Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Strait of Gibraltar

The French Navy is on standby, waiting for the Mediterranean Fleet to come.

The Royal Navy still took the risk of sending a fleet to meet them. They dared not go deep into the Mediterranean Sea, but it was still possible to meet them in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Even the British are preparing to attack the French navy back and forth. Of course, the French are not unprepared. They have the support of the Spaniards. The Bulgarian navy has long been ready to go.

The Holy Alliance set up a pocket formation, waiting for the British to take the bait. Anyway, the air force took off from Spain or Morocco, and it only took ten minutes to reach the Strait of Gibraltar.

If it was just to deal with the Mediterranean Fleet, the Bulgarian Navy would have rushed up, and the Mediterranean Sea is not very big. Under the absolute advantage of being outnumbered, the British fleet has already become history.

In order to lure more battleships of the Royal Navy to come in, they took advantage of the geographical advantages and relied on the power of the air force to severely damage the Royal Navy, leaving a loophole on purpose.

Your Excellency, if we sail another hundred nautical miles forward, we will enter the Strait of Gibraltar. It seems that your plan has fooled the French! Major General Just said in surprise

Hearing this, Admiral Thomas didn't show any surprise. The plan went so smoothly. With such a large Mediterranean fleet, how could it be possible to pass under the nose of the enemy without being discovered?

Even for the sake of secrecy, Admiral Thomas cut his wrists and split the Mediterranean Fleet into two, using most of the old warships as bait, and only brought some capital ships to break through.

Looking at the calm sea, Thomas felt an ominous premonition.

Thomas' premonition was very accurate. It was time to close the net at this time. Regardless of whether the main force of the Royal Navy took the bait or not, the Holy Alliance would not be able to leave as the Mediterranean fleet.

On the observatory, the soldier in charge of observation changed his face drastically, and he quickly shouted: An enemy fleet is found ahead!

Thomas ordered without hesitation: Order the fleet to get ready for battle, and charge forward at full speed!

Rear Admiral Winster generated electricity for the country, explained the situation, and asked them to send a fleet to pick us up!

By this time, Thomas had no choice but not far from the Strait of Gibraltar, an important military base for the Royal Navy.

After the failure of the Battle of Sicily, the Royal Navy sent a fleet to stand by in the Strait of Gibraltar, ready to meet the Mediterranean Fleet, and is now cruising in the waters nearby.

Thomas is confident that he will wait until the reinforcements arrive. With the strength of the Mediterranean fleet, it is impossible for the French navy to wipe them out in just two or three hours.

As long as the reinforcements arrive, even if they can't destroy the French fleet and want to retreat calmly, isn't this a problem?

This cannot be blamed for Thomas' misjudgment. In this era, it is still unknown how harmful the aircraft will be to the naval fleet in the industry.

The current thinking of the British Empire’s navy is still the doctrine of large ships and cannons. This does not mean that the British have completely gone the wrong way.

There are many reasons for this situation, including the problem of wind and waves in the Atlantic Ocean. This era is limited by technical problems. This area is more suitable for battleships, followed by traditional forces in the navy.

The ending is self-evident, hesitantly underestimated the threat from the air, the Mediterranean Fleet is naturally a tragedy,

Even the responding fleet that arrived was severely damaged.

The battle broke out on the morning of April 12, 1940. Three hours later, the rescue fleet sent by the Royal Navy arrived, and then the Bulgarian, French, and Spanish air forces all appeared on the battlefield.

The sudden air strike made the British understand that their so-called anti-aircraft firepower cannot guarantee the safety of battleships.

It is naturally difficult to sink a battleship with simple bombing, but it is different with the cooperation of the navy. After the air force's sneak attack, the British naval fleet was overwhelmed and injured, and then part of the French navy and the Bulgarian navy rushed up to beat the dogs in the water.

The battle lasted until night, and the Royal Navy escaped from the battlefield with the help of night cover, but at this time they had already suffered heavy losses.

Holy Alliance losses: two battleships, four cruisers, six destroyers, twelve torpedo boats sunk; five battleships, two cruisers, three destroyers wounded.

A total of 138,000 tons of warships were lost, 128 fighter planes of various types were lost, and 1,258 people were killed, including 86 officers.

Royal Navy losses: three carriers, seven battleships, eight cruisers, twelve destroyers, fifteen submarines, eighty-nine ships sunk, including auxiliaries; nearly all ships wounded.

The total tonnage of the lost warships was 486,000 tons, and a total of 7,358 officers and soldiers were killed, including 386 officers and 6,618 captured soldiers.

Judging from the losses of both sides, the Royal Navy is obviously at a loss. It has lost so many warships and soldiers all at once, and they will not be able to replenish them for at least a year.

What's more important is the change in strategy. After this battle, the British naval superiority was almost equaled by the Bulgarian navy.

The pressure on the London government suddenly increased, and the navies of the two sides were equal in strength. If there was a decisive battle, both sides would suffer.

Such a result is not a big deal to Bulgaria, but to the British, it is absolutely unacceptable.

The navy's vitality has been greatly weakened, and the Bulgarian Empire is still the Bulgarian Empire, and their position in the world will not be shaken.

The British can't do it. The Royal Navy is all they have. Once they die with the Bulgarian Navy, the British Empire will be finished.

Of course, the Royal Navy still has a clear advantage in terms of total tonnage, but this advantage will soon be lost. No one thinks that another Mediterranean fleet that exists as a bait can break out smoothly.

After deducting this doomed fleet, the British and Bulgarian countries have come to the same starting line, and it is time to test the strength of their allies.

There is no doubt that the Mediterranean Sea is already the inland sea of ​​the Holy Alliance, but the Royal Navy still dominates the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Bulgarian Navy can at most compete with the Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean.

Your Majesty, the General Staff recommends that the French, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Spaniards be united to form a coalition force to directly attack the British mainland and force the Royal Navy to fight us! Christophe said.

Where's the Admiralty? Little Ferdinand asked concerned.

In the face of such a grand strategy, the Ministry of the Navy, as the actual executor, naturally has a very high right to speak. If the opinions of the Ministry of the Navy and the General Staff cannot be unified, then it will be up to the emperor to rule.

Your Majesty, the Admiralty opposes a decisive battle with the British in the English Channel. We propose to attack the Royal Navy from the Indian Ocean! Replied the Secretary of the Navy Raymond Gayton

Tell me your reasons! Little Ferdinand asked calmly.

If everyone's opinions are not unified, then whoever said the reason is more reliable, he will support whoever, this kind of thing did not happen once or twice.

If the opinions of his subordinates are completely consistent every time, then the emperor will lose the meaning of existence.

Chief of Staff Christopher said: Your Majesty, the quickest way to defeat the Pan-International Front is to attack the British Isles. As long as we conquer London, the British Empire will inevitably be in turmoil.

At that time, the British were too busy to take care of themselves, so naturally they had no spare energy to support the Germans. After leaving Germany supported by the British, under the attack of France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and West Russia, the Germans could only support them for a year and a half at most.

The Germans are finished, and the British have lost their only ally on the European continent, and the only reliable ally of the British in the pan-international front.

With the loss of the European continent, there is a high possibility that the British will support surrender. Even if they want to continue to insist, we can still use political means to disintegrate the Commonwealth of Great Britain!

Admiral Raymond Gayton, Secretary of the Navy, retorted: Your Majesty, the risk of a decisive battle with the British in the English Channel is too great. Even if we have two allies, France and Spain, we are not sure of victory.

If both our navy and the British suffer, then we can only benefit the Japanese in the Far East. Many interests that should belong to us cannot be obtained!

The current situation is very favorable to us, and there is absolutely no need to take strategic risks. We just need to fight steadily to win the final victory.

The most important thing for us right now is to take Egypt and South Africa first, and at the same time send troops to India to attract the attention of the British and force them to divide their troops for rescue.

One plan is radical, and the other plan is conservative. The ass decides the head, and little Ferdinand is not stupid. When the overall situation is settled, the safer the better.

Prime Minister Tolsky said: Ferdinand the Great once said that before a country rises, it can gamble on its national destiny. Those who are barefoot are not afraid to wear shoes.

But after the country becomes stronger, it cannot continue to play like this, otherwise it will be backlashed sooner or later.

The current Bulgarian Empire no longer needs to continue to take risks. A steady and steady strategy is the strategy that best suits the status quo of the Bulgarian Empire!

Little Ferdinand smiled slightly, obviously he was satisfied with the Prime Minister's explanation, and it is natural not to take risks if he can.

Moreover, once the news of the Gibraltar sea battle spreads, the world situation will change immediately. Can the Japanese in the Far East bear it?

The Bulgarian navy and the British Royal Navy are holding each other in check. At this time, if they haven't attacked the Nanyang region, is it still Japan?

As for whether the Japanese are going to fight India or Australia and New Zealand, this is not his concern.

Anyway, as long as Bulgaria acquiesces in the Japanese military actions, it is not afraid that they will not do it.

At this time, is it possible for Bulgaria to join forces with the British?

Obviously impossible!

At this time, take advantage of the opportunity that the European powers have no time to look east, acquire a colony of Fushuo, and solve the problem of resources. How could the Japanese government give up?

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