Chapter 449: Invasion of the United States and Canada
"What? The U.S. Fleet." Bivis stood up from the chair with a bang. "Quickly, send a report to Paris immediately, conveying the news of the US fleet's invasion. Also, send Lieutenant Colonel Gegil Zhao here immediately." Bivis ordered. In any case, the news must be sent back to the country first, so that the country can make preparations.
"Okay, commander." The signal soldier led the order.
In less than 10 minutes, Gergil rushed to Bivis' office in a hurry.
"Your Excellency, Colonel, the US fleet is attacking aggressively, what should we do?" Gejir asked with a panicked expression. Although the two belonged to the two systems of the army and the navy, Bivis was the highest military officer in Iceland after all, and before such a major event, he still needed to make up his mind.
"How many American fleets are coming? Can we resist their attack?" Bivis asked.
Gegil shook his head: "The invading US fleet consists of two fleets, with more than 60 warships. There are also more than 200 transport ships. It is certain that there must be a lot of US Marines or US Army loaded on them. .Neither the navy nor the army, we can't stand against it."
Bivis frowned: "It seems that the Americans have their backs this time. They won't give up until they take down Iceland."
Gejir nodded. Since the Americans put up such a big battle, their purpose is very obvious.
"Lieutenant Colonel Gergil, since we are obviously not the opponent of the US fleet, why don't you take your fleet and withdraw first." Bivis said. Since he knew he was not his opponent, there was no need to die.
"What? You asked me to retreat! This is impossible! You are insulting the honor of a naval officer." Gejir roared angrily.
"Lieutenant Colonel Gejir, calm down. Listen, at this time, you must forget your **** honor. The current American fleet is so powerful, and your fleet will only die if you go up to it. And it will not cause any harm to the enemy. Any loss. Do you think it makes sense?" Beavis yelled.
"That's better than a coward who escapes." Gejir said with a cold snort.
"This is not an escape, this is a strategic shift." Bivis retorted.
"What kind of strategic shift, that's not the same meaning." Gejir said.
"I'm not asking you to flee back to the country. I want you to go to Akureyri in the north of Iceland. There is a small port there, which is enough for your fleet to station. Now our strength is nothing compared to the Americans. No. But I believe that the American fleet must have other uses. After their fleet sails to other places, you will lead the fleet to attack the American transport fleet at that time. Isn't that more meaningful?" Wes persuaded.
Gagil calmed down. Indeed, fighting recklessly with the US fleet now is no different from courting death. And it has not been able to cause any losses to the French fleet. But retreating without a fight like this made him a little unacceptable.
Seeing that Gergil was still hesitating, Bivis continued: "Make a decision quickly, my lieutenant colonel. Time is running out. If the Americans start to attack, then we will not be able to leave even if we want to."
"Okay then," said Gergil. After thinking about it, I finally made the right choice rationally.
"Also, take away part of the ammunition in the military port. We may not receive domestic support for a long time. Therefore, we must store enough ammunition." Bivis said suddenly.
"Yes." Gejill agreed.
Afterwards, the two got busy. According to the information sent back, there is at most one hour before the US fleet will arrive in Reykjavik. This meant that they only had half an hour to prepare. After half an hour, the French fleet must leave port. And the Army must be ready to fight.
Boxes of ammunition were removed from the ammunition depot and transported to the naval battleship. Half an hour passed quickly, but with the efforts of the navy and army officers and soldiers, only half of the munitions were transferred to the ship.
"It's too late, let the fleet set sail," Bivis said.
"Okay then. Mr. Colonel, you have to be careful." Before leaving, Gejir said with concern.
"Don't worry. My fate is very tough. It's not easy to die." Bivis said jokingly.
"1st Battalion Commander." Shaking his head and getting this thought out of his mind, Bivis began to issue combat orders.
"Here!" A tall man ran to Bivis' side. He was Major Mullen, the commander of the 1st Battalion of Bivis's garrison regiment.
"Install the explosives and prepare to blow up the entire port." Bivis' eyes flashed a ruthless look.
"This?" Mullen hesitated. After all, it took them a lot of effort to build this port.
"Execute the order. Even if we are not an opponent of the Americans, we cannot let them use the port easily. Remember, you only have 20 minutes." Bivis ordered.
"As you wish, Your Excellency the Commander." Mullen took the order. Then quickly stopped the engineers from planting explosives.
"2nd Battalion Commander," Bivis called.
"Here, Commander." The 2nd Battalion Commander Major Will reported.
"Take your people and try to transport the ammunition and other materials in the ammunition depot to the north as much as you can. Also, inform the civilians to evacuate Reykjavik immediately, this place will soon become a battlefield." Bivis ordered.
"Follow orders, Your Excellency Commander!" Will ordered.
As soon as this order was issued, the residents of Reykjavik became chaotic, and they all began to pack up their valuables and fled to other places. There are not many residents in Reykjavik, only 50,000 to 60,000 people. After a while, they all left.
"3rd Battalion Commander." Bivis continued to call.
"Here, Commander." The 3rd Battalion Commander Major Weiz reported.
"Take your men and build fortifications in the city. We are going to fight the Americans in the streets." Bivis ordered. Since it is impossible to resist the attack of the US army, it has to use street fighting to slow down the pace of the US army's advance as much as possible, and give the country as much preparation time as possible.
"Follow orders, Your Excellency Commander!" Weisz took the order.
Under the order of Bivis, the whole regiment went into action. The artillery company also pulled out the only few 75mm field guns, and together with the coastal defense guns in the port, they were preparing for the upcoming fierce battle. In Reykjavik, there are a total of two forts in the north and south, with a total of more than 20 coastal defense guns, the largest caliber of which is 155 mm. There are more than 500 coastal defense artillery.
Half an hour passed quickly. The 1st Battalion successfully blasted the port, and the infrastructure of the entire port was basically destroyed. Channels and berths were also blocked by boulders that the French deliberately sunk. Even if the US Army occupied Reykjavik, there would be absolutely no way to put the port into service without months of repairs.
"General, we have arrived, is it possible to attack." The commander of the US 7th Fleet asked Davis.
"Let's get started." Davis said, putting down the binoculars in his hand. From the telescope, he had already seen the current situation of the entire port. Doubtless those vile Frenchmen have destroyed the port in order to keep it out of their hands. This made Davis very angry. Because, to repair the port, it will definitely take a lot of time. And now there is not much time left for them.
"Every ship is ready to fire." Harold personally gave the order to fire.
Immediately, more than 30 warships of the US Navy's 7th Fleet began to shoot at the French positions. A large number of shells slammed into the French positions. The huge explosion immediately flooded the entire port.
The artillery of the French army also launched a counterattack with losses. However, compared with the American fleet, their counterattack was weaker by more than one notch, both in terms of quantity and power.
Fierce artillery battles unfolded between the two sides~www.mtlnovel.com~ The shells were fired continuously, and then exploded, splashing a large amount of sea water or debris, sometimes even breaking the remaining human limbs arm. But the entire battlefield showed a one-sided trend.
The battle lasted less than an hour, and the French artillery and artillery were completely lost. Of the more than 500 coastal defense artillerymen, less than 200 survived. The artillery company of Bivis also lost dozens of people. Under such circumstances, Bivis had no choice but to order all the artillerymen to withdraw. Although there were no cannons, they could still be used as infantry with rifles.
The counterattack of the French army also caused certain losses to the US military. Two unlucky "New York" class warships were seriously injured, and several warships were slightly injured. The total casualties reached more than 300 people.
"The French artillery is finished. The ships began to approach the port and bombarded the French infantry positions." Harold ordered. After solving the artillery of the French army, the next step is to attack the defensive positions of the French army, clearing the way for the landing of the Marine Corps. At the same time, the troop carrier also began to move forward, ready to release the landing craft at any time.
The fortifications of the French army were built hastily, and such fortifications simply could not withstand the bombardment of the large-caliber naval guns of the American fleet. Therefore, in order to reduce the loss of troops, Bivis ordered all the soldiers on the front line to withdraw.