1039 Gibraltar Farce

It is a tragic fact that Lütjens thinks too much.

After a short thought, he felt that the Allied fleet would retreat to the north, after all, that was the shortest way to their home. He felt that the opponent would directly adopt the most unlikely retreat route in order to confuse him. This was the best answer he could think from the perspective of the enemy.

But who would have thought that the cunning Dudley Pound directly used the most naive retreat route to avoid his carefully arranged pursuit. After the entire fleet advanced and carrier-based aircraft were sent to search, Lütjens found that he had found nothing. It just so happened that at this time a German patrol plane reported what he wanted to know most about the situation ahead.

"We didn't see any enemy fleet passing by, not even a trace of passing by. There are very few British fleets passing by here. If there is any, we will easily find it." The returning butcher reconnaissance plane After reporting what they had seen and heard in this way, Lütjens knew that he was indeed fooled.

It is very difficult to find the enemy's fleet on a vast ocean, especially Lütjens dare not leave the Strait of Gibraltar too far. His other task is to block the strait and deal with the possible Italian fleet. So after initially choosing the wrong direction, he was doomed to lose the Allied fish.

He patted the chart table with his palm in frustration, and then reluctantly gave the order to return to Gibraltar: "Return! When you encounter the Italian Navy, help me out! Damn, who commanded this It's not that old fox Dudley Pound who's leading the Confederate fleet?"

This time, the U.S. military had a big oolong. In order to get rid of the slow transport fleet as soon as possible, the fleet of tens of thousands of U.S. troops could only go south along the coastline, and they didn't even go to their hometown. They have to be replenished in South Africa or South America, and then make a big circle around the country.

The main force of the faster British fleet was running towards the southwest. After they got rid of the German fleet, everyone really let out a long sigh of relief. At least they were not wiped out at sea by the German army, and the fire was preserved after all.

There are a total of many Sherman tanks on the transport fleet. Unfortunately, the number of US troops is not as large as it was originally planned. There are only about 40,000 U.S. troops in the two divisions. Counting some necessary logistics support personnel and a Canadian light infantry division, the total is only a little over 60,000.

After careful consideration, the more than 60,000 Allied troops will eventually be sent to India, and then it will be studied whether these troops are going to the Middle East or attacking Japan in Southeast Asia. In short, these unlucky poor people will drift at sea for a long, long time, and can only rely on Africa's unreliable logistical supplies for support.

But compared to Italy's current situation, their luck is considered very good. If it weren't for the Germans who were busy taking as much of Italy's heritage as possible into their own pockets, they might really be chasing after them and taking this Allied ocean-going fleet.

Just when General Dudley Pound broke into a cold sweat and escaped from the fangs of the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft, the main Italian Mediterranean fleet was about to reach the Strait of Gibraltar. This fleet is not a patchwork of stuff, but the real main fleet of the Italian Navy!

The battleship Rome is now stationed in Alexandria due to various problems, so it is not in this fleet, but the rest of the Italian battleships have all been pulled out. Including the Veneto, which once partnered with the German army, and the Cavour.

Only battleships, the Italians launched 4 ships, which is far worse than the situation of not working hard when supporting the German army. It can be said that if the heavy cruiser is added, the Italians can be said to have spent enough money this time, and it can be regarded as a real fight.

If you count the German Gibraltar Fort, those heavy artillery that got on the table are all pointing in the direction of the blockade of the strait. If the Italian navy approaches and fires a surprise attack with heavy artillery, it will indeed cause a lot of trouble for the Germans. At least after two rounds of shelling, whether the Germans can turn their guns to fight back is a question.

In the turret of the Italian Navy battleship Veneto, several loaders were looking at their gunner with strange eyes. They had just received the order to load the shells, and then someone ordered them to aim the muzzle at the Gibraltar Fortress. This order was too weird for them, so the atmosphere in the entire turret suddenly became heavy.

"Are you kidding? Shelling the Gibraltar fortress? That's where the German troops are stationed! If we fire now, aren't we attacking our allies?" An Italian soldier who had already put on a life jacket looked at his officer, and then at the Look at the cannon already loaded.

"That's right, it was inexplicable to go to sea this time, but when I came to the Strait of Gibraltar, I thought I was going to bombard the Allies at the Suez Canal. Now let us bombard the fortress of Gibraltar, isn't the fleet commander crazy? ?” Another soldier complained reluctantly. It's not that he doesn't want to carry out the shelling order, but that this order is too weird.

The leading officer also looked helpless. When he received this order, he also had the same thought. And he is farther than his subordinates think. His family is in northern Italy. If the Germans start attacking Italy in a rage, wouldn't his hometown become a war zone?

"I said, that's not right, the cannon of the No. 1 turret didn't fire either." A slightly smarter soldier reacted. At this time, everyone realized that the order had been issued for a long time, but the other turret next to them on this battleship, did not fire

"The order is cancelled! I am the deputy captain! Now I will take over the command of the captain, he is crazy! He wants to die and we don't want to be buried with him!" In the communication channel, the voice of the deputy captain came: "Cancel the firing order Order! My God! German planes!"

The order to fire was not carried out by the Italians, and some warships were not loaded at all. After seeing the German planes appearing over the fleet, the warships of the Italian Navy all hung the white flag. It is a pity that the German army did not cancel the bombing, but dropped a bomb on the Italian warship that did not fire at all.

Unlucky for the battleship Kaiser, half of the chimney of this old battleship was blown up, and the Germans saw the white sheets and flags hanging everywhere on the ship. The Italians did not become angry because they were bombed. On the contrary, they sent clear telegrams over and over again, asking the Germans to board the warship.

"Quick! Send the message again! My God! I saw the Caesar was hit! These idiots! Don't you see the white flag we hoisted? Damn it!" The current fleet commander, the Veneto The deputy captain of the battleship turned his head in anger and looked at the captain who was already tied to the chair: "It's all you bastard! An idiot raised by Mussolini!"

"It's too late! Everything is over! The Germans will sink you. If you fight back, there is still a chance of winning!" Mussolini's confidant, who was tied to a chair, shouted loudly. There was a hint of smugness in his eyes, because he felt that his mission should have been completed. At least the Germans are attacking the fleet now, and after a while, the Italian fleet will also fire back in order to protect themselves, so that the whole situation will get out of control.

It is a pity that at this time, German voices appeared on the radio. They demanded that the entire fleet leave immediately, return to the port in southern Italy, and then surrender to Marshal Garibaldi who was waiting for them there. This request made the entire fleet breathe a sigh of relief. They don't have to surrender humiliatingly to the German army, and they don't have to hand over the warships of the motherland to the German army. This is a cost-effective thing anyway, so the Italian fleet started to turn without delay .

After all, Lütjens still failed to annihilate any fleet in Gibraltar. Because he went in the wrong direction, it eventually led to a magnificent naval battle and finally turned into a multinational naval parade. The navies of the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Italy almost launched the largest naval battle in human history here, but in the end they only dropped one bomb and it ended hastily.

The Italian fleet, which ultimately did not implement Mussolini's crazy decision, then returned to the southern Italian port, where it was accepted by Garibaldi. The two newest battleships were allocated directly to the German Navy to form a new combined Axis fleet in the Mediterranean, responsible for Axis naval operations in the entire Mediterranean theater.

Most of the remaining warships eventually belonged to this fleet. The difference is that about 10,000 German navy stationed on these warships can be regarded as completely controlling Italy's sea power. Mussolini's influence on the Italian fleet was completely eliminated, and a new Axis maritime force was controlled by the German army.

If you add a few warships of the French Navy, the naval power of the Axis powers seems to have surpassed the hostile Allied Atlantic Fleet. If the relationship of command difficulties is not considered, it may even change the offensive and defensive situation in the Atlantic Ocean.

And there is a piece of good news that is enough to cheer up the Axis countries. As long as Libya's oil production starts to increase, the oil shortage problem that has been plaguing the Axis countries will be alleviated to a large extent. Those terrible butcher bombers and these fuel-guzzling warships can finally be dispatched unscrupulously.

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