PS: Ask for tickets at the end of the month!

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If Italy and the Ottomans had not joined the Entente, the Anglo-French fleets in the Mediterranean would have had absolute superiority, and the "coastal defense fleet" of Austria-Hungary would not have been able to turn the waves at all. But once Italy and Austria-Hungary joined, the situation was very different.

Italy had six dreadnoughts, nine pre-dreadnoughts, ten armored cruisers, 14 protective cruisers, 43 destroyers, 24 submarines, and more than a hundred mine-strike and torpedo boats. Most of these ships are in the Mediterranean, and a few are deployed in the Red Sea and other overseas bases. The officers and men of the Italian Navy have always been excellent, and the strength of this fleet should not be underestimated.

The Ottoman navy, though previously poor, has grown in strength since they bought back an entire fleet in China, defeating the Russian Black Sea Fleet in August. If nothing else, the "Suleiman Magnificent" super dreadnought is enough to make people look sideways. And the only large aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, the same combat strength.

Plus the Austro-Hungarian Empire had six dreadnoughts and three ex-dreadnoughts, nine shore defense ironclads, three armored cruisers, five protective cruisers, 33 destroyers, ten submarines, already more than a hundred torpedo boats.

Once these three are combined, their strength is no worse than that of the British and French fleets.

Originally, according to the Italians' assumptions, the battle should have taken place earlier, after the declaration of war on the 15th. But because of the dispute with Turkey, it has been delayed until now. Because Italy demanded that the Turkish Navy pull out all its belongings and go to Britain and France together. But Turkey did not do it, they claimed to be on guard against the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and could only take out two former dreadnoughts to participate.

Italy believes that Maozi's Black Sea Fleet has been crippled by you, and it has only been less than three months, and they will definitely not dare to come out again, and those broken ships may not have been repaired yet. Turkey said, "Who can guarantee this kind of thing, what if Maozi's brain gets hot?" When the time comes, my house will be smashed, and who will I go to cry to?

Later, the two sides argued for several days before reaching an agreement under the coordination of Germany. Turkey eventually sent the Suleiman the Magnificent and two Dreadnoughts, as well as three Minjiang-class light cruisers, three Zhuhai-class destroyers, and three Type 901 submarines to join the combined fleet. The aircraft carrier Fatih and the other half of the cutting-edge ships guard the Black Sea.

In the end, the combined fleet did not arrive at the Taranto base in Italy until October 25, and after tripartite consultations, the commander-in-chief of the Italian navy, Duke Abruzzi, became the commander of the three-nation combined fleet, and was responsible for commanding the operation.

The navy had just discussed how to cooperate, when bad news came that the Italian army attacking France had already been defeated by the Japanese. The Italian authorities immediately could not sit still, so they demanded that the Allied fleet immediately take action to display the national and military prestige of Italy.

The Allied fleet hastened to make a battle plan and left the port on October 27. According to their plan, they made a feint on Corsica, lured the French fleet out, and then concentrated their forces on annihilation. The British Mediterranean Fleet had to defend the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar and simply couldn't spare its hands to help, so there was no need to worry.

But they did not expect that the British would make a desperate bet, not even caring about the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar, and sending the full strength of the Mediterranean Fleet to join the French Navy. After Italy and the Ottomans joined the Central Powers, Britain and France also formulated a plan to annihilate their opponents, they were preparing to make a feint attack on Sardinia, lure out the Italian fleet, and then gather and annihilate it. As long as it is overturned, the rest of Austria-Hungary and Turkey are just random goods.

It's good, both sides think about it.

And Britain and France didn't expect that these three guys, who had never dealt with each other very well, would unite in such a short period of time and form a joint fleet.

Just look at the map to see how close Sardinia in Italy and Corsica in France are. The two are separated by a Bonifacio Strait more than a dozen kilometers wide.

Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. The Anglo-French fleet was the first to attack Sardinia, and the Allied fleet, having learned the news, immediately hastened over.

October 30 at 11 o'clock. The fleets of both sides discovered each other. At 1:20 p.m., the main forces of the two sides met in the waters east of Bonifacio, and the British and French fleets set their lines of battle with their backs to Corsica.

In this battle for control of the Mediterranean, both sides did their best.

The fleet of the Entente was: 4 dreadnoughts, 33 pre-dreadnoughts, 15 armored cruisers, 22 protective cruisers, 71 destroyers (including mine-strike ships), 30 submarines, 3 seaplane carriers, 59 torpedo boats.

The Allied fleet lineup was: 13 dreadnoughts, 14 pre-dreadnoughts, 9 shore defense ironclads, 10 armored cruisers, 20 protective cruisers (including light cruisers), 76 destroyers, 40 submarines, 6 seaplane carriers, and 142 torpedo boats of various types.

Literally, the strength of the two sides is about the same, and the strength of the British and French fleets seems to be even stronger.

The commander of the Entente fleet was Vice Admiral La Perel, commander-in-chief of the French navy, and he and the Duke of Abruzzi of Italy were also old rivals for many years.

The battle lasted until the evening, when both sides declared themselves victorious.

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In this battle, the fleets of both sides lost a large number of ships, and the four Lone class dreadnoughts of the Allies were sunk and two were damaged, and 11 former dreadnoughts, 7 armored cruisers, 8 protective cruisers, 21 destroyers, 3 submarines, 1 seaplane carrier, and 35 torpedo boats were sunk in the battle. In addition, 6 dreadnoughts, 3 armored cruisers, and more than 30 light ships were heavily damaged.

The Allied fleet lost the Italian dreadnought Dante Aligo Icheri, all nine Austro-Hungarian shore defense ironclads sunk, and three ex-dreadnoughts, four armored cruisers, six protective cruisers, 26 destroyers, and 45 torpedo boats. In addition, 3 dreadnoughts, 3 ex-dreadnoughts, 1 armored cruiser, and more than 30 light ships were heavily damaged.

Judging from the ratio of battle losses between the two sides, it is indeed half a catty. But anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Entente lost this battle. This can be seen from the fact that the French fleet retracted to Toulon to lick its wounds, and the British fleet returned to the Strait of Gibraltar behind closed doors.

Because half of their only four dreadnoughts were hung up, and half were heavily damaged, it is estimated that they will not be able to repair them in two months. Although the losses of the Allies were also large, most of the sinking ships were old ships, and only one dreadnought was lost, three were heavily damaged, and nine dreadnoughts remained combat-ready.

There is no doubt that this naval battle of Corsica was a victory for the Allies. After the Battle of Corsica, Britain still relied on the land coastal defense fortresses that had been operated for many years, and still held the two ports of the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal. The French navy suffered heavy losses, but it also managed to hold its coastline with the help of shore fortifications and a large number of torpedo boats and aircraft. But the rest of the Mediterranean could not be controlled, and the Allies had already seized the initiative in the Mediterranean.

The Battle of Corsica was the second largest battleship battle after the Battle of Jutland, in which the British Empire suffered another humiliating defeat. After the news came out, people all over the world had a feeling that their three views had been subverted. Everyone is talking about it, the empire that never sets is a paper tiger, and it can't even beat it. But it's really powerful enough to make me fly in the UK.

Of course, it was the British who were hit the hardest. Less than a month after the total destruction of Jutland's army, there was another great Corsica defeat, and Britain is afraid that it will be over! Many British public intellectuals have even said: "What is wrong with Great Britain? Why did our navy, which once crossed the seven seas and was the best in the world, lose to the Germans and Italians one after another...... This must be a problem of the system, and it is always the people who suffer in the end, and I can't help but fall into deep contemplation......"

As a result, there have been incidents of "walking in the streets" spontaneously organized by the people in various parts of Britain, and they have put up signs demanding that the current government step down, that Prime Minister Asquith get out, that the Admiralty Qiu Fatzi, and the First Sea Secretary Fisher be the biggest British-traitor-country-thieves!

These few members of the current cabinet are undoubtedly on the cusp, Jutland fiasco is still in the limelight, and now there is another Corsican defeat, which can no longer be carried out. Although those in the know know that they are not to blame for these two big defeats. It's not that the Royal Navy is incompetent, it's that the opponent is too strong, and this is a crime of non-war. But the middle and lower class people can't manage so much, in their opinion, in the past, our navy was from victory to victory, but when your brothers came to power, they became defeated again and again, and they lost so much that they had no underwear. Even the aunt can bear it, and the uncle can't bear it. No matter, you guys have to step down anyway. In particular, these two defeats caused more than 100,000 casualties and captures of more than 100,000 officers and soldiers, and the families of these soldiers were even more indignant.

Fortunately, this is still in the UK, if it is changed to Japan, I am afraid that it has already begun to "be punished by heaven". Even King George V can't keep them, and such a series of fiascos must have a few enough weight to come out and take the blame anyway, otherwise how to explain it to the public. So on November 2, Asquith and the current cabinet members announced their general resignation in the House of Commons, stepping down.

Because it was still a time of war and it was impossible to hold a general election, George V quickly appointed Lloyd's George, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, as the new prime minister, and ordered him to quickly form a new cabinet and quickly wipe his ass for this shit. The Welsh native Welsh Prime Minister is the first British Prime Minister ever to speak a language other than English.

During the war, Lloyd George came to power and formed a new cabinet that night. Arthur Balfour succeeded him as Lord of the Navy, and Sir Henry Jackson was the new First Sea Secretary.

And the biggest beneficiary of this war is undoubtedly Italy, the army has just been slapped in the face by Japan, the navy has earned back face, and the Italian government, which had lost face, finally breathed a sigh of relief. The most important thing is that they have the initiative in the Mediterranean, and the strategic form is immediately better.

The outside world's evaluation of Italy was suddenly divided into two extremes, and our beloved Mr. Wen said: "Anyway, I can't understand Italy more and more, this country is really strange." The army is so wasteful, and the navy is so powerful, is the personnel composition of their army and navy two completely different creatures?"

In the end, he reluctantly concluded: "Italy, this is a magical land. Here, any miracle on earth can happen! good or bad, yes, that's it......"