Chapter 126 Squid Under the clear sky, a He-115 twin-engine water reconnaissance aircraft sprayed with gray-green block camouflage flew from north to south at an altitude of 100 meters. The world under the wings with the Iron Cross logo was full of exotic customs and canals. Countless historical mysteries are buried in the rolling yellow sand on both sides of the strait, and in the distance stand pyramids that have silently endured weathering and erosion for thousands of years. "Base station, base station, this is Osprey 2. Except for the Italians and their garbage blockade, everything is normal in the south area of ??the canal." When the bombardier and observer in the nose position made a routine report to his own base via radio, The crew members in the cockpit smiled knowingly. Today is the first Sunday in February. According to past practice, Italian soldiers and soldiers, whether at home or abroad, whether in the rear or at the forefront, always use various methods to relax themselves. Because of this, the Italian Navy's warning blockades located at the north and south ends of Suez are basically in vain: the eye-catching buoys and fixed-position ships are still moored at their original positions, but not a single destroyer or large torpedo boat conducting mobile patrols can be seen. Only patrol boats with a displacement of less than 200 tons and smaller traffic boats are still shuttling back and forth - the Italian officers and soldiers on duty must be full of complaints at this time. "Basic station received, Osprey 2, continue to be alert, found" "Squid's Report Immediately" Airborne radio does not yet have the highly reliable confidentiality of the Enigma telegraph, so when it comes to confidential content, countries often use code words to prevent eavesdroppers from learning the real information - in comparison Generally speaking, Italy¡¯s communication and information technology is not lagging behind, but for a long time, their emphasis on military communications has been disappointing, so that airborne radio, monitoring and jamming and other equipment are far behind the current mainstream. This is naturally a problem in many countries. It has affected the combat efficiency of the army to a great extent. "Osprey 2 understands" turned off the long-range radio communication, the bombardier and observer switched to the dedicated internal communication line, and said to his two companions: "Guys, you have seen squid in the frying pan, as long as the fire explodes , the aroma is overflowing" The driver smiled and said: "Hey, I'm afraid Italians won't like this way of cooking. They pursue the ultimate in nutrition and deliciousness." The co-pilot said: "Hey, guys, what are you talking about? What mission are the squids here to perform, to block the canal?¡± The bombardier and observer pretended to be sophisticated: ¡°Shhh¡ such an obvious intention, just know it, don¡¯t say it out loud - especially when leaving the plane. "After that" "Well, I just want to see what fried calamari looks like from the air," the co-pilot replied. It is true that "fried calamari" is an open secret among the German troops stationed in the Suez Canal Zone, but this does not prevent Italians from spending their weekends. About half an hour later, the reconnaissance He-115 with a 10-hour continuous cruise capability discovered the "Squid" at the northern end of the Red Sea near the mouth of the Suez Canal. It was a civilian fleet composed of four medium-sized cargo ships. It could last for several years or more. The cargo ships built by German or British shipyards more than ten years ago all fly the German flag, but except for a few people such as the captain and first mate who have European faces, the rest of the crew are yellow with both European and Asian profiles. Men - to be precise, warriors recruited by King Saud himself. "Base station, base station, this is Osprey 2, 'Squid' has appeared." The bombardier and observer quickly reported to his own base. In fact, since most of the time it performs reconnaissance missions, this type of He-115 rarely hangs. To carry torpedoes or bombs, the bombardier mostly uses optical observation equipment to work. A moment later, the base command came from the headset: "Keep your distance and observe the whole process." Almost at this moment, under a metal tower located on the west bank of the Suez Canal, only dozens of kilometers away from the south entrance of the canal, a man wearing an Italian Army uniform After listening to the radio operator's report, the ensign's indifference gradually turned into a look of astonishment. He quickly calculated twice on the map based on the parameters displayed by the instrument, and then tremblingly picked up the phone. "Help me pick up General Camo What? The general went fishing? What about Colonel Machiavelli? We went fishing together? Damn it Oh no, that's not what I meant Goodbye" After hanging up the phone, the second lieutenant was helpless. He sighed, hesitated, and then picked up the phone and reported another name to the operator. However, the senior officers who were supposed to stay at their posts were not in his office. It took more than ten minutes before he found them. A superior officer who can speak well. "Yes, I have every reason to judge that the Germans are secretly assisting the United States They have appeared. According to the location, they should be at the southern end of the canal, sir Yes, this code name has appeared many times, according to logic But" After struggling to explain for a long time, this personThe conscientious second lieutenant was sweating profusely. Fortunately, the officer on the other end of the phone was still awake and could realize the importance of this matter, but he was worried about the possible consequences of executing the action. "Okay, sir, if something goes wrong, I'm willing to take responsibility," the second lieutenant said through gritted teeth. Although it sounded ironic for a low-level officer who was engaged in radio monitoring to take responsibility that might reach a diplomatic level, it still became facts. About a quarter of an hour later, short sirens sounded one after another at the Italian naval bases in Suez and Adebiya at the northern end of the Red Sea. Most of the officers and soldiers went to nearby towns for vacation, or rented boats to go fishing in the depths of the Red Sea. , diving, the personnel that could be summoned at one time were not enough to control a thousand-ton Aries-class destroyer - this high-speed warship that can be classified as a large torpedo boat is currently the most powerful surface of the Italian Navy in the northern Red Sea area Ships, as for large warships of the heavy cruiser class, are deployed in Yemeni ports near the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean to support ground forces fighting in Saudi Arabia and to intercept Saudi ships sailing in the outer seas. While the Italian Navy was busy dispatching ships, the Italian Air Force Base located north of Adebier was still silent. Four combat squadrons were deployed here, including the **-79 three-engine medium-sized aircraft with the largest number of equipment in Italy. The bomber "Sparrowhawk" and a small group of JU-87B dive bombers imported from Germany in the early days are enough to repel small fleets from any country if they go all out. Time passes by, and the "Steel Defense Line of Suez Canal" declared by Mussolini is operating clumsily and slowly. It took a full fifty minutes after the intelligence was intercepted from the radio monitoring station before two Z-506 water reconnaissance/bombers without bombs flew from Adebiya. One landed at the mouth of the canal, and the pilot verbally notified the Italian patrol boats equipped with small artillery or machine guns to initiate a preparatory interception plan. The other patrolled the nearby waters, intending to find suspicious targets on the calm sea, but had no intention of provoking and hovering over the canal. German reconnaissance aircraft in the same airspace. Today, the always busy Mediterranean route has not been affected by the war between Italy and the United States. Even on the weekend, there are still more than 20 ships waiting to pass at the southern entrance of the Suez Canal, including some flying Italian flags and some flying German flags. According to the preliminary negotiations between Germany and Italy, the fees for ships from various countries passing through the Suez Canal are mainly used for canal maintenance, and the remaining part is divided equally between the German, Italian and Egyptian authorities. German and Italian merchant ships can enjoy free passage when passing through. treatment, and the respective navy ships are responsible for verifying the identity and inspecting the cargo of each merchant ship. As the "co-guardian" of the Suez Canal, the German Navy naturally has ships deployed here. Normally, a destroyer or a large torpedo boat and a number of armed fishing boat-style patrol vessels are responsible for this warning and inspection. However, the Italian Navy has strengthened After taking up the alert defense, the Germans left only two patrol boats equipped with machine guns to conduct "symbolic" patrols and assist German ships in passing quickly and for free. The officers and soldiers belonging to the Italian Navy launched the interception plan at a loss, that is, sending soldiers on board to inspect every ship indiscriminately. At this moment, the four ships with a total tonnage of 12,000 tons were enough to block the Suez Canal. The freighter at the widest point has also arrived at the southern entrance of the canal, where the narrowest point is only 280 meters. When the Italian patrol boats signaled to stop for inspection, they only slowed down but did not lower the rope ladder as required by the Italians. The Italian soldiers began to use loudspeakers and broken German to ask these freighters to stop for inspection, and circled the freighters like mice at the feet of an elephant. However, the people on the ship turned a deaf ear to this. After a while, they were just watching the excitement. The German patrol boats came quickly, and they used light signals to inform the Italian patrol boats: According to the German-Italian Cairo Agreement, Italy has no right to inspect German merchant ships flying the German flag. At first, the Italian soldiers who were preparing to board the ship for inspection turned a blind eye to the negotiations of the German patrol ship. They used rope hooks to try to board the ship by force. This angered the German officers and soldiers on the German patrol ship. They opened the gun jacket and fired a 20 mm caliber The machine gun fired a shuttle towards the open sea. Unexpectedly, the Germans would take such extreme warning measures. The Italian army immediately suspended their action of boarding the German cargo ship for inspection and retreated slightly. Immediately afterwards, while they sent officers to have face-to-face negotiations with the Germans, they continued to board and inspect ships from other countries. However, both sides were unhappy: the Germans categorically rejected their requests and prepared to forcibly protect them. Domestic ships entered the canal; many captains of foreign merchant ships also strongly protested against the Italian soldiers who boarded the ships for inspection, condemning them as banditry in violation of the neutrality law. "Base station, base station, this is the Osprey 2, the Italians are trying to intercept our ship and are trying to fight with ourThere is a confrontation between the surveillance ships, and our navy may need some support." After reporting this, the observer on the he-115 privately said to his companions: "Hey, guys, the squid-friing show has begun." (Unfinished) To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes at (.). Your support is my biggest motivation) []