Chapter 444 Unstoppable
As more and more French marines successfully landed, the Swedish army's defense line was slowly torn open. The Swedish army defending Gothenburg's beaches totaled 50,000 men. But these 50,000 people had already lost about half of the casualties when facing the shelling of the French navy, and their morale was extremely low. As soon as it encountered the fierce attack of the French army, it would naturally collapse at the touch of a finger.
In the evening of May 4th, the 2nd Division of the French Marine Corps had all landed. All the heavy weapons were also pulled onto the beach. Although the Swedish side wanted to stop it, their artillery had been firmly suppressed by the French navy. Even a little bit of a nod will be dealt a devastating blow. Therefore, when the French marines landed in large numbers, they had to keep silent.
Immediately following the landing of the 2nd French Marine Division was the 4th Infantry Division of the 89th Corps. When they landed, the 2nd Marine Division left a regiment to protect the landing site, and the other 4 regiments and the troops directly under the division, with the artillery support of the French Navy, launched an attack into the depths of the Swedish army. Facing the wolves and tigers of the French army, the Swedish army, which had long been frightened, was defeated at the first touch. They either dropped their weapons and fled for their lives or raised their hands as prisoners.
"General, our casualties are very heavy, and we are almost unable to withstand the French attack. You can order reinforcements to come up." Major General Kyle asked. Around Gothenburg, the Kalmar Alliance assembled a total of 150,000 troops, including 100,000 Swedish troops and 50,000 Norwegian troops. Now there are only 50,000 Swedish troops in Gothenburg. Another 100,000 troops were stationed in the suburbs near Gothenburg.
"General Kyle, as far as I know. Now the French only have one division landed. There are only 15,000 people. And how many people do you have? A total of 50,000 people. Could it be that your 50,000 people can't resist Over 10,000 French troops attacking? If that's the case, this battle is impossible to fight. It's better to just admit defeat." Buzz said angrily. Originally, he was very relieved to hand over the front line to Kyle's command. However, what he never expected was that when the French navy's large-scale bombardment ended, he would encounter such a situation when he got out of the basement.
"General, the French's artillery fire is really too powerful. Many of our anti-battery holes were directly collapsed by their cannons. We lost more than 20,000 people in their shelling alone. And the soldiers' Morale is also very low, and it is no longer able to withstand the French attack." Kyle explained. They have never fought against the French army, and they don't understand the strength of the French army at all. But this time, after they learned the lesson, they knew the reason why France was able to shock the entire European continent.
Boots didn't speak anymore, he had also experienced the power of the French naval guns just now. Even though he was hiding in a solid basement just now, he could feel the shock of the exploding French large-caliber naval gun shell even in the basement several meters deep, let alone the surface. "What about our artillery? Don't we have more than 300 cannons? How can we lose so badly? General Eric, I need a reasonable explanation." Buzz turned his anger to Major General Eric, the artillery commander.
Seeing this situation, Kyle was relieved. In order to avoid Buzz's wrath, he can only push the responsibility to the outside world. Anyway, someone has to take the blame, no matter who it is, as long as it's not me.
Seeing that Kyle was putting the blame on himself, Eric gave him a hard look, and then replied: "General, my soldiers and I have tried our best. But the range of the French naval guns and The power is much higher than that of our army. Therefore, after a fierce battle, we still could not defeat the French Navy. However, we also achieved good results. The heavy cruiser 'Loire' of the French Navy was severely damaged by us. The other warships were more or less slightly injured. You know, so far the heavy cruiser 'Loire' is the first large French warship to be severely damaged. This is a result that even the Americans have not achieved. .”
After hearing Eric's explanation, Boots felt much better, didn't he? Isn't it a great credit for us to do something that even the mighty United States can't do?
"Come here! Send a report to His Majesty the King immediately, saying that after our desperate counterattack, the French navy has been severely damaged." Buzz said triumphantly.
The operator didn't dare to say anything, so he had to send Booth's order to Stockholm. It's just that someone has already taken the lead and reported the real battle here to King Gustav IV of Sweden. Butz's hope of receiving a reward from Gustav IV for these merits was thwarted. Not only that, but I'm afraid I have caused a lot of trouble for myself.
"General, I think we should hurry up and send reinforcements to stabilize the current situation. It will be terrible if the French army completely breaks through our defense line." Seeing that Buzz was in a happy mood, Kyle quickly said.
"Don't worry, General Light, my troops will definitely be able to support General Woodnor's reinforcements." Kyle assured, patting his chest. Although Woodnor is a Norwegian general, the combat effectiveness of the Norwegian army is slightly worse than that of the Swedish army, but that is 50,000 people. With their joining, not to mention holding the line of defense, even if they turn defeat into victory, it is possible to drive all the French army into the sea.
Booth nodded and said nothing more. And Kyle left quickly. He wants to convey the news that the reinforcements are coming to all troops, hoping to restore the morale that is constantly declining.
"General Eric, how many artillery do we have?" Buzz asked after Kyle left. According to the information obtained before the war, he knew that the French had prepared hundreds of thousands of troops. In the face of landing enemy troops, artillery is undoubtedly a very lethal weapon.
"Now we only have 20 105mm howitzers and 40 75mm field guns." Eric confessed.
Hearing this number, Boots almost fainted out of breath. He clearly remembered that before the war, there were more than 300 cannons in the Gothenburg area. Otherwise, it was only a few hours and even a day, and there was only so little left. This is too hard for him to accept. After a long time, he finally calmed down. Buzz sighed and said, "Hey! General Eric, I hope you can make good use of the weapons in your hands. You must know that our opponent is extremely powerful." Until now, Buzz Ziz no longer had any confidence in his army's ability to hold Gothenburg. Although he still has more than 100,000 troops available.
"I will, General. Even if we cannot resist the French attack, we must make them pay a huge price. Make preparations for the continuation of the war." Eric said with red eyes. It wasn't that his soldiers didn't work hard, and it wasn't that their command was disappointing. It was that the gap between the enemy and ourselves was too great, and a large company couldn't make up for it.
"Hopefully we can make it," Booth said. It was hard for him to imagine that once hundreds of thousands of French troops landed successfully, what would Sweden and Norway do to stop them from advancing.
Perhaps it was the news of the impending arrival of reinforcements that boosted the morale of the Swedish army. In the ensuing battle, they actually withstood the attack of the 2nd Division of the French Marine Corps. The 2nd Division of the French Marine Corps has been fighting continuously for several hours, and the soldiers are already very tired both mentally and physically.
Seeing this situation, Monty had to order the 2nd Division of the Marine Corps to withdraw to the landing site to rest, and their offensive position was filled by the 4th Infantry Division of the 89th Corps, which had already completed the landing.
Subsequently, the 5th Infantry Division of the 89th Corps also began landing ~www.mtlnovel.com~ according to Monty's plan. Before dark, the 5th Infantry Division had to complete the landings. In this way, the French army that has already landed will reach more than 40,000 people. Only then can it be ensured that with the assistance of the navy, the entire landing site can be protected. After the arduous battle of the 2nd Division of the Marine Corps, their landing field has expanded to an area about 5 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide at this time.
"Send an order to the Dutch troops to land at night after the 5th Infantry Division lands. I don't care what method they use. They must all reach the shore before tomorrow morning." Monty ordered.
"General Darcy, thank you very much for your help." Monty came to the bridge of the "God's Family" and expressed his gratitude to Darcy for providing sufficient artillery support for the landing force.
"You are too polite, Your Excellency Field Marshal. They are all soldiers of the Empire, and they are under the orders of the great Emperor, so why should they say thank you?" Darcy said hastily. After all, although the two belonged to two different branches of the military, he was only a small rear admiral, while Monty was a field marshal. The gap between the two is too great. Monty personally expressed his thanks to him, already giving him enough face.
"General Darcy, I know that you and your troops are very tired. But whether our army can stand firm in Gothenburg depends on tonight. I hope you and your troops can last one night." Monty said .