Chapter 1000 Ready to Go

Sometimes, moving too quickly can be troublesome. For example, Count Spee's action this time was that the day after the French fleet was attacked by a submarine, he directly took all the elites to raid someone's hometown, and they succeeded. Got it! This made the prince and others feel that happiness came too quickly, and they were a little unaccustomed to it. But no matter what, just prepare immediately. The fleet can sail at any time. The only troublesome thing is the hoisting and preparation of supplies. Count Spee's fleet still needs some time to rest after returning to port.

"It takes up to three days to prepare! On the night of the fifth day, Vice Admiral Negovan's fleet must appear in the Sea of ​​Marmara!" The prince finally made the decision to fight on behalf of the Austrian Emperor! Three days of preparation time, and departure on the third night. This is a well-thought-out plan. If the time is too long, I am afraid something will happen. If the time is too short, we will not be able to finish loading everything. Moreover, the Spey fleet also needs to make repairs to the fleet. Not to mention entering the dock for repairs, at least get a plug to plug the breach at the battleship's waterline, and then drain the water.

Taking into account the huge size of the fleet after the rendezvous, the need for a long-term maritime attrition war, and the fact that Turkey does not have the ability to manufacture 350mm armor-piercing projectiles. So this time the Austro-Hungarian fleet took away almost all the large-caliber naval gun shells from all the military ports on the Adriatic coast. On the Santa Isabella transport ship, more than 4,000 rounds of 350mm artillery shells and some propellant packs were stored.

Considering the concealment and anti-submarine problems of such a large fleet sailing, other warships of the Austro-Hungarian fleet have specially strengthened minesweeping and reconnaissance work near the Strait of Otranto. As for the Mediterranean, if the Austro-Hungarian fleet with an average speed of more than 20 knots really Got hit by a submarine at night. Then you can only blame your bad luck. The fleet will set sail at 5 pm on the third day and pass through the Strait of Otranto at the highest speed. If nothing goes wrong, it will enter the Mediterranean Sea before 8 pm and use the last ray of sunlight during the day to pass through the most likely submarines and mines. Ambush area.

Once the moment of attack has been decided, the route must also be decided. After leaving the Adriatic Sea, the nearest route is naturally through the Kythira Strait between the Greek mainland and Crete, but the French fleet is deployed here, although they were hit with two bricks, right? But it was still not something the Austro-Hungarian fleet could afford. Therefore, the best route can only be to bypass Crete and pass through the strait between Rhodes and Karpathos Islands. It is close to the Turkish mainland, and you can also learn about the situation in the strait through some offshore ships. Moreover, it is far away from the French fleet, so the probability of encountering it is relatively low.

It stands to reason that now that the French fleet has been severely damaged and is in very bad condition, the Austro-Hungarian fleet can just go out on its own. With high speed and night operations most of the time, the French are definitely not willing to fight at this time. With the market's mentality, this matter should be a sure thing. But the prince always felt that there seemed to be some problem somewhere. He couldn't explain clearly, but he could always feel that there was a hidden hand behind the scenes that made him very uneasy.

"By the way, where is the Japanese fleet now?!" the prince thought for a while and asked.

"This, according to the report three days ago, it seems that it has not passed through the Strait of Malacca." Tirpitz is still very competent as a staff officer. Remember Men Qing about things related to the navy.

"What about now?" the prince asked.

"I don't know about this, I guess it's in India." The Navy Minister said with some embarrassment.

"What do you mean you've arrived in India?!" The prince was very dissatisfied with this answer. At this time, the prince did not forget the Fuso-class battleship that had just defeated the US Navy in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

Historically, this class of battleships can be considered average at best.

But in this plane? Apart from anything else, just judging from the 10 15-inch L42 cannons on it, as well as the armor that is said to be as thick as the Queen and also tilted, it must not be underestimated! Even the prince thought that it would be difficult to penetrate the opponent's main armor from the side string with the 15-inch gun of the Bavaria-class battleship in a battle. Whether it could penetrate the enemy's main armor depends on the inclination of the opponent.

In addition, it is said that the cost is 3 million pounds. As long as the design is not particularly bad and the "sincerity" reaches this level, the combat effectiveness will definitely not be low. For more than 3 years, there was no rush work, and there was no overtime pay. The wages of Japanese shipbuilders were even lower, 500,000 pounds more expensive than the Queen! If there was no corruption or anything like that, all these real money would be turned into fighting power.

What made the prince most uneasy was, what was the speed of this battleship? The Japanese say it is 23 knots to the outside world. But judging from Japan’s history of hiding the Nagato’s speed, 23 knots is definitely low! You know, in history, the Nagato-class battleship before the major overhaul ran a high speed of 26.7 knots! And Japan’s external claim seems to be 24 knots? Therefore, regardless of historical experience, Ruprecht believes that it is reasonable for Fuso in this plane to run 25 knots!

Well, to put it bluntly, the prince is worried that the British and Japanese will come to build a plank road openly and covertly! Unknowingly, two Japanese fast battleships and the accompanying British battleships came over! By that time, Earl Spee's night attack on Crete would have completely lost its strategic value!

"First send an instruction to our overseas intelligence personnel to let them figure out the movements of the Japanese fleet as soon as possible."

"Then, immediately contact the Kaiser, and then order Count Spee in the name of the Imperial Navy to rush to the outskirts of Rhode Island to meet the Austro-Hungarian fleet on the scheduled date. This time, all of them will go, not only the four fast battleships. There are two armored cruisers coming too!" the prince said.

"Isn't this a bit of a fuss? Can we just respond in the northern Aegean Sea?" Tirpitz said in surprise.

"No, this order must be implemented to the letter. If you are unwilling to sign this order, then fine, I will contact the Kaiser directly." Regarding military issues, the prince will never back down even a step! "I have a hunch that we are very likely to run into some trouble when we go out this time."

"If that's the case, then don't go out?" Tirpitz muttered in his heart. Of course, he didn't have the guts to say it directly.

But no matter what, the prince's authority on naval issues was achieved with real swords and real guns. After Operation Thunder Sebulus, no one could trouble the prince on naval tactical issues, so although Tirpitz had some Unwilling, but still doing as the prince asked, the telegram was sent, and the changes in the Mediterranean War finally reached a critical moment!