Indeed, as Emperor Yang said, no matter how bizarre his plan is, how much danger it requires, and even the risk of the entire landing force being annihilated, since the person who died is not one of his own, there is no need to consider the rationality.
.
However, his plan did arouse the interest of the Germans. Of course, William and Count Schlieffen knew that the longer they delayed in northern Italy, the more unfavorable the situation would be for them. By this time, the British division had already entered the battlefield and was giving
The German army that is attacking Padua has caused a lot of trouble. If the Italians can hold out until the two British armies enter the battlefield, then the German and Austrian forces cannot hope to reach Turin. "Novel" Novel Chapter
But under the current circumstances, with the King of Italy personally marching on the battlefield, and a large number of anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons supported by the British being continuously put into the battlefield, it is no longer possible to imagine breaking through the Italian defense lines as destructively as before. After all, this is
On Italian soil, no matter how bad the Italian soldiers are, they can still produce a certain amount of fighting power with the support of their belief in defending their homeland.
What Yang Feng proposed was a way to break through the Italian defense line in the shortest time, and it was very feasible. In terms of delivery vehicles, there were six landing ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in Pula Port. Of course, these landing ships transport infantry.
No need, the distance from Pula Port to the Italian coast is only a little over one kilometer. Not to mention those ordinary merchant ships, even fishing boats can easily drive there within ten hours, and with the transportation capacity there, it is enough to land one army at a time.
enough.
As for the landing ship, it can be used to transport cars and various weapons and ammunition. After all, there is no real port there. At most, there are some fishing boat docks. Ten-ton small boats cannot be docked. Large merchant ships are completely unenabled. As for what can be docked
, that one was blocked by the Italians with mines. But there is no need for landing ships to dock at this small dock. Merchant ships are used to transport infantry, small barges and sampans are used to land, and landing ships are used to transport cars and weapons. The landing of two divisions
Totally supportable.
As for the attack after landing, there is nothing to worry about. As Haijing imagined, capturing Emanuele is indeed a bit exaggerated, but there is still no point in cutting off the Italian transportation lines in the short term.
The nearly 20,000 Italian troops were all piled up on the front line, and there were basically no real troops behind the front. Two elite divisions rode in cars and attacked for less than a kilometer on the undefended Italian plains, and there were still companies to rely on. Moreover,
There are no rivers or anything like that along the way. Sudu will arrive in two hours quickly, and the Italians won't even have time to react.
As for the fate of these two divisions after the Italians react, these emperors and generals will not consider it. As long as they can cut off the iron in Italy, it will only take two days at most, and then even if they all die in Italy, it will be worth it.
What's more, they can go north to meet the main force or complete the mission and retreat to the coast. Retreat into the protective circle of the Austro-Hungarian naval fleet.
After demonstrating the feasibility, the general staffs of the German and Austrian armies immediately formulated a detailed plan. Immediately afterwards, an elite German army drawn from the battlefield boarded a train and began to rush to Pula Port. At the same time, the Austrians began to gather
Their merchant ships. In addition, under the instruction of Emperor Yang, some Ottoman Empire merchant ships also changed their vests to join the landing fleet. The Austro-Hungarian Navy's twenty cruisers and destroyers, including two heavy cruisers, will provide support for the landing force.
Escort, even a Combined Forces-class battleship and several old ironclads also joined the convoy. Up to now, their main fleet is still blocked in the Strait of Otranto. It has now increased to six Combined Forces-class ships, but they have been maintained on the defense line.
There are five ships, one of which is on rotation at the military port. This one is currently on rotation.
The Italian Navy does not have any real power in the Adriatic Sea. It only has two light cruisers and a dozen destroyers. After entering the war, it fought many small-scale naval battles with the remaining fleet of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. There is still one light cruiser left.
and ten destroyers, as well as many speedboats. However, after Venice surrendered, these warships originally stationed in Venice had to withdraw to the Port of Tole at the mouth of the Po River. Although this fleet was weak, it could still pose a threat to the landing force.
, it will definitely not work without fleet escort.
Just as the German and Austrian armies were intensively preparing for the landing operation, the battlefield in Padua gradually stabilized. In addition to the British troops arriving for support, the French also squeezed out a division from the stretched Marne River defense line and took a train to arrive.
Come. In addition, there is a volunteer corps composed of Jie Li. This corps has a total strength of only 5,000 people. It has been fighting side by side with the French army. Although the number is small, its fighting will is tenacious and it can be regarded as a new force.
The reason why Vicenza can still hold on now is largely because of their joining.
The French also know very well that once Italy is defeated, they will definitely have to face the German army attacking France from behind. That will be the end of the Western Front battlefield, so they must help the Italians persist no matter what, except for sending troops
reinforcements, the French even dispatched a fighter group to join the Italian battlefield. To be honest, the French are now convinced that the reason why Yang Feng deceived the Italians into this war was not to help them at all, but to deceive them.
If Italy remains neutral, why would they need to consider such a thing?
With the support of allies arriving in a steady stream, the Italians finally regained their composure, and even Xianglitini began to arrogantly declare that it would not be long before the Italian warriors could kick the invaders out of this sacred land.
"They just relied on a little cleverness, one or two new weapons, and a disgraceful sneak attack to gain a temporary advantage. What does war rely on? It's courage and will, and a fearless spirit. It won't take long, everyone.
You can see how those invaders trembled under the feet of the righteous Italian people!" At the banquet in Rome, His Excellency the Prime Minister held up a wine glass full of zixin and said, amidst the warm applause from the surroundings, he looked like he was sure of victory, without any trace of doubt.
zhidaoAt this moment, a huge fleet had sailed out of Pula Port.
The composition of this fleet is very complex, including new perfect battleships, old ironclads, new diesel cruisers, old armored cruisers, protected cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats, small gunboats, landing ships, large ocean-going merchant ships, small river merchant ships, and even fishing boats.
It can be said that most types of ships can be seen here. There is also a German division and an Austrian division in Pula Port, which are the second batch of landing troops prepared.
The huge fleet sailed majestically on the dark Adriatic Sea at a speed of fifteen knots. One kilometer away was their destination, a city 20 kilometers south of the ancient Italian city of Lana, which was once the capital of the Western Roman Empire.
A small fishing village. In fact, the best landing point should be Lana, but unfortunately the mouth of the canal from Lana to the Adriatic Sea is protected by Italian mines. Although the number of mines is not large, it is enough to protect this ancient city.
The fleet had a voyage of more than one kilometer and a speed of fifteen knots in just one night. At dawn the next day, the coast of Italy was already sighted, and the Italians had not noticed it until now.
"Wake up the boys, it's time to get to work!" Lieutenant General Bello put down the telescope in his hand, looked at the coast of Italy, and said with satisfaction to the captain of the landing ship beside him.
At this moment, alarm bells rang faintly in the distance from the Italian coast. It seemed that the watchers on the lighthouse on the shore had discovered them. This is not surprising. Such a large Italian fleet was
People cannot see.
"It seems we need to fight." Bello said with a shrug.
"General, except for fishermen holding harpoons, you will not encounter any armed personnel there." The guide next to him said with a smile. The straight-line distance between here and Pula Port is 180 kilometers, and fishing boats there often come here.
, all situations can be said to be crystal clear.
He was indeed right. The Italian town of Cesenatico was in desperate chaos. The fishermen who had just woken up and prepared to continue their hard work for the day were looking at the sea in the distance as if they were stupid. There were countless people.
Large and small warships and civilian ships are gradually emerging in the early morning mist. As the distance gets closer, the countless black gun muzzles become clearer and clearer. The Austro-Hungarian naval flag flying on the battleship is even more shocking.
However, it was not until the enemies began to put down their sampans that the mayor of this small town realized what was happening and hurriedly stumbled to make a phone call.
As for the Italian fishermen, they were just watching the Germans set foot on their homeland. Of course, they actually had no ability to resist. The only armed forces here were a few policemen, and most of the rest were old, weak, women and children.
All young and middle-aged men have gone to the battlefield, and even the policemen only have batons in their hands.
Lieutenant General Bello's landing was not attacked. Wan De's army landed easily under the fearful eyes of the Italians as if they were traveling. However, when he set foot on Italian soil, he was hit with a knife by an angry Italian woman.
The stinky sardines hit his face, and the poor general helplessly took the sardines out of his neck while watching the attacker walk away.
"Unload the ship quickly, don't stop, the landing troops will march to Bologna immediately!" He said to the officer beside him with a straight face. (To be continued...)