Capítulo 236: Chapter 314 Assault on Malta
How small is the island of Malta? Battleships at one end can launch shells at a high angle, and those shells can fly over the entire island and then fall into the sea on the other end.
Now, the "European Allied Fleet" has surrounded the island from three sides and began a relentless bombardment.
After half an hour of bombardment, several bombers hovered over the island, dropping surrender leaflets, giving them ten minutes to surrender.
Fifteen minutes later, there was still no movement from the British forces on the island. The bombardment began again, this time joined by Italian bombers returning after reloading ammunition and fuel, along with German bombers.
This round of bombardment lasted for over an hour, followed by a ceasefire, dropping leaflets again, but still, no white flag appeared.
"These Brits, are they all determined to die here?"
"Anyway, we have plenty of time, so let's continue the bombardment. Even in such a tiny place, if we shake it enough, we can shake them all to death. Consider it training for the rookies." This time, each warship carried three times the usual personnel, all students about to graduate from the German Naval Academy, making it a rare internship.
The big guns roared once again.
This time, the bombardment lasted for a full two hours.
"Cease fire! Marine Corps, land now! We must capture Malta before nightfall!"
The already prepared Marine Corps soldiers quickly descended the rope ladders, boarded the landing craft, and the boats filled with Marine Corps soldiers rushed toward the beach.
The Marine Corps, originating from France, had already been fully prepared for this moment.
In 1622, the Archbishop of Paris, Richelieu, ordered the formation of the French Navy Corps. During the Napoleonic era, a naval infantry battalion was established within the Royal Guard. In December 1804, during the expedition to Great Britain, Napoleon personally bestowed a flag on the naval infantry battalion. The front of the flag read, "The Emperor of the French personally awards the Naval Infantry Battalion of the Royal Guard," and on the back was the battalion emblem, with the battalion motto on both sides: "Valiant, Disciplined." It was this unit that conducted the final resistance when the Allied forces entered Paris in 1815 during Napoleon's downfall.
In the later stages of World War II, due to the shortage of German military strength and the complete inability of the German Navy fleet against the powerful naval forces of the Allies, Germany formed a Marine Corps Infantry Division, utilizing sailors, ship crew members, submarine trainees, and other elite members from the navy to participate in land battles to address the shortage of German Army forces on the Western Front in 1945.
The Marine Corps 2nd Infantry Division was formed under such circumstances. Although it was a naval unit, it was incorporated into the regular army structure, becoming, in essence, Germany's Marine Corps during World War II.
Although Germany lacked amphibious landing capabilities during World War II, most strategic offensives by the Allied forces were launched with amphibious landings, leading to decisive battles on land (or islands).
From the Pacific battles of Guadalcanal to Okinawa, from the large landings in North Africa to the bridgehead battles in Tunisia, and from the Sicily campaign to the Normandy landing, the Higgins landing crafts from the United States played a leading role, braving gunfire to transport a large number of personnel and weapons ashore, setting the stage for the offensive.
According to statistics, there were more than 600 amphibious landing operations in World War II. All participating countries produced over 70,000 landing craft (ships), with the United States contributing 64,500, and the majority of them coming from the Higgins shipyard.
These landing crafts had a length exceeding 11 meters, a width of 3.4 meters, were powered by a 225 horsepower diesel engine, and could move at speeds of 9 to 12 knots on the water's surface. Each craft also had a large cargo capacity, capable of carrying a platoon of 36 people, a Jeep, or equipment and supplies weighing up to 3,600 kilograms.
The strategic and campaign significance of large-scale amphibious operations was immense. Without tens of thousands of Higgins landing craft (ships) continuously transporting combat forces, the Allies might have suffered numerous defeats. The victory in the war would undoubtedly have been indefinitely postponed. General Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, highly praised the Higgins landing craft (ship) and its inventor Higgins, stating, "This is the most important combat weapon in World War II, and Higgins helped us win the war." This underscores the crucial role of the Higgins landing craft (ship), which, alongside the Willys Jeep, T-34 tank, P-51 fighter plane, and Essex-class aircraft carrier, is known as one of the "Five Great Victory Weapons" of World War II.
Wilhelm naturally embraced pragmatism without any reservations.
Most importantly, Higgins landing crafts were made of Philippine mahogany, with only the bow made of steel. This design not only saved a considerable amount of steel during the war but also allowed the landing crafts to be disassembled into wooden boards after a successful landing, which could be used for other purposes, significantly conserving resources.
The sea breeze, carrying a fishy smell, blew across the ocean surface, causing the densely packed landing crafts to rise and fall in the surging waves. The nauseating air, combined with the increasing pressure as they approached the coastline, gradually silenced the officers and soldiers of the Marine Corps. Some new recruits even experienced spasms and vomiting due to excessive nervousness.
"Ahhh~~~" The strange sounds in the air made all the seasoned soldiers suddenly tense, gripping the handrails tightly, raising their hands to press down on their helmets, and crouching as low as possible. Meanwhile, the young and inexperienced recruits still looked around in confusion.
"Artillery bombardment!" The piercing cries instantly heightened everyone's alertness. If the Marine Corps members with heavy equipment were flipped into the sea by artillery fire, it would be a dire situation.
Although the current sea temperature was not low, the Marines, laden with various supplies, were unable to float up from the sea. Moreover, the landing crafts around them, when hit by artillery fire, would only accelerate towards the beach, never stopping to rescue anyone.
Of course, if a landing craft were directly hit by artillery fire, there would be no need to worry about anything.
"Boom!!!" The huge white water columns soaring into the air and the deafening thunderous roar made each landing craft seem as if it could capsize at any moment. Inside the ship, the Marine Corps members stumbled around, colliding with the ship's walls or huddling together in confusion.
"Why is there still artillery fire?" A new recruit with fuzz above his mouth, not fully shaven, shouted in disbelief. "Didn't our artillery wipe them all out?!"
An adjacent veteran casually reassured, "There are always some fish that slip through the net! Don't worry; they only have one chance to fire!" Almost as if confirming his words, the main guns of a battleship not far away let out a thunderous roar.
"Final thirty meters!" The landing craft driver shouted loudly.
A few seconds later, everyone heard the harsh sound of the ship's bottom scraping against sand and gravel. The propellers of the landing craft had stopped rotating, and the hull slowly crawled onto the beach.
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