The midday sun shone in the room, and Leifer was immersed in writing. Apart from the rustling sound of writing, there was no other sound in the room. Outside the window, the mighty and domineering battleships stood in the Port of Taranto, and whistles sounded from time to time.
The sound came, adding some other sounds to the silent room.
"Leifer, are you there?"
Suddenly a voice came from outside the door, which immediately pulled Leifer back from his thoughts.
The voice sounded so familiar to Leifer that he immediately replied, "Gomez, I'm here."
After saying that, he opened the door, and sure enough, it was Gomez standing outside the door.
"Long time no see, old friend."
Gomes stepped into the room, patted his old friend Leifer on the shoulder, and expressed his joy.
"Gomez, why do you come to my place when you have time?"
Hearing Leifer's inquiry, Gomes shook his head and said. "No way, it's not the same as you. Without battleships, we can only stay on land. Originally, I was supposed to lead three Garibaldi-class ships.
The 1st Mounted Patrol Squadron, but as you know, it's very wealthy.
The Yankees have bought the two ships that have just begun to be installed. If I want to continue to lead the first installation patrol squadron, I can only wait for the completion of the installation patrol of the three ships that the shipyard continues to build. I hope the admiral will not do it again this time.
Sell all the battleships, at least let us get acquainted with them first."
In addition to joking about his own experience, Gomes suddenly changed the subject. "But thinking about your battleship No. 1 Squadron, I suddenly feel much more comfortable inside."
Well, Leifer's First Battleship Squadron was actually three Turin-class battleships. The idea of the Navy's top brass at the time was to serve as the commander of the new First Battleship Squadron after the Genoa class entered service. However, its fate was different from that of the first battleship squadron.
Gomez is the same. The Americans bought three Genoa-class ships that were about to enter service at a high price, making the First Battleship Squadron disappear immediately, so the two of them can be considered to be in the same boat.
Hearing Gomez's words, Leifer joked, "Tell me, what are you doing here?"
Faced with Leifer's inquiry, Gomes looked at him and said casually, "Can't I come and see you? I haven't seen you for so long. I miss you a little."
"Come on, I still don't know you, just tell me what you have to say."
It was obvious that Leifer did not believe that this old friend was just looking at him. They were all monkeys who had become sperms, and no one should be fooled.
"Actually, in addition to coming to see you, I also want to get some first-hand information from you about the Battle of San Diego. I know that you are the commander of the battleship formation, so I want some information about the U.S. Navy."
Seeing that he could no longer hide anything, Gomes revealed his true purpose.
Leifer asked with some confusion. "Why do you want information about the U.S. Navy? We have compiled detailed naval battle details into a book. The ministry should have sent it to you."
What Leifer was talking about was a routine rule of the Admiralty. Commanders of Italian warships who had participated in naval battles were required to write a battle summary. The Admiralty would compile these battle summaries into volumes and send them to other ships that had not experienced them.
commander and formation commander.
As for the Battle of Santiago, the officers who participated in the battle completed the summary of the battle in half a month, and when they came back, the basic officers all had a copy, and Gomes definitely had a copy.
"Actually, there is no... Oh, formation coordination command and combat experience."
Just when Gomes wanted to say something, he was immediately attracted by the topic Leifer put on the table.
"This is just what I wrote blindly."
Leifer, who didn't have time to deal with it, immediately defended himself. However, faced with this defense, Gomes showed an expression of obvious disbelief.
"Someone said before that at least half of the Spanish fleet's victory was due to you. At that time, I also felt that the Spanish fleet's combat style was somewhat similar to yours. Now that I see your topic, I believe it. In that naval battle, you were at least
He's half a commander. Tell me, Commander Leifer."
Gomez's words made Leifer a little dumbfounded. This is all rumored. If this is not clarified, it will be his credit for defeating the US Navy. This is not good, it will make people mistakenly think that he
If you are someone who likes to take credit for your work, you are in trouble. No one will like this kind of person.
"Gomez, the fleet is commanded by Vice Admiral Cedela, and I only made a few suggestions, but they happened to be adopted by Vice Admiral Cedela."
Leifer's explanation made Gomez even more curious. "Tell me, what suggestions are they? Don't worry, you don't know who I am, so I won't talk nonsense. Just tell me."
Seeing his friend who was looking for knowledge, Leifer thought for a while and then told him. "Let's talk about it first. I'll tell you, but don't spread it out."
"Okay, I can guarantee that."
"First, it was my suggestion to stop in Cape Verde, then it was my suggestion to attack the east coast of the United States, and it was my suggestion to return to San Diego."
Leifer's words shocked Gomez, because anyone who knew the process of the Spanish-American War in detail would know that the stop in Cape Verde was a stroke of genius. It disappeared just right to make the Americans suspicious and made mistakes on their own. What followed next
The attack on the east coast was even more spectacular, leading the US Navy by the nose.
Unexpectedly, these suggestions were actually given by his friends. Gomes was filled with emotion and didn't know what to say. Cedella, who is known as the famous Spanish general, actually got more than half of the credit from his friends.
After satisfying his friend's curiosity, Leifer asked him. "You asked me for more detailed information. Do you want to write a report?"
"Yes, I wanted to write a report on the maritime power of the Americas, so I wanted to find out the information from you. I didn't expect you were also writing." At this point, Gomes had a flash of inspiration and immediately said. "Don't you also?
Are you going to become an instructor at the Naval Academy in Livorno?"
It's just that Gomes asked this because there is an unwritten rule in the Navy. If a colonel wants to be promoted, he must teach for two years before he can be promoted.
This provision is actually intended to allow experienced naval captains to learn more theoretical knowledge and understand the latest naval trends and technologies of various countries. After all, there is still a big difference between a colonel-level officer and a general, and they need to study carefully.
When asked by his friend, Leifer replied, "Yes, I was informed to go to Livorno to serve as a teacher."
"It's better now. I won't be alone in Leghorn anymore."
Seeing that his friend, like himself, needed to go to Livorno to teach, Gomes felt happy.
"In that case, I suggest that in order to celebrate our becoming teachers, how about a drink?"
