Chapter 621 Battle of Malta (4)

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The preparations of the British Empire’s Mediterranean Fleet in Alexandria were so fanciful that Italy, as long as they were not blind, could sense it.

Not to mention the intelligence agencies of Italy and Austria, wishing to put their eyes on their warships, so while the Mediterranean Fleet was still preparing, the radio wave sent the news to the port of Taranto, where the combined fleet was stationed.

In the face of the changes of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Lieutenant Admiral Lefer, as the commander of the combined fleet, of course attached great importance to it.

After some discussions, Lefer decided to let the combined fleet also prepare for the war.

So in the port of Taranto, the combined fleet is also busy. The officers and soldiers refurbished the warship and replenished supplies such as ammunition.

However, the combined fleet has not yet moved, and they are still waiting for the action of the Mediterranean fleet to make a move.

However, although the Combined Fleet did not make a move, it could force the Mediterranean Fleet to move first, because in Malta, the competition for it had already begun.

Marsaxlokk Bay is a bay in the southeast of the island of Malta, only five kilometers away from Valletta, the most important port in Malta. However, due to the terrain, the coastal defense battery in Valletta could not effectively support it.

Therefore, the bay has also become the most important landing site for the first division of the Italian Marine Corps.

On the sea, the small boats were put down on a loading and unloading vessel, which is the world’s first landing craft Barracuda-class landing craft. I saw that after the landing craft were launched with the help of the boom, they immediately leaned towards the ships carrying the landing officers and soldiers.

On these ships, a Marine Corps officer and soldier climbed down the rope ladder to the landing craft, and after being filled with officers and soldiers, the landing craft rushed to Marsaxlok Bay. On these landing craft, the Marine Corps officers and soldiers held weapons, Sitting nervously in the boat.

A landing craft can put down a platoon of officers and soldiers, so under normal circumstances, it is the second lieutenant platoon leader who appeases these officers and soldiers. These platoon leaders use different methods to appease the soldiers, some are encouraging, some are insulting, and some even start directly.

No matter what these junior officers do, it is to relieve the pressure on the soldiers and allow them to calm down on the upcoming battlefield. Soldiers have the best chance of survival if they deal with situations calmly.

At the same time as the landing craft rushed to Marsaxlok Bay, tall and mighty warships on the sea were aiming their muzzles at the coastline for shelling.

With a loud bang, a series of powerful artillery shells roared towards the British positions in Marsaxlok Bay.

“Crash~”

A huge explosion hit a certain section of the trench, and when the smoke cleared, a large pit of more than ten meters appeared. As for the guardsmen and soldiers in this trench, there is no need to look for them, they have been vaporized. Only some pieces of clothing and weapons were scattered within a few dozen meters of the surrounding area, silently telling its horrific image.

Experienced officers and soldiers know at a glance through its power that this is at least caused by a cannon of more than ten inches (254 mm). In the face of this kind of giant cannonball attack, you don’t have to run at all, because you can’t. The only thing you can do is pray silently, pray that the cannonballs don’t fall on your head, or you will see the kingdom of heaven.

At this time, the tragic encounter in the big pit is not the only one. The warships from the reserve fleet are constantly projecting firepower to the position and its surroundings.

Although these warships are already behind the times, under the threat of lack of coastal defense artillery, these warships are lined up one after another, and they continue to fire, shrouding the coastal defense positions of Marsaxlok Bay in artillery fire.

In fact, it is not right to say that there is no threat. With its 305mm coastal defense gun, the C fort in Port Valletta can get a reserve fleet in terms of range.

But how to say it, because of the terrain, its No. C fort cannot be aimed directly, and someone needs to mark it and use the map mark for artillery counterattack.

However, the indirect artillery bombardment of more than ten kilometers requires high technical requirements. Even the officers and soldiers of the Italian Navy’s elite warships are difficult to achieve, let alone the officers and soldiers of the coastal defense artillery, so the shelling effect is touching. (The best ones will go to the battleships, and they will almost be diverted to small and medium-sized warships, then other warships, and only the worst ones will be reserved for coastal defense guns. This is the consistent practice of the navies of various countries.)

“Boom~”

A violent explosion sounded from the side of the shelling formation, and the huge splash of water that opened up led experienced officers and soldiers to estimate that it was caused by artillery shells of more than 300 mm.

That’s right, this is caused by the 305mm coastal defense gun on the C turret from the port of Valletta. This huge explosion really startled the officers and soldiers of the artillery formation.

However, apart from being startled, it did not have any effect on the shelling formation. Because this shell from the coastal defense fort was really unreliable in terms of the bullet point, and it was also nearly a kilometer away from the shelling formation.

Considering that this is indirect fire and the distance is far enough, coupled with the limited level of operational officers and soldiers, this is completely normal.

Therefore, the reserve fleet ignored this low-threatening shelling, and concentrated on shelling the possible coastal defense facilities in Marsaxlok Bay.

To say whether the British army has defensive facilities in Marsaxlok Bay, there must be. Italy knew that the harbour was an excellent landing point. Could it be that the British army stationed on the island for hundreds of years didn’t know about it.

Therefore, in Marsaxlok Bay, there are not many fortifications built by the British army for more than 100 years. However, most of these fortifications and fortresses were built in the past 100 years, so they are already outdated. Only a few fortifications and fortresses were built in the UK in the last two decades.

Among these Marsaxlok Bay coastal defense fortifications, the most deterrent is the 6-inch (152 mm) coastal defense gun. These coastal defense guns are not bad against small and medium warships, but in front of the former dreadnoughts, these coastal defenses are not as good as scratching the itch.

So the firepower of the defenders would rather endure being constantly hit by naval artillery than to open fire, and they were waiting for the Italians to come ashore.

As for the landing force they were thinking about, they rushed towards the coastline in a landing craft.

Okay, twelve knots isn’t top speed, but it’s a lot better than a wooden boat that requires manual paddles and no protection.

So soon these landing craft rushed to the coastline. At this time, the defending British army saw the marines that were about to land, and immediately opened fire. Machine guns, rifles, and some small and medium-caliber artillery fired one after another.

Immediately, these defenders were surprised to find that, except for the artillery, the machine rifles in their hands had no effect on the square landing ship, and were all blocked by the baffles around it.

And when these landing craft approached on the puchi puchi sea, the machine guns they were equipped with were also counterattacking.

As soon as the landing craft docked and the hatch opened, the Marines who stayed in the cabin rushed out immediately. Because staying in a landing craft is more dangerous. At this time, another advantage of the flat-bottomed landing craft was also reflected. Most of the Marine Corps officers and soldiers who rushed out of the landing craft had only knee-level water when they disembarked.

There is a reason to talk about it here. Because the resistance of the sea water is not small, in the race against time, the movement in the sea water is slow, and it is impossible to even do the basic action of lying down. com will only become a living target.

So soldiers want to reduce their own danger, so as soon as possible to the beach is the most important thing.

Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps who landed rushed to the beach one by one.

Even if the British army kept firing on them from a height at this time, and their comrades around them were also shot down from time to time, the Marine Corps officers and soldiers did not pay attention to these at all. At this time, the anti-wave lift on the beach was their ultimate goal.

Of course, it is not easy to rely on them alone in the landing operation. Xin Hao and they still have help. At this moment, eleven destroyers and small cruisers approached to a distance of one kilometer from the coastline, and the various naval guns they were equipped with continued to undertake the task of suppressing firepower for them.

Although these naval guns are nothing in the navy, they are a proper killer for the army. Its 150mm, 120mm, 105mm, 75mm and other naval guns provide fire support for the Marine Corps officers and soldiers.

At this moment, the various former dreadnought battleships that had been shelling at the moment, the shelling that stopped before landing sounded again, but they were afraid of hurting their allies, so they no longer attacked the fortifications near the coastline, but extended their firepower under the guidance of the airship. Fight against enemy reinforcements.

Since they were assisted by a large number of warships, the Marine Corps officers and soldiers who landed did not miss this opportunity, took the opportunity to expand the landing field, and eliminated the surrounding defending strongholds one by one.

Of course, in addition to the first batch of landing troops, the second and third batches of landing troops also joined it.

In the evening, Rome received the news that the Marines who landed on Malta had opened and defended the landing site.

(End of this chapter)

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