My Italy - Chapter 655 Roma enters service

The efforts of the submarine force in the Indian Ocean can be seen by everyone in the navy. The continuous sinking of merchant ships shows the full power of this service.

Although submarines have shown full power as a new weapon, for many naval officers and soldiers, men’s romance still requires cannons and giant ships.

Therefore, we are full of expectations for the service of the Roma, the most powerful battleship in the world.

King Carlo also had the same expectations, and he was personally present at the commissioning ceremony of the Roma.

Located in the Taranto military port, a mighty and huge warship is parked at the pier. Its eight powerful 380mm main guns represent its powerful firepower.

A grand service ceremony is being held on the shore, and red carpets, ribbons, salutes and other items for the ceremony have been prepared. There were chairs placed on both sides of the red carpet, with naval officers and visiting guests sitting on them. They all came to watch the commissioning ceremony of the Roma.

Directly in front of them, Carlo held a golden key representing the Roma and handed it to the captain of the Roma, Lieutenant Colonel Pineu.

“Captain Pineu, now I hand over the Roma to you. I hope that you will make repeated military exploits in the following battles, let the world know about the ship, and let history leave its and your names.”

Captain Pineu excitedly took the key representing the battleship from the king and said forcefully. “All the officers and soldiers of the Roma will live up to His Majesty the King’s expectations and will make the world remember the name of the Roma.”

Captain Pineu is so excited not only because he has become the commander of the Roma, but also because it is recognition of his hard work over the years.

Captain Pineu is 47 years old. He is not a brilliant genius. He graduated from the Naval Academy in Livorno with a middle-to-lower ranking.

And he didn’t have many wonderful performances during his service, but he didn’t make any mistakes either.

Please note that this is very telling, because he served as a destroyer captain, cruiser captain, and later served equally well as first officer of the battleship Dante.

Captain Pineu is the kind of person you give a task to, and although he won’t perform amazingly, he won’t be unable to complete it, so you can trust him. Therefore, when choosing the captain of the Roma, the Admiralty was particularly interested in his qualities.

After becoming the tentative captain of the Roma, Pineu diligently led the officers and soldiers to become familiar with the battleship. After the war broke out, Pineu worked hard day and night to make plans to speed up the officers and soldiers’ familiarity with the warships and various training tasks. Judging from the white hair on his head and the wrinkles on his head, it is believed that he is in his fifties or close to sixty years old.

But all the hard work is worth it at this time, which is why Pineu is so excited.

Carlo patted the excited Captain Pineu on the shoulder to encourage him. Carlo then participated in the ribbon-cutting and shook hands with the officers and soldiers of the Roma, and then the service ceremony came to an end.

However, although the ceremony was over, Carlo did not leave. He talked with the Minister of the Navy, Admiral Yagier, and the Commander of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Leifer (who was promoted after the Battle of Sirte).

“How is the repair of the damaged warships of the United Fleet going?”

Carlo was very concerned as soon as he came up and assembled a joint fleet of the best navies of Italy and Austria.

“Your Majesty, the repair work of the damaged warships is currently being carried out overtime. It will take another month for the Leonardo da Vinci, the Giulio, and the Petrarch to return to the fleet, and it will take three more for the Dante and the Intrepid. The United Forces will need two months and the Istvan will need four months, mainly because the production of parts from Austria-Hungary is slow, so the repair work is not as fast as our own warships. It is expected to take another four months. Within months, we will regain control of the sea.”

This majestic combined fleet now only has two or three kittens left, which are no match for the current Allied Mediterranean Combined Fleet.

What’s going on?

Because Britain jointly formed this combined fleet with warships from the three countries: Britain (6 battleships (2 seriously injured), 1 battle cruiser), France (3 battleships), and Japan (3 battleships, 2 battle cruisers).

It can be said that this fleet is no weaker than the Mediterranean fleet before the Battle of Sirte, or even stronger. But even so, the combined fleets of the three countries have no intention of showing their presence in the central waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

There are two reasons. On the one hand, the fleets of the Three Kingdoms need to be integrated. After all, everyone is not familiar with them before. They don’t even know the fighting style and personality of their teammates. If they rush to find a sense of presence, isn’t this a taboo for military strategists? ’

In addition, the ubiquitous Italian airships in the Battle of Sirte are very scary. Under the meticulous care of the opponent, every move of the fleet is in the eyes of others, and half of the battle is lost before it is even fought.

Before solving the enemy’s numerous airship reconnaissance, the battleships of the Three Kingdoms treasures should not make waves first.

Of course, the Italian Navy also knows that the enemy’s strength is growing, but they do not think that the other party can compete with them. On the one hand, all four Rome-class ships will be put into service this year. With four large 380 mm tubes, they can let the other party know what it means. Firepower output.

In addition, the alliance of the navies of the three countries seems to be an increase in strength, but it is not easy to integrate well. The warships of the three countries have different standards, as well as different training, regulations, commands, etc. If this can be integrated in a short time, only God can do it.

“Very good. I hope our navy will continue its efforts and surpass the results achieved in the Sea of ​​Sirte.”

“Your Majesty, please rest assured that our navy will achieve great results again.”

As the commander of the combined fleet, Leifer immediately agreed.

“By the way, what are those German naval officers doing here?”

At this moment Carlo remembered the row of German naval officers at the ceremony and asked.

“Your Majesty, this is a German submarine officer. After seeing the achievements of our submarines in the Indian Ocean, the German Navy wants to learn from it. Presumably after winning the Battle of Dogger Sandbank, the German Navy will have more ideas.”

Admiral Yagier, Minister of the Navy, answered Carlo’s question. As for the Battle of Dogger Sands he mentioned, this was a naval battle that took place between Britain and Germany in the Gulf of Helgoland a week ago.

Before the start of this naval battle, Germany first sent out patrols to attack cities on the east coast of Britain, and then deliberately appeared on Dogger Sands and attacked British ships (mainly fishing boats) in the waters. The British Navy immediately dispatched a battle patrol formation led by Lieutenant General Betty, intending to sink these patrols that dared to attack.

But Betty didn’t know that the battle patrol formation led by Hipper had already been waiting for him here.

When Betty was about to teach the German patrols a lesson, Hipper appeared with a battle cruiser. As for why this is so, it is to prevent Betty from becoming suspicious. But if it is discovered that Hipper is in front of him with a battle patrol, then even if the opponent likes fighting, he will still be suspicious, which is likely to lead to the failure of the combat plan.

As for the three cruise ships, as long as they can defeat the British Home Fleet, all the sacrifices will be worth it.

Sure enough, when she was about to attack the armored patrol and saw the German battle patrol, Betty was ecstatic in her heart. Because he believed that this was Hipper’s battle cruiser coming to meet the loading patrol.

Therefore, as soon as possible, he sent a report to Jellicoe, saying that he had caught the German battle patrol formation on Dogger Sand Bank, hoping that the main fleet could attack and sink the opponent, and he would entangle the opponent.

Betty’s telegram shocked Jellicoe. Unlike Betty, who was bold and adventurous, Jellicoe was quite cautious. When Betty set off, he ordered the battleship to light a fire to warm up and be ready to set off at any time. So what are you waiting for now? Hurry up and stand up for your subordinate.

In addition to sending warships, he also ordered airships from the east coast to immediately conduct reconnaissance on Dogger Sandbank, which can be described as extremely cautious.

But while he was still on the way, Betty sent him a telegram, claiming that he was luring a German patrol over and hoped that he could prepare for the siege.

Betty’s telegram made Jellicoe’s eyes darken, because he knew this person’s character very well. If he didn’t suffer a loss and couldn’t defeat him, how could it be a temptation? Instead, we should take advantage of the victory and pursue it.

However, although there was no confrontation with Betty, considering the situation of the battle, Jellico agreed to do what the other party said.

As a result, the huge battleship formation was divided into three directions and moved forward. As long as the German battle patrol came over and Betty entangled it, it would never be able to escape.

At about four o’clock in the afternoon, a battle patrol appeared on the sea ahead. This was the battle patrol led by Betty, and the only visible smoke column behind it should be the German battle patrol.

The Betty battle cruiser formation was indeed not good. It set out with five battle cruisers, but only four came back (the New Zealand sank). Among them, the Princess Royal looked like it had been severely damaged due to the thick smoke billowing from it.

After going out for a stroll, one person died and the other was seriously injured. At this time, Jellico had the urge to beat Betty up. But how to make up for the losses at this time is the key.

So Jellicoe immediately ordered each formation to accelerate immediately and rush towards Betty’s formation, which was fighting against the enemy ships.

However, at this time, a telegram was sent from the airship. A large number of German battleships were found twenty nautical miles behind the German battle patrol, and they were judged to be the main force of the High Seas Fleet.

Jellicoe was stunned when he saw the news. At this time, he had no way out. If he avoided the battle, he would lose all the battle patrols. At this time, Jellicoe could only issue the order to fight.

He now has 17 battleships in his hands, while the opponent only has 14. Why should he retreat due to his superiority? You will only know who will lose and who will win after fighting.

As for the German side, General Ingenol finally caught the British by surprise. How could he miss it? So a head-on battle began on the Dogger Sandbank.

The naval battle started at five o’clock in the afternoon and lasted until more than eight o’clock in the evening.

In more than three hours of fighting, Germany lost two battleships, two battlecruisers, and a large number of small and medium-sized battleships. The total tonnage lost reached more than 90,000 tons, with more than 5,000 casualties. Almost every other main battleship was injured.

As for the UK. Five battleships, three battlecruisers, and the same number of small and medium-sized battleships were lost. The total tonnage lost reached 170,000 tons, and there were more than 10,000 casualties.

The main reason for all this is that on the one hand, the British were not prepared enough, and the response turned into a big war. This was not only a problem with people’s mentality, but also a lack of preparation.

In addition, the British’s artillery shell penetration depth is not good. Although it was exposed as early as the Battle of Sirte, it is impossible to solve this problem within two or three months.

On the other hand, German battleships have excellent performance. After absorbing the technology of Italian battleships, German battleships are more powerful. Of course, in addition to this, Germany also learned a lot from the previous Battle of Sirte, and also discovered many shortcomings of the British.

In addition, Lieutenant General Scheer, the commander of the battleship formation, boldly adopted approach tactics during the battle, shortening the battle line between the two sides to a distance of 7,000 meters.

Under such desperate tactics, the British battleships were the first to be overwhelmed. If it weren’t for the cover of small and medium-sized battleships, and the high seas fleet was afraid of causing unexpected losses, otherwise the home fleet would have lost more battleships. (After all, you can seriously hurt him if you punch him, and he can kill you if he punches you)

And Germany won the Battle of Dogger Sands, pulling out another layer of the Royal Navy of the British Empire.

This naval battle is about to make me cry.