Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Hero of 1911

Text Chapter 898 Cairo (4)

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    "Order all warships in the Mediterranean to be ready!"

    "Let the Barr set off and go tothe West Indies to join the B¨¦arne."

    "Everyone is back at work."

    Not long after the H fleet of the British Navy passed through the Strait of Gibraltar under the cover of escorting Churchill, Darlan yelled from the French naval headquarters: "Damn it, they are really coming." Darlan was initially doubtful about Jin Bihui's intelligence, but  Now he is sure that the British navy is dispatching in large numbers just for his fleet!  As long as the British sailors used canes and wooden clubs to drive away French soldiers during the Dunkirk evacuation, it is impossible for the French navy to send its fleet to Britain.  What's more, France has surrendered, and Hitler has promised to let the French navy retain its warships and remain neutral. The war is over for France, so it is even less possible to hand over the hope of France's revival to Britain.

    But he didn¡¯t have many ways to go. First of all, he couldn¡¯t recall the battleships in North Africa because no one knew whether Hitler would go back on his word.  It is even more impossible to assume a decisive battle with the British Navy, because that would completely break up, and even lead to being labeled as a "Nazi accomplice" and "the culprit".  So he chose the safest way, which was to have the battleship Jean Bart of Casablanca immediately go to the French West Indies to join the aircraft carrier B¨¦arne, the training cruiser Joan of Arc and the light cruiser Primauguette.  After forming a formation, they headed to Argentina using Martinique as cover.  Due to the stimulation of the Shandong-class, the Jean Bart, which was only 70% completed in history, is now over 80% complete. The two quadruple-mounted main guns, fire control and power have been completed. The only difference is the air defense and secondary guns.  subsystem, so it already has the ability to sail quickly.  Then he ordered the Richelieu, which had been completed in Dakar but had not yet been sea tested, to go to Oran to join the main force to avoid being defeated by the British one by one.

    so.  In Oran there are five battleships: Richelieu, Dunkirk, Strasbourg, Brittany and Provence, in addition to two light cruisers, six destroyers and a dozen  submarine.  In order to counterattack as soon as possible, he asked his confidants to ask General Suer to go to Oran and order the five battleships to change their berthing methods, from the original bows facing inward to the bows facing the sea.  In this way, once attacked, the ship can quickly use the bow main gun to fight back and rush out of the bay to escape. It also ordered more than a dozen shore guns in Oran and Mirskbil to be loaded with live ammunition and prepared for counterattack.

    But even so, Darlan is still worried.  You must know that you must not fire the first shot, but the gunfire fired later in the naval battle is easy to fail, so the submarine was used to support Oran, and finally the Algeria, Foch, Duplex, and Duquesne were  Five heavy cruisers and six La Garissonnier-class light cruisers were gathered together to form a cruiser strike formation.  Pretending to deliver supplies and repairs to the North African capital ships, he took two supply ships to stand by near Sardinia. Finally, he even ordered the remaining naval aircraft and submarines to prepare for an attack on Gibraltar!

    After he made these arrangements, the phone rang again.  "Hello, I'm Darlan"

    "The general must be very busy, right?"

    Jin Bihui's voice on the other end of the phone surprised Darlan. He quickly dismissed the officers around him and asked the guards to close the door before continuing: "Miss Jin. You are good at choosing your time."

    Jin Bihui¡¯s voice is very slow and soft, making people don¡¯t want to put down the phone.  "General, I know you will send all the warships out! But do you really think it will be safe? The British blockade Gibraltar, Malta and the Suez Canal. Your fleet cannot go there. If you defeat the British fleet, then  Britain will regard you and your fleet as its biggest enemy, and Prime Minister Churchill will even abandon Germany to deal with you with all his strength. At that time, are you prepared to hand over the fleet to German surveillance and completely surrender to Mr. Hitler. Or is it Mussolini?"

    A hot flash ran down Darlang's back, and Jin Bihui's words pierced his heart.  If Britain is really beaten, then Churchill will definitely not give up. He will destroy the French navy at all costs, and even invite the Chinese fleet in the Indian Ocean to join him.  When the time comes, will he really join Hitler?  Be a traitor in everyone's eyes?  "Ms. Jin, what on earth do you want to say!"

    Jin Bihui on the phone chuckled: "General, I still have the same suggestion. Give us the battleships and heavy cruisers. If you think 200 million US dollars is too little, I can apply for an increase from above. Of course, after the war, these battleships will still be  Return it to your government free of charge.¡±

    Darlan had to admit, this woman really knows how to seize the opportunity!  Indeed, he regretted rejecting Jin Bihui's offer. If he agreed, his fleet could now fly the Chinese flag through the Suez Canal and avoid the European whirlpool.  As for the possible casualties caused by dealing with Japan, to be honest, he didn't think the Japanese navy was very powerful.  But pride still made him unwilling to bow his head, and Shen Sheng rejected the lease agreement for the second time.

    ?"Well, I hope God is on your side." Jin Bihui didn't talk nonsense. He hung up the phone and walked out of the public phone booth with a smile.  She believes that when Darlan suffers, he will make the right choice!

    On June 25, Yang Qiu arrived in Alexandria for a visit to Cairo and met with De Gaulle, who arrived in advance.  During the conversation, he promised de Gaulle that he would transfer to Free France weapons and military supplies worth US$200 million, including 500 H-6 bombers, 400 Lifeng fighter jets, and 300 Type 31 tanks, ordered before the French government surrendered.  Used to continue to resist German Nazi aggression.  Yang Qiu's overtures made de Gaulle very happy. He had long understood that China had become an important partner country related to the outcome of this war, so he promised to recognize the independence of French East Indies at the appropriate time. He also promised that as long as  Britain declared war on the Soviet Union, and Free France would declare war on the Soviet Union.

    While the two were exchanging interests with each other in a leisurely manner, the Mediterranean Sea was in turmoil.  The large-scale deployment of the French navy caused Mussolini to have a nervous breakdown. He immediately demanded to find out the truth and ordered the entire navy to be on alert. Even Hitler, who had nothing to do with it, questioned him several times and personally called Darlan.  But his attention was quickly attracted by the battleship Bismarck and the aircraft carrier Zeppelin. These two warships are Germany's treasures. Needless to say, the former was not taken seriously at first, but after Hakan became the naval technical adviser, he worked hard to  It was suggested to learn from China in building aircraft carriers, and with the continuous resources provided by the Soviet Union, Hitler gritted his teeth and accelerated the progress, and finally delivered it in early July this year.  Even the former can be delivered to the Navy in a week because of the excitement of the launch of the Hebei class.

    Hitler looked at the Bismarck and the Zeppelin with delight, and began to outline the Sea Lion Project in his mind, imagining the beautiful scenery after landing in the UK.  Of course, Redel was not as confident as he was. While fighting for Darlan's fleet, he was also seizing the time to build the patented landing ship purchased from China before the war.  Even Guderian seized every moment and dragged his troops to the seaside of Calais to practice landing operations day and night.

    On the morning of the 27th, Darlan finally became nervous because the British Navy forcibly disarmed two battleships and dozens of warships in Portsmouth early in the morning.  This ruthless approach left him with no choice, but at this time, Fleet H, under the cover of protecting Churchill, had already turned around the aircraft carrier Formidable and three cruisers from Suez, encircled the Port of Oran, and  Leaving two Avenger-class battleships in Malta blocked the possibility of the French fleet escaping to Beirut.

    At ten o'clock in the morning, Somerville, who had left the Indian fleet and arrived, sent the military attache stationed in France and asked General Sule's personal friend, British Navy Captain Holland, to come forward to persuade him to surrender.  "General Jeansur, you should make a choice." Holland was very reluctant to persuade him to surrender, but his duty was to bite the bullet and wait for the destroyer.  After landing, he immediately came up with three suggestions from the British government.  Sur was unable to make the decision on such a big matter, so he issued three conditions to Darlan.  For some reason, when Darlan reported to the French government and Congress, he suppressed the last clause of "sending the fleet to the West Indies and handing it over to the custody of the United States."  Whether it is to continue fighting or to surrender, it is unacceptable to the French government, so Darlan's answer is simply, refuse!

    Huo Lan sighed, but just as he was about to open his mouth to continue persuading, he suddenly discovered something very strange!  He found that all warships in Oran Bay were anchored with their bows pointing toward the sea.  This is very strange, because when a warship docks, its bow points toward the land, and it only turns with the tugboat when it leaves the harbor.  This way of parking the ship with its bow outward can only mean one thing!  France was well prepared.

    "Not good!" Thinking of this, Holland broke into a cold sweat and immediately found an excuse to return to the destroyer and leave first.

    "General, he saw it! We should strike first!" The staff officer suggested loudly and anxiously, wishing he could command the fleet to rush out of the bay immediately.  But Jeansur was helpless because he had no right to fire the first shot and could only wait for the order to counterattack.

    "What? The bow is pointing outward!" Somerville, who had just lost half of his fleet, broke into a cold sweat after listening to Holland's report.  You must know that he now only has four battleships and two aircraft carriers, but there are five battleships in the harbor!  "Immediately send a telegram to Whitehall and the Prime Minister. Everyone is on alert and ready to attack!" Somerville did not hesitate and immediately ordered to distance himself. The aircraft carrier-based aircraft were ready to take off and set up an offensive posture.

    Half an hour later, telegrams from Whitehall and Churchill arrived at the same time: "Let France scuttle itself, or sink it!"

    Almost at the same time, Darlan¡¯s telegram also arrived in Jeansur¡¯s hands.  "Breakthrough at full speed! Convene the cruiser formation to breakout towards Beirut!"

    "Let's go, at full speed!" With Darlan's instructions, Surr immediately ordered a breakout.  The Richelieu and Dunkirk, which had already set fire and anchored and were on standby, were the fastest and quickly began to speed out of the harbor.  "General, the French want to escape!" Somerville on the Hood was reminded as soon as the Richelieu moved.  He looked at the telegram in his hand.?Looking at the French fleet that started to speed up again, he took a deep breath: "Sink them!"

    "Boom" After the Battle of Waterloo, British artillery pointed at France again.  (To be continued)

    ¡ËFast updates¡Ë¡ËPure text¡Ë
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report