

In addition to these combat ships, they also brought with them a convoy of transports carrying 2 army divisions, which were used as a final landing to occupy the area.

........................................................................

To say that Italy's confidence was not a haphazard either, the British navy guarding the Strait of Gibraltar at this time was indeed underwhelming, and after the defeat of Corsica, the Mediterranean fleet was left with only 9 dreadnoughts and 4 armored cruisers. In addition, there are 11 protective cruisers, 25 destroyers, 18 torpedo boats, 13 submarines.

In the face of the strength of the Allied fleet, even if it can rely on the fortress, it will be an extremely difficult battle. The Italians did not expect the Japanese fleet to join, and they were not unaware of the news of the Japanese fleet's expedition to Europe, but what they did not expect was that the Japanese fleet did not go through the Suez Canal, which was closely monitored by them, and made a great circle from the Cape of Good Hope, and after more than two months of day and night, it arrived in the North Atlantic.

What the Italians did not expect was that when the Japanese fleet arrived in Europe, it did not immediately go to reinforce the British mainland, which was in a critical situation, but ran to the Strait of Gibraltar to intervene. This leads to the failure of their wishful thinking.

With the addition of the combined fleet of Japan and Japan, the power of the Entente in the Strait of Gibraltar was greatly strengthened. At once there were four more super-dreadnoughts, and four super-dreadnought-class battle cruisers, as well as four heavy cruisers, seven light cruisers, and twenty-seven destroyers, as well as a regular aircraft carrier.

In addition, the strength of the land forces has increased significantly. Because this time it was not only the Japanese Combined Fleet that came, but also a troop transport fleet of the Japanese Army, on which three divisions were carried. This fleet departed more than half a month earlier than the Combined Fleet, but because of its slower speed, it arrived in the North Atlantic at the same time as the Combined Fleet, which departed later. As a result, this group of troops also happened to go down to the fortified area to assist in the defense.

The Allied navy, which had misjudged the prediction, hit the steel plate headlong and was hit headlong and bled out. The first battle of the Japanese Combined Fleet after the reconstruction was launched with an instant hit, and remarkable results were achieved.

This battle was basically a show of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and the British Mediterranean Fleet, as the landlord, became a foil.

At 7 a.m. local time, the Allied fleet took the lead in the attack. The first wave of attacks was carried out by Italian carrier-based aircraft, but their effectiveness was far from the expected level. The British were not fools, and after the planes showed their combat capabilities, they also increased their air power at the fortified Gibraltar, building three airfields and deploying more than 240 combat aircraft in the fortified area.

At this time, the carrier-based aircraft had to consider taking off and landing on the mother ship and adapting to the marine climate, which wasted a lot of weight in this regard, and its performance was not comparable to that of land-based aircraft. Plus the number is not as good, where is there anything to say. The 50 Italian HD1 fighters were beaten into dogs by 110 British camel fighters, and after more than half an hour of fierce fighting, 30 HD1 fighters were shot down.

Where was the opponent of the Italian carrier-based bombers, they immediately dropped their bombs in a hurry and fled in a hurry. The British fleet pursued the fleet until the Allied fleet returned triumphantly. The battle of Gibraltar resulted in the loss of 33 fighters and 37 bombers, with more than a dozen wounded, while the British lost only 14 fighters and seven wounded.

What to do next? The Allied fleet, which had been unfavorable in the initial battle, suddenly had a difference of opinion. The Italian side did not give up and asked to continue the offensive and try it, if it went back like this, it would be too shameless. The Turkish Navy, on the other hand, was categorically opposed, believing that it was very dangerous to continue the attack without gaining air superiority, not to mention without weakening the fortress in the slightest. The Turkish Navy is super dreadnought with this treasure, but it is reluctant to take it to fight the fortress. The attitude of Austria-Hungary was hesitant, and it seemed to feel that both sides were justified.

From the perspective of later generations, the Turkish opinion is obviously more reasonable, but the Italians look down on them. In their opinion, the navy, which the Turks can play fart with, is now nothing more than cowardice, as can be seen from the fact that they did not only fight against the Greek navy in the past. Such scum, even if it is equipped with advanced warships, is just as rubbish.

As a result, this fleet, which had different orders, stopped on the sea less than 100 kilometers from Gibraltar, and the upper echelons of the coalition forces were arguing for the next move, and the officers and men below had to wait stupidly.

But just as they were arguing, the defending fleet that they thought would be cowering next to the fortress pounced. And the scale was far beyond their imagination, and it was only now that they found out that the Japanese fleet had actually come to stir up the situation.

The Allies' attack was also the beginning of the aircraft attack, with a total of 194 aircraft taking off from the fortress of Gibraltar and the Xiangfeng beginning to attack the hesitant fleet.

At the same time, the British and Japanese naval fleets also launched an attack on the Allied fleet