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Text Chapter 1,079 The coming is fierce

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    The terrain of Sicily is mainly mountainous. Except for some plains in the coastal areas, most of it is rugged mountainous land.  At the same time, the traffic conditions are also relatively poor, and many areas on the island are in an undeveloped state.  After the ten infantry divisions of the Chinese Army landed on the island, they only occupied the coastal plain area. For some Italian troops who fled deep into the island, they only sent a small force, mainly reconnaissance troops, to pursue them. The rest of the troops were  Garrison the plain areas on the island.  At the same time, most of the main forces are cooperating with the engineering forces to build field airports and ports for berthing submarines.

    In order to facilitate the commander's defensive operations on Sicily, with the consent of Imperial Emperor Wang Yuze, Imperial Army General Zhou Shun was appointed as the commander of the Mediterranean Theater, with full authority for the battle in the Mediterranean direction.  In fact, it will be defensive operations for a long time.  After assisting the defenders on Sicily to defeat the British and French naval fleets, the Indian Ocean Fleet will also return to the Indian Ocean to prepare for attacks on India and Australia.  At this time, the Indian peninsula happened to be in the rainy season. The poor traffic was not conducive to the march of the Chinese army's heavy equipment. Therefore, the battle against India had to wait until the end of the rainy season.  During this period, the Indian Ocean Fleet could cooperate with the defenders on Sicily to defeat the combined fleet of the British and French navies.  After the battle was over, the main fleet retreated to the Indian Ocean, leaving only a small fleet in the Mediterranean.  After the British and French naval fleets suffered another heavy loss, the British Navy may not dare to attack Sicily easily again, and the situation in the Mediterranean will also enter a stable period.

    Marsala, a city in western Sicily, became the headquarters of the Mediterranean theater.  General Zhou Shun arrived here with the landing troops.  At this moment, the outskirts of Marsala have become a busy construction site.  The engineering troops are building a field airfield here.  The navy's aviation will be the main force against the British and French naval fleets this time. Only after the British and French naval fleets are defeated will there be enough time to build a regular airport on the island.  In addition, construction of a base for the submarine force has also begun in Trapani, 25 kilometers north of Marsala.

    In addition to carrier-based aviation, the navy's aviation also has shore-based aviation. It is the navy's shore-based aviation that was dispatched to Sicily this time. A total of two wings with a total of 240 fighters were transported to Sicily via transport ships for loading and unloading.  Come down and assemble again.  The range of current fighter aircraft is still relatively short, and the effective combat radius is only two hundred kilometers. It is not yet possible to fly directly from China to Sicily.  After the army troops boarded the ship, two wings of the navy's fighter planes also boarded the ship and arrived in Marsala on July 30.  The ground crew immediately assembled these fighters, and the pilots became familiar with the environment and so on.

    Now, it is not far away from the time when the British and French naval fleets enter the Mediterranean Sea.  According to intelligence obtained by China, the British Navy's reorganized Mediterranean Fleet will depart from Portsmouth, the southern British naval base, to the Mediterranean Sea within a week and will enter the British Naval Base in Gibraltar.  Afterwards, the French Navy will go to Gibraltar to join the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, and both sides will then launch an attack on Sicily.

    Admiral Zhou Shun is holding a pre-war meeting at the temporary headquarters of the Chinese Army's Mediterranean Theater. Participants in the meeting include Lieutenant General Yang Jiangqiao, Chief of Staff of the theater, Admiral Li Haitao, Commander of the Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet, Lieutenant General Tang Hongtao, Commander of the Eighth Marine Division,  Major General Chen Guoli, commander of the Naval Aviation Wing, Major General Cai Shudong, commander of the 4th Wing, and several division commanders of the Army.

    "Everyone, according to the news from the General Staff, the British Navy's rebuilt Mediterranean Fleet has been established in Portsmouth. It is commanded by Admiral John Jellicoe, the former commander of the British Home Fleet, and Roslyn Willis.  Vice Admiral Les served as chief of staff. After forming a combined fleet with the French Navy, the two men will also serve as commander and chief of staff of the combined fleet respectively. The deputy commander will be French Admiral Palmiro. This time  , the British Navy's strong Mediterranean fleet includes 10 battleships and three battlecruisers, plus the French Navy's three battleships, the entire combined fleet will have 16 capital ships. But I believe that the final victory will definitely belong to us!  "Admiral Zhou Shun said.  After being appointed commander of the Mediterranean Theater, he was summoned once by Cai Yun, Chief of General Staff. Cai Yun talked with him for a full two hours.  During this period, Cai Yun clearly told him that naval aviation fighters and submarines would be the most beneficial weapons in the Mediterranean theater.  As long as these two forces function normally, it is impossible for the enemy to land on Sicily.  The Army's mission is mainly to defend the Italian direction.  After all, the Messina Strait is only three kilometers wide, so it is not very difficult to expand across the Strait and land.  Therefore, General Zhou Shun deployed three infantry divisions near the Strait of Messina.

    The participants were all smiling. Although the enemy was very powerful, in their eyes, they were just like chickens and dogs.  As long as there are no unexpected events, such as extreme weather,??If the naval aviation fighter planes cannot take off for combat, the fighter planes of two wings are enough to destroy all the battleships of the combined fleet.  The organization of the Chinese naval aviation is the same as that of the army. Each wing has a total of 120 fighters, including a group of 40 Puffins, fighter jets, a group of 40 C'Ospreys, torpedo attack aircraft and a group of HBDs.  'Fish eagle, dive bomber.  Because horizontal bombers are not very powerful in naval battles, in the final adjustment, the HBB'Sea Harrier bombers reduced their equipment and became a strike force against the ground alone, and did not participate in the attack on ships.

    "Well, everyone, this time, we will teach the British and French a good lesson, telling them not to think that defeating the Germans means they can show off their power in front of us. As for the specific combat plan, we will wait until the combined fleet of the British and French navies  After arriving, we will make specific deployments. I hope that everyone can unite and win this battle for the empire!" said General Zhou Shun.

    "Yes, General!" Everyone replied loudly, even Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet.  Although they have the same military rank, he is still a general in the navy, and many generals in the Mediterranean theater belong to the navy.  But after all, General Zhou Shun was the theater commander ordered by the General Staff, and he was approved by the Emperor Wang Yuze.  They must also cooperate with General Zhou Shun's actions.  Otherwise, if something goes wrong, they will be severely punished.

    On August 4, Commander John of the British Navy¡¯s Mediterranean Fleet.  Admiral Jellicoe led the fleet from Portsmouth naval port, preparing to enter the Strait of Gibraltar.  The newly formed Mediterranean fleet of the British Navy includes nearly 60 large and small battleships. The main ships include 10 battleships and 3 battlecruisers, and they are all relatively advanced battleships.  It can be seen that the British Navy has spent a lot of money in order to defeat the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet this time.

    The ten battleships owned by the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet include three Queen Elizabeth class battleships, namely the battleship Warrior, Barham and Warspite, and three Iron Duke class battleships.  They were the battleship 'Iron Duke', the battleship 'Benbow' and the battleship 'Canada', and the two 'King George V' class battleships were the battleship 'Bold' and 'Centurion'.  two ships

    ¡®The Orion-class battleships are ¡®Conqueror¡¯ and ¡®Thunder¡¯.  These battleships are all the most advanced battleships of the British Royal Navy. Now they are all dispatched to the Mediterranean Fleet. This shows that the British Navy attaches great importance to this battle.

    The three battlecruisers are also the 'Lion' class, the 'Princess Royal' among the battlecruisers, the 'Tireless' class battlecruiser, the 'New Zealand' battlecruiser, and the only one that was not destroyed in the Battle of the North Sea.  The heavily damaged battlecruiser 'Indomitable'.

    On August 10, the British Navy¡¯s Mediterranean Fleet entered the Strait of Gibraltar and completely blocked the entire strait.  At the same time, Admiral Palmiro, commander of the French Navy¡¯s Mediterranean Fleet, also led three French Navy ¡®Breton-class battleships to arrive in Gibraltar.  The combined British and French naval fleets were formally established.

    After that, the combined fleets of the British and French navies were running in while preparing for war.

    During this period, the British and French naval fleets dispatched many light cruisers to the waters near Sicily to detect the movements of the Chinese Navy¡¯s Indian Ocean Fleet.  The Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet immediately began to counterattack, dispatching the battlecruiser Wang Ben and leading several heavy cruisers and light cruisers to hunt down these cruisers dispatched by the British and French naval combined fleets.  In several days of naval battles, at least more than ten light cruisers of the British and French naval forces were sunk, causing the British and French naval forces to lose a lot of strength before the war began.  However, the loss of these battleships of the British and French naval combined fleets was not in vain. They at least found out the reality of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet in Sicily.

    When he learned that the main force of the Chinese Navy¡¯s Indian Ocean Fleet was still near Sicily and that there were no other warships, John.  Admiral Jellicoe thought he had a winning chance.  Isn't it easy to use the huge strength of the combined fleet of 13 battleships and three battlecruisers to deal with the eight battleships and one battlecruiser of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet?

    On August 14, the combined fleet of the British and French navies set out from Gibraltar and headed straight for Sicily.
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