Chapter 998: Heart Bleeding 2
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Half of the people on the battleship France were killed, about 500 people. After the three armored cruisers were killed, the number of people killed and missing reached 1,000. Even though nearly a dozen destroyers were sent, more than 700 people died in the battle! Coupled with the losses of personnel on auxiliary ships and other battleships, the final number of casualties reached more than 5,000! Set a record for the most casualties in a single battle in the history of the French Navy!
These people are not those rubes from the Army who can train with a gun for a few weeks before rushing to the battlefield. These are the Navy! The value of fortune-telling is second only to the Air Force! More than 5,000 people died in this way. Looking at the long list of casualties, Admiral de la Perel felt his heart bleed!
To say that the losses were huge, the British Royal Navy really sent too many ships that time. When 3 super-dreadnoughts and 1 Dreadnought battlecruiser were sunk, more than 3,500 lives were lost, and 2 super-Dreadnought battleships were lost. Shen You lost about 800 lives in the war. A dozen light cruisers were lost, and on average about 120 people were killed or missing per cruiser, which is more than 1,400 people! In addition, more than twenty destroyers sent nearly 1,000 people to the altar of the God of War. In the end, the number of Royal Navy casualties and missing persons was approximately 7,000!
But is the Royal Navy more than twice the size and manpower reserves of the French? ! The Royal Navy, which had lost more than 7,000 men, said it was even more heartbroken over the loss of warships. And the French lost 5,000 naval officers and soldiers, which was really painful to the bones!
As for how much the Allied navy lost? The losses that the French can confirm are about 9 destroyers. As for the battleships? seem? Maybe? Probably not one? ! Perhaps because he felt that the result was too tragic, or too unjustifiable, La Perel decided to add a sentence to the final battle report: "One Allied fast battleship was severely damaged, and the other two were moderately damaged."
Although it was based on speculation, La Perel's report this time was quite conscientious. In fact, a total of 7 German destroyers were sunk in the battle. Although the Prinz Eugen ran fast enough, its measures were also effective. But the other side has too many pipes, and there is nothing God can do against the side with more ships and more cannons. Therefore, although the Prinz Eugen suffered moderate injuries, it will take some time to fully restore its combat effectiveness. In addition, the Resaldière was rather unlucky and could be regarded as a slander. One of Teghov's main gun turrets was damaged, which can be considered as damage.
However, no matter what the Lieutenant General writes, it cannot change one fact. First, the Allied High Seas Fleet did not suffer much irreparable damage. Second, although the fleet's situation is not very good, it is still capable of fighting. When he thought of this latter point, Lieutenant General Laperre felt very weak in his heart. Although the French fleet is still stronger than Count Spey's fleet, what if the Austro-Hungarian fleet rushes out from the Adriatic Sea and comes over with the Spey fleet at this time? ! You know, your boats are all slow boats! Once bitten, even if you can escape, you will suffer heavy losses!
There is only one safest way, to take the fleet directly back to Alexandria. There are at least mine arrays, shore guns, and relatively complete facilities outside the port, which can restore health and defend at the same time. Under the current circumstances, the French fleet does not dare to leave Crete easily. If it wants to leave, the final result of these sunken and immovable warships will only be one, and they will be used by the German fleet that comes here again. Send torpedoes and take them away. As for the current French fleet,
Throwing away all these damaged warships is undoubtedly a waste of martial arts!
And if you continue to stay here, once the Austro-Hungarian fleet and the Spey fleet merge, it is possible that the entire Mediterranean battleship will collapse. After all, after the merger, the entire Allied fleet will have 6 fast battleships, 2 quasi-dreadnoughts, and We have several armored cruisers, and our own number of battleships may even be inferior to that of our opponents. Although there are still two squadrons of pre-dreadnoughts in the mainland, these battleships are a bit far behind the quasi-dreadnoughts of Dandong. Not to mention it is too old, its combat effectiveness is also very low, and it is of little use if pulled out.
Also, in the end, Vice Admiral de la Perel made such a decision. The main force of the fleet was still shrinking in Crete, but at the same time, submarines and destroyers were deployed in the Adriatic Sea and the Dardanelles Strait as a warning force. When it was discovered If the German fleets take action in both directions at the same time, they will immediately choose to evacuate to Alexandria or evacuate from the mainland.
As for why not take the initiative to defeat them one by one? Because the opponent is basically a fast fleet. Although the speed of the two quasi-dreadnoughts in the Austro-Hungarian fleet is not high, it is still better than the French fleet that is deployed for a long time and lacks maintenance. According to the report just now, the French fleet is now The average speed may only be around 18 knots, while the Austro-Hungarian fleet has an average speed of more than 20 knots no matter how bad it is! So you can't catch up with them at all, and if you leave by yourself, and then Count Spee arrives, then come on, those "wounded soldiers" in Crete will be dealt with in minutes!
Now all the French fleet can do is wait, waiting for the Japanese fleet to rush to the Mediterranean immediately before the Allies take the next step. Once they have two fast battleships, the French have nothing to fear, whether it is dividing their forces to block the Austro-Hungarian fleet You can fight with the Spey Fleet or whatever you want! Hit whatever you want! The strategic situation in the Mediterranean will return directly to what it was before the Spey fleet's sneak attack, and even better than then!
Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Laperre sent another telegram to the British, asking them to work with the French government to put pressure on the Japanese, and at the same time assist the Japanese to reach the Mediterranean as soon as possible. The impatient mood in this telegram Beyond words.
"The Germans seemed to have realized that their end in the Mediterranean was coming, so before our fleets converged, they took crazy actions! Unfortunately, for some personal reasons of mine, the actions of the German fleets gained Success. Huge changes occurred in the war situation in the Mediterranean. The Allies got an opportunity to expel us from the Eastern Mediterranean. Once they realize this plan, the route from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean will be completely cut off, and we will open a channel to Russia. The plan will also become far-fetched, and the Balkan allies and potential allies will collapse under the weight of the Allies! Therefore, I hope that your government will urge or even order the Japanese to fulfill their obligations no matter what!"
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