The five seaplane carriers of Force "A", the Aviation Support Force, commanded by Rear Admiral Murray, were the farthest away from the "Malaya" and at first glance looked the least like warships: the low-sided hulls of coal ships or ferries, the towering cranes on deck, the weak armament disproportionate to the hull, the huge rectangular superstructure in the middle or aft of the hull, and one or two pontoon seaplanes exposed – in fact, the five non-purpose-built converted seaplane carriers carried a total of 40 seaplanes belonging to two naval squadrons.

Crowded with these little monsters, there are also 2 seaplane supply ships that look almost indistinguishable from ordinary freighters, unlike seaplane carriers, they do not carry complete seaplanes to carry out combat missions, and there are various maintenance workshops, warehouses and complete personnel living facilities on board, which can provide support for the temporary seaplane forward base.

In addition to seaplanes, the air force scheduled to be assigned to the command of Rear Admiral Murray will include a shore-based aviation unit redeployed from the mainland, consisting of about 100 shore-based aircraft and six soft airships, whose main tasks will be reconnaissance and calibration, anti-submarine patrols and ground bombing, which will be stationed in succession after the completion of airfields on several islands near the entrance to the Aegean side of the Dardanelles.

Sandwiched between the ships of Force "A" and Unit "F" are more than a dozen special landing ships with strange styles, including several dock landing ships with square sterns and more than 10 tank landing ships with hanging door openings in the bow, which are subordinate to Unit "D", that is, the landing transport force, and their main task is to transport tanks and other mechanized vehicles to the beachhead, while the task of transporting troops is mainly undertaken by the MK2 infantry landing craft carried by other troop carriers in large numbers.

“…… It was an eye-opener to pull all the stuff from that 'Fisher Dollhouse' over. ”

After serving as the commander of the 4th Battleship Detachment in the Battle of the Bay of Bengal, he lost the seven-turret relict "Aginkut" and the Dutch Navy's old bottom "Sumatra" in air and submarine raids, and finally returned to Mumbai with three other capital ships, including the flagship. Jeram sighed as he looked around at the demons and monsters around him, especially the top-heavy shallow gunboats.

"If we had these toys on hand when the air raid on Kiel succeeded, Daddy Fisher's plan to raid the Baltic Sea would not have been a pipe dream."

The active-minded and energetic Roger. Brigadier General Case commented not without regret.

"At that time, we had to send our precious capital ships to reinforce India, and as a result, the Royal Navy suffered the worst defeat in more than 300 years, so that now we have to leave India to fend for itself...... This is a great irony. ”

John was known for his meanness and bravery. Morality. Major General Robeck sneered unceremoniously.

Brigadier General Case sighed lightly and commented in a matter-of-fact manner: "I think there are people who have been carried away by the victory in the Bay of Kiel, who have not really understood the lessons of Pearl Harbor and Lingayen, who have failed to accurately estimate the extraordinary evolution of the other side's military skills and tactics, and who think that those gadgets are nothing more than that, and that we are still far ahead, and it is this self-absorbed illusion that has caused the great tragedy and shame in the Bay of Bengal......"

Morality. Major General Robeck snorted: "What's the use of talking about this now?" The Chinese have landed in Ceylon, and the next should be Mumbai and Karachi on the west coast of India, Bandar Abbas in Persia, and up to Basra in Iraq, in addition to a limited number of submarines and cruisers, and the fake 'Entente Combined Fleet' that may be revealed at any time" We can only count on the army to be able to block the advance of the other side as much as possible, and we ourselves must break through the straits, capture Constantinople, open our lines of communication, cut off the lines of communication of the other side before the other side can massively reinforce the Ottoman Empire, otherwise, We will completely lose the initiative in this war - this is by no means alarmist. ”

Lieutenant General Jeram frowned and interrupted him a little unpleasantly: "Okay, we all know these truths, and the important thing is not what we know, but what we can do. Your Excellency the Admiralty has sent you to assist me, and of course he has a point, but let us now sort things out a little - Mr. Case, how are you talking to Vice Admiral Allenby's staff? ”

Aemond, who rose to prominence in the Boer War from 1899 to 1902 as a staff officer to the current War Minister of War, Field Marshal Kitchener, and after the outbreak of the Great War, who fought back against the Turks in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Lieutenant General Allenby, the commander-in-chief of the landing force of the Army and Navy in this campaign, had 1 British naval division, 3 British Army divisions, 2 French divisions and 2 South African brigades, with a total strength of 120,000 troops, in addition to 3 British divisions, 1 French division and 1 South African brigade as reserves, a total of 70,000 people are still being assembled.

If things go well, Allenby could have received additional support: in Greece, where a bloodless military coup had just taken place, the always pro-German King Constantine was forced to abdicate and flee the throne and be succeeded by his second son Alexander, Prime Minister Vinizelos, who had earlier been dismissed by King Constantine for advocating accession to the Entente, was reinstated, and after confirming that the Entente had granted him part of the territory of Turkey and Bulgaria to realize the dream of a "great Greek empire" that the Greek nationalists had been so much touted before the war, Greece was being urged to declare war on the Central Powers, and at the same time it was agreed with the Entente that "three to five divisions under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces would be sent to join the attack on the Ottoman Empire when preparations were completed and still necessary".

Of course, it is impossible for the army to fly across the sea, not to mention that in this battle, it is the navy that plays the leading role, and the army's first task is only to assist the navy to break through the narrowest part of the Dardanelles, and the navy has full confidence that as long as the powerful fleet of the Entente forces sails into the Sea of Marmara, Constantinople will fall like a ripe persimmon.

"Smooth ...... beyond imagination"

Brigadier General Keys said as he pulled out the minimap he had with him and unfolded it in front of Jeram.

"First of all, the naval artillery unit, backed by long-range support units, completely destroyed the four forts on both sides of the entrance to the strait and the artillery in the forts with three to a week of artillery bombardment combined with the landing of the marines ashore."

"Then, with strong naval and air support, with the naval tank brigade and mechanized brigade as the lead, and the naval division and the first wave of the landing force of the army, they will attack the beachhead south of Cape Gaba on the southern side of the southern part of the Gallipoli Peninsula, cross the narrowest part of the southern part of the peninsula in two to three days, and advance to Meados on the inner side of the strait, so as to control the narrowest part of the strait."

"The second wave of French troops followed up with the landing, fortified the beachhead, and intercepted the enemy rushing from the north of the peninsula. At the same time, two South African brigades landed at Cape Helles at the southern tip of the peninsula to clear the enemy forces from the ruins of the fortress. ”

"In the third wave, attack the fortifications and mobile artillery positions on the inner side of the strait in the southern part of the peninsula from behind, cover the operations of the mine-sweeping forces, so that the direct artillery troops can reach the narrowest part of the strait and destroy the remaining fortresses on both sides. Subsequently, the mobile artillery of the Turkish army on the other side of the strait should be suppressed by shore-based artillery fire, and if necessary, the strait should be crossed to occupy the strongholds, and the fleet should be ensured to pass through the narrowest part of the strait......"