One Hundred and Forty-Eight Matches in the Middle East

On the calm sea of ​​the Mediterranean Sea, the sharp bow of the warship cut through the waves, and the white waves split in two spread to both sides, gradually disappearing into the water. 【First release】

The flagship of the British blockade fleet, the battleship HMS Hood, and the bridge command post.

"Captain, to blockade Germany, which doesn't even have heavy cruisers, why did it directly send such a huge fleet? Two battleships, with three cruisers, such a large scale..." the first officer asked idly at the side. Captain with binoculars.

"Do you think this is to deal with the two broken fishing boats of the German Navy?" The captain put down the binoculars and said with a proud smile: "We have three missions this time; first, block the sea in the Middle East and let Germany completely cut off the Middle East Oil resources; second, use force to deter the natives in the Arab region, so that they will obediently hand over the German oil share; third, let the Italian navy see how powerful we are, so as not to get so close to Germany."

In fact, both the British "government" and the navy are not at ease about this ocean-going blockade. Because Germany has also used various means to weave a big net of interests here: Turkey and Italy, two local snakes, are tied to this big net of interests. So even though Germany does not have a warship in the Mediterranean Sea, the British Navy still feels that the size of the fleet must be huge.

Because the Italian "government" has not clearly expressed its neutrality until today, and the Italian navy does have the combat capability and ideas to wipe out the small-scale Royal Navy-the British fleet was pegged by the Italian navy as soon as it entered the Mediterranean.

In 1934, the Italian Navy had 2 old-fashioned Count Cavour-class battleships: Cavour and Giulio Caesar; 2 old-fashioned Callo Durio-class battleships: Callo Durio and Andre Doria.

Although the battleships seem to be average in strength, Italy's strength in cruisers is outstanding: at that time, there were 4 Zara-class heavy cruisers with the best protection and the most powerful heavy cruisers in the world: "Zara", "Fiume", "Gola" Zia", "Pola". In addition, it also has 2 Taranto-class heavy cruisers and 2 Borgano-class heavy cruisers.

If you count 10 light cruisers and 60 submarines-if this Italian fleet comes out in full force, it can completely cause headaches for the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean forces, so this time the British Navy dispatched the local fleet to the south to ensure that it will deter and defend the war. Germany is getting closer to Italy.

After he finished explaining, he immediately issued an order: "Signal to the King George V, keep the speed and course, we will reach the German transport route in about an hour." I hope the British foreign department has sent the price tag of the British "government" to the ship. Mussolini, the leader of the shit in Italy, so that the behemoths of the two countries' navies don't have to fight in the Mediterranean.

That price is really not light, Britain promised to give Italy 10% of Germany's oil share,

Of course, for the sake of convenience, Saudi Arabia also took 20% of it, France asked for 20% as compensation, the United States also swallowed 10%, Turkey, as a local power in this region, also took 10% of the money, and the British "government" contributed I got 30% as compensation. I hope that Italy will accept this condition without hesitation.

After a while, the British King George V returned the signal: "Two British destroyers are coming, and they have been monitoring the German route near here."

"To be honest, our army should go to the Germans for a good lesson! But our Royal Navy is different. It's time for the world to remember who is the overlord of the sea!" The British fleet commander said with a snort: " Prepare all 5.5-inch guns! Tell the fleet to move forward at full speed! Any Germans must board the ship for inspection, and if they encounter resistance, they are allowed to fire!"

There are four warships named HMS Hood in British history. The battlecruiser HMS Hood built in 1916 is the most powerful warship among them. This warship has a full load displacement of more than 48,000 tons and is a real super war machine.

It has 8 15-inch main guns, which are equipped on the front and rear 4 double-mounted turrets. It can use shells to strike enemy targets 33 kilometers away. It has a 12-inch armor thickness, which is enough to resist most artillery attacks—— This battlecruiser can be said to be the pinnacle of battlecruiser design in the world, and it is definitely the most powerful weapon currently available to the British Navy.

After it was completed and commissioned in 1920, "Hood" was the largest and most expensive capital ship in the Royal Navy, and her speed was the fastest of the naval capital ships at the time. "Hood" is regarded as the pride of the British Royal Navy and a symbol of the maritime power of the British Empire. She is very impressive. During her service career, she has been used as a ceremonial ship of the Royal Navy to show the British national prestige many times in the world. attention.

"Keep heading! Inform the power room and accelerate immediately!" The first officer shouted, "All personnel return to their posts! Level 2 battle preparation!"

"The reconnaissance plane sent a telegram and found the German transport fleet. Two D-class (that is, the German Hercules-class transport ships) are traveling on the scheduled route." The combat staff handed over the telegram and handed it over to the fleet commander.

"Order, the two destroyers in front of you will approach immediately, board the ship for inspection! If you encounter resistance, sink them on the spot. Pay attention to the direction of the northern Italian coastline behind our fleet, and immediately enter the air defense alert state when encountering Italian aircraft! All anti-aircraft fire ’ The guns are ready.”

"Prepare all anti-aircraft guns! Be alert to the air at a 45-degree angle!" The first officer ordered loudly into the microphone, and then the entire battleship began to make noise.

"Boom!" After a while, there was an explosion sound in the distance, and the command room was in chaos. The captain and the fleet commander picked up the binoculars and began to look into the distance, and the combat staff officers took pictures of the sea chart for a while. Soon, the sound of explosions came again, and it seemed that a British warship opened fire.

"Hello? Communication room? Check it out! Which ship fired? Hurry up!" a combat staff officer asked loudly through the intercom: "I want the exact news! Report to me right away... um, um! I understand!"

Putting down the handset, the combat staff immediately reported to the fleet commander: "Report! The Bravery sent a signal, and the German transport ship accelerated to escape, and there was an Italian navy ship in the distance to respond. They fired and hit one of them, and the other has already entered. When they reached the protection range of the Italian navy, they did not continue to pursue."

I already knew that the Italians would protect the Germans, but I didn't expect it to come so fast. It seems that the Italian fleet also set off early and came here to wait. In other words, the Germans have already discovered the British fleet's southward movement. The intelligence gathering skills are even worse than those in World War I. The admiral put down his binoculars and thought.

"Boom!" An explosion that resounded through the sky was hundreds of times louder than the artillery fire just now. Without a telescope, one could see a billowing thick smoke rising into the sky. It seemed that the German oil transport ship was hit by a shell. Judging from the tragic degree of the explosion, this time the Royal Navy even saved the trouble of sending lifeboats to enforce international law.

...

In front of Acador, Colonel Smith proudly said: "Because Germany forcibly expelled the Allied Arms Control Commission, the international community expressed doubts about the sincerity of Germany's defeat and self-reflection. Therefore, it was initiated by the French "government" and organized by the United Kingdom, the United States, Belgium, The five countries of Japan jointly implemented economic sanctions against Germany."

Originally, war could break out at any time. As the military attache of the British embassy in Germany, Colonel Smith originally planned to set off to return home. However, since the "government" has made a decision not to go to war immediately, it seems that the retreat does not need to be so urgent-so he swaggered on behalf of the British "government" to meet the German head of state.

It has to be said that this trick really hit the most painful place in Germany. Akado made every effort to build the largest mechanized army in the world at this stage, laying a solid material foundation for the German blitzkrieg in advance. Hundreds of thousands The vehicles and tanks brought the German army unparalleled assault capability and advance speed, and the high-performance fighter jets made the German Air Force extremely powerful despite being insufficient in number. Behind each of these modern equipment is a painful super oil tiger: a more powerful engine; a tank with a larger tonnage; a large number of communication equipment that relies heavily on field generators.

While bringing the German army to achieve the goal of surpassing the French Army's combat power in a short period of time, the German Army's fuel consumption also reached a full 2 ​​times that of the lagging French Army. And now Akado feels that in modern warfare, it is not possible to win the war with guns and cannons-you must have fuel!

"Colonel Smith." Akado stared at the British officer with whom he had the most dealings with with a half-smile, and said, "I don't understand why things have developed to this point, and I don't understand why we want to expand our armaments for the sake of Eurodefense's offensive will make so many think of sanctioning us."

"Ming people don't talk dark words, the head of state was born." Smith smiled proudly: "We need Germany to stand with us to deal with the threat of the Communist Party, instead of using this slogan to annex neighboring countries and make the whole of Europe a mess .”

"We are gathering our strength to make our own contribution to the eternal peace of Europe in the east, but you have stabbed us in the back!" Akado said with a slight helplessness on his face: "Just for the 20% of Germany's share in the Middle East." Regarding the oil share, what the British did this time seems to be a little unreasonable."

"If the head of state really wants to go east, he can buy oil from everyone. At least the US share will not be shipped back to the North American continent. They are looking for a buyer nearby to buy their goods." Smith replied with a smile.

"Good idea! I bought it!" Akado nodded and said, "Can we now talk about the British warship firing at our civilian transport ship in the Mediterranean Sea and sinking our ship?"

"Yes!" Smith also nodded, "But before I talk about it, I hope Mr. Yuan can keep in mind one thing. The British Empire only opened fire on pirates in the Mediterranean."

Note: Historically, the USS Bravery was guarding Japan in the Far East at this time, so military fans should not take it seriously.

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