Chapter 534: Complete blockade of the Mediterranean shipping lanes
After the outbreak of World War I, Germany took the lead in launching indiscriminate submarine attacks. Although Britain and Germany both competed to build Dreadnought-class battleships before the war, there was never a large-scale main fleet decisive battle between the two sides throughout World War I.
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In the early days of the war, like the Far East Navy, the German Navy, which built a large number of submarines, mainly relied on submarine warfare to prevent other countries from providing various material aid to Britain. When the British and German armies entered a protracted war, the domestic situation of both sides became increasingly worse.
, the economies of the two countries are also deteriorating day by day. In the naval war, Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare means that all ships that appear in British waters, whether they are enemy or neutral, will be sunk by German submarines. This greatly
It affected the navigation of merchant ships from various countries.
It also brought huge losses to the United Kingdom. From May 1905 to May 1906 alone, the German submarine force sank more than 750 cargo ships of various types in British waters, with a total tonnage of up to 12 million tons, including the United Kingdom, France, and Portugal.
There were mostly cargo ships, and there were also records of American merchant ships being sunk. This also led to the deterioration of relations between the United States and Germany, and made the United States, which had long declared war on Germany, eager to try.
During this period, the British main fleet commanded by British Admiral Jellicoe also successfully blocked the German main fleet in German coastal ports. Although the German Atlantic Fleet led by German Admiral Scheer once
With the loss of relatively small tonnage of ships, more British naval ships were sunk, which was regarded as a partial tactical victory, but the effect was still not great compared with submarine warfare.
The competition between the maritime military power of Germany and the United Kingdom is mainly in the Atlantic Ocean. Both sides have formulated careful maritime combat plans, and the British and French navies have also carried out a division of labor. The French naval fleet is mainly responsible for the defense and combat in the Mediterranean region, while the British
Mainly in the North Sea, a blockade was imposed on all naval bases and ports on the German coast.
In addition, the British authorities also organized an expeditionary force of 120,000 people and a reserve force of 160,000 people, mainly concentrated in the northern region of France, and handed over to the French Naval Staff for unified command of operations.
As the three aircraft carrier battle groups of the Far East Navy arrived in the Mediterranean, this immediately alerted the French mainland fleet stationed in the Mediterranean. However, at the same time that the news was reported to the British authorities, the three aircraft carrier battle groups of the Far East Navy and the Far East Fleet had already
It began to approach the coastal areas of France and Italy.
Not only that, the Spanish Mediterranean Fleet also started patrolling in the waters near France and Italy immediately after the Far East Fleet round. This surprised the British and German authorities because France and Italy were both members of the Allied Powers.
Edward VII was shocked and shocked, and William II was ecstatic. But just when no one knew what would happen next, the Spanish authorities issued a proclamation requiring the British and French authorities to immediately return the original documents within three days.
Territory belonging to Spain.
Seeing such a statement, all the countries in the world were dumbfounded, because no one thought that Spain would dare to clamor against Britain. But then they learned that the Far East Group was supporting Spain from behind, and everything became clear.
Speaking of the territorial disputes between Spain and Britain and France, it must first start with Columbus's discovery of the West Indies in 1492. In the following decades, Spain gradually became a world-class maritime power in Europe, the United States, Africa, and Asia.
They all had their own colonies, but in 1588 the Spanish Armada was defeated by the British fleet, and Spain began to decline.
In 1873, the first bourgeois revolution broke out and the First Republic of Spain was established. In 1874, the dynasty was restored, which is the current Spanish authority. After the destruction of the Spanish Armada, Britain and France naturally took the opportunity to invade France, which was connected by land.
Invading from land, Britain occupied the islands off Spain.
Although over the years, the Spanish government has been asking the British authorities to return a very small peninsula in southern Spain. Although due to the defeat in the war, Spain signed a peace treaty in 1713 and permanently ceded the island to Britain, Spain, which is gradually becoming stronger, has begun to
Make a claim to reclaim territory.
Faced with such announcements and statements, Britain and France were naturally the most angry, because it was obvious that Spain's sudden move must have been instigated by the Far East Group, and now was the time when the Entente and the Central Powers were entering their most important stage.
At the time of the secret meeting between Britain and France, the Far East Aircraft Carrier Battle Group, which had been anchored in the Mediterranean Sea, began a three-day maritime military exercise. Although nominally this was a coordinated maritime rescue exercise with the Spanish Navy, it was
In the outer waters of France and Italy, it is obvious that this is a form of military deterrence.
Therefore, the authorities of the two countries immediately protested and asked the Far East and Spanish naval warships to leave immediately. However, they were refuted. First, the joint military exercises were in public waters. Second, if the two countries were interested, they could participate together.
This made France and Italy immediately speechless, because they did not dare to send their own naval fleets to conduct joint exercises with the Far East Fleet. If the Far East Navy Fleet suddenly launched an attack during the exercise, they would be in big trouble.
In fact, they really misunderstood this point. Li Ningyu had two considerations for conducting military exercises in the Mediterranean. The first was of course force deterrence, and the second was because of the environment of the Mediterranean.
After the Suez Canal was opened to navigation in 1869, the southeastern part of the Mediterranean Sea could be connected to the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, thus leaving the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea. From then on, it became more convenient from Western Europe to the Indian Ocean.
Because it goes to the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar and then reaches the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, this shortcut saves more than 10,000 kilometers compared to going around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. Therefore, the Mediterranean has suddenly become the busiest sea route in the world.
According to statistics, there are about 2,000 various ships sailing in the Mediterranean every day. Sixty-five percent of the resources that Western Europe needs need to be transported through the Mediterranean. This is the throat of Western European countries.
At the same time, there is the Mediterranean Sea as an intercontinental sea, which is much calmer than the Atlantic Ocean. Coupled with the winding coastline, numerous islands, many natural ports, and the transportation artery connecting three continents, there are so many excellent conditions.
Mediterranean Li Ningyu will naturally not let it go easily.
But something that no one expected happened in the end, that is, during the military exercise between the Far East Fleet and the Spanish Navy, the entire Mediterranean channel was cut off. To put it bluntly, the Far East Fleet and the Spanish Fleet blocked the entire Mediterranean channel. The United States
Its name is that the military exercise in the front is closed to traffic. If you have to force your way through, you will be responsible for the consequences.
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