While Angel was growing up in Cyprus, Barton was working hard to become a qualified naval officer.
Patton served as the liaison officer between the Mediterranean Fleet and the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, and came to the Mediterranean Fleet together with John Fisher. The battleship Queen Elizabeth has now been officially commissioned and is the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet.
As a liaison officer, Patton's job content was very monotonous. As long as smooth communication between the Mediterranean Fleet and the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force was ensured, Patton would complete his mission.
However, Patton's ambitions are obviously not limited to this. Smart people always learn to enrich themselves anytime and anywhere. The battleship Queen Elizabeth is the most advanced battleship in the United Kingdom and can also be said to be the most advanced battleship in the world. It is natural for someone to serve on the battleship Queen Elizabeth.
Also the best naval soldier in the world, Patton cherished this opportunity.
There were telegrams exchanged between the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Mediterranean Fleet every day. Patton's task was to translate the telegrams and send them directly to John Fisher. When he was not on task, Patton often stayed in the combat command room, or with Elizabeth.
In the officers' bar of the battleship HMS Queen.
It’s hard to imagine that there is a bar on a warship, and I don’t know how much the British love to drink.
Barton's father, Buck, is a member of Parliament for the federal government in Southern Africa and is also the president of the Southern African Business Federation. In Southern Africa, the Barton family owns more than 200,000 acres of farmland and is an out-and-out big landowner in Southern Africa.
At the same time, Buck also owns shares in multiple gold mines in Johannesburg. The real family has mines. Button is the most outstanding young man of this generation of the Buck family. Buck spared no effort in cultivating Button. Button himself is also generous and generous, so in a short time
Within a short period of time, Patton had become the most popular man on the battleship Queen Elizabeth.
"The Southern African Navy has no future. You don't even have a decent warship. You can only rely on those small sampan-like light cruisers and destroyers to become the decisive force in winning the war." Every time he was half drunk, in the bar
Similar discussions will occur.
"The era of giant ships and cannons has passed. Aircraft carriers will become the key force in determining naval battles. The Duke of Marlborough has just sunk the German battlecruiser Von der Tann in the Atlantic Ocean as proof. As long as the aircraft carrier discovers the battleship
, Battleships can only be the prey of aircraft carriers-" Patton grew up very quickly, and with a group of the best naval officers in the world, it was easy to make progress.
HMS Duke of Marlborough is the first aircraft carrier delivered to the British Navy in southern Africa and the first aircraft carrier in the world.
The emergence of southern Africa had a great impact on the navy. In another time and space, it was not until the Second World War that carrier-based aircraft began to take on the task of attacking warships. In this time and space, during the East India War of Independence, bombers had already
Successfully sunk the warship.
The battlecruiser Von der Tann, sunk by the Duke of Marlborough, was the first battlecruiser built by Germany. The battlecruiser Von der Tann in another time and space was used in the Battle of Jutland
The battlecruiser HMS Indefatigable of the British Navy was sunk. In this time and space, the battlecruiser Von der Tann had no chance to perform. It became the victim of the aircraft carrier's entry onto the stage of history. It was the first aircraft carrier in the world to be sunk.
of large warships.
"If our battleship Queen Elizabeth discovered the battlecruiser Von der Tann, the battlecruiser Von der Tann would not be able to escape." Someone immediately refuted Patton. Although the aircraft carrier had already shown its fangs,
Giant ships and cannons were still the mainstream idea during this period.
"The battleship Queen Elizabeth could not catch up with the battlecruiser Von der Tann -" Andrew Brown Cunningham was the first friend Patton made on the Queen Elizabeth. He is now the battlecruiser of the battleship Queen Elizabeth.
Gunnery Inspector, this position is called gunnery officer in the Southern African Navy.
Cunningham was the most outstanding British naval admiral in World War II. He served successively as Lord of the Admiralty and Admiralty, and was made a Viscount. On September 10, 1943, he accepted the surrender of the Italian fleet in Malta.
The first Allied general to enjoy this honor.
"Hahahaha, yes, carrier-based aircraft have long legs that battleships don't have-" Patton laughed and raised his glass to Cunningham, then rang the big bell next to the bar.
This means inviting everyone present to have a drink. Although the dozen or so officers present are not many, the wine on the warship is expensive, so it will cost a lot of money to invite everyone.
But obviously, this little money is not a problem for Patton. This is also the reason for Patton's popularity. Even the officers who were bullied by Patton and Cunningham couldn't hate the generous Patton.
In response, compared with politicians who are bright on the outside and shady on the inside, soldiers are still simple and straightforward.
Hearing the bell ringing, enthusiastic cheers suddenly erupted in the bar, and Barton's ears immediately filled with flattery.
"Thank you for the wine, Barton——"
"You are a good person!"
"For victory!"
The young bartender was used to all this. He put a large pile of rum on the bar and asked Patton to pay. The total was 21 pounds. Even in the Navy, which is famous for its ample funding and generous treatment, a colonel
The monthly salary is only so much.
Twenty-one pounds was a large amount of money at this time. No one carried so much cash with him. Barton paid by check from Rand Bank. As the only bank that could directly exchange gold, Rand Bank had an outstanding reputation.
"You southern Africans are really as wealthy as the legends say. You must be from a big family." Cunningham, who witnessed all this, sighed repeatedly. Although it is expensive to treat everyone in the audience to a drink occasionally, Cunningham can do it.
It's affordable, but Cunningham wouldn't be willing to invite Barton several times every night.
"My father went to southern Africa relatively early and worked for the Earl of Nyasaland a long time ago. At that time, the Second Boer War was still going on -" Barton did not deny it. He was infinitely proud of his father. He was not used to using it now.
The word "family".
"Then what?" Cunningham waited to hear the story. He was born in 1883 and entered the Royal Naval Academy in Dartmouth in 1893 when he was ten years old.
At the age of ten, when many people are still acting coquettishly in their mother's arms at this age, Cunningham is already a soldier, and novels would not dare to write about it like this.
"Then they started digging gold mines. You may not know that the first gold mine built by the Earl of Nyasaland was to resettle the tribesmen who were deceived into southern Africa. At that time, Johannesburg was just a small town, and even the police station
None -" Barton started talking and kept talking, and he was surrounded by listeners. People are always interested in this kind of story, starting from the bottom of a green duck, soaring over the turbulent water.
"It's such a pity that I'm not in this story." Cunningham said emotionally. The Second Boer War was the beginning of the decline of the British Empire. Many people did not realize it at the time.
"We didn't have time to participate at that time, but we are in the story now." Barton has no regrets. Sooner or later, every generation will have its own stage.
Before Cunningham had time to speak, a battle alarm suddenly sounded in the bar. A large group of half-drunk officers immediately jumped up and rushed out. Some people reminded the bartender to save their drinks and come back to continue after the battle.
How can you still fight after drinking like this?
Is this the century-old navy known for its discipline?
Patton didn't have time to sigh. In order to save space, the passages on the warship were relatively narrow. This group of officers just stumbled towards the fighting position. Some of them didn't even wear their hats, and some of them had their pants half wet. Patton rushed onto the deck.
Then I discovered a shoe on the floor at the cabin door.
When Patton came to the bridge panting, John Fisher was standing ready. Through the telescope, he could clearly see an Ottoman merchant ship fleeing crazily.
When he saw Patton, John Fisher frowned, but did not speak.
After all, Patton was not John Fisher's subordinate. When there was no combat mission, drinking some wine was allowed. Despite the Royal Navy's majesty on the surface, in fact there were many problems. Drinking was nothing in comparison.
It's drizzling, and it's not uncommon to see more serious conditions than this.
"Son, what should we do now?" John Fisher still admired Patton very much, not because of his professionalism. The Royal Navy did not lack naval officers with high professionalism. Winston could still be the Lord of the Admiralty without knowing anything about the navy.
"Catch up, stop the merchant ship, and send people to board the ship for inspection." Patton did not hesitate. All waters in the world are the Royal Navy's lakes, and the Royal Navy can do whatever they want.
"No, no, no, kid, that's how you deal with the Southern African Navy. The Royal Navy doesn't need to be so gentle. We are not here to safeguard justice, but to spread fear and keep our enemies awake at night-" John
Fisher was decisive in killing and the Royal Navy did not need to abide by the rules. The rules were made by the Royal Navy.
There was no need for John Fisher to give an order at this moment. Shooting Prosecutor Cunningham had also arrived on the bridge, and his order was equally simple and direct: "Fire!"
At this time, the Royal Navy's background was finally revealed. When warships want to attack, they must also calculate their shots. The merchant ship that is running away is already within the visual range of the battleship Queen Elizabeth. When the main gun fires, Patton clearly sees the muzzle of the gun.
The shock wave felt like the warship's speed had stopped for a moment, and then a huge roar came over.
Patton did not pay attention to the fate of the merchant ship, and was targeted by top battleships such as the battleship Queen Elizabeth. The fate of the merchant ship was already doomed.
What Patton was thinking was, no wonder the Royal Navy was burning so much money. The shells for the 381 main gun were not cheap. One shot cost several hundred.
It’s only strange that the British don’t care so much and are burning so much money without paying compensation.
(The time this chapter was coded was 3:10 in the morning. The brother who drove the bus got up——)