The combined fleet suddenly went to sea, causing the British and French spies in Taranto to immediately move into action. However, due to Italian controls, they were unable to go to sea for observation by ship, so the radio waves informed London and Bordeaux (the temporary capital of France) of the situation.
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Regarding the combined fleet's move to go to sea, Britain and France immediately sent notifications to their own fleets. At this time, all the Allied naval formations in the Mediterranean had received the news.
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, this is a telegram from London."
On the Thor off the coast of Tunisia, the communications staff officer delivered the latest telegram from London to Lieutenant General Sturdy, commander of the secret reinforcement formation.
Lieutenant General Sturdy took the telegram and read it at a glance, but the content of the telegram made him frown.
"What's wrong, Commander?"
The chief of staff on the side saw something was wrong and immediately asked.
"A telegram was sent from London, stating that the enemy's combined fleet left port early this morning and disappeared without a trace."
It is obvious that this suddenly missing enemy fleet will become a thorn in the heart of Lieutenant General Sturdy who is preparing to lead the team through the enemy's sea blockade.
"It looks like our opponent is very smart."
"Our opponent is not simple at all. I have never underestimated him. The French, Japanese, and Americans have all suffered at his hands before. With such a rich and excellent record, if he were a British
Can compete for the commander of the local fleet."
It was obvious that Lieutenant General Sturdy was a little unconvinced by his own Home Fleet Commander.
There is a reason for this. When considering the commander of the Home Fleet, Lieutenant General Sturdy was also considered, and he was relatively high. As a result, Marshal Fisher pushed Admiral Jellicoe, which led to other
There is no chance, so it is normal for this person to be a little resentful.
However, only this one could speak. The other officers seemed not to have heard and did not dare to discuss the topic.
Although he complained occasionally, Lieutenant General Sturdy was still worthy of being a candidate. He continued to speak. "Compared to our hidden opponent, I want to know when the French will arrive now."
.We have been in this damn Tunisia for half a day, why is there no news from the French?"
Yes, what makes Lieutenant General Sturdy anxious now is not only the unknown whereabouts of the Italian fleet, but also the slow movement of his ally the French which makes him even more anxious.
Speaking of which, the Admiralty was considering that even if there was a reinforcement formation, compared with the combined fleet, they still did not have a sufficient advantage in terms of strength, so before they left, London paid attention to the four French dreadnoughts.
But this time the French were happy and agreed to their request.
Therefore, not long after setting off, the reinforcement formation received a telegram from London, telling them to wait for rendezvous with the French formation off the coast of Tunisia.
After a covert voyage, when the reinforcements arrived off the coast of Tunisia, they were told that the French formation would have to wait for a while, and that there were originally four dreadnoughts, but the number had become three because of a mechanical failure in the Paris.
Just three ships, it's better than nothing.
Lieutenant General Sturdy is actually very optimistic about the number of French reinforcement battleships.
But the most unbearable thing for him was that the French were delayed. They had been waiting here for a long time, but the French formation had not arrived yet.
That's right, Lieutenant General Sturdy is now the most indignant about the French delay. Because this secret reinforcement has very high time requirements, you must know that without their four warships, the Home Fleet will be in trouble when facing the German High Seas Fleet.
, no longer has the advantage.
Therefore, reinforcement operations must be kept confidential and have a time limit.
According to the plan, the time limit for their reinforcements is seven days. After seven days, regardless of whether they fight the Italians or not, they need to consider the issue of returning.
Waiting for half a day off the coast of Tunisia is a waste of time and increases the risk of being discovered.
Why doesn't this make Lieutenant General Sturdy anxious? If discovered by the Italians at this time, the difficulty of reuniting with the Mediterranean Fleet will increase exponentially.
Lieutenant General Sturdy would not think that after knowing about his reinforcement formation, Italy would watch helplessly as he and General Cardon merged.
"Urge the French again to hurry up."
"Okay, I'll send a telegram to Tunisia myself."
Just when the two were worried about the French's slow action, the communications officer came in with another telegram. "This is a telegram from Malta."
Before Lieutenant General Sturdy could take it, the chief of staff took it first. However, after a quick glance, the chief of staff didn't look very good.
Without waiting for Lieutenant General Sturdy to ask, he explained first. "This is a telegram from Major General Behrens of the Island of Malta. He hopes that we can give the Island of Malta some help when we pass by."
"What?"
Lieutenant General Sturdy was shocked by the chief of staff's words.
Don't blame Lieutenant General Sturdy for his sudden surprise, because going to Malta to fight was not part of the plan.
"What's going on with Major General Behrens?"
It was precisely because of this that Lieutenant General Sturdy felt unhappy. What was going on? Why were things happening one after another today? At this time, the Chief of Staff carefully handed him a telegram.
Lieutenant General Sturdy, who received the telegram, later understood why. It turned out that the defenders of Malta Island could no longer hold on.
Although there are many defenders on the island of Malta, they are only close to ten thousand. The attacking Italian side has sea and air superiority, and there is no shortage of troops and supplies. If it were not for the fact that the island of Malta has been the base of the Mediterranean Fleet for many years and has many fortifications on the island,
This island has long been taken away by the Italians.
Although the UK is still holding on, its situation is no longer good. The island's defenders are currently only holding on to two places, one is the former Mediterranean garrison of Valletta Port, and the other is the commanding heights of the island, Tinguely Heights. Apart from these two
Except for this place, everything else was indeed abandoned by the British.
The reason for giving up is very simple. The Italian attack was too fierce and caused a lot of casualties to the British defenders on the island. In order to save troops, they could only stick to the most important positions.
In just a few days, the British army had to retreat to the last two key points. In addition to the powerful attack of the landing Marine Corps, the navy's adequate preparation was also inseparable.
You must know that in order to ensure the supply of firepower and ammunition for the landing force, the Navy built two movable temporary docks in advance. Although this cannot allow transport ships of thousands of tons to dock directly, there is no problem at all for ships of about a thousand tons. So although
Italy has not yet captured the port of Valletta, but this does not affect its transportation of personnel and materials.
In addition, there are landing crafts that temporarily serve as transport boats as a supplement, coupled with airship attacks from the air and warship support from the sea. Although the overwhelming force cannot be reached, it still puts heavy pressure on the defenders.
As its commander, Major General Behrens, at this time, thought of the reinforcement formation that was about to arrive, and wanted to ask it to help relieve the pressure on the Maltese defenders.
However, Major General Behrens's calculations were wrong. Lieutenant General Sturdy said, "Let us bombard the landing site in Malta. This is a good idea, but it is not in line with our purpose. Give Behrens
Send a telegram to the Major General, telling him that our military situation is urgent. We cannot stay in Malta, so we are angry and reluctant to obey."
"Wait a mininute."
Seeing that the communications officer was about to send a report, the chief of staff immediately stopped him.
"Lieutenant General, wouldn't it be a good idea to refuse directly like this? It would make our formation appear too passive."
Of course Lieutenant General Sturdy knew what his Chief of Staff meant, but he immediately asked. "Chief of Staff, did you say that Major General Behrens sent a telegram to London and General Cardon asking for help from France? Don't forget that the other party also has a
Pre-dreadnought formation near Malta."
You don’t need a heavy hammer to sound the drum. Of course, you are not an ordinary person who can become the chief of staff of the formation. One thing is clear. Since the telegrams have been sent to their reinforcement formation, then Major General Behrens must have also sent telegrams to London and the Mediterranean Fleet. Both sides have
If you haven’t sent a message to yourself, you need to understand a lot of things by yourself.
"I think it's better to inform London and General Cardon."
The chief of staff added cautiously.
"It's up to you. As long as we win the naval battle, the crisis in Malta will be lifted immediately."
Just as the two of them had just processed the request from Malta, another communications officer hurried in.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the French have sent a telegram. They are still more than 30 nautical miles away from us and will arrive in two hours."
These words made Lieutenant General Sturdy's heart drop. "Okay, now, send a message to General Cardon and tell them that we are about to pass through the Central Mediterranean. Pay attention to the timely position to facilitate the rendezvous."
