(Chapter 1 arrives, there will be chapter 1 later)
On June 12, after 5 days of emergency mobilization, the 89th Corps' direct troops and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infantry Divisions and the 2nd Marine Division all assembled in Saint-Brieuc on the Normandy Peninsula. Saint-Brieuc is located in the Bay of Saint-Malo and is a very fine harbor.
In order to ensure the success of this battle, the Admiralty mobilized a fleet of "Dreadnought" class warships and two "Pre-Dreadnought" class warships from the Strait Fleet to provide **** and artillery support for this landing operation. According to the plan, the 2nd Marine Division will take the lead in launching an offensive. After the establishment of the forward base, the 3 infantry divisions of the 89th Corps and the troops directly under the Corps will all land in the next 4 days, and then launch a large-scale attack eastward. Offensive, threatening the Portsmouth area, thereby mobilizing other British defenders, creating conditions for the landing of Dover and Portsmouth.
St. Brieuc is more than 200 kilometers away from Plymouth. If you set off from St. Brieuc, it will take 10 hours for the transport fleet to arrive. Therefore, the departure time of the landing force was set at 10:00 p.m. on June 12, so that the troops could reach their destination at 8:00 a.m. the next day and launch an attack.
In the middle of the night on June 12, the Tuileries Palace was also ablaze with lights. Xiao Jie and other leaders of the French Empire all gathered here, waiting for the departure order to be issued.
"Your Majesty, the time is up, you can order the troops to go." Eke looked at the time and reminded Xiao Jie.
"Send them a telegram and tell them that I am here waiting for the news of their victory." Xiao Jie said a little excitedly. How could he not be excited that the full-scale landing operation against Britain was about to begin?
Eke nodded and went out to give orders. His face was also full of excitement.
At 6 o'clock in the morning on June 13, on the bridge of the Straits Fleet's Dreadnought class battleship, Admiral Monty, the commander of the 89th Legion, and Admiral Alfred, the deputy commander of the Straits Fleet, were talking in low voices.
"There are still two hours to go, the general can order your troops to start preparing." Admiral Alfred suggested.
"Okay, I will arrange it." Admiral Monty nodded. The main landing mission this time was completed by the 2nd Marine Division. The infantry regiments move together. After the successful landing of the 2nd Marine Division, the two infantry regiments will be responsible for protecting the safety of the landing site.
"Don't worry, General. In the Plymouth area, the British only deployed one infantry division and one independent cavalry brigade, with a total strength of about 20,000. But their defense area is very large. When we attack Plymouth, we will encounter at most There are only more than 10,000 people. In addition, the British side would never have thought that we would land in Plymouth, so we are very confident that we will succeed this time." Maybe it was because Monty was a little nervous, Alfred said comfortingly.
"I know. How is the combat effectiveness of the British division?" Even so, Monty couldn't help but ask. After all, he commanded the first battle to land on the British mainland. The quality of this battle is directly related to the Whether the future war will go well, so there is no confusion at all.
"The British 7th Infantry Division and the 2nd Independent Cavalry Brigade are stationed around Plymouth. As the active British regular army, their combat effectiveness is still relatively strong, but there is still a gap compared with our army. At present, the deployment of Plymouth There are mainly two infantry regiments of the British 7th Infantry Division and the troops directly under the division, as well as a cavalry regiment of the 2nd Cavalry Independent Brigade, with a total strength of about 10,000 people." General Carl, deputy head of the 89th Army, said.
"How well their fortifications are built, will it cause us great difficulty?" Monty asked.
"Maybe they think it is impossible for us to land here, so although the 7th Infantry Division has also built a lot of fortifications, compared with Portsmouth and Dover, their fortifications are much worse. As for whether it will cause difficulties for our landing, it depends on General Alfred." Carl said with a smile.
"Hehe, don't worry, no matter how strong their fortifications are, our naval guns will destroy them all and clear the way for you to land. Don't worry, I will immediately arrange the artillery formation to advance quickly and invest in Plymouth as soon as possible." During the bombardment, by the time we arrive, their side will be almost ready, and the Marine Corps will be able to launch a landing operation." Alfred said with a smile, regarding the task of providing artillery support for the landing force, It's still very easy for them. After all, those so-called strong fortifications are not much different from paper in front of large-caliber naval guns.
"Thank you very much." Monty thanked quickly.
At 7:20 am on June 13, the French artillery fleet appeared in the Plymouth waters. Their appearance immediately attracted the attention of the British army, and then the whole Plymouth was in chaos. At 7:40, after some preparations, the captain of the battleship 'Loire' ordered the bombardment to begin. Led by the 'Loire', the bombardment fleet launched a devastating attack on the fortifications built by the British army on the coast. hit.
"Master, the French fleet is here." After discovering the arrival of the French fleet, Allen, a colonel of the British 7th Infantry Division, quickly ran to the bedroom of the commander of the 7th Infantry Division to report to him.
"What are you yelling, the sky is falling." Major General Ralph, the commander of the 7th Infantry Division, yelled angrily. Because he was too tired last night, he just woke up now, and was about to have a "morning exercise" with the female nurse who had just met yesterday, but Alan came to make trouble, so he had to get off the female nurse resentfully , Do you think he is in a good mood?
Ralph opened the door and asked with a dark face: "Colonel Allen, you'd better give me a satisfactory explanation, or I'll make you look good."
Colonel Allen saw the female nurse lying on the bed through the crack of the door. He knew that he had ruined Ralph's good deed, no wonder he was so angry. But he still had to bite the bullet and report to Ralph: "Master, the French fleet is here."
"French fleet? What are they doing here?" Ralph was also a little puzzled. However, before he could ask clearly, the bombardment of the French bombardment fleet began.
There was such a loud roar that even the house began to shake. "What are they doing here? Are they simply wanting to bombard us or are they going to land here? Is there a transport ship?" Ralph quickly grasped the crux of the problem and asked.
"There are no transport ships, only 9 warships, one of which is the 'Fearless' class, and the rest are 'Bonaparte' class." Allen replied after thinking for a while.
"Oh, that's good, order all the troops on the front line to withdraw from their positions, and they will leave after the French finish throwing the shells. It's no big deal." Ralph said with confidence. Then he went back to bed, the sound of cannons rumbled outside, and the same sound of cannons rumbled inside his sleeping and eating.
Ten minutes later, there was another knock on Ralph's door, accompanied by Allen's shout: "Master, come out quickly, something is wrong."
"Oh my God!" Ralph was about to collapse. His "fight" with the female nurse was at its most intense moment, and when Alan interrupted him like this, he immediately "vomited like a gulp". Putting on his pants angrily, Ralph opened the door: "Colonel Allen, was your head kicked by a donkey, why are you bothering me?"
"Master, something is wrong, really something is wrong. Transport ships, there are many transport ships on the sea." Allen stammered.
"What? A large number of transport ships? How many are there?" Ralph didn't care to get angry now, he had already realized that the matter was a bit serious.
"There may be more than 150 ships." Allen replied.
"It's over, it seems that the French are going to land here~www.mtlnovel.com~ Damn Military Intelligence, didn't they say that the French would land in Portsmouth or Dover? Why would the French landing fleet now Show up here," growled Ralph.
"Master, you'd better think of a way, or else if the French successfully landed, we would be dead." Allen said anxiously.
"Damn it, order the troops to enter the position immediately, and don't let the French go ashore. Also, contact the other troops of our division immediately and ask them to reinforce us immediately. At the same time, contact the army headquarters, explain our situation here, and ask them to send troops to support us We." Ralph quickly issued a few orders.
In charge of defending the coast of Plymouth was the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the British 7th Infantry Division. When the French fleet started shelling, in order to reduce losses, they were ordered to withdraw from the position, but only 10 minutes later, they had to re-enter the position. At this time, the shelling of the French fleet did not stop, and their fortifications had been destroyed. It can be said that their situation is very bad now.
At 8:15, after half an hour of shelling, the fortifications of the British defenders were basically destroyed. At this time, the French artillery fleet withdrew to both sides, 60 landing craft were put down on the transport ship, and a battalion of marines rowed to the coast. The campaign to land in England has officially begun.