"Oh God! What exactly did I see? The machine gunner on a Sailfish maritime reconnaissance plane suddenly pointed to a billowing smoke screen on the sea level in the distance.

"Damn, it's the Allied fleet, only their fleet can make such a big move in Gibraltar! Hurry up and report to the base, I hope the radio will not fail again this time! The driver said after a closer look.

Soon, Thomas, based in Lisbon, received information that the Allied fleet had re-entered the Atlantic. And according to the results of several close reconnaissance, the fleet was very large, in addition to the 7 fast battleships of Count Spee, there were 4 Caraccino-class battleships of the Italians.

"It seems that the admiral's plan is not working. The Allies are going to fight hard this time! After marking the route of the Central Powers on the chart, Thomas smiled wryly. Some time ago, after receiving the arrival of the Allied fleet in Gibraltar, he realized that this was a request from the German navy for Italy and other countries to cooperate in the operation in the North Sea. Its role was naturally to firmly contain the Allied Atlantic Fleet in the Atlantic. And this time, they actually came out!

"Send a report to General Majifen, whether it will be implemented according to the original plan A or according to the subsequent plan B, I will implement plan B. The other party is not scary this time, he wants to be serious! After much deliberation, Thomas decided that he still needed to discuss it with Magiffen. This is no longer something he can handle, in Lisbon he has only 6 capital ships, 4 Queen-class battleships and 2 fast battleships in his hands. The remaining battleships were either repaired in France or in docks.

After the British Admiralty submitted the plan for the temporary transfer of some warships to the highest military decision-making organ of the Allied powers, Britain and the United States considered the feasibility of this plan. That is, to temporarily abandon the Atlantic Ocean to concentrate forces and inflict heavy damage on the High Seas Fleet. This is the so-called Plan A, and the other plan is to make an illusion of a fleet withdrawing from the Atlantic Ocean into the North Sea, and at the same time concentrate all the forces in the Atlantic to fight the Allied Mediterranean Fleet! After completely immobilizing the Allied Mediterranean Fleet. Then go north to support the North Sea. This is known as Plan B. To this end, the Entente also concentrated a large number of high-speed merchant ships and disguised them as warships in order to confuse the other side's reconnaissance forces. If Plan A is chosen, the fleet, codenamed Lisbon, will remain in Lisbon. And if you choose Plan B, then the fleet of crooks will go to the North Sea, and the main fleet will have to hide somewhere in a port in Portugal, waiting for the other side to fall into the net!

As the Supreme Commander who remained in Lisbon. Thomas was now inclined to Plan B, believing that it would be a very long process to get the German High Seas Fleet out of its bases in Norway. Norway was so close to Germany that the Germans could deploy a large number of planes and submarines near the station. Even if the fast fleet goes back, what if the big fleet has the advantage? Against the opponent's submarine ambush circle, minefield and aircraft bombing and the high seas fleet? This is definitely not a wise choice. Therefore, he preferred to concentrate his forces on the Atlantic threat first, and then strengthen the blockade of Germany in the North Sea.

And when Magiffen received Thomas's telegram, he was also calculating how many catties and taels of things he had. One of the Austro-Hungarian warships in the Allied fleet did not come out. He estimated that the four capital ships of Italy may also attack with injuries, except for the New York and Seven Provinces, which are still on the slipway for repairs, and the four American battleships and two French battleships in Magifin's hands can attack. If the other party really wants to fight with him, Ma Jifen can't ask for it, but what he worries about is that the other party may not really want to fight hard. It's just a restraining force. As for whether the fleet of crooks can work? He didn't have much hope for it.

It is difficult to detect a warship or two in the fleet, which has proven to work in the Battle of Jutland and in the recently concluded Battle of the Atlantic. The former is Hipper's success in deceiving Betty with two camouflage ships, and the latter is Thomas who scares Count Spee away with a camouflage ship. But if a whole fleet is camouflaged ships, then there is really no way to hide! After all, camouflaged warships mixed with the main fleet can receive protection and cover from other warships of the main fleet. And if there is only a fake, there is no real thing. That's different! First of all, the other party may go back to the test. Whether it's by plane or submarine. You can't tell this thing from a distance, but you can definitely see it when you get closer. And you camouflage a main fleet. Definitely with auxiliary warships, right? How is it possible for a main fleet to go out without followers? At first glance, it's fake, and now, where did you ask the Entente to find so many high-speed escort warships to support the field? Although the number of light cruisers of the British was large, after many attritions, it was currently enough for the main fleet. How could it be possible to divide into formed auxiliary warships to accompany these civilian ships in the act?

The opponent mainly mobilized a small group of bombers to attack once, and the authenticity of these warships could be seen, after all, no one would equip these cannon fodder with a large number of anti-aircraft guns and corresponding observation equipment. And the "illegal construction" temporarily erected on the hull of the ship is very fragile, and a few bombs can completely expose it! But for all the problems, Majfin thought it was okay to use them for some feints, but it was not enough to expect them to scare the Italians. So it also tends to implement Plan B.

"Give me two weeks, and I'll arrange a qiē related matter, whether it's a feint fleet or a battle plan after the convergence of the main fleet in the future." In a reply to Thomas, Magiffen said. Both Jericho and Majifen seem to think that they have insight into the intentions of the Allies, but in fact, none of them have figured out what the Italians are coming out for!

"We can rely on the army and the air force to solve the problems that the navy can't solve, we will help you solve the problems on the ground, and you will be responsible for providing us with sufficient fire support, you know, in order to get the troops into battle as much as possible, I don't even have much heavy artillery." Temporary anchorage of the Allied fleet in the Bay of Cádiz. Mackensen was the first German army general to board the Italian Navy's flagship, the Julius Caesar. While admiring this formidable battleship, he said half-jokingly, half-seriously.

"Within 10 days, Your Excellency will have the firepower to wipe out a qiē!" Tycho pointed to the Caesar the Great's 15-inch cannon and said confidently. "We could even provide the capacity to land behind the Portuguese lines, cutting off Faro from the surrounding areas."

"We never had the option of a naval decisive battle in our plan this time, we just had to cooperate with the army to pull out the Portuguese ports one by one! And then under the cover of shore-based forces, the Entente fleet was gradually expelled and that's it! After this meeting, Tycho wrote proudly in his diary.

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 and the book friend hukaikaka for the tip~~~, as well as the book friend athlon 9527 and the book friend Quancheng people for their monthly pass support ~~~~. It's the end of the month~~. Ask for a monthly pass for support~~~. There is another more this afternoon~~~~. (To be continued......)