Take Taobao to fight against Japan

So in order to pull out this thorn in the side, the Italian side decided to send the final killer, which is the human torpedo they just successfully developed: "Pig".

However, the defense level of Alexandria Port is very strict. Not only are there a large number of patrol boats cruising and patrolling the nearby waters, but they have also arranged 3 blocking nets underwater. It is not easy to invade the military port and sneak attack.

In order to ensure the success of this infiltration operation, the Italian Navy conducted rigorous training for dozens of operators for several months.

In order to break through the layers of interception deployed by the British Navy and lock the target in the military port with complex water conditions, each group of torpedo launchers is controlled by two people, one is responsible for marching, and the other is responsible for carrying the time bomb.

After several hours of sneaking, the specially trained 8 frogmen of the Italian army spent a lot of energy and finally successfully passed through the interception of the British navy and arrived below the intended target.

However, due to a lot of physical effort before, they no longer have the energy to place the bulky explosive device on the bottom of the warship, and can only place it on the bottom of the water directly below the hull.

Because the average water depth of the Alexandria naval port does not exceed 13 meters, so according to the calculation of the explosion power, the lower part of the British warship will still be severely damaged.

However, just as the eight frogmen had just placed their explosive devices and were about to evacuate, they were discovered by a British patrol boat.

In order to avoid revealing their strategic intentions, after the eight were captured, they all responded to the questioning of the British army in silence according to the plan agreed in advance.

Until 10 minutes before the explosion of the detonator, an Italian navy captain suddenly spoke:

"Out of humanitarian considerations, I can tell you, Captain, that your warship will explode in 10 minutes! There is still time for evacuation, but you have to hurry up!"

At this time, the British army woke up like a dream, but it was too late. Under the command of the commander, all the personnel on duty quickly evacuated the warship.

果然不到10分钟后，2艘战列舰、1艘驱逐舰以及1艘7500吨的油船接连发生爆炸.

With the sound of violent explosions, a few minutes later, the battlecruiser HMS Warrior and HMS Queen Elizabeth, the main force of the Mediterranean Fleet, began to sink gradually.

For a while, the entire Alexandria Harbor was on fire. After a long period of preparation, the Italian Navy finally succeeded in pulling out the thorn in the side of the British Mediterranean Fleet.

As a long-term pig teammate, the Italian army finally fought an extremely beautiful sneak attack, reversing the strength comparison between the Italian navy and the British navy in one fell swoop.

And all this was caused by only 8 Italian navy "frogmen".

Chapter 1306

It was also because of this sudden incident that after hearing the violent explosion from the port, Cunningham, Alexander, Auchinleck, Rich and others were all in a daze, and they couldn't fall asleep again all night, until now Haven't slowed down yet.

The army is invincible, and although the air force is not weak, it has no obvious advantages. The only thing left in the British Empire is the pride of the naval fleet.

However, the North African battlefield has been able to stand strong until now, except for the huge amount of aid materials that the US government does not need money, to a large extent it relies on the British Mediterranean Fleet for support.

It's all right now, the three capital ships were sunk, and it seemed to have broken the backbone of the British Mediterranean Fleet, as well as the arrogance and self-confidence of the British army.

Under the ebb and flow, it is not difficult to imagine that the Italian navy must be majestic and morale high at this moment. It can already transport a large amount of supplies to the German-Italian coalition forces in North Africa unscrupulously, and it can also pose a fatal threat to the British Mediterranean course.

Once Rommel's Afrika Korps is no longer trapped by supply lines, the weak strategic balance between the two sides will be frightened, and everyone will know what will happen next, even if they think with their feet.

Looking at the dejected look of the British generals, Yang Fan knew that if this problem was not resolved first, not only would the main topic of today not be able to proceed smoothly, but the morale of the allied forces that had been so hard to get up would also quickly decline as a result.

After pondering for a while, Yang Fan turned to Cunningham, the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, and said in English: "General Cunningham, there is no need to frown like this. Isn't it just the loss of two battleships and a battlecruiser? As far as the fleet is concerned, this sneak attack is indeed a big loss, but for us, it does not mean the end, but a new beginning!"

"General Yang Fan, I really don't know where you got the courage to talk about the loss of three battleships so lightly!"

Cunningham glared at Yang Fan unhappily and said: "Without these three main battleships, our Mediterranean fleet is equivalent to losing the sharpest blade, and we have no strength to fight against the Italian navy in the Mediterranean waters!

We will temporarily lose control of the Mediterranean until it is reinforced and strengthened.

It’s okay for the navy to help you understand, but what does it mean to lose control of the Mediterranean Sea, don’t you still not know?

This means that the German and Italian naval fleets can roam freely in the Mediterranean Sea for a long time, which means that the entire North African battlefield will soon have a catastrophic chain reaction. Do you think the German and Italian coalition forces will give us time to start again? "

"No, no, it's not as bad as you think!"

Yang Fan waved his hands with a smile, and said seriously: "What I want to say is that the battleship is indeed very powerful, but it is actually a type of ship that is being eliminated.

It's gone, it's gone, it's no big deal, and we're in no way losing control of the Mediterranean. "

"What are you talking about, battleship is a type of ship that is being phased out? Oh my god, how can there be such stupid people in the world!"

Hearing Yang Fan's astonishing words, Cunningham, as a senior naval officer with a deep cannon complex, was startled and angry at once. He stared at Yang Fan with caring eyes, and sarcastically said: "General Yang Fan, it seems that you are very interested in the navy. The fleet really doesn't know anything!"

"Is this Huaxia commander's head full of straw? He actually said that the battleship is so worthless!"

"God, please forgive this ignorant fool!"

"Don't force me if you don't understand! It's too embarrassing!"

At the same time, many British and American generals in the meeting room also looked at Yang Fan, their eyes were full of contempt and ridicule, and even Rich, Mike and others who had subdued him before shook their heads secretly in their hearts.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Under the strange attention of everyone, even Stilwell, who was sitting next to Yang Fan, felt very uncomfortable, and really sweated for Yang Fan.

Everyone on earth knows that a battleship is a high-tonnage naval combat ship whose main demands are the attack power of large-caliber artillery and the protection power of thick armor.

This kind of warship began to develop in the 1860s until the end of World War II. During this century, battleships have always been one of the main ships of the major sea power countries, so they were once called warships in the past. For the capital ship.

The battleship is one of the largest and most complex weapon systems ever created by mankind. Its heyday was from the beginning of the 20th century to the Second World War. The battleship was the only strategic weapon platform with long-range strike means, so it was particularly popular in various fields. The importance of naval power.

At this moment, Yang Fan suddenly told them that battleships are about to be eliminated, and whether they exist or not is not important, and they will naturally be despised and ridiculed by everyone.

But Yang Fan remained as calm as a mountain, and said with a smile to everyone's weird eyes: "You heard me right, and neither did I.

Within the line of sight, the combat effectiveness of the battleship is undoubtedly the most powerful, but there is no way to survive the over-the-horizon attack of the aircraft carrier and the attack of the carrier-based aircraft.

So there is absolutely no need for us to feel frustrated and desperate for the bombed battleships. We only need to add a few more aircraft carriers, which is enough to beat the Italian navy to the ground. ..."

Then, Yang Fan threw out the countermeasures he had thought up a long time ago.

Aircraft carriers were first used extensively in World War II.It is a floating supply base that carries fighters and bombers away from homeland to attack enemy targets.This allows aircraft carriers to attack land and sea targets from the air.

It is precisely because of the newly emerging aircraft carrier tactics in World War II that the dominance of battleships was ended and the new dominance of aircraft carriers was established. Strong ground firepower is also difficult to withstand blows from the air, especially in modern warfare. The dominant position of the aircraft carrier.

As a time-traveling man, Yang Fan is naturally very aware of this historical evolution process, and naturally he will not waste energy and financial resources on building battleships that have begun to decline, but has decided from the very beginning to build a new type of naval force with an aircraft carrier as the core.

Especially in the past half a year, Yang Fan has successively owned 4 aircraft carriers due to training, and several [-]-ton giant ships that can be converted into aircraft carriers at any time.

It only takes another one or two years of insignificant development, and the Huben Navy will definitely turn around gorgeously and become a powerful naval force. Even if it cannot compete with the Japanese fleet, it can at least have the power to fight.

For this expedition to Africa, Yang Fan brought two aircraft carriers and four 4-ton giant ships, which can be transformed into six powerful aircraft carrier battle groups in a short period of time.

In addition, the accompanying Huben Navy also has more than a dozen small ships such as submarines, tankers, and frigates.

If you add the British Mediterranean Fleet, Yang Fan is still very confident to confront the Italian Navy head-on, and even teach them how to behave!

Chapter 1307

"This seems to make sense!"

After listening to Yang Fan's detailed explanation, Cunningham raised his eyebrows lightly, his heart was already moved, but he was still very unconvinced, and coldly snorted:

"General Yang Fan, I don't deny that battleships alone cannot survive the over-the-horizon attack and carrier-based aircraft strikes of aircraft carriers.

But there is a prerequisite for this, that is, there must be such an ideal combat opportunity. "

"The Italian navy is not a bunch of idiots. They have been trying to avoid a direct decisive battle with our Mediterranean fleet in the sea, let alone risking the threat of a land-based bomber fleet to actively attack us."

Speaking of this, Cunningham paused and said: "Now they only need to block the route and sea area between Italy mainland and Tripolitania, which is enough to choke our throats and trap us to death.

On the contrary, they can get the strong protection of the land-based bomber fleet in this sea area, and can continuously transport materials to North Africa, so as to remain invincible! "

Yang Fan nodded after thinking for a while and said, "General Cunningham, what you are considering is indeed reasonable and realistic, but it is also just a hypothesis.

Regardless of whether the Italian navy will implement the plan you envisioned, what I want to say is, since the Italian army can come to take the initiative to attack the military port of Alexandria, why can't we take the initiative to attack the Italian military port? "

"General Yang Fan, you speak so lightly!"

Cunningham snorted coldly, and said sarcastically: "Who doesn't know how to talk about war on paper, but in fact, the main warships of the Italian Navy are assembled in the famous local port of Taranto. The location of this port is quite dangerous and surrounded by land. A surface battle is basically impossible."

Yang Fan smiled indifferently: "Nothing is impossible. Since a decisive battle on the water is impossible, why can't we use carrier-based aircraft to hang torpedoes and bombs and destroy the Italian navy through air strikes?"

Cunningham snorted disdainfully again: "Do you think Italians are idiots? Our fleet has not approached the mainland of Italy, and their radar stations can detect it in advance.

Even if we take off outside the monitoring range of their radar station, we still don't want to escape the detection of the radar station.

You have to know that although the Italian Air Force cannot be compared with the British Empire Air Force, their combat capabilities at home are not weak, not to mention that there are a large number of German Air Force and Italian Air Force working together.

In this case, whether we attack from the water or the air strike you mentioned, we have no chance of winning at all. "

Italy's performance in World War II has always been widely criticized, and it has been described as a "pig teammate". Funny jokes about the Italian army are also widely circulated.

But objectively speaking, Italy is a powerful industrial country even in the Western world, and its aviation technology level and air force are not bad, but it is somewhat inferior to countries such as Britain, the United States and Germany.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Italy was definitely an aviation power, and it was also the first country to use aircraft for war. The first aerial reconnaissance and aerial bombing in history were created by the Italians in the Italian-Turkish War in 1911.

At the initiative of Mussolini, Italy created an independent air force in 1923, when Italy was still a monarchy, so it was called the Royal Italian Air Force

However, due to its limited national strength and the shortcomings of the aviation industry system, the Italian Air Force had a clear gap with Britain, the United States, Germany and other countries in terms of tactical thinking and fighter performance on the eve of World War II.

In World War II, the home battlefield, the Mediterranean battlefield, and the North African battlefield were the main battlefields of the Italian Air Force.

In the early days of the Libyan campaign in the North African battlefield, the Italian Air Force invested about 400 aircraft, and the performance of the fighters was not far behind that of the British Desert Air Force.

However, with the defeat of the ground forces, the Italian Air Force stationed in North Africa was almost wiped out, and it was not restored until the British army divided into the Balkans and the German Rommel Afrika Korps came to help.

By the beginning of 1941, the Italian Air Force had about 200 aircraft in North Africa and 600 in Sicily, but at this time the protagonists of the air battles in North Africa and the Mediterranean were already the German Air Force, and the Italians played more supporting roles.

With the help of its allies, the Italian Air Force has improved its tactics and equipment, its combat effectiveness has been strengthened, and it is even better than the German army in local operations.

In addition, Italian fighter planes also performed well in ground support operations, and cooperated with the Luftwaffe to strongly support the offensive and defensive operations of Rommel's African Army.

On the Mediterranean battlefield, the main task of the Italian Air Force is to suppress the British base on the island of Malta and ensure the safety of the sea line from Italy to North Africa.

From June to December 1940, the Italian Air Force dispatched 6 sorties, dropped 12 tons of bombs on Malta, and lost 7410 aircraft, but failed to achieve the combat objectives.

With the intervention of the German Air Force, Italy once again became a supporting role in the air strikes on Malta, but the German-Italian coalition forces have so far failed to win the Battle of Malta.

The island has withstood long-term air raids and blockades, but it has always been in the hands of the British army and has remained unmoved, costing the German and Italian Air Forces 1500 aircraft in damage.

In general, due to insufficient aircraft performance and unfavorable sea-air coordination, the Italian Air Force was very passive in the Mediterranean naval battle, and its performance was not satisfactory. It could neither effectively cooperate with the fleet operations nor stop the British naval and air offensive.

But I have to say that the Italian Air Force is still a very powerful air force after all. Coupled with the coordinated operations of the German Air Force, there is no problem at all in protecting the sea line from the mainland to North Africa and guarding the security of the homeland.

Yang Fan is naturally very aware of the current specific situation in the Mediterranean Sea, but he knows that in another time and space, the British Mediterranean Fleet successfully planned a classic aircraft carrier sneak attack against the Italian Navy.

This battle ended with a complete victory for the raiders, and became a classic example of a battle. This sneak attack was the famous British Royal Navy's night attack on the Italian Navy's port of Taranto.

At that time, after long-term planning and preparation, including a series of feints and camouflages, the Royal Navy dispatched 21 Swordfish carrier-based aircraft, each equipped with torpedoes, bombs, flares and other weapons, and began to attack the towers. Attack on Italian warships in the port of Rento.

After an hour of attack, the British won a complete victory in this operation, sinking and damaging 3 Italian Navy battleships, 2 cruisers, and 2 destroyers.

As a result, it completely changed the comparison of surface combat forces between Italy and the United Kingdom in the Mediterranean region, and finally allowed the allies to control the sea in this area.

However, due to the butterfly effect, the current British navy not only failed to take the initiative to successfully attack the port of Taranto, but was first succeeded by the Italian frogmen, which suddenly made the British Mediterranean Fleet, which had no advantage, worse.

Chapter 1308

"General Cunningham, there is no unbreakable shield in this world. No matter how the opponent defends, as long as we dare to take the initiative to attack and are good at attacking, there is nothing we cannot do!"

So Yang Fan didn't argue with Cunningham on this aspect, but changed the subject: "Before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, didn't everyone agree that this was impossible?

But the result, I don't need to say it, you should be very clear about it! "

Cunningham said loudly in displeasure: "That's not the same at all, the reason why the Japanese were able to sneak attack was because of their despicable and shameless undeclared war!

And the current situation is that everything is in the clear, and we have no chance to launch a surprise attack! "

"No, there is nothing different!"

Yang Fan shook his head indifferently, then pointed his head and said: "If General Cunningham insists on saying something different, then I can only say that there is something wrong with your thinking about the British Empire.

That's right, even the Royal Navy of the British Empire, the only thing you are proud of, has had its spine broken by the Axis Alliance. You have lost your courage, courage, and self-confidence from top to bottom.

You have completely lost your spirit of adventure and sense of attack. Now you are just a group of shivering rats who can only hide in the gutter! "

"Oh Shet! What are you talking about, you Huaxia guy, you dare to provoke and insult the British Empire! I want to fight you!"

Yang Fan's series of sharp criticisms touched Cunningham's sensitive and fragile nerves at once, and he became furious. He slammed the table and waited for Yang Fan angrily!

These heartbreaking words are really deafening, not to mention that Cunningham, who was taught for the first time, couldn't feel it, even Auchinleck, Rich and others who had been brainwashed before still have a kind of extreme anger at this moment. Uncomfortable sharpness.

However, serious illnesses require strong medical treatment. If the ideological problems of Cunningham and other admirals cannot be reversed, it is impossible to open the situation in a short time and prevent the war situation from deteriorating further.

If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell? At this time, Yang Fan has to be a villain again.

"General Cunningham, please don't get excited. I just stated an objective fact, not an insult to the British Empire."

Yang Fan smiled very indifferently, and then continued to make up his sword: "As for the personal duel, I think it's just a matter of courage, not to mention that I really have no interest in bullying a bad old man!

General Kan Anning, don't lie to yourself, but face the reality bravely!

The so-called knowing yourself and the enemy is the only way to win a hundred battles. If you can't even see yourself clearly, how can you defeat the enemy?Is it really that difficult to admit your own shortcomings? "