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Text Chapter 1065 The Weird Italian Navy

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    Sicily is about 1,600 kilometers from Port Said.  The Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet will set off at 8 pm on July 6 and arrive in the waters near Sicily. It is expected to take three and a half days. This is also to take into account that the transport ship transporting the 8th Marine Division can only reach 12 knots.  reason.  Otherwise, the Indian Ocean Fleet can reach Sicily in up to two and a half days.

    This time, all 8 battleships and 8 heavy cruisers of the Indian Ocean Fleet were dispatched, plus nearly 20 light cruisers and destroyers, which was enough to form an overwhelming advantage over the Italian Navy.  In addition, the Navy's submarine force will also rush to the waters near Sicily to deploy defenses.  After the Chinese Marine Corps seizes Sicily, a submarine base will be established on the island for year-round garrison of submarine forces.  By then, the submarine force and naval aviation will become China's main force in defending Sicily.

    The eight battleships of the Indian Ocean Fleet are the 'Han Ming Emperor' battleship among the 'Han class' battleships, the 'Qin Shihuang' battleship and the 'Prince Fusu' battleship among the two 'Qin class' battleships, and the two 'Zhonghua class' battleships.  Among the battleships, the battleship "Hua Xia" and the "Shenzhou" battleship, and the other three battleships, are battleships of the British Navy and the French Navy that were captured in the Battle of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea a few years ago.  Among them, the first ship of the British Navy's "Dreadnought-class" battleships, the "Dreadnought", was repaired and modified by China and named "Middle East".  The other two French Navy's "Guba-class" battleships, "France" and "Paris", were repaired and modified by China and named "Zhongnan" and "Nanyang".  Although the performance of these three battleships is relatively poor.  But after modification.  Its combat power is barely comparable to the Chinese Navy's "Zhonghua-class" battleships.  The Indian Ocean Fleet was under great pressure at that time.  Therefore, these three battleships were given to the Indian Ocean Fleet.  Now, it's time to put it to use.

    When the morning sun of July 7th shone on the huge fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet was already far away from Port Said.  Eight battleships formed a battle line at the center of the fleet.  The thirty transport ships transporting the Eighth Marine Division were behind the battleship.  On the periphery are eight 'Jianghe-class' heavy cruisers.  The remaining light cruisers and destroyers surrounded the four.  The Mediterranean is also a place where submarines from various countries appear, and the Chinese navy must also take strict precautions.  Although the submarine technology of Britain, France and Italy is relatively backward, serious disasters may still occur if they are careless.  No one wants such a disaster to happen to them.  Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the Indian Ocean Fleet were extremely vigilant.

    On the Indian Ocean Fleet¡¯s flagship battleship Hanmingdi, Fleet Commander Admiral Li Haitao and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan are analyzing the obtained intelligence.  It is expected that they will arrive in the waters of Sicily around July 10.  If there is no encounter with the Italian Navy, the fleet will first cover the landing of the Marine Corps.  If the main force of the Italian Navy is discovered, the fleet will first eliminate the Italian Navy so that the subsequent troubles can be completely resolved.  However, from the current point of view, Italy has not discovered China's actions. The main force of the Italian navy is still confronting the Austro-Hungarian navy in the Adriatic Sea.

    "Commander, the intelligence just came from China. The British Navy has no signs of going south. The main force of their navy is still staying in the North Sea. It seems that the British will not take action until the severely damaged capital ships are repaired!" Fleet!  Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said.

    "That's really a pity. I am also planning to let the British know our power again in this naval battle!" Admiral Li Haitao said with a smile.  However, no one took his words seriously. If the main force of the British Navy really appeared in the Mediterranean, it would probably be the Indian Ocean Fleet that escaped.  In addition to one 'Han-class' battleship and two 'Qin-class' battleships in the Indian Ocean Fleet, which have considerable combat effectiveness, the other two 'Zhonghua-class' battleships and the three prisoner-modified battleships are unable to compete with the British Navy.  Compared with the new battleships.

    "Where is the French Navy? Have they made any other changes?" Admiral Li Haitao asked.  After the French Navy suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of the Red Sea and four of its cutting-edge 'Gourba-class' battleships were either sunk or captured, the French Navy inevitably declined.  Although France also rebuilt the 'Breton-class' battleships before the war, only three battleships of this class were built because of the increasingly serious threat from Germany.  In the early days of the war, it had been deployed in the North Sea to assist the British Royal Navy in dealing with the German Navy.  It was not until the Royal Navy defeated the German High Seas Fleet that the battleships returned to the port of Toulon in southern France.

    "The three 'Breton-class' battleships of the French Navy have all entered the shipyard for repairs. They will not appear on the sea again in less than a month! Therefore, we have to worryThe only thing left is the Italian navy!  "Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said.

    "So, is the Italian Navy still in the Adriatic Sea?" Lieutenant General Li Haitao asked.  The Italian Navy now has a total of 6 battleships, including the first dreadnought battleship 'Dante Alliggio', three 'Count of Cavour' class battleships and two 'Andrea Doro'.  Riya-class battleship.  The battleships of the Italian Navy all have a common feature, that is, the displacement is not large, only more than 20,000 tons, but the number of main guns is very large, except for the battleship 'Dante Alliggio Icheri', which only has 12 305 guns.  In addition to the 305 mm main guns, the other Count Cavour-class battleships and Andrea Doria-class battleships have 13 305 mm main guns.  There are also a large number of secondary guns and rapid-fire cannons, which are completely like a monster full of gun barrels.  However, although the battleship has powerful firepower, its seaworthiness is not high.  At the same time, because there are too many main guns, salvo fire cannot be carried out, otherwise it will cause great damage to the structure of the hull, and may even fall apart.  Therefore, the Italian Navy has a large number of battleships and a lot of main guns, but in terms of real combat power, it cannot be compared with the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet.

    "The main force of Italy's navy is still facing off with the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the northern Adriatic Sea, for fear that the Austro-Hungarian Navy will attack Italy's coastal areas." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said.

    The only battleship of the Austro-Hungarian Empire¡¯s navy was the ¡®United Forces¡¯ class battleship, with a number of four.  The 'Joint Force-class' battleship adopts a flat-deck ship type, with a compact overall layout and a short hull.  It mainly operates offshore in the Mediterranean waters, so it does not have high requirements for seaworthiness.  The Combined Forces-class battleship is equipped with 12 305 mm caliber main guns, using 4 triple-mounted main gun turrets, two of which are symmetrically arranged on the bow and stern along the centerline of the hull. This layout of the main gun has a good horizontal firing angle and can maximize  Minimize the length of the hull.  Because of the ammunition lifting channel in the main gun turret, the ammunition supply speed is limited and the advantages of its main gun configuration cannot be fully utilized.  This class of ship has four triple main gun turrets installed on a shorter hull, which increases its center of gravity.  The ship's underwater defense structure is old and its underwater mine protection performance is poor.  However, even so, the overall performance of the four 'United Forces' battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is no longer inferior to the battleships of the Italian Navy.  Therefore, after Italy declared war on the Central Powers and the Entente, it immediately transferred its main naval force to the Adriatic Sea to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from attacking northern Italian coastal cities.  And this undoubtedly gives the Chinese Navy an excellent opportunity.

    "Is it possible for the Italian Navy and the Austro-Hungarian Navy to go to war? The Adriatic Sea is only a little bit big, with a width of only about a hundred kilometers. With more than a dozen capital ships of the two navies crowded in, it is inevitable that there will be a war  There must have been a misfire!" Lieutenant General Li Haitao said.  Although the Indian Ocean Fleet has the strength to deal with the Italian Navy, if the Italian Navy can fight the Austro-Hungarian Navy first, the Indian Ocean Fleet may be able to solve the Italian Navy at the minimum cost.

    "Neither the Italians nor the Austro-Hungarian Empire are fools. Although the two countries have gone to war on land, they have maintained restraint at sea. After the Italian Navy entered the Adriatic Sea, it stationed itself at the Venice Naval Base. And Austria  The main naval force of the Hungarian Empire also stayed in its home port of Astre, with no sign of going to sea. It seems that they do not want to waste their naval power before the victory is determined on the land battlefield. After all, the naval strength of the two countries is as good as that of the United Kingdom.  Compared with China, the United States and Germany, there is a big gap!" Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan analyzed.

    "A group of cunning guys. However, if they want to stay in the Adriatic Sea, then just block them all in. After we arrive in the waters of Sicily, we will send several destroyers to the south of the Adriatic Sea.  Department, monitor the Italian Navy. After we send the 8th Marine Division to Sicily, we will rush there and block them in!" Commander Lieutenant General Li Haitao said.  In fact, Italy's defense on Sicily is very weak. It can provide fire support to the Marine Corps by relying on heavy cruisers and light cruisers.  The reason why the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet was escorted was because they were afraid of encountering the battleships of the British or French navy.

    "Okay, Commander. After we arrive in Sicily, the Italian Navy should have received the news. I just don't know if they will have the courage to fight out of the Adriatic Sea by then!" Lieutenant General Wu Zhiyuan said with a smile!  (To be continued)
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