"Jingle bells, jingle bells."

In a hotel in Rome, old Hakan pulled his gaze from a table full of papers in his coat. looked at the Shanghai-made plum blossom brand mechanical watch on his wrist that Yang Qiu gave him back then, and complained in his heart about who called so late.

After advising the Navy and purchasing Soviet ships, he developed a deep personal relationship with Raeder and was hired as a technical advisor to the Imperial Navy. Raeder's visit to Italy also dragged him here, hoping to inspect Italian shipyards and facilities on the spot, so as to lay the foundation for Germany's entry into North Africa and the Middle East.

As we all know, the German navy was too weak, and after the French fleet was divided between China, the United States and Britain, Raeder, who originally wanted to use it to grow, was heartbroken. Moreover, a very serious problem arose that Germany had to rely on Italy to maintain security in the Mediterranean direction. That's for sure, no! None of the Germans were optimistic about Italy's combat capability, not to mention that the United States was about to join in. So Raeder's idea was to lease Spain's Balearic Islands, and then encourage Italy to cooperate in attacking Malta and build two air fortresses. The problem was that even if the air force could cut off the Mediterranean, Germany would still lack the maritime capability in the Mediterranean. You must know that before the war, in order to reduce losses, Germany evacuated almost all cargo ships to all parts of the world, and most of the domestic ones were in the Baltic Sea, even if Norway was occupied, it still did not dare to sail too many ships, and there were only a few cargo ships on the Mediterranean side that were evacuated to Italy that were spared. The French ocean-going fleet with a total tonnage of 5 million tons before the war was only one million, and the rest were either sunk or seized by China, the United States, Britain and other countries. Even if there is rest, the Vichy government has not yet agreed to transfer it.

Referring to the British in the Atlantic submarine warfare and the loss of Japanese shipping after the Mariana in the Pacific Ocean was cut off, this point cannot guarantee long-term combat of the ship, especially after the United States enters the war, the enemy's sea and air forces will increase exponentially. So Raeder and the German Navy desperately wanted to have their own naval escort force in the Mediterranean. In view of this, Hakan proposed a "standardized sectional construction method" adopted by China and the United States. However, it is not easy to use this method, and the only countries that have adopted this construction method are China and the United States. The former is to occupy the advantages of the initial construction of the industry, the ship is small and the U-turn is fast, coupled with Yang Qiu's forward-looking strategic vision, from 1929 onwards to promote the national standardization, so that in the case of national strength is not as good as the United States (Germany including the Czech Republic and France), but at the beginning of the war can burst out comparable to the two manufacturing capacity.

In the United States, because the scale of industry is too large, the shadow of the economic crisis has not yet dissipated, and companies have plenty of time to upgrade the discontinued production line to a standardized production line. Neither Germany nor Europe has either advantage. So Europe's standardization path has lagged behind China and the United States by ten years! But even so, Hakan is confident, because Germany has the largest and best skilled workers in the world, so he believes that as long as the navy can take over the shipyards on the Mediterranean coast of France and Italy, and build warships and submarine standard parts in Germany, France, and the Czech Republic at the same time, a small fleet of about 60 submarines and 40 destroyers can be established in the Mediterranean within a year. There is this force, plus Malta and the Balearic Islands. Then even if Gibraltar cannot be defeated, it will be difficult for Britain and the United States to supply the Mediterranean.

Because there is no Gibraltar passage, it is necessary to detour through the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and take the Suez Canal, a shipping distance of more than 8,000 kilometers. It will take more than two months for the ships to go back and forth, and by the time they arrive, I am afraid that Cairo will have been lost.

The purpose of his trip was to see if the Italian shipyards could support the idea.

"Hey. Who is it? ”

Old Hakan picked up the phone, wondering who was calling so late. But the news coming out of the microphone made him lose his mind in an instant. Gone? Twenty minutes later, he came to the commander of the Italian Navy. At this time, Raeder and Campuoni were already as anxious as ants on a hot pot, and the entire headquarters was in a panic.

"Is it Cunningham? How big is the loss? "Old Hakan was worried. Taranto is not only a naval base, but also a large shipyard and a large number of industrial facilities, which he chose as a "standardized assembly base" that can radiate the Middle East.

"It was Cunningham and the Chinese Third Fleet, who caught the downed Chinese and British pilots." Raeder pointed to the Italian officer: "The losses are not yet known, but intelligence says that there are more than 150 aircraft attacking the attack." ”

"Marshal! It's General Ricardi's report! Before Raedel could finish speaking, the staff officer slipped the damage report into Campuoni's hand. As soon as he saw the loss, the old fox was suddenly dizzy and almost went into shock. It's miserable! Within an hour and a half of the capsizing of the Veneto, the sinking of the Litorio, the sinking of the Cavour, the explosion and breaking of the Caesar, the sinking of the Zara, the grounding of the Fum, the capsizing of the Borgano, the sinking of the Griaci, the sinking of the Cleoni, and the capsizing of the Barbiano, four battleships and six cruisers were all destroyed, and three destroyers, five submarines, four auxiliary ships and one oil tanker were aboarded, and more than 3,000 soldiers were killed or wounded! To this day, the harbor is still exploding and burning.

Even Raeder's heart was bleeding, even if it could be salvaged and repaired, the Italian Navy would not be able to recover in less than two years. Fortunately, he had persuaded Campuoni to transfer two battleships and three heavy cruisers, and finally saved the old bottom, otherwise the Great Mediterranean Project could have been declared over. Old Hakan was also stunned, but he was relieved that the shipyard and industrial facilities had not been damaged.

"Marshal, the Prime Minister is here."

I don't know who shouted, and Mussolini appeared at the entrance of the Admiralty.

The Italian dictator is tall, has a big belly, and walks with an imposing attitude. But what made Hakan cry and laugh was that the third watch in the middle of the night was still such a big thing, this person was actually wearing a neat marshal uniform, his hair was not messy, and the riding boots on his feet were shining God! I'm afraid it will take an hour just to wear this outfit.

Surrounded by officials, Mussolini walked into the hall. After reading the loss report, his face was also hot. You must know that Teller has already told him about the Greater Mediterranean plan, and from a strategic point of view, the biggest beneficiary of taking Spain is Italy. Because, Britain did not have enough troops in North Africa, and now India is finished again, and it can't even muster 300,000 troops. As for the Chinese Persian Army Group, well, it seems that I didn't think of it.

For the purpose of monopolizing North Africa, he agreed to cooperate, but refused to allow Germany to send troops to help. Unexpectedly, just a few days after refusing. The squadron, which was digging into the British corner in the Persian Gulf and basking in the sun, first attacked the Horn of North Africa, and then assisted Cunningham in the sneak attack on Taranto. "Be sure to get revenge! The yellow-skinned monkeys and the British guys must be dealt with severely! Sortie, all the fleet sorted! Occupy Malta and Gibraltar and fight to Cairo. ”

"Prime Minister rest assured, we."

"Marshal Raeder, please convey this to the Führer. I, the Italian government and the navy, will not bow to the enemy, we can take Malta and Egypt alone! Raeder was just about to speak. Mussolini interrupted him, and he didn't need Germany's cooperation to continue biting on his face.

This left Raeder speechless, and I didn't want to help! At present, there are two pocket Germany, two Scharnhorst, one Bismarck, and one Zeppelin in their hands, Tirpitz will not be commissioned until early next year, two Hipper, and two H39 battleships will be at least 43 years old, Zeppelin No. 2 will have to wait 42 years, and the heavy patrol of Lützov, which has returned from the Soviet Union, will need to install turrets, and it will not be officially commissioned until August next year.

What's more, even if they can be sent, they can't come to the Mediterranean for the time being.

“。” Old Hakan was even more dizzy. Regardless of politeness, how should Raeder, who was supposed to face the powerful navies of China, the United States and Britain after the Italian Navy was finished, muttered in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Your Excellency Marshal, he thinks he can defeat China, Britain and the United States?" ”

Raeder also had a headache. Too weak yourself in the Navy! Five fingers supported his forehead, and his mouth was broken: "I really hope that joke is fake, twenty divisions twenty divisions." ”

Old Hakan knew the joke, but he didn't have the heart to mock Italy now. After thinking for a long time, he whispered: "Marshal, I hope to go to China once." ”

"To China?!" Raeder was startled, if he didn't know old Hakan well. I'm afraid there will be suspicions that he has some collusion with Yang Qiu.

"I know him, and after the Americans are involved, Churchill's old bastard will go to Roosevelt without reservation, so he must want to balance the interior now."

"You mean, he's going to quit the war?"

Hakan shook his head: "Of course not, he is a selfish guy and will not give up this opportunity for expansion." I wanted to see their sectional construction method and see if he would send troops to Egypt. ”

Raeder became serious. Cutting off Gibraltar only ensured that Britain and the United States could not support North Africa and the Mediterranean, but China was not restricted. Because Central Asia is already occupied by Beijing, they could easily extend the railway to Mashhad in Iran, and even if Tehran was still in Soviet hands, they could go all the way to Karachi through the flatter terrain of western Afghanistan to Rawalpindi, which is controlled by the Muslim League. Moreover, since last year, they have mobilized hundreds of thousands of Soviet prisoners of war to build a railway from the Strait of Hormuz to Mashhad, which, once completed, will be able to link Central Asia with the Persian Gulf, and at that time, even if there is no Malacca, they can increase troops to the Persian Gulf and North Africa.

Therefore, figuring out whether Yang Qiu will cross the Sinai Peninsula and continue to go deep into Egypt and North Africa is a matter of safety for the Greater Mediterranean Project. And at present, I am afraid that the only person who can figure it out is this "technical consultant" who has a close personal relationship with Yang Qiu.

By the time Old Hakan flew to Istanbul overnight, Churchill and Britain were already in a revelry!

At the cost of just 5 planes (1 Chinese was shot down, 2 were lost in a night landing, and 2 British were shot down), the main force of the Italian Navy was destroyed in one fell swoop, and the unfavorable situation of sea supremacy in the Mediterranean was completely reversed.

Churchill, who consciously took advantage of the time difference between the declaration of war by the United States, couldn't help but be overjoyed, lit a cigar, picked up the phone and waited for a few minutes, and then said in a warm and confident voice: "Come on, Franklin." We have destroyed the Italian Navy, the soft belly is already open, and there are no more warships in the Mediterranean. ”

A day later, Roosevelt was re-elected president for the third time with 60 percent of the vote. In the morning of the same day, he gave another speech to Congress, warning those who were lucky with the "Nantucket incident" that the United States could no longer stay out of the situation, and demanded that Congress immediately agree to declare war on Japan, Italy, and Germany.

At 3 p.m., the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives abstained from voting, and the rest all passed a declaration of war, along with the Lend-Lease Act.

At 3:15 p.m., Roosevelt, in front of hundreds of congressmen and reporters, simultaneously declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the huge American war machine finally broke free from its shackles and began to run at full speed...... (To be continued......)