In the afternoon, I learned that the third wave of air strikes by the air force in Sardinia was cancelled due to sudden heavy rain. Lieutenant General Bionkelli, who had just led a battleship formation to the waters west of Sardinia, had no intention of taking a lunch break. He summoned his staff officers and arranged for them to speculate and calculate the next route of the enemy ships. Obviously, this inappropriate heavy rain helped the opponent. If the third wave of air strikes was carried out, the two enemy cruisers who were damaged to varying degrees should retreat even if they were protected from severe damage. Now they not only had a chance to breathe, but also could continue to advance towards Sardinia, launching shelling with the help of rain and night covers, and then retreat calmly.

Li. Today, although Italian aviation has practical airborne radars, they are only enough to detect and detect, and are not enough to guide fighter jets to carry out precise attacks at night. The coastal defense artillery bases on the west coast of Sardinia are not like those highly valued coastal defense fortresses on the east coast of the Apennine Peninsula. They are equipped with old artillery made at the end of the last century or at the beginning of this century. The power, range and accuracy are unsatisfactory. Not to mention deterring enemy cruisers, it is still a question whether they can protect themselves. As for the Italian naval forces deployed in Sardinia, they were beaten up by the enemy two days ago. Even if the soldiers fought bravely with fearless courage, they could not stand the new United Kingdom naval ships equipped with advanced artillery radar...

Such a pessimistic conclusion made Lieutenant General Bionkelly restless. If the enemy cruiser formation successfully attacked Sardinia at night, although he would not have to bear direct responsibility, he would not be out of the matter. Even if he was not investigated during the war, people would study the history of war after the war, and on this nightmare night, the Bionkelly fleet, which owned two Emanuele II-class battleships, was actually off the coast of Sardinia. It had sufficient combat power and sufficient time to deal with it, but in the end it did nothing. How much harm would this cause to its reputation?

Indeed, the two Emmanuele II-class battleships were both products of the era of giant ships and cannons. In the modern war mode where aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft dominate naval battles, they gradually became secondary in the eyes of the world. However, in addition to being inferior to their navigation, their performances had overwhelming advantages in the two cruisers of the New United Kingdom Navy. Therefore, Bionkelli and his staff officers set up a new combat plan, namely, to set up an ambush in the southwest waters of Sardinia with the "Emanuele II" and "Umberto I". As long as the two enemy ships dare to come, they will annihilate them at any cost. If the enemy ships have not arrived, then the "Aquila" can also come to meet at dawn, and then take the next action according to the changes in the battle situation.

Due to concerns about the confidentiality of the Italian Navy's radio communication system, Bionkelli did not elaborate on his combat plan and reasons in his report to the Italian Navy Command, but only applied for a permit for "visiting patrol". He also asked the command to remind the six air forces stationed in Sardinia that the unknown target should confirm the identity of the enemy and us before taking action.

The 12 ships commanded by Lieutenant General Bionkelli accounted for one-fifth of the total tonnage of the Italian Navy, and the cost and maintenance costs accounted for one-quarter of the Italian Navy. The Italian Navy Command did not make it wait in the waters east of Sardinia, so the reply agreed to Bionkelli to conduct a "visiting patrol" and stated that the fleet operations must be carried out within the effective cover radius of the Navy and Air Force in Sardinia, and it is necessary to avoid missed access to minefields around Sardinia due to poor vision and poor communication.

With the permission of the Navy Command, Bionkelly decided to let go. He ordered the light signal to communicate his combat plan to the accompanying ships, and strictly ordered all cruisers and destroyers to obey orders in combat operations, not to make decisions or retreat without authorization.

While advancing to the predetermined ambushing waters southwest of Sardinia, Bionkelli sent a telegram to the Naval Operations Command in Sardinia in the name of the commander of the task force, requiring them not to transmit the position of the fleet by radio, so as not to be intercepted by enemy surveillance. In Sardinia, some of the 6-Bitrada Stations belong to the naval command, and some belong to the Air Force. When Bionkelli's fleet passed through the southern waters of Sardinia, the reports from the Naval radar station were transferred to the Operations Command and did not continue to be transmitted upwards. Although the report from the Air Force radar station was delivered to the Air Force Command, it was placed aside by the staff officers on duty. Therefore, the generals of the Italian General Staff did not know that such an important fleet had "unauthorized" to leave the original combat position and sailed to the combat waters full of unknown dangers...

As Lieutenant General Bionkelly expected, the heavy cruiser of the New United Kingdom Navy, the Fal heavy cruiser and the Melton light cruiser did not turn back halfway due to some damage. In the pouring rain, they reduced the flight to a small amount to facilitate the crew to carry out maintenance work. After more than three hours of efforts by divers, the Fal wall ruptured due to the near-blasting crash was emergency repaired, and the warship returned to a relatively ideal state of navigation. The wall of the Melton was blown up by the near-blasting bomb. Conventional emergency repairs could not block it. The crew then filled the watertight compartment adjacent to the damaged wall with special plastic foam, which not only played the role of draining seawater, but also reduced the potential risk of worsening injuries in subsequent battles. When night fell, the rain dropped slightly, the two ships raised it again and sailed to Sardinia through waves.

Sardinia is close to Corsica, France, and is the second largest island in the Western Mediterranean after Sicily. Despite its long history and unique historical culture, Sardinia has always been based on agriculture, animal husbandry and mining industries. In Italy, it is a relatively backward economic area, with a sparse population distribution, and its strategic location is not as important as Sicily. Its military facilities and military deployment are also much inferior to Sicily. However, there are still two military ports here, many military-civilian ports, four 6-base radar stations, an air force aviation base, and two naval aviation bases. All these targets are within the reach of naval guns, and most of them can attack without going around to eastern Sardinia.

Shortly after nightfall, the Bionkelli fleet arrived in the southwestern waters of Sardinia first. The entire fleet carefully concealed between St. Peter's Island and San Antioco Island to avoid enemy ship-based radar detection. Each ship only maintained communication with light signals. In Bionkelli's view, the net had been set up, and now it was just waiting for the enemy to fall into the trap. But at this time, it was midnight. Just as the officers speculated that the two enemy cruisers had returned with injuries, the 6-bit radar station in Cape Cacha in northwest of Sardinia suddenly reported the enemy situation, saying that the traces of unidentified ships were detected 9 degrees south of Cape Cacha, about 6o kilometers away.

After receiving the enemy situation, the staff officers under Bion Kelly calculated the possible attack and retreat routes of the enemy ships as fast as possible. In terms of absolute navigation, although the two enemy cruisers were faster than the Bion Kelly fleet composed of battleships, cruisers and destroyers, their advantages were not obvious. You should know that the Emanuele II-class battleships that condensed the essence of the Italian shipbuilding industry can maintain a 30-kilometer voyage for a long time, and the accompanying light and heavy cruisers and various destroyers are racing experts. As long as they are properly deployed, there is a great chance to catch the opponent and beat him up!

After sitting for most of the night, Lieutenant General Biangkelli was finally excited. He ordered the ships to cancel their shifts, and all the crews were on standby, repairing the engines, and preparing for the next high progress. Since then, the Cape Caccia radar station reported the whereabouts of the enemy ship every five minutes. The two enemy ships seemed to be targeting military targets in northwestern Sardinia, which was close to Corsica, France. Both sides were inevitably afraid of starting a move. This situation was obviously more beneficial to the new United Kingdom Navy, which had better fire control radar technology.

Cape Kacha radar station, Torres military port, Asinara Radio Observatory, Alicantu Barracks... Bionkelli repeatedly counts the military facilities in northern Sardinia. However, except for the 6-base radar station in Cape Kacha, the rest are conventional military deployments that are not related to the progress of the battle. If the enemy cruisers' shelling targets tonight are only these facilities, then their operation will either be aimed at attacking the morale of the Italian army, or test the military deployment of the Italian army on the Western Front.

Thinking of the second possibility, Lieutenant General Bienkelli couldn't help but hesitate. After the Battle of the Otranto Strait, two Emanuele II-class battleships and the "Aquila" heavy aircraft carrier undoubtedly became the final winning trump card of the Italian Navy. The navy's senior management entrusted them all to themselves, hoping to use their experience and wisdom to play their role. If we look at the overall situation, the two enemy cruisers are just small fish and shrimps. The big fish that can really change the situation of the battle are those enemy's advanced design and well-equipped aircraft carriers. Even if they sink one, the results will be greater than the sinking of three or four cruisers. From this point of view, our plan seems to be necessary to adjust in time...

In the complex battle situation, at the time of victory and defeat, Bionkelli was full of thoughts and pressure increased sharply, so he lit a cigarette and walked to the outer corridor of the bridge to breathe. On the undulating sea, Italian warships were quietly waiting for the order to attack, especially the two Emanuele II-class battleships with excellent firepower, aviation and protection performance. They were destined to be born in large situations. In terms of tonnage and combat power, Emanuele II-class battleships could not compete with the German Tirpitz, German, Germanic and Brandenburg. Compared with the remaining South Dakota class of the US Navy, the Kaga class of the Japanese Navy was also one level worse than the remaining South Dakota class of the US Navy. However, when the Germans were unintentionally involved in the Mediterranean and the United States and Japan were unable to get close to the Mediterranean, they were enough to ensure Italy's system in the Mediterranean region.

The naval power has enabled the Italian Navy to place limited military costs in building large aircraft carriers and developing various new equipment. Therefore, after the Emanuele-class battleship was completed and put into service, Italy's radar technology has made great progress in just a few years. Dozens of 6-based radar stations have sprung up in various bases, headlands, and islands in Italy. Carrier-based radar and airborne radar have been practical, and artillery-aided radar technology is also catching up with first-class power countries. In addition, rocket-powered weapons are mature, not only the Italian Navy and Air Force's own combat strength has been greatly improved, but various types of naval and air force equipment have also performed well in the international arms market. They have defeated Germany and the New United Kingdom's arms companies many times through price wars and other means, becoming the main arms suppliers of Syria, Turkey, Brazil and other countries...

This chapter ends
Chapter completed!