"Things went relatively well, and the Americans and the British finally agreed to our plan, the US Navy would send three aircraft carriers to the Mediterranean, and the British ended up making a discount and would send two Fury-class aircraft carriers. The French will also draw one aircraft carrier from the Atlantic Fleet to join the Combined Fleet, and together with our Chinese and Italian fleets, we will have a total of 12 aircraft carriers. In addition to this, the four countries can also put together 6 aviation cruisers, and if the Italian Navy can restore its combat effectiveness, the number of our fighters can reach at least about 800 units. Deng Shichang pointed to the fleet sign on the sand table and said to Xu Jie.

"The British are slippery!" Xu Jie shook his head helplessly, if the information he received first was correct, the improvement of the other two aircraft carriers of the British and the aircraft carriers of the French had been completed, although Britain and France sent 3 aircraft carriers, but they also left 4 as reserves. It was used to defend against the possible northward movement of the German fleet. However, for the sake of the face of the two most powerful aircraft carriers provided by the British, Xu Jie still generously decided not to care about them.

"If all goes well, in two days, our Chinese fleet in Britain and the British task force will set sail from England, and then join up with the American Atlantic Fleet and the French fleet that have already arrived in France, and they will arrive in Sicily within a week." Deng Shichang continued.

"So how to solve the command problem? There must be a joint command for the fleet of the four countries. Xu Jie asked. And how to solve the supply problem? Is there a charter? ”

"This. There hasn't been any news from Lao Yang yet, but it shouldn't be a big problem. The French sent troops more of a gesture, and the Americans had just lost to Cunningham in their last exercise. As for the British? Thomas is not in good shape. Only the commander in name. And the British fleet was, after all, only 2 ships. "Deng Shichang does not attach importance to the issue of command, because according to the previous deductions between countries, the Chinese officers have an advantage, plus the superiority of the forces dispatched, there should be an advantage in command." As for the supply problem, the fleet was generally supplied by the French for fresh water and food, and the British were responsible for replenishing the engines and other aviation components (the engines used by China, Italy, and Britain came from the British). So it can be universal), the American fleet itself brought a supply fleet. Not even the food is provided by the French. ”

"Americans are local tyrants." Xu Jie couldn't help but sigh. Historically, the U.S. military on Kuah Island even flew to a high altitude with ice cream ingredients to freeze ice cream. Although this plane is not as smooth as in history, the United States is still thick!

Just when Deng Shichang reported to Xu Jie on the situation of the five-nation joint fleet, the naval coordination meeting in London was also coming to an end. On the issue of command, the countries ultimately decided to establish a unified command center. Yang Yonglin of China and the United Kingdom sent Thomas, while the representative of the United States was Simms. However, for the sake of ability, prestige and rank. Among them, Yang Yonglin is the main body. And in terms of actual command, the forces of the surface fleet, with the exception of capital ships, are controlled by the countries themselves. Battleships and cruisers will be grouped together for possible ground support missions. The aircraft carrier and aviation cruiser will also be composed of the generals of the five countries to form a unified aviation command, responsible for the dispatch of all aviation forces. Once you've built a rough outline, it's time to think about a detailed plan.

It will definitely not work to bring 12 aircraft carriers together, not to mention anything else, if such a large fleet takes off aircraft at the same time, then how chaotic the air will be! Hundreds of fighters took off and lined up and rushed over in a chaotic pot of porridge, and the personnel in charge of dispatch and the squadron leaders in the air must have had a headache to death. (During the Battle of the Marianas.) There is also a distance between the various aircraft carrier fleets of the United States. ）…

However, if they were too widely dispersed, they would be easily broken by each other, so in the end, the countries agreed that the distance between the fleets of each country should be 10 to 20 nautical miles. The specific grouping method is as follows. The American, Chinese, and Italian fleets each had three aircraft carriers, so they could be grouped in separate groups, while Britain and France were grouped together. Considering the situation against the enemy, the Anglo-French combined fleet is full of armored aircraft carriers, which can naturally be placed in the front, and two armored aircraft carriers in the Chinese Navy must also be pushed to the front to block the guns of the US and Italian aircraft carrier fleets behind.

The entire fleet will be backed by Sicily and will be responsible for air defense and ground support missions in the Naples region. Cover the retreat of the American, French, and Italian armies. The four carrier fleets will be deployed in an irregular quadrilateral shape off the coast of Naples. The Anglo-French fleet was to the north, and the Chinese fleet was to the south. The bottom long side that forms a trapezoid. The American and Italian fleets were in the rear, and the distance between the two was relatively close, forming the upper short side of the trapezoid.

"In order to ensure the safety of the transport fleet, we must also completely block the entire western Mediterranean. The Strait of Messina, which is directly between Sicily and mainland Italy, is narrow and can be mined, while the Tunis Strait between Sicily and Tunisia is wider. In order to prevent a sneak attack by the enemy's submarines, we must arrange sufficient anti-submarine destroyers and anti-submarine patrol aircraft. Well, and mines. Sims said.

"It's not a problem, we are familiar with the hydrographic situation here, the Italian Navy is the mainstay, and the other countries should have no problem with a part of the destroyers. As for the mine nets, we have already laid out some of them before, and now it will be enough to perfect them. The representative of Italy said.

"Since we have such a strong force, can we go and attack the German-Austrian fleet and airfields in Crete and the Balkans? Passive defense is definitely not as good as offense. The biggest advantage of aircraft carriers lies in their mobility, and there is no German-Austrian airfield along the coast with more than two brigades, and we should be able to catch them in a fight. The Italian delegate hesitated for a moment and made a proposal to defend instead of attack. Before he left, Tycho did not give up the last glimmer of hope in his heart, and he tried to take this opportunity to see if he could convince the four countries to win again.

It's a pity that the ideal is very plump and the reality is very skinny. The war has reached such an extent that countries have no intention of fighting any further. Do everything with a degree! This war weighed the level of Germany and Austria, consumed the national strength of the opponent, and the goal has been achieved, and each country can develop its own military strength in a targeted manner. There's no point in fighting any longer. Therefore, Huaxia, including Huaxia, did not pay attention to the proposal put forward by the Italian representative. And even if the four countries still want to fight, judging from the current situation, the fleet composed of 12 aircraft carriers alone is only more than enough to defend, and in terms of attack power, it is still far from enough.

The size of 12 aircraft carriers plus 6 aviation cruisers is really huge, and there are about 1400 aircraft of all kinds combined! And the total amount that the Luftwaffe can mobilize is much higher than this number, and the fundamental reason why it can hold Naples is still in the word distance! If the fleet of the five countries dares to sail to Crete, then the entire fleet will face the wanton and indiscriminate bombardment of thousands of German and Austrian air forces! During the naval battle off the coast of Benghazi, Tycho only attacked his opponent with the help of land-based aviation. But he did not dare to cross the minefield half a step, and even after the Germans launched the landing, Tycho also strictly ordered the Italian navy not to reinforce for this reason.

And after all, an aircraft carrier is just a ship, and the materials that can be accommodated on the battleship are limited, on average, the average fuel carrying capacity of these 12 aircraft carriers is only about 400 tons, and the fighter jets have to use up about 600 liters of fuel at a time, and the fuel consumption of bombers jumps directly from about 1,000 liters! In the face of such huge consumption, one aircraft carrier can fly a maximum of 500 sorties, and the fuel reserves of the warship may run out. Maybe after going out, it will take about 3 to 4 days at most, and the reserves will be exhausted, and then such a huge fleet will come back to replenish, then I don't know how long it will take to complete! …

"Your Excellency's plan is not feasible, and all four of us have done our best in this war, and now, we can only guarantee the safe evacuation of the five armies and those who are willing to leave the Italians." Thomas politely declined the offer.

"If this plan doesn't work, then how do I want the Entente to control Sardinia? Sardinia is far from mainland Italy and close to France, separated from Corsica by a narrow strait. The strategic importance is significant. The representative of Italy saw that the first proposal was not working, so he made the second proposal. At that time, Tycho had already realized that the first proposal would not be accepted by the countries, so he proposed a revision.

In this plan he tried to keep Sardinia by the Entente and China, so that he and the government he supported would also occupy a zone on the mainland. And with the back of France, there is also a guarantee of security. It weakened the power of Mussolini's regime. Whether from the perspective of political or practical interests, it is undoubtedly of great significance to be able to preserve this area.

"We can even accept the entrustment of the Entente side, and as soon as your team lands on the island, we can hand over the facilities. Of course, there is a premise that the Entente must return Sardinia to our country as soon as our legitimate government is re-established. Looking at the silent representatives of the countries, the Italian representative added.

"It's unplanned, but it's significant. I think there is some possibility, but I am afraid that all of you here do not have the authority to make this decision. Yang Yonglin's eyes lit up, and he felt that this was indeed a good idea. It's good for all parties, but it's not for them to decide because there are so many things involved.

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the reward~~~, as well as the book friend xu911911, Nanyue Manlong's monthly pass support ~~~. (To be continued)