Chapter 603 Battle of the Alps (2)

Although Admiral Baxter was a little sad about not being able to lead the French army to a decisive battle with himself, he was definitely an excellent commander. Since the French army did not want to show up, let him show up.

So on the second day of the capture of the town of Menton, the South Army launched a massive offensive, with eight divisions of 140,000 troops, respectively, to Taignane, the Donde Valley, the Amblan Pass, and Basrott. Yamaguchi, launched an attack on the defending French army.

This time, the Southern Army was very powerful. In addition to all kinds of artillery in its hands, it also dispatched airship troops to bomb several key areas.

As for the bombing effect of the airship, it is somewhat unsatisfactory. As the airflow in the mountains is chaotic, the airship is very unsuitable for flying in the mountains, and the airship bombing accuracy is not high. While altitude can be lowered to improve accuracy, ground-based anti-aircraft guns are not vegetarian.

On the first day of the full-scale offensive, an airship wanted to lower its altitude, improve the accuracy of bombing, and open a gap for ground infantry. However, under the care of the defenders’ anti-aircraft weapons, the airship was eventually damaged and crashed in the valley. In addition to this one crashed airship, five other airships were damaged.

At this time, the disadvantages of the airship also appeared, that is, after the enemy had anti-aircraft firepower, the huge airship and the slow speed were very easy to be hit by the enemy.

Of course, the situation that the airship was not suitable for front-line combat was quickly passed back to the Army Headquarters. The War Department immediately called off the airship bombing mission.

A large airship is almost enough for a destroyer, and the army does not dare to have too many losses at this cost. After all, in addition to bombing, airships can do a lot of things.

In this offensive on the French border, in addition to the South Army, the North Army also participated, but compared with the mighty South Army, the North Army was much worse, and it launched an offensive of only 40,000 people.

Because the location of Army North was more dangerous in the middle of the mountains, there were fewer roads and checkpoints for the army to pass. The Northern Army could only attack the French army from dangerous places such as the Lars Pass and the Viso Pass, which were all mountain passes and valleys. There is no way to expand the force at all, so the advantage of numbers does not play a big role here, and more depends on the advantage of weapons, the elite level of the troops, and the command level of the leading officers.

And this massive attack was also very generous for the Italian side who attacked. These infantry divisions that launched the attack have all been strengthened. In terms of the artillery they are equipped with, in addition to the artillery in each division, Each division was augmented by at least one 105th Howitzer Battalion.

The most exaggerated is the 19th Infantry Division, which is responsible for attacking the coastal town of Tenagne. In addition to its own artillery, the military’s 150mm heavy artillery battalion (12-gun system), the group army’s 210mm heavy artillery battalion (6-gun system), an engineer regiment, and a transport regiment add up to nearly 30,000 troops. Of course, this is also because its task is the heaviest and the situation it faces is the most complicated.

The coastal areas of the two countries are mountainous, and it is not easy to attack from here. And there is also the possibility of being harassed by the enemy navy at any time.

The use of such a large army to attack France made Admiral de Cassiterno, who served as the Sixth Army, immediately feel wrong.

The Sixth Army was the French army responsible for guarding the Italian-French border. The army has 210,000 troops in 11 divisions.

In the face of the Italian army’s onslaught, although it was not enough to shake the defense line, the veteran had to pay attention. After careful consideration, he sent more than 60,000 people from 4 divisions to reinforce each division. At present, in addition to sending reinforcements and troops stationed in positions, he also holds three divisions in his hand in case any unexpected situation arises.

The movements of the French troops were quickly communicated to the Italian side by intelligence personnel. In the face of the news from intelligence personnel, the Italian military attaches great importance to it.

Afterwards, airships and aircraft were dispatched to conduct reconnaissance.

One more thing to say here, at present, the planes of various countries conducting reconnaissance can generally fly more than 100 kilometers. This kind of faster aircraft is more conducive to reconnaissance than the huge airship.

So after the war, the planes of the two countries flew to each other’s territory every day, trying to check for any clues. Of course, in the face of such a move that allows enemy planes to come and go freely, the military is definitely not satisfied.

Don’t worry, the Siegel Aircraft Factory is already developing an epoch-making product, and I believe it will soon surprise the enemy aircraft.

But now I can only let the other party’s plane look over my head. But one thing is good, that is, there are more planes on the Italian side. Before the war, the Italian military had more than 100 planes, and the French army on the opposite side only had more than 10 planes. The difference between the two can be seen at a glance. .

So in the investigation, the French army is behind the Italian army.

However, it is not enough to rely on the reconnaissance of the aircraft. The advantage of the airship’s long stay in the air can also be used. In this regard, Prince Filiberto, the commander of Army Group North, agrees very much.

At this time, a small airship slowly landed on the open space outside the small town of Aosta, and Prince Filiberto took the lead in getting out of the airship.

However, he was embarrassed when he got off the airship, because his partner, Lieutenant General Cabrera, the chief of staff of Army Group North, was standing in front of him and looking at him coldly.

“Cabrella, are you in a hurry to wait for me here?”

Prince Filiberto completely pretended not to see it, and asked his chief of staff curiously.

“Your Excellency Commander, I have something I want to ask, please answer me truthfully.”

Looking at Prince Filiberto pretending to be stupid, Lieutenant General Cabrera was not used to the other party and spoke directly.

“Ask, my chief of staff.”

“Excuse me, where did you go in the airship this time?”

Facing the Chief of Staff’s question, Prince Filiberto answered truthfully. “I went to the French position to have a look, so that I could be prepared for the next combat mission.”

Lieutenant General Cabrera felt blue veins when he heard Prince Filiberto’s words. “Your Excellency Commander, I repeat, you should stay with your troops, not go to check the enemy’s situation in person. If something happens to you, then our North Army will have no commander. It is not advisable and extremely dangerous, especially when the combat mission is about to be issued, and it is also irresponsible for one’s own duties.”

In the face of the chief of staff’s scolding, even Filiberto, who is expensive as a prince, bowed his head helplessly. “As my chief of staff, I won’t take the airship next time, okay?”

Seeing his own commander admit his mistake, Lieutenant General Cabrera didn’t want to pursue this matter anymore.

It’s good to talk about this kind of thing two or three times, and it will make people tired.

“Commander, I didn’t come to see you this time to criticize you. I just got the news that our ally Germany has entered the northern border of France, and our plan is about to start.”

“What, show it to me.”

After reading the telegram a few times, Prince Filiberto immediately ordered. “Send my order, and Operation Zeus begins in 24 hours.”

“As ordered.”