Chapter 900: Shadow of the Mediterranean 1

"Okay, for these matters, you can actually contact the Austrian Emperor, and then just tell the General Staff." Little Maoqi was really a little speechless, and what was even more speechless was that the Kaiser seemed to be in a very good mood today. Gao, after solving the army problem, the long-lost soul of the navy is burning again...

"Your Majesty, Marshal Tirpitz and General von Bohr are already here and are waiting." The aide came to the Kaiser's side and said softly.

"Well, very good, let them in, Ruprecht, before returning to the Eastern Front, if you have anything else to explain to the Navy, you can tell it together. Let them do it." The Kaiser said. Therefore, Xiao Maoqi, who had already held a 4-hour meeting, could only continue to sit next to him. In the background, this time it was entirely an internal meeting of the navy. He, the chief of the army general staff, could only sit aside and accompany him...

"Well, first of all, we need to look at the British options. If the fleet is concentrated in the Shetland Islands, then we can naturally let go of our hands in the southern part of the North Sea. For example, we can launch some attacks on the east coast of England, or even take action in the English Channel. Offensive mine laying or sending submarines and torpedo boats to attack. It's all possible. But they shouldn't be so stupid. Jericho's large fleet is very likely to be stationed in the Firth of Forth to take over the severely damaged Betty fleet to maintain pressure on the High Seas Fleet. If In this case, we can aim at the North Sea blockade."

"The production of submarines and the training of related personnel need to be strengthened. The number of our submarines needs to continue to increase, especially ocean-going submarines. We can try to develop the hunting area of ​​submarines from the British offshore waters to the west coast of France. Capital ship production is the best Step by step, I am very much looking forward to the majestic appearance of the 12 Bavaria-class battleships crossing the sea." The prince said with a smile.

"Also, increase intelligence work. To be honest, I am not very satisfied with the current intelligence work. The navy's way of obtaining intelligence is too passive. There is a certain danger in continuing operations near the North Sea blockade zone, so I hope to strengthen submarine and aviation The intensity of reconnaissance is to ensure that the British Grand Fleet is always under our surveillance."

"The action of the battlecruiser Seydlitz is worthy of recognition. Before the British fleet returns to the Shetland Islands, the battlecruiser detachment can regularly appear in the North Sea blockade. The value of your battle lies in ensuring that The German transport ships transporting supplies can deliver as much supplies as possible to the mainland during this period. Simply by this, you have done something that the army cannot do." At this time, the prince did not forget to help Edelman Colonel, put in a good word.

"As for the main fleet? I think the fleet should always be kept active. Some offensive operations can be launched in the direction of the Baltic Sea to clean up Russian warships and transport ships in the Baltic Sea. At the same time, the mine blockade in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga must be strengthened. "Finally, the prince made some preliminary arrangements for the action he was going to launch in a few months. "I will make a special plan for relevant action guidance. You can study it."

"By the way, one more thing. I want to know how Count Spee is doing in the Mediterranean recently? He has four super-dreadnought battleships in his hands.

I'm afraid it would be difficult to suppress it simply by relying on the French navy, right? "The prince suddenly remembered at this time that the Allied Mediterranean Combined Fleet seemed to be quiet recently.

This shouldn't be the case. Judging from the pre-war intelligence, none of the French fleet's Dreadnoughts should be in service. Moreover, in this dimension, the British Dreadnoughts and Dreadnoughts are both on the mainland, and Italy has not participated in the war. France The Navy should have no other advantages except its tonnage advantage. According to Count Spee's ability, why not make a big news like Su Xiong? You will occupy the front page at least twice, right? But why is it so quiet now? The prince wanted to understand why the count was acting so abnormally.

"This is because the naval strength of both sides is not what we initially imagined. Although Italy remained neutral in name, it provided France with some capital ships. After the war broke out, the Italian Navy transferred its two super-dreadnoughts to France. In the French Navy's combat sequence, there are also some destroyers, submarines and other auxiliary warships that have also been transferred." Tirpitz said from the side.

"What's going on?" the prince frowned and said.

"Italy's official explanation is that during the North African War, Italy owed a large amount of loans to Britain and France, and these warships were used to repay the principal and interest of the loans. Moreover, the Italian government stated that all their actions were completed before the war. It's just that the handover coincided with the outbreak of the war. These young men, a group of profit-seeking villains!" Tirpitz's words were full of anger towards Italy.

"This matter is a bit difficult to handle." The prince put his hand on his chin. He was not very clear about the accident. It was impossible to come up with a specific plan in a hurry.

"In addition to the French Navy, it seems that the Russians have also completed two battleships in the Sevastopol Fortress. Although they are of the fearless type, the 12 12-inch guns on them cannot be underestimated. Although Count Spee has not launched any major operations , but with the help of auxiliary battleships and minefields, the fleet still firmly controlled the northern Aegean Sea. The French fleet has been stationed in the Alexandria area. At the same time, there is also a squadron deployed on the island of Malta, using mines and submarines To blockade the Adriatic Sea, as you said, the main fleet of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Adriatic Sea really has no room for action." General von Boll said on the side.

"It seems that the situation is very complicated." The prince sighed. Tirpitz and General von Boll spent about 2 hours introducing the general situation of the Mediterranean. The situation of the French fleet is similar to that in history. At the beginning of the war, there were only 4 Guba-class dreadnoughts in service and 6 Dandong-class quasi-dreadnoughts. But now, two Brestany-class battleships have been commissioned, which makes 6 Dreadnought-class battleships.

In this case, facing a total of 6 super-dreadnoughts from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkey, the French actually had no advantage. However, at this time, although Italy declared neutrality, the two additional super-dreadnoughts built for the French broke the The situation on the Mediterranean!

According to the intelligence reality, these two battleships were almost built according to the template of the Brestany class battleship. Italy only completed these three battleships according to the French drawings. As for using them to repay previous loans, this is also It's possible, but judging from Italy's actions, this young man is still leaning towards the Allies.

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