Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Time flies, and according to the Bulgarian air raid on Taranto three days have passed, and the news has begun to spread in all directions.

The whole world was stunned, how could a plane still be used like this?

This is definitely not a good thing for a naval empire like the British Empire, which means that the deterrent force of the navy will be greatly reduced in the future, and air defense has become the top priority of the British Empire!

Bulgaria can form a strategic bombing formation, can't the other powers?

The answer is obvious, it's just a matter of time!

Subsequently, the major powers with Britain and Germany as the major powers began to form strategic bombing battalions. To a certain extent, it is also a blow to the sea power advantage of the Allies.

It's just that the aircraft in this era has a limited range, and its performance is not up to standard, and it cannot effectively hit the target. Otherwise, the time for the German high seas fleet to break out of the blockade is not far away!

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London government, at this time George V is holding a high-level meeting. George V did not have the political skills of his father, Edward VII, and could not persuade these politicians, but it didn't matter that he could pretend to be an ostrich.

For example, now, the person presiding over the meeting is him, but in fact the decision is made by the cabinet, and it is also from him that the British royal family has gradually lost its rights.

The news of the successful Bulgarian air raid on Taranto is undoubtedly a good thing for the Entente, which means that the Entente has taken the lead in the war situation in the Mediterranean.

But for the Royal Navy, it was a problem. In addition to besieging the German high seas fleet, they also had to guard against threats from the sky.

Xiang Arquis is now a mixed blessing. The good news is that the war in the Mediterranean is now very favorable to the Allies. It was originally planned to send the Royal Navy to reinforce the Mediterranean battlefield.

No need now.

Even the urgency to win over the Japanese navy into the war has now been greatly reduced.

When Germany has not yet launched unrestricted submarine warfare, the escort mission of the Allies is not very heavy.

At the same time, he worries that other countries will follow Bulgaria, especially the Germans. With the industrial strength of Germany, it may only take a year and a half to build an air force that can threaten the Royal Navy!

What specific plans does the Royal Navy have regarding the threat of aircraft to warships? Arquith asked with concern

Admiral Churchill frowned and replied: Our Admiralty has conducted a detailed analysis of Bulgaria's air attack on the Italian Navy, and now the threat of aircraft to warships is not as great as rumored!

Bulgaria dispatched a total of more than 350 planes. According to their bomb load, about 300 tons of bombs were dropped, causing heavy damage to the Italian Navy.

Judging from this intelligence, the main target of their attack was the Italian naval battleship, but as a result, many other warships were killed, and the hit rate was poor.

You must know that the Italians did not have any preparations this time. The Bulgarian Air Force was completely fixed-point shooting, and dropped bombs down at a height of 100 meters, with only this hit rate.

If there is anti-aircraft firepower, the Italians will open the navy again, and it is estimated that even a thousandth of the hit rate cannot be achieved!

As long as we are prepared for air defense, in fact, the threat of aircraft to warships is not high, but they are more threatening to ports and cities!

In fact, Churchill's analysis is too one-sided. In order to keep the secrets of the Air Force and let countries relax their vigilance in this regard, the Bulgarian Air Force has never had any actual combat experience. The first time I performed a bombing mission, the level of the swing was naturally not very good.

If the Taranto air raid is repeated now, the result can at least be doubled. After all, in the age of low technology, many things depend on human experience and feeling. In this age, the personal quality of pilots is also a decisive factor.

In history, the British attacked Taranto during World War II, which proved this!

Churchill's words made Air Force Commander Trenchard very dissatisfied. However, in this era, the Air Force really had no right to speak, and he, the father of the British Air Force, was just a small colonel.

If it weren't for this, the Air Force was involved, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even be eligible to attend a meeting of this level.

Perhaps seeing that Trenchard was hesitant to say anything, Arquith asked: Mr. Trenchard, what do you think?

Trenchard said with some trepidation: The technology of aircraft manufacturing is developing very fast now, and the strength displayed by the Bulgarians this time has already demonstrated the importance of the air force!

Since planes can be used to bomb Italian naval bases, they can also be used to bomb cities, factories, 6th Army positions, and bunker fortresses.

According to the information we have received, this time the Bulgarians also attacked the port facilities in Taranto, such as shore artillery and factories.

With the improvement of aircraft performance, the air force will play an increasingly important role in future wars. In addition to attacking fixed targets, it can also attack moving targets.

Maybe in the near future, whoever has the air dominance will be able to dominate the world!

Obviously, his words surprised everyone. Now that the British Empire relies on sea power to dominate the world, will the air force replace the navy? Everyone's first reaction is: impossible!

However, everyone is a person of status, and it is impossible to put down their faces to argue with Trenchard, just smile.

...

A small episode has just passed. The British Empire in this era is still full of bullshit. Although it does not agree with Trenchard's point of view, the British Air Force still receives financial funding from the government.

In the German government as far away as Berlin, the current atmosphere is not very good. Originally, the Italian navy and the navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire joined forces. Even if they were at a disadvantage against the Allies in the Mediterranean Sea, it was not without the strength of a battle. The strength gap between the two sides was not large.

It can even have an advantage in some areas. After all, the Allied countries still have maintenance routes. With the geographical location of Italy, the entire Mediterranean Sea can be turned into a hunting ground for Allied submarines.

Unless the British send reinforcements, the naval blockade of the Allies under the joint efforts of the navies of the Austrian and Austrian countries will only exist in name only!

But everything is different now. The main Italian navy has suffered heavy casualties. It will take at least two or three years to recover its vitality. At that time, the daylilies are cold.

William II knew that the Italian navy could not be counted on, and he could only hope that the strength of the Italian 6th Army would improve, otherwise the battlefield on the Western Front would only be a one-man show for the Germans.

Your Majesty, we should also increase our investment in the air force. Since the Bulgarians can use the air force to attack the Italian Navy, we can also follow their example and use the air force to deal with the Royal Navy! Xiao Maoqi suggested

Obviously, his words made William II's eyes light up. Now it is a fool's errand to have the High Seas Fleet defeat the Royal Navy, but if the Royal Navy can be severely damaged in advance, the result will be different in the decisive battle.

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When countries decided to increase investment in the air force, Bulgaria was not idle either. On March 11, the Bulgarian Navy 6th squadron launched the Deng6 operation against Taranto.

The reason for the delay is mainly to wait for the completion of the aircraft maintenance. The main reason is that Taranto's fort has not been cleaned up, and with warships and shore artillery bombarding, Ferdinand has not been so arrogant.

Anyway, the Italians have no air defense facilities, and even if it is delayed for a day, there is nothing they can do. Even if they thought of a countermeasure, in such a short period of time, they could not find an effective air defense weapon!

Rear Admiral Christo Ivanov, the first division of the Bulgarian Navy's 6th Squadron, was in charge of the 6th landing operation.

Oh, it seems that the Bulgarian 6th clan now has only one division, with four infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and one garrison regiment, with a total strength of about 12,600.

The Bulgarian Navy 6th team was formed after the Second Balkan War. It was established for a short time. This was their first time to board the 6th battle.

Christo Ivanov took out his binoculars and stared at the port of Taranto in front of him. He saw shells flying over the sea and heading straight for the port.

At the same time, the shore artillery of the Italians on the opposite side was also fighting back, and the two sides were engaged in a fierce artillery battle. At this time, the nightmare of the Italians came again.

The Bulgarian air force roared, and tongues of flame were ejected from the sky, and bombs fell from the sky, causing a large number of casualties to the Italian defenders in an instant.

There is no way that the shore artillery of this era has no ability to defend against threats from the sky, and Taranto is no exception. Since there are no threats on the ground, all defenses are against the enemy from the sea.

Simply put, the fortress is too lazy to repair, or can't afford to repair it! To defend against the attack of the naval main artillery, it is not a simple fortification that can be effective. It is definitely not possible without steel plates. Even one or two meters of reinforced concrete cannot stop a shell!

For the Italians, it would be more reliable to use the money to build two more dreadnoughts instead of spending a lot of money to build fortresses. Anyway, since the founding of Italy, no one has attacked Taranto!

Then, this time it was a tragedy, the machine guns of the Bulgarian Air Force were able to cause them a lot of casualties.

As time passed by, the Italians' counterattack became weaker and weaker, and in the end they were simply misfiring.

Obviously, the Italians on the opposite side are not stupid. After so long, they also know that the planes in the sky are mainly for bombing the shore artillery. As long as the fire is turned off, they will not be attacked.

The innate talent taught them the best way to save their lives - play dead!

Well, the best way to avoid the bombing of the plane was understood by the Italians by mistake!

Seeing that the fire was almost over, Christo Ivanov said solemnly: Order the first regiment to start climbing to 6!

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