The Civil War in Crete has been going on for almost two years now. As a small country with only over 100,000 people, it is destined to be affected by surrounding countries.
When the civil war broke out, the two sides were equally powerful. The Republican Army was supported by Italy, and the rebels were supported by Britain and Greece. The two parties fought fiercely around the island. The Republican Army was mainly in the west of the island, while the rebels were in the east of the island.
Overall, the Republican Army has a slight advantage.
However, the war broke out not long after the civil war. At this time, Britain and Greece successively invested a lot of support. Facing the rapidly growing rebels, the Republican Army was once ready to go up to the mountains to fight guerrillas. Fortunately, the Battle of Sirte broke out, and the Allied Mediterranean Fleet was defeated.
Return.
Subsequently, the Republican Army received a steady stream of support, and its strength increased dramatically, and they fought all the way to the gates of Heraklion. At this time, the Republican Army was so powerful that it had the potential to sweep across the entire island of Crete.
In fact, they also have this strength. At this time, the Republican Army has more than 40,000 people, and its weapons and equipment are at the same level as the Italian army. However, after continuous attrition, the enemy rebels now only have more than 20,000 people. The two sides are not at the same level at all.
In addition, there are currently more than 90,000 people in Crete, which is more than 60,000 less than before the civil war. According to statistics, more than 40,000 people have fled. The two armies of Crete have more than 70,000 people.
, this does not include the total casualties of both parties. One can imagine how many outsiders were involved.
It can be said clearly that both sides have been nakedly involved in the civil war in Crete. If you hear soldiers from both sides speaking English and Italian, don’t be surprised at all.
At this time, both parties stopped pretending and began to fight in the skin of a Cretan.
However, the Republican Army now has the upper hand. When it reached the outside of Heraklion, there were already fewer rebels with British accents.
At this time, Lieutenant General Gomes, who was supporting the formation, was observing the city in front of him with a high-power telescope.
"Heraklion really doesn't have any coastal defense batteries?"
At this time, he looked at the Republican Army liaison officer beside him and asked.
"General, please rest assured about this. During the rebellion, there were not many coastal defense guns in this port. The two largest 170mm coastal defense guns were blown up by us. Later, the British and Greeks did not provide any coastal defense guns to support the rebels.
, currently they only have 6 120mm and 2 155mm guns, which will not pose a threat to the general at all."
The liaison officer sent was a high-level member of the Republican Army. He had a close relationship with the leader of the Republican Army, Vedad Solari (known as Little Solari), and knew a lot of intelligence. He also knew that before they obtained this Kerry
After the Civil War, the Republic of Crete will apply to join Italy. Their senior leaders will become Italian hereditary nobles, and little Solari will become a distinguished hereditary count.
These are all negotiated conditions, and they are also the conditions for Italy to work hard to help them capture Crete. Although they have lost their position on Crete, becoming a powerful nobleman is also a very good replacement, not to mention that they have not refused.
ability.
"Prepare for bombardment."
Following Lieutenant General Gomes' order, the main guns of the five battle cruisers aimed at the marked positions around Heraklion.
The roar of cannons represents the beginning of the battle of Heraklion.
Under the attack of 305 and 350 mm artillery shells, the Heraklion garrison positions were hit one after another. The huge destructive power put great pressure on the defenders' psychology.
Covering the bombardment is not difficult for Gomes. Now he is more concerned about a Greek gunboat that was sunk through the Antikythera Strait yesterday. The key is not to sink the gunboat, but before it is sunk.
A radio wave was sent from its ship.
This is why Gomes is a little worried. Although his ship is fast, he is also afraid that Admiral Roback will bring trouble to him with the Allied fleet.
Yes, the current Admiral Robeck is Lieutenant General Robeck, the former Chief of Staff of the Mediterranean Fleet. After Admiral Cardon was defeated and transferred back to London, in view of the criticality of the situation in the Mediterranean and the need to understand the regional situation, it was also necessary to
He had sufficient coordination ability, so Lieutenant General Roback, who had previously served in the naval foreign affairs department, became the commander of the three-nation joint fleet. Considering the command issue of the joint fleet, a promotion order was also sent along with his telegram as commander.
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Considering the strength gap between the fleet and the enemy, coupled with what happened to his predecessor Carden, is this a blessing or a curse?
However, at this time, Admiral Roback was a little entangled, and he was also entangled with Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Fornell, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Shigetaro and others.
"An enemy battle patrol formation appears near Crete, what should we do?"
"We should take the initiative. This is an excellent opportunity. The enemy only has five battle cruisers, and its battleship fleet has already arrived at Tobruk Port. As long as we act quickly, we can completely inflict heavy damage before the enemy's main support.
Our opponent. Even sinking one or two battle cruisers can change our current embarrassing situation."
At this time, Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Shigetaro, the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, was constantly expressing his opinions. This general had participated in two Yellow Sea naval battles, the raid on Port Arthur, and the Tsushima naval battle, and was a general with rich experience. In his opinion,
At this time, the enemy battle patrol formation went out alone. Such a good opportunity should not be missed. If we wait any longer, the opportunity will be gone. I don’t know when it will be available next time.
As for whether it might be a trap, Shigetaro Yoshimatsu believes that the enemy's main formation is still in Tobruk, which is more than 300 nautical miles away, and it is completely possible to fight first. As long as you are careful, there will be no problem even if there are risks.
There is no risk in fighting. There is risk in fighting one out of ten ships. As long as one's side has an advantage, fight, and if there is no advantage, withdraw. Naval warfare is as simple as that.
It has to be said that Motaro Yoshimatsu, a general who has experienced naval battles for many years, has his own unique insights.
Unfortunately, some people disagree with him.
"I don't agree with your suggestion. It is true that the enemy's battle cruiser formation is far away from the battleship formation, but why is this not a trap? If the enemy's battleship formation is outside, then I will definitely support the operation. But the enemy's battle cruiser formation is outside, can
How can we chase him if we can hit him and run away?"
Fornell, as a member of the fleet command, felt that he was preventing Motaro Yoshimatsu from taking risks.
Faced with the opposition of Lieutenant General Fornell, Shigetaro Yoshimatsu looked down upon him very much. He said, "This is very simple. Let our battle patrol formation hold off the enemy and buy time for the battleship formation. Even if three of our battle cruisers are sacrificed.
, as long as we can sink five of the opponent's battle cruisers, we will make a lot of money."
Obviously, Yoshimatsu Motaro wanted to sacrifice his own battle patrol to destroy the enemy's battle patrol.
Lieutenant General Fornell disagreed with what Shigetaro Yoshimatsu said. He seized on the opponent's loophole and said, "But how can you guarantee that by sacrificing three battle cruisers, we can leave the enemy with five battle cruisers? In the previous Sirte
In the naval battle, the three battle cruisers obviously couldn't resist for long. Your idea is good, but if you make a mistake, our three battle cruisers will be sacrificed in vain. This is too risky, too risky."
"It's very simple. Send a large number of torpedo boats, destroyers, and cruisers to delay the enemy. The main thing is to delay the enemy. All sacrifices will be worth it."
"This method is absolutely unacceptable and our soldiers will not accept it."
Lieutenant General Fornell could not accept the Japanese style of Shigetaro Yoshimatsu, so he rejected it on the spot.
"Why is it unacceptable? Soldiers should execute orders."
Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Motaro stood up immediately. In his opinion, the French general was too hesitant to do things. He was worried about this and worried about that. How could he conduct a successful naval battle with such an insect?
There are two Japanese Kongo-class ships in the battle patrol formation. I am not afraid of them, so what are they afraid of?
"I am doing this for the sake of the fleet. We are already weak. If we lose this time, how can we compete with the enemy? Moreover, your idea is too risky and the risk is too great."
Seeing that the two of them were arguing, Admiral Roback, the commander, quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Both of you, please calm down. This is just a different solution to a problem. There is no need for either of you to be angry."
With that said, Admiral Roback said. "I think both opinions have merit, but I agree with what Lieutenant General Fornell said. Our fleet is weak and sometimes we need to consider it carefully.
"
Admiral Roback's words made Lieutenant General Fornell look happy, but Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Motaro's expression remained unchanged.
"Commander, I respect your decision. If nothing happens, I'll leave first."
Since they, as the main force, don't want to fight, what's the use of their own opinions.
After seeing Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Shigetaro leave, Admiral Roback spoke to Vice Admiral Fornell. "Vice Admiral Yoshimatsu Shigetaro is a very capable person. He does not know our strategy and is worried about the situation of our fleet.
"
"Admiral, please rest assured, I also very much recognize the efforts of Lieutenant General Yoshimatsu Motaro."
It is obvious that Britain and France are hiding some things from Japan.
As for Motaro Yoshimatsu, after leaving the command tower and returning to his room, he recorded today's events in his diary.
"The British have lost their Nelson spirit. They have too many concerns and are hesitant to do things. They have fallen off the altar and become like other navies. It is really disappointing. I believe we will withdraw to the Indian Ocean soon.
