After the outbreak of the European War, Southern Africa once again upgraded its existing weapons and equipment systems. The total combat weight of the latest production "Leopard" tank has reached 41 tons.
What appeared in front of the German paratroopers with an invincible and violent attitude was a "Leopard" tank that had not been upgraded before the outbreak of the European War.
Even this is scary enough.
It has a total combat weight of 35 tons, 90 mm thick frontal armor, and a 75 mm tank gun equipped with the latest armor-piercing projectiles.
Speaking of armor-piercing bullets.
The Germans may compete with southern African tanks in terms of tank tonnage.
But when it comes to armor-piercing bullets, German tanks will never be able to reach the power of armor-piercing bullets in Southern Africa, because the cores of armor-piercing bullets use tungsten metal.
Tungsten is not available in Germany.
Therefore, as long as the Royal Navy does not contact the blockade of Germany, Germany will never be able to produce high-performance armor-piercing bombs.
Of course, armor-piercing bullets are not used in Crete.
The German paratroopers did not prepare tanks at all, and the only result of fighting the steel monster with flesh and blood was to be massacred.
The tank crew of the "Leopard" tank was also excessive.
This tank had been hiding in the stable in the previous battle and did not appear at all. Because the camouflage was relatively good, the German paratroopers did not notice it and were not mentally prepared at all.
So the moment the "Leopard" tank appeared, the scene was extremely visually impactful.
Even the early "Leopard" tanks were equipped with a 540-horsepower efficient engine.
The thick pillars of the stable were not enough to be seen in front of the 540-horsepower "Leopard" tank. The "Leopard" tank directly knocked down the pillars, rushed out of the stable like a monster out of the cage, and even dragged the entire stable.
Go out nearly 40 meters away.
This is not a road.
The "Leopard" tank does not use tires.
Otherwise, the German paratroopers might hear the sound of burning tires.
After rushing out of the stable, the tank crew of the "Leopard" tank did not even fire a shot, but rushed directly towards the German paratroopers who were only equipped with Mauser rifles, leaving a bloody mess behind them.
No matter how elite the German paratroopers were, the offensive front collapsed completely in an instant.
Facing the hurriedly fleeing German paratroopers, the "Leopard" tank's machine gun finally opened fire. The 12.7 mm machine gun shot down the infantry with such efficiency that a company participating in the attack was completely lost in just one minute.
Colonel Miller was helpless and led his troops back to the airport.
Before the paratroopers had anti-tank weapons, they would not be able to fight against the southern African army equipped with tanks.
At this time, the artillery fire from Southern Africa on the airport never stopped.
After using large-caliber artillery shells to sweep the airport, the airport terminal was finally not spared.
Two 155mm artillery shells hit the airport terminal building at the same time, and most of the terminal building was completely destroyed and devastated.
Fortunately, Schmitz and Hoffman had already left the terminal before this happened.
Otherwise the paratroopers and airborne troops would now have no chain of command.
However, the situation is not much better.
Without support, the paratroopers and airborne troops who have already landed may not be able to see the sun tomorrow.
The Germans indeed tried every means. At the same time that the airborne troops landed at Heraklion Airport, the German ground troops began to launch a ground attack on Crete in sailing ships.
It was really a sailing ship. No other ships could be found. They had all been sunk by the Mediterranean Fleet and the Cyprus Squadron.
Even the sailboats were escorted by gunboats. The Italian destroyers were blocked in La Spezia by the Mediterranean Fleet and the Cyprus Squadron. The Germans even moved the artillery to the sailboats, so as to gain some psychological safety.
feel.
But how could Cunningham and Mike Toland allow the Germans to cross the sea easily? The First Destroyer Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet, led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, joined forces with the fleet sent by the Cyprus Squadron to attack the German army trying to cross the sea.
The German Army, which was invincible in the European War, finally tasted defeat.
The 1st Destroyer Squadron, led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, consisted of four destroyers.
Colonel Gao Jie of the Cyprus Squadron led a fleet consisting of two light cruisers and six destroyers.
"The southern Africans have gone too far to use light cruisers to deal with sailing ships." Lord Mountbatten was very depressed when he saw the fleet led by Colonel Gauger.
God knows where southern Africa got so many destroyers and cruisers.
In the previous "island-for-destroyer" plan, Southern Africa has handed over nearly a hundred light cruisers and destroyers to the Royal Navy.
Intelligence received by the Royal Navy indicates that light cruisers and destroyers are being built in southern Africa faster than they can be handed over to the Royal Navy.
Not long ago, the Walvis Bay Shipyard built a 10,000-ton merchant ship in just 150 hours. This speed stunned everyone.
After the outbreak of the European War, German submarines used wolf pack tactics to attack allied merchant ships. In the second half of last year alone, the total tonnage of British merchant ships sunk by German submarines reached 1.5 million tons, which had a huge impact on British supplies.
For Britain, the colonies still have countless resources to call upon, but there are not enough merchant ships to continuously transport colonial resources to the British mainland.
So while "islands were being exchanged for destroyers," the British government hoped to lease merchant ships from southern Africa to help Britain transport supplies.
The federal government of Southern Africa will certainly not refuse such a request.
The British had requirements for ships. In order to facilitate production, the structure of ships was very simple and easy to build on a large scale.
At the same time, the ship's cargo capacity requirements are relatively high, and the British hope that the cargo capacity can be more than 5,000 tons.
In addition, considering that there are no oil fields in the UK, the British government hopes that the ships will be powered by coal.
Southern Africa has no shortage of oil.
To sell more oil
Bah, bah, no, in order to better improve efficiency, the Southern African Shipyard modified the design drawings provided by the British government and determined the final plan.
This kind of ship, named "Liberty Ship" by Rock, has a displacement of only 7,000 tons, but a cargo capacity of up to 9,140 tons. Due to the use of internal combustion engines, the speed of the ship can reach more than 11 knots, and it is equipped with anti-aircraft weapons. It has certain capabilities.
Air defense capability.
Starting at the beginning of this year, "Freewheel" was mass-produced.
In the first quarter of this year, the total number of Allied merchant ships sunk by Germany reached 1.1 million tons.
During the same period, the total tonnage of freewheelers produced in southern Africa reached 1.5 million tons, and the speed is still accelerating.
This makes the British very depressed.
Due to its simple structure, the free wheel has a service life of only five years.
However, considering the current situation, this is still an excellent merchant ship, and the British government is constantly placing additional orders.
While commercial ships are being mass-produced, southern Africa is also mass-producing warships, including light cruisers and destroyers.
The results of the Taranto Raid and the Battle of Cape Matapan showed that aircraft carriers have become a key force in future naval battles, and traditional warships represented by battleships have completely declined.
Southern African warships have always been built with aircraft carriers as the core, supplemented by a large number of small-tonnage warships.
Light cruisers and destroyers have always been the top priority in the development of Southern Africa's navy.
After the outbreak of the European War, the German High Seas Fleet was hiding in the military port and the submarine force was running rampant. The status of light cruisers and destroyers with anti-submarine capabilities increased rapidly. Naturally, Southern Africa will not ignore it.
After the "island-to-destroyer" plan was implemented, all the new light cruisers and destroyers equipped by the Southern African Navy were the latest warships, which was really difficult for Lord Louis Mountbatten to accept.
Lord Louis Mountbatten's ship was a destroyer obtained from southern Africa through the "Island for Destroyer" program.
In other words, Lord Mountbatten's ship is a warship that has been eliminated by the Southern African Navy.
"So, we have cultivated an extremely powerful opponent for ourselves, and all of this could have been avoided." Captain Steve Norton, chief of staff of the 1st Destroyer Squadron, lamented that since the outbreak of the European War, the Royal Navy has simply declined.
Visible to the naked eye.
"We will talk about the future later. Let's deal with the Germans in front of us first." Lord Mountbatten wanted to vent his anger on the German troops who were crossing the sea.
The German troops who were crossing the sea did not realize that the disaster was about to happen.
The carrying capacity of a sailboat is very low, and because of its obvious masts and sails, it can be discovered very far away, making it extremely dangerous.
The Germans can't help it either.
Before the Battle of Crete was launched, the Mediterranean Fleet and the Cyprus Squadron had swept through Greek coastal cities several times. Slightly larger ships were destroyed, and the only ones the Germans could use were sailing ships.
Mainland Greece is approximately 100 kilometers from Crete.
These 100 kilometers became an insurmountable chasm for the German Army.
Starting from the evening of the 22nd, some sailboats left the port and headed towards Crete.
All these ships were destroyed without exception. The Mediterranean Fleet and the Cyprus Squadron have issued a joint statement that all Greek ships that dare to go to sea during the outbreak of the Battle of Crete will be regarded as hostile acts.
The Germans will certainly not give up easily the paratroopers and airborne troops who have landed on Crete.
After nightfall, the German army's crossing of the sea reached its climax.
Bang
The flares fired by the naval guns illuminated the waters near the destroyer "Victory" as bright as day.
Almost at the center of the flare, a Greek sailing ship full of German soldiers was cutting through the waves and advancing bravely.
"Catch up and sink it! The captain of the Victory, Lieutenant Colonel Qiofo, was furious. After the battle broke out, the Victory had sunk four Greek sailing ships.
"We don't have many shells for the main gun." Gunnery Officer Carey now regrets that he should have carried more shells when he set out.
"Then use anti-aircraft machine guns, use grenade launchers, and use torpedoes. In short, we can't let any Greek ship slip under our noses!" Qiaofu was so crazy that he couldn't even think of using torpedoes to hit the sailboat.
out.
But this is normal.
If necessary, even if it is a collision, Qiaofu will sink the Greek sailing ship.
Anyway, a wooden sailboat will definitely not be able to hit a warship with a ramming angle.
The newly produced destroyers and anti-aircraft machine guns in southern Africa are already 20 mm caliber, which can already be classified as anti-aircraft guns.
A 20mm anti-aircraft machine gun can hit a wooden sailboat as easily as cutting butter with a table knife.
In order to increase the lethality of the destroyer's anti-aircraft guns, the ammunition belts are mixed with incendiary bombs.
In order for a sailboat to be waterproof, both its sails and planks must undergo special treatment. If it encounters a fire, it will burn very quickly.
The sailboat targeted by the "Victory" is using all its power to escape.
However, the speed of a sailboat is as slow as a snail in front of a destroyer that can reach a maximum speed of 35 knots.
In the desperate eyes of the German soldiers on the sailboat, the "Victory" quickly caught up.
The German soldiers were not willing to surrender and used all the weapons on the ship to shoot at the "Victory", hoping to cause even the slightest damage to the "Victory".
dong dong dong
The high-level dual-purpose machine gun on the "Victory" sprayed muzzle fire for almost one and a half meters.
Incendiary bombs, high-explosive bombs, armor-piercing bombs, mixed with tracer bombs formed a chain of fire and flew towards the sailboat.
Suddenly sawdust flew everywhere, blood and flesh splashed everywhere, and the German troops on the sailboat were like minced meat in a meat grinder.
"Continue, don't stop, sink it completely!" Joffo was still not satisfied, how many sailing ships could the Greeks have?
That night, about 4,000 German troops were killed or missing, and no sailing ship successfully reached Crete.
For the German paratroopers and airborne troops in Heraklion, the despair they felt was not much better than that of the German army soldiers who were buried in the belly of a fish.
The southern African artillery bombardment continued all night long, and the artillery shells rained down endlessly without stopping for a moment.
The paratroopers and airborne troops suffered heavy casualties. In the early morning, Schmitz and Hoffman counted the casualties. More than half of the nearly 6,000 paratroopers and airborne troops who parachuted into Heraklion had suffered casualties.
This was even before the Southern African army took the initiative to launch a ground offensive.
If the southern African army had taken the initiative to launch a ground attack, the fighting would have probably ended long ago and would not have lasted until the early hours of the morning.
But it is precisely because of this that Schmitz and Hoffman are even more aggrieved.
From the beginning of the fighting, Southern African troops used artillery to bombard the airport.
In other words, from the beginning of the battle to now, the paratroopers and airborne troops have not had the opportunity to fight with the southern African army with live ammunition.
Even before a formal battle, more than half of the casualties were already suffered. Let alone the paratroopers and airborne troops, this kind of thing had never happened before in the history of the German army.
"We have run out of ammunition and food, and have no choice." Schmitz did not want to see the paratroopers who had been trained so hard to die worthlessly.
"Wait a little longer, we will still have a chance after dawn." Hoffman did not want to surrender just like this. Since the outbreak of the European War, no organized German army has surrendered.
Those who surrendered in North Africa were all Italians.
"What chance? Can the Führer parachute the 7th Armored Division to Heraklion after dawn?" Schmitz was filled with despair.
Even if the 7th Armored Division parachuted into Heraklion, it would not be able to gain much advantage in the face of the Southern African troops who were waiting for them.
