Bulgarian Empire

Time flies by, and it is said that three days have passed since the Bulgarian air raid on Taranto, and the news has begun to spread in all directions.

The whole world was stunned, can the plane still be used like this?

This is definitely not a good thing for a naval empire like the British Empire, which means that the deterrent power of the navy will be greatly reduced in the future, and air defense has become a top priority for the British Empire!

Bulgaria can form a strategic bombing formation, can't other powers?

The answer is obvious, it's only a matter of time!

Subsequently, the major powers headed by Britain and Germany began to form strategic bombing brigades one after another. To some extent, it is also a blow to the Allies' sea power advantage.

It's just that the range of aircraft in this era is limited, the performance is not up to standard, and it cannot effectively hit the target, otherwise the time for the German High Seas Fleet to break out of the blockade line is not far away!

...

The London government, at this time George V is holding a high-level meeting. George V doesn't have the political skills of his father Edward VII, so he can't persuade these politicians, but it doesn't matter that he can pretend to be an ostrich.

For example, now, he is the one who presides over the meeting, but it is the cabinet that actually makes the decisions. It is also from him that the British royal family has gradually lost its rights.

The news of Bulgaria's successful air raid on Taranto is undoubtedly a good thing for the Allied Powers, which means that the Allied Powers have taken the lead in the war in the Mediterranean.

But for the Royal Navy, it is a trouble. In addition to besieging the German High Seas Fleet, they also have to guard against threats from the sky.

Prime Minister Arquis now has mixed feelings. The good news is that the war situation in the Mediterranean is now very beneficial to the Allied Powers. The original plan to send the Royal Navy to reinforce the Mediterranean battlefield is no longer needed.

Even the urgency to win over the Japanese navy to participate in the war has now been greatly reduced.

When Germany had not launched unlimited submarine warfare, the escort mission of the Allied Powers was not very heavy.

At the same time, he worried that other countries would follow Bulgaria's example, especially the Germans. With Germany's industrial strength, it may only take a year and a half to build an air force capable of threatening the Royal Navy!

"Regarding the threat of aircraft to warships, what specific plans does the Royal Navy have?" Alquis asked with concern.

Minister of the Navy Churchill frowned, and then replied: "As for Bulgaria's air attack on the Italian Navy, our Admiralty conducted a detailed analysis and found that the threat of aircraft to warships is actually not as great as the rumors outside!

Bulgaria dispatched a total of more than 350 aircraft. According to their bomb load, they dropped more than 300 tons of bombs, which severely damaged the Italian Navy.

Judging from this intelligence, the main target of their attack this time was the Italian naval battleship, but in the end they killed many other warships, and the hit rate was pitifully low.

You must know that the Italians did not have any preparations this time. The Bulgarian Air Force is completely fixed-point shooting. Dropping bombs at a height of about 100 meters has only this hit rate.

If there is anti-aircraft firepower, the Italians will drive the navy out again, and it is estimated that they will not even have a one-thousandth hit rate!

As long as we are prepared for air defense, aircraft are actually not very threatening to warships, but they are more threatening to ports and cities! "

In fact, Churchill's analysis was too one-sided. In order to keep the air force's secrets and let countries relax their vigilance in this regard, the Bulgarian air force has never had any actual combat experience. It is the first time to carry out a bombing mission, and the level of performance is naturally not very good.

If there is another air strike on Taranto now, the result can be doubled at least. After all, in the era of underdeveloped technology, many things depend on people's experience and feelings. In this era, the personal quality of pilots is also a decisive factor.

In history, the British attacked Taranto during World War II, which proved this point!

The words of the Secretary of the Navy Churchill made the Air Force Commander Trenchard very dissatisfied. However, in this era, the Air Force really has no right to speak.

He, the "Father of the British Air Force", is just a small colonel.

If it wasn't for this matter, and the Air Force was involved, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even be eligible to attend meetings of this level.

Perhaps seeing that Trenchard was hesitant to speak, Prime Minister Arquis asked specifically: "Mr. Trenchard, what do you think?"

Trenchard said with some trepidation: "Nowadays, the technology of aircraft manufacturing is developing rapidly, and the strength demonstrated by the Bulgarians this time has already demonstrated the importance of the Air Force!

Since airplanes can be used to bomb Italian naval bases, they can naturally also be used to bomb cities, factories, army positions, and fortresses.

According to the information we have received, this time the Bulgarians also attacked Taranto's port facilities, such as coastal artillery and factories.

With the improvement of aircraft performance, the air force will play an increasingly important role in future wars. In addition to attacking fixed targets, it can also attack moving targets.

Perhaps in the near future, whoever controls the sky will be able to dominate the world! "

Obviously, what he said surprised everyone. Now that the British Empire relies on sea power to dominate the world, will the air force replace the navy? Everyone's first reaction is: impossible!

But everyone is a person of status, it is impossible to pull down your face and argue with Trenchard, just laugh it off.

...

An episode passed like this. The British Empire in this era was still full of bullshit. Although it did not agree with Trenchard's point of view, the British Air Force still received financial allocations from the government.

The German government far away in Berlin, the current atmosphere is not very good. Originally, the Italian navy and the Austro-Hungarian navy joined forces. Even if they were at a disadvantage against the Allied Powers in the Mediterranean, they were not incapable of fighting. The strength gap between the two sides was not large.

It can even have an advantage in some areas. After all, the Allied Powers still maintain routes. With Italy's geographical location, the entire Mediterranean Sea can be turned into a hunting ground for Allied Power submarines.

Unless the British send troops for reinforcements, the naval blockade of the Allied Powers will exist in name only under the cooperation of the Italian and Austrian navies!

But everything is different now. The main force of the Italian navy has suffered heavy casualties. It will take at least two or three years to recover. At that time, the day lily is cold.

William II knew that the Italian navy could not be counted on, and he could only hope that the strength of the Italian army would improve, otherwise the Western Front would be a one-man show for the Germans.

"Your Majesty, we should also increase our investment in the air force. Since the Bulgarians can use the air force to attack the Italian navy, we can also imitate them and use the air force to deal with the Royal Navy!" Xiao Maoqi suggested

Obviously, what he said made William II's eyes brighten. Now it is tantamount to wishing the High Seas Fleet to defeat the Royal Navy, but if the Royal Navy can be severely damaged in advance, the result will be different in the decisive battle.

...

When countries decided to increase investment in the air force, Bulgaria was not idle. On March 11, the Bulgarian Marine Corps launched a landing operation on Taranto.

The reason for the delay was mainly to wait for the completion of the aircraft overhaul. The main reason is that the forts in Taranto have not been cleaned up, and Ferdinand is still not so proud to use warships and shore artillery to bombard them.

Anyway, the Italians don't have air defense facilities, and even if they delay for a day, they can't do anything. Even if they thought of a countermeasure, they couldn't find an effective anti-aircraft weapon in such a short period of time!

The first division of the Bulgarian Marine Corps in charge of this landing operation, the division commander Major General Christo Ivanov.

Oh, it seems that the Bulgarian Marine Corps now has only one division, with four infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and one garrison regiment, with a total strength of about 12,600.

The Bulgarian Marine Corps was only formed after the Second Balkan War, and it has been established for a short time. This is their first landing operation.

Christo Ivanov took out his binoculars and stared intently at the port of Taranto in front of him. He saw shells flying across the sea and heading straight for the port.

At the same time, the shore artillery of the Italians on the opposite side was also fighting back, and the two sides were engaged in a fierce artillery battle. At this time, the nightmare of the Italians came again.

The Bulgarian air force roared in, tongues of flame shot out from the sky, and bombs fell from the sky, causing a large number of casualties to the Italian defenders in an instant.

There is no way that the coastal artillery of this era is not capable of defending against threats from the sky, and Taranto is no exception. Since there is no threat on land, all defenses are against enemies from the sea.

To put it simply, the fortress is too lazy to repair, or it cannot be repaired! To defend against the attack of the navy's main guns, simple fortifications can't be effective, and it will definitely not work without adding steel plates. Even reinforced concrete one or two meters can't stop a single shell!

For the Italians, instead of spending a lot of money to build fortresses, it would be more reliable to use the money to build two more dreadnoughts. Anyway, since the founding of Italy, no one has attacked Taranto!

Then, this time it was a tragedy. The machine guns of the Bulgarian Air Force could cause them a lot of casualties.

As time passed, the Italians' counterattack became weaker and weaker, and in the end they simply misfired.

Obviously the Italians on the opposite side are not stupid. After such a long time, they also know that the planes in the sky are mainly for bombing shore artillery. As long as the fire is turned off, they will naturally not be attacked.

Their innate talent taught them the best way to save their lives—playing dead!

Well, the best way to avoid aircraft bombing was understood by the Italians by mistake!

Seeing that the fire was almost ready, Christo Ivanov said seriously: "Order the first regiment to start landing!"

...

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