The sea under the setting sun is in a mess, with floating debris, oil stains, corpses and burning warships, making people feel the cruelty of war.
As for the cruelty of the naval battle, the British officers and soldiers who had just fought a battle and escaped unharmed were assigned various tasks before they had time to take a breath. How passionate they were before, they now have to deal with it.
They were in a sorry state, as if the previous naval battle had exhausted their energy and energy.
The officers and soldiers in the reinforcement formation looked at everything in front of them with different expressions, including those who were yearning, some who were pale and weak, and some who were indifferent.
As for Lieutenant General Sturdy, who was the commander of the reinforcement formation, he only felt regretful. His reinforcements did not play a sufficient role at all. Apart from saving the half-broken fleet of Admiral Cardon in the end, he did not achieve any ideals at all.
the result.
You must know that he left the Agincourt behind and came all the way at full speed (the Agincourt was hit by a torpedo, causing the speed to be reduced by three knots and unable to keep up with the formation speed).
He was unwilling to give in, especially after learning that the Italian fleet would leave within an hour, he always had an idea.
"Lieutenant General, there is a telegram from General Kaden."
The communications staff officer handed him a telegram, and Lieutenant General Sturdy took it and quickly checked it.
This telegram is the Mediterranean Fleet's damage report of the opponent's combined fleet. Although the Mediterranean Fleet suffered losses before, the battle with it also caused enough losses. And Vice Admiral Sturdy can get this report, and Admiral Cardon's attitude
It goes without saying.
When had the British Imperial Navy suffered such a heavy loss? A naval battle that was supposed to have the upper hand ended up with such huge losses when the opportunity was lost. Cardon, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was so angry that he vomited blood.
Had they not followed London's command and cooperated with its genius plan, they would not have fought this battle with Italy.
Moreover, he also received a telegram from Major General Hinken. The Italians were leaving the north at a speed of 17 knots. As long as Major General Hinken did not lose them, he would dare to pursue them even in the dark.
"As you command, Your Excellency."
With the Indefatigable following him, Lieutenant General Sturdy was not worried at all about not being able to find the target.
As a colleague who has worked together for many years, Lieutenant General Robek certainly knew what this man was thinking and why, but he still said, "Actually, this is not your fault, we are just cooperating."
On the United Fleet side, after seeing the Indefatigable leaving, which had been following closely, Leifer finally felt relieved.
In terms of the number of battleships lost, the gap between the two sides is not big. But the tonnage shows a completely different story. The combined fleet sunk a total tonnage of 82,300 tons, while the British and French forces sunk a total tonnage of 189,200 tons.
He didn't mean to blame Admiral Cardon. There were five enemy battle cruisers on the side. It was difficult for Admiral Cardon's crippled Mediterranean fleet to block the attack of five enemy battle cruisers, so he really had no choice.
Leave the Mediterranean fleet with the worst losses and leave.
Of course, this naval battle taught both sides a very important lesson. The importance of aerial reconnaissance almost dominated the direction of the naval battle.
Soon the news of the Italian war patrol appearing in the southwest was learned by Lieutenant General Sturdy and General Cardon.
Lieutenant General Sturdy, who happened to be commanding the reinforcement formation, was also unwilling to do anything and could not let the Italians leave peacefully.
In terms of casualties, the Combined Fleet suffered more than 5,000 casualties, while the British and French suffered more than 10,000 casualties. The reason why both sides suffered more casualties than in the Battle of Jutland in history was due to the long-term exchange of fire between the two sides. (Japan)
In the Battle of Dresland, Scheer ran away as soon as he noticed something was wrong, so the casualties were not huge)
"No, I am indeed at fault for the defeat of this naval battle. We underestimated the strength of the Italians. We also underestimated the role of new technology in naval battles. At least this is something I can't understand."
Lieutenant General Sturdy quickly calculated the losses of the Combined Fleet. After careful calculation, Lieutenant General Sturdy believed that the existing six battleships in his reinforcement formation were enough to deal with the also half-disabled Combined Fleet.
Just as Lieutenant General Sturdy was preparing to pursue the main force of the combined fleet to the north, a lookout post suddenly observed a string of smoke columns appearing in the southwest. Then one warship appeared on the sea level, and the lookout post counted five ships in total.
Battleship.
Five battle cruisers were not actually a lot, but they gave the two commanders enough problems. On the Orion, Admiral Cardon sighed unwillingly and said, "Send a telegram to Major General Hinken and let him
Please return and inform Lieutenant General Sturdy of this decision."
"A fleet of five battleships was found in the southwest." Just as he was talking, the sharp-eyed lookout immediately saw the opponent's flag clearly and shouted immediately. "It's an Italian battleship. This is an Italian battle patrol formation."
It was obvious that this Kaden had a deeper understanding of the role of airships. This naval battle was a frustrating one. Every move he made was under the surveillance of the enemy, and he had no idea where the other party was. This meant that the enemy had a choice.
How can we fight when we have the battlefield we want and the time we want?
"Order all ships to head southwest and force the enemy battle patrol to leave."
In this naval battle, the Italian-Austrian combined fleet fought with 89 British and French battleships with 116 battleships, sank 59 Mediterranean fleets (including 4 battleships, 2 battlecruisers) at the cost of losing 57 battleships (including 1 battleship)
ship) and won the naval battle.
This ended the naval battle in Sirte.
This is only the main battleship, not to mention small and medium-sized battleships such as cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats, etc. Two lightning strikes (one for the enemy and ourselves) cost more than two-thirds of them. Basically, the Mediterranean is now in a half-dead state.
I'm afraid it will be difficult to regain combat effectiveness after being raised for half a year. How can you accept the result if you put the card on the general? If you don't faint from anger on the spot, you are mentally strong.
Think about how much the Mediterranean fleet suffered in this naval battle. In terms of battlecruisers, Invincible and Indomitable were sunk, and in terms of battleships, Montague was sunk, Collingwood was sunk, Centurion was sunk, Vanguard was sunk, and St. Vincent was sunk.
The ship was severely damaged, the Neptune was severely damaged, the Hercules was severely damaged, and the Colossus was damaged. Only the Orion and the Conqueror suffered minor losses.
After issuing the order, General Cardon seemed to have aged several years in an instant. He looked at his partner, Lieutenant General Roback, and said, "When I return to Alexandria, I will submit my resignation to London."
Seeing the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest, the two commanders who were still thinking about chasing their opponents immediately calmed down.
"The Teghov sank, the Istvan was damaged, the Intrepid was damaged, the Dante was damaged, the Leonardo was damaged, the Giulio was damaged, the Petrarch was damaged, the United Forces...
…”
As for how to find the escaped joint fleet when there were still airships in the sky monitoring it, it was all thanks to Admiral Cardon.
Because the battle cruiser Indefatigable was following the opponent. After seeing the Italians trying to run away, Admiral Cardon ordered Major General Hinken, who had just arrived, to follow and monitor the opponent.
After Lieutenant General Roback put down the telegram in his hand, he issued a new order. At the same time, he sighed and threw the previous battle damage telegram of the combined fleet into the trash can.
In addition, the use of lightning strike tactics has become more standardized. The performance of warship firepower and protection on the battlefield is also thought-provoking.
Of course, none of this is as dazzling as Leifer, who commanded the combined fleet to win this naval battle. After this battle, the name of this lieutenant general is also known throughout the world. Because he is the first person in the past hundred years to win the naval battle.
In the decisive naval battle, he defeated the British naval general.
He broke the aura of the British invincible navy and made everyone no longer blindly follow it.
I didn't finish it last night, so I'll make up for it in the morning.
