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"Hit!" the bomber shouted happily. Captain Uber immediately put away his flaps and began to accelerate and climb. Just now, in order to ensure observation, he had lowered the height, and then another hs-293 ​​was quickly activated, he was ready to do it again. At best, one hs-293 ​​is equivalent to a 500-kilogram bomb. If it were not for a particularly important position, just one would not destroy the battleship.

After Captain Uber pulled up, other bombs also exploded, "boom" and "boom" sounded loudly, and a total of three huge explosions sounded. The slower Rodney, Nelson, and Lorraine each ate an HS-293. Only the fastest Reputation, with the captain's flexible operation at the last moment, escaped the disaster.

At 15:26, Rodney hit another bomb at the rear of the starboard side. This time the damage was even more serious than the last time. The bomb penetrated the armor and exploded at the bottom of the ship, destroying the starboard main engine. The speed dropped to 13 knots. The entire warship swallowed more than 3,000 tons of sea water, and the overall tilted 9° to the right. The Nelson was on the left and each starboard side ate, and the large hole of 2 meters was torn open, and the sea water rushed towards the old ship. The most pitiful thing is

Lorraine, whose defense ability is not as good as that of Rodney and Nelson, the second HS-293 hit the position between the turret and the bridge, not only penetrated the armor, but also caused a fire, which eventually caused a violent explosion in the ammunition depot. The entire warship burst out into the sky like a lit torch. Five minutes later, the French Brittania-class battleship struggled to sink into the sea, and only 73 sailors fled to their lives.

Reputation became a ship of luck again. When the second remote-controlled bomb fell, the heavy cruiser Argo next to him blocked him. Reputation remained unscathed, but Argo was overturned on the spot and struggled to sink into the water.

In the face of 8 bombs and 7, Harwood, Andrew and others were frightened to the point of being so scared. At this time, at least 9 minutes before the arrival of the second support group of our side. When the third round of HS-293 attacked, everyone was so numb that they didn't know what to do, so they could only dodge mechanically and then kept drawing crosses to pray for God's blessing. Perhaps God heard their voices, or the officers and soldiers began to have experience in dealing with the remote-controlled bombs. Only Rodney was hit again in this round, and the reputation was almost lost. The flying shrapnel instantly took the lives of dozens of anti-aircraft artillery sailors operating on the port side.

When the fourth round of fire came down, the Mediterranean Fleet's cover aircraft group finally appeared again. After observing the enemy reinforcement aircraft group, the four he-177 bombers were finished and retreated. Without the precise guidance of the bombers, the bombs finally blew up, creating a water column soaring into the sky.

This time, it was not a p-40, but a hurricane with a secondary fuel tank mounted. It seemed that General Alexander was already forced to force himself, and he grabbed the fleet and stuffed it onto the head of the fleet. But the problem was still one step late. Facing the tragic scene on the sea, everyone was crying: The Rodney could not hold on first, the overall **** had reached 17 degrees, and the speed was reduced to only 7 knots. Although some balance was restored after the water injection, the overall tilt was still 13 degrees, and the speed was reduced to only 5 knots. Only one-third of the boiler was still in play, and the rest was submerged in the cold sea water. Due to the large amount of water inflow, the overall draft of the warship was increased, and the bow of the ship was almost flush with the sea surface, as if a wave could press the warship down.

Hawood had no choice but to order them to abandon the ship and then let the destroyer use torpedo to send the old ship to the bottom of the sea.

"Sir, are we still going to intercept the German landing fleet?" Andrew asked with a sad face. Two battleships sank, two heavy cruisers sank, and the Nelson was still quite injured. Even if the air force comparison is not considered, the remaining power may not be able to compete with the German landing fleet. The other side also has one battleship and three heavy cruisers.

"Advance...even if it is outnumbered, the Royal Navy has no reason to retreat."

"But..." Andrew hesitated, not knowing whether he should say the following words.

"I received the intelligence that the Italian main fleet has been dispatched... They will be able to reach the war zone at noon tomorrow as early as tomorrow. If we don't intercept the landing fleet today, there will be no such opportunity tomorrow." Harwood was in a low mood. "Where can we go if we go back? Should we wait for surrender in Alexandria or will we slip through the Suez Canal now?"

It is obvious that the latter two choices Andrew is unwilling to choose.

"It is better to sink gloriously than retreat in shame! At least, we have fought for the last breath!" Harwood's expression became more and more serious, "Rise the flag of decisive battle! Today we will fight to the death with the Germans! Although the British Empire has declined, his majesty and majesty still do not allow anyone to provoke! It is our tradition to fight when we see the enemy. There are royal navys that die in battle, and there are no living royal navys!"

"yes!"

Andrew only felt that the blood in his body was boiling, and the soldiers' originally depressed fighting spirit became excited!

But Harwood's struggle is destined to be futile!

At 4:49, the German Navy Air Force, who had secretly transferred from the Black Sea to Crete, dispatched, and 48 bf-219s (HNA fighter jets have all been replaced with this type) covered 64 ju-87cs and rushed over. Although 36 hurricanes tried their best to resist, they were not opponents of bf-219s, but they still shot down 7 bf-219s and 6 ju-87cs.

At 5:27, German HNA completed all attacks and left. The battlecruiser Reputation, battleship Nelson, heavy cruiser Kalipudis and other major ships sank. In addition, they lost 4 destroyers. Lieutenant General Henry Harwood refused his subordinates' request to transfer him and finally sank with the flagship. Andrew retreated to Alexandria according to his final order. In the end, there were only 4 destroyers left in the entire fleet, including 3 of which were rolling smoke. However, their desperate counterattack also caused considerable damage to the HNA formation, and the fleet lost 6 bf-219s and 8 ju-87cs one after another.

In the evening, at the Prime Minister's residence at No. 10 Downing Street, Winston Churchill received a farewell call from the Mediterranean Fleet: "This fleet fought for the last breath and sank glory... God bless Britain!" The former First Navy Minister couldn't help crying sadly. In just one day, the main force of the Mediterranean Fleet with 4 battleships/battlecruisers became history. Although Rodney, Nelson, and the Reputation were all old ships, and the Lorraine were captured ships, a fleet like now was basically wiped out. The death of the Lieutenant General Fleet Commander had never appeared since the beginning of the war. His eye sockets were deeply engulfed, as if he had become 10 years old in an instant.

A circle of people looked at him, and no one knew how to comfort him.

After a long silence, Churchill held back his grief and regained his perseverance. He asked the British Chief of Staff Alan Brooke, "The Navy has also failed. What should we do now?"

"The most urgent task now is to protect Egypt. The rapid landing force has set out from South Africa. As long as you withstand 10 days, reinforcements can arrive. As long as you withstand 20 days, all the more than 100,000 landing forces and thousands of aircraft can be quickly put into combat against Germany. Only by protecting Egypt and the Suez Canal can the British Empire have a future." Brooke gritted his teeth, "In order to protect Egypt, we can only sacrifice the Eighth Army at present.

It is recommended that Montgomery give up his unrealistic fantasy of Tobruk and immediately retreat with strong forces and resist the German landing forces in Port Matru. If he cannot resist, he will temporarily detour and retreat to Alahman and then form a line of defense to win time for General Alexander to reorganize Egypt's forces and defense. As for other troops in the direction of Tobruk, they can only fight with the Germans until the last breath."

"Which unit is drawn? The 10th Armored Division?"

Brooke shook his head: "This is not enough. There must be at least 2 armored divisions, 1 infantry division, and it must be a capable unit. In addition, I suggest that the troops should be selected by General Montgomery himself. If possible, do not select all local troops - my suggestion is to choose the New Zealand Division and the Australian Division. Their defense zone is relatively favorable and their combat effectiveness is relatively strong."

Everyone understood Brooke's intention in an instant: not choosing local troops does not mean that they do not trust them or that the British Empire is willing to sacrifice themselves for the army of the autonomous rulers in exchange for a way out. On the contrary, when Great Britain is facing the most critical situation, it is necessary to do its best to unite the forces of the autonomous rulers. If the autonomous rulers are sacrificed every time, it is difficult to ensure that they have no complaints.

Churchill struggled for a long time, and finally nodded slowly, agreeing with the suggestion - his current mood and situation are completely different from Dunkirk's retreat.

"Also..." Brooke hesitated and struggled to say the second sentence, "If possible, General Montgomery should be responsible for cutting off the rear and commanding the rest of the troops to entangle Goodrian."

"No!" Clement Attlee, the leader of the Labor Party, deputy prime minister of the cabinet and minister of governor of the governing consul during the war, was the first to jump up to object, "A lieutenant general has been sacrificed this afternoon, and no more lieutenant generals can be sacrificed or captured. There are not so many lieutenant generals in the British Empire that can be squandered."

Churchill and Brooke slowly shook their heads when they said Attlee. Churchill shook his head. Attlee was prepared for it. The Prime Minister was very upset when he saw Montgomery recently and had been thinking about substitutions. But why did Brooke make such suggestions? Is it because the Prime Minister wants to take the opportunity to clean up Montgomery? The situation is at a critical moment. Shouldn't he be more united?

PS. For those who are chasing the update, are there any free praise tickets and Qidian coins? The countdown to the 515 red envelope list is now, I will get a ticket, ask for an increase in the bid and praise ticket, and finally get a chance!
Chapter completed!