Italian resistance collapsed completely with the landing of armored forces in southern Africa.
The M13/40's small size of 14 tons is not even as good as the current "Alligator" armored vehicle. The new "Buffalo" amphibious tank equipped by the Southern African Marine Corps has a total combat weight of close to 20 tons, which is already heavy in Italy.
Tank level.
Italian heavy tanks refer to tanks that weigh more than 20 tons and cannot pass through pontoons.
In 1938, the Italians began to consider developing heavy tanks, and this plan was not officially established until 1940.
At the end of last year, Italy developed its first heavy tank. During subsequent use, it was discovered that the short-barreled artillery used in the tank was not suitable for fierce battles, so the tank was improved.
The improvement work has not yet been completed, and it is still far from being equipped with troops.
Stationed in Pombia is the Italian 16th Motorized Infantry Division. This unit is a transitional formation between infantry and mechanized troops. It uses vehicles to maneuver and fights on foot, similar to the early dragoons...
Italy's industry is not developed and there are not enough automobile equipment troops. Among all the motorized infantry divisions in Italy, only the 101st and 102nd can be regarded as true motorized infantry divisions. The other units are only equipped with a small number of automobiles and are essentially infantry divisions.
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Ordinary infantry divisions in southern Africa are also equipped with armored units. When the airborne troops fought fiercely with the defenders in Pombia, the Marine Corps succeeded in seizing the beach. With the addition of "Buffalo" tanks, the battle ended quickly, and the Italians did not resist.
, he simply raised his hands and surrendered.
Compared with the battle at Pombia, the battle at Heraklion was more intense.
There was a mistake in pre-war intelligence. The troops stationed in Heraklion were not Italians, but Germans.
And it's not just a second-line force, it's the main field force that participated in the Greek Campaign, the old rival of the Southern African Army, the German Fifth Mountain Division.
In the first stage of the Greek campaign, the 5th Mountain Division performed outstandingly, completing a cross-river attack near Strymon at a rapid speed and breaking through the Allied defense lines.
During the Battle of Crete, the 5th Mountain Division and the 143rd Division in Southern Africa met head-on. The confident 5th Mountain Division launched continuous attacks on the 143rd Division's positions, but suffered losses due to the lack of heavy weapons and the 143rd Division's adequate preparation.
Tragically, after the battle, the 5th Mountain Division stayed in Crete to rest and recuperate, thus missing the Russo-German War.
Now the 5th Mountain Division has returned to its peak condition, fully manned, fully trained, and with high morale.
The 5th Airborne Division that landed in Heraklion was just formed in 1939. Most of the officers were from southern Africa, and some were from the Umbrella Company. The soldiers were brave and capable Gurkha soldiers, as well as African Americans recruited from the Republic of Congo.
Composed of soldiers.
Like the 3rd Airborne Division, the 5th Airborne Division is also not equipped with heavy weapons, but because it is equipped with a large number of rocket launchers, it does not lack the ability to attack difficult situations.
The Germans have a much stronger will to fight than the Italians. During the Battle of Crete, the German 5th Mountain Division suffered a heavy loss against the 143rd Division. The entire 5th Mountain Division was ashamed of themselves. They have never forgotten it for more than a year.
Now there is finally a chance for revenge, and the Fifth Mountain Division will definitely not miss it.
The airport in Heraklion was not severely damaged during the Battle of Crete. In addition to the Italian MC.202 Lightning, the fighter planes stationed at the airport also included German BF109.
Unlike the spaghetti-like Italian Air Force, the German Air Force is still very combat-effective. After the first wave of attacks by the Southern African Air Force, the BF109 driven by the Germans quickly took off to fight. This caused inconvenience to the 5th Airborne Division who was conducting airdrops.
Small casualties.
The core mission of the 5th Airborne Division is to seize the airport, so the area around the airport is the focus of airborne operations.
The German troops guarding the airport were tenacious in fighting. After the initial panic, they quickly organized a counterattack and the battle was fierce.
For the soldiers of the 5th Airborne Division, the biggest test was not the crazy German attack, but the rapid consumption of ammunition.
Assault rifles are indeed very useful in combat, but they also consume bullets very quickly.
When the airborne troops set off, they carried as much ammunition with them as possible. When many soldiers landed, the total number of bullets they carried plus the ammunition in their backpacks exceeded 400 rounds. According to previous experience, 400 rounds of ammunition could at least last.
One day of fighting.
The combat staff in Southern Africa made a mistake. The consumption rate of ammunition was directly proportional to the intensity of the battle. Many airborne troops fell into a hard fight after landing and had no time to find their backpacks. As a result, the ammunition consumption rate was faster. During the battle,
An hour after the outbreak, many airborne troops began to run out of ammunition.
"Pay attention to saving ammunition, set the mode to single shot, and don't fire at will." Just after repelling a German attack, Second Lieutenant Duke from Port Edward reminded the soldiers around him one by one.
No need to think about the grenades, they have already been used up.
There were not many rockets and grenades left, and some African-American soldiers had already fixed their bayonets, preparing to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Germans.
The Gurkhas do not use bayonets; they are more adept at using dogleg knives or engineer shovels.
Pistols, dog-leg knives, and engineer shovels are considered the three most powerful weapons in close combat in the Southern African Army.
The bullets of the pistol are also limited, and when they are all fired, they are like a pound and a half of iron. For most soldiers, the engineer shovel is more reliable.
"Tom, have you seen the corpses of those German soldiers? They must have bullets on them. It's time to use your strengths." The golden second lieutenant from Tanganyika raised his hand and called a little black man over.
Gold is a Gurkha and has become a Southern African citizen. After graduating from high school, he went to the Umbrella Company and worked as a mercenary for ten years.
In appearance, Gold is no different from the Chinese in southern Africa. He chose the name himself because he likes Gold.
"Second Lieutenant, my name is not Tom." There was no expression on Xiao Hei's face, the sun hadn't come out yet.
Southern African Union soldiers are good at cleaning battlefields. Generally, the Southern African soldiers clean up first and take away valuables, and then the African-American soldiers do it again to ensure that nothing is missed.
Cleaning the battlefield is a hard job. It is different from what many people imagine. Southern African soldiers have rich backgrounds, and some of them are not very valuable or are in relatively bad conditions. Southern African soldiers simply don't want them.
African-American soldiers are not picky, and they can do it even if they are stained with blood. Many African-American soldiers wish they could take off their shoes when cleaning the battlefield. It doesn't matter if they are stained with blood or torn. It will take three years to mend them.
"In my place, your name is Tom. Go quickly and be careful of German snipers." Jin was arbitrary. African-American soldiers had no human rights.
Tom was indeed not picky about food. When he set out, he did not forget to take off all the equipment on his body, and then crawled out of the trench in a posture close to the ground, like a snake, crawling towards the German corpses not far away.
Or it might be more appropriate to use peristalsis.
The amazing thing is that the speed is not slow.
People are born to do this.
Duke took out the cigarettes from his pocket, put one in his mouth, and handed the rest to Gold.
Huang Jin also smoked a cigarette in his mouth and handed the cigarette case to the soldier beside him.
A pack of cigarettes was turned around once and returned to Duke with half of it still there.
Duke looked sad.
Half an hour ago, a pack of cigarettes wasn't enough.
"When will our reinforcements arrive?" Jin Jin and Duke whispered in Chinese.
In Southern Africa, if you want to become a Southern African national, the minimum requirement is to be able to speak Chinese. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know English. If you don’t know Chinese, it will be difficult to get ahead in Southern Africa.
"Don't think about reinforcements, think about how to survive first." Duke was not optimistic. Although the Germans on the opposite side were mountain divisions, they had tanks participating in the battle. This was simply unscientific.
The good news is that the German tanks that appeared in Heraklion were early Type IV tanks, otherwise the 5th Mountain Division would have suffered greater casualties.
The Panzer IV was finalized in 1937 and continued to be improved. By 1942 it had been improved to the E type.
As one of the most successful tanks of the German army during World War II, the Germans now even have the ability to export it to the Axis powers, so it is not surprising that the Panzer IV appeared in Heraklion.
The E-type Panzer IV tank has a total combat weight of 21 tons, a main gun with a caliber of 75 mm, and two 12.7 mm caliber machine guns as its secondary weapons. It is not impossible to deal with it.
The key problem is that the airborne troops underestimated the intensity of the battle, and the number of rockets was limited. Duke's position had already been exhausted of rockets.
"God bless, if another No. 4 car comes, we will probably go back wearing the national flag." Jin Jin prayed devoutly.
Tom came back soon, carrying a dozen German bullet boxes.
"Why don't you get a gun?" Huang Jin was speechless. Does such a simple question need to be reminded?
The bullets used by the German army and the southern African army are not universal. The caliber of the Mauser rifle is 7.92 mm, and the caliber of the assault rifle equipped by the paratroopers is 5.56 mm. This problem is too complicated for Xiao Hei.
Fortunately, Xiao Hei still had mobility and no need to ask for gold. Tom climbed out again with that strange posture.
I just climbed out and climbed back in. I took out a grenade bag from behind my butt, which contained four long-handled grenades equipped by the German army.
This is good, no launcher is needed, you can throw it with your hands.
The intensity of the German attack was much higher than that of the Italians. Before Tom came back, the German artillery started bombing again. Duke and Gold hid behind a big rock and shivered.
"Where are our artillery?" Huang Jin shouted at the top of his lungs, his expression extremely aggrieved.
The southern African army has always used artillery to bombard the enemy. When have they ever been so frustrated?
"They are all busy rubbing cannonballs," Duke said in amusement, and in a joking mood.
The airborne troops have no heavy artillery, only mortars, and the number is limited. Needless to say, the artillery shells have been used up.
The shelling lasted for about five minutes and gradually stopped.
Before Tom came back, Huang Jin wanted to look up, but the German MG34 started roaring again, and Huang Jin couldn't even raise his head.
The MG34 is a general-purpose machine gun like the machine guns commonly equipped by the southern African army. This machine gun was modified by Rheinmetall on the basis of the MG30. It was equipped with the German Army in 1936 and became the standard weapon of the German army.
Switzerland has to be mentioned here, because the MG34 was originally produced in Switzerland.
According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany could not produce heavy machine guns.
So the Germans borrowed money to lay eggs, acquired the Swiss company Solothurn, and used Solothurn to design new machine guns.
The design team of Solothurn Company is nominally a Swiss team, but in fact it is all composed of Germans. The reason why the MG34 became a general-purpose machine gun is to circumvent the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles.
Like the general-purpose machine guns in Southern Africa, the MG34 has the advantages of ease of use, fast rate of fire, and high power. The method of replacing the barrel is obviously inspired by the general-purpose machine guns in Southern Africa. The only disadvantage is that the structure is relatively complex, which is not conducive to large-scale equipment for troops.
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The Germans are improving the MG34, which is the MG42 known as the "cloth tearing machine". This new machine gun has been finalized and is being installed in the troops.
In the supply sequence of the German army, the Russian battlefield must be the highest priority. The Greek side is not even the second line. The Fifth Mountain Division has to wait until it wants to equip the MG42.
The machine guns began to suppress fire, which meant that the German soldiers had begun to attack, and the distance was very close. The Germans' infantry and artillery coordination skills were still very good, on par with the southern African army.
Without looking up, Duke took out a long-handled grenade, bumped it in his hand, twisted the back cover and pulled the string in one go, and threw it towards the German army on the opposite side with all his strength.
Compared with oval grenades, the biggest advantage of long-handled grenades is that they are easier to throw and can be thrown farther.
Gold also throws grenades.
After throwing it away, the two of them remembered that Tom hadn't come back yet, so he wouldn't have died in the hands of the Germans, being blown up by the grenades they threw.
That would be so sad.
Boom!
An airborne soldier next to Duke raised his gun and fired, but before he could retract his body, he was shot by the Germans.
Jin rushed over to check the injury, and Duke picked up the assault rifle and continued fighting.
"Oh no, you almost killed me just now." Tom finally crawled back, carrying four Mauser rifles on his back.
A wounded soldier with a leg injury next to him immediately started loading bullets.
Duke emptied the magazine, picked up the Mauser and continued shooting. His action of pulling the bolt was very skillful and smooth.
A long-handled grenade landed next to Duke, but Duke didn't notice it.
A wounded soldier nearby, whose hands were blown off at elbow level, rushed forward without hesitation and pressed the grenade with his body.
boom
The wounded soldier's body was blown up a foot high and hit the ground like a torn sack.
There was no time to mourn. A German soldier walked around the stone and stabbed the gold hard with the bayonet in his hand.
The wounded soldier with a leg injury grabbed the German soldier's thigh and bit it down hard.
Duke rounded the Mauser in his hand and hit the German soldier on the head with the butt of the gun, breaking the handle of the gun.
Bah bah bah
There were still bullets in Jin Jin's pistol, and the magazine was quickly emptied. More German soldiers swarmed in. Jin Jin pulled out a dogleg knife with his backhand, and he had to pull one even before he died.
At this moment, the roar of the engine and tracks finally came from the distance.
This is the "Alligator" equipped by the airborne troops.
