Signor, if you direct this against me I have one point to make- it is your pilots and their precious aircraft that have taken all the trained defense researches in Italy for their adventures. Meanwhile, this almost criminal action causes our sea to run red with the blood of our sailors and assault troops, because they are forced to fight handicapped against the British when our navy should have been enjoying complete victory! Our first assault against Malta has failed, and a second is risky for the presence of French and British warships that we cannot challenge, for we lack ships of equal caliber!
It is a massive risk if it fails then we have lost the war, if it succees will have gained very little, we will still have to fight though their to border. They French have a much larger army then we do and their losses would be easier for them to bear. If do manage it when we retake our territory will will need to rebuild our factories, mines and infrastructure that would surely suffer from even a brief French occupation.
On this matter it seems that we can agree, let us continue our efforts in the air. We can not afford to put research into the surface navy now. We can however deny them bases of operation if we attack in NA. This is our best hope for driving the British and French from the shores of the Med.
You mistake yourself again, General. Our attacks against the British have failed because we fight with the same equipment that the British fought in the last war. The most primitive of technological achievements have been squandered away so that the air arm may damage the Royal Navy, nothing more. It would seem that the submarine arm alone has done more to defeat the British than the precious fighters and bombers of some present. Would it not seem reasonable to think, that if one part of the fleet could do so much, then the victories that await us if we finally construct a modern navy?
You tell us this now, we spent a great deal of our efforts in modernising 4 WWI battleships, this was supposed to make them state of the art wasn't it?
I congratulate the general on his success. With the devotion of the nation's resources to the air arm, the bombers have succeeded in destroying two cruisers. Even our own fleet, starved pitilessly of resources, could take such losses without much ill effect. Thanks to the policies chosen by those present, though, such cruisers function as our flagships, in the place of true men of war vast numbers larger.
If the records serve, then only two battleships are currently in service, both woefully outdated. There has been, according to conciliar records, no modernization for these ships. How can you expect to take Cairo and the Suez with two ancient vessels against the Royal Navy? I plead with those reasonable that we may finally construct a fleet to win the victories deserved to us.
Task Force H would lie with the Turkish ships sunken around Malta if we had the ships to challenge them. Instead, Italy cowers in fear because the Regia Aeronautica has seen fit to deprive us of any new research or battleships.
I shall believe this when I see Task Force H and the rest of Cunningham's BBs sunk. Until then, my faith is not kept in the air force.
