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While the French were grief-stricken, the entire Spee fleet was filled with a joyful and peaceful ......atmosphere. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoEveryone is happily discussing today's results, and they have sunk several French warships, and it is suspected that they have sunk a few. Two here, three there. And then there was a buddy who shouted out 5 ships! In this way, blowing and blowing, people with good things found that if the results of the battle were to be followed by the current verbal declarations, then the French Mediterranean Fleet should no longer exist .......

In addition to leaving enough vigilance forces, more than half of the people in the fleet were allowed to land and rest. After the news reached Constantinople, the Turkish government also sent a congratulatory telegram from the Spee fleet, and sent the soldiers various supplies such as fresh vegetables, meat, and tobacco. Leaving aside the nonsense of the middle and low-level officers and soldiers, the earl and the others did not really relax, they were still nervously planning what to do next.

"1 Guba-class battleship, at least 3 Danton-class battleships, 3 armored cruisers and a large number of destroyers, after this battle, although the French fleet still has the advantage, it should be more than enough to prevent our convergence with the Austro-Hungarian fleet." After listening to the captains' reports on the results of the battle, Count Spee came to such a conclusion.

"If His Highness Ruprecht is still in Vienna, then perhaps in a few days, no more than a week at most, the Austro-Hungarian fleet should come." Major General Schultz on the side thought for a while and said.

"Alright then, I'll send a telegram to His Royal Highness the Prince tonight to inquire about the relevant matters, and in addition, we must also be prepared in terms of anchorages and supplies. If nothing else, tomorrow when the first batch of officers and men returns, let the Prinz Eugen be repaired in the dockyard. Earl Spee said.

Taking advantage of the French's unpreparedness, Spee's fleet sneaked over with a swift breeze, striking into the wind and then connecting with a jump. The French fleet lost its small half of the blood, but at the same time there were some losses in its own fleet, the average water intake of the four capital ships was about 400 tons, and the Prinz Eugen came back with 700 tons of seawater, and about 5 of the 32 main guns were scrapped. The secondary artillery also destroyed some. In addition, 3 rangefinders will be replaced. Tinkering is also needed on the hull. Of course, the most heart-wrenching thing for the earl was the destroyer fleet, 12 ships went out, 5 ships came back, more than half of them were gone, if it weren't for the sacrifice of these little guys, maybe the main fleet would have been even worse.

Although theoretically there is no major problem, the combat effectiveness has also dropped by at least about 2 to 3 percent. Considering Turkey's relatively backward maintenance capabilities here, the Count still wanted to arrange the maintenance and repair of the battleship as soon as possible. God knows when the next sortie will be.

At noon the next day after the night attack, the prince finally got a telegram from Count Spee, and Tirpitz, who sent the telegram, was also mixed, he really didn't expect the Count to be so bold and make such a big move! What I didn't expect was that I actually won! The Minister of State for the Navy when he first saw ......the telegram even had a feeling that the world was too crazy, and that he was dying of the bold and starving to the faint of heart. Of course, no matter what, this battle of Crete was won after all, which is a good thing!

"Admiral House, the French fleet has been reduced by half, and the Austro-Hungarian fleet should carry out the order of convergence at this time, right?" The prince nodded with satisfaction.

"But the French fleet is still much stronger than we are." Admiral House was reluctant, and once the fleet was gone, he would really be the commander of the navy with no ships, after all, Count Spey was a vice admiral, and if he went, the question of command authority could not be straightened out. Then he would have to stay on his home turf, managing the port, submarines, and some auxiliary vessels. This is a very uncomfortable thing for a naval commander. From the bottom of his heart, it is normal for him to be a little resistant to this.

However, war is not a dinner party, and it is not something you can do if you don't want to. The prince understood Admiral House's feelings, but what had to be done had to be done. And not only to do, but also to do the full set: "I will ask Count Spee to cooperate in the action, in short, within a week at the latest, and preferably within the last four days, I hope that the main forces of the Austro-Hungarian fleet can reach the Dardanelles." This is not a suggestion, this is an order! The prince emphasized. Considering that Constantinople had relatively few supplies, this time I would like the Navy to bring with it a few fast steamers that originally belonged to Germany, so that they can be equipped with some guns, fire control systems, or other useful accessories and mechanical equipment. "This time the prince is not only going to empty the fleet, but also the warehouses of the Austro-Hungarian navy! After all, the main fleet is gone, and those things in the warehouse are also there. It's better to take it with you.

At the beginning of the war, there were three large German fast cruise ships in the Mediterranean, with tonnages ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 tons, and the slowest ships were more than 23 knots. After the start of the war, they took refuge in the port of Austria-Hungary, and considering that it would be used as a transport ship rather than a luxury cruise ship in the future, the Austro-Hungarian Navy spent another two months dismantling some unnecessary settings and cabins on it, and adding some equipment and useful things. It was converted into a naval high-speed carrier. IT IS NOT ONLY POSSIBLE TO TRANSPORT COAL AND AMMUNITION, BUT ALSO 350MM MAIN GUNS, RANGEFINDERS, LARGE TURRET PARTS, ......AND SO ON.

And when it comes to this, Admiral House has no reason to shirk any further. In the afternoon of the same day, the admiral compiled a roster of warships that could be mobilized this time and handed it to the prince.

The specific composition of the entire fleet is as follows, with two United Force-class super dreadnoughts, namely the United Forces and the St. Istvan. There are two quasi-dreadnoughts of the Radetzky-class class, namely the Radetzky and the Franz. Archduke Ferdinand, an armored cruiser, the St. George, (can be seen as an enhanced version of the Mainz-class armored cruiser, using a steam turbine with increased armor.) BUT THE LAYOUT WAS STILL A QUADRANGULAR LAYOUT OF 4 TWIN 240MM GUNS. In addition, two destroyer detachments will be taken away.

In addition to the three transport ships originally converted from German high-speed cruise ships, the fleet was accompanied by four auxiliary ships of other types. It was loaded with a large number of supplies and spare parts.