My Italy

Taranto is the largest military port in Italy and is currently the main anchorage of the Combined Fleet.

The rays of light shrouded the port, making Taranto even more charming. However, no one was enjoying the scenery at this time, because a large number of warships were entering the port.

Tall and mighty warships are docking at their berths, and the sailors who have been training for several days are preparing to disembark. They are eager to find a place to have a good rest and relieve the fatigue of these days of high-intensity training.

Sailors can relieve the fatigue caused by training, but officers are not so easy. They need to calculate the results of this training and calculate the gains and losses, which is much harder than the sailors.

These various statistical results will eventually be summarized in the hands of Fleet Commander Lieutenant General Leifer.

On the flagship Cavour, Lieutenant General Leifer looked at the compiled report and spoke to Lieutenant General Sidorol, the fleet chief of staff. "From the report, the training effect is very significant."

Faced with Leifer's words, how could Sidorol, as his chief of staff, not know the reason.

Speaking of which, Vice Admiral Sidorol didn't know much about the Italian Navy before he became the Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet. Although the Italian Navy has become famous in the world in recent years, the specific situation of the Italian Navy is not known to the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which lacks communication.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Sidorol wanted to measure himself and believed that the Italian navy was only slightly stronger than his own. Not only him, but most people in the Austro-Hungarian Navy thought so. Some even thought that the Italian Navy was similar to themselves. These people have been living in the victory of the Battle of Sali.

However, after the combined fleet was formed, the arrogant Austro-Hungarian navy discovered that this idea was terribly wrong. Only after in-depth contact between the two parties did they realize that both parties were terribly wrong.

Austria-Hungary discovered that it had underestimated the Italians, while Italy discovered that it had overestimated the level of the Austro-Hungarian navy. Speaking of which, the reason for the poor quality of the Austro-Hungarian navy is still a matter of money.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Navy was previously supported by Crown Prince Archduke Ferdinand, the Army was the only one in Austria-Hungary, and even the Navy was under the jurisdiction of the Army (the Austro-Hungarian Navy did not have a naval department, only a naval department under the army). How can this be financially supported?

You must know that the navy is a technical branch, so it is more dependent on funds than the army. Although the crown prince had been busy looking for funds for it before, these funds were basically used to build ships, which showed that the Austro-Hungarian navy was not bad. This also resulted in shorter training time for the Austro-Hungarian Navy and poor technical and tactical levels.

After discovering that the level gap between the two parties was not small, Leifer immediately applied to the Navy Department and added a lot of training content on the grounds of improving the tacit understanding between the two parties. Of course, in private, Leifer also truthfully reported the situation to Admiral Yagir.

Out of consideration for Italy's interests, Admiral Yagier also agreed to Leifer's request for funds from the Italian Navy to help the Austro-Hungarian Navy improve its technical and tactical level.

So for more than a month after the war started, the joint fleet formed by the two navies spent most of their time at sea conducting various trainings.

A large amount of high-intensity training has a remarkable effect, and the level of the Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers incorporated into the combined fleet has increased rapidly. Although they are still far from the level of Italian officers and soldiers, they have at least reached a level that can be seen.

This is why the war against Malta was not ready to begin until nearly two months after the war began.

After all, reinforcements from the British Mediterranean Fleet need to be considered, and the addition of three Austrian-Hungarian combined force-class ships can give Italy an advantage.

One more thing to say here is that the Austro-Hungarian Navy currently only has three Combined Forces-class battleships available, because the fourth Prinz Eugen is undergoing sea trials and currently cannot be incorporated into the Combined Fleet.

Having the same experience as the Eugen, there was also the Roma that had just completed outfitting. Italy's first super-dreadnought ship equipped with a 380mm cannon has only begun sea trials now and will not enter service until at least the second half of next year. As for the other three Roman-class battleships, thanks to the Navy's initial urging of the shipyard, all three have been launched and outfitted, and it is expected that the three will be commissioned by the end of next year.

In fact, the Admiralty had other ideas about launching the Malta Campaign. They wanted to use Malta as bait to lure the British Mediterranean Fleet to come for reinforcements.

This will allow Italy to take advantage of its home field and strive to solve the British Mediterranean Fleet's personal problem in one fell swoop. Of course, if the Mediterranean fleet is stuck in Alexandria and cannot come out, then it will take advantage of the situation to capture Malta and block its Mediterranean routes. The UK can only take a detour from the Cape of Good Hope where the environment is even worse.

This circumference is 7,000 kilometers, which is enough for the UK to invest more merchant ships to ensure the transportation of various personnel and supplies from Asia. The energy and time it takes will give London a headache.

It is precisely with this purpose in mind that the capture of Malta cannot be rushed or slow, and requires a good balance.

Of course, the premise of all this is that the combined fleet must have an advantage. If it is at a disadvantage, then nothing can be done.

Fortunately, under the wise leadership of King Carlo, Italy vigorously built various warships, giving Italy a strategic advantage for the first time. If the Navy doesn't take advantage of its advantageous period to expand its results, how long will it wait?

And Lieutenant General Leifer, the commander of the Combined Fleet who has this advantage, certainly understands this truth, so it will be logical for him to help the Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers improve their technical and tactical levels.

He was busy until late at night discussing the work on the combined fleet with Vice Admiral Sidorol.

When everything was settled, and after seeing off his chief of staff, Leifer was ready to disembark. The Port of Taranto is very charming at night. The warships parked on the berths are revealed in the moonlight.

Leifer was very familiar with the battleship in his hand. Outside the armistice port is the guerrilla formation led by my friend Lieutenant General Gomes. Three Taranto-class battle cruisers and two Milan-class battle cruisers are guarded by other battleships, as if they are resting quietly.

Inner than the guerrilla formation is the Third Battleship Squadron, where the three Combined Forces and the Dauntless are anchored. Then to the left is the second battleship squadron, where four Dante-class ships are equally quiet. As for his current position on the right, it is the absolute core of the combined fleet, the four Cavour-class ships of the First Battleship Squadron.

Even if four Roman-class ships are put into service, Cavour's absolute core position will not be threatened in the past two years. Because warships and officers and soldiers need a long running-in period to form real combat effectiveness.

Seeing the huge fleet under his command in front of him, Leifer was full of pride at the moment. He wanted to use the sharpest sword in the kingdom to bring enough benefits to Italy.