Chapter 405: The End of the Great Sea Battle

"Marshal, the results that can be confirmed at present are the sinking of one aircraft carrier, four battleships - including a Nelson-class and a French rebel's Lorraine, three light cruisers, and four destroyers. The number of seriously damaged and moderately damaged is unknown.

Our losses are the sinking of the Eagle aircraft carrier, the Sparrowhawk aircraft carrier, the Count Cavour battleship, the Zara heavy cruiser, the Caesar battleship seriously damaged, and the Veneto battleship moderately damaged..."

In a very luxuriously furnished office in the Medici Palace, Captain Hans Jeschonnek After reporting the losses and results of the "Eastern Mediterranean Battle" to Marshal Hessmann, he closed the folder and smiled and said, "Lieutenant Rudolf von Heinsberg-Hessmann has been contacted. He is in very good condition and has just returned to Taranto Port by operating the heavy cruiser "Pola". In yesterday's battle, he won three more victories and now has eight shotdowns."

Hessmann's slightly frowned brows loosened and he laughed, "This is an unprecedented victory. It is an unprecedented victory for both us and Italy!"

For Germany, the victory is of course unprecedented! 4 British battleships and 1 British aircraft carrier were sunk, and 200 to 300 British aircraft were shot down. And the losses themselves were only a few hundred aircraft and dozens of crew members. A few hundred aircraft are not a problem at all, but just the output of two or three days. The loss of dozens of crew members is a bit distressing, but Germany now has more than 1,500 flight personnel (including about 700 pilots) graduating from flight schools every month to join the training brigade of combat forces. The average loss per month is just over 100 people, so the pilot team of the German Air Force is growing rapidly, and the loss of dozens of people is just a drop in the bucket.

The Italian side suffered a lot of losses. Not only did the two aircraft carriers that could accompany the fleet sink, but they also suffered a lot of losses in the night battle with the British fleet in the early morning of January 16!

Cunningham's ambush was quite successful. The six Italian battleships did not pay attention to the "Rodney" and the other four battleships behind the "Rodney" at first. Until the nine 16-inch main guns of the "Rodney" showed their power. The "Rodney" did not disappoint, and five rounds of salvos destroyed a turret of the "Veneto" and penetrated the bow oil tank.

However, Cunningham has been really unlucky recently. Just when Admiral Compione, commander of the Italian naval fleet, wanted to retreat, the 381mm shells fired by the battleships Veneto and Littorio hit the "Resolution" one after another. One of them directly penetrated the ammunition depot of the "Resolution", causing the ammunition to explode. The 30,000-ton battleship was immediately turned into a royal firework, and sank into the sea with thousands of officers and soldiers.

The morale of the Italians was greatly boosted, and Admiral Compione was determined to continue the attack. He ordered four old battleships to entangle with the four British battleships that formed the bombardment column, and he commanded two Veneto-class battleships, four light cruisers, and eight destroyers to besiege the "Rodney". It was soon discovered that the "Rodney" could not turn, so it went around the back of the "Rodney" to attack, and sank the ship in less than 30 minutes!

At this time, four British "Queen Elizabeth" class ships also achieved a victory, sinking the 23,000-ton "Count Cavour" battleship.

However, facing two "Veneto" class ships, two "Doria" class ships and one "Caesar", Cunningham did not dare to fight and had to flee with his tail between his legs. Admiral Compionni did not pursue them, but retreated contentedly - the record of sinking two battleships, one of which was the "Nelson" class, one of the "Seven Great Battleships of the World", was enough to make the Italian Navy proud. When should they stop when they are ahead?

"It's a pity that we lost two motherships!" Hessman couldn't help but frown at this time. The loss of one or two old battleships was in Hessman's plan - the four old battleships of the Italians were probably the weakest battleships in World War II. They could only bully heavy cruisers, and had to flee when they met British and American battleships.

However, the loss of two aircraft carriers made Hessman frown. Although the battle in the Mediterranean could be fought without these two aircraft carriers, it was not inconvenient after all. A large number of shore-based aviation forces needed to be deployed in Benghazi and Tobruk to support the activities of the surface fleet.

Moreover, in the "Hammer" plan, the two aircraft carriers were only used to bomb Malta and cover the main fleet. In theory, they should act together with the main fleet and could not be sunk by the British...

"Marshal."

When Hessman was a little annoyed, his adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Schnetz, walked into the office quickly and saluted Hessman. "The Italian leader invites you to the Venice Palace. There will be a grand celebration today. The Italian leader wants you to attend."

...

"1 battleship and 2 aircraft carriers in exchange for 4 British battleships and 1 aircraft carrier, one of which is the "Nelson" class, and they also captured the strategic location of Malta! Marshal Hessman, you are not only an army marshal, but also a naval marshal! On behalf of the Italian people, I thank you and I will award you the rank of Marshal of the Italian Navy!"

In the Venice Palace, Hessman saw an Italian leader who was so excited that he danced with joy. Mussolini was obviously very satisfied with the results of the naval battle... This was the greatest victory the Kingdom of Italy had achieved since joining the war!

"This is a decisive victory!" Count Ciano, the Italian Foreign Minister, who was wearing a white air force uniform, also agreed. "The control of the Mediterranean now belongs to Germany and Italy, and victory in the war is just around the corner!"

Hessman knew that the count was not very supportive of Italy joining the war because Italy was not ready to fight at all. But the record of sinking four British battleships and one aircraft carrier obviously made Ciano see the possibility of victory.

"Prime Minister, Count," Hessman said to the two with a serious look, "The war has not been won yet. If we didn't have the morale 'Eagle' and 'Sparrowhawk', the victory in the Mediterranean would have been established, and the British would have probably begun to retreat. But now, General Rommel's African Army is needed!"

"I believe General Rommel will win." Mussolini nodded. He was also very annoyed about the loss of two aircraft carriers. He had ordered the removal of Admiral Anzu Aquino and demoted him to colonel.

"Prime Minister, we still need to capture Crete," Hessman said to Mussolini, "This is necessary to relieve the pressure on the North African battlefield."

The capture of Crete has nothing to do with the North African war, but is just to cooperate with Halder's Balkan operations. However, in order to continue to use the Italian navy, Hessman still has to involve North Africa.

"Capture Crete?" Mussolini asked, "Do we still need the navy?"

"Of course!" Hessman said, "Since we have lost the aircraft carrier, we must deploy more shore-based aviation. In addition, considering that the British garrison on Crete is relatively elite, I suggest mobilizing the German army to land."

"But the British still have two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean..." Count Ciano said.

"They are not a problem," Hessman said, "at least not in the Mediterranean. But when they retreat to the Indian Ocean, they will be two big troubles."

Indian Ocean?

Mussolini and Ciano looked at each other. They didn't even think about India, because the Roman Empire didn't include India.

"Therefore, Italy needs to restore its aircraft carrier fleet as soon as possible," Hessman continued. "The King and the Count of Savoy can be used for modification. If we start now, it is possible to complete it within 18 months."

The King and the Count of Savoy are two 50,000-ton cruise ships. The King has also won the Blue Ribbon Award and is faster than the Bremen.

When Italy joined the World War, the Italian Navy wanted to convert them into aircraft carriers, but Mussolini was reluctant, so these two luxury cruise ships have been lying in the port.

However, Hessman now proposed to modify these two cruise ships not for the "Glorious" and "Royal Ark", but to send them to the Pacific battlefield together when necessary...

"Okay then," Mussolini gritted his teeth. Now the Germans are the boss, and there is no way to carry out the war in the Mediterranean without them. "The modification work will start immediately and will be completed in early 1943. In addition, we will also start building two 15,000-20,000-ton aircraft carriers."

Hersman nodded with satisfaction, and said, "At least 10 escort aircraft carriers need to be modified urgently, using 10,000 to 20,000-ton transport ships. No hangar is needed, and deck-moored carrier-based aircraft can be used. This will be completed within 12 months and can be used to cover the Persian Gulf-Red Sea route in the future."

"No problem," Mussolini replied with a smile, "We have a lot of such merchant ships that can be modified, it's easy."

The Persian Gulf-Red Sea route is the route for Middle Eastern oil to Europe. After Germany controlled the Middle East. The British Royal Navy will definitely use India as a major base to destroy the Persian Gulf-Red Sea route.

The Italian and French navies will be used for escort, and of course they will need escort aircraft carriers.

"In addition..." Hessman thought, "that's Gibraltar!" He looked at Mussolini, "Prime Minister, seizing Gibraltar is the only way for the Italian and French navies to rush out of the Mediterranean and join forces with the German navy, and then attack the British mainland. Now we should consider seizing it!"