Chapter 213 The Belated Arrival of the French Navy! (Third Update!)

"Oh my God, oh my God..." Seeing hundreds of torpedoes coming, some British sailors were scared out of their wits.

"boom!"

There was a huge explosion.

A heavy cruiser was hit!

boom!
boom!
boom!
Dozens of torpedoes exploded in succession, and the heavy cruiser could no longer withstand the damage and broke into two sections.

After all, after being hit by so many torpedoes, if it were a battleship, it would not be able to hold on for long.

Admiral Kanan Ning felt heartbroken as he watched another warship being sunk.

It hurt so much.

If the Mediterranean Fleet is lost, it will be a huge blow to the Royal Navy.

Thinking of this, Admiral Kan Anning roared again.

"Send a telegram to General Montgomery and ask him to immediately dispatch all night fighters to support us, otherwise the Mediterranean Fleet will be doomed."

"Yes."

At the same time, German submarines targeted the battleship Resolution.

Anyone who is not blind can see such a big thing parked at the port.

"Oh my God, there's a torpedo." The boiler of the battleship Resolution has been started, and it will be able to start again if they are given another half an hour.

As a result, before they could fully launch, they saw torpedoes coming towards them.

As soon as they finished speaking, the battleship they were on was hit by several torpedoes.

"Captain, our ship was attacked by a torpedo and the cabin is leaking." Soon, the battle damage was reported.

Hearing this, the captain's face turned pale and he said in frustration: "Quickly plug the loophole and retreat immediately."

"Captain, we can't stop it. It's too big. The battleship is sinking. Let's abandon the ship." The staff officer next to him advised.

Although the battleship's armor is very thick, it cannot withstand being hit by dozens of torpedoes at the same time.

The officers and soldiers on the ship could all feel that the battleship was sinking, and at a very fast speed. At this moment, eight more torpedoes attacked again.

"Collision alarm."

Unfortunately, no matter how they shouted, it was useless. All eight torpedoes hit the battleship. Another huge explosion was heard, and a huge hole was blown in the battleship Resolution.

If this had been a hydrogen peroxide torpedo, it wouldn't be a big hole.

It is estimated to be broken into two sections.

In other words, the battleship was thickened and particularly resistant, otherwise it would have sunk by now.

Even so, the battleship Resolution began to sink slowly.

"Abandon ship." The captain immediately gave the order to abandon ship.

Since it is irreversible, at least save the lives of your subordinates.

If the battleship is gone, we can still build another one, but if the people are gone,

That would really be a generational break.

Soon only half of the battleship was left.

When the other warships saw that the battleships were all sunk, they also began to speed up.

But starting the boiler cannot be done immediately with just a few words.

What the British army lacks most now is time.

The German submarines also knew that the opportunity was rare.

So speed up and fire torpedoes towards the port.

It doesn't matter whether you can hit the target or not, just use up all the torpedoes.

"Bastard, bastard, bastard." Admiral Canniin roared in great pain as he watched the battleship Resolution being sunk.

"What about the air force? Why haven't they taken off yet?"

When the adjutant heard this, he was speechless. It takes time from receiving a call for help to taking off.

How can it be that fast?

But he also knew that Kan An Ning was worried about those warships.

But there was nothing to do at the moment, and they could only watch the battleship being sunk.

"Sir, I suggest that we retreat first. Those warships can't be saved at all. Let's save those sailors first?" suggested the adjutant.

"No, let's keep holding on. As long as the fighter planes arrive, we still have hope." Admiral Kan Anning shook his head and rejected his adjutant's suggestion.

You have to know that there are more than fifty warships here. It is not an easy task to sink them all.

As long as a warship can get started, attract firepower, and buy time for other warships, they have hope.

So at this time, you must never give up.

Also, after the night fighters arrive, the Japanese warships will choose to retreat.

By then he will be able to regroup and hunt down these Japanese warships.

According to his estimation, the maximum loss would be twenty warships.

This loss can be endured by gritting one's teeth.

As long as the HMS Ark Royal is fine.

But the captains below had already panicked.

Especially the captains of cruisers and destroyers.

Watching the warships around them being blown into two pieces one after another, many crew members were engulfed by the fire before they had time to jump into the sea. They were so frightened that they abandoned their ships and fled.

At this time, the German submarines had finally used up all their torpedoes.

In total, about fifteen warships were sunk.

These included a battleship and several cruisers.

This record is already very impressive.

You know, this is at the port.

Due to terrain restrictions, it was impossible to launch an attack.

So this result is already very strong.

Moreover, the enemy's destroyers were already heading towards the port, and if they didn't run away, they would be doomed.

Their mission was accomplished, and the rest was left to the Japanese army.

As they evacuated, the Japanese began firing at British destroyers in the harbor.

I have to say that the Japanese naval gunnery was really good.

Although they are not as good as the British Army, the gap is not that big.

Before long, a destroyer could not withstand the firepower and was sunk.

But soon another destroyer came to the port again and continued to attract fire.

Chuichi Nagumo also realized that the British army's purpose was to buy time for the warships behind them.

It is not enough to sink just one of the most important battleships and aircraft carriers.

The capital battleships must be sunk to control the Mediterranean.

Thinking of this, Chuichi Nagumo immediately sent a telegram to the Italian and French navies, asking them to speed up.

They had sunk a dozen ships, including a battleship.

As expected, the Italian warships, which had been moving slowly before, immediately advanced at full speed after receiving the telegram.

They didn't expect that this raid would be so successful.

When they arrived at the battlefield, they found thick smoke in the port of Alexandria.

Through the telescope, you can see that warships sink to the bottom of the sea from time to time.

I didn't expect it to be true.

At this time, the Japanese warships were also exhausted.

When they saw the Italian warships arriving at the battlefield, they immediately gave up their position.

Admiral Kananning in the port originally thought that the Japanese army was preparing to retreat.

Who would have thought that they were not retreating, but making way for the Italian warships. Boom!
As a result, the British fleet, which had managed to hold on, was once again attacked by Italian naval guns.

Compared with the Japanese naval gun firing level, the Italian naval guns were a little bit inferior.

The accuracy is much worse.

Obviously lack of training.

Nanyun Chuichi couldn't help but shake his head when he saw this.

But at this time, he couldn't care less.

Because the British night fighters arrived in the sky and were attacking them, seeing this, Chuichi Nagumo immediately issued an air defense order.

Da da da!
For a moment, the Japanese sailors who had stopped to rest began to operate their anti-aircraft weapons to shoot at the night fighters that kept attacking.

But since it was night, the effect was average.

boom!
An unlucky Japanese light cruiser was hit by a bomb on its deck and exploded, killing dozens of Japanese sailors.

Normally, when the war reaches this point, it is almost time to withdraw.

But Chuichi Nagumo was obviously not satisfied with this result, and ordered the fleet to continue to withstand the air raid and destroy as many British warships as possible.

The commander of the Italian warship also knew that if he missed this opportunity, it would be gone, so he stared at the empty space and increased the intensity of the ship's gun fire.

At this time, the British battleship finally started, turned around, and began firing its naval guns.

However, since the view was blocked by numerous warships, the accuracy of the naval guns was seriously reduced.

"Commander, should we retreat? The enemy's battleships are beginning to show their power," the first mate advised.

"Keep shooting and send a telegram to the French, asking where they are." The battle has come to this point. If they don't completely destroy the British fleet, they will definitely be doomed next.

So we must not stop at this time.

At this time, Admiral Darlan, commander of the French fleet, was still hesitating.

Because he has been watching the development of the political situation cautiously.

Strive to maintain a certain cooperative relationship with all parties.

Especially since the US military supported Vichy France, he still had a good impression of the US military.

Similarly, if the Allies launched a counterattack in the Battle of the Atlantic, Darlan certainly did not want the French army to engage in a meaningless and bloody war with the US army.

Of course, he would not refuse to maintain a certain relationship with the German army.

So, from the very beginning, what Darlan did was to deal with the various princes, trying to maintain the existing strength of the French navy that he once was proud of, to maintain his power and the fate of the French people and the French navy under his leadership.

Ever since Pétain asked him to lead the navy to reinforce.

All the way he was hesitating whether to attack the British fleet in Alexandria.

Normally, they have an irreconcilable hatred with the British army.

But as mentioned earlier, he hopes to maneuver between the various powers.

Strive to maintain the pride of the French Navy.

Therefore, they did not want to completely break off relations with the British army.

If he takes part in the attack, the fight will be to the death.

However, his ideas could not represent the entire French Navy.

"Admiral Darlan, what are you hesitating about?" Fleet Commander Admiral Laborde said dissatisfiedly.

Be aware of the "Ballista" project.

The British army captured all the French warships anchored in Portsmouth, including two battleships, four light cruisers, eight destroyers, several submarines and 200 minesweepers and anti-submarine ships, and captured the French fleet in Alexandria and Martinique.

The French attacked the French North African ports of Oran and Mers-el-Kebir, destroyed the battleship "Brittany", the battlecruiser "Dunkirk", the battleship "Provence" washed up on the beach, and the "Strasbourg" fled back to Toulon, killing more than 1300 French sailors.
At the same time, the battleship "Richelieu" was severely damaged.

It can be said that the French Navy was unanimous in its hatred of Britain.

Now that I have the opportunity for revenge, I will definitely not let it go.

Therefore, seeing Admiral Darlan's hesitant expression, Fleet Commander Admiral Laborde was very dissatisfied.

He had long been dissatisfied with this person, but he did not expect that the other party would personally participate in the attack.

I originally thought that the other party would change.

Who knew that from the time we set out until now, we have been delaying the time with various reasons.

Now the navies of Japan, Italy and Germany have succeeded. As long as they arrive at the battlefield, they can capture all British warships.

As a result, Admiral Darlan hesitated again.

This instantly made the fleet commander, Admiral Laborde, dissatisfied.

"Admiral Darlan, I'll give you one more chance, otherwise I will strip you of your command." Fleet commander Admiral Laborde shouted with his eyes wide open.

As a result, Admiral Darlan said with dissatisfaction.

"Don't forget, I am the commander of the navy."

"Hmph, the French Navy doesn't need a cowardly naval commander." Fleet commander Admiral Laborde said directly.

"You..." Admiral Darlang was a little angry and embarrassed.

"Come here, take Admiral Darlan back to his room. From now on, he is not allowed to come out until the end of the war." Fleet commander Admiral Laborde has guessed that the other party probably does not want to attack the British fleet.

But for the fleet commander Admiral Laborde, this rare opportunity for revenge must not be given up, so he decided to detain Admiral Darlan first.

As expected, upon hearing this, Admiral Darlang's face became extremely ugly.

He had not expected that Admiral Laborde would dare to mutiny.

But the sailors on the flagship are all the other side's confidants.

And the French sailors were eager for revenge.

So Admiral Darlan could only watch himself being locked up.

"Orders, full speed ahead, target Alexandria, sink those damn British bastards." Fleet commander Admiral Laborde shouted loudly.

"Yes, kill those British bastards."

"Fuck the son of a bitch."

For a moment, the morale of the French Navy rose sharply. They had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Now there is finally a chance for revenge.

Soon, they arrived at Alexandria.

At this time, the British fleet had already started to launch a counterattack.

Especially with the cooperation of night fighters, the British fleet gradually gained the initiative on the battlefield.

In the naval gunfire exchange, neither the Japanese nor the Italian army was a match for the other.

In just two hours, the Japanese and Italian armies lost more than six warships.

"Damn it, why haven't the French warships arrived yet? If they don't come soon, we won't be able to stop them." Nagumo Chuichi shouted angrily.

His Third Fleet had already had four destroyers sunk.

The Italian army also sank two destroyers.

Both sides are still gritting their teeth and waiting for the French navy.

If the French navy does not arrive, they will have to consider retreating.

This was even after the Germans sank more than a dozen battleships.

Otherwise, they would be at a greater disadvantage if they fought now.

boom!
Finally, just when Chuichi Nanyun was about to despair, a huge explosion was heard.

"Reinforcements are coming." The appearance of the French Navy greatly boosted the morale of the Japanese and Italian navies.

Admiral Cannen on the opposite side looked at the French Navy in the distance with a pale face.

The sky was slightly pale at this time.

"Let the carrier-based aircraft take off immediately."

The emergence of the French Navy was indeed beyond his expectations.

Now he could only place his hopes on carrier-based aircraft. If the carrier-based aircraft could not repel the French navy, then Alexandria would be completely doomed.

At the same time, dozens of carrier-based aircraft from the USS Falcon were taking off in sequence and attacking Alexandria Port.

(End of this chapter)