The cold winter had not yet dissipated, and the port of Preveza, located on the west coast of the Balkans, was shrouded by the rumbling cannons. On a hill far away from the port, members of the German Navy Observation Corps, including Xiashu, Christian, and other German Navy Observation Corps watched the situation. In their sight, the Italian fleet, which was under the pressure of several battleships, launched crazy revenge on the Ottoman Navy port. The heavy shells came through the air with sharp monsters, and landed on the shore, which shook the earth, and the water columns that landed on the waterside, stirred up the sky. Although the range of the newly equipped Krupp artillery in the Ottoman Fortress was as good as the waters where the Italian fleet was located, compared with the opponent's majestic artillery, their resistance was alone and difficult to achieve.

On the south side of the harbor, outside the range of artillery fire in the Ottoman Fortress, many Italian transport ships had approached the near shore, and then carried soldiers to land in small boats. From a distance, countless small boats were like goldfish attracted by fish food. The Port of Preveza was operated by the Ottoman Navy for many years, but it was not valued because of its remote strategic location and too close to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Italy). Its port facilities are only suitable for small and medium-sized ships to be stationed, and the fortifications are no more than the military fortress at the entrance of the Dardanelles. The two artillery barricades were equipped with only more than 40 new and old artillery pieces. In addition to the trusted troops brought by Fatih Pasha, the defenders' forces were only over 2,000.

According to the defense plan previously formulated by the German Navy Advisory Group, the Turks sent three old-fashioned torpedo boats to release smoke screens at the port with German-made cigarette tanks, thus obscuring the Italians' sight. During several joint exercises at the Kiel Military Harbour Festival, people have learned about the attack methods used by the German high-speed torpedo boats based on smoke screens. Even the powerful British fleet was helpless. How dare the Italians who lack courage? If it were ordinary, the Italian fleet should retreat early, but

The night battle in the Eoria sea has put the Italian Navy in a passive dilemma, so this considerable Italian fleet did not withdraw its troops, but always kept a distance from the smoke screen. Across five or six thousand meters, even if the elite Ottoman Navy speedboats rushed out at lightning speed, the Italian fleet could fully intercept with light and heavy artillery, and there were also I-made torpedo boats towed by barges in the array. Even if the quality was not good, they could still use their quantity advantages to block them.

During the process of mass-produced smoke production, prefabricated smoke tanks with metal chloride as the main raw material consumed very quickly. Even if coal tar is added to the boiler and white sugar mixed with black gunpowder and other emergency measures are used, artificial smoke cannot continue indefinitely. During the few hours when the artillery fire of the Italian fleet was temporarily reduced, Fatih forced the Ottoman Navy personnel to urgently transfer German torpedo boats. Brave Turkish soldiers braved the shells that fell at any time to operate the crane and put the fish in the fish.

The mineboats were transported to the flatbed carriages of the train and transported them out of the port by train. In this way, 10 of the 12 high-speed warships participating in the night battle of the Eoria successfully escaped from the threat of artillery fire from the Italian fleet. As the smoke screen faded, the Italian fleet approached again. They successfully avoided the mines pre-installed by the Ottoman Navy. The shells of all sizes fell into the port like raindrops, destroying the remaining torpedo boats and the equipment and materials stored on the shore.

On the other hand, two battalions of Ottoman soldiers resisted the landing of the Italian army in the nearshore area south of the port. Although Fatih's trusted troops were equipped with Mauser 1898 rifles and were very tenacious in fighting spirit, the Italians used gunboats to support each other, causing heavy casualties to the Turkish troops. Moreover, the landing Italian troops were equipped with Maxim machine guns, and the number of people quickly increased to more than 3,000. After more than two hours of fierce fighting, Fatih's troops gave up the temporary front line.

Retreat. Xia Shu and his party, who were watching the battle from a distance, knew that the situation of the battle could not be reversed, so they decisively evacuated. On the way, they learned that the train carrying the torpedo boat was damaged due to the damage to the railway line. They couldn't help but sigh: History has repeatedly proved that relying on a few advanced weapons alone is not enough to save the fate of a country. The Battle of Eoria is like a shot of a heart-warming agent. Although it made the whole Ottomans jubilant, it cannot heal the country's already decaying foundation.

Natsuki and his partners also had an objective and calm evaluation of the performance of the Italian fleet's bottoming out and rebounding. For German Emperor William II and his military and political officials, Germany and Italy formed an alliance not because they valued its military strength, but because they used it to share the military pressure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so that they could fight Russia with all their might without worries, thereby reducing Germany's pressure on the eastern front and allowing Germany to concentrate as much troops as possible on the Western front. However, the source of this chain effect was tied to the Italians who were not determined, and his swaying and fence-headed position was destined to become a hidden danger. In the observation report presented to the German Emperor, Natsuki emphasized this issue and reminded William II not to bet on the Italians.

The navy was used to remove the nail of Preveza, and the Italians regained their confidence. They continued to increase troops to North Africa. The troops quickly exceeded 100,000, and dozens of aircraft and airships were deployed for reconnaissance, launched propaganda wars and carried out air bombing. Soon, the Italian Navy concentrated the main force of the fleet to the Turkish Army fortifications in the Dardanelles and Beirut, and landed on Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese Islands. The Ottoman Navy, which had only two Brandenburg-class battleships as the facade, did not dare to fight, but fought with torpedo boats. After suffering a lot in the Eoria Sea, the Italian Navy did not dare to neglect it. It set up a tight defensive array regardless of day and night, and sailed far away from the Ottoman coast at night, making it difficult for the Ottoman Navy to find fighter jets.

After not opening up for a long time, the Ottoman Navy ordered two German submarines to attack. According to the lease agreement signed by the two sides, 90% of the personnel on the submarine were active-service officers and soldiers of the German Navy. Only a small number of Ottoman Navy officers and soldiers were allowed to board the boat to observe and learn. After sailing out of the Dardanelles, the two submarines acted in accordance with the will of the German navy. They walked together, first sinking the Italian cruiser "Etruria" in the waters of Rhodes, and then secretly sailing to the Dodecanese Islands, sinking two Italian transport ships. Regarding these results, the German submarine officers and soldiers only informed their navy with secret telegrams, but did not report to the Ottoman side. Therefore, Italy and the Ottoman side "naturally" attributed the sinking of the "Etrusia" to "hit the mine", and the sinking of the two Italian transport ships was not announced to the public.

The navy was unable to resist the powerful enemy, and the army troops deployed in North Africa were defeated in a row in isolation. In July, an internal coup occurred in the Ottoman Empire. The pro-British Free and Harmonious Party members took the opportunity to overthrow the young Turkish regime and sent diplomatic officials to Europe to strive for support and mediation from the powerful countries. However, the Italians who had been planning for a long time had already made a good response. Among European countries, only Germany and Austro-Hungary supported the Turks. To make matters worse, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Negoro of the Balkan countries. Together, they were preparing to take advantage of the opportunity of war between Italy and Turkey to expel the Ottoman Empire from the Balkans. After the winter, with the support of Russia, Negoro of the small country, demanded that the Ottoman Empire implement autonomy over Macedonia and Thrace, but was rejected. Negoro of the tribe declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Within ten days, Bao, Sey, and Xi successively issued ultimatums to the Ottoman Empire, demanding that the Ottoman team withdraw from the Balkans and grant autonomy to all ethnic groups. The Turks refused. Bao, Sey, and Xi declared war on Shi, and the Balkan War broke out in full swing.

When the war broke out, the Ottoman Empire's troops in the Balkans were about 400,000 and more than 1,600 artillery pieces; the Balkan alliance had nearly 750,000 troops and more than 1,500 artillery pieces. In terms of national strength and military strength alone, the Ottoman Empire's lean camels were larger than horses, and the generals generally despised the Balkan countries, so they did not respond in advance to the military mobilization of these countries. After the war began, the security forces first launched an attack on Thrace, and then marched into the Turkish capital Constantinople (Istanbul); the three teams of Seychelles, Greece and Medal launched an attack on Macedonia, Albania and Epirus respectively; the Greek fleet controlled the Aegean channel and prevented the Turkish army from providing reinforcements from sea routes, thus forming a strategic siege against the Turkish army.

On one side is a remote province where Italy has been peeping at for many years, and on the other side is the European territory that the Balkan countries are determined to win. The two sides weighed the two, and the top leaders of the Ottoman Empire quickly made a choice. When the local military and civilians rose up to resist and the Italian army was invincible, the Ottoman government asked Italy to hold peace talks with both sides in Ushi near Lausanne, Switzerland. The Turks were eager to turn their main energy back to the Balkan war. In addition to the huge war reparations that were unable to bear, they all accepted the demands of the Italians to seize Tripolitania, Cyreanica, Rhodes, and Dodecanese Islands, and the two sides immediately signed a truce contract.

The threat from Italy was temporarily eliminated by drinking poison to quench thirst. The Ottoman Empire wanted to regain its face in the Balkan countries. However, except for a few elite troops trained by German instructors and equipped with well-equipped elite troops, the Ottoman army generally had problems such as backward weapons, scattered training, and low morale. The Balkan alliance army was in high morale and eager to fight. On the eastern Balkan front, the Bulgarian army defeated the Turkish army in Kirkgilisa and Luleibrgaz for one month, and began to siege Adrian Fort, and controlled a large area west of the Ottoman capital Constantinople. On the western Balkan front, the Greek army quickly captured Epirus, and then defeated the Turkish army's attack in southern Macedonia.

Thessalonika, the capital of Macedonia, and the navy occupied the Aegean islands; the Serbian army captured Kumanovo, Skopje and other cities in northern Macedonia, and then attacked the Greek army from north to south, surrounding the remnants of the Ottoman army in the Macedonian region at the Ioanina Fortress. Serbia advanced to the Adriatic coast, occupied Dupis and Tirana one after another, and surrounded Scutai with the cooperation of the Negoro army at the gate. One and a half months of war, Albania declared independence, and under the circumstances of the complete collapse of the front, the Ottoman Empire was forced to request the European powers to mediate. The Allies had Russia's support, while Turkey had the support of Germany and Austro-Hungary. Under the pressure of the major powers, the two sides negotiated on the conditions for peace in London.

The Balkan War has come to Christmas 1912 in a seemingly peaceful atmosphere. In the traditional banquet hall of the Berlin Palace, the main members of the Hohenzollern family gathered together as usual to share the most important festival of the year and receive blessings from the family leader and the ruler of the empire. Just a few days before Christmas, Crown Prince William and Crown Prince Cecilia added another son. The arrival of a new life brought a thriving atmosphere to this family gathering, while the rest of the princes and princesses did not change much, but Xia Shu changed from two out to two pairs back to the single figure. For Charlotte Hill's departure, most of them

Everyone showed rare tolerance, and even Queen Victoria, who had always complained about her, did not speak harshly. However, after being convinced that Charlotte had returned to England, the queen began to actively match Xia Shu's marriage with the Oldenburg family. Therefore, during the winter hunting and skiing trips of the German royal family, people could see the figures of two Oldenburg princesses. Compared with the mean Sophie, Xia Shu was obviously more willing to talk to the lively and smart Aisha, which obviously reminded people of the story of Princess Sissi and Emperor Joseph, so that people began to look forward to the beautiful combination of the little prince of Prussia and the little princess of Oldenburg.

When Queen Victoria asked if he would invite Aisha to the family party this Christmas, Natsuki gave a negative answer without hesitation.

The German Emperor took the emperor to the side of Xia Shu. In the past year, he had experienced a lot, willing and reluctant, and now it has become the past. In Ottoman Turkey, Xia Shu stayed for several months, studying modern naval combat practices and the situation in the Near East, and using two new weapons, high-speed torpedo boats and submarines, respectively, to achieve successful battle examples. At the same time, he continued to fulfill the important duties of the naval shipbuilding director and the chief designer of the main ship. In 1912, Germany

The Navy started construction of two dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser, and completed and served three dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser. After Winston Churchill, who advocated a naval arms race with Germany, became the Minister of Navy, Britain drove at full capacity to build the main ship. They started construction of three dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers that year, and the number of built and served was 4 and 2. The gap between the British and German navy once widened again, which is also a true reflection of the comprehensive national strength and shipbuilding strength of the two countries.

Even so, Xia Shu's various plans are still in progress in an orderly manner. The new first-class battle patrol "Deflinger Class" designed for the German Navy was started five months ahead of history. Due to the specifications of the ship, the standard displacement of this class of warships failed to achieve step-by-step improvement, but was still set at 26,500 tons. However, due to the use of a new oil-fuel boiler and Hubert impulse turbine unit, the weight occupied by the power system was reduced. The main armor belt and turret defense were further enhanced on the basis of the Moltke class. The military uses Krupp's 50-diameter 12-inch main gun, 45-diameter 5.9-inch secondary gun and 37-mm caliber rapid-fire gun. The main and secondary guns are both equipped with dual configurations and are designed to carry two reconnaissance seaplanes.

With the completion of the Caesar class, the shipbuilding alliance formed by five large shipbuilding companies including the Kiel Naval Shipyard has achieved some real results in shipbuilding costs and cycles. This joint operation method has also been recognized by the senior naval executives. This year, the Bremen-Weisel Shipyard and Hamburg-Blomfoss Shipyard joined. Under the leadership of Xiashu, the Navy adjusted the customization model of the main ships, and divided the labor and allocation with the ship platform situation of each shipyard as the primary factor. The four Kings and two Deflinger classes will be all built by the Shipbuilding Alliance, making up for the shortcomings caused by the Ottoman Empire's final order for battleships to Britain for construction.
Chapter completed!