afterglow

Chapter 421 Dark Times and the Italian Navy; Declaration of War on the Philippine Autonomous State
Starting from the day the Hood sank, the term "Dark-Days" spread among the British Empire's Home Fleet headquarters, vividly indicating the current mood of the British.

All the Royal Navy's high-speed capital ships no longer exist, and the battleship HMS King George V will not be completed and commissioned until next spring even if it works overtime.

This is such a dark, difficult, and embarrassing time. What should we do in the next few months?

Looking back at Deshe, part of its strategic purpose has actually been achieved.

As a battleship that carries out high-risk diplomatic-breaking operations, the fate of the battlecruiser Theodor has been doomed since she was hit by the Firefly and damaged by a Swordfish torpedo plane. Now it is just a delayed destruction.

Fortunately, none of the 1193 naval officers and soldiers belonging to the Theodor were killed, and only about [-] people were injured to varying degrees. It can be said to be a miracle among miracles.

The Workers' Navy seemed to be in dire straits, but the battle cruiser Franz, the battle cruiser Bruno, and the heavy cruiser Piccolo were still cruising in the Atlantic.

Any one of them has the ability to single-handedly challenge an entire convoy fleet, and no one knows when the next fleet will suffer disaster.

The United States has done its best to provide help without going to war - destroyers changing bases, Atlantic Fleet ocean patrols, seaplanes performing anti-submarine patrols, etc.

The Royal Navy's Home Fleet Command estimates that if the United States does not directly participate in the war, it is likely to lose 150 million tons of merchant ships in the next three months.

Some people even have a more pessimistic view, believing that more than 200 million tons of merchant ships may sink into the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition, the Ming Navy also carried out shipping suppression operations in the Indu Ocean. Although it was not as extensive and vigorous as the German army, it still achieved an average of tens of thousands of tons of results every month.

The Ming army only deployed a total of twenty submarines in Xingzhou. Considering that only one-third of the rotation was actually on combat patrol, the efficiency was not bad.

In view of the bleak situation, the will of the Zhengmi flag masters has been shaken, and they have proposed peace with the Germans.

They feel that with the huge naval fleet as their trump card, they still have sufficient confidence at the negotiation table; even if the two sides finally break up, they can still buy some time.

As Prime Minister, Winston was firmly opposed to this idea, and he openly criticized it as an act of cowardice.

The signs of failure and pessimism have appeared and are growing rapidly. Winston knows that it will not be long before he is questioned and may be forced to step down.

In view of this, cunning politicians will not miss any opportunity to win over allies, and the British Empire’s centuries-old diplomatic strategy was quickly reflected——

After setting up the matchmaking process at the embassy, ​​the British envoy came to Rome and held many negotiations with Bald Benito Mo.

The British side hopes to conclude a mutual defense agreement with Italy. The core lies in the Italian Navy sending high-speed capital ships to the Atlantic Ocean to intercept the German break-up fleet.

In exchange, Britain was willing to transfer the jurisdiction of Sudan to Italy - in this way, Sudan and Ethiopia would become one, which was exactly what the Italians expected.

In fact, as early as two years ago, Britain and France had manipulated the League of Nations to lift sanctions on Italy as a sign of goodwill because they were wary of the German News Agency.

Benito was honest and did what he said. Soon after, he took the initiative to launch a military provocation in the Austrian border area, but as expected, he was beaten up.

The scale of that conflict was division-level, which was no longer small.The Italians themselves low-key announced more than [-] casualties, but the actual losses were thousands. The Austrians captured many tanks, trucks, and artillery.

Since then, after realizing the gap in combat effectiveness between the two sides, the Italians have no longer dared to take the initiative to stir up trouble.

They began to build solid permanent fortifications along the Apennine Mountains and named them the "Florence Line of Defense", hoping to withstand possible accidents in the future.

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Therefore, the British knew very well that the Italian Army could not be counted on. It would be good if they could rely on the Apennine Mountains to defend themselves.

The exchange terms offered by the British are quite sincere, but the problems facing Benito still need to be solved.

First of all, the two Veneto-class battleships have not yet been completed, and there are still about four months of finishing work.

Secondly, the Veneto-class battleship was originally designed to operate in the Mediterranean, with a cruising range of only about [-] nautical miles.

In addition, if the German army moves south in a large scale, the Italian army alone may not be able to resist it, so "effective help" is also needed.

No, I paid you to help, but you still want me to help you?

The British had no choice but to protect the Atlantic route at the moment, so they could only agree one by one.

The construction of the two Veneto-class battleships has actually been basically completed and is now being decorated and internal cabling laid, but it has been delayed due to financial problems.

So the British will send a technical team to provide guidance and provide a sum of funds to help the two complete the work as soon as possible.

Don’t worry about the short voyage. The Royal Navy’s many supply ships and oil tankers can provide support at any time.

防务问题则繁杂且众多，包括但不限于提供免息的2000万英镑贷款和低息的7000万英镑贷款；分几批提供1200台各型机床、260万个滚珠轴承、4500吨铝材等重要设备和资源。

In addition, the British are very considerate and try to help solve domestic problems. The Italians are now facing the difficulty of food shortage. The British said that they can export part of the grain from Indus at a low price.

In addition, the British also persuaded the Renault government, which was in exile in the colonies, and the latter agreed to send some colonial troops to Italy to assist in the defense of the Florentine Line.

Because the situation was urgent, the British, who were impatient, really had no time to bargain, and the Italians did not go too far and continued to raise prices.

Under Winston's personal supervision and follow-up, the "British-French-Italian Mediterranean Agreement" was signed and came into effect on September 9. The actual negotiation time was only more than a week.

In addition to the above provisions, the agreement also stipulates that both parties have the obligation to exchange information and have the right to exchange military scientific and technological achievements.

Winston is now inevitably complaining about Washington. If the United States had entered the war in time, why would so many things have happened?
However, Franklin is quite helpless now. Members of Congress are still wrangling - although the trend is good, it still takes time.

The destroyers of the Atlantic Fleet were already closely following the German warships, but the latter could still keep calm.

So Franklin believed that he should apply further pressure and continue to press to see how far the German Society could tolerate it.

At the direction of the president, the federal government took the lead in forming the Federal Atlantic Shipping Company, which was jointly operated by several large shipping companies on the East Coast of the United States.

From now on there will be a door-to-door service in the US - goods ordered by the UK from US businesses will be shipped by Commonwealth Atlantic Shipping Lines.

Essentially, this is a company whose core goal is to win porcelain, because merchant ships fly different flag sizes and specifications depending on their tonnage. According to secret regulations, the company's merchant ships, regardless of size, all fly the smallest number IV Stars and Stripes.

In addition to not being flown according to regulations, these custom-made Stars and Stripes also intentionally lacked the anti-fading process.Moreover, the merchant ships of the Federal Atlantic Shipping Company were required to follow but not join the convoy, that is, they would follow the convoy in twos and threes.

Regarding a series of practices by Britain, Italy, and the United States, the German Society was extremely vigilant.

Just broke the blockade and now trying to build a new one?
There is unconfirmed news that the British cabinet is even considering negotiating with Portugal and Spain to establish a complete encirclement to counter the threat of the German Society.

In response, the upper echelons of the German Society also responded quickly——

The liberation of Spain must be put on the agenda, and Francisco's regime should be dismantled with rapid and decisive large-scale military operations.

The defeat of the Spanish Republican Army proved that they were unable to support them. This group of people did not have a unified program and always fell into internal fighting because of the struggle for power, so they could not win by themselves.

It is necessary to further guard against Italian military threats, and perhaps consider taking the initiative, but first deploy a complete army group in the Austrian area.

September 39, the 27th year of Zhichang, was this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.

However, hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Ming Army could not spend the holiday like ordinary people. A huge fleet composed of hundreds of large and small ships was sailing at the end of the South China Sea.

The sun was setting in the west, and the bright red sun made the entire western sky seem to be immersed in red ink, and the sea surface was sparkling.

"This is the last place in Changsha."

"How long will it take to get to Surabaya? The journey is really difficult."

At the railing on the top floor of the Suzaku super cruise ship, Zhao Hanfeng, Yao Liangchuan, and Xie Wancheng were looking at the sea and chatting.

As a sea castle with a displacement of about 6.9 tons, the modified Suzaku now assumes the responsibility of a high-speed troop transport ship and can accommodate a full 1.2 people.

As the sun sank into the sea, the sky dimmed suddenly, leaving only a little dark red remaining in the western sky.

Looking around, you can only see countless light spots flickering in the night, which are the navigation lights of the ships and the lights inside the bridge.

From family affairs to state affairs, and then from state affairs to home affairs, after smoking two cigarettes, several people realized that it was already getting late.

"Let's go, let's go eat." Xie Wancheng patted Zhao Hanfeng on the shoulder, "There are many kinds of mooncakes today, and you have to try each one."

Even though it is at sea, the Suzaku is the foundation of a luxury cruise ship after all, and the food supply level is not much different.

I can't enjoy osmanthus wine and the like, but I can still manage the mooncakes.

Zhou Changfeng, who had nothing to do, wandered around the cabin and walked around this huge cruise ship from top to bottom.

In addition to the nine thousand officers and soldiers of the [-]st Marine Brigade, the Suzaku also carried personnel from the Second Air Service Group and some tank troops.

The so-called aviation service team is an aviation unit affiliated to the army. It is mainly equipped with liaison aircraft, service aircraft, and artillery range shooting aircraft. It is responsible for doing various scattered chores - reconnaissance of the front line, transportation of officers, transportation of seriously injured people, etc.

The morale of each unit is quite high, and their mental outlook is also very good.

Everyone originally thought it was another crowded, stuffy, smelly troop transport or cargo ship, but they didn't expect to board such a huge sea castle this time. Even though the luxurious decoration inside has been removed, the spaciousness and comfort are still far ahead.

"Master Jun, I have something important to report."

"Go ahead."

"The United States protested against our military's air strikes on Moresby and Darwin and demanded compensation, but the court refused."

Although there were no ground battles or large-scale naval battles, the battle in the sky never stopped.

About a month and a half ago, the Ming army stationed on Timor Island carried out a small-scale landing operation and captured Yendena Island, wiping out the only [-] or so defenders there.

They completed the construction of most of the field airport that the Australian army had built on Yendena Island. The Ming Air Force subsequently used this airport to organize multiple reconnaissance and air raids on Moresby.

This inevitably resulted in collateral damage, resulting in more than a dozen American casualties, nine of whom were military personnel.

Regarding the protest from the United States, the Ming court in turn said that this was unreasonable - China and Australia are in a state of war, air strikes are part of conventional military operations, and the American citizens who were injured or killed are persons with full capacity for civil conduct, and should be aware of the potential risks of being in a war zone. Therefore, we must bear all the consequences on our own, and the act of sending troops to warring countries is inherently inappropriate.

Zhou Changfeng laughed dumbly, stretched out, and looked at the deep and boundless sea.

"The days of bickering are coming to an end soon."

In this way, time passes day by day...

When the fleet arrived at the Surabaya Naval Base, the Australian Corps Supervisory Headquarters received an encrypted telegram from the Metropolitan Governor's Office.

At 9:30 on September 16, the Ming Dynasty’s Embassy in Manila submitted a unique ultimatum to the Philippine Autonomous State Government.

It requires the Philippine Autonomous State to declare its independence from the control of the United States and become a Chinese vassal; if rejected, the two countries will be in a state of war starting at [-]:[-] the next day.

The strange thing about this ultimatum is that although the Philippines is now an autonomous state in name rather than a colony, everyone actually knows that this is just a pacification strategy by the United States to deal with the ongoing resistance movement in the Philippines.

If you (the Ming Dynasty) did not declare war on me (the United States), why would you declare war on my dog?
In fact, until this point, the Ming emperors and ministers deliberately reserved some leeway to see what the attitude of the U.S. Congress was like, how much approval there was, how much opposition there was, and how many abstentions there were.

Now the pressure was on Franklin's side. Due to the time difference, it was still noon in Washington, D.C., so the president and dignitaries had plenty of time to react.

As soon as [-]:[-] a.m. on the same day passed, the declaration of war officially came into effect.

Early the next morning, countless reporters gathered outside the white Capitol building, which symbolized the spirit of democracy.

Cars drove in from all over the SAR, and congressmen in suits and ties got out of the car one after another, walking towards the heart of the United States amidst the sound of cameras clicking.

At 8:15 a.m. Washington time, almost all members of the Senate and House of Representatives were present, ready to cast a crucial vote on the upcoming important mission.

(End of this chapter)