Alexandria, which had been devastated by Romanian air raids, was in a mess, with tragic images everywhere. Three aircraft carriers sank into the sea, with only a small part of the ship island still above the water, and the Repulse received the same treatment.
As for the remaining five battleships, the Nelson has been flooded with more than 4,000 tons of seawater, and the damage management team has been unable to control the danger. The Malaya is also unable to move at all because the power room has been flooded by seawater. The only one who can move now is
It was the three battleships Rodney, Sovereign, and Warspite. It was the first time that Great Britain felt such a miserable situation.
But now Cunningham couldn't care less about the grief over the loss of Alexandria, because he had a more important thing to do.
Because of this matter, he had a dispute with Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hawkins.
"Hawkins, this problem can't be looked at like this. It is a wrong choice to let the three battleships leave now. Without enough warship cover, how far can they run out of the port? Don't forget, they are still injured. Once they encounter
If the enemy pursues you, you will be driven into despair."
Cunningham was giving up the idea of his chief of staff, Hawkins, trying to let the three battleships leave first. In fact, this idea was not the idea of his chief of staff alone, but the idea of many people in the fleet.
In their opinion, taking advantage of the departure of the Romanian air raid group, they should immediately let the three operational battleships leave to avoid greater losses. Yes, this idea is what most people think.
But this is also the reason why they cannot become famous generals. In Cunningham's view, this is a bad idea. Let the three battleships leave, how far can they run, in this state, they can run up to 20 knots. And
It seems to Cunningham that the enemy situation outside is unclear and it is not suitable to go out at all.
And even if there are no enemies outside, it will only cover more than 60 kilometers in two hours. This point is only ten minutes away from the plane. The three battleships that lack protection will not be able to withstand the enemy's successive attacks. Even if the other warships existing in the port are
Bring them all.
Faced with Cunningham's objections, Hawkins asked, "Then what will happen to these warships when the enemy launches an air attack next time? They are all injured. When the next attack comes, we may not even be able to destroy these three warships."
Can’t keep it.”
"That's not necessarily the case."
Faced with Hawkins' rhetorical question, Cunningham retorted.
"What?"
"I said that's not necessarily the case."
After hearing Cunningham say this in the most standard English, Hawkins didn't want to continue the argument. He wanted to hear what his commander had to say.
Cunningham said his method without hesitation. "My method is, when the next air attack comes, we will first beach the three battleships and deploy more firepower around them to consume the enemy's ammunition."
, to buy time for air support from Cairo and Said."
Cunningham's words shocked Hawkins. Because grounding would cause huge damage to the battleships, especially the damage to the keel, which would be the most serious. And letting these three powerful battleships run aground
, even if the battleship is successfully saved, the damage caused will still be serious.
More importantly, after it is stranded, it will be very troublesome to put it back into action, and it will take at least three months.
This also means that even if these three battleships are ultimately saved, it will mean that the Mediterranean Fleet will have no capital ships available for a short time unless the mainland is re-sent.
It's just that it is quite unrealistic to re-dispatch the mainland. According to the size of the Romanian fleet, if you send less, it will be just a meal. If you send more, what should you do for the defense of the mainland? Moreover, the pressure on the home fleet is not small, and it is also responsible for blocking the German navy.
mission. So this will also mean that the British Navy will be missing in the Eastern Mediterranean in a short period of time. And Egypt and French Syria, which have lost the protection of the Mediterranean Fleet, will most likely become the targets of the Romanians.
Thinking of this terrible and disastrous consequence, Hawkins immediately vetoed Cunningham's method, "This is simply not possible. This will put the Eastern Mediterranean under the control of the Romanians, which will cause consequences that we cannot bear."
"
Could Cunningham not know the consequences of Hawkins' words? He patiently explained, "I know everything you said, but look here!"
Cunningham pointed to the Repulse, with only the tip of the ship exposed in the naval port, and said, "Do you still think that we have the ability to prevent the Romanians from extending their hands to the Eastern Mediterranean?"
Cunningham's question left Hawkins speechless. Because facts can't be deceived, it is simply impossible to block the Romanian fleet with the five injured battleships in the fleet.
Not to mention that there are currently two ships, the Nelson and the Malaya, which are in danger. One is about to capsize, and the other has lost its power.
Hawkins was actually almost convinced by Cunningham, but he planned to fight for it again. "Because of this, it is even more important to save these three ships, otherwise the Romanians will be unscrupulous. And your method will make the entire
The fleet has no resistance at all, and the enemy only needs one battleship to scare us away from going to sea."
"My Chief of Staff, it's time for you to wake up."
Cunningham patted Hawkins on the shoulder. "It takes several years to build a battleship, but it only takes an hour to sink them. We can't let the empire's precious battleships gamble on an illusory opportunity. And now we need to find a way.
Let the losses suffered by the battleship be minimized instead of gambling on opportunities."
Cunningham's words convinced Hawkins, and he said, "Okay, Commander, I will follow your opinion."
After hearing that the Chief of Staff agreed with his opinion, Cunningham felt that he should give him some good news. "Chief of Staff, Air Force Commander Ted just made a promise to me. He has deployed fighter jets from Cairo and Said and can provide them at any time."
We are providing reinforcements. A runway has been temporarily cleared at Loge Air Airport to accommodate them. In addition, we still have more than ten aircraft in reserve. With the help of these fighter planes, we may not be able to keep them."
That's right, Air Force Commander General Ted has urgently mobilized 3 squadrons of Hurricane fighter jets, 2 squadrons of Gladiator fighter jets, and 2 squadrons of Hawker fighter jets from these two air force bases, forming a powerful air force support force of six squadrons.
, this is also the essence of the British Air Force in Egypt.
In the port, the location where the three battleships that can still move has been stranded. It is in the southwest corner of the port. The water depth here is about 5-6 meters. More importantly, the bottom of the sea is sandy, which is conducive to
Protect the keel. In addition to these three battleships, the Malaya, which lost power, was also pulled over. It is hoped that this method can save these four battleships.
As for the Nelson, the battleship was already tilting so badly that even Cunningham had given up.
