My Italian: Chapter 668 Battle of Corsica Part 1

Bastia is the main port in the north of Corsica, and it and Ajaccio in the south are known as the two pearls of Corsica. But even in Mingzhu, the population of the two ports did not exceed 40,000.

The reason is very simple, that is, the land of Corsica is barren. 4/5 of the island is composed of mountains and hills, and only the coastal areas have narrow plains. It is perennially the poorest province in France.

Corsica was not satisfied with this. They felt that they were not valued by Paris, and they felt very strongly dependent on others. This also caused the independence movement in Corsica to never subside. This also made Italy never forget Corsica. Before, it didn't dare to think about it because of its lack of strength, but now, taking advantage of the war, it wants to seize the island anyway.

Borgo is a town in the small plain in the south of Bastia. It has a long sandy beach and is a very suitable area for landing. Therefore, the French army deployed a division of troops to garrison here.

In the whole of Corsica, the French defense force has only one army 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 area 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 area in Corsica to be landed.

Although the French army attaches great importance to Borgo, Corsica has limited troops, so at most one division can only be placed here.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the division were suffering.

"Bombardment, pay attention to dodge."

The observation post on the position was shouting, and there was a whining sound in the air.

At this time, the French officers and soldiers hiding in the anti-gun holes were 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 anti-bunker hole also felt a huge shock.

At this time, everyone is glad that they escaped, but their suffering is not over yet, and the shelling has not stopped.

On the surface of the sea, warships are constantly bombarding Borgo Beach and its depth. This is the reserve joint fleet formed by Italy and Austria, and more than half of its warships are here.

Its 75mm, 120mm, 150mm, 200mm, 280mm, 305mm, 350mm and other artillery guns are constantly firing on the Borgo line.

The Borgo line that was shelled was covered by thick explosion smoke, so that the airship that was correcting in the air could not observe the shelling on the ground.

The coastal fortifications deployed by the French army in Borgo are mainly 170mm naval guns (8) dismantled from battleships, and a small number of 240mm naval guns (2). However, most of these coastal fortifications have not played a role. In front of the airship and the former dreadnought, these artillery were all named one by one.

Some people may ask, since Borgo is an extremely important place in Corsica, how can there be such artillery. The French navy is at a disadvantage, and there are too many key areas to defend. Although Corsica faces Italy directly, its strategic position is not high. Since France was at a disadvantage to Italy in the navy, the issue of coastal defense in the French Mediterranean coastal area has been put on the agenda.

In terms of coastal defense, France's focus is on the mainland, especially Marseille, Toulon, and Nice.

Taking Marseille as an example, its coastal fortifications have the same new 305mm guns as the Guba class, and 8 guns are deployed in Marseille. In addition, there are 39 240mm and 170mm cannons, which can be said to be armed to the teeth.

And Borgo's coastal defense is not as good as that of Marseille, even other localities.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the reserve combined fleet composed of former dreadnought battleships smashed Borgo's coastal defenses to pieces.

At this time, on the battleship Genoa, Admiral Bartlett, the supreme commander who captured Corsica and the commander of the Italian Sixth Army, was carefully observing the effect of the shelling.

The result is not bad, he ordered now after stepping away from the telescope. "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 the second marine division of the professional landing force.

Under the order of Admiral Bartlett, the officers and soldiers of the Second Marine Division began to put down their landing craft and prepare to land on the beach.

For this landing in Borgo, the navy has prepared 138 landing craft, which is enough to send a regiment of personnel and equipment ashore at one time.

These landing craft loaded with officers and soldiers of the Second Marine Division and their equipment are rushing towards the beach on the Borgo line.

"The enemy is about to land!"

Although the rumble of guns continued and Borgo fell into a sea of ​​flames, the dedicated observation post still saw the menacing enemy at the first time.

Following the call of the sentinel, the French officers and soldiers who had been hiding in the anti-battery cave rushed out of the anti-battery cave one after another regardless of the danger of shelling. They prepared their weapons and ammunition, and waited for the Italians to come ashore to give them a head-on blow.

At this time, although the French army was waiting for the landing of the Italian army in the position, they waited for a round of precise shelling before they could see the enemy.

This is a shallow water heavy gun battleship built by the Italian Navy.

The origin of the shallow-water heavy gunship was invented in the American Civil War. This kind of shallow-draft equipped with heavy artillery can support offshore warships on land or defend ports, and was subsequently emulated 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 and the Italian Navy became stronger, the need for fireships to support landing operations was particularly urgent.

After some development, the Tirana-class shallow-water heavy gunship was born. The stage is 98.4 meters long and 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. Equipped with two 305mm main guns, four 105mm secondary guns and ten 40mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns.

In order to increase their ocean-going capabilities, their freeboard is basically similar to that of a destroyer. In addition, a piece of the stern of the ship was cut off to form a long forecastle. Almost in the center of the hull, there was a three-legged mast, and the top was equipped with an azimuth dial and an observation post for artillery command. Apart from a small chimney at the rear of the battleship, there are no large buildings on board.

So this shallow water heavy gunship looks a bit flat and the display is weird. Weird as it is, but its firepower was a disaster for the Borgo defenders. At this time, only three warships of this type sailed directly to a place 2,000 meters away from the coastline, and then used their astonishingly powerful main guns to name the French positions one by one.

No one can calm down when the giant cannon is aimed at you. The key point is that the cannon is useless even if you hide. The huge lethality, even if you are hiding in a trench 20 meters away, you will be directly shocked to death by it.

Then the French officers and soldiers defending the beachhead were unlucky, and the remaining beachhead fortifications were destroyed one by one with precise shells. These fortifications, which had escaped the previous shelling, were now being aimed at by giant artillery at close range, and there was no survival at all. possible.

As for the artillery in the defenders' hands at this time, they dare not hold a meeting at all. Once they fire, they will be spotted by the airship in the sky, and then they will be destroyed by counterattack. For this reason, after losing more than 20 artillery pieces, the French army stationed in Borgo no longer had the desire to fire. Besides, after the sea artillery is destroyed, can the 75mm rapid-fire guns in the hands of the army pose a threat to the shallow water heavy gunship?

When there was no threat, the three Tirana-class shallow-water heavy gunships began to roll their names brazenly. After these beachhead fortifications were destroyed, the officers and soldiers of the Second Marine Division finally arrived at the beach. UU Reading www. uukanshu.com

At this time, the French officers and soldiers guarding the beachhead had been bombed and suffered heavy casualties. The original two battalions of the French army had only two companies left. Faced with such huge casualties, the beachhead had not yet 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 army on the beachhead has been firing desperately since the landing of the Second Marine Division. But the huge difference in numbers, as well as the difference in firepower, caused the beachhead to be lost after half an hour.

And after receiving the news that the frontline troops had seized the beachhead in half an hour, Admiral Bartlett took a look and put it down. He was not at all worried about taking Corsica.

He hoped that the French army would reinforce Corsica, for which the navy even gave up the siege of Corsica. But it's a pity that the French army is not stupid, and has no plans to reinforce Corsica, even if it is the birthplace of its great man Napoleon.

After capturing the beachhead and waiting for the follow-up troops to arrive, the troops that landed first continued to advance in depth. At this time, the three shallow water heavy artillery were their most powerful artillery unit.

(end of this chapter)