So when Cunningham got the news that the Romanian fleet had left, he finally felt relieved. But facing the current miserable situation of the Mediterranean fleet, it almost made people cry.
All three aircraft carriers were sunk, the only battle cruiser Repulse was also sunk, and two of the five battleships were sunk. Together with the other battleships that were sunk, the losses suffered exceeded those of the Battle of Jutland. However, with Japan and Germany
Compared with Lan, Great Britain now no longer has the strength to launch five warships at once.
At this time, Cunningham said to the equally sad chief of staff beside him, "Send a telegram to London to report our losses. I am willing to bear all the responsibilities."
Cunningham's words made Hawkins look very bitter. Commander Cunningham alone could not bear such a tragic result, and he, the chief of staff, could not run away either.
Now is not the time to think about this. London is still waiting to report the results of its losses.
So when this telegram about the loss of 3 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 1 battle cruiser, 8 other warships and hundreds of aircraft was sent to London, Chamberlain, who was anxiously waiting for the news, went dark and almost fainted.
The Privy Seal and Air Force Minister Hall, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward to support him, while other ministers who had been summoned urgently because of the news of the Alexander air raid looked at the Prime Minister's expression and secretly screamed something bad.
Sure enough, after Chamberlain circulated the contents of the telegram, everyone's face was very ugly. And they knew that at this time, the British Empire's world throne was severely kicked by the Romanians, and the navy, which was the lifeblood of the British Empire, was kicked hard.
On the body.
After Chamberlain recovered, he asked, "Let's talk about it, what should we do now?"
Faced with Chamberlain's inquiry, Army Secretary Belisha was the first to give advice. "I believe that reinforcements need to be sent to Egypt immediately to ensure that the security of the region is not violated. Our Ministry of War can arrange troops from India, Australia and New Zealand to give priority to reinforcements in Egypt."
"
It is obvious that Minister of War Belisha’s attitude is to give priority to preserving Egypt.
And his words were echoed by other cabinet ministers.
"Yes, we must keep Egypt."
"The Empire cannot afford to risk losing Suez."
Everyone present knew the importance of Egypt to Britain. Not to mention the importance of its location to Britain in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, the Suez Canal alone was worthy of the British effort to protect it. This link connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The canal is of vital significance to Britain's most important colony, India. The title "Emperor" of the British Empire was given by India (Emperor or Empress of India).
As Lord Seal and Air Force Minister Hall said at this time, "I think Egypt's air defense needs to be strengthened. Now we can deploy more advanced aircraft from other colonies to support Egypt. In addition, I think the mainland should also deploy 4 squadrons."
The Spitfire supports Egypt.
In addition, given that Egypt will face the threat of the Romanian fleet and needs more aircraft capable of dealing with ships, I think a group of support can also be mobilized from the mainland."
After Hall said this, he then changed his tone. "These are our responses to the attack on Alexandria, and now I think there is still a very critical issue that must be faced squarely."
After successfully focusing everyone's attention on himself, Hall named a country. "That's the attitude problem in Italy."
His words instantly let others know that Italy's attitude was extremely important now, especially after the British Mediterranean Fleet suffered heavy losses.
After the war broke out, the division of labor between the British and French navies was that the British Mediterranean Fleet blocked the Romanian navy from entering the Mediterranean, while the French fleet watched over Italy. As for the British Home Fleet, it naturally performed its mission during World War I, blocking German warships in the North Sea.
.
And now, with the Mediterranean fleet being air-attacked in the port, and no one watching the Romanian fleet, who can guarantee that Mussolini will not be tempted. As long as the fleets of the two countries merge, the French fleet cannot compete with the combined naval strength of the two countries. And the Mediterranean
It will become a dangerous sea area for British and French ships. This is something Britain will never allow.
"So, what can we do to prevent Italy from being greedy for profit? You must know that they have alliances with Germany and Romania. Although they did not dare to act rashly because of the strength of our country and France. But now our Mediterranean fleet has suffered such huge losses.
Under such circumstances, it will be very difficult to get them to obey the rules.”
Defense Coordination Minister Thomas expressed his doubts.
Faced with Thomas' doubts, Hall gave his own suggestion. "We have a way, which is to hand over Greece's interests to Italy and use Greece to stabilize Italy."
Hall's words caused others to whisper. Isn't this an improved version of the previous appeasement policy?
"I know what you want to say. This is betraying Greece. But have you ever thought about it? Our country and France are now at a disadvantage in the Mediterranean, and the local fleet needs to monitor the North Sea. There is simply no way to deploy excess fleets to supplement the Mediterranean fleet. If not now
If we stabilize Italy, we may lose the Mediterranean. Who can bear this responsibility? Moreover, leaving Greece to Italy will deepen its conflict with Romania."
Hall's words caused other cabinet members to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
When Chamberlain saw Churchill, the Lord of the Admiralty, who was sitting there silently, he asked, "Churchill, what do you think of this?"
Churchill, who was named by the Prime Minister, shook his head and said, "I have nothing to say. If Greece can be exchanged for Italy to stand on our side, I agree."
Chamberlain was not satisfied with this and asked further, "Does your Admiralty have any plans for this?"
Although he had only served as Lord of the Admiralty for a few days, Churchill still knew a lot about the navy. He said, "Our current work mainly involves assessing the loss of Alexander, and also assessing whether the two fleet commanders have
Investigation will be conducted into this failure of duty. In addition, the construction and outfitting work of other George V class battleships will be accelerated and they will be put into service as soon as possible.
As for the aircraft carriers, the first two ships of the Glorious class, HMS Glorious and HMS Victory, are currently underwater. We will have the shipyard work overtime to complete the outfitting work, and we will also urge the work of carrier-based aircraft. When this batch of warships is completed
Later, we expect to be able to take care of the Mediterranean. As for now, we can only rely on the naval power of our ally France."
It is obvious that Churchill has no good solution to the current situation in the Mediterranean, and he cannot change the battleships to supplement the losses of the Mediterranean fleet.
Chamberlain waited until he finished speaking and said, "These suggestions are very good, so let's discuss how to deal with them next."
After a period of deliberations, the cabinet reached a solution. It first assessed the damage, and then sent an investigation team to assess the commander, General Cunningham, and the chief of staff, General Hawkins. However, as usual, the two commanders
You will be punished, most likely being discharged from active service.
In addition, troops will be sent to reinforce Egypt, mainly to protect the Suez Canal. In addition, the diplomatic department will be asked to win over Italy. It can offer Italy in exchange for Greece and its position will not change.
There is also the need to speed up the construction of warships and contact the United States to see if it can purchase its decommissioned warships.
After everyone else left, Prime Minister Chamberlain left Churchill behind.
After the tired Chamberlain rubbed his aching eyes, he spoke to the newly appointed Lord of the Navy in front of him. "There are some things I need to say to you alone."
After hearing Chamberlain's words, Churchill nodded and said nothing because he knew there was something more to say.
Sure enough, Chamberlain continued: "This is the biggest defeat of the Royal Navy in a century, which will cause public anger. My job as Prime Minister will not last long. Although other cabinet members have been coming up with ideas, I
I know that the day when I will step down is not far away.”
Chamberlain paused here and continued. "As you know, I was originally not interested in politics. I was forced to join politics later, but I only thought that I did a good job. It only took ten years to become the core of the party.
I didn’t want to be the prime minister originally, but there was no one in the party so I had no choice but to go into battle. I don’t know about Germany’s military expansion. It’s not that the finances cannot support it. We must leave enough space for healthy finances. Otherwise we will
It is possible to follow in the footsteps of Germany and Austria in the First World War."
After saying so much, Chamberlain stopped venting and asked Churchill in front of him. "Churchill, are you interested in becoming the next prime minister?"
"Very happy to."
"Okay then, prepare to resign as Lord of the Navy. Next, you need to better show your tough side to the people."
Looking at Churchill leaving, Chamberlain felt a headache. Next, he needed to persuade the party to accept Churchill as prime minister.
That very night, British newspapers reported the news of the attack on the Mediterranean Fleet.
The result of 5 casualties and 3 injuries made the British people completely angry. They demanded that the government launch a counterattack against Romania.
The newspapers also accused the government of being responsible for this loss. In addition, Cunningham, as the commander involved, was scolded by the newspapers. Some newspapers even ridiculed that he let his own puppy serve as a fleet commander.
Commanders are better than General Cunningham.
In order to calm the public's anger, the government had no choice but to retire the two men early.
As Prime Minister, Chamberlain knew that both of them retiring would not quell the public's anger. The best choice was himself. But he still needed some time to prepare.
