Mr. Splichal's cooking style, blending a Mediterranean base, a sprinkle of Provence and a dash of California, is unremittingly personal and highly refined.

The return of Minorca and other Mediterranean bases was bitterly opposed by many officers, including Horatio Nelson who appeared in the House of Lords to speak against the prospect.

For Britain it was an opportunity to secure a Mediterranean base.

The Defense Ministry says that 1,600 to 1,700 German soldiers are already aboard minesweepers and frigates in the eastern Mediterranean and at an air base in Turkey.

U-boats patrolled the eastern Mediterranean from the 23rd flotilla base on Salamis Island in Greece.

The submarines come from the Northern Fleet and would have to return more often to distant ports on the Kola Peninsula if they had no Mediterranean base.

Finally, in autumn 1943, the Zerstörergruppen were recalled from their Eastern or Mediterranean bases, and formed into RLV units.

The men in the far north, on the Atlantic or in the Mediterranean base of Toulon or at sea knew very well that the enemy was at work here.

In addition, Russia's only Mediterranean naval base for its Black Sea Fleet is located in the Syrian port of Tartus.

Egypt's other Mediterranean naval bases are Port Said and Mersa Matruh.