Bastia is the main port in the north of Corsica. It and Ajaccio in the south are known as the two pearls of Corsica. However, even if they are pearls, the number of people in the two ports does not exceed 40,000.
The reason is very simple, that is, the land in Corsica is barren. 4/5 of the island is composed of mountains and hills, and only the coastal areas have small plains. This also leads to the population of Corsica being only more than 100,000.
Perennially the poorest province in France.
Corsica was not satisfied with this. They believed that they were not taken seriously by Paris and had a strong feeling of being dependent on others. This also led to the independence movement in Corsica never subsided. This also made Italy never forget Corsica. Before
Because of the lack of strength, I dare not even think about it, and now I am taking advantage of the war to seize the island no matter what.
Borgo is a town on the small plain south of Bastia. It has a long beach and is a very suitable area for landing. Therefore, the French army deployed a division of troops to garrison here.
In the entire Corsica, the French defense force only had one corps and three divisions with more than 40,000 troops.
Being able to place a division in Borgo shows how much attention is paid to this place.
Because this place is the most suitable area for landing in Corsica, and not far from it is the port city of Bastia. In addition, it is only 100 kilometers away from Livorno, Italy, which makes Borgo the easiest to land in Corsica.
The area where it was landed.
Although the French army attaches great importance to Borgo, Corsica's military strength is limited, so it can only put one division here at most.
At this time, the officers and soldiers of the division were suffering.
"Shoulder, be careful to dodge."
The observation post on the position was shouting, and a whining sound came from the air.
At this time, the French officers and soldiers hiding in the shell-proof cave were praying silently, praying that the shells would not fall on their heads.
"collapse!"
A huge explosion came from nearby, and the French officers and soldiers hiding in the gun cave also felt a huge vibration.
At this time, everyone was thankful that they had escaped disaster, but their suffering was not over yet and the bombardment had not stopped.
On the sea, warships are continuously bombarding Borgo Beach and the depths. This is the reserve joint fleet formed by Italy and Austria, and more than half of its warships are here.
Its equipped 75mm, 120mm, 150mm, 200mm, 280mm, 305mm, 350mm and other types of artillery are constantly firing at the Borgo front line.
Thick explosion smoke had shrouded the Borgo line under bombardment, so much so that the airship making corrections in the air was unable to observe the shelling on the ground.
The coastal defense fortifications deployed by the French army in Borgo are mainly composed of 170 mm naval guns (8 guns) disassembled from the battleships, and a small number of 240 mm naval guns (2 guns). However, most of these coastal defense fortifications have not been built.
Effective. In front of the airship and the pre-dreadnought, these artillery were named one by one.
Some people may ask, since Borgo is an extremely important place in Corsica, why are there so many artillery pieces? The French navy is at a disadvantage and has too many key areas to defend. Although Corsica faces Italy directly, its strategic position is
Not high. Since France was at a naval disadvantage against Italy, the issue of coastal defense in France's Mediterranean coastal areas has been put on the agenda.
When it comes to coastal defense, France focuses on its homeland, especially Marseille, Toulon, and Nice.
Taking Marseille as an example, its coastal defenses have the same new 305mm guns as the Guba class. Eight of these guns are deployed in Marseille. In addition, there are 39 240mm and 170mm guns, which can be said to be
Armed to the teeth.
Borgo's coastal defense is not as good as that of Marseille or other local areas.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the reserve combined fleet composed of ex-dreadnought battleships smashed Borgo's coastal defenses to pieces.
At this time, on the battleship Genoa, as the supreme commander of the capture of Corsica and the commander of the Italian Sixth Army, Admiral Bartlett was carefully observing the effects of the bombardment.
The result was not bad. At this time, he left the telescope and ordered. "Order, let the Second Marine Division start landing immediately."
At this time, the Corsica combat force was formed. In addition to the six divisions of the Sixth Army, it was also equipped with a professional landing force, the Second Marine Division.
Under the order of General Bartlett, the officers and soldiers of the Second Marine Division began to lower their landing craft and prepare to land on the beach.
For this landing in Borgo, the navy prepared 138 landing craft, which was enough to send a regiment of personnel and equipment ashore at one time.
These landing craft, loaded with officers, soldiers and equipment of the Second Marine Division, were now rushing towards the beaches along the Borgo line.
"The enemy is about to land!"
Although the rumbling sound of artillery continued and Borgo was caught in a sea of flames, the diligent observation post still saw the menacing enemy at the first time.
Following the call of the sentry, the French officers and soldiers who had been hiding in the shell-proof caves rushed out of the shell-proof caves one after another, regardless of the danger of shelling. They prepared weapons and ammunition and waited for the Italians to come ashore to fight them head-on.
Beat.
At this time, although the French troops were waiting for the Italian troops to land in their positions, they waited for a round of precise artillery fire before the enemy could be seen.
This is a shallow water heavy artillery battleship built by the Italian Navy.
The origin of the shallow-water heavy gunship was invented during the American Civil War. This shallow-draft and equipped with heavy artillery can support offshore warships on land or defend ports, and was subsequently imitated by various countries.
Of course, Italy also built it, but before that, the main job of this warship was offshore defense. After entering the 20th century, when the Italian Navy became more powerful, the need for firepower ships to support landing operations became particularly urgent.
After some research and development, the Tirana class shallow water heavy gunship was born. This class is 98.4 meters long, 28.4 meters wide, with a standard displacement of 5870 tons and a full load displacement of 6125 tons. The main engine is a steam engine and the speed is 7 knots. Equipment 2
305mm main gun, 4 105mm secondary guns and 10 40mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns.
In order to increase its ocean navigation capabilities, their freeboard is basically the same as that of a destroyer. In addition, a piece of the stern is cut off to form a long forecastle. Almost in the center of the hull, a tripod mast is erected, and there is a position for artillery command on the top.
Panhe Observatory. Except for a small chimney at the rear of the battleship, there are no large buildings on the ship.
Therefore, this shallow-water heavy gunship looks a bit flat and the display is very weird. But it is weird, but its firepower is a disaster for the Borgo defenders. At this time, only three warships of this type were seen sailing directly to 2000 meters away from the coastline.
place, and then used its astonishingly powerful main guns to target the French positions one by one.
No one can remain calm when a giant cannon is aimed at you. The key point is that even if you hide from the cannon, it is useless. It has such huge lethality that even if you are hiding in a trench 20 meters away, you will be killed by it.
Then the French officers and soldiers defending the beachhead were unlucky. Accurate artillery shells destroyed the remaining beachhead fortifications one by one. These fortifications that had escaped the previous shelling were now targeted by huge cannons at close range and had no chance of survival.
possible.
As for the artillery in the hands of the defenders at this time, they did not dare to open fire at all. Once they opened fire, they would be discovered by airships in the sky, and then they would be destroyed by counterattacks. For this reason, the French army stationed in Borgo, after losing more than 20 artillery pieces, never had any more artillery pieces.
The desire to fire. Besides, after the coastal defense artillery was destroyed, can the 75mm rapid-fire guns in the army's hands pose a threat to shallow water heavy gunships?
When there was no threat, the three Tirana-class shallow-water heavy gunboats began to roll call unscrupulously. After these beach fortifications were destroyed, the officers and soldiers of the Second Marine Division finally arrived at the beach.
At this time, the French officers and soldiers guarding the beachhead had suffered heavy casualties from the bombing. Only two companies of the original two battalions of the French army were left. Faced with such huge casualties, the beachhead had not collapsed, which shows the firm will of the French soldiers.
.
However, willpower alone cannot change the plight of insufficient troops on the beachhead. Although the French troops on the beachhead have been firing desperately since the landing of the Second Marine Division. However, the huge gap in numbers and firepower has left the beachhead half in
It was lost after an hour.
After receiving the news that the frontline troops had captured the beachhead in half an hour, Admiral Bartlett gave up after taking one look. He was not worried at all about capturing Corsica.
He even hoped that the French army would reinforce Corsica. For this reason, the navy even gave up the siege of Corsica. But unfortunately, the French army was not stupid and had no intention of reinforcing Corsica, even though it was the birthplace of its great man Napoleon.
.
After seizing the beachhead, and waiting for the follow-up troops to arrive, the first troops to land continued to advance in depth. At this time, the three shallow water heavy artillery ships were their most powerful artillery unit.
