Chapter 785 Crying Apennine 2

The twilight is heavy, and the Apennine Peninsula before dawn is particularly quiet.

In front of the grand but exquisite and elegant Italian palace, the guards wore retro military uniforms and yawned. They wanted to be lazy and worried about the war in the south, so they could only hold their eyelids. Seeing that it would be dawn in a few hours and they had to spend a safe night, a car with a harsh brake sound. He stopped hurriedly at the gate of the palace.

A moment later, the crisp sound of leather boots colliding with the marble floor seemed to activate the whole palace. A bright light began to shine in front of a window, and the loyal hounds jumped back and forth because of the early light source.

"What's going on?"

"Your Majesty, it's not good, it's not good! Half an hour ago, Tarantto was bombed by Chinese planes!"

"What!" Vittorio Emanuele III, who came downstairs in his pajamas, almost fell on the rotating stairs. Fortunately, he grabbed the handrail and didn't make a joke, but he was not in the mood to care about his manners at all. He hurriedly walked to the loyal Minister of the Interior and shouted, "How can it be?"

How is this possible!!

Vittorio Emanuele III hurriedly grabbed the telegram and looked at the disorganized text that seemed to be in a hurry. After being dull for a long time, he suddenly roared: "What's going on! What about Camacho? Where's his fleet! And that Du Hei, didn't he promise me that Chinese people can never use planes at night?!"

"Your Majesty, Lieutenant General Camacho is leading the fleet to intercept the Austro-Hungarian navy in the strait. Colonel Duhei went to Sicily, but I have asked someone to forward the message to him. Do you want him to come back?"

"What's the use of him coming back!" Vittorio Emanuele III shivered, and an abnormal blush rose on his cheeks. He scolded angrily, "Let Camacho come back!" Immediately, we can't lose Taranto!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The sweaty Minister of the Interior hurried away. Looking at the back of his departure, Vittorio Emanuele III, who had decided to gamble before the war, suddenly seemed to have lost all his strength and sat on the steps. He looked pale and breathed heavily, as if he had just been rescued from the sea and almost suffocated. No one knew Italy at this moment better than him. For this war, Italy has exhausted the last copper in its treasury, and even the remaining warships in the shipyard have been suspended and cannot be built, and it has taken a year to raise the naval supplies piled up in Taranto!

Without Taranto, the Strait of Otranto will be open! The liaison between Italy and Albania was completely interrupted, and the Austro-Hungarian army could successfully march on Albania, Greece and even the southern Apennine Peninsula.

Within the absence of Tarant, the navy that has been drained by the country's economy is rootless duckweed and has become an iron coffin floating on the sea.

What else is left in Italy without Taranto?

Within Taranto, where will you go?

Vittorio Emanuele III looked at the night sky outside the skylight and suddenly felt that the wind tonight was so cold. At this moment, who else could save him and Italy?

.. Sicily. .

In the wide earthy airport, harsh alarms sounded through the night sky. Countless Italian pilots in hoods and goggles rushed out of the barracks, and bombs and 450mm torpedoes were hung under the belly of the Caproni Ca36 bomber.

"Coloon, it's too far away for our fighter to pass."

In a reading barracks at the end of the airport, the staff officer stood in front of the map, looking in front of him, with two mustaches and a straight military uniform, with a worried face: "It is 300 kilometers from here to Taranto Bay, not to mention that we still need to find them, so that the bomber's voyage will be seriously insufficient."

Du Hei didn't say anything but turned his head to look at the airport.

"Xinhua, Li Mo!"

Looking out of the window at the bomber troops being prepared, Du Hei muttered these words, because he found that his life had been completely shrouded in the shadow of that person. From the Italian-Tunic War and the North African Eagle, which let him see the role of aircraft a few years ago, to the report to the royal family on strengthening aviation forces and strengthening technical investment, and then after the war, because of Xinhua's unparalleled aviation power, Europe began to pay attention to aircraft, and he was also reused.

Now he didn't expect that the other party had found a way to take off and land on the aircraft carrier at night. You know, this is not a two experimental landing, but hundreds of fighters. If you are not sure enough, who dares to do this! It turns out that that man and that country have always been ahead of him and the whole world!

In fact, he doesn't know that the problem of insufficient voyage of Caproni Ca36 is not solved at all, but even so, he must fight tonight!

In his opinion, long-range bombing is an extremely important tactic or even strategic action, so it is extremely important to compete for air superior control in warring areas and even enemy countries, but he does not have a suitable aircraft. Compared with the advanced technology that his opponent has at this time, Europe is too weak in this regard!

Over the past few years, Xinhua has also had a lot of lost planes around the world, but the lost planes were either mysteriously blown up or sunk into the sea. Even if they were lucky enough to find them, they could not be imitated because of the damage. However, even if there is no advantage, it must be dispatched immediately, because if the Xinhua aircraft carrier is not forced away from Tarantou Bay, the naval fleet will suffer more heavy losses and even be completely destroyed!

Thinking of this, he put away all his thoughts and slowly walked back to the map: "Let all the planes stationed near Taranto take off, bring more fuel, and spread 300 kilometers of search with Taranto as the center!

The fighter took off an hour later to escort the bombers.

In addition, don't come back here after all the planes involved in the bombing are over. We are at the backup airport in Katanzaro, and I will get them ready to accept them immediately.

"Yes! Starting from Sicily and returning to Katanzaro after the attack, you can save a lot of voyages.

When several staff officers heard Du Hei's arrangement, their eyes suddenly lit up and their confidence increased, but only Du Hei knew in their hearts that in fact, he learned from the enemy, so he still said gloomily, "Get ready for the plane. Let's go to Catanzaro. I hope to see them come back!"

The night wind was strong, and Du Hei's deep words floated indoors, and the first Caproni Ca36 had left the dirt runway.

The second one, the third one.

Du Hei clenched his fists, and his heart was indescribably bleak. He thought that if Italy, which got Falcon technology after the Italian-Tum War, was not abandoned in the glory of North Africa, and was not involved in the maritime arms race in Europe and studied aircraft with all its strength, would it change today?

..“ Left full rudder! Follow the flagship."

"Is the distance 16,000? Get ready for each gun position. Coordinates, Carlo, hurry up and get me the coordinates."

Looking at the two giants in the distance, Chesaray shouted to let the gun officer pass the shelling down quickly. Although 16,000 yards were a little farther for the 13 L46/12-inch guns on the Callo Duillio, he was already tight all over, because the two ships on the opposite side were safe. It is equipped with a 16-inch heavy gun!

Although Italy did not go to the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean to directly challenge Xinhua like Spain and France, it did not neglect the naval technology and changes that were surging after the war. The two Guam class, which were still 15-inch guns, overturned the Atlantic Ocean and set a record of the longest hit of 21,000 yards. And now it has been upgraded to 16 inches, and the range and power are even higher!

He is not afraid of fighting, but it is too obvious to fight such a gap.

His Kayo Duizio belongs to the Andrea-Doria-class battleship. A total of two ships were built, each of which was equipped with 3 triple and 2 double L46/12-inch guns. When it was launched, it was famous in Europe for its strong firepower, but in just two years, it has been completely outdated, not to mention. The Pacific Ocean is already the world of aircraft carriers, and this kind of 16-inch naval gun alone is not comparable to itself.

So he knows very well that there is absolutely no defeat in the face-to-head battle, so all hope must rely on the front flagship, the USS Francesco Caracciolo with four double L40/15-inch heavy artillery, and the three British Queen Elizabeth.

"Captain, look, those son of a bitch, the British are here!"

"That's great, haha!"

Chesaray also shuddered with excitement while holding the telescope. He only saw three Queen Elizabeth-class battleships rushing at a speed of 23 knots in the firelight. The two Guam facing his muzzle did not expect an ambush at all. The bow was already beginning to deflect rapidly, and even the rear three main guns began to begin. Rotoring.

"Enemy attack."

Before Chesaray could see the three queens clearly, the captain behind him suddenly pushed him. Before he could understand, he heard a loud noise, and the ship full of 25,000 tons shook it.

"They opened fire! Damn it, those yellow monkeys opened fire first!"

"The Dante joined the formation."

"Retain the signal, receive the flagship signal, fight back! Open fire and fight back!"

Ratic and nervous shouts sounded from everywhere on the warship. Although Chesaray expected that the 16-inch naval gun would be very powerful, he did not expect that just the water column and the stirred shock wave could make his battleship shake, which would never be possible for the 12-inch naval gun.

Soon, four battleships, 8 L40/15-inch guns and 38 L46/12-inch main guns roared at the same time. A moment later, countless columns of water were raised around the Guam-class team in the distance, and the scene was spectacular.

"S sir, flagship command, right rudder 110 degrees, speed increased to 20 knots!"

"Keep up with the flagship." After giving the order, Chesaray turned his head and looked at the chart. After turning left at the right rudder, he could just get stuck in two Guam-class movement routes, so that the butcher would be surrounded by 32 15-inch and 38 406mm regiments, while Austria-Hungary needed to break through three Counts of Cavour-class battleships and six old The second team composed of battleships.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire has four strong combined force-class battleships, there are only six in total, and it is impossible to break through. Well, maybe there is a chance to taste the butcher's meat!" Chesaray laughed negatively. Although he knew that his main gun could not kill the other party, a sneak attack could still be done, as long as.

"Captain, they, they are rushing towards us!"

"What, how can it be!"

The words directly made Chesaray stagger. When he raised the telescope, he was stunned. He only saw the two Guam-class battleships that were still thinking of turning left just now. I don't know when the bows had been to the right. The 12 16-inch guns in the front of the slightly staggered hull were actually pointed straight at me. From the waves of the bow, the speed At least more than 28 knots!

"I'm a grass! Is this a battleship or a cruiser? Speed, how can the rudder be so fast!!" All the officers in the bridge straightened their eyes and stared at the two Guam-class battleships rushing at the speed of the cruisers. After a while, they woke up.

"God, turn the rudder, turn the rudder!"

Just as Chesaray shouted in horror, several dazzling orange fireballs suddenly exploded in front of the two Guam-class ships in the distance. They couldn't hear the sound and couldn't see the black spots. All the hearts were hanging to their throats, and now there were still 15,000 yards left! They should not be able to hit themselves.

"Boom."

Just as Chesaray and the officers began to pray for good luck again, the two columns of water suddenly rose from the bow, and the bursting water wave threw more than 20,000 tons of battleships to the left. Strike back." When the shouting was still echoing in the long throat of the gun, the fire had lit up again in the distance.

This is not a war, but a torment, a bone-breaking!

I can see it, I can't hit it, I'm beaten for nothing! And the night perfectly protects any traces left by the enemy's shells, so that they can only pray again!

"Oh."

Even standing behind the thick conning tower bulkhead of the bridge, this strange noise still made everyone's heart suddenly sink, and the heart and pupils shrank into a little cold star!

This kind of sound will be made only one time.

A heavy object hit the armored steel!

"God, hurry up." When the voice was still echoing in the mate's throat, everyone felt that their feet suddenly left the deck and suspended in the air, and then the ship's body shook violently. After a loud bang, the whole warship seemed to be like a hit bowling ball, crooked and embarrassed.

"Where did you get shot? Tell me quickly."

After getting up with pain, Chesaray didn't care about the flow of bullets flying out of the command tower. When he saw the scene behind him, he was dumbfounded. He only saw that the chimney behind had collapsed obliquely, the flame was rising from below, and the part above the port water line was torn by explosion. A hole several meters wide was opened, and the steel plate curled outward, as if it had been forcibly torn open by the claws of the giant beast.

"Captain, cough, the boiler compartment is over! The flue is all broken, and the toxic gas is spreading under the deck. It must be evacuated.

"Power module, tell me the loss of the power module."

"There is a steam engine that is stuck and can no longer rotate. We are repairing it, and now we can only guarantee a speed of 15 knots."

"Captain, we must leave to put out the fire immediately. The flame is too big, and we will be the target!"

"Communication officer, communication officer, send a light signal quickly. The boiler compartment of the Kayo-Duillio is seriously damaged, and the toxic gas is spreading. You need to leave the fire immediately."

"Yes." The correspondent was just about to take the order to send the soldiers to send a signal, but before he took two steps, he was stunned and shivered, pointing to several shadows that suddenly appeared on the other side of the warship. All of his hair suddenly exploded, and the panic finally turned into a stuttering scream.

"Captain! Austro-Hungarian! It's four joint forces!"

"What!"

(to be continued)