(Chapter 1 arrives, there will be chapter 1 later)
By evening, the 2nd Regiment of the 7th Division of the French Marine Corps had all landed on the Isle of Wight, and a large amount of supplies had also been transported to the island. After that, the French army launched another attack on the British army with two battalions. After a fierce battle, they pushed the front line to the city of Ventnor. Nuo attacked. "The 1st Battalion and the 2nd Battalion built a defense line to prevent the British from sneaking at night. The 3rd Battalion protected the landing site and contacted the navy at the same time, asking them to be vigilant at all times. Once the British army launches an attack, I hope they will provide us with artillery support." French Navy Colonel Anitas, commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 7th Marine Corps, ordered. Under his order, the 1st Battalion and the 2nd Battalion quickly built a simple line of defense, all powerful weapons such as heavy machine guns were also arranged, and all mortars were also gathered to form two simple artillery units. position.
At the same time, in order to launch a larger-scale offensive on the second day, although it was already dark, various supplies and soldiers on the transport ship were continuously transported ashore.
"Regimental Commander, the Divisional Commander has personally arrived. The reinforcements of a regiment have arrived." A signal soldier reported to John.
As soon as the teacher came, John still held the cigarette **** in his hand, and hurriedly greeted him. "General, you are here. You are humble and incompetent, and you failed to drive the French into the sea." John said with some frustration.
"No need to do this, I know you have tried your best. Due to the terrain, the defense here is much more difficult than Shanklin's." Major General Aubrey, commander of the British 17th Infantry Division, did not blame John, but comforted him.
"Thank you, General. It's all right now. With the addition of a regiment of reinforcements, I am absolutely confident that I can drive the French into the sea." John said confidently.
Aubrey didn't say anything, looked at the wounded soldiers around, and asked, "Are there too many casualties today?"
As soon as he mentioned this, John's face darkened: "After fighting for an afternoon, our regiment has lost a battalion of troops. The French artillery fire is so powerful that all our fortifications were destroyed by them. Coupled with the gap in weapons, our losses are very large."
Aubrey nodded, understanding. "John, I want your people to launch an attack at night and drive all the French who have landed on the island into the sea. Are you confident?" Aubrey asked suddenly. His task is to guard the Isle of Wight. Now that the French army has landed on the Isle of Wight, he will naturally try his best to drive the French army off the island.
John frowned, and replied with some embarrassment: "General, the French's firepower is too strong, and they will definitely be prepared. If we attack rashly, I'm afraid we will suffer heavy losses."
"This is impossible. No matter how much we pay, we must defend the Isle of Wight. Tonight is our only chance. Before there are many enemies on the island, we will completely drive them all off the island. , destroy their landing field, otherwise it will be very difficult for us to drive them off the island when their strength on the island is strengthened. Don't worry, I will let the artillery provide fire support for you at night." Bree insisted. In order to win the battle at night, he moved out the artillery that had been hidden for a long time. The 17th Infantry Regiment has only one artillery battalion, with a total of 30 cannons, all of which are new-style cannons, and their firepower is much higher than that of the old-fashioned cannons.
Seeing Aubrey's insistence, John had no choice but to agree, and promised to launch a desperate attack on the French army at night.
At two o'clock in the morning, John summoned the strength of the two battalions in his hands, preparing to launch a desperate attack on the French army at night. The artillery doors that Aubrey had hidden for a long time also pulled out all the cannons.
Following Aubrey's order, the cannons began to roar, and shells flew towards the French positions. Suddenly, a huge explosion broke the tranquility of the night, and the positions of the French army were all surrounded by gunpowder smoke.
"Damn it, the British are taking a break, and the battalions are ready to fight. Contact the navy and let them destroy the British artillery positions with all their strength." Colonel Anitas, head of the 2nd Regiment of the 7th Division of the French Marine Corps, ran out of his room in disheveled clothes. Camp tent, ordered.
The sound of the British artillery woke up the sleeping French soldiers, who got up one after another, raised their guns, and got ready for battle. After all, the defense line of the French army was built hastily, and it was severely damaged under the bombardment of the British army, and some personnel were also caused casualties. While the French soldiers were holding their heads and squatting in the trenches, enduring the ravages of the British artillery fire, the naval warships moored on the sea finally began to speak. How can the power of naval guns be compared with that of army cannons? It didn't take long for the artillery of the British army to be completely suppressed. In order to reduce the loss, Aubrey had to order the artillery to stop firing and move to the rear, while John's infantry attacked. But, in spite of this, Aubrey's battalion of artillery lost hundreds of men and several of its cannon.
The British attack was quickly detected, and the French fought back fiercely. The sounds of rifles, squad machine guns, heavy machine guns, and mortars sounded together, and the British army was firmly suppressed at a position more than 100 meters in front of the French position. The British army who could occasionally rush into the position 20 to 30 meters away It was solved by the French army with grenades. Subsequently, the navy's naval guns also joined in their efforts, and carried out a devastating bombardment of the area about 200 meters in front of the French position. The British army suffered heavy losses, and John had to order a retreat. When we returned to Ventnor, we found out that only one battalion of the two battalions at the time of departure was missing. The huge loss made John feel like crying.
However, Aubrey was very dissatisfied with John's attack. Under his insistence, the British army launched several more attacks during the time they came, but they were all beaten back by the French army without exception. Take nearly a battalion of troops. By this time, the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the British 17th Infantry Division was largely lost.
On the morning of the second day, the 2nd Regiment of the 7th Division of the French Marine Corps, supported by naval firepower, launched a fierce attack on Ventnor. After several hours of fierce fighting, the French were driven out of Ventnor. Aubrey led the remnant army back to Newport in the middle of the Isle of Wight. The French army did not launch a pursuit, but after all the 3rd regiments landed, they handed over the position to the 3rd regiment for defense, and the 2nd regiment launched an attack on Shanklin.
Under attack from both sides of the 4th and 2nd regiments, the 5th Regiment of the British 17th Infantry Division, which was responsible for defending Shanklin, quickly collapsed, and its remnants fled to the north of the Isle of Wight. Shanklin has a medium-sized port, occupying it, which greatly improved the landing efficiency of the French army. On that day alone, except for the 1st regiment and the troops directly under the division of the French Marine Corps, all the other troops landed on the island, and most of the various supplies were loaded and unloaded.
On March 21, the 7th Infantry Division of the French Marine Corps all landed on the Isle of Wight. On the same day, the 3rd Division of the French Marine Corps also reached Shanklin on the Isle of Wight and began to land.
The 7th Division began to concentrate its forces and launched an attack on Newport, the headquarters of the British 17th Infantry Division. Newport is in the middle of the Isle of Wight, and the French army cannot rely on the help of the navy at this time. Fortunately, all the troops directly under the division have landed. Although the Marine Corps lacks heavy weapons, it still has more than ten 75mm field guns. With the addition of more than 20 80mm heavy mortars, its artillery strength has far exceeded that of the British army.
Although Aubrey concentrated the strength of two regiments in Newport at the moment, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com Under the fierce attack of nearly one division of the French army, Newport was captured after only two days. up. Subsequently, under the joint sweep of the 7th and 3rd Divisions of the French Marine Corps, the British troops who continued to resist were either annihilated or surrendered voluntarily, because the French Navy has blocked the Isle of Wight at this moment, and they want to escape back to the UK. possible. On March 23, the Isle of Wight was completely occupied by the French.
After occupying the Isle of Wight, the French army did not immediately start attacking the British mainland, but started to build the Isle of Wight, building a large number of barracks, warehouses, and ports on the island. A large amount of troops and military materials began to be transferred to the Isle of Wight. According to the plan, 4 divisions of troops would eventually be deployed on the Isle of Wight, and various military materials were guaranteed to be used by at least 100,000 people for 3 months. At the same time, the Mediterranean Fleet also used the Isle of Wight as a temporary anchorage, and it was much closer to attack the British mainland cities from here than from the Channel Fleet. At the same time, in order to strengthen the air defense capability of the Isle of Wight, the Air Force also mobilized 40 small airships, 20 medium-sized airships and 10 large airships to deploy on the island, and 20 newly developed anti-aircraft guns were also adjusted. two air defense positions. After all, after seeing the power of airships, the British side has stepped up research and production of airships, and it is very necessary to make preparations for this.
The Isle of Wight was occupied by the French army, which made the British government very nervous. In order to protect the mainland, they deployed a huge force of 6 infantry divisions in Portsmouth and Southampton on the other side of the Isle of Wight.