Krul gathered his own men in the dark, and the number was quite considerable.
The total company of 159 people gathered 143 people, including 102 people from the 3rd company, 40 people from other companies, and one soldier from the 2nd battalion, 2nd company, who was floated over. There are more than 20 people.
The weapons were lost in mid-air, and only five machine guns in the company were found.
Krul covered himself with a raincoat, used a flashlight and compass to check the map position, and then said to the other officers surrounding him. "We are on the right side of the airdrop zone. Directly in front of us is a sign marked Chatos Little
There may be British troops in the villages and towns, so we need to pay attention. Now let's go to the assembly point in the camp."
"No problem, company commander. I'll listen to you."
The Chatos he was talking about is 6 kilometers away from Nicosia Airport and 19 kilometers away from Nicosia. The officers around him agreed with his decision. It was a priority to assemble as soon as possible after the airborne landing. Especially at night, they
I am not familiar with the surrounding area, let alone running around.
The task of finding the battalion headquarters was quick because the battalion headquarters was only one kilometer away from them.
"Major Sartu, our third company has been initially assembled, please give instructions."
Krul stood in front of the battalion commander Saltu and reported to him in a low voice the situation of his third company.
"How many people are there in your company now?"
Major Sartu asked about what he was most concerned about as soon as he came up.
Facing the battalion commander's inquiry, Krul responded truthfully. "Currently, including me, there are 143 people, including 102 people from our third company. In terms of weapons, there are currently 23 people who do not have guns, and there are also fewer machine guns in the company.
3 quite.”
"not bad."
Major Sartu, who heard Krul's report, gave an evaluation.
Because compared with the other three companies, the third company is much better (one battalion of the parachute division has four companies). At present, the number of people assembled by other companies is not as large as that of the third company, and even the fourth company is still being assembled.
In fact, if you think about it, you will know that this is the first time for paratroopers to fight, and it is a large-scale airborne from the beginning, and it is also the most difficult night airborne. Naturally, the progress in all aspects is not ideal.
Fortunately, the airdrop went smoothly this time, and most of the paratroopers landed in the assembly area. Although it was a bit chaotic, it was still pretty good.
"Captain Krull, now I give you a mission. Bring your people out here to protect the landing zone. It is estimated that it will take another hour or two to end this chaotic situation."
"As you command, sir."
Krul, who was assigned a task by the battalion commander, immediately took over the task.
"By the way, remember I'm the one taking you."
"clear."
This is good, the number of people in the third company immediately dropped by 3 levels.
Krul, who returned to his company, immediately conveyed the battalion commander's order. After leaving other troops behind, they began to go to the outlying areas to guard.
Although the large-scale airborne landings in Romania were not noticed by the British army at first, they were noticed as time went by.
"Who is it, come out!"
An unlucky paratrooper fell into a military camp on the island and was immediately discovered. Facing the surrounding British security soldiers, the unlucky paratrooper had not even cut his parachute, and was immediately captured.
"What, there are Romanian paratroopers sneaking into the island?"
Major General Dowding Hughes, who had just been woken up, was a little shocked when he heard the staff report coming in.
He took the telegram and read it carefully. On the telegram, there were scattered paratroopers all over the island. They were discovered by the British army in more than ten cases, and the number was more than 30.
After thinking for a while, Dowding Hughes issued an order. "Let the guards on the entire island be more vigilant to prevent their penetration and destruction. In addition, let the 9th Division dispatch a regiment to search the entire island early tomorrow morning and dig out all these moles."
Yes, Dowding Hughes believed that this was a prelude to the Romanian landing, and that these parachuted soldiers were here to prepare to destroy the military facilities on the island. As long as he blocked the Romanian landing force, he would catch these moles.
As for why he couldn't imagine that paratroopers would be responsible for seizing the island, there is currently no such case. Everyone knows that paratroopers are light infantry and lack firepower. What are they used to fight against regular troops? They are used for sneak attacks behind enemy lines.
Way.
"As you command, General."
The staff officer who recorded Dowdinghus' order immediately rushed to send the report.
Dowding Hughes went back to rest. It is estimated that the Romanian landing force will arrive within three days, and the coastline must be defended.
The Mole, as Dowding Hughes calls it, has basically been assembled. Thanks to Dowding Hughes' order, they have more time to prepare.
Now Krul has got rid of the security mission, because they are heading towards the Nicosia airport. Now the number of the company has also returned with the return of other soldiers, reaching 148 people, which can be considered to have restored full combat effectiveness.
On the way, Krul was still thinking about the task the battalion commander had reassigned to the 3rd Company. Their battalion would be tasked with seizing the airport together with the 2nd Battalion, and the 3rd Company would serve as the battalion's forward, attacking the airport from the front.
This task is very challenging, but he will not give up. The more challenging the task, the better he can demonstrate his abilities. This is just right for Krul.
"Company commander, we are going to the airport."
Sergeant Locke, who was in charge of the reconnaissance mission, rushed back to tell him the results of his reconnaissance. "Currently, we found 6 anti-aircraft weapons at the airport. There are signs with mine marks on both sides of the airport. Mines should be buried inside. Then at the airport
At the entrance of the airport, we observed two machine gun positions on both sides of the gate, as well as four open sentries and one hidden sentry. We couldn't see the other things clearly because it was too dark."
Sergeant Locke's words made Krul quickly make a sketch of the airport defense. Although the actual situation of the airport has not been figured out yet, the basic situation is understood, so there is nothing to hesitate, just do it in one go. Because time is not available now
More, there are less than three hours until dawn, and this is when people feel most sleepy.
After making the decision, Krul immediately called the squad platoon leader. "The task now is to create conditions for seizing the airport. Our company is the vanguard, so we plan to attack the airport immediately and launch a surprise attack from the front. We will not give any space to the defenders.
Any opportunity to react."
"First Platoon, your task is to be responsible for the offensive on the left wing when assaulting the front of the airport. There is a machine gun position there. Give priority to destroying this firepower point. After entering the airport, you are responsible for attacking to the left. Second Platoon, you are responsible for the right wing.
For the attack, prioritize the machine gun positions that have been discovered over there, and then attack to the right. The third platoon is responsible for fire support. After the first and second platoons attack the front of the airport, you are responsible for holding on and waiting for support from other companies."
When Krul said this, he paused for a moment and then continued. "There is only one word for this combat mission: be fast, don't have any hesitation, as long as you hesitate, you will give the enemy a chance to get reinforcements. You must take advantage of the enemy's absence."
When we react, we get close to the enemy and engage them in close combat, which will reduce our casualties."
Krul, who said so much in one breath, showed his watch. "It is now three fifty-four in the morning. Six minutes later, we will launch the attack at four o'clock on time. Do you understand?"
Other officers who also showed their watches responded in unison. "Understood!"
