Leamington and Gosport are the two closest cities to the Isle of Wight, and Davis also uses this as the main direction of attack. Among the 1000mén cannons gathered, they are basically equipped in these two places.
In the early morning of June 12, the artillery position at Leamington first launched an artillery attack on the Isle of Wight. The fierce bombardment of more than 500mén cannons immediately turned the French army's position into a sea of flames. Ten minutes later, the artillery position at Gosport also began to fire. The defensive positions of the French army were immediately enveloped in a sea of flames.
The commander of the French army stationed on the Isle of Wight is a young lieutenant general named Glory, who is only 32 years old this year. Although young, he has made great achievements in battle. In the counter-insurgency in Eastern Europe, he made great achievements, so he was promoted to lieutenant general in an exceptional way. When the army was preparing for war, he was originally planned to be the deputy commander of the French 11th Army, but considering the importance of the Isle of Wight, he was eventually appointed as the commander of the Isle of Wight. [bsp;The movements of the US-Canadian coalition forces and the British forces have already attracted Glory's attention. Although under the operation of the French army, the Isle of Wight has completely become a huge fortress. But Glory still felt that this battle might not be easy. The enemy must be aware of the strength of Wight Island. Since the opponent is going to launch an attack, they must be well prepared. Therefore, what the Isle of Wight will face is undoubtedly a **** battle.
"It seems that the British are trying their best." Glory put down the binoculars in his hand, and said to several teachers around him. Judging from the scale of the opponent's shelling, it is certain that the opponent must have made a lot of determination.
The four teachers around him also had serious expressions.
"Order the artillery division to fight back? Otherwise, the British and Yankees really thought we were afraid of them!" Glory said coldly.
"Okay, let them taste our power!" The artillery division commander said with a sneer. Although the number is not as good as that of the opponent, their artillery positions are all made of solid reinforced concrete, which is extremely strong. At the same time, the French artillery, no matter in terms of range or power, is far from what the United States and Britain can compare.
Under the command of the commander of the artillery division, a large number of artillery were pushed to the position, and the ferocious muzzle protruded from the reinforced concrete pouring, pointing obliquely at the sky. A 155mm howitzer battalion and two 105mm howitzer regiments were all pulled out. The 75mm field gun is not powerful enough to deal with the enemy's artillery positions. Therefore, they set their main target at sea. Now that the shelling has begun, the opponent's landing will certainly not be too long.
"Boom!" A ball of orange fire shot out from the huge muzzle of the 155mm howitzer. A huge shell flew over the Solent Strait and slammed heavily on the artillery positions of the British army. Since the shooting elements were marked before, the French army's shelling was extremely accurate.
The 155mm howitzer is so powerful that it is often destroyed within a radius of hundreds of meters with one shot. The 12mén 155mm howitzers of the French army were all aimed at the artillery positions of the British army at Leamington. The terrifying power immediately silenced the artillery positions of the British army. With the support of a 105mm artillery battalion, the British artillery position in Leamington was firmly suppressed.
The artillery positions of the British army were basically built hastily in the wild, and the shelling of the French army often overturned a large area with one shot. The shelling of the British army was basically blocked, and it was impossible to cause casualties to the French army. In this case, even if the British army has more artillery, it still cannot gain the upper hand.
There are more than 20 artillery positions in Lymington, large and small. In just one hour, the French army destroyed several of them. The battlefield was full of soldiers' corpses torn to pieces by shrapnel and twisted gun barrels, the whole **** on earth.
As another place where the British army focused on attacking, Ryde was also surrounded by a sea of flames caused by the British army's shelling. Another 105mm artillery regiment and two 105mm artillery battalions of the French artillery division are all deployed here. A total of 120mén cannon. The power of the 105mm howitzer is much lower than that of the 155mm howitzer, but under the protection of the artillery position, it is on par with the British army, which has a huge numerical advantage.
"Damn it, it's been more than an hour, why is the French shelling so violent?" Davis slapped the table heavily, looking very angry. If the artillery of the French army cannot be destroyed, it means that they have to fill the narrow Solent Strait with their lives.
"The French's artillery positions are too strong, and our cannons are hard to do harm to them!" Forfar's expression was not very good either.
"Forget it, launch a landing operation immediately!" Davis ordered coldly.
"No, I object! This is simply sending the soldiers to their deaths!" Forfar jumped up.
"If the delay continues, the French fleet will arrive. Besides, the first attack will be launched by our US Army!" Davis said coldly.
Both Siméng and Forfar had their throats twitch twice, and didn't say anything more. Although the first wave started with the U.S. Army, would the Canadian and British troops dare to refuse the subsequent attack? Especially the British ** team, they have the largest number of people and should be the main force.
Under the order of Davis, two divisions of American troops boarded the sea ships that had been prepared from Southampton. These ships are not professional landing ships, but mostly merchant ships or fishing boats. All are made of wood, and they are often sunk after being shot twice.
More than 30,000 U.S. troops in two divisions took more than 100 sea ships, went south from Southampton into the Solent Strait, and then went straight to Cowes in the north of the Isle of Wight.
When their fleet reached the center of the strait, the French bombardment began. Although they are all 75mm caliber field guns, for these unprotected merchant ships and fishing boats, as long as they are hit by one shot, it will be a disaster.
During the bombardment of the French army, ships were constantly hit, and then caught fire or capsized.
At this time, the constant fleet rushed into the strait, it was the small fleet deployed by the French Atlantic Fleet around the Isle of Wight. As soon as the Isle of Wight was shelled, Glory immediately notified the fleet. Sure enough, they came just in time.
"French fleet? Damn it, turn around!" Countless commanders on the ship gave orders. Using these sea ships with no offensive power and no defensive power to face the French fleet head-on, it is simply courting death.
At this time, the French fleet opened fire. Although the main force of the fleet is destroyers with a small tonnage, their firepower is enough for the merchant ships and fishing boats. In addition, their speed is fast enough, and the U.S. soldiers who chased them were flying dogs and jumping, and some even jumped directly into the sea in order to survive.
"Order the artillery, hit the firepower and kill the French fleet!" Davis ordered through gritted teeth. It was his miscalculation, he did not expect the French fleet to come so fast.
The artillerymen quickly carried out Davis's order and turned their muzzles one after another. In the previous artillery battle, they were very aggrieved. They couldn't break through the artillery positions of the French army at all, and could only be beaten passively. The French fleet came just in time, giving them something to vent their anger on.
Can't smash the artillery positions, can't they sink these warships?
This small French fleet is mainly composed of destroyers, and the caliber of the naval guns is not large. Except for the heavy cruiser of the "Heavy Cavalry" class, facing the fierce bombardment of the British army, they are in a critical situation. , Two destroyers were hit and caught fire, frightening the fleet commander, and immediately ordered to withdraw from the strait.
After repelling the French fleet, there was a burst of cheers on the British artillery positions, which made their morale rise a lot.
"Prepare for the second landing!" Davis ordered.
"General, should we wait for the fleet to arrive before attacking?" Simeng persuaded.
"No, with our artillery strength, we can't break open the artillery positions of the French army, but it is no problem to stop the French fleet. The fleet has more important goals, and they will be responsible for blocking the main force of the French Channel Fleet ’” Davis said firmly.
This time, an American division and a Canadian division were preparing to land. Soldiers from the two divisions crowded on a hundred or so merchant ships and rushed towards the Isle of Wight slowly. Many people are praying silently, hoping not to be hit by shells.
Sure enough, when the US-Canadian coalition launched the landing, the small French fleet wanted to break into the strait again to slaughter the soldiers who landed, but it was stopped by the British artillery that had already been prepared.
"Order all the soldiers, prepare to drive the enemy into the sea!" Glory ordered calmly. Although the fleet was stopped, the fortifications on the Isle of Wight were not so easy to breach.
Despite the desperate efforts of the French artillery, a large number of ships passed through the cannon fodder and successfully landed on the Isle of Wight. A large number of American and Canadian soldiers rushed down from the ship howling, but crashed into the fortifications carefully prepared by the French army. The fire net composed of mortars and heavy machine guns is constantly harvesting the lives of American and Canadian soldiers. They were firmly suppressed on the beach and could not move forward.
Soon, the sea water by the sea was stained red with blood. A large number of corpses floated on the sea.
"Hmph, come on, the more people come, the more people die!" Glory had a cruel smile on his face.
Davis, on the other hand, didn't seem to be intimidated by the huge casualties. When the first two divisions were almost exhausted, the subsequent two divisions felt it again. After such a cycle, by night, they had lost at least 4 divisions.
But these losses are not without meaning, at least they have established a not-so-strong beachhead.
The continuous day of fighting made the French soldiers exhausted, even though most of the time, they were just killing people mechanically. All you have to do is to keep sending the bullets in your hands into the enemy's body. Eventually they were numb and even the barrels were red. Especially for those heavy machine guns that are big killers, it is not known how many barrels have been replaced.
The news of the attack on White Island was spread to the country as soon as the war started. Xiao Jie was very calm about this. In his view, the war started sooner or later. The General Staff also quickly made arrangements. Channel Fleet, all warships have left port. Because the Navy got the news that the four American and Canadian fleets near the United Kingdom have all concentrated towards the Strait area.
With the defense of Wight Island, it is not a problem at all to resist the enemy's landing operations. But if there is a huge fleet attacking in the rear, the problem will be serious. In the case of a two-sided attack, the Isle of Wight is likely to fall quickly.
Admiral Hercules personally led the main force of the Strait Fleet to the Isle of Wight, preparing to intercept the American and Canadian navy and support the defense of the Isle of Wight by the way.
The U.S. and Canadian Navy, which has a total of four fleets, also pay the same attention. From the Atlantic Ocean, they rushed directly into the English Channel and headed straight for the Isle of Wight. According to the speed and direction of the two sides, after dawn, the two fleets will collide.
That night, the Tuileries Palace was brightly lit, and Xiao Jie called the general staff and army generals here. As for the navy, it did not participate because it had to direct the war.
"Marshals~www.mtlnovel.com~Generals! I am honored to tell you that from the moment the British artillery fired on the Isle of Wight this morning, the war has begun again. This time, we not only want to completely defeat each other , but also to land on the North American continent, and spread the French flag all over North America!" Xiao Jie waved his arms, this battle is especially important for France, it can be said to be a fate-determining battle. The result of the war determines whether France will become more prosperous and powerful or decline.
"Your will will be our direction!" The marshals and generals present replied in unison.
"Your Majesty, the General Staff has formulated a new plan. At present, the British have hit a large number of troops and artillery to attack the Isle of Wight. This is a good opportunity for us to land on the British Isles again." Eck said immediately.
Xiao Jie nodded. The British Isles are the most important fulcrum of the so-called Davis Line of Defense in the United States. As long as it successfully lands in the UK, the entire line of defense will naturally collapse.
"The specific plan is that the army dispatches three to five legions, lands in England, defeats the armies of the United Kingdom and the United States and Canada, and establishes a pro-French government. For example, the royal family of the Kingdom of Scotland in exile in our country is a very good agent Candidates." Eck continued. The United Kingdom is an important route for France to enter the Atlantic Ocean. A pro-French and obedient Britain is undoubtedly what France needs most.