Iron Cross

After reading the names of these warships, Churchill couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Everyone understood the meaning behind this sigh - although four battleships were prepared in three directions, none of the battleships belonged to the Tirpitz. Opponents, even two ships working together may not be able to block the Tirpitz.

After pondering for a moment, he suggested: "Aviation power is of very important value. The number of escort aircraft carriers is not enough. Should each fleet be equipped with one more?"

Tovey and Pound looked at each other and said awkwardly: "We have used almost all the available escort carriers. The Navy only has one as a backup, and the other escort carriers have been assigned to transport ships. The team cannot be mobilized in a short time.”

"Perhaps I need to communicate with President Roosevelt and ask him to first support the USS Independence in our operations." Churchill explained, "Now we do not have a fleet aircraft carrier. Although the number of aircraft carried by the two escort aircraft carriers combined is barely equal to one They are not fast enough and their defenses are not strong enough to fully fulfill the functions of a fleet aircraft carrier, which is too bad. "

The USS Independence light aircraft carrier was commissioned and delivered three weeks ago and has just completed relevant sea trials. Although it is still on the east coast, it is planned to be transferred to the Pacific Fleet soon. Tovey has contacted the United States once, and the Atlantic Fleet said they would do this. If you don't know the master, you must ask for instructions from above. When Tovey was worried about how to speak to the Prime Minister, Churchill himself said this.

"That would be great."

"Are you sure you can add another Independence?"

"Well..." Tovey glanced at the silent Pound and spoke cautiously, "The force currently blocking the Tirpitz is not even two-thirds of the force that originally blocked the Bismarck. We... "

Everyone in the meeting was silent, and it took a long time for Churchill to speak: "Maybe it can't be blocked, but we must rush forward, otherwise the Atlantic route will face catastrophic consequences. In extraordinary times, Britain needs everyone to fulfill their duties."

"Yes, I will take command personally." Tovey expressed his position and then spoke with difficulty, "The naval aviation force is insufficient. Can we ask the Royal Air Force for some assistance?"

Royal Air Force Chief of Staff Admiral Porter immediately said: "There is no question, the Royal Air Force will go all out to eliminate this scourge."

Just as everyone in the meeting was racking their brains to think about how to deal with the aggressive challenge of the Tirpitz formation, a staff officer stumbled into the meeting place, panting and reporting: "There is news from the direction of Italy, the Axis Navy is dispatched, The target is Malta!”

"How many troops?"

"6 Japanese battleships, 3 Italian battleships, 1 German battleship, 12 heavy cruisers and a large number of destroyers, as well as a huge transport fleet, but no aircraft carriers!"

Everyone frowned after hearing this, not because they thought the enemy's strength was too scary, but because they felt that the information was too detailed - it didn't even include common words in the intelligence system such as "left, right, approximately, seemingly, and allegedly", and every number was very conclusive. .

"Is the information reliable?"

"Reliable, absolutely reliable!"

After explanation, everyone understood that the intelligence was not obtained through secret channels at all. It was all public information. An hour and a half ago, a grand expedition ceremony was held at the famous Italian military port of Taranto, and the public witnessed one group after another of German soldiers. After boarding the transport ship, naval warships slowly left the dock one after another and headed towards Malta. Important figures such as Italian Prime Minister Mussolini, Commander-in-Chief of the German Southern Front Marshal Kesselring, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet Admiral Horikichi Yoshi and other important figures were present in person. During the farewell ceremony, drums were beating loudly, cannons were firing, and the atmosphere was high-the Italians had no intention of hiding anything.

A few minutes later, more precise news came into the conference room. The Italian side announced the "Melton Letter Urging the Maltese Garrison to Surrender Unconditionally" through a clear telegram: "... Whether to stay in peace or war, a deadline of 6 hours for a reply, if so. Otherwise, the powerful navy of our three-nation axis will completely destroy Malta!"

"This is a demonstration!" Churchill hated it: apart from a dozen aircraft and a few old cruisers or destroyers, Malta has basically no force worth mentioning, namely the shore artillery positions and anti-aircraft gun positions deployed on the island. In the recent period of indiscriminate bombing by the German and Italian Air Force, it is almost impossible to defend against such a powerful force. As for the lack of aircraft carriers, it is not surprising - Sicily is the largest natural aircraft carrier!

"What can we do for Malta?" Churchill asked.

No one answered his question, and everyone's eyes were full of despair.

In the end, Churchill could only say helplessly: "Send them a telegram of comfort in my name, 'Great Britain will always remember your loyalty and dedication!'"

Of course, Mussolini liked to see such a chore as holding an expedition ceremony. Since the capture of Malta was clearly directed by an Italian, the Italian leader wanted to make a show of it. Hoffman originally wanted to refuse outright, but he thought about it carefully. He also felt that it was still necessary: ​​first, it was impossible to hide the expedition of such a large-scale fleet from those who were interested. Since it would be known to the British sooner or later, it was better to use such a high-profile approach to show the powerful force of the Axis; second, Mussoli Italy has cooperated in many aspects such as the German-Italian axis. As a reward, his vanity must be satisfied. This will also help to enhance the Italians' enthusiasm and confidence in the war and further consolidate the Italian leader's political position within the party and at home. Third, this is a joint expedition by the three Axis countries. It is necessary to show the spirit of the three countries' close cooperation and joint suppression of the British Empire, and give some confidence to some "neutral countries" that are still wavering. If Malta can be captured quickly after the high-profile expedition ceremony, Hoffman feels that the "advertising fee" will be worth it.

For the sake of this small island, of course Horikichi would not die personally, so the commander-in-chief of the Malta campaign was Admiral Iagenso, the commander-in-chief of the Italian Navy who was fighting at home. Tsukahara 243's mobile fleet was busy training and getting familiar with the new aircraft. They all stayed in the harbor, so there was no aircraft carrier accompanying them. Lieutenant General Kondo Nobutake, the most senior, served as the commander of the artillery fleet and was in charge of all battleships - because Japan produced the most battleships. Admiral Krank, commander of the German Mediterranean Fleet, served as commander of the landing fleet, covering the army landing - because the landing force All German.

As for the planes, all of them were dispatched by the Italian Air Force and the German Navy. Kesselring deployed more than 500 planes for the Malta campaign - if so many planes were to rush in densely together, the entire sky over the island of Malta might be obscured.

Before the war started, it was also Hoffman's idea to send Malta a serious ultimatum, ordering it to surrender unconditionally within 6 hours, otherwise it would be driven back to the Stone Age with naval guns and bombs, which resulted in a lot of consequences. People clapped their hands and applauded.

Although a six-hour ultimatum was given, everyone believed that the Maltese defenders would not surrender easily, so while sending the ultimatum, they asked the fleet to hurry up and set off. The general attack on Malta was set at 12 noon on February 7. The request Complete the occupation before sunset.

In the evening, Hoffmann, Keitel and Raeder arrived in Rome on a special plane. Mussolini led a large number of Italian senior figures to greet them at the airport, as did senior Japanese navy officials who were not on the expedition.

"Who is this?" After shaking hands with Hoffman and exchanging greetings, Mussolini immediately saw Eva, who was following closely behind him and showed an elegant temperament in her movements. Eva had been excited for this overseas visit for a whole week. , but when she finally received a call from Berlin asking her to visit abroad together, she was so excited that she cried with joy.

Not only did he arrive in Berlin one day in advance, but he also prepared meticulously all morning. His clothes, hair style, and makeup were all meticulously perfected. Hitler would have been impatient for a long time, but Hofmann showed his understanding magnanimously—what woman wouldn’t travel like this? Fortunately, although Eva struggled, she had a strong sense of time. She took action as soon as she said she wanted to go, without delaying at all, and she would not drag Hoffman to make comments on the plane.

After Mussolini kissed his hand, Eva shyly introduced: "Dear Führer, I am Eva Braun, the personal secretary of the Führer."

"Oh..." Mussolini thought thoughtfully.

"She is my girlfriend, but her identity is still kept secret from most ordinary people... You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not, I'm very honored..."

Mussolini's eyes immediately narrowed when he heard Hoffman's personal introduction. He actually knew about Eva's existence and had seen her several times in public, but the head of state had never shown him as openly as he did today. When he came out, he couldn't help but feel a little suspicious, but he felt it was completely normal - he had many lovers, man...

After hearing Hoffman introduce his "girlfriend" personally, Eva felt that her whole body was about to merge. She looked at Hoffman lovingly, making the latter feel that there were burning eyes staring at her back - the heat was simply Can be worn through winter clothing.

The second person in line to meet was Horikichi. After being introduced by Second Adjutant Cole, the two shook hands warmly and exchanged greetings, as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for many years - although they had never met.

Hoffman personally introduced to Eva: "This is the famous Japanese Navy Commander-in-Chief General Horikichi - the British and American naval warships he sent to the bottom of the sea are stronger than the combined strength of the German and Italian navies."

"Don't dare to take it, don't take it..." Horikichi smiled humbly, "The Führer has made more contributions to the German nation than the greatest leader in history, far more than Emperor Napoleon."

"Hahaha." Everyone laughed, and even Mussolini applauded this original "little brother" with a smile on his face - it turns out that the Germans are far more capable than the Italians. News came from the direction of Ethiopia that the German army The troops arrived at Addis Ababa today, and Guderian invited him to attend the entrance ceremony, which satisfied the Italian leader.