The Queen Elizabeth-class battleship is definitely a battleship that created an era. As the first-class fast battleship equipped with 15-inch naval guns, this battleship has proven its value in previous naval battles. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the backbone of the Royal Navy.

Because of their existence, the Royal Navy survived the darkest period.

But even with a powerful Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, the condition of the ship after three wars is definitely not comparable to that at the beginning. The first time it participated in the war was the Battle of Jutland. In the final stage, the Queen-class battleship was attacked by the Germans.

High Seas Fleet's concentrated fire attack. The second time Thomas hit Hipper hard. This time the attack was pretty good, and the queens did not suffer much damage. But the third time, after fighting with Bi

During the confrontation between the Bismarck-class super battleships, five Queens were severely scarred by attacks from German 15-inch naval guns. One of them was also sunk. Even if repaired, various hidden diseases and hidden injuries left this class of battleships devastated.

It cannot reach the initial performance at all, and the biggest impact is speed. The slowest of the four queens is only the Admiral at 24 knots! As for a solution? There is one, but it is too late in a short time!

On the other hand, the three overseas leader-class fast battleships of the Chinese Navy owned by the Allies have only fought once in a tough battle. The damage received was not heavy, so the speed is still acceptable. In other words, it is still difficult for Thomas to catch up with the opponent.

.And because there are a large number of camouflaged attack ships and submarines from the Allies in the Atlantic, it is difficult to avoid being discovered, and the escort warships accompanying this fast fleet can also buy Count Spee time. So in general, if you want to capture

It’s really difficult to kill the opponent!

After meeting with Thomas, Magiffin did not directly discuss the issue of command authority. Instead, he conducted a precise war game on the sand table. The condition was to assume that Vice Admiral Spey would command the fast fleet to enter the Atlantic Ocean, and then the British fleet would implement a containment.

During the deduction, the British fleet will set off from France after receiving information about the enemy's entry. Then it will position the enemy's fast fleet based on the situation of surface combatants and merchant fleets. At the same time, the American fleet will go

The northern entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar conducts surveillance on other Allied warships still remaining in the Mediterranean. However, the result of the deduction is that the opponent can easily get rid of Thomas's fast fleet. Even if all fleets are equipped with radios, due to the range of action,

There is a 50% chance that the Thomas fleet will not receive the distress signal, and the distance between the two sides is too far at first. So even if it is discovered, the daylilies will be cold by the time they rush over.

And after Magiffin joined the camouflage fleet for his opponent, it became even more difficult for Thomas to lock down the opponent. And under the current circumstances, neither Thomas nor the direct fleet in Magiffin's hands dared to divide their forces. Counter-encirclement and suppression would be impossible if only

If you chase but don't have enough strength to block it, the efficiency will be too low! In the end, Thomas thought of a very simple way, that is, when the opponent is about to return, he will join Ma Jifen and squat down directly.

Waiting for the opponent to return at the western entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. Then use the Portuguese base as the core as the support point for the blockade. (Historically, Portugal was on the side of the Allies.) But there is also a problem. Portugal cannot provide such a large fleet with a safe base.

As for the base, France has a base that can accommodate the entire fleet and has shore batteries, mine arrays and mine protection nets, but Portugal does not! And it will probably take a long time to build a base.

Spain is currently confronting the French army on the northern front, and at the same time is concentrating its forces to eliminate the remaining enemies in North Africa. After all, Spain wants to expand in North Africa. And if the Allied navy is based in Portugal, or wait until the dust settles in the North African war, the Allied forces will immediately attack

will directly target Portugal. Therefore, the Allies decided not to provoke the Allies until they deployed sufficient forces in Portugal. At the same time, in order to prevent the other party from taking advantage of the opportunity to raid Portugal,

In the coastal areas of Portugal, the Allied Powers have used Portugal's bases as little as possible, but this does not mean that they have not strengthened their strength. When the Portuguese naval port can accommodate the entire Allied Powers Atlantic Fleet and can provide a certain degree of protection, the Allied Powers fleet will naturally station here and implement

Blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar. And if Portugal can be used as a base, the intensity of the Allies' attack on transportation lines will naturally be reduced a lot.

But the Allies can't afford to wait, they need to deal a fatal blow to their opponent immediately! "From the analysis of the deduction, it is very difficult for our fleet to catch Spey's fast fleet, and the opponent may have 6 battleships or 7 battleships.

If there are 7 battleships, then it means that the opponent has incorporated the Longxiang into the fast fleet. In the last battle, your fleet suffered his losses." At this point, Magee

Fen paused and glanced at the expression of Thomas on the other side. The muscles on his face twitched obviously, looking a little ferocious. But then he quickly returned to normal. Obviously, the giant ship from China not only made

The U.S. Navy was frightened, and it also left a psychological shadow on Thomas. In the second Mediterranean battle, it was because of the outstanding performance of this battleship that the British and French fleets were defeated.

"Your country's fast fleet consists of two parts. One New Zealand, one Tiger, and two Amsterdam-class battleships, while the other part is four Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. Your Excellency once made such a suggestion,

That is, use 4 faster battleships to bite the opponent and force one or two of the enemy ships to slow down. It doesn't matter even if you lose more. Then use the main force composed of 4 Queen Elizabeth-class battleships to destroy the slowing enemy ships.

"

"This idea is a bit like hunting. Let the hounds go up and wound the opponent's old and weak targets first, and then the hunter with a shotgun will give the final blow. But if the opponent is 7 battleships, including one Longxiang, then this

The plan is completely bankrupt. If 4 vs. 6 can still be barely supported, then add

For such a first-class battleship, your hounds may have been killed before the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship has brought the target within range. If it cannot be delayed, the entire plan will not be carried out. What I said

That's right?" Maggie Fen said, looking at Thomas whose face turned from bright to gloomy.

Thomas proposed this strategy based on the fact that the four fast battleships can block the opponent's 350mm heavy guns after some improvements, and the British battleships using 343mm guns can at least damage the Spanish-class fast battleships with strong charges. This is

The purpose of a fleet is not to defeat the opponent, but to reduce the opponent's

Speed, if the opponent has 6 ships, then with the help of superior auxiliary battleships, the British 4 fast battleships will suffer losses, but they will not be sunk. Even if 3 ships are seriously injured in exchange for 2 of the opponent ships falling behind, by the time the Queen Elizabeth class battleships

Once in place, the two enemy ships that were lagging behind would definitely be dead, while the injured warship could still be driven back and slowly repaired.

But it would be different if the Longxiang was also inside. The power of the 15-inch heavy gun is so powerful, maybe one shell can kill these crispy skins in seconds. Even the New Zealand, which has the best defense among the four battleships,

Ships of the same class were also destroyed by the Longxiang. Coupled with the 7 vs. 4 numerical advantage, 4 British fast battleships

The ending must be quite tragic. Maybe before the Queen arrived, her first detachment was killed in pieces! This is the fatal flaw of this plan. Of course, as the flagship of the Italian fleet, the Longxiang may not be

Participate in the battle of the fast fleet, but what if? Don’t be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens. Thomas can’t afford to gamble!

"You are tantamount to vetoing the entire plan, and even the naval combat strategy of the Allied Powers. This is not in line with the opinions of the Supreme Military Command." Thomas said with a rather complicated expression. Indeed, as Magiffin said, as long as the other party is a little bit

A little preparation, then the whole hunt

The plan will come to naught. Seven fast battleships under the command of an experienced commander can definitely resolve most crises. After comparing the strengths of both sides in detail, Thomas had to accept this desperate result. If

If the other party wants to run away, you can't catch them!

"We are going to implement what we have ordered above, but it is hard to say whether we can achieve the expected goals. There is an old saying in China that a general will not accept the order of the emperor. The fleet commander should have the right to make arbitrary decisions when the situation arises. It is true that we must set the orders from above

is the first goal, but if it cannot be achieved, we must settle for the second best and choose the second or third goal. When the Portuguese base cannot be used, it will be too difficult to achieve the first goal, so we

It is necessary to change the plan." Ma Jifen said calmly.

"Our mission at this stage can actually be to hinder the opponent's breaking of diplomatic relations. With the cooperation of seaplane carriers and auxiliary battleships, although we cannot catch up with the opponent, we can always maintain pressure on the opponent and keep them in high-speed rotation all the time.

enter the state, and at the same time kill all those who provide them with supplies.

Camouflage supply ship. You and I both know that the fuel consumption of high-speed warships will be about three times that of low-speed warships. This will inevitably affect their endurance. In this way, even if we cannot destroy them, we can still reduce the impact of the Spey fleet on us.

Attack on military sea transportation lines." Ma Jifen said seriously.

"Then what? This is definitely not the whole plan. What will the main force of the Atlantic Fleet led by you do? I always feel that you are using me and my fleet as a bait to force the other party to jump into your trap.

"You are a master strategist, in other words, you are also a cunning person. What is your purpose for doing this?" Thomas did not care about Magiffin's unauthorized changes to the battle plan. A capable commander must make his own decision.

What should we do next? After all, those gentlemen are far away from the battlefield!

"If we are lucky enough, I think we can create a new era of Gibraltar naval battle! The other side does not dare to fight us in a decisive battle, but it does not matter, we can force them to fight us in an extremely unfavorable situation. My first

The target is the main fleet of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet, and the second target is the Spey fleet that is as slippery as a loach!" said Magiffin.
Chapter completed!