In pouring rain, over a thousand German naval officers and soldiers stood in formation on Pier 2 of the Kiel Naval Base. They listened to the famous speech "Our Era Is Coming" delivered by their naval marshal, Reder. In this speech, filled with references and high spirits, Reder mentioned the brave challenge the German Navy issued to maritime supremacy 24 years ago—the Battle of Jutland, still regarded as a naval classic, where the German High Seas Fleet, through determined combat, claimed a tactical victory. Now, with the unprecedented weakness of the British Navy, the era has come for the German Navy to strive towards realizing that distant dream!
"Whoever controls the seas, controls the world!"
Adjacent to the pier, two newly painted German warships in Atlantic camouflage, the fast battleship "Gneisenau" and the heavy cruiser "Prince Eugen," were moored. After participating in two protective bombardments against Wash Bay, they had returned to German soil, undergone some rest and adjustment, and were now in optimal condition for long-range voyages.
Thick clouds hung over the port, and the rain intensified. The German sailors standing in formation on the decks and sides of the two warships were drenched, yet their expressions remained resolute, as if a group of knights, disdainful of their opponents, awaited the call to charge.
At precisely 9:00 a.m., the two ships cast off their moorings; at 9:16 a.m., the "Gneisenau" entered the channel; at 9:28 a.m., the "Prince Eugen" sailed out of the channel. The rain, pouring from the sky, almost formed an impenetrable curtain. The sleek and elegant silhouettes of the two German warships eventually disappeared from view. With the British home fleet having suffered nearly devastating blows in the previous phase, the only things seemingly capable of preventing their entry into the Atlantic were the mines laid by the British in the northern North Sea and the harsh sea conditions.
That day was September 18, 1940, Wednesday, according to the calendar.
On the other end of the European continent, in the Taranto Naval Base in Italy, amid sunny weather and lively military music, the vast Italian fleet finally left its berth after several days. Ten days after the British fleet headed north from Gibraltar, urged impatiently by the Italian head of state, General Compianni embarked on his journey with his main fleet.
Now, with Germany having almost crushed the British fleet in the English Channel and allowing their invincible tanks to land on British soil, this was undoubtedly an achievement that evoked both envy and jealousy from Mussolini, who had long hoped to turn the Mediterranean into the new inland sea of the Roman Empire. In July and August, Italian forces had launched offensives in Northeast Africa, capturing many areas in Sudan, Kenya, and British Somaliland, but soon fell into harassment by British colonial forces. In North Africa, two Italian field armies commanded by Marshal Graziani launched an attack on Egypt from Libya on September 10 (considering Italy's consistent performance, this date was only three days earlier than in the original historical timeline). Despite having "abundant" pre-war reserves, the Italian army, as soon as the large-scale operations in Africa began, kept demanding ammunition supplies from the rear, and even until early September, the British Navy still maintained sea and air superiority in the Mediterranean, posing a significant threat to the Italian transport lines crossing the Mediterranean.
The situation left no room for any hesitation from the Italian Navy!
General Compianni was not a timid naval commander, but it had been more than three months since Italy declared war. The country's war preparations still appeared slow and chaotic. For the Navy, they had struggled to receive effective support and coordination from the Air Force (even worse than the German Navy in this regard), and they only had poorly performing, limited numbers of seaplanes at their disposal, with very poor long-range reconnaissance capabilities and almost zero nighttime reconnaissance capabilities. Furthermore, a large batch of new technical equipment such as modern anti-aircraft guns and sonar was still in the long process of research, development, and production. They were far from achieving the ideal combat readiness—Italian naval encounters with the British Mediterranean Fleet since entering the war, whether battleship-to-battleship, cruiser squadron-to-cruiser squadron, or single engagements between light warships, had unfortunately ended unfavorably. What's more, Italy's main battleships at the time of entry into the war, the Littorio class and the Doria class, although mostly modernized, had only modestly improved overall capabilities. They were still "thin-skinned battleships of the Mediterranean," incapable of confronting the British Queen Elizabeth class battleships.
This time, the newly commissioned Vittorio Veneto-class battleships, "Vittorio Veneto" and "Littorio," finally appeared in the Italian fleet's lineup. The crew of the former had undergone over four months of training and integration at sea, while the latter had been in service for only five days longer, with training levels being roughly equal. However, since the advent of dreadnoughts, large capital ships of all countries needed at least half a year after commissioning to form a complete combat capability—sending a group of sailors unfamiliar with equipment and comrades into battle was definitely a dangerous proposition!
In this vast Italian fleet, there were seemingly formidable numbers of cruisers and destroyers. However, constrained by the overall readiness of the Italian Navy, their pre-war training was limited (it is difficult to understand that after Italy's surrender, Germany found large amounts of fuel in their secret warehouses, while before this, the Italian fleet had not been out to sea for lack of fuel for a long time).
The Italian sailors could feel reassured because their old adversaries, the Royal Navy of Britain, had weakened by half in the Mediterranean due to urgent needs at home. Currently, there remained only one Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, one Revenge-class battleship, and the old aircraft carrier "Colossus." The situation was similar for cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. In terms of numbers and tonnage, the Italian Navy had at least double the advantage!
But if war were merely a matter of numerical comparison, then the Italian expeditionary force would have returned home from Africa for vacation long ago!
After leaving Taranto, the Italian fleet did not immediately head directly to the location of the main British Mediterranean Fleet—Alexandria Harbor but rather escorted a convoy of 47 freighters and tankers to Libya. With such a strong escort force, the convoy arrived at Benghazi and Derna without any losses, delivering over 80,000 tons of guns, ammunition, fuel, and other combat supplies to Marshal Graziani and his Italian expeditionary force.
Subsequently, the grand Italian fleet changed course and sailed eastward along the North African coastline. On the night of September 19, battleships "Vittorio Veneto" and "Littorio" bombarded fiercely with their 15-inch main guns the ports and coastal targets still under British control in northern Egypt, marking the first time most of the gunners on these battleships had fired in combat!
At dawn on September 20, Alexandria Harbor was finally within sight.
Before the appearance of British aviation, General Compianni was full of confidence. He firmly believed that his old adversary, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, would never shrink from battle, but facing a five-to-two ratio, even if he was a "fighting bull," he could only choose the most advantageous battlefield.
At 8:05 a.m. on September 20, 1940, eight "Fulmar" fighter-bombers, four "Swordfish" torpedo bombers, launched from the aircraft carrier "HMS Illustrious," and fourteen land-based bombers took off from nearby airfields near Alexandria Harbor. Five minutes later, the battleship "HMS Barham," along with its Saint George's Cross flag flying from its mast, appeared ahead of the Italian fleet, followed closely by the battleship "HMS Queen Elizabeth," a heavy cruiser, three light cruisers, and fourteen destroyers. If this fleet were lost, Britain in the Mediterranean would be left with only a dozen or so light warships—its resolve for a counterattack far exceeding what the Italians could imagine or achieve.
The Italians should count themselves lucky, for they did not face the relentless attacks of hundreds of dive bombers and torpedo bombers like the British fleet did in the English Channel. During the British bombings, except for the "Cavour" being hit by a light bomb, the other main Italian ships remained unscathed. The Italian fleet even managed to shoot down or damage five British aircraft with their mediocre anti-aircraft firepower. However, to avoid torpedoes in the water, their formation became temporarily disorganized.
Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Admiral Andrew Cunningham directed his two battleships along with the heavy cruiser "HMS Gloucester" to concentrate firepower on the Italian flagship "Vittorio Veneto." The bright morning sun bathed the decks and bridge of the battleship in its golden light. At a distance of less than ten kilometers, the Royal Navy gunners bravely took aim, and within just five minutes, consecutive hits from 380mm and 203mm armor-piercing shells struck their target. The Italian Vittorio Veneto-class battleships were designed to withstand 15-inch shell attacks from the outset, with their side armor belts employing a complex spaced armor structure to enhance defense against capped armor-piercing shells. However, the intense gunfire from the British battleships still managed to destroy one of the secondary gun turrets on the Vittorio Veneto and ignited fires amidships and aft.
In contrast, despite the main guns of the two Vittorio Veneto-class battleships achieving crossfire on the British flagship "HMS Barham" in the third salvo, the significant dispersion of their shells, combined with inexperienced gunners, failed to deliver direct hits on the British battleships. Instead, it was the three leading, larger-sized Conte di Cavour-class battleships that were consecutively hit. Unfortunately, even after upgrades, their 320mm main guns proved insufficient against the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, and flames and smoke erupted frequently on the "HMS Barham," but its four twin 15-inch MKI guns continued to roar!
Simultaneously, cruisers from both sides engaged in a gun duel, with the numerical advantage of the Italian fleet quickly suppressing attacks from two British light cruisers. However, fourteen British destroyers then launched a brave "death charge." In exchange for three sunk and three heavily damaged destroyers, they charged to within 2000 meters of the Italian fleet and released a large number of torpedoes, once again throwing the Italian fleet into disarray.
At 8:29 a.m., the Vittorio Veneto was again hit by 15-inch shells from the British battleships, damaging the front two main gun turrets, forcing an early withdrawal from the battle.
At 8:37 a.m., the "Cavour" caught fire on its bridge from hits by two British battleships, and its hull was pierced, following the flagship's retreat from combat.
At 8:44 a.m., the tide turned as a torpedo launched by an Italian destroyer hit the port side of the "HMS Barham," causing a violent explosion, and the "Littorio" also scored its first hit with its 15-inch main guns on the same ship. The British flagship's deck was engulfed in flames and thick smoke, reducing its firepower!
At 8:59 a.m., the 15-inch guns of the "HMS Queen Elizabeth" hit the Conte di Cavour-class battleship "Giulio Cesare," leaving only the Doria-class "Doria" still capable of fighting intact among the Italian battleships.
By 9:00 a.m., the British fleet, with its flagship "HMS Barham" along with two light cruisers and four destroyers heavily damaged, five destroyers sunk, did not retreat any ships. The indomitable spirit of the Nelson era was vividly displayed in this battle—many British officers and soldiers also showed admirable courage in the English Channel, but unfortunately, they faced the Germans, equally renowned for their iron will. The collision of steel against steel, with the better-prepared side emerging victorious!
At 9:20 a.m., the third destroyer squadron of the Italian fleet launched a final attack. Their torpedoes once again hit the British fleet flagship "HMS Barham," but the wounded beast became even more ferocious, as its main guns hit the "Giulio Cesare" twice in succession. This unlucky battleship had previously been hit by the same group of British battleships in the Battle of Calabria on July 9, luckily only resulting in fires on the lower deck and several boiler failures, ultimately escaping with the "Cavour" under the cover of smoke.
At 9:37 a.m., the British air force made a "negligible" attack on the Italian fleet for the second time, but five minutes later, the new flagship of the Italian fleet, the "Vittorio Veneto," radioed the order to retreat. The British fleet did not pursue.
This naval battle, ultimately named the "Battle of Alexandria," saw no loss of capital ships on either side, particularly for the Italians. All damaged battleships were back at sea in full force within a month, whereas the resilient "HMS Barham" lay dormant in the shipyard for four months. In terms of the battle's impact, the British did not emerge as the ultimate victors. Due to the huge numerical advantage of the Italian Navy, the British could only harass Italian naval shipping lines in the Mediterranean through bombers, destroyers, and submarines based in Malta, with mediocre results. Moreover, due to the prominent role of Malta, the large-scale combat operations conducted by both sides around the island were brought forward compared to historical events!
----------
(Starting from today, the author's update frequency and word count will significantly decrease. The reason is that the author needs to eat, but writing books on this platform does not generate income. The author needs to find another job to make a living. I can only apologize to all the readers. Updates will not be discontinued.)