Chapter 447: Dare to think only to ask for a monthly ticket
As the commander of the Italian fleet, Admiral Leifer does not seem nervous at all now.
Anyone who is familiar with him knows that this general may not be the best and wisest among the many generals in Italy, but if someone asks which general in Italy is the most warlike, then the one who gets the answer must be Lefe
Your name!
Looking at Leifer who was calm and composed, Paul, his adjutant who had been with him for more than five years, walked up to Leifer, and the two started chatting on the bridge.
"Commander, I can see that you are in a pretty good mood. Compared to this battle, you already have a plan in mind to deal with it." Paul asked with a smile.
In fact, the task of the Italian fleet this time is not difficult. They only need to arrive near the port of Oran in time, and attack the British army front and back with the French fleet. That will be a sure-win situation.
However, at this moment, Leifer didn't seem to be in a hurry.
Under the leadership of Leifer, the entire Italian fleet moved very slowly, almost abnormally slow.
Logically speaking, at this time, it is time to move forward, join forces with the French fleet, and attack the British Royal Navy!
"Oh?" Leifer looked at his adjutant with interest, nodded and said, "Yes, then do you want to guess how I plan to command this naval battle?"
Leifer was in a very good mood, and even in a state of war, he was interested in playing riddles with his adjutant. Everyone could see this.
However, as an adjutant who had followed Leifer for more than five years, Paul saw more than that.
"Commander! My subordinates speculate that what you want may be to leave the French navy and lead our Italian fleet to defeat the British alone and become famous in one fell swoop!" Paul said with an astonishingly bold guess.
Just as the surrounding officers were in disbelief at Paul's arrogance, General Leifer's reaction was even more puzzling.
Leifer did not show any surprise, but after about ten seconds, he laughed slowly and said: "Not bad, you guessed it right!"
One stone stirs up a thousand waves!
Admiral Leifer actually gave up the pincer strategy of ensuring victory, and instead chose to prioritize and stagger the time to enter the battle with the French Navy!
Some middle-level naval commanders are beginning to feel timid at this moment.
After all, the opponent is the Royal Navy of the British Empire.
Although the Italian Navy is also called the Royal Navy, there is still a gap between this Royal Navy and the other Royal Navy, between Italy and the United Kingdom.
Now, they were suddenly asked to face the British fleet that had dominated the ocean for many years alone. These Italian officers and soldiers were really not used to it.
Leifer saw the performance of his subordinates.
However, he did not blame these timid subordinates.
According to Leifer, all this is normal.
In Europe, the Kingdom of Italy is considered a long-established power. However, among the entire Allied Powers, Italy's status has always been suppressed below Germany. Recently, there has even been a vague tendency to be overtaken by Vichy France.
When France was tied, it was comparable to Franco's Spain, ranking second!
On weekdays, the Kingdom of Italy often suffers from the eyes of its German allies because of its corrupt leadership and poor military effectiveness. For example, Rommel, one of the three famous generals under Reinhardt, had always defeated Italy with his troops in World War I.
They all look askance at Italians.
In addition, since the beginning of the war, Italy has attacked in all directions, but has achieved nothing.
Ethiopia, which was finally won, was simply a bottomless pit, and investment and income were completely disproportionate. Mussolini spent a lot of money to build this territory, but the return he received was not even 1% of the investment.
As for the surprise attack on southern France, the mighty army of 32 divisions was defeated by 5 French divisions, and it also created a generation of famous general Bélante for France.
Leifer admitted that both the royal family and the navy's top brass, as well as himself, had always been jealous of the vast territory occupied by the Germans.
At this moment, what Leifer and the others see in front of them is not a British fleet at all, but a plump prey!
And in the Mediterranean Sea behind this prey, there is now only an incomplete H Fleet.
That's a fatter prey!
As a commander, if you don't have a good appetite, you will never achieve great achievements.
Only when you dare to think can you dare to do.
Leifer did not want to add the sentence "The Italian fleet and the French fleet joined forces to defeat the British army" after the victory report.
Sometimes, one more sentence adds too much to the meaning.
What Leifer wanted was to win independently, to rely solely on Italy's own navy to defeat the navy that was once known as the number one navy in the world!
As long as it can defeat the British navy, the Italian navy can ignite its long-lost passion and teach those losers in the army how to fight as descendants of the Roman Empire?!
"Hmph! Speaking of which, I am willing to take the fleet out today, not just to gain face by selling it to Rossi." Leifer snorted coldly.
With his militant spirit, he has long been unable to see the weakness of most military officers in the country.
Even if Rossi didn't propose sending a fleet to intercept today, Leifer himself would try to fight.
And if anyone dares to stop him, Leifer doesn't mind waiting for the leader to come back and go to Mussolini to file a complaint!
"Notify the ship and ask each ship to reduce its speed by another 2 knots." Leifer slightly raised the corner of his mouth: "Wait a little longer, and let the French and British fight to the death. All we have to do is to seize the
It’s just victory.”
Indeed, what Leffel wanted was for Italy to defeat the British navy alone.
However, he didn't mind that before that, he would let the French fight for their losses and use up the British navy for the Italian fleet.
Anyway, what Leifer wants is just the result of collecting a "head". As for the process, it doesn't matter to him whether it is despicable or shameless.
France and Italy have always been at odds with each other. In the past, the overt and covert fighting between the two countries in the Mediterranean has never stopped.
Today, Italy is just looking at the Germans for bringing France into the Allied family, and has come all the way to rescue you.
As for not arriving in time, France has no reason to blame Italy.
If you want to blame, blame yourself for being too weak and unable to defeat the British.
"Yes!" Paul saluted Leifer with a military salute, turned around and gave the order: "Signal Corps, order all ships to reduce their speed by 2 knots and delay entering the battlefield."
Vaguely, Paul also guessed Leifer's plan, which was nothing more than a mistake.
However, the credit for picking up the leak belongs entirely to Italy and has nothing to do with the French fleet, which is doomed to fail!