Page 564
Page 564
Johnson ran all the way back to the consulate, which immediately notified London.
"Why did Turkey immediately release the three Soviet warships? Isn't it reasonable for Turkey to consider 72 hours for large warships to pass through the strait?"
Lloyd took the secret message from the Foreign Office and immediately went to Secretary of Defense Anthony Hand.
"This is obvious," said Anthony Hand. "The United States greeted us from behind and asked Turkey to immediately put three Soviet warships into the Mediterranean Sea. human hand."
Lloyd: "It's too bad, I'm going to send a telegram to the prime minister."
"I don't think so. Eisenhower will personally tell the Prime Minister the news in Washington."
Lloyd: "So what do we do?"
Anthony Hand: "I want to discuss with the French army to advance the launch time of the first landing operation by 24 hours, so as to create a fait accompli before the Soviet warships reach the waters off Egypt."
……
November 11, outside Port Said.
"Don't worry too much, we have the 4-ton 'Jean Bart'. The Soviets can't stop the musketeers."
French Admiral Bayot was on the battleship "Jean Bart", with eight 8mm main guns pointing at the distant coastline.
British Commander Ketterley: "Lord Mountbatten is very dissatisfied with this operation. And, I seem to think, the situation is worse than you think."
Bayot: "Can three Soviet warships defeat a combined Anglo-French fleet with aircraft carriers and battleships?"
Ketterley: "No, it's not about three warships, it's about nuclear weapons. We in the UK don't worry about the Soviet nuclear threat, but you..."
……
"The Soviet Union strongly protested the barbaric British and French aggression against Egypt, and seriously warned the British and French governments that if they refused to stop their aggression, they would face immeasurably serious consequences."
"I once again solemnly request that the Israeli army must immediately withdraw from Egyptian territory, and that Britain and France immediately stop their military operations against Egypt. This is the most serious warning from a major country with nuclear weapons."
The new foreign minister of the Soviet Union, Sepilov, does not have a poker face like Molotov, but can make richer expressions. At this time, Sepilov's tone of voice in front of reporters matched his expressions and body movements, and he expressed his gratitude to all the people present. A message was conveyed: the Soviet Union was about to strike hard.
Chapter 143, something might happen
The Soviet Union threatened Britain and France with nuclear weapons, and Britain was both stressed and somewhat relieved.And France seemed like the sky was falling.
In 1952, Britain tested the first atomic bomb and became the third country on earth to possess nuclear weapons.But by 1956, France had no nuclear weapons.France's nuclear program started quite early. After all, France has both a scientific and technological foundation and an industrial foundation, but the government's funding is insufficient, and the nuclear program is carried out slowly.
Shepilov's harsh words were released at the same time as the 380mm gun of the "Jean Bart".French artillery shells flew towards the Egyptian army's coastal fortifications in Port Said, and Soviet ultimatums flew towards the Elysee Palace.
"The Soviet Union threatened war against Britain and France, and three Soviet warships entered the Mediterranean Sea," Donald Logan told Lloyd. Hong Kong landing operations should not be affected."
LLOYD: "No, my dear Secretary, the war may finally be over."
Donald Logan: "?"
Lloyd: "The French are now willing to end the war. If the French are willing to cease the war, then Britain can withdraw from the war."
The UK actually knows a little bit about Soviet ballistic missiles: the Soviet Union is currently developing a 5500-kilometer long-range guided missile and an intercontinental missile. The missile with the longest range in China is only the R-7 with a range of 2000+ kilometers, which actually cannot reach France.
But Britain doesn't want to tell France this information.It is in the interests of Britain that France admits to withdrawing from the war as soon as possible.
……
On November 11th, Prime Minister Mollet of China heard the stern warning from the Soviet Union and immediately held an emergency cabinet meeting.
On the Mediterranean side, the British and French coalition forces are launching one of the most modern amphibious offensive campaigns.
Eleven years after the end of World War II, the equipment used in this battle is much more advanced than the Normandy landings or the Pacific Island War.
On the afternoon of the 4th, the "Red Devils" battalion, the third battalion of the British Special Airborne Regiment, airborne as a whole on the high ground next to Port Said. Immediately after the "Red Devil" camp landed, it launched an attack on the nearby Egyptian army. The Egyptian army desperately resisted with the help of the previously built bunker trenches.
Ten minutes later, seventy or eighty small black spots appeared in the sky—helicopters.
Dozens of helicopters from two converted helicopter carriers carrying another battalion of the Special Airborne Regiment attacked from the other side of the Egyptian army position.The second battalion, which was landed by helicopter, was not scattered, and it also brought 80mm mortars and 37mm anti-tank guns. The Egyptian army was completely confused.The bunkers were destroyed one by one by anti-tank guns, and several helicopters were still circling over the heads of the Egyptians, sweeping down with machine guns.
The 40th and 42nd Commandos of the Royal Marines attacked from the sea. The two commandos lived on a landing ship in a dock. out towards the coastline of Port Said.
After the Royal Marines went ashore and broke through the beach, the French Army's AMX-13 light tanks were transported to the beach that night. On the morning of November 11, the 5-ton centurion tank of the British Army was also sent ashore by the landing ship.
……
Eastern Mediterranean.
Hundreds of British and French warships gathered here, performing their respective duties: the aircraft carrier is bombing Port Said; the battleship cruiser is bombarding the beachhead; Send heavy equipment; destroyers escort these formations above.
The three warships of the Soviet Navy that rushed out of the Turkish Strait actually arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean on the evening of November 3.After a night of searching, on the morning of November 11, the "Dzerzhinsky" finally found a big guy: the British Navy's "Eagle" aircraft carrier.
This is the warship second only to the "Jean Bart" in tonnage in the British and French fleets. As the largest aircraft carrier, it is the number one naval force in the entire battle and the flagship of the British fleet.
The "Dzerzhinsky" was affixed to the British aircraft carrier battle group and sailed directly side by side with the "Eagle" at a distance of several kilometers. All 12 main guns were pointed at the "Eagle".
British warship: "This is a no-sail zone for military operations!"
Dzerzhinsky: "This is a military operation not authorized by the UN Security Council. The Soviet Navy does not recognize your no-sail zone."
The British Navy's heart was broken, and they quickly coordinated to let the French help. Five hours later, the "Jean Bart" was transferred back from the coast of Egypt to help the British fleet keep an eye on the "Dzerzhinsky".
This cruiser was watched, but where did the two Soviet Type 56 destroyers "Experience" and "Mighty" go?
……
Sinai Peninsula.
Seeing that the British and French allied forces landed in Port Said, Israel was bloodied all of a sudden.From the late night of the 4th to the noon of the 5th, the offensive forces on the northern line of the Sinai Peninsula moved westward along the Mediterranean coastline, and successively captured Bel Aabd and Shaq al-Tafuri. Suburb of Port Said.
Now that it has reached the vicinity of Port Said, part of the 170-kilometer-long land supply line can be replenished by sea.Escorted by two Israeli destroyers, several requisitioned cargo ships set off from Jaffa towards an Israeli-occupied ship repair dock near Port Said.
Less than 2 hours after leaving the port, the mixed fleet saw the masts of two warships appearing on the horizon.
The "Experience" and "Mighty" lined up in a column and quickly approached the Israeli mixed fleet at a high speed of 32 knots.At a distance of 5 kilometers from the Israelis, the two destroyers suddenly slowed down and sailed side by side with the Israeli fleet.
"No, don't panic," Moshe Dayan said viciously to the naval commander Shumul Taknu, "The Soviet Union will not open fire on Israeli warships. Opening fire on us is tantamount to declaring war on Britain and France. The Soviet Union will never do this now. Do!"
Taknu: "I request air force support and send planes to monitor Soviet warships."
Dayan nodded and said, "The war will end soon, if we persist for another three days, we can get the entire Sinai Peninsula!"
The Israeli Navy now has 2 destroyers (the British regular fleet destroyers, not the kind of small slow boats that read as escort destroyers and write frigates), 7 frigates, and 14 torpedo boats. If the Soviet Navy sent only two destroyers to monitor the Israeli Navy, Dayan felt that if it was impossible, the navy and the air force would act together, and it should be fine to fight to the death.
As Israel continued its attack on Port Said, the Soviet ambassador to Israel was flown from Tel Aviv back to Moscow.
The Soviet Union recalled its ambassador to Israel.
……
0p0