Chapter 1,222 The Curtain Opens
Chapter 1222 The curtain opens
On your own side? Seems safer. But we must also be more vigilant. Our fleet is in the best condition and ready to go at any time. In his opinion, if we can strengthen the vigilance and escape before the British bombers come, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?
However, fate is so unpredictable. When the count's order was issued, there were only 2 days left before the British finally launched their attack! Count Lucknar, who was located in the port of Burgas, Bulgaria, received orders from Count Spee and prepared to lead the fleet to Romania under German control in two days. And this day happened to be the day when British bombers attacked.
"Okay, for now, the plan is frozen. Let's take a look at the feast on the table, and then allocate your favorite dishes to everyone." On the same day, Trenchard, who was responsible for commanding this operation code-named Operation Rolling Thunder, The lieutenant general issued the final plan at the last meeting before the war!
"According to our reconnaissance yesterday, the distribution of the German fleet is as follows. In the port of Burgas, Bulgaria, there is the Sultan Osman I commanded by Count Lucknar, as well as the armored cruiser Amidiye and the Red Beard Sea Redding. .At the Constantinople base, there are two battleships commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Niegovan of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, United Forces and St. Stephen, as well as a quasi-dreadnought Radetzky. And in The Port of Ereli is home to the main force of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet, three fast battleships commanded by Count Spee, Tegelhof, Prinz Eugen and Resardier, plus two other quasi-dreadnoughts, Ferdinand. and Zliny.”
"As for allocating attack targets? The V1500 bomber squadron and three FB27 bomber squadrons are responsible for attacking the Port of Ereli. The remaining three squadrons are divided into two equal bomber groups to attack the ports of Constantinople and Burgas respectively." In the end, Lieutenant General Trenchard compromised. The entire bomber force was divided into three bomber groups, A, B, and C, and each bomber group was assigned an additional guidance detachment. In the end, Lieutenant General Trenchard decided to take action. At this time, it had been 2 months since Churchill originally proposed this plan, and it had also been 1 month since the British aviation reconnaissance was launched on a large scale. From a time perspective, Look, it took a little long.
At the same time, Captain Harley also began to arrange his own reasons. They did not get the news, but they thought that it was a bit excessive to carry them around at the airport all day when they first came to your place, so in the spirit of getting the most out of it. Well, with the idea of getting familiar with the environment and training the team, Captain Harley mobilized his Night Scythe squadron and the other half of the squadron temporarily assigned to him.
"The British aerial reconnaissance is unpredictable, so we must make the interception net wider. I suggest that all aircraft be deployed in small groups." As he said, Captain Harley will map the surrounding areas of Constantinople. A circle was drawn on it and several locations were highlighted. Captain Harley, who has a total of 30 K-4J interceptor aircraft in his hands, believes that he has sufficient strength. So the entire cordon was expanded. Even the area around Constantinople was included.
“All aircraft have drop tanks full;
We may need to be in the air for a long time this time. The guard posts on the ground will provide us with intelligence. After discovering the target, each team can choose to intercept it individually. No need to wait for anyone else. We have only one mission, to clear the skies over the Dardanelles of all British aircraft. The fleet can fly out of the Turkish territory to fight. Of course, if it is not necessary, it is best not to go over Greece. "This was Captain Harley's first time commanding such a hunt. In his opinion, it was just a pack of wolves catching a few prey that were wandering alone. So he delegated the command.
"Boy, do you want to make a bet to see whether it is you, the Night Scythe, who will achieve the first victory, or our Scimitar?" After the meeting, Captain Harley met the captain of the Scimitar Squadron, Major Wolfstein. This is He is an old bird. He was Captain Harley's captain back then.
"This is boring. Tomorrow it will be us, and the day after tomorrow it will be you. It all depends on luck, and I hate luck the most. It is so elusive. How about we bet on who will achieve the victory first between the two of us? Bet on you. A bottle of 1895 Bordeaux, France." Captain Harley looked helplessly at the juice in his hand. Because of the attack tomorrow, drinking is prohibited today.
"As you wish." Wolfstein picked up the wine glass in his hand and clinked it with the other party proudly. The wine in his glass was genuine wine.
And in the Sevastopol Fortress hundreds of kilometers away from Constantinople. Lieutenant General Eberhard, commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, also received orders from St. Petersburg. The telegram was simple: "The British fleet will decide to launch an attack on D-Day, and the Black Sea Fleet should launch the offensive according to the predetermined plan."
"Really? It's finally about to begin!" Lieutenant General Eberhard handed the telegram to Kolchak next to him and sighed. He was somewhat looking forward to this battle, but at the same time he was also a little worried. The so-called high returns come with high risks. The fate of the Black Sea and even Russia may be decided in the next two days. The Allies and Russia have been preparing for decades on the Black Sea, but they have to decide in two days. As a trader on the Russian side, it is necessary to say It’s impossible not to be nervous!
"Are the fleets ready?" said Nowitzki, the commander of the First Battleship Squadron next to him.
"As you wish, the fleet can set off at any time. Even the mascot on the flagship Queen Maria is ready to witness a historical moment!" Nowitzki said calmly.
"Okay then, this morning, we will send a minesweeper to clean the sewers. We will set off at 8 o'clock in the evening!" Lieutenant General Eberhard ordered.
On the night of February 3, 1915, the port of Sevastopol was brightly lit, and the bright light and thick smoke when the fleet set sail alarmed a shark hiding outside the harbor. Pillars of smoke began to rise, and the unusually lively situation in the port made the Austro-Hungarian offshore submarine numbered UB-15 feel a little uneasy. After a moment of hesitation, the submarine turned on its radio antenna and sent a telegram to Ereli, hundreds of kilometers away.
Count Spee never relaxed his surveillance of the Sevastopol Fortress, and a reconnaissance force consisting of camouflaged cruisers, submarines and seaplanes always lingered near the port. Especially after discovering that the Russian fleet's mine clearance operations seemed to have become more diligent recently, the count ordered at least three submarines to be maintained to perform blockade and surveillance missions near the home base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
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