"Leader, the meeting of our Supreme High Command has approved the plan to provide you with heavy oil, aircraft, tanks, anti-tank guns, radar and special steel, all of which will be in place by the end of August."

At noon on July 7th, with Hans. Admiral Halder, who arrived at the Palazzo Venezia with Admiral Jeshunek, first reported the news he had just received about the aid to the Italian leader Mussolini.

Mussolini's brow furrowed slightly, looking a little worried. Ever since Italy entered the war, the "Caesar of the day" has been on his toes, and only once seems to have been so gloomy as today was when he learned that Marshal Balbo had been killed by his own anti-aircraft artillery.

Isn't there another high-ranking Italian general who died in a daze? When the thought crossed General Halder's mind, Mussolini opened his mouth to tell him not very good news.

"This morning, the main forces of the British Mediterranean Fleet left Alexandria and are heading west, either to the port of Malta or to one of our convoys."

"The main force of the Mediterranean Fleet?" Admiral Halder was taken aback, and hurriedly turned his head to look at Jeshunek. Halder was a general in the army and was not particularly familiar with the problems of naval and air combat.

"Leader, where is our convoy going?" Hans. Jeshunek asked with a frown.

"It's Benghazi." Mussolini said, "We are sending ammunition and supplies to Benghazi in preparation for the offensive that will begin in September." ”

September! General Halder listened to Mussolini's words and sighed in his heart. As early as '39, Hitler and Hersmann repeatedly asked Mussolini to prepare. But when Italy declared war on Britain and France in May, it seemed that it had nothing ready except for the reserve of 3.8 million tons of fuel oil (of which 2.4 million tons belonged to the navy, which could be used by the Italian navy for up to 12 months in wartime).

The most exaggerated thing is that the more than 500,000 troops stationed in North and East Africa do not have enough ammunition and supplies -- in Halder's view, the stationing of more than 500,000 troops in North and East Africa is complete nonsense. North Africa and East Africa can't support so many troops at all, and the logistics supply all depends on Italy itself, especially North Africa can't even supply food for the garrison, and the daily food and drink of the 250,000 troops is a big problem, and the fire food of the Italian army is a bit surprisingly good. As a result, the 250,000 troops in North Africa participated in the war, and not only did not achieve much success, but became a huge burden on logistics and transportation.

Moreover, the "Libya" colony under Italian rule was very inhospitable and had poor infrastructure, there was no railway line connecting French Tnice and Benghazi (the two places were almost 1,600 kilometers apart), and there was not even a railway line between Tripoli and Benghazi. As a result, the Italian transports were unable to transport supplies through the relatively safe and close Strait of Tness, and had to venture to Benghazi and the more dangerous outpost of Tobruk.

The distance from Taranto to Benghazi and Tobruk is almost 1,000 kilometers in a straight line, and the entire route is under the noses of British reconnaissance aircraft based in Malta. You can imagine the danger level!

To the dismay of Halder and Jeshunek, the Italians felt very good about themselves, and rejected all the proposals of the German General Command on the Southern Front to deploy German fighters and bombers in Taranto and Sicily.

Seeing the faces of Halder and Jeshunek, Mussolini laughed and regained his confident expression: "We have sent a powerful fleet to escort the convoy, with 2 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 7 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers and 32 destroyers. Therefore, there will be no danger, the September offensive will not be delayed, and by the end of December at the latest, the whole of North and East Africa will be at our disposal. Wait and hear the good news. ”

Halder and Jeshunek glanced at each other, and Halder asked, "Leader, when will the operation to capture Malta begin?" When will the Joint Command be formed? ”

Mussolini shrugged his shoulders and looked unconcerned, "I will leave the seizure of Malta to Admiral Kavgnari, the chief of staff of the Navy, and you can go to the General Headquarters of the Navy to discuss with him." ”

……

The main force of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, which had left Alexandria by Italian agents, was sailing westward on the afternoon of July 7. This is a huge fleet of 3 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 5 cruisers and 17 destroyers, as well as 12 transports. The commander of the fleet was none other than the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Cunningham.

At the time of his departure from Alexandria, Admiral Cunningham was unaware that a large Italian convoy had left the port of Taranto. The mission of his westward journey was not to intercept the Italian fleet, but to escort men and equipment to Malta. But now he knew that an Italian fleet was sailing east.

"What should I do?" Chief of Staff of the Fleet and Captain of the battleship "War Weathiness" Charles Murphy. Major General Clatchley anxiously waited for Admiral Cunningham to come up with an idea. If it had been in the past, he would have asked for such a thing - a decisive battle with the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea would make people's blood boil at the thought of it.

But the problem is that we are now on a major mission, and getting personnel and equipment to Malta as soon as possible is key.

Cunningham thought about it for a moment and said, "Order the H fleet to leave Gibraltar and make a feint to the west." ”

"Admiral," said Charles. Rear Admiral Krachley said with some concern, "The Germans have Fokker Zeros, Fokker 99s, Ju88s and He-115s, as well as Fw-200s, and the H fleet may be attacked if it comes within 500 nautical miles of Rnaya." ”

"It doesn't matter, H Fleet can handle it." Cunningham shook his head, "The Ark Royal has Sea Spitfire fighters on board, and with the support of the ship's radar, they are enough to deal with the Fokker Zero. ”

As early as October 1939, when the British carrier-based aircraft suffered the "Fokker disaster", the British Admiralty placed an order for the Sea Spitfire to the Xiupo Marlin Company. However, it was not overnight to convert a liquid-cooled-engine fighter used by the Air Force into a carrier-based aircraft, and it was not until March 40, on the eve of the start of the Battle of France, that the first Sea Spitfire successfully landed on an aircraft carrier. However, the subsequent Battle of France delayed the production of the Sea Spitfire, and by the end of June 40, only 36 Sea Spitfires had been produced, of which 6 were used to train pilots, and the remaining 30 were given to the Ark Royal, the Eagle and the Radiance.

It should be mentioned that the Sea Spitfire has increased a lot of weight due to the reinforcement of the rear of the fuselage and the installation of a landing hook, and the performance of the aircraft has also decreased.

Upon receiving Cunningham's order, Vice Admiral Somerville, the commander of the H fleet, immediately ordered the fleet on standby to depart. And the H fleet's every move naturally could not be concealed from Franco's agents, and the news was reported to Rome and Berlin as soon as possible.

"The H fleet of the British has also moved, it is moving eastward, what do you think of this information?" Marshal Hersman said, "Now the British have three aircraft carriers, four battleships, one battleship cruiser, and at least five more heavy cruisers. It's almost out of the nest! ”

After the defeat of the French, the prestige of the Grand General Staff had risen to a new level, and the Supreme Command of the Navy could be summoned from Wilhelmshaven. Therefore, in addition to the generals of the army and the air force, the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Marshal Raeder, and the chief of the naval staff, Otto, are present at the General Staff today. Admiral Schnyvant. Now Hersmann's question is mainly for the two naval chiefs.

"It may be that the H Fleet is going to join forces with the main force of the Mediterranean Fleet, and then rely on the Maltese fortress to seek a decisive battle with the Italian fleet." Raeder frowned and said, "Although the Italians have six battleships on paper, two of them are still being modernized, the Doria class will not be completed until October, and the Duilio class will not be completed until the middle of this month.

In addition, the two Veneto-class battleships have not been in active service for a long time, and the officers and men are still familiar with the equipment, so it is difficult to exert their maximum power. Therefore, it is in the best interest of Britain to have a decisive battle now. ”

Raeder didn't guess Cunningham's true intentions, but his analysis sounded. For Italy, it would be more advantageous to wait until October or November, when the battleship Doria was completed, for a decisive battle. And at that time, the three German aviation regiments now deployed in Ronaya will also be transferred to Sicily. At that time, a few hundred planes of those 3 German aviation regiments alone will be enough for the British Mediterranean Fleet to drink, not to mention 6 battleships in the best condition!

Chief of Staff of the Navy Otto. Admiral Schnie Winter also supported Raeder's view, saying: "The sooner the decisive battle is, the better it is for the British, and if they wait for the repair of the four battleships of the French Naval Volunteers, then the British have no chance of victory." ”

"And what do you recommend?" Hersman asked.

"The three aviation regiments we have placed in Ronaya are responsible for striking the British H fleet." Raeder said, "The two Italian Veneto-class battleships and the Sparrowhawk aircraft carrier immediately left port to join the main force. Then seek a decisive battle with the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet! ”

"There should be a battle." Otto. Admiral Schnyvant also said, "Even if the battle is not good, the two Veneto-class ships will not be a big problem, because they are very strong." And the British could not have escaped unscathed. ”

"Alright," Hersman nodded, and said to the staff officer beside him, "just suggest the Southern Front Headquarters." (To be continued.) )