Romanian Eagle

So when Cunningham got the news of the departure of the Romanian fleet, his whole heart was finally relieved. It's just that in the face of the current tragic situation of the Mediterranean fleet, it makes people cry.

All three aircraft carriers sank, the only battle cruiser Repulse sank, and two of the five battleships sank. In addition to the other warships that were sunk, the losses suffered had exceeded the Battle of Jutland. However, compared with Jutland, Great Britain now does not have the strength to open 5 warships in one breath.

At this time, Cunningham said to the chief of staff who was also sad. "Telegram to London and report our loss. I am willing to bear all the responsibility."

Cunningham's words made Hawkins' expression very bitter. Commander Cunningham alone could not bear such a tragic result, and he, the chief of staff, did not have to run either.

Now is not the time to think about it, London is still waiting to report its losses.

So when the telegram about the loss of 3 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 1 battle cruiser, 8 other warships, and hundreds of planes was sent to London, Chamberlain, who was anxiously waiting for the news, had his eyes darkened and he almost fainted.

The palm seal and Air Force Minister Hall, who had been waiting on the side, immediately stepped forward to support him, and the other ministers who were urgently called in because of the news of the Alexander air raid, saw the Prime Minister's expression, and secretly cried out inwardly.

Sure enough, after Chamberlain circulated the contents of the telegram, everyone's faces were very ugly. And they know that at this time, the world throne of the British Empire was kicked severely by the Romanians, and it was still kicked on the navy, the lifeblood of the British Empire.

After Chamberlain recovered, he asked. "Let's talk about it, what should we do now?"

Facing Chamberlain's inquiry, War Minister Belisha took the lead in giving advice. "I think it is necessary to immediately reinforce Egypt to ensure that the security of the region is not violated. Our Ministry of War can arrange troops from India and Australia and New Zealand to give priority to reinforcements to Egypt."

Obviously, the attitude of the war minister Belisha is to give priority to keeping Egypt.

His words were echoed by other cabinet ministers.

"Yes, we must keep Egypt."

"The Empire cannot afford to lose Suez."

Everyone present knows the importance of Egypt to the United Kingdom, not to mention the importance of its location to the United Kingdom in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, the Suez Canal alone is worthy of the United Kingdom's efforts to protect it. This canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is of vital importance for the British to communicate with India, the most important colony. the emperor of the british empire,

But it was given by India (the Emperor or Empress of India).

Hall said at this time as the palm seal and the air force minister. "I think Egypt's air defense needs to be strengthened at the moment, and now we can send more advanced aircraft from other colonies to support Egypt. In addition, I think the local side should also send four squadrons of Spitfire to support Egypt.

In addition, given that Egypt will face the threat of the Romanian fleet and needs more aircraft capable of dealing with ships, I think a group of support can also be drawn from the mainland. "

After Hall said it, his voice changed. "These are our responses to the attack on Alexandria, and now I think there is a very critical issue that must be addressed."

After successfully getting everyone's attention on himself, Hall said the name of a country. "That's the attitude of Italy."

His words instantly let others know that Italy's attitude is extremely important now, especially after the heavy losses of the British Mediterranean Fleet.

After the outbreak of the war, the division of labor between the British and French navies was that the British Mediterranean Fleet blocked the entry of the Romanian Navy into the Mediterranean Sea, while the French fleet watched over Italy. As for the British Home Fleet, it was naturally a task that had been carried out during World War I to block German warships in the North Sea.

And now with the Mediterranean Fleet being attacked in the port and no one watching the Romanian Fleet, who can guarantee that Mussolini will not be moved. As long as the fleets of the two countries converge, then the French fleet cannot compete with the combined naval strength of the two countries. The Mediterranean Sea will become a dangerous area for British and French ships. This is something the UK will never agree to.

"So, what can we do to prevent Italy from being greedy for profit? We must know that they have alliances with Germany and Romania. Although they did not dare to act rashly because of the strength of our country and France before. But now our Mediterranean fleet has suffered such huge losses. In this case, it will be very difficult to get them to obey the rules.”

Defence Coordination Secretary Thomas voiced his doubts.

Facing Thomas' doubts, Hall gave his own advice. "We have a way, that is to hand over the interests of Greece to Italy and use Greece to stabilize Italy."

Hall's words caused others to whisper. Isn't this an improved version of the previous appeasement policy?

"I know what you want to say, this is betraying Greece. But have you ever thought about it? Now that our country and France in the Mediterranean are at a disadvantage, and the local fleet needs to supervise the North Sea, there is simply no way to add extra fleets to the Mediterranean fleet. Now if not Stabilize Italy, then we may lose the Mediterranean, who can take this responsibility? And throwing Greece to Italy will deepen its conflict with Romania.”

Hall's words caused other cabinet members to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

And Chamberlain saw Churchill, the Admiralty sitting there without saying a word, and asked. "Churchill, what do you think about this."

Churchill, who was named by the Prime Minister, shook his head and said. "I have nothing to say. If Greece can be exchanged for Italy to stand on our side, I am in favor."

And Chamberlain was not satisfied with this, I saw him ask further. "Then does your Admiralty have any plans for this?"

Although he had only been the Lord of the Navy for a few days, Churchill was still very knowledgeable about the Navy, and I saw him speak. "At present, our work mainly needs to assess the loss of Alexander, and also to investigate whether the two fleet commanders have neglected their duties. In addition, we are also speeding up the construction and outfitting of other George V-class battleships. Get him into service now.

As for the aircraft carrier, the first two ships of the Radiance class, the Radiance and the Victory, are already underwater. We will let the shipyard work overtime to complete the outfitting work, and we will also urge the work of the carrier-based aircraft. When this batch of warships is completed, we expect to be able to take into account the Mediterranean side. As for now, we can only rely on the naval power of our ally, France. "

Obviously Churchill has no good solution to the current situation in the Mediterranean, and he can't change the battleship to supplement the loss of the Mediterranean fleet.

And Chamberlain waited until he finished, and said, these suggestions are very good, then we will discuss the issue of how to deal with it.

After a period of deliberation, the cabinet reached a solution, first assessing the damage, and then dispatching an investigation team to assess the commander, General Cunningham, and the chief of staff, General Hawkins, but as usual, the two commanders He will be punished, most likely to be retired from active service.

In addition, troops will be sent to reinforce Egypt, mainly to keep the Suez Canal. In addition, if the foreign affairs department tries to win over Italy, it is possible to propose to Italy to exchange Greece for its position, which will not change.

There is also to speed up the construction of warships, and contact the United States to test whether it can purchase its retired warships.

After everyone else was gone, Prime Minister Chamberlain left Churchill behind.

After rubbing his astringent eyes, the tired Chamberlain said to the Admiralty Minister in front of him. "There are some things I need to talk to you alone."

Hearing Chamberlain's words, Churchill nodded and did not speak, because he knew that there was still more to be said.

Sure enough, I saw Chamberlain continue to say. "This biggest defeat for the Royal Navy in a century will cause anger among the people. My prime ministership will not last long. Although other cabinet members have been coming up with ideas, I know that I am not far away from stepping down. already."

Chamberlain paused here and continued. "As you know, I was not interested in politics at first. I was forced into politics later, but I just thought I did a good job. It only took me ten years to become the core of the party. I didn't want to be the prime minister. But there is no one in the party and I can only fight hard. I don't know about Germany's military expansion. It is not financially unsupportable, and there must be enough space for healthy finance. Otherwise, we may step into the footsteps of Germany and Austria in World War I. ."

After saying so much, Chamberlain stopped venting himself and saw him asking about Churchill in front of him. "Churchill, are you interested in being the next prime minister?"

"Very happy to."

"Well, you are ready to resign as Admiralty Minister. Next, you need to better show your tough side to the people."

Watching Churchill leave, Chamberlain felt a headache, and then he needed to convince the party to accept Churchill as prime minister.

That same evening, British newspapers reported the attack on the Mediterranean Fleet.

The result of 5 sinking and 3 wounding made the British people completely angry, and they asked the government to launch a counterattack against Romania.

The newspapers also accused the government of taking responsibility for the loss. In addition, Cunningham, as the commander in question, was scolded by the newspapers, and some newspapers even ridiculed that it was better than this General Cunningham to let his own puppy serve as the fleet commander.

In this regard, in order to quell the anger of the people, the government can only let them retire in advance.

When Chamberlain, as Prime Minister, knew that both retiring would not quell the anger of the people, the best choice was himself. But you still need some time to prepare.