Chapter 377 Italian Noodles Part 3
"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 dreamed of something like this - a decisive battle with the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean, 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," said Major General Charles Crutchley with some concern, "The Germans have deployed Fokker Zero, Fokker 115, and Fw-200 in Rnaya. If Fleet H approaches Rnaya within 500 nautical miles, it may be attacked by air."
"It doesn't matter, Fleet H can handle it." Cunningham shook his head, "There are Sea Spitfire fighters on the Ark Royal. With the support of shipborne radar, they are enough to deal with Fokker Zero."
The Sea Spitfire is a 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 with the Showmarine Company. However, it is not a matter of a day or a night to convert a fighter with a liquid-cooled engine used by the Air Force into a carrier-based aircraft. 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 Battle of France that followed delayed the production of the Seafire. By the end of June 1940, only 36 Seafires were produced, of which 6 were used to train pilots, and the remaining 30 were given to the Royal Ark, Eagle and Glorious.
It is worth mentioning that the Seafire had a lot of weight added because the rear of the fuselage was strengthened and a landing hook was installed, which also reduced the performance of the aircraft.
After receiving Cunningham's order, Vice Admiral Somerville, the commander of the H Fleet, immediately ordered the fleet on standby to set off. The actions of the H Fleet naturally could not be hidden from Franco's agents, and the news was reported to Rome and Berlin at the first time.
"The British H Fleet has also moved, heading east. What do you think of this intelligence?" Marshal Hessmann said, "The British have now deployed 3 aircraft carriers, 4 battleships, 1 battlecruiser, and at least 5 heavy cruisers. Almost all of them are out!"
After defeating France, the prestige of the General Staff has risen to a new level, and the Navy's Supreme Command can be summoned from Wilhelmshaven to Zossen. Therefore, in addition to the generals of the Army and Air Force, the Navy Commander-in-Chief Marshal Raeder and the Chief of the Navy Staff Admiral Otto Schneewindt also attended the meeting at the General Staff today. Now Hessmann's questions are mainly for the two naval leaders.
"It may be that the H Fleet will join forces with the main force of the Mediterranean Fleet, and then rely on the Malta Fortress to seek a decisive battle with the Italian Fleet." Raeder frowned and said, "Although the Italians have 6 battleships on paper, 2 of them are still undergoing modernization. The Doria will not be completed until October, and the Duilio will not be completed until the middle of this month.
In addition, the two Veneto-class battleships have not been in service for a long time, and the officers and soldiers are still familiar with the equipment, so it is difficult to exert their maximum power. Therefore, it is most beneficial for Britain to have a decisive battle now."
Raeder did not guess Cunningham's true intention, but his analysis was reasonable. For Italy, it is more advantageous to wait until October or November, when the Doria battleship is completed, to have a decisive battle. And by then, the three German air regiments currently deployed in R Naya will also be transferred to Sicily. If the battle starts at that time, the hundreds of aircraft of the three German air regiments alone will be enough to give the British Mediterranean Fleet a hard time, not to mention the 6 battleships in the best condition!
Admiral Otto Schneewindt, the chief of the naval staff, also supported Raeder's point of view. He said: "The sooner the decisive battle, the better it is for the British. If they wait for the four battleships of the French naval volunteers to be repaired, then the British will have no chance of winning."
"So what do you suggest?" Hessmann asked.
"Let the three air regiments we placed in Rnaya be responsible for attacking the British H Fleet." Raeder said, "The two Italian Veneto-class battleships and the Sparrowhawk aircraft carrier will leave the port immediately to join the main force. Then seek a decisive battle with the main force of the British Mediterranean Fleet!"
"We should have a battle." Admiral Otto Schneewindt also said, "Even if the battle is unfavorable, the two Veneto-class battleships will not be a big deal, because they are very strong. And the British can't be unscathed."
"Okay," Hessmann nodded and said to the staff beside him, "Let's suggest this to the headquarters of the Southern Front."