News of the appearance of the Mediterranean Fleet was quickly spread back to Italy.
The officers of the Combined Fleet, who had been waiting for the Mediterranean Fleet to wait, immediately became energetic after receiving the news.
Then Leifer called everyone to discuss.
"Everyone, we just received the news that the N18 airship has discovered the Mediterranean Fleet sixty nautical miles west of Crete. According to the news, most of its ships going to sea are here."
As the news was announced, the briefing meeting immediately became lively.
"Finally the Mediterranean Fleet was spotted. I thought they had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Why didn't they show up for so long?"
"In my opinion, since they have shown up, let's not wait any longer and rush over directly to let them feel the wrath of our combined fleet."
"I think it's better to wait a little longer, and don't let him feel wrong and go back."
…
At this time, the briefing meeting was full of people, and the captains of the ships and formation commanders present expressed their thoughts one after another.
All this was seen by the fleet commander, Vice Admiral Leifer, who suddenly coughed.
"uh-huh!"
The sound in the venue suddenly became quieter, which also shows Leifer's prestige in the United Fleet.
Of course, he deserves all this. First of all, Leifer is famous for his outstanding military exploits and outstanding abilities in the Royal Navy. It can be said that as early as ten years ago, Lieutenant General Leifer was rated highly in the Italian Navy.
As the helmsman of the next generation of the navy. This evaluation is not a low one, and it fully demonstrates Leifer's status in the navy.
Of course, just relying on the status of the Italian Navy, Leifer could not convince the Austro-Hungarian Navy. What really convinced them and admired them was Leifer's equal treatment in the combined fleet. There was no distinction between Italian officers and soldiers and Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers.
Maybe in the eyes of later generations, this is nothing, but in this era, it is rare to be able to truly do this. After all, nationalism is now prevalent in all countries. If you want to do this, aren't you afraid of the backlash from your own officers and soldiers?
Of course, it is not enough to treat everyone equally. Leifer also impressed the Austro-Hungarian naval officers and soldiers with his outstanding abilities. Compared with the Austro-Hungarian naval admirals who have not experienced naval battles in the past few decades, Leifer has experienced nearly thirty years of experience in Italy.
His rich experience in several naval battles was unmatched by the Austro-Hungarian generals.
It was his ability and prestige that enabled Leifer to control the naval officers and soldiers of the two countries.
"Everyone, regarding..."
Just as Leifer was about to speak, a staff officer suddenly hurried to him with a telegram.
"Commander, this is an urgent message from Rome."
At this time, everyone present had strange expressions on their faces, because it must be a very important situation to be able to break in directly at this time, especially because it was an urgent call from Rome.
Leifer satisfied the curiosity of everyone present. "Everyone, this urgent message I received only said one thing. Three French French battleships went to sea this evening."
The French Navy dispatched three dreadnoughts at this time (the Paris was unable to sail together due to mechanical problems). In fact, in addition to coordinating the Mediterranean Fleet, it also had the intention to participate in this decisive battle of the Mediterranean Fleet.
Weren’t the French unwilling to join the British Mediterranean Fleet before? Why are they willing now?
In fact, this was the same thing at the same time. The previous refusal was because the war had not yet broken out. France did not think that it was weaker than the Germans, and its need for the British was not particularly urgent.
As for now, after three months of fighting after the war started, even the capital Paris was occupied by Germany. The Germans wanted to grab every straw, so they naturally needed the British to share their pressure.
So when Britain sends a request, the French must treat it more carefully.
Besides, sea power in the Mediterranean is also related to France’s overseas manpower and material replenishment. You must know that half of France’s overseas materials are disembarked through Mediterranean ports, and most of the rest are shipped through the northeastern French ports in the English Channel. As for
Except for Bordeaux, the western coast facing the Atlantic Ocean has few available ports. (Because facing the Atlantic Ocean directly, it will cause high winds and rough waves, which is not suitable for ships to dock and unload cargo)
As for now, most of the ports in northeastern France have fallen, allowing more goods to go through the Mediterranean. If Italy controls the sea power in the Mediterranean, it will be a disaster for so many French people. This is why the French are suddenly so cooperative with the British.
One of the main reasons.
Of course, the secret reinforcement formation composed of four British Dreadnoughts and Super Dreadnoughts also adds to France's courage. As long as they merge with the Mediterranean Fleet, the strength of it and the Italian-Austrian Combined Fleet will undergo earth-shaking changes. Its main ships will increase from 17 to 13
, becomes 17:20. Battleships will also change from 12:10 to 12:17, which definitely takes advantage of numbers.
It is very possible to maintain sea power while not letting Malta fall into the hands of the Italians and allowing it to continue to play the role of a nail.
Of course, the officers of the Combined Fleet did not yet know about the secret reinforcement formation, but they had already seen clearly the actions of the French.
As for inside the venue, Leifer's words also made all the officers present explode.
"This move by the French is too obvious. They are just trying to distract us."
"It cannot be said that if we ignore them, then these three dreadnoughts are likely to go to Malta to cause trouble. In addition, they may also merge with the British Mediterranean Fleet, so we cannot ignore these three French dreadnoughts.
"
"But if warships are used dispersedly, it will violate the principles of this campaign and put the cart before the horse."
"Why is this putting the cart before the horse? Don't we care about the three French dreadnoughts? The reserve fleet may not be able to defeat these three dreadnoughts. And if the French merge with the British, won't that increase their strength? Then then
The showdown with the British Mediterranean Fleet will be full of more variables."
The renewed quarrel in the venue represented two different opinions.
As for why there are two different opinions, it is because they have different focuses.
Of course, as the fleet commander, Leifer was very aware of the differences between the two opinions.
If you look carefully at the officers who support the rescue, you will find that they are basically Italian naval officers, because the island of Malta is of greater use to Italy and they do not want to see the French go there to cause trouble.
As for those who were keeping an eye on the Mediterranean fleet, in addition to the Austro-Hungarian naval officers, there were also a small number of Italian naval officers. They considered it more from the perspective of sea power.
From inside Leifer's heart, he actually agrees with the latter. Because the island of Malta is a dead position, it doesn't matter if it is not defeated at one time. As long as the British Mediterranean fleet is eliminated, the island of Malta can be eaten whenever it wants.
.
However, as an excellent fleet commander, Leifer could not directly agree with one party's point of view at this time. This would lead to disharmony within the fleet, so Leifer planned to start from another aspect.
"Okay, everyone be quiet."
After seeing everyone's attention being attracted to him, Leifer said. "Now is not the time to argue about this. Since the British and French navies are trying to distract us, we cannot be led by the other side. Now I order the fleet tomorrow
Let’s go to sea and let them guess what we want to do.”
Leifer's words made many officers' eyes light up. This is indeed a good idea. Staying in Taranto is completely in the open. After going to sea, who knows where the combined fleet is. This is to turn the fleet into darkness.
.
"Okay, since the commander has issued the order, everyone should obey it. We will also go to sea tomorrow."
As the chief of staff of the fleet, Lieutenant-Admiral Sidroel spoke in support of Leifer.
Since the two commanders of the combined fleet have unanimously agreed, it is certainly impossible for the captains and formation commanders present to express objections.
So that night, after a busy night, the combined fleet also went to sea early the next morning.
At this time, pressure is coming to the British and French navies. It depends on how they respond.
