v6 Chapter 30: , Route dispute

Strait of Gibraltar

The French navy is standing by, waiting for the Mediterranean fleet to come.

The Royal Navy still took the risk to send a fleet to meet. They didn't dare to go deep into the Mediterranean, but they could still meet in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Even the British are still preparing to attack the French navy back and forth. Of course, the French are not unprepared. They have the support of the Spaniards, and the Bulgarian navy is ready to go.

The Holy League set up a pocket array, waiting for the British to take the bait, anyway, the air force took off from Spain or Morocco, and it took only ten minutes to reach the Strait of Gibraltar.

If it was just to deal with the Mediterranean fleet, the Bulgarian navy would have rushed forward. The Mediterranean was not very large. With the absolute advantage of the crowd, the British fleet would have long since become history.

In order to induce more Royal Navy battleships to come in, using geographical advantages and using the power of the air force to hit the Royal Navy, deliberately left a flaw.

"Your Excellency Commander, sail one hundred nautical miles ahead and we are about to enter the Strait of Gibraltar. It seems that your plan has deceived the French!" Major General Joust said in surprise.

Hearing this, Admiral Thomas didn't have any expressions of surprise. The plan went too smoothly. With such a large Mediterranean fleet, how could it be possible to pass under the enemy's nose without being noticed?

Even for the sake of secrecy, Admiral Thomas had already broken his arm and divided the Mediterranean fleet into two, using most of the old warships as bait, but only with some capital ships to break through.

Thomas looked at the calm sea with an unknown premonition spontaneously.

Thomas’s premonition was very accurate, and it was time to close the net at this time. No matter whether the main Royal Navy was on the bait, the Holy Alliance would not be able to leave as the Mediterranean Fleet.

On the observatory, the soldier who was in charge of the observation changed his face and hurriedly shouted: "The enemy fleet is found ahead!"

Thomas gave an order without hesitation: "Order the fleet to prepare for battle, go forward at full speed and rush over!

Major General Winster gave power to the country, explained the situation, and asked them to send a fleet to pick us up! "

By this time, Thomas had no choice. It was not far from the Strait of Gibraltar, which was an important military base of the Royal Navy.

After the defeat of the Battle of Sicily, the Royal Navy sent a fleet to stand by in the Zhiputuo Strait, preparing to take up the Mediterranean fleet, and now cruise around here.

Thomas is confident to drag them until the reinforcements arrive. With the strength of the Mediterranean fleet, the French navy cannot annihilate them in just two or three hours.

As long as the reinforcements arrive, even if they can't destroy the French fleet, they want to retreat calmly. Isn't it a problem?

Thomas can’t be blamed for his misjudgment. In this era, it is still unknown how much damage aircraft will cause to the naval fleet in the industry.

The current thinking of the British Empire’s navy is still large-ship artillery. This does not mean that the British are completely wrong.

There are many reasons for this situation, including the problem of wind and waves in the Atlantic Ocean. This era is limited by technical problems. This area is more suitable for battleships, followed by traditional forces in the navy.

The ending is naturally self-evident. He hesitated and underestimated the threat from the air. Naturally, the Mediterranean Fleet was a tragedy, and even the incoming fleet was hit hard.

The battle broke out on the morning of April 12, 1940. Three hours later, the rescue fleet sent by the Royal Navy arrived, followed by the Bulgarian, French, and Spanish air forces, all appearing on the battlefield.

The sudden air strike made the British understand that their so-called anti-aircraft firepower cannot guarantee the safety of battleships.

Simple bombing, naturally it is difficult to sink the battleship, but it is not the same if the navy cooperates. After the air force's sneak attack, the British naval fleet suffered several injuries, and then parts of the French and Bulgarian navies rushed to beat down the dog.

The battle continued until the night, when the Royal Navy used the cover of night to escape from the battlefield, but at this time they had already suffered heavy losses.

Lost in the Holy Alliance: two battleships, four cruisers, six destroyers, and twelve torpedo boats sank; five battleships, two cruisers, and three destroyers were injured.

A total of 138,000 tons of warships were lost, 128 fighters of various types were lost, and 1,258 people were killed, including 86 officers.

Royal Navy loss: three aircraft carriers, seven battleships, eight cruisers, twelve destroyers, fifteen submarines, including auxiliary warships, a total of 89 warships sank; almost all warships were injured.

The total tonnage of the lost battleship was 486,000 tons, and a total of 7,358 soldiers were killed, including 386 officers and 6,618 captured soldiers.

Judging from the losses on both sides, the Royal Navy has obviously suffered a big loss. It has lost so many warships and soldiers at once that they cannot make up for at least one year.

More important is the change in strategy. After the war, the British naval superiority was almost equaled by the Bulgarian navy.

The pressure on the London government suddenly increased. The naval forces of the two sides were equal. If the main force of the battle was to be carried out, it would be a loss for both sides.

Such a result is not a big deal for Bulgaria, but for the British, it is absolutely unacceptable.

The navy’s vitality is severely injured, and the Bulgarian Empire is still the Bulgarian Empire and will not shake their position in the world.

The British are not good. The Royal Navy is all of them. Once they die with the Bulgarian Navy, then the British Empire will be over.

Of course, the Royal Navy still occupies a clear advantage in gross tonnage, but this advantage will not be maintained immediately. No one thinks that the other Mediterranean fleet that exists as a decoy can successfully break through.

After deducting this doomed fleet, Britain and Bulgaria came to the same starting line. At this time, it was time to test the strength of allies.

There is no doubt that the Mediterranean is already the inner sea of ​​the Holy Alliance, but the Pacific and Atlantic are still the Royal Navy, and the Bulgarian Navy can at best compete with the Indian Ocean and the Royal Navy.

"Your Majesty, the General Staff proposes to unite the French, Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Spaniards to form a coalition force to directly attack the British mainland and force the Royal Navy to fight us!" Christophe said

"Where is the Admiralty?" Little Ferdinand asked with concern

In the face of such a big strategy, the Admiralty, as the actual executor, naturally has a very high right to speak. If the opinions of the Admiralty and the General Staff cannot be unified, the emperor will have to decide.

"Your Majesty, the Admiralty is opposed to a decisive battle with the British in the English Channel. We propose to attack the Royal Navy from the Indian Ocean!" Replied the Secretary of the Navy Raymond Gaydon

"Tell me about your respective reasons!" Little Ferdinand asked calmly

Everyone's opinions are not unified, so whoever said the reason is more reliable, he will support whoever, and this kind of thing does not happen once or twice.

If the opinions of his subordinates are exactly the same every time, then the emperor will lose the meaning of existence.

Chief of Staff Christophe said: "Your Majesty, the fastest way to defeat the pan-international front is to attack the British Isles. As long as we conquer London, the British Empire will inevitably be turbulent.

At that time, the British were too busy to take care of themselves, and naturally they had no spare capacity to support the Germans. After leaving the British-backed Germany, under the attack of France, Austro-Hungary, and West Russia, the Germans only supported it for a year or a half at most.

The Germans are over. The British lost their only ally in the European continent. They are also the only reliable ally of the British in the Pan-International Front.

Losing the European continent, the British are very likely to support surrender. Even if they insist on continuing, we can still use political means to disintegrate the British Commonwealth! "

Admiral Raymond Gaydon retorted: "Your Majesty, the risk is too great to fight the British in the English Channel. Even if we have two allies, France and Spain, there is no guarantee of victory.

If our navy and the British lose both, then the Japanese in the Far East can only be cheaper. Many interests that should belong to us cannot be obtained!

The current situation is very favorable for us, and there is no need for strategic risk. We only need to fight steadily to win the final victory.

The most important thing for us right now is to take down Egypt and South Africa first, and at the same time send troops to India, to attract the attention of the British and forcing them to divide and rescue them. "

One plan is radical, and the other is conservative. The **** decides the head. Ferdinand is not stupid. When the overall situation is set, the more insurance is naturally the better.

Prime Minister Tolsky said: "Emperor Ferdinand once said that before a country rises, it can bet on the fortune of the country. It is barefoot who is not afraid to wear shoes but the country is powerful. After that, you can't continue to play like this, or you will be backlashed sooner or later.

The current Bulgarian Empire no longer needs to continue to take risks. The strategy of steady and steady combat is the strategy that best suits the status quo of the Bulgarian Empire! "

Little Ferdinand smiled slightly. Obviously he was satisfied with the Prime Minister's explanation. It would be better not to take risks if he could not take risks.

Besides, once the news of the Great Battle in Gibraltar is passed on, the world situation will change immediately. Can the Japanese in the Far East still bear it?

The Bulgarian navy and the British Royal Navy are restraining each other. At this time, they are not targeting the Southeast Asia. Is it still Japan?

As for whether the Japanese are going to print degrees, or go to Australia and New Zealand, this is not what he cares about.

Anyway, as long as Bulgaria acquiesces to the Japanese military actions, they are not afraid that they will not do anything.

Can Bulgaria join forces with the British at this time?

is obviously impossible!

At this time, taking advantage of this European power's incapable opportunity to visit the east, acquire a rich colony and solve resource problems, how could the Japanese government give up?

……

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