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Text Chapter 1301 The Navy¡¯s Attack Target

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    The Strait of Gibraltar is the strait connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.  It is located between the southernmost part of Spain and northwest Africa. It is 58 kilometers long and its narrowest point is between Cape Marrochi in Spain and Cape Sires in Morocco. It is only 13 kilometers wide.  Gibraltar is a city and port at the southern tip of Europe's Iberian Peninsula.  On the north shore of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the communication artery between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, facing the city of Ceuta, Spain's North African possession, in the south.

    Gibraltar¡¯s strategic location is very important, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, this status has been strengthened, becoming a strategic location guarding the east-west route.  In the 19th century AD, the Arabs landed from Gibraltar when they invaded the Iberian Peninsula.  It was not recaptured by the Spanish until 14NO, and was officially included in its territory in 1501.  In 1703, France and Austria resorted to war to compete for the succession to the Spanish throne. Britain, the Netherlands, and Austria formed an alliance. Their coalition forces conquered Gibraltar in 1704 and established a military fortress.  In 171, Spain signed the Anglo-Spanish Treaty with Britain and ceded Gibraltar to Britain.  In 1830, Gibraltar became a British colony and major naval base.  Since then, all military and political affairs in Gibraltar have been overseen by the Governor appointed by the British royal family.  At the same time, this is also the home port of the British Navy¡¯s Mediterranean Fleet!

    After the Battle of Sicily, the British and French naval fleets led by British Admiral Jellicoe suffered a disastrous defeat, and the remaining forces retreated to Gibraltar.  It's just that at that time, the main force of the Chinese Navy's Indian Fleet had returned to the Indian Ocean to support the Army's combat operations, so it did not attack the remaining forces of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet!  However, now the time seems to be ripe!

    "The location of Gibraltar is indeed very important. As long as we capture this place and build a complete defense system in Gibraltar, we don't even need to deploy a fleet. We only need to use large-caliber coastal defense guns to block the entire strait! If we deploy more in Gibraltar  With combat aircraft, we can completely control the Strait of Gibraltar! By then, the entire Mediterranean will also become our sphere of influence!" said Admiral Li Haitao, Commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet.  Now China's operations against India and Australia have ended, the Indian Ocean Fleet has also completed its rest, and the main force is returning to the Mediterranean.  With the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet, as long as it is equipped with a certain amount of marines, there will be almost no problem in capturing the Strait of Gibraltar!  Although the British Navy still has a certain degree of strength, it is obviously no longer able to compete with China for maritime hegemony!

    "We are already in sight of victory in this world war! However, the Germans are now attacking France with all their strength. Although the British and French forces are still resisting, they are obviously unable to succeed! If the Germans capture France, this will make Germany  Our strength has greatly improved. By then, Germany will become China's biggest enemy! Capturing Gibraltar now will be very beneficial to our follow-up plans!" Marshal Li Dingxin, Commander of the Home Fleet, also agreed!

    "Since everyone has no objections! Then, the plan to capture Gibraltar is finalized! How long will it take for the main force of the Indian Ocean Fleet to reach the Strait of Gibraltar?" Marshal Zhang Cheng, Minister of the Navy, asked!

    "The fleet has now passed the Suez Canal and will be able to reach the Strait of Gibraltar in up to a week and then launch an attack!" said Admiral Li Haitao, commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet.  The main force of the Home Fleet and part of the Pacific Fleet annihilated the main force of the US-British Combined Fleet in the Bahamas. This was the envy of everyone in the Indian Ocean Fleet!  After several months of rest, the Indian Ocean Fleet also very much hopes to win another victory.  War is the best time to gain military merit and the best opportunity for promotion!

    "Okay! The attack on Gibraltar is scheduled for a week later! General Li will rush to the fleet after today's meeting! Take a plane directly to Cairo, and then catch up with the fleet on a destroyer. It should be in time!" said Navy Minister Zhang Cheng!  !

    "Yes, sir! However, can two aircraft carriers be deployed to support us? After all, the British and French have begun to switch to advanced fighters. If air superiority can be controlled in our hands, it will be more beneficial to capture Gibraltar!"  "Admiral Li Haitao said.  In the Battle of the Bahamas, the navy's carrier aviation has proven its combat effectiveness. Although the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet no longer has capital ships, the British have also built a lot of coastal defenses in Gibraltar.  Many of these coastal defenses are solid fortresses. If bombed by fighter planes, the effect will definitely be much better than bombardment by warships.  In addition, Admiral Li Haitao also hopes to further enhance the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet.  With the addition of such a weapon as an aircraft carrier, the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet will inevitably be raised to a higher level.

    The Lord Admiralty thought for a few seconds before nodding.  The Chinese Navy currently only has four "Emeishan-class" aircraft carriers, and there is also one "Kunlun" aircraft carrier for training. Its combat effectiveness is too poor.  And the first batch of new ones! FiveThe ??-class aircraft carrier is not expected to be delivered to the troops until the second half of the year.  The second batch of ¡®Wuyue-class aircraft carriers will not be delivered until 1955.  But now there is no fighting in the western Atlantic Ocean.

    The four aircraft carriers staying there are no longer of much use.  As the war progresses, the Chinese Navy's next operational target will definitely be Europe, and the Navy's main fleet will definitely move to the east of the Atlantic!

    "I will order the aircraft carriers 'Jiuhuashan' and 'Putuoshan' to go to the Strait of Gibraltar to join the Indian Ocean Fleet and temporarily integrate into the Indian Ocean Fleet to fight! In addition, the fleet must pay special attention to anti-submarine. Although the prerequisite technology of the British is not as good as  We are certainly no worse than the Americans. The narrow strait area is most vulnerable to enemy ambushes, so don¡¯t capsize in the ditch!" Navy Minister Zhang Cheng warned!  The more you want to win the final victory, the more careful you have to be.  If negligence leads to heavy losses, this is absolutely unforgivable.  This will also have a very bad impact on everyone¡¯s attempts!

    "Yes, you should pay attention to anti-submarine! When the expedition fleet was in the United States, it was almost attacked by an American submarine. If our Lop Nur-class frigates hadn't discovered the incoming submarine, they might have been attacked by the United States.  You will be caught off guard!" Marshal Li Dingxin, commander of the local fleet, also said!

    "Yes, I understand!" General Li Haitao nodded. These are valuable battlefield experiences!  The Indian Ocean Fleet also has 15 Lop Nur-class frigates, and it will definitely pay attention to these frigates by then.  The Strait of Gibraltar is relatively narrow, as long as a few ships are deployed in the strait

    ¡®The Lop Nur class frigates must be able to block the entire strait.  If the British submarine wants to sneak attack the Chinese Navy, it will not be easy to succeed!

    "Gibraltar will be our first target! I will tell His Majesty the Emperor later that our plan will definitely be approved! Taking Gibraltar is just our first target! I believe that with the strength of the Indian Ocean Fleet  With our strength, there will be no problem in capturing Gibraltar! So, after capturing the Strait of Gibraltar, where will our next target be?" Marshal Zhang Cheng asked.

    "Sir, I think after taking Gibraltar, we can attack Italy! Italy was originally a member of the Allied Powers, but they betrayed their faith and threw themselves into the arms of the Allies! However, the Italians' combat power does not seem to be very good! Millions  They attacked the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but they were beaten back. Instead, the allied forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany invaded the mainland! It can be seen that the combat power of the Italian army is very rubbish! If we attack Italy, we should not  There will be too big a problem!" Pacific Fleet Commander Gao Yihai suggested!

    Marshal Zhang Cheng nodded. The terrain of Italy is very strange. From the map, it looks like a boot extending from the European continent into the Mediterranean Sea.  The Roman Empire was a world-class powerful country that treated the entire Mediterranean as an inland sea.

    It¡¯s just that the descendants of the Romans no longer have the fighting will of their ancestors.  It cannot even defeat an African country, and now it is making a fool of itself in the war.  The Chinese navy now controls most of the Mediterranean. After the Battle of Gibraltar is over, the entire Mediterranean will be under China's control.  Italy has a long coastline, which will also allow China to attack Italy wantonly.  No one doubts that with China¡¯s strength, it will be very easy to conquer Italy!

    "Although Italy is one of the top powers in Europe, their military strength is terrible! Now that we have captured Sicily, if we can defeat Italy, we may be able to force them to cede Sicily to us!" Vice Navy Vice President  Marshal Deng Shichang, the minister, also said.  Sicily's geographical location is very important. If you occupy it, you can influence the entire Mediterranean!

    "But if you want to defeat Italy, you need the help of the army! I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat them with the strength of the navy alone!" Marshal Li Dingxin said!  After all, no matter how weak Italy is, it still has nearly two million troops. The Chinese Navy currently only has ten marine divisions in total. Excluding the troops deployed around the world, the number of troops that can be mobilized does not exceed 5 divisions. To use 5 marine divisions  Defeating Italy is undoubtedly a fantasy!

    "I will contact the Army Ministry regarding Army matters! I believe Marshal Zhao Bowen of the Army Ministry will not let go of this opportunity to destroy the country!" Marshal Zhang Cheng said.  He knew that the Army Department would definitely agree to cooperate with the Navy to destroy Italy. This was also a huge result for the Army Department!
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