Chapter 161 Shelling Tangier

The Spaniards really did not leave any sympathy for Germany, and directly announced that the two sides were at war, and handed in the gauntlet to each other.

War broke out between Spain and Morocco.

Europe is waiting to see what the German response will look like.

But contrary to what the German government expected, the European public’s attitude towards the Germans is that they want them to be submissive.

In fact, for the European people, the continuous wars have made them tired.

If the Germans and the Spaniards went to war, it would be obvious that a large number of countries would be involved in the whole of Europe,

It may also mean that one’s hometown will be devastated by the war.

Therefore, this also caused the European countries to be surprisingly tolerant towards the Germans,

This instead caught the German government Bismarck and William I and others by surprise.

But this is exactly what the Germans want, and the Germans don’t plan to go to war…

But the most basic face is still to be maintained. Not long after the war started, the German government officially issued a warning to the Spanish government.

But there was no ultimatum, as the Spaniards did to the Moroccans.

The intention of the Germans not to participate in the war is already obvious.

And the Spanish government will naturally follow, if not the general trend, no one wants to really break out a full-scale war with the Germans.

The Spanish government made its position clear in its reply the next day.

Although it seems that the sword is drawn, the relationship between the two parties has actually eased…

…………

“Come here, here comes the Spaniards!”

The Moroccan commander Mohammed watched the fleet gradually emerge from the flat coastline with his monocular.

Behind him are neat rows of coastal cannons and halal soldiers in white clothes and red caps.

All Moroccan soldiers, lined up in battle, looked nervously at the Spanish warship that was already looming in the distance.

Before the Crimean War, it was absolutely impossible for warships to be angry with coastal defense guns.

But since the appearance of the ironclad, this situation has completely changed.

The Castile-class equipped with a 343mm main gun, the damage to the coastal defense gun is self-evident.

The Moroccan commander clenched his fists as he watched the red-yellow-red Spanish flag flutter in the wind in the single-barrel binoculars.

“Ready, reload!”

Soldiers transporting ammunition carry boxes of cannon ammunition from the magazine.

“Ready, reload!”

The junior officers passed slogans and began to order all the artillery to prepare for the battle.

The atmosphere at the scene became chaotic and hot in an instant, and the chaotic Moroccans opened the ammunition box and began to reload.

Morocco, as the country closest to Europe, still uses front-loaded cannons.

“Ignite! Launch!”

At the command of the officer, the Moroccans began firing shells.

“boom!”

“boom!”

“boom!”

The recoil of the cannon caused the entire body to move back several steps.

The fleet is still far from Tangier’s coastal fortresses.

Because the shells were not accurate enough, they began to explode one by one in the water, but none of them hurt the Spanish warships.

The explosion of the shells stirred up layers of waves on the sea.

The water near the slow-moving Spanish warship in the distance was still calm.

“Launch! Give the Moroccans on the opposite side a bit of a punch!”

This time it was Castro who was in charge of the Spanish naval fleet’s bombing of the Moroccan land.

“Yes, Your Excellency General!”

The three Castile-class naval guns were gradually turned and aimed at the security fortress in Tangier in the distance.

Then, under the control of the Spanish Navy, shells began to shoot towards the fortress.

A shell directly hit the wall of Tangier Fortress, causing a huge explosion in an instant.

The power of the 343mm main gun directly blew a large hole in the wall of the Moroccan coastal fortress.

Three Castile-class battleships, with a total of 12 343 mm main guns, began to bombard the fortress.

The huge explosion sounded, as if the entire Moroccan fortress began to shake.

The calm sea began to make waves.

At the beginning, there were Moroccan artillery counterattacks, but at this time, only scattered sounds of artillery could be heard.

“Continued bombing, razing the city of Tangier to the ground!

! ”

Spanish naval commander Castro showed no mercy.

“Yes! Your Excellency General!

”

With the sound of gunfire on Tangier Castle, there was almost no talk, but this did not stop the heavy artillery bombardment of Spanish warships.

“Blue Gourd Sword Fairy”

As the coastal fortresses had gradually collapsed to the roar of artillery fire, Spanish warships began to aim their cannons at the heart of the city of Tangier.

In the face of the first line of defense against the Spanish invasion, Tangier must have a large number of Moroccan soldiers,

At this time, he may be preparing for a street battle with the Spanish Army.

To avoid casualties among Spanish soldiers, a carpet bombing of Tangier was the safest.

The Moroccan coastline is easy to defend and difficult to attack, so if it is a regular landing battle, it will definitely make the Spaniards pay huge casualties.

Therefore, the name of King Alfonso XII of the headquarters is that the artillery shells in the Arif area of ​​Morocco must be carpet bombed.

Blow up any place where the Moroccans can hide.

This is the former bridgehead of the Spanish Army’s attack on Morocco, and it is bound to fail to pay huge casualties here…

At this time, the Moroccan Tangier garrison.

“General Mohammed, the power of the Spanish artillery is too great, we have no way to fight back…”

The one who came to report was an ordinary Moroccan soldier, already covered in blood and dust.

Even their supreme commander, General Mohammed, was in a state of embarrassment and covered with dust.

“Until the last moment, we will not die and resist will not stop…”

As a native Moroccan, Mohammed, who is a soldier, is obviously unwilling to hand over the most important port city of Morocco to the Spaniards before his death.

“It’s Your Excellency General!”

Although the Moroccan soldiers’ will to resist is still stubborn, in the face of the indiscriminate bombardment of the Spaniards, the manpower simply cannot compete with the huge ships and artillery.

Outside General Mohammed’s tent.

The blood-stained Moroccan soldiers and the wailing everywhere are Tangier, the most realistic portrayal of the city today.

But soon Muhammad’s firm will to resist turned into despair and madness.

The Spanish warships on the sea, the artillery shells gradually stopped attacking them, but towards the Tangier city behind them…

“Stop them, stop them!”

But Muhammad’s roars were of no use at all, and the guns that fired back became quieter and quieter until they disappeared.

Morocco’s very few artillery pieces were simply unable to withstand the indiscriminate bombardment of so many Spanish warships.

“boom!

”

Just as he was in despair, a Spanish rapid-fire artillery shell exploded directly above him, covering the general in rubble.

The city of Tangier behind the fortress was also being bombarded by Spanish artillery at this time.

Countless Moroccan civilians in the city began to flee in a panic.

With each shell explosion, traditional Moroccan stone buildings begin to crumble to the ground.

…

“Your Excellency General Tangier still has a large number of residents. If we bomb like this, it may bring trouble to the government…”

On the Spanish warship Prince of Asturias, Castro’s adjutant couldn’t bear it, turned his head to look at Castro and said.

The entire fleet has been bombarding Tangier for two full hours.

Tangier has changed from a bustling and busy port city to a sea of ​​ruins and fires everywhere in their vision.

“We don’t care about these things, kindness to the enemy is cruelty to our own people”

“We must rule out any threat that could disturb our landing plan!”

“Continue until the whole of Tangier is razed to the ground…”

The telescope in Castro’s hand has been staring at the city of Tangier in the distance, and the cry of the city in front of him broke through the sky,

Even spread to the side of the Spanish fleet.

The whole of Tangier has been turned into a purgatory on earth, and countless Moroccans have been injured by shells and smashed by buildings…

The surviving Moroccans went mad and began to flee east and south.

They knew that as long as they stayed away from the city ~www.readmtl.com~, they could avoid Spanish artillery fire.

The Spanish warships did not waste shells on useless clearings.

The panic-stricken Moroccans in the urban area of ​​Tangier looked at the sky in panic, their Lord I can’t save them…

But these did not make Castro relent, to abandon the order given by the central government.

Tangier is only the first one, and a series of port cities such as Amedil and Rabat will be attacked by Spanish artillery fire.

Drive the Moroccans bit by bit into the inland or southern deserts.

The naval attack was only the first step, and behind them countless transport ships were always ready to land in Morocco.

The fleet’s attack had been going on for three full hours.

The powerful firepower turned the entire Tangier into ruins and rubble.

All that remains is the roaring fire, proving that this was once a beautiful port city.

“Stop the shelling! The fleet is turning to the waters near Rabat!”

Looking at the situation in front of him, Fleet Commander Castro made this order.

Tangier today is not worth the continued bombardment of the Spanish fleet.

And obviously Rabat, the second largest city in Morocco, is a good target.

“Notify the army behind that Tangier can be used as a landing site…”

Unlike here, in the port city of Memelia in northeastern Morocco, the 10th Division of the Spanish Army has fallen here.

As a Spanish colony in Morocco, although only a small 12 square kilometers,

However, it is the most suitable for logging in and the foothold of troops.

All they need to do now is to defend the entire city of Memelia before the 6th and 7th divisions land in Morocco.