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Text Chapter 1,077 Reorganize the United Fleet

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    Since the British Royal Navy and the US Navy jointly severely damaged the German Navy and wiped out the main force of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet, the entire UK has been in a carnival. The British people generally believe that the war will end soon and the UK will win this war.  With victory, Britain's position as world hegemon will once again be defended.  Especially after Italy, a former member of the Central Powers, abandoned the alliance and switched to the arms of the Allies, the British people believed that Britain would soon win.

    As we all know, although the Austro-Hungarian Empire is one of the world's powerful powers, it is much weaker than the powerful Germany.  Once Italy begins to attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the situation in the entire southern Europe will be reversed. The Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece, which have been waiting and watching, may soon join the war against the Allies. Then, by then, the Austro-Hungarian Empire  It will definitely collapse first.  Once the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, Germany would be left alone.  It is foreseeable that the war in Europe will soon end.  After the Allies have solved the Central Powers, they will concentrate all their efforts on dealing with China and return the world to its original system.  Both the British people and the government are convinced of this.

    However, in just over ten days, the situation in the Mediterranean has once again reversed.  The Chinese navy brazenly launched an attack on Italy. Not only was the fall of Sicily a foregone conclusion, the main force of the Italian navy was annihilated in half a day.  Still, out of the six battleships, two were sunk and four were captured, resulting in a tragic outcome.

    The Mediterranean Sea has now completely become an inland sea of ??China. Although the French Navy still has three Breton-class battleships in the Port of Toulon, these battleships have just entered the dock for maintenance and it will take at least a month before they can be restored.  Join the fight.  The British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet has long existed in name only.  When the British Navy faced the provocation of the German Navy, it had no choice but to shrink around the world and transferred all advanced battleships back to the British mainland. The Mediterranean Fleet only had a few old battleships and some light cruisers left.  As well as destroyers to support the scene, such a fleet will not only attack the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet, but even self-protection will become a problem.  Therefore, the current situation in the Mediterranean will be very dangerous for Britain and France.

    ¡°Gentlemen, the Italian Navy suffered a disastrous defeat and lost all its capital ships. And the three battleships of our French allies also entered the dock for repairs before the Chinese attacked Italy.

    Now, the Mediterranean has become the world of the Chinese, which will undoubtedly cause a heavy blow to our new ally Italy.  Once Italy suffers a heavy blow and even withdraws from the war as a result, this will be very detrimental to the European war. Our goal of ending the European war as soon as possible will be completely defeated, and other countries that are waiting to see will also change their minds.  .  Therefore, we cannot sit idly by and ignore the situation in the Mediterranean. We must send a powerful fleet into the Mediterranean to defeat the Chinese and regain control of the Mediterranean!  British Prime Minister Asquith said. After receiving a telegram asking for help from Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti, he immediately convened his cabinet members to prepare to discuss how to deal with the dangerous situation in the Mediterranean.

    "I agree to send a fleet to the Mediterranean. Italy is the first time that a world power has turned to us. If Italy suffers a disastrous defeat, other countries will be shaken. It took a lot of effort from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece to move.  , preparing to join the Allied Powers in the war. However, the disastrous defeat of the Italian Navy made them very worried. If we cannot regain control of the Mediterranean, both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece will be under attack by the Allies and the Chinese. In  Under such circumstances, the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece may have to remain neutral, and may even fall to the Allies. We must find ways to prevent this from happening!" Foreign Minister Edward.  Sir Gray immediately agreed.  Drawing Italy into the Allied war was one of his achievements. If Italy suffered a disastrous defeat or even withdrew from the war, wouldn't it mean that all his previous efforts were in vain?  In addition, this will also have a great adverse impact on the activities of the British Foreign Office in the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece.

    "We must thwart the Chinese ambitions in the Mediterranean. The Chinese Marine Corps has landed on Sicily, and the Italians only have one infantry division on the island. Moreover, the Italians' combat effectiveness is very low, and they simply cannot  It is impossible to stop the Chinese attack. A small fleet of the Chinese navy has blocked the Strait of Messina, and Italy can no longer send more troops to Sicily. In addition, according to the intelligence we have received, a Chinese army  The troops have already boarded the ship from Singapore. According to our speculation, their destination will be Sicily and the size of this force will be more than 100,000 people. Once the Chinese completely occupy Sicily and deploy enough  In terms of military strength, XixiThe island will become a nail in the Mediterranean for the Chinese, which will be very detrimental to our subsequent operations.  Sicily is located right in the center of the Mediterranean. Once the Chinese occupy it, they will be able to control the entire Mediterranean, and China's influence in the Mediterranean will spread to the surrounding areas.  Therefore, we must prevent the Chinese conspiracy from succeeding!  "War Secretary Winston Churchill also said. When Britain is about to win the war, they do not want any changes. And China's aggressive expansion in the Mediterranean is likely to affect British interests and even delay the British  The time to win is something they absolutely cannot accept.

    Everyone looked at Lord Admiral John.  Sir Fisher, since three heavyweight cabinet members, including the Prime Minister, have expressed their opinions accordingly, to a large extent this represents the decision of the British government.  However, sending a fleet into the Mediterranean requires the approval of the Minister of the Navy.  Especially after the Royal Navy defeated the German High Seas Fleet, Lord Admiralty John.  Sir Fisher has gained a very high reputation in the UK, and his status in the cabinet has also risen a lot, almost becoming the second-ranking figure after the Prime Minister.

    "Everyone, the expansion of the Chinese in the Mediterranean has indeed posed a great threat to the British Empire. It is the responsibility of the Royal Navy to send a fleet into the Mediterranean, defeat the Chinese Navy, and thwart their conspiracy. However, now  The Royal Navy does not have enough battleships to send to the Mediterranean! Although we defeated the German Navy, our losses were not small. Although the number of battleships sunk was not large, most of the battleships were damaged.

    Now the shipyard is working overtime to repair these warships. At least until these warships are repaired, the Royal Navy cannot complete the tasks of blockading Germany and sending warships into the Mediterranean at the same time!  "Said the Lord of the Admiralty, Sir John Fisher. In the Battle of the North Sea, a battleship and 6 battlecruisers were sunk in the British Navy. This was not considered a disaster for the United Kingdom, which had 40 battleships and 10 battlecruisers.  A fatal blow. However, another 14 battleships and 3 battlecruisers were severely damaged, which left the British Navy without enough battleships for a long time. The remaining 18 battleships and 1 battlecruiser had to be blocked  The German Navy can no longer send fleets to other sea areas. What's more, the enemy is still the powerful Chinese Navy.

    "Sir Fisher, is there no other way?" Colonial Secretary George.  Nathaniel.  asked Marquis Curzon.  Egypt and the Middle East were occupied by the Chinese, which has always been a worry for him.  If the British Navy can annihilate the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet, then Britain may be able to take the opportunity to regain these colonies occupied by China.

    "The Chinese navy has strong combat effectiveness. They have just annihilated the Italian navy at a small cost, which has been proved. Therefore, without complete certainty, I think the Royal Navy cannot act rashly to avoid failure!"  John.  said Sir Fisher.  The British Navy has suffered twice at the hands of the Chinese Navy, and it has to proceed with caution.

    "Sir Fisher, among the damaged battleships of the Royal Navy, can some of them be urgently repaired first for emergency use? Other battleships can temporarily slow down the progress. First repair some battleships that are not seriously damaged. Otherwise, the Mediterranean Sea  The situation will continue to deteriorate!" Foreign Secretary Edward.  said Sir Grey.

    "Sir Grey, this also takes time. Even if the major shipyards try their best to repair the battleships that were not seriously damaged, it will take at least a month!" John.  said Sir Fisher.

    "Then, just do this. A month later, the Royal Navy will send warships into the Mediterranean, reorganize the Mediterranean fleet, and compete with the Chinese for control of the Mediterranean. No matter what, the Royal Navy must take back the Mediterranean as soon as possible!" Prime Minister Asquith immediately  He said yes.

    "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I think we can form a joint fleet with the French Navy this time. After all, the French Navy's three Breton-class battleships are also very powerful. If they join, our chances of winning will be much greater!  "Secretary of War Winston.  Churchill suggested.

    "This is a good idea. In a month, the French Navy's battleships should have completed their maintenance and can be put into combat against the Chinese!" Prime Minister Asquith nodded and agreed with this suggestion!
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