Finally, the telegram from the French Admiralty allowing the fleet to withdraw was sent to George Legge's desk. At this time, at least a day and a half had passed since the telegram was received from Italy to join the Allies. A day and a half might not be possible on land.

Big changes have taken place, but in the face of it, we can use the highest level of

For a fleet sailing at a speed of 20 knots, 36 hours means 720 nautical miles! Even if the Italian fleet is calculated at the most conservative speed of 15 knots, it is already 540 nautical miles! And just as George Legault led the French fleet to return, the two sides finally

Encountered in the waters near Malta!

At 8:15 a.m. on September 28, the light cruiser of the Italian fleet's vanguard appeared in the sight of the French armored cruiser Edgar Quint. The small, rapier-like warship loomed on the sea level, although it was not visible due to the sunlight.

The problem is that this figure is a bit blurry in the gun scope, but it is enough for the vanguard fleets of both sides to determine the identity of the other party!

Almost at the same time, two radio waves sent news of the enemy's arrival to the flagships of both sides. "For France! The Mediterranean Sea will belong to the great France now and will still belong to the great France in the future!" Soon, George Legg said with a combative voice.

The language was sent to every French battleship through semaphores and telegraphs! It makes sense that the French are called the proud Gallic roosters, if it is said that the blood of the French will always flow

In terms of two personalities, one is romantic, and the other is proud! The French have never looked down upon any country, except Britain, which they have been fighting with for hundreds of years! As for Germany? Although France is not as powerful as France, the French are still deep in their hearts.

They think Germany is an upstart. But what about Italy? The French would say that without the help of Napoleon III, Italy would still be a divided country!

"Long live the Roman Empire! Let the voice of the Italian Navy be overwhelming! We will recreate the glory of the Roman Empire!" There is no way, there is really nothing good to say about the history of Italy in the Middle Ages and modern times. It seems that there are only two outstanding people in modern times. One is named

Cavour's name is Garibaldi. Compared with France, Italy does not have much glory, so it can only ask its ancestors for help! But Italy

People are relatively lucky, and Austria-Hungary has no confidence. Whether it is the huge Habsburg dynasty born through marriage or the latter's victory in the Battle of Lisa, it seems that they are not in the current situation. The former is pursuing politics,

And the latter? It cannot be said that the glory of the Battle of Lissa can be reproduced? Are you sure the Italians can endure it? So, "fight for the empire" became the only mobilization order of the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

The Italian light cruiser quickly turned away. Edgar Quint's powerful firepower was something he could not afford, and the French did not pursue it. After all, the vanguard fleet had appeared, could the main fleet be far behind? He went up,

Faced with battleships and light cruisers

There is not much difference between the ships! Now that the opponent has been discovered, the two sides can just prepare to start fighting. The fleets of both sides began to shrink the auxiliary battleships located around them. One by one, the light cruiser fleet and the armored cruiser formation began to assemble. And the main fleet also did the same

Making final preparations.

If someone could overlook the entire battlefield at this time, they would find that the French fleet was larger than the Italian-Austrian fleet in terms of size and number. At this time, according to George Legge's deployment, the French fleet began to form a battle formation, with the centermost

Naturally, it is his main fleet, with three Guba-class battleships in the front, and two Dandong-class battleships in the middle. The last one is

It was he who brought three Brestany-class battleships to hold the battle. The French had a profound intention in deploying this way. When formulating the plan, Georges Legg was already prepared to make mistakes at any time. His pre-dreadnought fleet can indeed

The opponent's front-dreadnought fleet can be suppressed, but no one can say for how long. It may be one hour, or it may be 3 hours.

Therefore, George Legg planned to break out of the encirclement with a weak ship and then rely on the excellent performance of the Super Dreadnought to hold down the position. However, the arrow in front cannot be too weak. If it is too weak, it will not be able to put pressure on the opponent. To no avail, the opponent's Dreadnought will be useless.

Fearless before attacking oneself with scruples

As for the fleet, the 12 pre-dreadnought battleships and armored patrols look very powerful, with a total tonnage of more than 200,000 tons, but they are not enough to face the Italian elite fleet, so the Guba class is in front to protect the Dandong class.

, the most powerful Brestani class is behind!

There is another larger fleet on the left front of the main fleet, giving people a feeling of being the dominant force. A huge formation consisting of 12 battleships, 6 battleships, 6 armored cruisers and affiliated battleships began to slowly approach the Italian fleet.

This fleet is George Legg's pre-dreadnoughts

The fleet, or close combat fleet, will rush to a distance of about 10km under the cover of the main fleet and torpedo boats, and use their main guns and secondary main guns to ruthlessly mow down their opponents. As for the third fleet, the remaining

Four cruise ships and auxiliary battleships are located behind the main fleet and are deployed as a reserve force.

Facing the slowly unfolding French fleet, the Italian and Austrian navies were also making final adjustments. Compared with the French fleet, the Italian and Austrian fleets were clearly divided into two large pieces. Although the fleet that Tycho adjusted in the end could not sail far away

distinguish the opponent's model from a distance, but at this time Tycho had already concluded through reconnaissance that the French had moved their front

The Dreadnought Fleet was sent to the front, and for this purpose Tycho also arranged his 6 Pre-Dreadnoughts and 7 Armored Cruisers at the right front of the fleet, preparing to block the opponent's Dreadnought impact as soon as possible! And the Italian and Austro-Hungarian fleets

The 11 dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts have drawn up a complete battle line and are ready to fight at any time.

"Today is such a good day. We have at least 8 hours to decide the fate of Europe and ourselves. We can win the war, or we can raise the battle flag high and sink to the bottom of the sea." Tycho looked at the black clouds in the distance.

Yan Yan said with some emotion.

"Today will definitely go down in history, no matter whether we win or lose! We participated in a battle that was even larger than the Sino-Russian naval battle. Although it cannot be said to be unprecedented, it is definitely unprecedented!" A total of 30 battleships from both sides participated in various battleships.

The collision between powerful fleets with more auxiliary warships and a total displacement of 800,000 tons, as time passed by, the fleets of both sides were like ancient Titans walking firm steps, with the spears and round in their hands.

The shield takes to the battlefield!

"M? It's time to start!" Tycho said after hearing the distance between the two sides reported by his subordinates. As the artillery ready indicator light came on, the gunner in the turret loaded heavy shells and propellant packs from the ammunition depot.

raised in, followed by

Afterwards, under the action of the mechanical servo, shells were loaded into the turret one after another, and then locked and the pitch angle was adjusted. The rangefinder of each battleship was locked on the distant target. Under the command of the fire control room, one by one,

The turret slowly turned towards the target.

"Finally determine the order of engagement! Starting from Calagiono, every two super-dreadnought battleships will attack the opponent's target, and each of the three Cavour-type battleships will attack one target. We must obtain the results as soon as possible!" At this time!

Tycho was still very happy. The reason was very simple. The French move made the Italian fleet

Gained a huge advantage, facing only 5 dreadnoughts, of which there were 2 antique Dandong-class battleships. The three most powerful Brestany-class battleships were dealt with by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It's perfect for Italy! The French are enemies, but isn't Austria-Hungary a potential competitor?

"Fire!" The firing order was repeated in dozens of turrets, and the roars of dozens of artillery instantly resounded across the battlefield. As the Calacciono fired the first round of semi-volleys, within half a minute, the Italian-Austrian Navy

Dozens of artillery sprayed out orange-yellow

The fireball resounded through the entire battlefield like a thunderous sound, like the drums and roars of giants before a battle. The French Navy was not to be outdone. While the Italian and Austrian Navy's artillery shells were still flying in the air, eight French battleships also spit out the fireball.

Tongues of fire!

The dreadnought spewed deadly flames at a long distance, and soon huge water columns rose up around the fleet, forming huge water curtains to cover the battleships. After the first round of firing, neither side achieved defeat.

Shooting, this distance is still a little far, this battle is destined to be a fierce battle, whether it is the Italian-Austrian fleet that wants to gain hegemony in the Mediterranean or the French fleet that wants to evacuate, it will not be able to achieve its goal without severely damaging the opponent.

.

"Let's get closer and get the results as soon as possible!" The roar of the naval guns made Tycho forget about other things besides the war. The Italians finally showed their bloodiness, maybe because of their desire for victory, or maybe because of themselves.

The battleship had full confidence, and the Italians shifted their course half a century to the right, while the French were not afraid. The two sides got closer. As time went by, the distance between the two sides increased from m to 13km. At this moment,

The Italian Navy scored the first hit in this naval battle!

"The Guba was hit!" Following the direction pointed by others, Tycho could clearly see through the telescope that the No. 2 turret of the Guba was covered in thick smoke and flames. A 14-inch shell landed at an angle of 20

It hit the front of the 320mm-thick turret of the Guba hard. At this distance, it was difficult for the 14-inch naval gun produced by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to penetrate such a thick armor, but this gun still caused a lot of damage to the opponent.

big loss

The fragments after the shell exploded bent one of the cannons on the turret, and the front armor also caused the armor back plate to crack. Although it failed to penetrate, the inside of the turret still experienced a baptism of steel storm.

Large and small shrapnel kept jumping and rebounding in the narrow and closed turret, occasionally knocking down French officers and soldiers. The strong smell of blood and the wails of wounded soldiers instantly filled the entire turret, and the operation of the turret was temporarily suspended.
Chapter completed!