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Text Chapter 962 Come on, Franklin

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    ¡°Ding-a-ling, jingle-a-ling¡­.¡±

    In a hotel in Rome, old Hakan was wearing a coat and looked away from the papers on the table.  Looking at the Shanghai-made Meihua mechanical watch that Yang Qiu gave him on his wrist, he complained in his heart about who was calling so late.

    After advising the Navy and purchasing Soviet ships, he established a deep personal relationship with Redl and was hired as a technical advisor to the Imperial Navy.  Redl also dragged him here during his visit to Italy, hoping to inspect Italian shipyards and facilities on the spot and lay a solid foundation for Germany's entry into North Africa and the Middle East.

    As we all know, the German navy was too weak. After the French fleet was divided between China, the United States and Britain, Redel, who originally wanted to use this opportunity to grow, was heartbroken.  And a very serious problem has arisen, that is, Germany has to rely on Italy to maintain security in the Mediterranean.  This is definitely not possible!  No German is optimistic about Italy's combat capabilities, not to mention that the United States is about to join.  So Redl's idea was to lease Spain's Balearic Islands, and then encourage Italy to cooperate in attacking Malta and establish two air force fortresses.  The problem is that even if the air force can block the Mediterranean Sea, Germany still lacks sea transportation capabilities in the Mediterranean Sea.  You know, before the war, in order to reduce losses, Germany evacuated almost all its cargo ships to all parts of the world, and most of its domestic cargo ships were placed in the Baltic Sea. Even after occupying Norway, it still did not dare to send too many ships out. There were only a few ships in the Mediterranean.  The freighter was spared only by being evacuated to Italy.  Only one million of the French ocean-going fleet with a total tonnage of five million tons before the war was left, and the rest were either sunk or seized by China, the United States, Britain and other countries.  Even if the remaining ones are left, the Vichy government has not yet agreed to transfer them.

    With reference to the British in the Atlantic submarine war, and the loss of Japanese shipping after the Mariana was cut off in the Pacific, this ship cannot guarantee long-term operations, especially after the United States joins the war, the enemy's sea and air power will increase exponentially.  Therefore, Raeder and the German Navy are eager to have their own naval escort force in the Mediterranean.  In view of this, Hakan proposed the "standardized segmental construction method" adopted by China and the United States.  However, it is not easy to use this method. Currently, only China and the United States are using this construction method.  The former took advantage of the early construction of the industry and the quick turnaround of small ships. Coupled with Yang Qiu's forward-looking strategic vision, he forced national standardization from 1929, which made it possible for the country to be inferior to Germany (Germany, including the Czech Republic and France) in terms of national strength.  , but was able to burst out a manufacturing capability comparable to the two at the beginning of the war.

    In the United States, because the industrial scale is too large and the shadow of the economic crisis has not yet dissipated, companies have ample time to upgrade discontinued production lines to standardized production lines.  Neither Germany nor Europe has these two advantages.  Therefore, Europe¡¯s standardization path has lagged behind China and the United States for ten years!  But even so, Hakan is confident because Germany has the largest and best skilled workers in the world, so he believes that as long as the navy can take over the shipyards on the Mediterranean coast of France, Italy, and build warships and submarines at the same time in Germany, France, the Czech Republic and other places  With this piece of equipment, a small fleet of about 60 submarines and 40 destroyers can be established in the Mediterranean within a year.  There is this force, plus Malta and the Balearic Islands.  So even if Gibraltar cannot be defeated, it will be very difficult for Britain and the United States to supply the Mediterranean.

    Because there is no Gibraltar passage, we have to go around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and take the Suez Canal, a shipping distance of more than 8,000 kilometers.  It takes more than two months for the ship to travel back and forth, and by the time they arrive, Cairo may have been lost.

    The purpose of his trip was to examine whether Italian shipyards could support this idea.

    "Hello. Who is it?"

    Old Hakan picked up the phone and wanted to know who was calling so late.  But the news coming out of the phone made him lose consciousness for a moment Taranto.  Gone?  Twenty minutes later he came to the Commander of the Italian Navy.  At this time, Redel and Campioni were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, and the entire headquarters was in panic.

    "Is it Cunningham? How much is the loss?" Old Hakan was worried.  Taranto is not only a naval base, but also a large shipyard and a large number of industrial facilities. It was chosen by him as a "standardized assembly base" that can radiate to the Middle East.

    "It was Cunningham and the Chinese Third Fleet. They captured the downed Chinese and British pilots." Redl pointed at the Italian officer: "We don't know the losses yet, but the intelligence said that there were more than 150 attacking aircraft  "

    "Marshal! It's General Riccardi's report!" Before Redel could finish his words, the staff officer thrust the damage report into Campione's hand.  When he saw the damage, the old fox suddenly became dizzy and almost went into shock.  It's too awful!  The Veneto capsized, the Littorio sank, the Cavour sank, the Caesar exploded, the Zara sank, the Fiume ran aground, the Borgano capsized, the Griach sank, the Cray  The Ooni sank and the Barbiano capsized Within an hour and a half, four battleships and six cruisers were completely wiped out, along with three destroyers, five submarines, and four auxiliary ships.  and an oil tanker, with more than 3,000 casualties!  The harbor is still?Explosion and burning.

    Even Redel¡¯s heart bleeds after seeing it. Even if it can be salvaged and repaired, the Italian Navy will not be able to recover in less than two years.  Fortunately, he had previously persuaded Campioni to transfer two battleships and three heavy cruisers, and finally kept the bottom line, otherwise the Great Mediterranean Plan could have been declared over.  Old Hakan was also stunned, but he was relieved that the shipyard and industrial facilities were not damaged.

    "Marshal, the Prime Minister is here."

    I don¡¯t know who shouted, but Mussolini appeared in front of the Navy Department.

    The Italian dictator is tall, with a big belly and an imposing manner when he walks.  But what makes Hakan dumbfounded is that it is still such a big deal in the middle of the night. This guy is actually wearing a neat marshal uniform, his hair is not messy, and his riding boots are shiny God!  It would probably take an hour just to put on this outfit.

    Surrounded by officials, Mussolini entered the hall.  After reading the damage report, his face was also burning.  You must know that Teller has already told him about the Great Mediterranean Plan. From a strategic perspective, the biggest beneficiary of winning Spain is Italy.  Because Britain does not have enough troops in North Africa, and now India is finished and cannot even raise 300,000 troops.  As for the Chinese Persian Armywell, I don't think I have thought of it.

    For the purpose of monopolizing North Africa, he agreed to cooperate, but refused Germany to send troops to assist.  Unexpectedly, it was only a few days after I refused.  Nestled in the Persian Gulf, digging into the British wall and basking in the sun, the Chinese troops first attacked the Horn of North Africa, and then assisted Cunningham in a sneak attack on Taranto.  "We must take revenge! We must severely attack the yellow-skinned monkeys and the British! Send out the entire fleet! Occupy Malta and Gibraltar, and fight to Cairo"

    "Prime Minister, don't worry, we"

    "Marshal Redl, please tell the head of state that I, the Italian government and the navy will not bow to the enemy. We can conquer Malta and Egypt alone!" Redl was about to speak.  Mussolini interrupted him and continued to hold on to save face, without Germany's cooperation.

    This left Redel speechless, and I didn¡¯t want to support him either!  Currently, I only have two Pocket Deutschlands, two Scharnhorsts, a Bismarck and a Zeppelin left in my hands. The Tirpitz will not be commissioned until early next year. The two Hippers and the two H39 battleships  It will be at least 43 years, and the second Zeppelin ship Peter Strasser will have to wait 42 years. The heavy cruiser L¨¹tzow, which returned from the Soviet Union, needs to be installed with a turret, and it will not be officially put into service until August next year.

    What¡¯s more, even if they can be dispatched, they won¡¯t be able to come to the Mediterranean for the time being.

    "" Old Hakan felt even dizzy.  After ignoring polite calculations and calculations, how should the Italian navy face the powerful navies of China, the United States and Britain after the Italian navy is finished? Redel muttered in a voice that could only be heard by two people: "Your Excellency, Marshal, he thinks he can defeat China, Britain and the United States?  "

    Reidel also had a headache.  I am too weak in the navy!  He held his forehead with his five fingers and muttered: "I really hope that joke is fake, twenty divisions twenty divisions"

    Old Hakan knows the joke, but he has no intention of mocking Italy now.  After thinking for a long time, he whispered: "Marshal, I hope to go to China."

    ¡°Go to China?!¡± Redel was shocked, if he didn¡¯t know old Hakan well.  I'm afraid they will suspect that he and Yang Qiu have some collusion.

    "I know him. After the Americans have been involved, that old bastard Churchill will surrender to Roosevelt without reservation, so he must also want to balance the internal situation now."

    "You mean, he will withdraw from the war?"

    Hakan shook his head: "Of course not. He is a selfish guy and will not give up this opportunity for expansion. I just want to see their segmented construction method and inquire about him  Will we send troops to Egypt?"

    Reidel became serious.  Cutting off Gibraltar will only ensure that Britain and the United States cannot support North Africa and the Mediterranean, but China will not be restricted.  Because Central Asia has been occupied by Beijing, they can easily extend the railway to Mashhad in Iran. Even if Tehran is still in the hands of the Soviet Union, it can also connect to Rawalpindi controlled by the Muslim League in India through the flatter western Afghanistan.  , all the way to Karachi smoothly.  What's more, they have used hundreds of thousands of Soviet prisoners of war since last year to build a railway from the Strait of Hormuz to Mashhad. Once it is completed, it will connect Central Asia with the Persian Gulf. Even if there is no Malacca, they will be able to  Surge in troops in the Persian Gulf and North Africa.

    So figuring out whether Yang Qiu will cross the Sinai Peninsula and continue deeper into Egypt and North Africa is related to the safety of the Greater Mediterranean Plan.  At present, the only one who can figure it out is probably this "technical consultant" who has a close personal relationship with Yang Qiu.

    When old Hakan flew to Istanbul overnight, Churchill and Britain were already in a carnival!

    A mere 5 aircraft (one from China was shot down, 2At the cost of the loss of night landings and the shooting down of two British aircraft), it destroyed the main force of the Italian Navy in one fell swoop and completely reversed the unfavorable situation of sea control in the Mediterranean.

    Churchill, who consciously took advantage of the time difference between the United States' declaration of war and asked Yang Qiu to contribute, couldn't help but be overjoyed. He lit a cigar, picked up the phone and waited for a few minutes. Then he said in a warm and confident voice: "Come on, Franklin. We have destroyed it."  The Italian navy, its soft belly has opened, there are no warships left in the Mediterranean¡­.¡±

    One day later, Roosevelt received 60% of the vote and was re-elected as president for the third time.  That morning, he delivered another speech in Congress, using the "Nantucket Incident" to warn those who were taking chances that the United States could no longer stay out of the matter and demanded that Congress immediately agree to declare war on Japan, Italy and Germany.

    At three o'clock in the afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate abstained from voting, and the rest voted to declare war. Also passed was the Lend-Lease Act.

    At 3:15, Roosevelt simultaneously declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan in front of hundreds of congressmen and reporters The huge American war machine finally got rid of its constraints and began to operate at full speed

    (To be continued)
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