A few days later, a secret hearing was being held in a room in the Admiralty Building in London. Those who could sit here were all senior naval personnel. In addition, people from the government were also sent.
However, there were not many people in the room, and the total number of people in the room did not exceed the number of hands.
"Everyone, based on our calculations and research over several days, we have finally come up with the most feasible secret plan to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet."
A staff officer began to tell the people present about the plan they had spent several days painstakingly formulating.
"First, we determine the time when Italy will attack the island of Malta. Only after determining the time can we start the implementation of the plan."
At the beginning, the staff officer explained the prerequisites of the plan. Yes, the time for Italy's attack must be determined first.
Because the purpose of secretly reinforcing the Mediterranean Fleet is to attack the Italian Fleet by surprise. If the time of its attack on the island of Malta cannot be determined, this will cause the reinforcements to fail to arrive accurately.
Because according to the calculations of the officers of the Navy, if you want to conceal the movements of the four battleships of the Home Fleet, even with the cooperation of various British departments, you can hide it for at most ten days. If they don't show up after ten days, it will definitely be known to Germany, Italy and Austria. Then The unexpected fighter planes will be lost, and will also put the two major fleets in the mainland and the Mediterranean into an embarrassing situation.
Therefore, the timing of the plan must be just right and quite precise, which is what the plan particularly emphasizes.
After specifically emphasizing this premise, the staff officer continued. "After the time for Italy's attack on the island of Malta is determined, Jellicoe will lead the Home Fleet out of the port on the pretext of conducting military exercises in the North Sea. Then the Monarch, Four battleships, HMS Thor, HMS Agincourt, and HMS Ireland, formed a secret formation and sailed around the British Isles..."
According to this officer's account, the secret reinforcement formation will bypass the British Isles and busy shipping routes, and then use the cover of darkness to enter the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. Then, under the cover of the French, it will pass through the Tunis Strait and then arrive at The most dangerous Central Mediterranean. Here, the formation needs to avoid various detection methods by the Italians. The solution given by the British Admiralty is very simple, that is, the formation will sail at maximum speed, taking advantage of the cover of night, and strive to get there before being attacked. Before the discovery of Italy, it crossed the Central Mediterranean.
Of course, the British Admiralty did not place any hope on the formation safely passing through the sea area. Because it still has a back-up, that is, the Mediterranean Fleet led by Admiral Cardon will also attack at that time. Regardless of whether Italy is discovered or not, After the round, both parties will rush to the island of Malta.
Yes, at this time the preconditions for the British Empire's Admiralty to formulate this plan were revealed. If the Italian fleet did not come out, its troops already on the island of Malta would be in dire straits, and the purpose of the campaign it launched would also fail.
If the Italian fleet comes out, then the British Empire can take advantage of this perfect opportunity to severely damage its opponent.
Of course, this is an ideal situation. If the outcome of the naval battle is not ideal, the Mediterranean fleet will return to Alexandria to prepare for the defense of Egypt.
Regardless of the outcome, the reinforcement formation will return to the homeland as quickly as possible after the battle. If the reinforcement formation is damaged, intact warships will be transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet to supplement the home fleet.
It can be seen how high the requirements of this plan are for the British Navy. Of course, this is also the British Admiralty's confidence in its own officers and soldiers, believing that it can do it.
After the staff officer finished speaking, Admiral Jellicoe, the commander of the Home Fleet, said with some concern. "Has the plan considered the threat of the German fleet? According to the intelligence we have received, the German High Seas Fleet has been very restless recently.
, its fleet has sailed around Jutland and is currently anchored in Wilhelmshaven."
For Admiral Jellicoe, his character is very cautious. It is precisely because of his character that he was recognized by the navy under Fisher's urging and became the commander of the Home Fleet.
It is obvious that this character also made him pay close attention to the main target, the High Seas Fleet, so he invested a lot of energy in moving the High Seas Fleet from the Baltic Sea port of Kiel to Wilhelmshaven facing the North Sea.
It’s impossible not to pay attention. Because of the influence of someone from Italy, German battleships are much stronger than in history. Just in terms of the caliber of artillery, Germany is much better than before. Just in terms of the choice of main guns,
There are 305mm 45x caliber guns, 305mm 50x caliber guns, 350mm 45x caliber guns, and 380mm 45x caliber guns. There are so many types of naval guns to choose from that make German warships even better than the British in terms of firepower.
In addition to naval guns, in terms of battleship structure, power, gun control and many other technologies, relying on the advantages of the three countries' alliance for many years, Germany is not inferior to Britain in battleship technology.
Affected by these technologies, German warships have become more powerful than in history, so the High Seas Fleet has become more deterrent.
Of course, more importantly, because of Italy's share of the burden, the German Navy has been more aggressive than in history. Since the war began, German warships have been extremely active, and among them, small warships have been caught in a confrontation with British Navy warships in the North Sea.
.
In addition to small and medium-sized warships, Germany's battle patrol formation led by Lieutenant General Hipper also came to join in the fun. They adopted hit-and-run tactics, which put a lot of pressure on the home fleet.
And now the High Seas Fleet collectively sneaks from Kiel to Wilhelmshaven, which is more convenient for attack (the Kiel Canal is still under expansion). Who believes that this is not a move against the High Seas Fleet.
It is obvious that the German navy is cooperating with its Italian colleagues.
It is precisely because of the actions of the High Seas Fleet that Admiral Jellicoe has some worries. If the German Navy takes this opportunity to have a decisive battle with the Home Fleet, then he cannot guarantee victory. To be more precise, it is his estimate of the victory rate.
, only 60% at most. In fact, this is still the result of his inner favoritism, and his true inner thoughts are only 50% at most.
Some people may say that since the winning rate is only 50% and it is not safe enough, the local fleet can avoid fighting during this period. This is indeed possible in theory, but it is absolutely not feasible in practice.
Who is led by Admiral Jellicoe? It is the absolute main force of the British Empire's home fleet. If they shrink back when the German High Seas Fleet asks for war, then how will the people see them and how will other countries see this navy that has dominated the world for hundreds of years?
This will cause the British Navy's long-standing belief in attacking the enemy on sight to be shaken.
Even if Admiral Jellicoe ignores it and avoids the war in order to win the most, what should we do if the German navy bombards the mainland with such arrogance and blocks the transportation in the English Channel? The face of the British Empire as the world's hegemon is really about to appear.
All will be lost.
It was this mentality that made the British Admiralty know that the reinforcements were risky, but still chose to formulate a secret rescue plan.
Of course, the Admiralty has also taken into consideration Admiral Jellicoe's concerns, and the staff officer replied. "Our Admiralty has also considered your concerns, but any plan has risks. In order to prevent the Mediterranean from being occupied by Italy,
People occupy it, and we have to take the risk."
Facing the staff officer's words, Jellicoe originally wanted to refute, but he suddenly swallowed it back because someone behind him patted his shoulder. It was Marshal Fisher's hand.
As the party who made the biggest sacrifice, Jellicoe stopped speaking, and it was even less likely that others would raise objections. So this meeting, called a hearing, but actually a meeting to assign combat tasks, ended.
When Jellicoe packed his things and was about to leave, he saw Marshal Fisher walking up to him behind him.
"Let's go for a walk."
"Okay, Marshal."
Facing a highly respected marshal who was also the benefactor who pushed him to the big stage of the Home Fleet, Jellicoe could not refuse.
Then the two of them walked slowly in the Admiralty Building.
"Do you know why I stopped you from speaking?"
"Know something."
Looking at Jellico, who was still unwilling to give up, Fisher looked out the window at the busy streets. "Because we need to protect this peaceful life, and you also know that we are at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean. If Malta is lost, the Mediterranean will be occupied by Italy."
Cutting off will reduce the speed at which we can obtain manpower and supplies from Asia to half. In addition, if we want to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet, we have to go to the Cape of Good Hope. We cannot afford this price."
Having said this, Marshal Fisher took a look around and continued. "In fact, in my heart, I think Italy is the biggest threat to our navy. If it were me making the decision, I would rather risk being attacked on the homeland than concentrate on it."
The battleships give priority to destroying the Italian fleet."
Marshal Fisher's words made Jellicoe open his eyes wide because these words were too shocking.
Fisher was not surprised by Jellicoe's surprised expression, since he himself was startled by the idea that came to his mind at first.
"Because I think the Italians are the weakest link in the alliance camp. We only need to concentrate our warships to destroy the Italian navy. Then they will be like a tiger without claws and no threat. And since they lack a navy, we are just right
We can rely on the superiority of the navy to bombard and blockade any point on its long and narrow coastline."
Having said this, Marshal Fisher continued.
"Actually, if you look carefully, you will find that Italy is a bit like us, both have long coastlines. In addition, we have the English Channel to block the mainland countries from peeking at us, while the Italians have the Alps. This means that they do not need too powerful
The army can ensure its security, and all other energy will be spent on the navy. This is their advantage and their disadvantage. As long as the navy is destroyed, Italy will no longer be a threat."
When Fisher said the word "hit", he pumped his fist vigorously, as if to increase his persuasiveness.
Jellicoe listened carefully to the marshal's words and thought that it really made sense. At this time, he asked, "Marshal, why haven't I heard you bring it up before?"
Upon hearing Jellicoe's words, Fisher looked at him and said, "Do you think it can be done?"
Thinking back to the scene in which those who opposed the marshal forced him to step down, this time they really proposed not to explode. If the navy gave up defending the homeland and concentrated its warships to attack the Italians, it would be possible for the marshal to be accused of being a German spy.
"Okay, don't think too much. Just go and prepare the reinforcement formation. If you want to complete this secret reinforcement, your home fleet will have a big task."
After sending Jellicoe away, Fisher felt much better after speaking his true feelings. He came out again, and despite the appearance, his actual power was not as good as before.
In fact, he still had many ideas, but because of too much resistance, there was no possibility of implementation. Over time, Fisher could only keep these ideas in his heart.
Now he is just an old man who checks for leaks and fills in the gaps. He uses it when needed and provides it when not needed. (This is true. When he was engaged in submarine warfare in Germany, he even wrote a letter to Tirpitz.
"I don't blame you for submarine warfare. I've wanted to do it for a long time. It's just that we idiots in the Admiralty didn't believe it.")
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