Chapter 452: Success is also Xiao He and Xiao He is defeated
There is an old saying in ancient China that success is Xiaohe and failure is Xiaohe.
This means that Han Xin, the great general of the Han Dynasty, achieved great achievements because of Xiao He's recommendation, but he also ended up in a different place because of Xiao He's temptation.
Sir Forbes, who has surrendered, has probably never heard this sentence, but his situation is similar to that of Han Xin.
When the British fleet under the command of Forbes was discovered by the French navy in Darlan, it was mistakenly thought that it was coming to encircle and suppress German submarines, so it was not on alert and took the opportunity to deploy a large number of mines.
It can be said that the German submarine inadvertently did the British a big favor, wrongly inducing the thinking of the French navy, causing the Forbes fleet to use the gap where the French had no time to react and deploy peripheral interception mines.
These mines directly prevented the French warships from leaving the harbor for close combat, and had to engage in a gunnery duel with the British navy.
What happened next was very simple. The British officers and soldiers used their powerful artillery skills to suppress the French army in long-distance artillery battles, destroying almost most of the main warships of the Darlan fleet, and destroying the French Oran
Military seaport.
For "Operation Ballista" to be so successful, Forbes himself must not have expected it. Among them, the German submarine force that took the blame coincidentally played an important role in promoting it.
However, the German submarine force not only helped the British win, but also led to their subsequent defeat.
It stands to reason that the Forbes Fleet has fully demonstrated its strength in this war.
They defeated the Darlan fleet whose total number of battleships exceeded their own, and on their way back, they once overwhelmed the Leifer fleet which was several times the size of their own.
Twice in a row, they defeated the French and Italian navies, which had more capital than them, and were almost unable to withstand them.
However, due to the limitations of the times and the distraction of continuous operations, they did not discover the German submarine force that secretly surfaced, and suffered a Quixote-style defeat.
The "Wolf Pack" submarines who took the blame finally regained their position and saved the situation of the war.
The sneak attack on the French fleet, which was an ally not long ago, already made Forbes feel ashamed in his heart.
Being intercepted by the Italian fleet, which followed behind, Forbes was still surprised for a while.
Finally, relying on its own strong training level, it miraculously resisted the attack of the overwhelmingly superior Italian fleet. However, the German submarine force suddenly appeared in the Forbes fleet's main formation and launched torpedoes unscrupulously.
Blessings come in pairs, misfortunes never come alone!
A person's psychological endurance is, after all, limited.
Take, for example, the interrogation method that the Gestapo was best at.
When interrogating prisoners, the Gestapo often chose to do so when they were tired or distressed.
Taking advantage of the opponent's impetuous mood and tired body can often make them less vigilant and easier to control.
In the same way, Forbes, who had always been deeply remorseful for "turning against each other" and sneak attacks on his former allies, was already mentally and physically haggard and exhausted after experiencing high-intensity battles with the French Navy and the Italian Navy.
The surprise attack by German submarines disrupted his position even more.
Therefore, Sir Forbes, who suffered from heart failure and whose judgment was seriously weakened due to physical reasons, heard the surrender proposal put forward by his subordinates in order to save his life. After a few rounds of argument, he was unable to support it and thus gave in to this view of surrender.
However, after regaining his energy a little, Forbes regretted his behavior.
This is an aircraft carrier formation that has always been extremely combat-effective. Even if it scuttles, it would be much better than leaving it in the hands of the Italians.
If the battleship is in the hands of the enemy, won't it have to be used by the Italians against their own people in the end?
Not to mention, let’s take the H fleet that provided warships for this operation. They must have never thought that the warships they provided to the Forbes fleet would follow the Forbes fleet and become the trophies of the Italians in the future.
Used to deal with Fleet H and compete for hegemony in the Mediterranean.
One of the most advanced aircraft carriers in the British Empire, HMS Ark Royal, plus a main battleship, and four of the latest destroyers.
This is a plump piece of loot, enough to feed the Italian Navy!
And by making fun of this piece of fat, the stronger Italian fleet will have the ability to swallow the fatter prey of Fleet H.
"Hey... I may become the eternal sinner of the British Empire!" Sitting in the prisoner of war room specially vacated by the Italians, Sir Forbes lamented with shame.
Before him, there had never been a precedent for a British naval commander to surrender with an aircraft carrier.
Sir Forbes's large-scale surrender can be said to have set a precedent in the British Royal Navy.
"Commander, I suddenly remembered an incident 20 years ago." Forbes' adjutant also had a grief-stricken expression.
"Oh?" Forbes felt that his body was even more exhausted. He didn't even have the strength to turn his head to look at his adjutant. He just moved his lips and asked: "Twenty years ago? What did you remember?"
"Operation Rainbow!" Forbes' adjutant said with a long sigh.
Operation Rainbow was also the first time Reinhardt made his fortune.
After the end of World War I, according to the armistice agreement, the German High Seas Fleet was impounded. 74 German warships sailed into Scapa Flow under the escort of the Allied fleet.
At that time, all artillery firing devices in the German fleet had been removed, the number of sailors was reduced to a minimum, and the fuel carried could barely allow the fleet to sail out of the waters around the Orkney Islands.
It can be said that the German fleet at that time was in a worse situation than the Forbes fleet was before.
However, although they lost the war, they did not lose their spirit.
52 captured German battleships sank to the bottom of the sea, including 10 battleships and all five battlecruisers.
In that battle, the tonnage of warships scuttled by the Germans accounted for 95% of the total tonnage of the entire seized fleet.
Even if all the battleships were sunk, they would not be able to defeat their enemies!
It was just this ruthlessness and decisiveness that refused to compromise even at the risk of death, which shocked the whole world at the time!
But today, Sir Forbes's fleet was obviously still capable of fighting, and it was obviously more valuable than the fleet that the Germans scuttled at that time, and it was even more inhospitable to the enemy...but he gave it away to the Italian Navy.
"At the beginning, I laughed at the Germans for Operation Rainbow, which was a desperate struggle and trying to be smart." Forbes lowered his head and said quietly: "But now, I realize that this is the iron-blooded spirit that the Germans have always been proud of, and it is the iron-blooded spirit that we have ignored.
This is also the biggest secret to their ability to rise again!"
