Late at night on January 13, 1940, the Italian 1st Cruiser Squadron, accompanied by the 9th Destroyer Squadron, quietly left the port of Taranto to carry out the order to destroy the British sea lines of communication. Zhang Jun sent three groups of reconnaissance planes, each

One group included a B-29 aerial tanker, and four "Six Masters" were cruising at high altitudes in the Italian fleet throughout the entire process.

The 1st Cruiser Division consists of 3 Zara-class heavy cruisers, namely "Zara", "Fiume" and "Pola". The 9th Destroyer Division consists of 4 Oriani-class destroyers, respectively.

They are the "Oriani", "Gioberti", "Alfieri" and "Carducci". They are under the command of Rear Admiral Catagno, commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron. This is the only ship in the Italian Navy.

The remaining naval force.

The plan for this battle was the result of a compromise between the Italian military and the Germans. Italy requested that with the Luftwaffe providing an air force with air support, the Italian fleet should cut off the British sea lanes for reinforcements to Greece and annihilate a British

Fleet. And the report that the German SS Air Force severely damaged two British battleships in Crete on January 14 made the Italian Navy, which had always lacked confidence, think that it was possible to change the passive situation.

As a result, Italy's new chief of naval staff, Admiral Ricca, formulated a combat plan. The plan is as follows: the Italian Navy will organize four fleets to set off from four ports respectively. After rendezvous, they will be under the unified command of Admiral Aquino to sweep the Eastern Mediterranean.

It was all the assets of the Italian navy, and Mussolini also began to gamble his entire navy, just for the sake of face, which was extremely stupid.

On the morning of January 17th, the western waters of the Messina Strait were filled with sea fog. At about 11 o'clock, four fleets appeared in the scheduled assembly area on time. According to the scheduled plan, a large number of German aircraft should arrive at this time to conduct an escort exercise.

It would be helpful to identify and cooperate with each other in future collaborative operations. However, after waiting for a long time, the Italians did not wait for the German aircraft, which had already been cruising at high altitudes.

, but did not show up. The SS Air Force was waiting for the appearance of the British warships. However, the Italian Navy waited for a British Sunderland reconnaissance aircraft at 12:20. Admiral Aquino believed that the whereabouts of the fleet had been exposed.

He requested to cancel the plan. However, he was denied by General Ricca in Rome. General Aquino had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to act according to the plan, although the uneasiness deep in his heart became stronger and stronger.

On the 18th, the Italian fleet divided into three routes and advanced toward the southwest of Galdos Island along a 130-degree course. Cataño's squadron and Lieutenant General Legnani's squadron merged into one and were at the northernmost point of the formation. At 6 o'clock

At 43 o'clock, the Italian ro43 reconnaissance plane discovered the British cruiser. The Italians immediately accelerated to 30 knots and sailed towards the British. At 8 o'clock, the Sansonetti Squadron in the center

The enemy ship was sighted visually and opened fire 12 minutes later. At 8:55, the Sansoniti squadron began to retreat to lure the British cruiser to pursue. At this time, Cattanio's squadron had been to the north, preparing to attack at the appropriate opportunity.

It cut off the British fleet's retreat and did not participate in the battle. Due to the air attack by the British aviation force at 10:58, the Italian fleet had to retreat again along a 300-degree course.

At 15:30 in the afternoon, the unlucky Italians began to suffer misfortune. The flagship "Veneto" (the only battleship in the fleet) was hit by an air raid. Aquino believed that only the British destroyer fleet might pursue itself at night, and other

The threat was an air attack the next day, so he decided to have all the fleets rendezvous to protect the "Veneto". The Catanio squadron and the Legnani squadron separated and lined up closely on the "Veneto"

Starboard.

At dusk, the Italians discovered eight British planes circling behind the fleet. These planes took off from the "Formidable" aircraft carrier at 17:30. However, the British pilots did not attack immediately. They circled and waited for the light to get darker.

Then attack again, so that it would be difficult for the Italians to see the aircraft clearly. At 19:15, the last ray of light was swallowed up by the night, and Aquino ordered the fleet to make a sudden turn to confuse the British pilots. Ten minutes later, this group of eight torpedoes

A British fleet of aircraft flew over the fleet, and the fleet immediately counterattacked with intensive anti-aircraft firepower. The blazing fire net composed of 100mm, 90mm and 37mm anti-aircraft guns forced the British aircraft to abandon the collective at a distance of 3,000 yards.

The plan to attack. They first withdrew from the battle, then spread out in formation outside the fire net, and attacked independently with single aircraft to disperse the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower. However, each destroyer squadron began to cast thick smoke screens, and turned on searchlights, using strong dazzlers.

The target beam enveloped the British aircraft. All this made the British pilots dizzy, so the first seven aircraft achieved nothing. The last one to enter the attack route was Lieutenant C. Williams, because most British aircraft had begun to evacuate, and the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower was relatively sparse.

. He flew the aircraft at a height close to the sea surface to break through the defenses and approached the right fleet. He selected the big ship closest to him, which was the "Pola". At 19:45, the torpedo was launched.

Rushing towards the "Pola".

The night did affect the visual effect of the Italians. The captain of the "Pola", Colonel M. de Pisa, discovered that the British plane had dropped the bomb too late. Although he was hailed as an outstanding commander by Admiral Aquino, he urgently ordered to turn the steering wheel.

, but the torpedo plane flying so low dropped the mine too close, and the huge body of the "Pola" was not able to rotate smoothly. One minute later, everyone watched helplessly as the torpedo hit the starboard engine room and

The area between the boiler rooms. This was a fatal blow. The huge explosion caused blood and flesh to fly in the main engine room and boiler room. The main engine stopped running, and the entire ship's electrical equipment was paralyzed. Soon, turbulent seawater rushed in

Three fireproof cabins were built and filled up. The main engine stalled and the "Pola" lost power. The huge hull slowly stopped, unable to move like a dead fish. The failure of the power equipment caused the warship to lose the ability to save itself.

Ability. At this point, the stubborn Colonel M. de Pisa had to order the abandonment of the ship. Nearly 800 officers and soldiers rushed to jump into the sea to survive. Only 257 people, including the deputy captain, stayed on the "Pola" and waited.

Whether it is rescue by our own people or the British.

What’s interesting is that under normal circumstances, the people on the ship in distress either become panicked and run for their lives, or they share the same hatred and make a last-ditch effort to save the beloved ship. The performance of the Italian sailors is dumbfounding. The military discipline of the sailors remaining on the ship has deteriorated.

With nothing left, they rushed into the officer's cabin with strange screams, smashed open the officers' lockers, threw things everywhere, took out bottles of good wine, and poured it into their mouths. Soon,

Most of them became drunk, some talked nonsense, and some sang decadent songs. Oh! Cute Italian navy soldiers, the British navy likes opponents like you, they are so loving.

The news that the "Pola" had completely lost power was relayed to Admiral Aquino at 20:15. At this moment, he felt upset because the battle had not been going well. Three minutes later, he sent a signal to Major General Cattanho

Lead the First Cruiser Squadron to carry out rescue operations.

However, according to naval rules, such tasks are generally assigned to destroyers. Therefore, Rear Admiral Cattanio immediately expressed his opinion with a signal - sending cruisers is a luxury, and only two destroyers are enough.

.Although General Aquino considered the wishes of his subordinates,

However, in the end he insisted on his point of view. At 20:38, he used a signal to give a detailed explanation to Major General Catanio. Because he felt that in the face of a situation like the "Pola", a general-level squadron was needed to command

The official has sufficient authority and qualifications to evaluate the wave

The extent of the damage to the Ra and the time required for repairs were determined, and a solution was decided on the spot. The order came into effect at 21:00. Major General Cataño accepted the order with military obedience, led his squadron away from the main array, and commanded every word.

The column headed southeast at a speed of 16 knots.

At 20:14, the poor "Pola" was discovered by the British cruiser "Orion" equipped with a sea search radar. 26 minutes later, the commander of the British cruiser squadron, Lieutenant General Wippel, reported to the flagship: "The situation

The unknown ship is heading 240 degrees and 5 nautical miles away. It has obviously stalled. My position

Located at 35 degrees 21 minutes north latitude and 21 degrees 5 minutes east longitude." Admiral Cunningham, commander of the British fleet, believed that this might be the battleship "Veneto" that had been damaged in a previous air attack, and immediately led the main force to come with murderous intent.

.The "Pola" has become a whining cub in a trap, attracting hunters and more prey.

At around 22:00, the British main fleet approached him from the northeast of the "Pola". Four large ships formed a row, from south to north were the battleship "Barham", the aircraft carrier "Formidable", and the "Formidable" aircraft carrier.

battleship HMS Valiant and

Battleship USS Warspite. At 22:03, the figure of the USS Pola appeared on the screen of the 279 radar on the USS Warrior. Based on the signal, the radar operator judged that the distance was about 6 nautical miles and that it was a large ship more than 600 feet long.

ship

Seven minutes later, Admiral Cunningham, who received the radar report, was very excited and commanded the fleet to launch a bombardment. At 22:20, the radar of the "Warrior" locked the "Pola" again, and obtained the bearing of 191, and the distance was 4.5 nautical miles.

of

Tactical data. Since the "Pola" was on the port side of the British fleet, at this time, the destroyers on the port side were asked to start shifting their positions to the starboard side to open up space for the battleships to shoot. The "Formidable" also received a call to leave the queue.

Order.

However, just when the British destroyer received the transfer order, the destroyer "Stuart" located on the starboard side sounded an alarm at 22:23 because it discovered something in the night about 2 nautical miles away from the 250-degree position of the ship's bow.

Shadows of 6 warships moving from port to starboard. The second and third ships are large ships, and the rest are small ships. 22

At 02:25, Commodore Edelston, Chief of Staff of the British Fleet, observed these shadows with a telescope. He calmly issued almost the same report. Lieutenant Colonel Ball, an expert in identifying warship outlines who had been a submarine captain,

With just one glance, I could tell with my keen eyes that the two large ships were Zara-class heavy cruisers with 8-inch main guns.

The British army reacted very quickly. Admiral Cunningham quickly ordered the fleet to form a column through the ultrashort wave transmitter. At the same time, the artillery began to rotate and aimed in the direction of the enemy ship. Since the distance was about 4,000 yards, it was suitable for close-range flat fire, so the British
Chapter completed!