The Rise of the Third Reich

"Leader, our Supreme Command meeting has approved a plan to provide you with heavy fuel, aircraft, tanks, anti-tank guns, radars and special steel. All these supplies can be in place before the end of August."

At noon on July 7, General Halder, who arrived at the Venice Palace with General Hans Jeshunek, first reported the news about the aid he had just received to Italian leader Mussolini.

Mussolini's brows furrowed slightly, looking worried. Since Italy joined the war, the "current Caesar" has always been arrogant. The only time he looked so worried today was when he learned that Marshal Balbo was killed by his own anti-aircraft artillery.

Could it be that another high-ranking Italian general died in confusion? When this idea came to General Halder's mind, Mussolini told him some bad news.

"This morning, the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet left Alexandria and is sailing westward. The target may be the port of Malta, or it may be one of our convoys."

"The main force of the Mediterranean Fleet?" Admiral Halder was taken aback and quickly turned to look at Jeshunek. Halder is an army general and is not particularly familiar with the issues of sea and air combat.

"Leader, where is the destination of our convoy?" Hans Jeshunek asked with a frown.

"It's Benghazi," Mussolini said. "We are sending ammunition and supplies to Benghazi in preparation for the offensive that will start in September."

September! General Halder sighed deeply after hearing Mussolini's words. As early as 1939, Hitler and Hersmann repeatedly asked Mussolini to prepare. But preparations came and went. By the time Italy declared war on Britain and France in May, it seemed that apart from 3.8 million tons of fuel oil reserves (2.4 million tons of which belonged to the navy, which could be used by the Italian Navy for up to 12 months in wartime), there was nothing else. None are ready.

The most exaggerated thing is that the more than 500,000 troops stationed in North and East Africa do not have enough ammunition and supplies. In Halder's view, stationing more than 500,000 troops in North and East Africa is completely nonsense. North Africa and East Africa simply cannot support that many troops. Logistics and supplies all depend on Italy. Especially in North Africa, which cannot even supply food to the garrison. Daily food and drink for the 250,000 troops is a big problem, and the Italian army's fire food is not bad. surprisingly. As a result, the 250,000 troops in North Africa who have participated in the war have not achieved any results, but have become a huge burden on logistics and transportation.

Moreover, the "Libya" colony under Italian rule is very desolate and has poor infrastructure. There is no railway line connecting French Nice and Benghazi (the two places are nearly 1,600 kilometers apart), and there is even no railway line between Tripoli and Benghazi. . Therefore, Italian transport ships cannot transport supplies through the safer and closer T-Neisse Strait, and can only risk going to Benghazi and the more dangerous outpost Tobruk.

The straight-line distance from Taranto to Benghazi and Tobruk is nearly 1,000 kilometers, and the entire route is under the nose of British reconnaissance aircraft based in Malta. The degree of danger can be imagined!

What made Halder and Jeshunek even more helpless was that the Italians felt very good about themselves and rejected all proposals made by the German Southern Front Headquarters to deploy German fighters and bombers in Taranto and Sicily. .

Seeing the faces of Halder and Jeshunek, Mussolini laughed and regained his confident expression: "We have sent a powerful fleet to escort the transport fleet, with 2 ships Battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 7 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers and 32 destroyers. Therefore, there will be no danger. The attack in September will not be delayed. By the end of December at the latest, the entire North Africa and East Africa will be deployed. Under our control, just wait and hear the good news!”

Halder and Jeshunek looked at each other, and Halder asked: "Leader, when can the operation to capture Malta begin? When can the joint command be established?"

Mussolini shrugged, with an expression of not caring at all, "I will leave the matter of seizing Malta to the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Cavniari, with full responsibility. You can go to the Naval Headquarters to discuss it with him."

…

The main force of the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, which was discovered by Italian agents to have left Alexandria, was sailing westward in a mighty manner on the afternoon of July 7. This is a huge fleet consisting of 3 battleships, 2 aircraft carriers, 5 cruisers, 17 destroyers and 12 transport ships. The commander of the fleet is Admiral Cunningham, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet.

When leaving Alexandria, Admiral Cunningham was unaware that a large Italian convoy had left the port of Taranto. His mission in leading the fleet westward was not to intercept the Italian fleet, but to escort personnel and equipment to Malta. But now, he knew that an Italian fleet was sailing east.

"What to do?" Rear Admiral Charles Crutchley, chief of staff of the fleet and captain of the battleship "Warspite", was anxiously waiting for Admiral Cunningham to make up his mind. If it were in the past, he would definitely have wanted this kind of thing - a decisive battle with the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, which makes people excited just thinking about it.

But the problem is that we are now carrying out a major mission, and the key is to send personnel and equipment to Malta as soon as possible.

Cunningham thought about it and then said: "Order Fleet H to leave Gibraltar and conduct a feint westward."

"Admiral," Major General Charles Crutchley said with some worry, "the Germans have deployed Fokker Zero, Fokker 99, Ju88 and He-115 in R Naya, as well as Fw-200. If Fleet H is close to R There is a possibility of air attack within 500 nautical miles of Naya.”

"It doesn't matter, Fleet H can handle it." Cunningham shook his head, "There are Sea Spitfires on the Ark Royal. With the support of shipborne radar, they are enough to deal with the Fokker Zero."

The Sea Spitfire is the carrier-based model of the Spitfire. As early as October 1939, when the British carrier-based aircraft encountered the "Fokker Disaster", the British Admiralty placed an order for the Sea Spitfire to Showmarin. . However, converting a liquid-cooled engine fighter used by the Air Force into a carrier-based aircraft did not happen overnight. It was not until the eve of the Battle of France in March 1940 that the first Sea Spitfire successfully landed on an aircraft carrier. However, the subsequent Battle of France delayed the production of Sea Spitfires. By the end of June 1940, only 36 Sea Spitfires were produced. Six of them were used to train pilots, and the remaining 30 were given to Ark Royal. , Eagle and Illustrious .

It should be mentioned that the Sea Spitfire has strengthened the rear part of the fuselage and added a landing hook, which has increased a lot of weight and the performance of the aircraft has also declined.

After receiving Cunningham's order, Lieutenant General Somerville, the commander of Fleet H, immediately ordered the fleet on standby to set off. Naturally, every move of Fleet H could not be hidden from Franco's agents, and the news was immediately reported to Rome and Berlin.

"The British Fleet H has also moved, moving eastward. What do you think of this information?" Marshal Hersman said, "The British have now dispatched 3 aircraft carriers, 4 battleships, and 1 battleship cruiser. , and at least 5 heavy cruisers came out in full force!

After defeating France, the prestige of the General Staff rose to a higher level, and it was able to summon the High Command of the Navy from Wilhelmshaven to Zossen. Therefore, in addition to the generals of the army and air force, the meeting at the General Staff Headquarters today also included the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Marshal Redel, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Otto Schneewindt. Now Hersman's questions are mainly for the two navy leaders.

"It may be that Fleet H wants to join the main force of the Mediterranean Fleet, and then rely on the Malta Fortress to seek a decisive battle with the Italian Fleet." Redel frowned and said, "Although the Italians have 6 battleships on paper, two of them are Doria class. Under modernization and modification, the Doria will not be completed until October, and the Duilio class will not be completed until the middle of this month.

In addition, the two Veneto-class battleships have not been in active service for a long time, and the officers and soldiers are still familiar with the equipment, making it difficult to exert their maximum power. Therefore it is in Britain's best interest to have a decisive battle now. "

Raeder didn't guess Cunningham's true intentions, but his analysis made sense. For Italy, it would be more advantageous to wait until October or November and conduct the decisive battle after the Doria battleship is completed. And by that time, the three German aviation regiments currently deployed in Rana will also be transferred to Sicily. If the war starts again then, the hundreds of aircraft of the three German aviation groups alone will be enough to kill the British Mediterranean fleet, not to mention the 6 battleships in top condition!

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Otto Schneewind also supported Redl's point of view. He said: "The sooner the decisive battle is obviously the more beneficial it is to the British. If they wait for the four battleships of the French Navy volunteers to be repaired, then the British will not have No chance of winning."

"So what do you suggest?" Hersman asked.

"Our three aviation regiments in Rana are responsible for attacking the British Fleet H." Redl said, "Italy's two Veneto-class battleships and the aircraft carrier USS Sparrow Eagle immediately left the port to join the main force. Then seek peace The main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet engages in a decisive battle!"

"There should be a battle." Admiral Otto Schneewindt also said, "Even if the battle is unfavorable, the two Veneto-class ships will not be in serious trouble because they are very strong. And the British cannot remain unscathed. "

"Okay," Hessman nodded and said to the staff beside him, "Let's just suggest this to the Southern Front Headquarters."